Latest Cooking Answers

My tea bags are expired, can I still use them?

This box of tea has an expiration date which has passed but I would like to know if I can still use it. What do you think?

Secret component to make spray dough

Is there any kind of dough that can be sprayed to make it any form and extra thin? EDIT: I mean that dough was prepared with some liquid fast evaporated compon

What can I do with a failed bread?

So I attempted my first loaf of bread tonight and I blew it. It's flat and way wide (I tried a free pan loaf). It's about 2 inches tall and very spongy. It h

What are the possible substitutions for Cumin in Indian cuisine?

I've always been interested in trying to make some type of dahl or other Indian cuisine but I'm severely allergic to Cumin. This typically strikes me out for re

Is my Citrus Sugar still good?

So I made citrus sugar about a month ago... and in the process of deciding how to give it away I realized that I have been storing it wrong. During the last mon

How can I get fried prawns to be juicy?

Okay I give up, I've tried and failed about 8 times now frying prawns but they never are succulent. The recipe that I want to get done is pretty simple: De-vei

how can I tell if my pots and pans are ferrous?

I am looking into replacing my hob with an quick, induction type electric hob, but they stipulate that the the cookware must be ferrous. I have decent cookware,

Why not pork stock/gravy?

Why is it that you make stock (and/or gravy) from a roast chicken or beef or fish, but you don't do the same for pork?

Is beef 'aged' in vacuum packed bags?

I got some beef this weekend with the following label. This label is obviously not aimed at the consumer, but as I was after a single piece, the guy behind the

What is the advantage to crushed garlic over minced garlic beyond texture? [duplicate]

I use a lot of garlic in my cooking, especially minced garlic. But lately I've been doing some more recipes with crushed garlic and while I l

Where should I store nori or laver after opening, and for how much time?

My brother has given me laver for making Korean kimbap and there are ten “foils” or “sheets” in the package. I have only used four of t

How much dry ground ginger do I substitute for fresh grated ginger?

I don't use ginger enough to really justify getting it fresh, so how much of dried ground ginger should I use in recipes that call for fresh grated?

Cook Time vs. Cook Temp trade off

So I've always thought of cooking this way: Higher Temp & Less Cook time = crispier vs. Lower Temp & More Cook time = softer Now obviously this does

Is golden syrup with black around the edges bad?

I had a tin of golden syrup for a long time - longer than I care to admit. When I opened it up yesterday (to sweeten up some mulled wine), it was granular (a bi

How to make a "French Vanilla cappuccino" with a espresso machine

My wife like the French Vanilla Cappuccino they sell in restaurants like Tim Horton's. I have an espresso machine and I wonder how I could make one with it. I

How long would a no-bake cheesecake last?

I have an excellent recipe for a no-bake cheesecake that my family has made hundreds of times over many decades. For the first time today I was asked how long i

What flavor (if any) do ti leaves impart? How about substitutes?

I'm just back from a trip to Hawaii, and hot to make an oven version of kalua-style turkey. Of course, all the recipes call for Ti leaves for wrapping the whole

Does a change in altitude affect baking time or temperature?

I used to live at several thousand feet above sea level, but now I live only a few hundred feet above sea level. Will this affect the temperatures and times in

Why did my chicken soup go cloudy?

I made chicken soup tonight in my usual way - recipe is chicken flash fried, then onion, ginger, garlic added, then stock or water, then lid on and cook. Coria

substituting vinegars

I have a recipe that calls for Wanjashan naturally brewed organic rice vinegar and I do not have this ingredient. Is there another vinegar I can used instead?

Is there really such a thing as a muffin scoop?

I've been asked to get someone a muffin scoop as a gift. It was described to me as a 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup sized cookie scoop. I'm extremely confused by this r

How do I keep the rice cooker from boiling over?

I am having epic rice-cooker failure here. I measure out the amount of rice suggested by the little cup thingy. I rinse it with a bowl and a strainer until the

What is the best way to making a great pavlova base?

What is the best way to making a great pavlova base?

Why do my caramels turn out hard in the center?

I have made several batches of homemade caramels, and they have all turned out the same - soft around the edge of the 9x13 pan I use to cool them and hard as a

How can I increase the extraction of gelatin and minerals from bones into my stock?

I am interested in knowing how I can increase the solubility of gelatin, marrow, and minerals in my stock. Thanks.

My water is boiling too fast

Every time I try to boil a pot of water to make spaghetti, I leave the kitchen to go do something else (I am very busy lol). Sometimes I come back to find the p

What is the ideal way to prepare (and the type of) beef for a homemade meat pie?

What is the ideal way to prepare (and the type of) beef for a homemade meat pie? I'm really interested in .. 1. whether there is a certain preference for the t

Cake sinks in the middle when baking. Only happens when I make a Coca-Cola Cake

When making a coca-cola cake I follow the directions exactly. But when it comes out of the oven it appears all the miniature marshmellows went to the center an

indoor grilling

I own a great grill pan but the only successful thing I grill on it is thinly pounded chicken cutlets. Does anyone know if I can grill a steak (skirt steak)? W

If a recipe calls for canned beans and I want to use dried beans, what do I need to do to the dried beans first?

This is for chili in a slow cooker and I'll be using red beans of some kind--kidney I suppose. I know I need to soak them, but do they need to be pre-cooked to