Latest Cooking Answers

Cure for burns from hot peppers / capsicum oil?

So, I foolishly ignored advice about wearing gloves while handling hot peppers. I thought since they were "just" anaheim peppers I'd be fine... I was wrong, and

Using spaghetti squash for 'pasta'

I've recently gotten into making primal/paleo cooking, i.e. (no grains,legumes,processed foods) and have been meaning to try spaghetti w/meat sauce with spaghet

Using Elderberries in Cooking

I noticed that there's lots of elderberries near where I live, and I had an idea about making an elderberry brulee, but I'm sure that the elderberries would be

Would baking a cake for 2 hours at 350 degrees F be safe to eat if it's still moist?

I'm trying to modify a recipe for a cake which calls for 3 cups of shredded butter nut squash. I thought I could replace this with roughly the same amount of pu

In general, can I substitute egg species for either egg-only or egg-centric dishes?

(Prompted by an interesting radio show on ducks and duck eggs). For general uses, in either an egg-only dish, or an egg-centric dish like a custard or quiche,

How long do eggs last in the refrigerator out of the shell?

I dropped my carton of eggs when putting away groceries. The eggs were broken severely enough that the internal membrane ruptured and I had to remove them from

How to bake a chicken?

I've been using a rotisserie oven to bake my chickens for a while now. However, it's no longer available to me. My first attempt at baking a chicken in a long

Can I use cookie cutter shapes in a frying pan?

Was thinking how to spice up our pancakes and eggs for the little ones and remember seeing pancakes in various shapes before. Do people put them right in the p

How do you prepare bacalhau before cooking?

A specialty grocery store recently started to sell bacalhau (heavily salted cod fish). I am guessing that a recipe I have for baked codfish would work. Since i

What is the difference between a 63-degree egg and a regular poached egg?

Recently on Master Chef one of the desserts featured a 63-degree egg - what is the difference between that and a regular poached egg?

Should my chicken sit in liquid as it roasts, or not?

For the last chicken I roasted, I used this recipe, slightly modified. The biggest modification was that I added liquid to the pan, it was eyeballed but let's

Why do some recipes call for sugar in a brine?

In making a brine for my chicken, I came across a lot of recipes that call for sugar in the brine. I understand the general idea behind brining, but don't unde

How do you stop latkas from sticking to the baking sheet when cooking them in the oven?

I've made latkas and used flour as the binder, no egg. I placed the patties on an oiled baking sheet and cooked them in the oven at 375F for about 30 mins. When

how to peel a pomegranate efficiently?

Two well known facts about pomegranates: they are yummy they are a pain to peel by hand do you know of any efficient ways to peel pomegranates? by efficient i

How do "frozen fresh" herbs compare to fresh?

I noticed my grocery store has "frozen fresh" chopped herbs (basil, cilantro, oregano I think, among others) in the freezer section. How would these compare to

What does it mean to 'salt' a steak prior to frying?

I see some references on this site to 'salting' a steak before frying it. What does this mean? Should I coat the steak in salt? I can imagine that would result

What is unique about veal and how can I take advantage of this in my preparation?

First off, I'm talking about what they call Rose Veal here, not the crate Veal which has given the meat such a bad name. So, I've tried a few recipes: a roast,

Are there any cooking techniques that employ "Dry Ice"?

I was watching a cooking show and one of the chefs used dry ice to "flash freeze" some fruit for a dessert - are there any other uses for Dry Ice that can be em

How do you score pork skin?

We cooked some pork belly over the weekend and part of the recipe is to "score the skin". We have some sharp knives but nothing really worked well. It was real

How to distinguish between different types of squash?

Last spring I planted two seedlings that claimed to be pumpkin. They've grown long tendrils and lots of leaves, and have made several flowers, and I thought tha

What is that gooey stuff from okra?

When cooking okra in a bit of water, the water becomes gooey. What does the okra release that makes the water slimy? Would the goo have other culinary uses (a

Removing turmeric colour from mortar and pestle

We have a large granite (I think) mortar and pestle, and while keeping it clean generally doesn't seem too difficult, I have absolutely no idea how to avoid it

difference between glucose syrup and sugar syrup?

I am not talking about the chemical difference (sugar is chemically a molecule formed by two monosaccarides: glucose and fructose). I am wondering about the dif

Is rare duck breast safe?

Other forms of poultry are regarded as undercooked at the slightest sign of pink juices and yet it is common practice to cook duck so that it's medium rare. Is

What are things to look for when choosing a raw cut of Steak?

I'm guessing that when chefs go to the meat market early in the mornings to choose the best cuts of beef, they are doing it for a reason - what do they look for

issues with mexican restaurant-style white cheesedip

Recently I was trying to replicate the Mexican Restaurant-style white cheese dip that can be found in mexican restaurants around the south east United States.

How do I stop the pressure cooker from clogging up when cooking lentils?

When I cook yellow lentils at home, the valve of the pressure cooker seems to clog up. How do I prevent this? By clog up, I mean that the pressure cooker sits

How long can I keep eggs in the refrigerator?

To keep eggs useful and healthy, what is the average time I can keep them in refrigerator? Can I freeze, and re-use them after melting, or will they be useles

How do I make homemade Salsa thicker?

I have been playing with homemade salsa for a few weeks now and I can't seem to figure out how to get that thicker tomato texture that a lot of southern Mexican

Substituting lime juice for lemon juice in hollandaise/mayonnaise?

If I have fresh limes on hand but not fresh lemons, can I use the limes to make hollandaise and mayonnaise? Assuming it works, what effect will the lime juice