Latest Cooking Answers

When is the right time to pick blueberries?

My neighbor brought over a fresh batch of blueberries. Some are sweet and some are sour. He told us to come over and pick some whenever we wanted, but I don't

Why not put knives in the dishwasher?

What is it about the dishwasher that harms knives? The only reasons I've found are: You could get cut... I personally have a greater change of getting cut by

Adjusting cookie recipes for high altitude

When baking cakes, I often find that there are instructions for high altitude, which usually is just a matter of adding some extra flour. I understand the conc

What is braising?

I have a habit of buying braising steak, when intending to stew some beef (be it to eat as a stew, or to later use as a pie filling), but I've always wondered w

Is canned or jarred minced garlic substantially different from fresh garlic?

I am always in favor of fresh ingredients when possible. I recently discovered that minced (and crushed and chopped) garlic is available in very inexpensive jar

Do I need clarified butter to make mac-n-cheese?

Ok, someone mentioned Mac-n-Cheese. Which led me to a mornay sauce. Which requires a bechamel. Leading to roux. Dropping me on the doorstep of clarified butter.

How much sugar should I put with the fruit in a pie or crumble?

I just made a plum and apple crumble, which was delicious but I was worried it was going to be too sweet because when I was pouring the sugar in straight from t

How to halve a cake recipe?

An entire cake is too much food (and temptation!) for me and my husband. Generally speaking, how do I halve a cake recipe? I have heard you can't just cut every

What methods are there of getting fresh local meat & produce?

I often go to Whole Foods, but I feel like I'm getting ripped off there. I can walk out having spent $120 on a single bag of groceries. I try to get to a Farmer

How do you sharpen a serrated knife?

I have some quality serrated knives but over time they get dull. How do I sharpen them?

What's wrong with my technique in this Belgian Liège Waffle recipe?

I've been using this awesome recipe to make Belgian Liège waffles, but my results are never consistent. Could you guys help me reverse engineer the recip

Substituting table salt or sea salt for kosher salt?

The roasted chicken recipe I'm following of course calls for kosher salt, but I don't have any, and getting some is out of the question. I have sea salt and ta

What to do with seized / split chocolate?

My kids love making brownies, but every now and then the water gets into the bowl while they are melting the chocolate. The chocolate then seizes or splits, and

Caffeine content of cold-brewed coffee: higher or lower than hot-brewed?

I recently rediscovered the joys of cold-brewing coffee. (One level cup of rough-ground beans, 4-1/2 cups of cold water, steeped overnight and strained, produce

Is there any way to remove stains (e.g. from curries and pasta sauces) from plastic containers?

I like using microwaveable plastic containers to bring my lunch in as they are my lighter than the Pyrex/glass versions. However, reheating my food up creates u

How can I remove the peel and pit of an avocado without the whole thing turning into mush?

Making solid pieces out of a ripe avocado is a difficult business (for me, anyway). What is the best way to remove the peel and pit without ending up with a pil

How does Korean chili powder differ from "US" chili powder?

I've been looking at a number of kim chi recipes and they all call for 'Korean chili powder'. My visit to the local Asian grocer only yielded 'Asian' chili pow

Expiration Date on Milk

What does the expiration date on milk cartons mean? I have different experiences with the date: There is still about a week before the expiration date but t

How to make your own glazed cherries?

Glazed/candied cherries, the sort that sits nicely on top of a sundae. I don't like the look of the packaged ones in my local supermarket, is there an easy way

How to get sprinkles to stick to the side of a cake?

I need to prepare a cake, but in my previous attempts, I can't seem to get the chocolate sprinkles to stick to the sides of my cake. The cake will have a layer

How does commercial whole grain bread stay fresh for so long?

Every recipe for whole grain bread I have tried has the end result that the bread turns very hard within an hour of baking. I'd like something I could eat over

How do you remove garlic smells from your fingers?

I've heard touching stainless steel after chopping and handling garlic helps but I haven't found it to work all that well.

Shredded Coconut as a Substitute for...? [closed]

I had a recipe that called for unsweetened shredded coconut and the only package I could find brought a TON of it. I ended up not caring for t

How to prepare shallot greens?

I have a bunch of shallots with the greens (stems) on them, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with them. How are they used? Throw them in with the s

How can you measure the caffeine content of a liquid at home?

I saw a question on here about cold brew vs hot brew caffeine content and was wondering what is the easiest (or best) way to measure this at home (if possible)

Reusing coffee grounds

Besides using it as a fertilizer, how else can I reuse my coffee grounds?

How to cook/serve Confit de Canard?

I was in France some time ago and bought some Confit de Canard with me back home. But how do I cook it for best result? And what do I serve with it? Also, what

Can I freeze roux?

Is it possible to prepare a (large) batch of roux and then freeze it, or will the texture and flavour be destroyed in the process?

Grilled Fish Kebabs [closed]

The barbecue season is in full swing, and to take a break from the red-meat heavy traditionals, I decided to try and explore the world for gri

Fondue without Gruyere cheese

Can you give me some good tips how to prepare Fondue without Gruyere/Raclete cheese? What are possible substitutes, and what should I pay attention to when subs