Latest Cooking Answers

What is the correct way to make "Brazil style" BBQ meat?

I'm interested in cooking some meat Brazilian style, like they do at those BBQ restraunts where the meat is served on trays in small slivers. Is there an effect

Hard Candy Hardens Too Quickly

I recently made some hard candy; 2 cups sugar 3/4 cups corn syrup 1 cup water Heat to hard crack I was hoping to be able to work with the result, coloring

Choux pastry (Chocolate eclairs) doesn't rise

Last time I tried to make Chocolate eclairs (similar to cream puffs), the choux pastry just sat in the oven and basically fried. It didn't rise/grow and so I c

Le Creuset vs. Lodge Enamel

My wife and I both love to cook and I'm looking to buy a nice, 6 qt, enameled dutch oven. Le Creuset is the first that comes to mind, but I've been doing some

Stew beef, overcooked or undercooked?

If my stew beef is tough (it's been on a small flame in liquids for about an hour), does it mean that it is overcooked, or undercooked?

What can replace milk in crepes?

I want to make crepes, but I am out of milk. Can I still make crepes? What can replace milk in this application? I do have yogurt, beer, eggs, cream, butter,

Is there a technique for making larger batches of roux?

Following along the approach of freezing roux, I would like to make some in bulk. I am also trying to do more batch cooking for freezing and making 8 quarts of

Where to find a crepe maker

In my childhood I have memory of a clockwork crepe maker using an alcohol burner. It was quite compact, and sat on a small side table The glow of the burner an

How to achieve great baguette crusts

I have baked baguettes a few times, the recipe I used was something from the net which might or might not be good. It went like this: 13 dl wheat flour 5 dl cl

Why is there vinegar in the bread recipe?

Yesterday I made bread based on a recipe I found on the flour bag. It contained both rye and wheat flour but also three tablespoons of vinegar. I've never seen

How long to preheat oven?

This is a silly question, but my wife will turn on the oven to preheat while she prepares stuff, but sometimes it takes her 15 minutes to 45 minutes before she

Cooking alcohol: how many calories are lost?

Google fails me. I'm curious how many calories are burned away when you cook various kinds of alcohol...wines, liquors, beers (including lite beer).

Apple Cider is too sweet for gravy

Hey. I'm in Vermont. We have lots of apple ciders and lots of amazing apples (let me recommend this year's lady apples...bet on 2010 Cider! ) I've been roasti

What are the advantages of using a stove instead of an oven?

Are there any advantages to using a stove instead of oven? As a woman of science, this is a question that has been lingering in my noggin for a very long time.

Fruit salad with tomatoes

In a recent trip to my local supermarket with the intention of purchasing items for a fruit salad, I picked up some oranges, bananas, lemons, grapefruit, and a

Why is cocoa powder sometimes used in chocolate cakes when chopped semisweet chocolate is already used?

I found a flourless chocolate cake recipe that I want to try, it uses semisweet chocolate which I thought would have enough cocoa solids already but it calls

How can I clean my oven window?

My oven has a convenient window on it. It is very old and covered in soot. I tried what many recommendations say and used water and baking soda together, but

How do you calculate volume of pasta from its weight after cooking down?

I am hoping to make two 3 quart casserole dishes worth of macaroni and cheese. The recipe I have calls for using two pounds of pasta, but doesn't indicate the v

What are these spots on my butternut squash?

I just roasted a bunch of butternut squash for dinner and am getting to puree, but am noticing that some of the pieces have weird glue-looking spots. It sort o

My ginger is blueish... is it safe?

I bought ginger at the grocery store last week and kept it, unpeeled, in the fridge. Today I sliced it open and there is a ring of a blueish colour, instead of

Cracking open a pistachio

Is there a special tool available just for cracking open pistachio nuts? I'm asking because as I have gotten older, I have developed severe arthritis and joint

Why does Swiss Cheese have holes?

I've always enjoyed eating cheese. Just getting that out of the way. I've never quite figured out why Swiss Cheese has holes! I mean, I can understand different

How to remove a smokey/ charcoal taste from food?

I just cooked a huge batch of burrito filling. Everything seemed okay, but then it turned out to have a really disgusting charcoal aftertaste. I think maybe s

What is a nutrient for yeast?

I was looking at a recipe and it said I needed to add sugar, ginger, yeast and yeast nutrient and other stuff. I would have thought that it would be referring

Separated, grainy ganache (Dark and Stormies from Grewelings's book)

I tried making "Dark and Stormies" out of Greweling's book (Chocolate and Confections). The center is a white chocolate ganache infused with vanilla and ginger

How would you use a lot of lemons?

We've got a lemon tree and an overabundance of lemons at the moment. Aside from lemonade, what should I do with them?

Cooking an eggless cake

I am about to cook a cake. I have bought the cake mix. Now, in the instructions, it says that I have to mix it with the vegetable oil and add egg. Unfortunate

What is bakery emulsion and how is it different from flavoring extract?

I was in Ross for Less and saw (and bought) a bottle of lemon bakery emulsion because it just sounded good. Looking online it seems that it is a one for one re

How to stop cupcakes from collapsing?

I made two kinds of cupcakes recently from Who You Callin' Cupcake? and both of them collapsed in the center. The cupcake that collapsed the most was the Devi

How should I prepare dried chickpeas?

I've never used dried chickpeas before, but I'm not wanting for chickpea recipes. The bag of dried chickpeas I got contains no instructions for cooking. I know