Latest Cooking Answers

Boiling eggs on an electric or gas stove: why the boiling time difference?

Having fairly recently moved from a country where cooking on gas is the standard (the Netherlands) to a country where cooking electrically is the standard (Swed

Is Greenpan safe?

We've been using this environmentally friendly non stick pan called the Green pan from Costco and I've done some research on it, but I cant seem to find anythin

If tomatoes are fruit

isn't ketchup (catsup) technically a smoothie?

Why did my "goat cheese espuma" flop?

I recently got myself an iSi Creative Whip and have been having a lot of fun playing around with it. Tonight I tried one of iSi's recipes, which uses the follo

Are European white truffles significantly superior in flavour to those from North America?

There is a rumour that white truffles harvested in Europe by pigs or dogs are much better in terms of flavour than those from North America, hence the reason fo

What's the correct way to store fats?

What are the decision parameters, when you have rendered fat to store? Glass or plastic? Refrigerated or not? I'm not looking for long-term storage; just what's

Does it harm juice if I store it in sub-zero temperatures?

I have several packs of juice (or multivitamin nectar, to be precise), and I can either keep them in our flat or put them outside, where it's freezing during th

How do I prevent stickiness in a rice cooker?

I have a Cuisinart dedicated rice cooker and I love the benefits. However I get a little bit of stickiness around the sides of the cooker. A friend recommends

Would these ingredients work for a Gift In a Jar?

I am planning on making a Gift In a Jar for a cake. An example of a Gift In a Jar can be found here. Basically I would be putting the following ingredients in t

Why did my Turkey Stock turn into gelatin?

We took our left-over turkey carcass and parts and simmered them for a few hours with water in a pot with some herbs and veggies. After removing the solids, an

Cleaning a Sieve

Is there a better way of cleaning a sieve, other than stabbing at it with a brush, in a manner such as this ? I can't help but think there must be....

What is a French Rolling Pin?

I was recently given a 'French Rolling Pin' as a gift. To me, it just looks like a fancy dowel-rod. What exactly is it, and what is it useful for?

How to replace chicken with tofu in a curry

I've never cooked tofu before and I appreciate that using a store-bought jar of curry sauce and expecting it to work nicely may be a little optimistic. However

Mysterious Disintegrating Udon noodles

A few weeks ago, I had a very strange experience making udon noodles. Almost instantly after adding the dried noodles to boiling water, and giving a slight stir

How can I maximize the caffeine content of my coffee?

Like many people, I rely on coffee in the morning to really get me going for the day. I always use more than the directions require to get more caffeine for tha

How can I get a takeaway style pizza base?

I would like to make a pizza base that is similar to takeaway pizza, in other words a base that is quite thick, spongy, chewy and stretchy. Domino's and Papa J

What to do with broccoli stalk?

It is kind of annoying to buy broccoli and pay per weight when there's this huge and heavy stem, so I was wondering what I could do with it? I know that it can

Help with ground beef seasoning: flavors are weak

So I routinely serve up very simple style burritos in my apartment (beef, sour cream, cheese and white flour tortillas), and I've grown well past the days of us

How do I recognize a silver utensil?

Being visually impaired, looking at the color of a utensil doesn't tell me whether it's silver or not, so I'm wondering if there are other easy ways than simply

What's the best way to crack open a Brazil nut without breaking the nut?

How does one crack open a Brazil nut in order to get the whole nut? When I go to the store I can get entire nut meats. Unfortunately, with whole nuts, it's a pa

Replacement for alliums?

I am going to be cooking for someone who, because of Crohn's disease, is unable to eat pretty much anything from the allium family (ie. onions, garlic, shallots

My bread is tasteless

I'm in the middle of trying to tackle making baguettes without all the fancy equipment of a typical bakery. I'm getting closer and closer to a perfect texture

Will vegetables and fresh herbs last longer in the refrigerator in a plastic bag?

Is there a difference between how long fresh herbs and vegetables last if they are in a plastic bag or in the open? If it does, is there a break-down of which

What kind of pie is this?

So over the thanks giving holiday my wife asked me to go get the apple pie out of the chill chest. However there were three different pies in there and they al

Does vinegar increase the iron we can digest from Spinach?

I heard tale of people using vinegar to break down or concentrate the digestible iron in spinach. Is this true? If it's true, the key things to know would be:

is broth that hasn't been boiled safe?

I was making turkey broth last night in the oven (turkey bones and leftover meat in a stockpot in a 170 F oven for 6+ hours). I read about this technique on a c

Does canning stock raise its temperature too high?

I've read that the ideal way to make stock is to: crack the large bones place the carcass in a stock pot cover with water bring it to a simmer (not a boil)

Can I substitute Fenugreek seeds for leaves?

I have accidentally brought a load of fenugreek seeds, as apposed to leaves, and wonder if I can use them as a substitute. if not, what any ideas for what I ca

How do you reduce a cream sauce?

My wife made a cream based sauce last night and the recipe said to "reduce" it. The cream sauce was comprised of some white wine, couple cups of heavy cream and

How long will uncooked chicken keep in the fridge?

My wife is obsessed about not leaving uncooked meats in the fridge longer than a day (esp. Chicken). If we buy chicken breast and we're not going to use them th