General Q&A about cooking.
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One of my anodized nonstick pans[1] has developed a fractal-edged region of a slightly different color than the rest. I suspected that I had accidentally been seasoning my pan[2] and a seasoning la...
During Passover and somewhat later (until I run out of matzot) I love to make matzah brei for myself and my family as well sometimes. I make it from 3 or 5 matzot each time (with 1 or 2 eggs) and c...
What are some good, easy to make recipes based on chickpeas and ground beef? It would be great if it was something easily made in bulk, and not too difficult to freeze.
In my experience, poblano peppers range from "Are you sure this isn't a bell pepper?" all the way to "mild jalapeño." Is there any way to tell before purchase which kind it is?
I am asking an improved edition of this question. Doubtless, it's dicey to wash produce with conventional soap. But what about fragrance-free, dye-free, preservative-free, hypoallergic, non-toxic,...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrata: Burrata (Italian:\[burˈrata\]) is an Italian cow's milk (occasionally buffalo milk) cheese made from mozzarella and cream.[1] How does the taste of a bu...
I am making cheese and as a byproduct I have a decent amount of almond pulp. About 2 kilograms. I soaked and skinned the almonds, blended them and strained them with a nut milk bag. The recipe I'm...
I sometimes cook for someone who needs to avoid milk products, so I got some plant-based "cheese" (listed as cultured vegan cheese) to use instead of the real thing. I'm having trouble getting it ...
According to Wikipedia, periwinkles, clams, and mussels all belong to the same phylum, Mollusca. Thus I don't understand why the latter can yield delicious broth, but not periwinkles? Don't save...
What's this cutlet called in English? In Italian? Is it made of fish? Meat?
A handful of mishaps and a couple of oil burns has made me rather gun-shy about deep frying anything bigger than a cashew. This is especially true for something with water in it, like dough. (I ha...
Why is macaroni primarily sold curved ("elbow") but boxed macaroni-and-cheese sold straight? If I wanted to buy the non-curved pasta, the only generally-available way of purchasing it is to buy bo...
What are some foods that can be cooked, then frozen, and then thawed or reheated for a quick meal? I'm not necessarily looking for specific recipes, but ideas about general food types.
My wife and I recently tried cooking frozen green beans by boiling them on the stove. They tasted fine, but the skin of the green beans was really, really "squeaky" on my teeth. My wife didn't real...
How long do I need to marinate a piece of meat for flavor to penetrate all the way into it? Are there easy calculations based on the maximum thickness? Does it also depend on the kind of meat or sa...
I like to bake a pancake in the oven, instead of in a frying pan atop the stove. The basic recipe is the same (flour, milk, eggs, butter, salt; mix, pour into a roasting pan, bake in the oven at me...
If you leave yoghurt alone for a bit, it tends to separate and leave a puddle of liquid at the top. I was always told just to drain the liquid when it happens, but I'm wondering if it's better to s...
I would like to be able to freeze unbaked bread dough, so that at some later time I (or someone I'm giving it to) could thaw it out and then bake it. (Fresh-baked bread is nicer than thawed alread...
Tonight I was preparing poblano peppers for baking (with stuffing). I wore gloves to protect my hands from the oils, and (after a recent case where that wasn't enough) I also ran the vent fan. Ho...
I recently made a peach cobbler following a recipe that called for equal parts of white sugar and brown sugar in both the fruit mix and the topping. This got me wondering about the functions of th...
I like my food to be relatively spicy. Not everybody likes it so I sometimes overdo it when cooking with friends: near the end of the meal preparation, the food is too spicy for them and I know tha...
Why is the sweet edible part of sugar canes (Xylem?) cooked when sugar refineries receive it? That natural edible part is quite sweet on its own and can be eaten raw. In South East Asia, it's comm...
Newbie baker here: What actually is the difference between baking soda and baking powder? As far as I know, both are used to get baked goods to rise (like yeast, but not a microorganism). Since the...
I have a pellet grill which can be used to cook with indirect heat. There is a big metal plate that covers the flame completely. Basically the food cooks with hot air coming up around the sides of ...
I'm a big fan of the Spanish omelette, which is called 'Tortilla de patatas' (potato omelette) in Spanish. To prepare them, one of the first steps is to peel the potatoes and then cut them into sl...
I can't remember which, but I remember some cook book WARNING AGAINST using Flour to hold crab cakes together. Why? Why shall Flour fail, when most websites counsel "cracker crumbs and egg hold the...
There was recently a recall for certain flour, due to risk of salmonella contamination. The CDC announcement says not to cook with the flour. Naturally they are going to be conservative, and they...
I know that fermented products are high in glutamates (see minute food video), which is why wines are often used in cooking. But I'm looking for a non-alcoholic alternative to wines. That is, not ...
Many Chinese restaurant servers counsel that Choy Sum (菜心) is easier on the teeth and to chew, because it's thinner than Gai Lan (芥蘭). Is this scientifically true? Pictures Girthier Gai Lan. T...
I made a braided challah that came out reasonably overall but tastes a little dry. I'm not sure which parameters I need to adjust. The recipe I followed specifies the following ingredients: 3/...
I have an air fryer and I really like cooking my food in it. With that said, I have struggled with potatoes. For now, I have only gotten store-bought pre-baked and frozen ones. I am not sure what I...
For my indoor kitchen, I fancy installing this gas wok burner and a fire gas grill. Source for bottom pic. Can I install them next to each other, on the same cooktop? Or must I install them...
What are the pros and cons of installing in indoor kitchen an electric vs. fire gas grill? Rule out cost. Indoor fire, gas grills beneath (Pic source for Bottom 2) Electric grills beneath. ...
Many Cantonese restaurant chefs advise me to install a wok burner, even in my home, to procure wok hei 鑊氣. But "commercial wok burners blazes at over 100,000 BTU/hr!" "[A] wok burner can deliver...
How do indoor gas stove grills differ from gas barbecues? Is it redundant to use both? What can one accomplish, that the other can't? Which has more firepower? BTU? Sources — Top ...
What are some recipes or ideas for PREcooked Joya Octopus? I know this is PREcooked, but I don't want to eat it cold or warm! My apartment kitchen has merely a Frigidaire electric cooktop! I hav...
See 2:11. I paste similar pictures from Google. Top. Middle. Bottom. These flames look hazardous to me! Kylie Kwong, and the 3 men below, aren't wearing any eye or face protection! What if these...
I have a family member who reacts poorly to homemade bread with yeast in it. (Store-bought is fine, somehow. IDK.) I don't want to exclude him, but I also don't want my nice convenient bread maker ...
1. I need a new NONstick pan! Please identify and characterize this one, in this video starting from 0:03 seconds. This pan looks sufficiently NONstick! Normally, you must grease or oil a pan bef...
TL;DR: is there something I can coat the inside of metal salt shakers with to protect them? Or am I missing a better clue? I have two pairs of antique glass salt shakers (of significant sentimenta...
I am befuddled that scallops can be served with apple??? The scallops was briefly cooked over fire and served with an apple topping.
My parents eat this FROZEN lobster meat from Maine weekly. Each plastic bag of frozen lobster lasts 3 servings for them. But they're too lazy to put 1/3 of the frozen lobster meat into, then fre...
I don't know the English translation of 干燒/乾燒? Perhaps dry sear, or dry sizzle? I don't use "grill", because Cantonese restaurants confirmed to me that they don't use grills for this dish. ...
Canned beans (like great northern beans or black beans) come with fluid that is thicker than water. I believe this thickening is starch being leached out of the beans into the water during the can...
I want to make a raw vegan Malabi (also named Muhallebi). A Malabi's firm "pudding" can be made by cooking corn starch with water and/or some vegan milk, but, I seek a totally no cooking version o...
Pls see the two pictures below, taken at Run Chinese Restaurant at the St. Regis Hong Kong. My arrows point to the wafers. Top. Bottom.
I travelled prior COVID. This Hong Kong restaurant served 糟溜鱼片. I am trying to reconstruct it at home. But my American town has no Asian stores, and nowhere sells the 3 Chinese wines listed below....
I've noticed other executive chefs at other restaurants not covering their hair too. I added red arrows to point to Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong. Sour...
After I wash mushrooms in salt water, I dry them in a salad spinner. Then I insert the spinned mushrooms into my wok, that's hot with safflower oil. At this point, the wok has no water. After 3 mi...
I'm craving to buy a chinois to filter out the grime from mussel broth, but the issue is that online websites don't specify the mesh or filtration size. What do you recommend? Perhaps I should just...
