Latest Cooking Answers

How to keep 'fresh' chorizo?

A relative of mine is in food retail, and recently she gave me some chorizo. With the basic advice 'hang it in the fridge' I am not sure if it is edible as yet

How do you keep turkey from getting too dry?

It's Thanksgiving up here in Canada, and I'm wondering what can be done to keep the breast meat on a turkey from being too dry?

Should I remove the foam when cooking chickpeas?

Whenever I boil chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, I usually scoop up and discard the foam that rises to the top of the pot. Is there any reason other than for aesth

How Long to Bake Frozen Artichoke Hearts?

I'm a novice cook, but was intrigued by Megan McArdle's simple-enough-even-for-me recipe for frozen artichoke hearts: I'm also an enormous fan of frozen art

Is there anything wrong with soft shrimp?

Once in a while when I'm thawing and prepping frozen shrimp, I'll come across one that's quite a bit softer than the others. The flesh is a bit floppy and not f

Thermometers for high temperature ovens

Are there any thermometers that you can put in clay ovens, or under a broiler? Most of the thermometers have a temperature limit of 350 ~ 400 degrees. I actual

What can I do to thicken the mixture in a meat "cup?"

I've got a pound of ground beef in the refrigerator that I need to use by tonight, and have been eating pasta and hamburgers in unusual abundance lately so my u

What is the difference between roasting, baking, and broasting?

For example, when making a turkey for Thanksgiving, I generally place it in the oven (covered in foil or a turkey bag), and cook it for many hours at the recomm

The science of confit

In recent weeks I have made both duck leg and pork belly confit with rich tasting and great texture results. I want to experiment with this technique further bu

Removing the onion layers in an intact way without cooking them

I was wondering if there is a way to remove the onion layers in an intact way so they're not broken or damaged. I've done this before by slightly baking the oni

What mechanism causes a butter crock to function better than other options?

How does a butter crock work better than a plastic or ceramic butter dish? I can see how the water and stoneware would slow the butter's response to ambient

When curing sausage, which is more important temperature or humidity?

I am curing sausages, pork salami in hog casing to be precise. I am having a hard time maintaining both the temperature and the humidity necessary. I have no

Is "quick brining" as effective as an overnight soak?

I recently came across this article, Quickly Brine Chicken When You Don't Have Much Time, which suggests 2-3 hours in a 10% brine, followed by a 1-hour rest. Do

Substituting table salt for kosher salt when brining chicken

How much regular table salt should I use when brining chicken pieces? I don't have kosher salt, just regular iodised table salt. Does this really make a diffe

How can I make my scones rise evenly?

I've been making some scones and they are either falling away to one side or just sort of staying flat. I'm currently just baking them on a tray in the oven at

Can coconut cream be made from coconut flour?

I have never seen or tried coconut cream (nor milk) personally, so I have no idea what should be it, but since I need it as a ingredient in my cocktails, I deci

Defrosting frozen soup

I am planning on defrosting some leftover turkey soup for supper tonight. To make it go farther I am planning on adding noodles to the soup in addition to some

What will happen if I substitute beef liver for pork liver in sausage?

When we bought our cow this year, we opted to take all the organ meat. So, I now have a bunch of beef liver, I don't actually like beef liver cooked with onions

Can I use a Wok ring on a gas range?

I have just purchased a GE Cafe gas range. The user guide indicates: Do not use a wok on the cooking surface if the wok has a round metal ring that is place

What is the best way to make purple butter icing?

Will mixing red and blue food couloring work or is there a better method?

Cooking with a cut or burn on my hands

I know from this question that I should avoid cooking (at least without gloves) if I have an open cut. However, once a cut starts to heal, how can I tell if i

What is a poolish starter?

I asked a question about what I could add to homemade bread to stop it going off so fast and someone suggested trying "a poolish starter". I've never heard of t

What is a kitchen rag?

In his answer to a question about nail biting, nicorellius referred to not wiping your hands with the "kitchen rag". I've never worked in a professional kitchen

How much salt does brining a turkey add?

I want to brine a turkey for Thanksgiving, using Alton Brown's recipe for brining. My wife is concerned that this will increase the amount of salt and sugar in

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 long can hard cheeses last in a refrigerator?

I had chunks of various hard cheeses, mostly parmesan, in my refrigerator for varying lengths of time. Some as long as 3+ months. I've never seen any obvious

A definitive method of dicing an onion

It bugs me that I've just sort of self-taught a method of turning a whole onion into a nicely diced pile. I'm going to assume my method is inefficient and waste

Where to get or how to make hollow sugar balls?

I'm trying to create a set of liqueur and cream filled chocolates by hand. My current idea is, having created the chocolate for the outsides, to build up layers

What is a good website or book to learn kitchen techniques? [closed]

For example different cutting techniques such as julienne or brunoise. I'm aware it can never be the same as attending a proper cooking course

How to obtain rennet?

I want to make some homemade mozzeralla and I know that I need rennet but I am at a loss at how to obtain it. I also don't know which type I need out of the ar