Because onions contain a lot of flavour compounds that we like, and which are synergistic with meats.

Onions contain proteolytic enzymes, just like honey and certian fruits, which makes them ideal to help tenderize meat.

They are a very common type of vegetable that's low in calories, and have a place in nearly every cuisine around the world.

One prime example is a dish from Japan known as Chaliapin Steak , which is a dish where you score the meat (make grid lines), pound the beef, and cover both sides of the steak in chopped onions.

Just letting the steak sit in the onions makes it so tender you can cut it with a fork or chopsticks.

In this study they compare using onion with meat over a roughly 30-day period in refrigeration.

At the 30-day mark they have a sensory panel compare the 30-day vs non-onioned 4-day meat.

The sensory panel concluded there was no significant difference, but a small fraction preferred the onion meat (30-day).

This can suggest onions also have enzymes that inhibit lipids to improve longevity.

Actually, yes the onions are there to add flavor, but they also contain enzymes that break down the meat fibers making it more tender, this can also be done with pineapple and other fruits like kiwi.

But the fruits add a fruity flavor which doesn't taste good to most when eating a steak.

Onions however, add a much more savory flavor.

@Chris

- Marinading a good steak doesn't ruin it, all it does is add flavors that weren't there before.

Now granted one can buy some A3-A5 beef and have an extremely tender steak, but you are paying a lot of money for that meat.

Marinading is a flavorful way to make very tender steaks at half the cost (OR LESS!)

Onion contains an enzyme called or chemical named tridyhydrochrmiderm not sure about the spelling but it breaks down meat much like a spider

does it's food ..

its really cool watching this take place...

it's way better in studies then any placebo could ever be...

Technically onions have special enzymes that are used to break down protein, so when we put it on steak or any other protein it makes the meat tender as well as soaking the taste of the onions into the meat.

Question: Most recipes call for onions when marinading steak, but...why?

Why do you marinade steak with onions?

Marinading a steak with onlions adds flavours and  enzymes that help to tenderise the meat by breaking down the proteins.

Onions have flavours that go well with meat and contain enzymes that tenderize meat.

Onions have flavours that go well with meat.

Onions contain enxymes that tenderize meat.


I don't endorse beef in the microwave, but that said, the best possible way to cook it is going to be on one of the microwave plates that raise your food off the plate.

(the ones that look like the inside of a george foreman grill)

You are going to have to play with your power settings a bit to achieve a optimium patty.

In mine, it's 2:30 at 40 percent power and 1:30 at full power but depending on wattage, your particular times are going to vary.

The trick to having an edible patty come out of the microwave is use low power to achieve the desired temp and then hit it at full power to get the outside done.

It will always produce a slimy-er patty than cooking it on a stovetop or in an oven.

Make sure that you cover the patty during cooking as it is going to spatter like crazy.

You don't want to clean that mess up.

If you have access to a toaster oven, you can cook a patty in that in about 15 minutes and you will have a much closer to delicious product.

I would defrost them first in the microwave and it will cook them a little if you defrost too long.

Then I would cook them for around 2 mins and see how close the center is to how you like it.

Microwave Burgers taste different then

Pan fried.

However do not allow to cook too long or the outside edges will become chewy or very hard.

Practice makes perfect.

I have done this at work where I cannot fry them in a pan.

So, just a clarification on this thread.

None of the responses includes the power rating of the microwaves used.

So, my experience with my 700 watt microwave is that two patties, on and under paper towel, cooks to medium done in 8 minutes.

Hope that helps.

With that information, I'm estimating the power ratings of the machines in previous answers to be 1500 watts.

I wouldn't tell you to cook them microwave either, deforst is a good idea but don't cook them in the microwave, they will not be crispy as a normaly cooked burger would be.

Good luck Lorenzo and have a nice day

I am a microwave expert.

I have never cooked a meal in the oven in my life, and after decades of working directly with microwaves, I can tell you that defrosting is a waste of time.

If you have a microwavable sandwich, just set it to cook for 3 minutes and 43 seconds.

You can flip it over around halfway and you will be set.

Minutes after you eat your perfectly cooked sandwich, you can say "Gee Peyton, you are a genius.

" You are welcome, America.

Yes you can, although if you have a skillet or grill handy I'd use that instead.

I'll assume you don't.

The exact amount of cooking time will vary based on burger type, whether they're defrosted first, and the microwave itself.

Some pointers include: Put it in a covered microwaveable container with the lid slightly ajar (or improvise by inverting an uncovered container).

This prevents splatters and helps keep too much steam from escaping and drying out the burger.

Let it stand for about two minutes once it's done.

If it's properly cooked and goes straight from the microwave to your mouth you would get a grease splatter or burn.

Putting the microwave on medium instead of high will usually prevent the outside from getting overcooked.

Although a microwave should get the meat hot enough (165 F) to be safe, it won't be the same as cooking it on high heat like a grill or skillet.

Microwaves can't really get your burger above boiling point (212 F) for the same reason a stew won't get hotter than boiling-

any water that gets hotter than boiling can evaporate, taking heat away in the process.

Also, a hamburger is thin enough that the microwaves will penetrate the hamburger and it can cook all the way through, unlike some thicker kinds of food that will not cook properly in a microwave.

I agree that, although meet in the nukerwave isn't the most delicious, that wasn't the question!

It was " can I " and " how long ".

I live out of my microwave.

I make hamburger patties in the nuker all the time (as well as pasta and rice, which everyone says DON'T !

I say

Why not ?!)

I buy my 85/15 patties from SAMs club so they're pre-made, not very thick.

Paper plate, 2 pieces of paper towel on the plate, 2 frozen patties on the plate, one piece of ppr towel over the patties, 5-6 min on 50% power gives me medium/medium-well patties.

If I season the patties I do so after about 4min and remove the top ppr towel.

If I'm making a cheese burger, after the burgers are done I add the cheese slices, add 30sec @100% power and leave them in the microwave to 'rest' and melt while I prepare my plate.

You may need to adjust the length of time a bit depending on your microwave and your desired wellness of the patties.

Perfect burgers?

No.

As good as coming off the grill?

No.

Still perfectly OK burgers for a quick meal in about 8min total.

I microwave frozen hamburger patties all the time.

For a perfect microwaved burger: 1) Put 2 paper towels over and 2 under the frozen patties. 2)

Place patties inside a paper bag (I use the small brown "ice cream" bags from the grocery store. 3) Place (sealed) paper bag on a plate and microwave for 5 minutes at 50% power.

This will give you perfect medium burgers.

I normally cook 2 at a time.

If you like them med well, cook for an additional 60 seconds on full power.

The paper bag will keep the steam inside, which will keep the burgers moist and not dried out.

It will also absorb all of the fat.

It is optional of course, but I find the burgers taste much better when cooked this way.

I guarantee you will love this method...and no spatter, mess, or clean-up needed.

Bon appetite!

Question: I bought some hamburgers (I mean the meat, not the full sandwich) in vacuum packing and I froze them in the freezer.  Can now I cook them in the microwave? If so, how and how long?

How do I cook a frozen hamburger in the microwave?

The microwave is not recommended for cooking beef, but you could defrost them there first. If you have a toaster oven, this will cook a patty in about 15 minutes with good results.

You should defrost it in the microwave it before cooking and raise it up off the bottom.

The microwave is not the best way to cook hamburgers. You should defrost them first.

A toaster oven would be a good quick option.


Finding a non-cow subsitute for parmesan is a difficult task - Grana, the closest, is made from cow milk as well

so it's no good.

You can try using Pecorino which is made from sheep milk, and has a slightly stronger flavour.

I've never tried it personally, but it's not rare in some regions of Italy to make pesto with pecorino, so it's definitely worth a try!

I've been making my pesto with Pecorino Romano (may just be labeled 'Romano'; also, look for the brand name Locatelli) for years, even before I figure out I had issues with cow's milk.

(note, there are a few different versions of Pecorino, as it basically means 'from sheep'; Pecorino Romano is specifically a hard grating cheese).

Some people don't like the Pecorino Romano; I remember discussing food with my former boss who had grown up in Italy (and even ran for Italian Parliment a few years back), and he thought Pecorino Romano was too salty and strongly flavored to use in risotto.

(of course, I make my own stock, so I still needed to add salt from other means).

The only other non-cows milk cheese that I can think of that might work, that's might be easily found would be Manchego Viejo; it's an older varient of Manchego that grates well.

I would've recommended Cheese Net's World Cheese Index, but it looks like the site's gone ...

you may have luck through Archive.org's Wayback Machine

The original recipe (in Italian, here a version in English also, at page 7 - warnings, it's a pdf) for pesto alla genovese (Genovese pesto), by Consorzio del pesto alla genovese

(Genovese Pesto Consortium), requires both Parmigiano Reggiano - or Grana Padano - (cow's milk cheese) and pecorino (sheep's milk cheese)

but in a 3:1 ratio (3 parts of parigiano and 1 part of pecorino ).

Therefore pecorino (I prefer pecorino romano in this recipe) is required , it cannot be a substitute for a true pesto alla genovese .

I suggest to make a little portion apart with pecorino only for the person with intolerance

( pesto alla genovese is quite easy to prepare).

But beware : as Joe wrote, pecorino is more salty and strongly flavored than parmigiano .

I agree that using Pecorino Romano is a good and simple solution to this problem.

I have also tried goat "Parmesan" which I found tasted really good, and not very goaty.

Our local farmers market has a goat farm that sells a wide variety of goatsmilk cheese in types that would normally be made with cows milk, so I am rather lucky.

The other question linked by sarge_smith in the comments covers the common substitutes I can think of (including cow's milk substitutes, despite the question title).

They do all tend to be nearly as expensive as parmigiano reggiano, though - in the $10-20/lb range at my grocery store.

So, just in case price is your concern, reggianito is a decent and much cheaper substitute.

It's an Argentinian cheese, originally made by immigrant Italians who missed their native cheese.

It's not aged as long as parmigiano reggiano, but it's still a nice hard cheese for grating on pasta, or the sorts of recipes you probably have in mind.

Wikipedia says it's often sold in the US as parmesan; I can't really speak to that except to say that I don't think I've ever seen "made in Argentina" on a wedge of "parmesan".

My grocery store carries it, though, and it's significantly cheaper than even the cheap US parmesan, let alone the good imported stuff.

Grana Padano or Trentin Grana are both original Italian cheese with similar flavour as long as they are very different for an experienced "user" ...

I'm against other "imitations", specifically born to be exported, being fruited by a less skilled environment and making it think they can be quite the same ...

as I said in other similar isuue question, I'm not going to do a religious war, but I can assure "parmesan", "reggianito" and other surrogates are what they are ... surrogates!

BTW, "parmesan" is not "Parmigiano Reggiano" ...

the latter is the top quality italian DOP cheese, being different (much flavored) that its sons, Trentin Gana and Grana Padano.

Each of these tree products are great original italian cheese, with different characteristics ...

everything else is "the same" only in the measure the user don't have the ability to distinguish.

My 2 cents

In my opinion you can generally substitute pecorino romano or grana padano in place of parmesan (parmigiano reggiano) .

If price is your concern you'll find both those cheeses slightly cheaper than parmesan.

The thenibble.com website has a cheese comparison chart for the Italian hard cheeses.

There is a vendor at my farmer's market with an aged, hard goat cheese that is very similar to parmesan, but that probably won't do you much good.

(Unless you're in San Francisco.)

If you aren't being too heavy-handed with the cheese, straight pecorino-romano may work, but the flavor is pretty intense.

The stuff I buy tends to be salty, so you'll want to back off on the salt.

You might also try aged manchego (manchego viejo), something at least a year old should grate well.

Or a combination of manchego and pecorino (in a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio).

If you have a good cheese shop near you, just ask.

They're usually run by people with a keen interest in cheese and a lot of domain knowledge.

Question: My family loves Genovese pesto and we'd started making our own (with varied success). One of our number has been diagnosed as intolerant to cow's milk. This rules out pretty much all shop-bought varieties, so we now have to take the homemade route seriously. To help us out, please can you suggest non-cow's milk cheeses that we could use instead of Parmesan?

Non-cow's milk replacement for Parmesan cheese in Genovese pesto

You could try Pecorino Romano, which uses sheep milk and has a slightly stronger flavour, or Manchego viejo, which is aged and should grate well.

You can get a goat parmesan or a reggianito.


Probably not the kind of answer you are hopping for, but in my case what my dad (he loves fish, mom and sisters dont) ended up doing was buying a second electric toaster-oven and just use an extension and cook it in the backyard... :

S

I guess you could use an electric or gas camping stove too.

If there is no backyard... maybe rooftop?

Other than that its just fish fest

whenever my mom is away got a trip or something :/

i have found that a lampe berger works well to eliminate strong scents after cooking (http://www.lampeberger.us/) -- after all, they were originally invented to help reduce the odors in hospitals and mortuaries!

(you can read about their history at wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragrance_lamp ).

i use mine after a night of deep frying food to get that smell out.

i'm pretty certain it would work on fish just as well.

Lemon juice neutralizes smells very well.

Apply to hands in order to remove fishy smell, and to remove smell from enclosed space such as kitchen, squeeze lemon into spray bottle with some water and spray around room.

Many fish really only smell "fishy" when they're not longer fresh (there are some that just always smell potent, though).

Most fish at your local supermarket isn't really at its peak.

Unless she's extremely sensitive to the smell of all seafood, switching to different or fresher fish may leave your kitchen smelling better afterwords.

For saltwater fish, the freshest fish will be the ones that were frozen on the boat and remain that way until you take it home to defrost properly.

I also prefer my shrimp to be individually quick frozen (IQF).

This approach will limit your preparation methods, but broiling the fish seems to confine the smelling-up to basically the time between removing the fish from the oven and finishing eating it.

It doesn't need to be a full broil; you can just put the oven up to broil with the fish removed and you'll still only need to cook it for 5 minutes or so.

Just make a little bowl of foil to fit the fish, spray hit some kind of non-stick spray, add the fish, add some sauce/fixings, pop it in the oven.

It will be done before it has much chance to smell.

Question: More specifically while cooking it indoors.  My girlfriend hates seafood and hates the smell, is there anything I can do to get this smell to go away faster or reduce its potent aroma when cooking with it ?

how to curb the smell of fish?

Broiling the fish will limit the time that the smell permeates the room, and lemon juice in a spray bottle or a lampe berger will help to reduce the odors after cooking.

You can broil the fish to reduce smell and make an air spray with lemon.

Try using a lampe berger.
Use a spray with lemon water.
Broiling the fish will reduce smells.


If you really don't want to defrost it, you need to do something that will make it less hard when frozen.

One choice, if it doesn't conflict with your allergies or your flavor profiles, would be to add alcohol - a liquor of your choice will make it freeze significantly less hard.

Another option would be to make it less susceptible to crystallization when refreezing, so that you can defrost it on the counter (or 20 seconds in the microwave).

Try adding about 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum to a quart of ice cream base, that should reduce your crystallization problem a bit.

You may need to reduce the agar a little to compensate.

(I learned this from pastry chef Dana Cree).

Uh, I'm confused:

what's wrong with just letting the ice cream thaw a few minutes at room temperature before serving?

Isn't that what you do with any ice cream?

One option I recently and inadvertently tested, was adding more fat.

The recipe I normally use calls for 2% milk, but I purchased whole milk instead.

The slightly higher fat content made the ice cream soft enough that I didn't have to warm it on the counter

like I always had to do before.

Now since you are going Dairy free, you'd have to find your fat somewhere else.

Commercial premium ice creams have a range up to 16% fat content.

A combination of that and the air whipped into the ice cream, keeps them soft and smooth.

The same principle that applies for alcohol (as Michael was stating) applies for fat.

With a much lower freezing point, it will help keep the ice cream stay soft.

I’m

not sure what type of oil you are using, but Corn oil has the lowest at -20 C, Sunflower might be a little more neutral and with a freezing point of -17 C, it should keep a nice soft consistancy at a low temperature. .

Well, that's basically where ice machines come into the game.

Often ice recipes tell you to stir the ice during the freezing process every 5 to 10 minutes or so, so the ice will stay softer.

That's what ice machines are taking care of: While freezing the ice they constantly stir the mass, so in the end you will get the perfect soft ice.

Anyway if you then place this ice in the freezer, it will become hard nevertheless, since finally it's all a question of temperature.

So you might either go invest in an ice machine or get the ice out of the freezer (and into the fridge)

some 15 to 30 minutes before serving it.

There's definitely no other way around it.

No sure if this is a dead link now or not

but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

We have tried using Coconut Cream (Not milk) instead of the soy milk.

This has really helped in keeping the ice cream a bit softer right out of the freezer.

We find it helps to get a mug of boiling water, and dip the ice cream scoop in it between each scoop of ice cream.

It does take a bit longer but it does help to a certain extent

- it depends how solid your ice cream is!

I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Stll to hard?

zap it again.

Over one minute it runs.

Ice cream is essentially a foam of ice crystals surrounded by sugar syrup, and air.

The amount of air--called overrun--introduced during the churning and freezing process controls how dense, heavy and "creamy" the ice cream is.

The more air ice cream has, the easier it is to scoop, since there is less solid mass being cut through.

Ice cream with less overrun will be harder to scoop but have a smoother, heavier mouth feel.

Hagen Dazs is an example of a supermarket ice cream with low overrun.

Ice cream with more overrun--

Breyer's is an example of a supermarket brand with the maximum legal 100% overrun--will have a lighter, fluffier mouth feel.

The second factor is temperature.

Sugar syrup does not freeze at 32 degrees.

As ice cream freezes, water crystals crystalize out of the syrup phase, making the syrup even more concentrated, and further lowering its freezing point.

The colder the ice cream is stored, the harder it will be simply because there will be more ice and less liquid syrup.

Good commercial ice cream shops will store ice cream in the back freezer at -10 F, but warm it to 25 F in the counter freezers for service.

Lastly, if the scooping instrument is hot (for example, dipping the ice cream scoop in hot water), it will melt a bit as it cuts through.

Sharper scoops are also more effective.

So your options for easier to scoop ice cream are:

Serve it warmer, such as by "thawing" a bit in the refrigerator before serving.

Buy or make ice cream with more overrun.

Use a hot, sharp scoop.

A bonus one--ice creams without hard chunks mixed in are usually easier to scoop.

Vodka or other ingredients in the mix will change the the freezing chemistry, but not radically--they are more for flavor (some flavorants dissolve in alcholol but not water, or because of the flavor in the liqueur itself).

Have you tried to put your ice cream in the refrigerator for 30 mins before you have it.

It should softern up the ice cream.

The time to softern the ice cream also depends on the type of ice cream.

I think the one that has less water content which means more dairy base

one take less time to go soft.

That was one of my problems too.

If you are using eggs, try reducing the amount of yolks, e.g. 4 whites to 3 yolks.

It really worked for me without adding any artificial ingredients, chemicals or compounds.

Question: I have made my recipe with many changes and the most successful effort was the addition of a Instant Pudding mix. All others were much too hard to carve and serious effort was needed to just get the spoon or scoop into the frozen delight help please. All recipes made were made dairy free using soy and tofu bases.  The responses to this question have been very helpful and have given me new directions to explore. I believe now the product I want to create is achievable. Thank you everyone.

How can I make my icecream soft as it is too hard to carve straight from the fridge?

Try adding some alcohol to make it freeze less hard, or xanthan gum to reduce the crystallisation. Increasing the fat content, e.g. by replacing the soya milk with coconut cream, and using fewer egg yolks can also help. When ready to eat the ice cream, leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes first or microwave for 30 seconds, then dip the scoop in boiling water to warm it before each scoop.

You can increase the fat content, add a little alcohol of xanthan gum or dip your scoop in boiling water to help serving.

A small amount of alcohol will stop it from freezing so hard.

Try adding more fat or using few egg yolks.

Dip the scoop in boiling water, microwave the ice cream very quickly or leave in the fridge for 30 minutes before scooping.


There are a variety of tips for quickly softening hardened brown sugar here: 10 Ways to Soften Hard Brown Sugar .

The one that worked best for me personally, when I had to do this in a hurry, was to chip off a large chunk of the hardened sugar, put it in a (microwave-safe) Ziploc bag with a damp paper towel, and microwave it for 5-10 seconds at a time until it was soft enough to use.

Don't pierce the bag; the whole point is to allow the steam to re-hydrate the sugar.

But obviously don't leave it in the microwave for too long either,

otherwise the bag will either melt from the heat or explode from the steam.

You should also let it cool for a minute or two between zaps; the sugar will continue to absorb moisture as long as the steam can't escape.

I also use the paper towel trick if I need to re-hydrate the sugar the day before.

Place a piece of wax paper on top of the sugar, then a damp paper towel on top, and seal it.

It'll be good as new the next day.

Don't leave the paper towel in there for too long though, otherwise it'll grow mold (doesn't seem like it should, but I personally witnessed it happen).

I like this method because it doesn't require me to waste any apples or bread, if I even have any around.

When I have hardened sugars, especially when I first buy rocks of jaggery, I'll grate it like a hard cheese, which turns it back into a powder very quickly.

Easy, place in food processor and process until powdered One damp it will clump together again if stored, so

just process what you need Adding steam or heating

it will more than likely make it unsuitable for storage

Wet a dishtowel.

Make sure that it is really wet almost dripping.

Microwave it for 2min.

Be carefull it is really hot and steaming.

cover top of bowl( Do not touch brown sugar)Microwave another 30 sec.

Let set for 1 to 2 min.

take out.

Break up with for and hands.

I know its not quick, but I store a slice of bread with my brown sugar.

Softens up hard sugar and never let's it get hard if a new bag.

I've done this before by steaming it.

I used a large pot of water and suspended a bowl full of brown sugar above it.

After a few minutes, it was soft enough to work with.

It seems to me the same can be done with a tablespoon of water in a bown of brown sugar in the microwave.

Just cover with plastic wrap and pierce for a couple steam vents.

Just don't cook too long or the sugar may start melting.

Put it in a container in the microwave with a small bowl of water beside it.

Microwave for 1 minute; check and (if necessary) microwave for another minute--

making sure you don't overdo it.

It worked GREAT.

Who says you need to buy a cute terra cotta teddy

bear?I left a small terra cotta planter outside during winter and rescued 3 broken pieces that weren't sharp.

I washed them off, dried them, re-wet them with hot water and stuck them on top of the brown sugar.

I closed up the bag and within 15 minutes, the top of the sugar was soft ~ 1 cup worth.

I repeated the process and it softened further.

Years ago I use to siice an apple in half....

place it on wax paper and place the paper on top of the dried brown sugar.

It use to work.....

haven't had to do it for years.

Hope this works for you.

I found the fastest and easiest way to accomplish softening brown sugar was to place the brown sugar on to a paper plate, then place an additional paper plate over the top of the brown sugar.

I then used the top paper plate to smash down the brown sugar.

Then I took my hammer to it and smashed it, it was nice and fine and soft after wards.

Then you just dump it back into your container.

Takes less that one minute to soften brown sugar.

Place the brown sugar, in an extra large airtight container.

Boil water, and put into a cup

(I usually use a couple of ounces).

Put the cup into the container, making sure that the cup and water does not touch the brown sugar, close container and leave for 30 minutes or until soft.

Remove cup carefully, making sure not to spill water.

My smart sister would place open bag of hardened brown sugar in a large airtight baggie.

Add a slice of apple between the brown sugar bag and the baggie so the brown sugar wouldn't come into direct contact with the apple.

Close airtight baggie, when brown sugar is soft, remove apple.

Place the sugar in a ziplock bag and pound into powder with a rubber mallot.

boil a pot of water, take the pot off the stove and sit the brown sugar container in it...will soften up beautifully in about 10 minutes or less.

Easy/Peasy

All of these are fine methods.

Over the years, since I don’t use brown sugar so often, I just use granulated sugar and add some molasses to it.

then I never have to worry about my bag ofbrown sugar turning into masonry.

Its a nice experiment to add molasses to sugar and mix it and see it magically become brown sugar.

This will also help you determine how much molasses to add in the future (in nearly all cases you do not need to actually combine the sugar and molasses, but you can just throw both in at the same time.)

Question: I had some brown sugar that didn't get properly sealed and so now it's too dry and solid as a rock.  What's the quickest way to soften it up and get rid of the clumps? Folks have suggested leaving an apple with it in a bag overnight; any suggestions of a shortcut for rehydrating that takes minutes instead of hours or days?

How to quickly soften hard, dried out brown sugar

You can steam chunks or microwave them with a damp paper towel for a few seconds at a time until soft. Other options include grating it like hard cheese or putting it in a ziplock bag and pounding it with a rubber mallet.

There are lots of easy methods: microwave or steam, grate it or use a rubber mallot to break it apart.

Chip off a large chunk and microwave it.


Just slice it into thin discs (a mandoline is quick) and the kids use it as chips'n'dip.

Try some natural or Greek style yoghurt and whole seed mustard as a dip.

Very crunchy and tasty

If the skin is dry or blotchy I quickly run the potato peeler over it first

Otherwise, just grating it into soups or stews is a nice vegetable filler EDIT Doh, forgot the best thing to use it for Coleslaw , it replaces cabbage perfectly.

Or you can mix cabbage and broccoli.

Just coarse grate it with some carrot, onion.

Blend it up with a little mayo and yoghurt, or lemon juice and olive oil.

Add some ground fennel and cumin seeds or some chopped mint for extra zing

In the winter I use it to make broccoli cheese soup.

I actually think the heavy stem makes for a better texture than the tops (they get very mushy).

Shave the stalk with a vegetable peeler and quarter it lengthwise.

I then use the quartered stalk pieces as a platform on which to set the florets for steaming.

The stalk pieces are immersed in the boiling water while the boiling water steams the florets, resulting in perfectly done florets and stalks after about 5 minutes or so.

When cooking the stalk, you should peel the outside first (just use a swivel peeler and take the outer skin off) before slicing it up.

The outer layer can be a bit tough.

Also, be sure to cut it fairly thin so it will cook at the same time as the florets.

If I have a few of them knocking about I'll stickem into stock, either vegetable (along with carrot peelings, onions scraps and anything else that would go to waste (except potato skins which make your stock very cloudy), or chicken if I've got a carcass going spare.

I have to confess, I tend to cut them into chunks and eat them raw, while cooking the rest of the dinner.

If you cut them into strips, I'm sure they'd make a good crunchy alternative to carrot/celery etc for dips.

Or, leave the broc whole, and stand it up in a narrow pan with enough water to cover most of the stem, and the lid on.

The florets steam, the stem boils, and you can eat the whole thing.

Once peeled and sliced, they can be steamed, stir fried, or used in salads.

I've heard broccoli stems called the poor man's asparagus.

You can peel them, dip in egg wash and then breadcrumbs and fry: really good vegetable chips

For a broccoli and cheese soup, I use Gordon Ramsey's recipe +

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, peel the stems first, and chop very finely, it helps the stalks cook faster.

I reserve a few florets for garnish.

You can also use the stalks in place of asparagus.

Slice stalks asparagus shape, roast on high heat with a little olive oil/garlic powder.

Serve with hollandaise sauce.

Or you can use it like peas:

peel the stalks, blanch until just tender but still a little crisp.

Drain and mix with a little butter and LOTS of parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Also use in place of cabbage in a quick cole slaw, i use a vinaigrette rather than mayo and pair with bbq chicken sandwiches

I like to peel them, cut them in cubes and fry them together with carrot cubes.

Once they're done, I flavor with a little pepper and salt

(not much).The real kicker is mixing some apple vinegar with sugar and pour that in the frying pan once the stuff is done.

Don't continue to heat now, that will make it loose

it's sourness.

Very delicious imho.

Question: 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 be cut and steamed/cooked like the rest of the sprouts, but are there any specialities for it?

What to do with broccoli stalk?

Shave the stalk and cut it into slices or chunks to eat raw, or add to soups, stews, stocks and coleslaw.

You will need to peel the outside before using it. Then you can either eat it raw or use it for soups.

Slice it and eat it raw with a dip.
Use it for soups and stocks.
Peel the outside before chopping.


Khymos is a fantastic resource, and has probably the best collection of recipes out there at the moment.

There's also a lot of good stuff at the French Cullinary Institute's Cooking Issues blog .

They've got a good post on hydrocolloids that's quite enlightening.

I actually disagree on the McGee recommendations.

While it's an excellent book, full of great info, I don't think it's a good starting point for molecular gastronomy (in the sense of the cooking movement rather than the more literal sense)

This very site.

Take a look at the other questions tagged molecular-gastronomy .

Of particular note is this similar question which has a great answer by daniel.

I can recommend The Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal.

He explains each recipe in detail and goes into the chemistry behind it as well.

There is also On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, which I think is the reference book to have.

The McGee book has its own Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking

Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking for a start.

Hervé

This' Molecular Gastronomy:

Exploring the Science of Flavor is a good choice if you are interested in the science behind molecular gastronomy.

You may not learn much in terms of recipes or cooking techniques but it provides lots of short essays about the science behind cooking.

Keep in mind about the bad translation though.

Question: Before frequenting this site I had never even heard of molecular gastronomy and now I am intrigued. Is there a good resource to learn about the process either web or in printed format that would be a reliable source of information?

What is a good resource for learning about Molecular Gastronomy?

Harold McGee's  On Food and Cooking is a good reference for a start, or you could try The Fat Duck Cookbook  by Heston Blumenthal or the collection of recipes on Khymos.

Try Khymos, the Fat Duck Cookbook and On Food and Cooking.


Gooey is how they are meant to be on the inside, with a thin, crisp, and lightly browned shell, otherwise it's a meringue Weeping is a common small problem, it shouldn't affect it too much, and can be corrected Check out my post of how to make them What is the best way to making a great pavlova base?

This answer has a few troubleshooting tips, including the weeping issue: What is the best way to making a great pavlova base?

Given that yours was 'gooey' inside, perhaps it was undercooking in this case?

The usual texture is crisp outside crust (which usually collapses and cracks a bit - this is a blowsy dessert, not a neat one - even if it breaks in half as you move it to a plate, just shove the bits together again and carry on) and a stable cooked foam interior, which gives some tooth resistance.

Cream on top to cover defects, sharp fruit to dress.

Passionfruit pulp is a good base, it's quite sour but with a good flavour.

Reasons

a pavlova comes out soft or weeps - remembering that most of them weep a little depending on the humidity - Overbeaten whites.

You should beat using a stand mixer on about 75% of max speed for a maximum of 8-10 minutes or you risk the foam structure collapsing and the pavlova weeping.

Start adding sugar at firm peak stage about 1 min 30s, about one dining tablespoon per 20s or so, aiming to have it all in by 6-8 minutes.

This is because the foam forms too many bonds between the protein strands, these tighten and squeeze out both air and water molecules, leaving too much free water in the mix.

Undissolved sugar.

Use caster/fine granulated sugar, aim to have it all in by 8 mins beating.

By 10 mins beating it should be dissolved so that you can't feel grains if you rub a bit of mix between your fingers.

Undercooked foam, unlikely if instructions have been followed. Overcooking.

Unlikely if instructions have been followed and oven temperature is accurate.

Humidity - this is the big one.

If the outside crust of the pavlova isn't crisp, humidity is the likely culprit.

If this happens, you can put it in a small room and run a dehumidifier, which helps a bit.

Leaving uncovered in refrigerator for several hours can also help as long as anything else that might evaporate is covered.

Basically if it's humid, cook something else.

Also - more minor - don't add water to the recipe, this is asking for trouble if humid.

Don't forget the acid source - usually 1 tsp white vinegar or sharp citrus juice per 4 whites, this helps break sulphur bonds in the egg protein

so the foam can form.

Making a pavlova is simple really, and a few technique tips are all you need.

To some extent the recipe itself doesn't matter much, it's the technique that makes or breaks it.

So what you do is: Ideally use egg whites at least a couple of weeks old, they foam to a larger volume.

Avoid fat, so use a clean metal bowl and beaters, no plastic, no yolk contamination.

Oven preheated (my own personal failing) Set timer to ten minutes.

Start beating at about 75-80% of max speed on a stand mixer.

You can use a handheld, but I don't know the times for that.

Start adding sugar at firmish peak stage, about one and a half mins.

I use a table dessert spoon or tablespoon and add a rounded spoonful every 15-20s or so, flowing it in around the close edge of the bowl to avoid too much weight in one place.

Add acid after a couple of spoonfuls of sugar.

Finish sugar by 8 mins beating.

Continue to beat until sugar is dissolved - test by rubbing between fingers.

If you have to beat longer than 10 mins you risk collapse and a bit of weeping.

Fold in cornflour (stabilises it) and vanilla or other liquid flavouring if using. Pile onto baking paper on tray in a rough circle about 4" high and roughly smooth the top.

Cook as directed.

This should involve turning off the oven at end of cooking and leaving in a closed oven until cool.

When cold, shift to a flat serving plate.

The easiest way to do this is to lift the baking paper with pavlova still on it onto the plate.

Roll one edge of the paper under (towards the plate) and gradually peel back from underneath the dessert base.

This reads long, I know, but the process is in fact quick and easy. Cheers

I'm think you overbeat the egg whites and the protein structure started to break down.

Other possibilities: not adding any cornstarch or other starch to stabilize the foam, or not thoroughly dissolving the sugar.

Weeping from what I understand is due to the sugar not being fully dissolved in the beating phase.

There should be no graininess in the mixture when you go to bake.

I have just experimented and made my third pavlova.

The first two turned out a golden colourule and a bit soft although they tasted OK.The third one was white and looks perfect.

Followed Delia's recipe plus tsp vinegar and tsp rose water.

Heat oven to gas mark 1.

Place pavlova in the oven and reduce temperature to 's' (slow) for 1 1/2 hours.

Turn off oven leave door ajar to cool and dry overnight.

Question: My pavlova turned out too soft , sticky and "gooey".  Yellowish liquid was seeping out of it during and continued after baking,

Why did my pavlova not bake properly?

Pavlova should be gooey on the inside with a thin, crisp and lightly browned shell. A little weeping is normal, but make sure the sugar is properly dissolved and the eggs are not overbeaten to reduce this. When weeping occurs, cover with cream and sharp fruit.

While this sounds fairly normal, try beating your egg whites a bit less next time.

This is relatively normal and imperfections can be covered with cream.

You might have overbeaten your egg whites.


In the world of high-end chocolate, Valrhona isn't even the most expensive - in fact, it's practically entry level.

Amedei Signature retails at a whopping $40/lb in "bulk" (1 kg) quantities.

I don't think I've ever seen Valhrona in bulk quantities and/or at a significantly discounted price.

On the other hand, there are similar-quality brands that are way more affordably-priced.

On chocosphere you can buy 22 lbs of Callebaut callets for just over $6 per pound.

Or you can get one of Felchlin's Grand Cru chocolates for about $10 per pound.

You can even buy Guittard there for what appears to be $6.60/lb.

But you'll notice that they even though they also carry Valrhona, they don't have it in bulk.

I also see Candy Warehouse selling the Guittard wafers for, apparently, $3.10/lb if you buy the 25 lb bag.

Chocolate Man sells the Felchlin Maracaibo chocolate (not Grand Cru) for a measly $7.80/lb.

They've got a variety of other well-known brands as well, although their selection is limited, they don't have a lot of the crazy high-end stuff.

Chocovic chocolate also sells at around the $10 range at most stores.

If you can find it, they distribute 10 kg and 25 kg bags (that's 22 lbs and 55 lbs ).

I'm not sure where, but if you go to their official site they explicitly mention that they make that size.

You should consider that the exorbitant prices may not be a result of where you're buying from, but of what you're buying.

Valrhona is just expensive.

You may say that is because it's better than all the others, and you may be right (

although some would disagree - it's more than a little subjective) -

but that is the price you pay for "premium" products.

They can get away with charging $13-$15/lb, so they do.

Do yourself a favour

- try some of the lesser-known brands.

A lot of them really do make fantastic chocolate

, they're just not as famous as Valrhona.

Chocosphere has been my source for around a year or so: http://www.chocosphere.com/

They are based on Oregon (unfortunately for me), but they sell all of the most common brands of chocolate.

Most of their chocolates are sold in 1 kg, 3 kg, or 5kg quantities.

As a bonus, they are really good at shipping.

I've had them ship chocolate literally across the country in warm weather and it showed up unmelted.

EDIT: As others have noted, Valrhona is NEVER cheap.

Ever.

And Valrhona isn't the only one.

I've been wanting to try some Michel Cluizel stuff, but its $40/kg!!!

I use cheaper chocolate, such as Callebaut, when I'm working on recipes.

When I'm making anything that's going to be boxed up, I may order different chocolate.

A current (and rather unknown) favorite, is Chocolate Santander, a Columbian single-origin chocolate that beat out all the Valrhona varieties I had on hand (2 or 3), Callebaut, and about 5 other chocolates I had around in a taste test.

I purchase from two sources that are cheaper than the ones mentioned already: Bakers Cash and Carry sells a full line of Guittard at rock-bottomprices.

I just discovered that there are two companies online withthat name.

The one that I use, and really love the pricing at, is here .

and L'Epicerie has the best prices on Valrhona

Try Guittard products.

I think they stand up well against Valrhona.

I use Scharffen Berger cocoa and I buy it in bulk.

I have used Chocosphere in the past - good customer service, but their prices are not as competitive as they used to be.

I've been shopping around on the web and can sometimes beat their prices by enough dollars that I try new places.

For truffles, I use the Guittard 63 (it might be 62 percent)

dark chocolate 10 pound bar.

Worked wonderfully and overall cost for the chocolate on a per pound basis was very good.

I'd have loved to try the Divine Chocolates site listed in this other answer but

"contact us for price" is a nonstarter.

I want to be able to compare prices online without waiting on office hours or having to speak to someone.

I order from worldwidechcocolate.com.

They have a LOT of different brands, and I have tried most of them.

I am a Valhrona person, but I have found Callebaut and Guittard to be quite comparable.

Question: Where do I buy good quality (for truffles) chocolate in bulk quantities (> 3 lbs)? The prices I'm seeing for Valrhona, etc on Amazon reach nearly $15/lb and that is ridiculous. Any preferred vendors? Thanks!

Cheapest place to get bulk chocolate?

Callebaut and Guittard are more affordable, or you could try some of the lesser-known brands such as Chocolate Santander. Chocosphere is also a good source.

There are other, less well-known brands that are cheaper. Try Guittard, Callebaut and Santander instead.

Try some other brands that are less well known and more affordable.

Try ordering from Chocosphere or Bakers Cash and Carry.


Most likely, you're not heating your pan enough before placing the scallops in. Without knowing your exact method it's hard to say what's going wrong, but 1-2 tbsp of oil should be enough for a normal amount of scallops.

To learn about properly heating your pan, I recommend this link: http://www.houseboateats.com/2009/12/on-properly-heating-your-pan.html

Most likely, your pan is not hot enough before you put the scallops in.

The pan should be hot enough for a drop of water to bounce around on the pan instead of just evaporating.

There have been other similar questions:

How do I prevent food from sticking to a standard (non-coated) pan?

My first advice is to use a bit more oil, maybe.

I recently did scallops with a recipe from Thomas Keller, and his recipe calls for quite a bit of oil--probably 3 tbs or more (don't remember precisely, but it was way more than I would have put on my own).

This was also my most successful pan-seared scallop batch to date, so I think he's onto something.

And to my surprise, they were not at all greasy when served.

You will need your oil to be quite hot too, as you want to be able to caramelize the scallops on the outside fairly quickly without overcooking the inside.

Another thing is to leave the scallops alone after you first place them, and turn them only once.

When the proteins are properly caramelized, the scallops will release from the pan much more easily.

Just place them, leave them alone until that side is nicely browned, turn them over, brown and serve.

Like the other comments mentioned you need to make sure that the oil is very hot before you add the scallops.

Also, for a very nice color take a small amount of butter, about half a teaspoon, and add it to the oil.

This is might go against your intuition, however, it is the technique used by most high end French restaurants to sear Scollaps, Veal, Ris de Veau, and other light colored meats.

Dont use s nonstick pan-

a pan that is hot enough to get a good sear is also hot enough to burn the nonstick coating- which is very bad for you (the fumes also kills birds).

Nonstick pans also tend to be aluminum and thin, they don't hold enough heat-

the pan cools down

and you don't get a good sear.

Use cast iron or carbon steel pans if you can, they're the best for searing.

Get it very hot - water should sizzle vigorously when it hits the pan. Use more oil than you think you need.

A 1-2 mm layer will get in between the cracks of the scallop and allow for better heat transfer.

Use a oil with a high smoke point, not olive oil.

Grape seed oil works great and is neutral.

Corn oil is cheaper, so is canola.

Make sure theyre dry when they go in.

Pat them on paper towels, then season.

Don't use frozen scallops, buy dry scallops.

frozen scallops give up juice when they hit the hot pan.

Plus they are usually soaked in a solution to make them heavier.

You can tell if they were frozen because they're be sitting in a pool of milky liquid and will likely be

white/milk colored.

Dry scallops are pink, light orange or cream colored.

If you use butter, add it when you flip.

Otherwise the water cools the pan too early.

You can baste the scallop with a spoon, but keep the butter frothing by turning up the heat.

Don't mess with it, sear it.

Let it sit.

Flip once.

Keep them apart otherwise

they steam.

Its normal for scallops to stick to a non-stick surface sautee pan.

Let them sit until they come loose from the pan.

It may take a few minutes but when they do thei will be browned perfectly.

Turn and cook another 2 min.

on the other side and spoon melted butter over them during this time.

YUMMM!

Question: When I am searing scallops, they often stick in the pan and most of the time, they are very hard to turn.  I use only a little oil 1-2 tablespoons.  Am I not using enough?

How to prevent sticking and get a nice searing on scallops

Use dried scallops rather than frozen, and make sure that the pan and oil are hot enough before adding them. Try using more oil and use an oil with a high smoke point.

Make sure the scallops are defrosted and fully dry. Use a very hot pan and oil that has a high smoke point.

The pan should be very hot before putting the scallops in.

Use more oil with a high smoke point and make sure the oil is very hot as well.

The scallops should be defrosted and dry.


It is perfectly safe to eat the peel in and of itself.

You will need to make sure that you wash it properly, as it may be dirty.

But beyond that, it's simply a matter of taste.

A lot of people don't like the flavor / texture of the peel and so remove it.

From a site devoted to kiwis : Kiwi fruit skin is definitely edible, and there's a lot of different theories about eating it.

Kiwi fruit skin contains high levels of flavonoids, insoluble fiber and antioxidants: these substances all have a beneficial effect on your body's metabolic functions (flavonoids and antioxidants) and on your digestive system and cardiovascular apparatus (insoluble fiber).

Common sense, however, should be practiced in this respect: while raw kiwi fruit skin contains these beneficial substances, it also tends to contain more than 99,95% of of the pesticides in that particular fruit (if they have been used), which largely outweighs the benefits from flavonoids and antioxidants.

In New Zealand the export Kiwifruit brand is called Zespri.

The have fully organic and close to organic orchards.

Most of the spraying happens early in the growing cycle, so by the time you buy it it has been rain washed many times.

I have family friends whom have export large Kiwifruit orchards

and it is a very organic process once the fruit has formed See http://www.zespri.com/sustainability-home/growing-zespri-on-orchard/kiwigreen.html

The green Kiwifruit is very fuzzy and not nice to eat, the gold Kiwifruit is designed to be eaten skin and all.

Kiwi Grapes (bunches of baby Kiwifruit) are also designed to be eaten skin and all Kiwifruit in New Zealand is considered a scoop fruit though (same as tamarillos, fejoas etc), and you don't see many locals eating the skin

The good part of the skin (Exocarp) is not just the dry outer layer, it is the thin living layer immediately behind that.

You'll eat that by scooping the fruit out, not so much by cutting it out For serving speed we normally cut of the ends, halve, and then place half cut down and slice off the skin working around fruit.

Then slice into small discs and serve During picking season the huge surpluses are feed to the beef cows skin and all :-)

Kiwi fruit skin is definitely edible.

But I would suggest to soak the fruit in water for a while to wash it properly and so that all the pesticides been may get washed off nicely…

I only like to eat the skin of gold kiwi as its hairless and hate the hairy texture of green..:)

I dip the kiwifruit in boiling water for a minute or so then eat the whole thing.

The dip softens the skin a little, too.

I have been thoroughly washing and eating kiwifruit for over 20 years and find the skins vary in texture and flavour if both are good

I eat them

I love the skins and always eat them.

Though, from now on, I'll give them an extra wash.

I know lots of people who eat the skin!

Kiwis are #10 on the EWG Clean 15 List, so not a big pesticide problem

Question: What should I do with the kiwi peel?  I've got no problem with its taste and feel  and eat them whole when I'm by myself.  Is it in any way bad for my health?

Should I peel kiwifruit?

Kiwis are only sprayed early in the growing cycle and the skins are clean and safe to eat when sold. If you are concerned, you could soak the fruit in water for a while or dip them in boiling water for a minute before eating.

The skin of the fruit is edible. Make sure you wash it well before eating.

It is safe to eat the skin of kiwi fruit. Pesticides are not a problem as the spraying happens early on it the season.

Make sure you wash them in hot water before eating them to remove any traces of pesticides.


Salting the water in which you cook starches (pasta, rice, potato) is an effective way of enhancing the flavour of the finished product - boiling starches absorb

salt well

(which is why adding chunks of potato to an overall salty stew will lessen the apparent saltiness of the dish.

But salt does other things.

When I am making roasted potatoes, I parboil them for 5 minutes before drying and roasting them in oil.

if you divide them into two batches and boil one half in unsalted water and the other half in well salted water (1tbsp/2 quarts water), the salted potatoes will brown and crisp much better than the unsalted ones.

I'm not sure why this is, but I would encourage you to try it because it's amazing to see.

To add flavor.

Add some butter and cream afterwards when mashing- delicious

First, as a physicist I would argue that: -salt RISES the boiling point of water.

Every student knows that. -by osmosis, being the water salty results in a lower content of water in the potato.

That is, the potato absorbs LESS water while cooking (there are some videos in YouTube showing this fact.)

With less content of water, potatoes become crispier after roasting.

If you reduce the amount of water you use and increase the amount of salt, the result will be salt crusted potatoes , with added flavor and sweetness.

Pasta absorbs boiling water as it cooks, so the salted water actually seasons it.

But whole unskinned potatoes absorb little if any water when they cook/boil, so they do not get seasoned.

Although I have no data, I suspect that neither the small increase in boiling temperature nor the tiny bit of osmosis resulting from salting the water would be of much consequence.

However, cut and/or peeled potatoes might indeed be seasoned somewhat, depending on how much cooking water they absorb.

Question: I add salt to pasta water in order to reduce the stickiness caused by starch. However, I've never seen potatoes stick together. Why add salt?

Why add salt to potato water?

Boiling starches absorb salt well, which improves the flavour, while salt added to water increases the boiling point.

Salting the water makes it boil faster and seasons the potatoes as they cook.

Salting the water seasons the potatoes as they cook.


Almonds and walnuts are good alternatives as they have a similar texture and relatively subtle flavour.

I'd go with almonds personally, as walnuts can be a little bitter.

It's not even necessarily a substitution, as pesto is just a type of sauce made from a pounding up herbs and other stuff in a mortar & pestle.

It's just that most pesto that people see is the traditional 'basil pesto' aka 'pesto Genovese' which is garlic, oil, salt, basil and pine nuts, so they assume that it's the only 'pesto' ...

you can find plenty of recipes searching for: Pesto Sicilian Pesto

Trapanese Pesto Rosso Pesto Pantesco Pesto Calabrese

In terms of nuts, I've seen recipes calling for hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts, or even a combination of multiple nuts.

I'm guessing they'd use whatever is abundant and in season in that particular region.

I've seen anchovies, capers or olives in place of straight salt; plenty of types of herbs, or even greens like spinach or arugula (aka rocket for the Brits).

(And on Good Eats, Alton Brown was a fan of pistachios in pesto; if I recall correctly, part of the argument was they were already green.)

I've used sunflower seeds in my home-made pesto for ages.

Salted or not as you prefer, they add the right little bit of crunch at a fraction of the cost of pine nuts.

Commercial pesto brands seem to quite often use cashew nuts, seemed odd to me, as cashew nuts are quite expensive.

Or you could just not use the nuts at all - would be more like a french pistou, but still good with pasta.

It's very likely that someone allergic to pine nuts would also be allergic to walnuts and almonds (I am allergic to all of them, cashews, too).

I have used unsalted sunflower seeds, but most of the time I leave the pine nuts out and add more cheese or bread crumbs :)

I normally use toasted walnuts, but have had success with macadamia nuts as well.

I find pine nuts actually a bit low in flavor, in comparison to walnuts or macadamia nuts.

Made pesto with oven toasted sunflower seeds, tasted great!!

Was not as creamy or buttery as pine nuts...but was a great and economical substitution!

On occasion I will throw in some sesame seeds (hmm...

I wonder how tanini would work out?), but simply leaving out the nut component of a traditional basil pesto will yield a satisfying result, especially if all the other ingredients are fresh and top-shelf.

Pine nuts are not actually nuts.

They are seeds found inside the structure of the pine cone.

Technically, sunflower seeds would provide the most similar flavor when looking for a pine nut substitution in traditional recipes.

Sesame seeds would also offer a solution to those with nut allergies that don't have pine nuts on hand.

Cashews are much cheaper than pine nuts when bought in large quantities.

I usually make my own pesto (from pine nuts, though) and I'd recommend almonds or cashews (depending where you get them),

cashews if you want a more subtle taste.

In addition to all of the great suggestions above, hazelnuts also work well.

Peel them first by toasting them and then using a towel or silicon pot holder to rub the skins off.

Question: I'm allergic to pine nuts, is there another nut I can use to make pesto?

What is a good pine nut substitute for pesto?

Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts and especially cashews are good options, and are often cheaper than pine nuts. Pistachios are good as they are already green.

Sunflower seeds would have a similar flavour. Other nuts include walnuts, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts  or hazelnuts.

Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts or a combination of nuts are all possible replacements.


General answer: for bread in a bread pan, 350°F until 195°–205

°F in the center.

That'll probably be around 40 minutes, I'd guess (and it seems you found) but a thermometer will let you be sure (and then you'll know how long it takes for next time).

15 minutes at 230C, then another 15-20 at 200C, until it's risen and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.

Allrecipes says: *

Most bread is baked in a moderate oven, 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the bottom of a loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Me?

I just go to Cub Foods ..

For a 2lb loaf (or 2 x 1lb loaves)

I'd recommend about 22-25 minutes at 350F.

Baking time depends on a lot of factors: loaf size oven temperature baking with or without tin dough type (wheat/rye/mix/...) Safest choice would be to use an oven thermometer.

The loaf is done at 97 or 98°C core temperature.

Another indicator is the sound of your loaf: if you knock on its bottom and it sounds hollow, it's done.

Also important: experience.

Bake the same recipe until you're used to it and the result satisfies you.

If the result isn't perfect: don't worry.

You'll end up with something edible in every case and don't need to starve.

For a nice crust, start with 250°C and turn the oven down to about 220°C when you put the bread in.

For an even nicer crust, you'll need steam.

Not only humid air but STEAM.

This question covers this topic:

How can I create steam in a normal oven to promote bread oven spring?

For the best result you can achieve at home with a simple oven use a pizza stone.

Heat it up to 250°C for 1 hour.

Then put in the loaf and produce some steam.

Your bread machine recipe might be different from a regular bread recipe.

When baking, I usually preheat my oven to 250C with a deep pan at the bottom rack with a few cups of water.

This is important to keep the dough moist but give a good crust.

When it comes time to bake, I pop mu loaf in and drop the temp to 200C.

I usually stop when I achieve a golden colour.

But you can go darker if you want.

Put hot water in a square baking pan on the bottom oven rack.

Bake bread at 350 degrees for 25 minutes for a light crust.

The hot water is crucial for keeping the bread moist.

Question: I am in the process of making bread in the bread maker, but I want to try to bake it in the oven. I am just making white bread. What temp and how long would you recommend baking the bread?

Making bread dough in the bread maker and baking it in the oven

You probably need to cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the bread, temperature and desired crust.

The oven should be heated to 200-250°C and the bread baked for between 40 minutes and an hour.

You should bake it for around 40 minutes.

It should take about 25 minutes at 200°C.


Yes there is.

It's called a knife .

I use a Shun 10" chef's knife, but you could certainly make do with a much cheaper one.

When attempting to slice a lot of regular sized items, if you're not all that picky about the orientation of the cut (eg, if it's through or perpendicular the line between the blossom and stem), you can do the following, if you have a well sharpened knife that isn't going to slide on the skin of the tomatoes: place a few together on your cutting board.

place your hand on top and arch your fingers up slice horizontally through the group of items, between the counter and the palm of your hand (no need to rush this, go slow) If you're nervous about cutting yourself, and you have plates that have a bit of a lip if you flip it over, you can put a plate down, upside down, fill the center with items to be cut, place another place on top, then while holding the plate down with light pressure, slice between the two plates.

I've found here:

http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2012/06/streamlining-tomato-halves.html great advice to take two take-out plastic containers (shape of plastic plates)

fill with tomatoes

- put tomatoes between them like sandwich, so they will not go out thanks to containers/plates boarders cut through

Take two lids off any size food storage container you find fitting.

Fill one with as many grape tomatoes your heart desires.

Place the second lid on top facing down.

Take a serrated bread knife and cut the tomatoes in half between the lids.

Mine is in fact a 13" so I can cut about 12 boxes of cherry tomatoes in half in under 2 minutes.

Serrated knives leave scar marks in soft bodied foods, like this one, so if you are using it for presentation then this is not an option.

What you can do is take two small cutting boards, or two small straight edge items, shorther then the length of your blade.

Fit, in a single file line, as many tomatoes as you can between the boards, use them to press against the fruit so hold them still then under a bridge made by your hand cute the tomatoes.

I use two six inch cutting boards which fit about 7 cherry tomatoes and a 7" non serrated blade.

Once you get good with it you can cut like 200 a minute or more if you are really good.

Even better for any tomatoes a Serated Knife (one with ridges such like a bread knife).

Question: Is there a tool to cut cherry tomatoes in half? Since they are so regular it should be possible to build such a machine.   Alternately, what can I do to improve my speed and accuracy when halving them with a knife?

How can I cut lots of cherry tomatoes in half quickly and evenly?

If you don't care too much about the presentation, you can cut several at a time on a chopping board or held between two plates. A serrated knife will be easier, but will leave marks on soft foods.

The orientation of the tomato is important. Try using a serrated knife.

The orientation of the tomato is important for cutting.

A serrated knife is easy for cutting tomatoes.


My mother had a similarly shaped pan with a lid that she'd use for baking coffee cake and such when camping.

It was all aluminum and much less complicated (and likely not as useful) as what your talking about.

The closest thing I found is the Omnia Oven .

It looks they may be had for about $50.

My company now distributes the Omnia Oven which is a modern version of a wonder pot.

These are available at http://lunatecgear.com/products/travel-gear/omnia/ and Amazon.

You are welcome to contact us if you have questions about Omnia.

858.653.0401 Cheers,Nick

I tried my darndest to find a good answer for you, but I'm honestly not convinced that these are still being made!

Here is a link to an antique one on Ebay.

for those wanting to buy a wonder pot, like me.

i found this today.

wonder pot is being sold in israel (jerusalem and tel aviv), sharing the link.

http://www.carine.co.il/htmls/page_683.aspx?c0=13572&bsp=13800 i plan to have one shipped to singapore before december.

will keep you posted how this turns out.

I'm a librarian and I found this thread because I have a patron who is also looking for one of these.

It looks like they sell them here:

http://www.seadogboatingsolutions.com/omnia-stove-top-oven.html Hope that helps!-Kate

In regard to the Wonder Pot, this item is made in Israel and it is imported to the USA by Weiss Gifts Ltd. in Brooklyn NYCan

be purchase by there site at www.weissjudaica.comHear is the direct link to this Wonder Pot: http://www.weissjudaica.com/system/scripts/results_big.cgi?product=100

Of course we still make wonder pots!

You can get one on http://www.planero.co.il/item.asp?cn_4320 (a supplier in Israel).

But I don't understand why you would want it, here it is considered a choice for people who can't afford anything better.

You can try looking at gelatin moulds, savarin moulds, tube pans, angel food cake pans or pound cake pans, they look the same as the lower part of the wonder pot:

This one has handles, others don't, and you could put them in a pot with a lid.

Question: The "wonder pot" is a type of stovetop bakeware that seems to have been popular in Israel during a period of austerity. I'm looking for a (preferably USA based) supplier for a new one.  Here's a link to a page with a photo of the item in question.

where can I purchase a "wonder pot"?

This item is is imported from Israel to the USA by Weiss Gifts Ltd. in Brooklyn NYCan, but a more modern version is the Omnia Oven. However, this is an item that is considered inferior and only for people who can't afford anything better.

The Wonder Pot is still made in Israel. The Omnia Oven is also a good alternative.

The Omnia oven is the closest alternative.

This is considered a low-quality choice.


How you are popping your corn makes a difference.

Air popped corn with flavoring added afterwards may be healthier

but it is difficult to make flavorings adhere.

Using an agitated oil popper and putting the flavoring infused in the oil will make the difference.

The flavors will be part of the kernel and not just stuck to the outside.

Lately I've seen several table top, agitated oil poppers at places like costco for reasonable prices.

Anyone ever try just popping with your regular oil, but 50/50 mixed with India Mustard oil, and then before dumping the popcorn into the oil, add 1 tsp of Turmeric powder, and 1 tsp of Reshampatti chilly powder ( hot India ground chilli ) in with the popping corn ?

When it pops, you get a hot curry taste, and an atomic yellow colored corn.

Salt with unflavored regular popcorn salt, or, powdered India "Black Salt" for an unusual taste sensation.

Dave

A method I like to use is to pop the corn in a large steel frying pan, and adding the seasonings into the oil right before the kernels begin to pop.

My frying pan ratio is 1TB olive oil per 1/4 cup of popcorn , and also up to 1tsp of seasonings into that, sometimes a tad more onto the popcorn after it has been popped.

Use a lighter olive oil if you want less of that bold flavor, but olive oil is definitely nice because a) of the flavor and b) it can nicely withstand heat and thereby pops the corn quickly.

The basic process here starts with getting the pan hot, then adding oil, then kernels, and lastly the seasoning.

The flavoring is trickier because you don't want it in the oil for too long because it can take on too dark of a charred flavor if you add it too soon.

Some seasonings suffer more from being in the oil too long (like garlic), and some don't work well with this method at all (like the Nacho Cheese).

If you can have your flavoring at the ready, wait until the very first kernel pops, and then throw the seasonings on and stir it vigorously into the oil - put the lid back on promptly so you don't loose the popcorn as the kernels pop.

Because of the flavors you mention, I highly recommend you try the Kernel Seasons Cajun .

What's nice about all their flavors is

the fine grind helps maximize coating, your primary concern, though it still doesn't all stick.

My favorite is to pop with Cajun and sprinkle on some Nacho Cheese afterwards - yum.

Another favorite in our house is a homemade powdered rosemary salt.

I've had great success infusing butter with flavor and then putting it and the popcorn in a plastic tub and shaking it for a few minutes.

To start, coat the bottom of a medium sized pot with canola oil.

-Cover

the pot and pop the corn on medium heat -Add

~4 tablespoons of soy sauce (I drizzle it over the popcorn in a big bowl, trying to get as many pieces as possible, but you do not want to drench it!)

-Take a handful of baker's yeast and sprinkle it over the soy

sauced popcorn et voila!

I use spray on vegetable oil which is a good and light adhesive, plus add extra taste to flavoring.

A search for "popcorn coating" at the patent office turned up several possibilities.

This one (# 4,767,635 - 1988) seems like it might be adaptable to home use: A free-flowing uniformly flavorant coated unpopped corn and method of preparation thereof wherein the unpopped corn is essentially oil and fat-free and retains a substantial amount of added salt and flavorant upon popping in a hot air popper comprising unpopped corn coated with an adherent flavoring consisting essentially of an edible adhesive, e.g. gelatin, an edible salt and optional colorants and flavors.

Question: There are commercial flavored popcorn (i.e. BetterMade) that aren't  topped  with flavor but coated like a potato chip.  How do I re-create that coating at home?  Specifically, I'm a fan or the 'hot' style coating (bbq, buffalo chicken, jalapeno, flame).  I've tried oils, tossing in a bowl, spraying from a bottle, but no luck  - it's just regular popcorn with a little chili powder sticking to each kernel.

How do I coat popcorn with flavor?

It may be better and healthier to add the flavouring after cooking or just before the kernels pop, possibly with oil or butter infused with the seasoning. A spray on vegetable oil may also work well.

Try adding the oil just as the kernels start to pop and add the seasoning at the end.

Air popping the corn makes a difference. Infuse the flavour into the oil after.

Pop the corn in a steel frying pan and add the oil just before they start to pop. Add the seasonings at the end.

Infuse some butter and shake the corn in a tub to coat.

Spray vegetable oil on before seasoning.


I work in a fine dining restaurant, and the standard implement is a bench scraper AKA a dough knife AKA a bench knife .

It's basically a stiff, 6" wide sheet of stiff metal with a handle, and can pressed or rocked down on the counter to cut dough into portions.

It can also be used to move shaped bread or rolls, cut pastry, fold sticky doughs, and scrape off the counter for cleanup.

They're not really knife-sharp per se, but the metal is narrow enough to cut dough well, and a knife would go dull against the hard surface anyway.

The best models have measurements engraved into them, so you can consistently size your products, and will stand vertically on the handle (for icing cakes).

Now, for SLASHING risen breads before baking, the correct tool is something called a lame, which is basically a razor with a handle.

Or, you can just use your really sharp chef knife (your chef knife IS razor-sharp, right?) and spritz it with pan spray to keep the dough from sticking.

A knife large enough to not require a slicing motion.

You want chopping or even better rolling motion.

Any sharp knife will be ok

but I have some preferences:

In a pinch

I use my plastic dough scraper.

A metal scraper with a flat blade is adequate, for example this one .

Pizza cutters are ok but if there is too much dough then they get bogged down.

My all time favorite tool for this -

and I have more than one just for this purpose - is an ulu.

This is a curved knife used traditionally by native Alaskans.

Mine is big and rolls through a lot of dough easily. from this one on Amazon

Assuming it is just yeast dough

and you aren't trying to preserve some lift characteristic, you don't want a knife.

You should have a bench scraper as your go-to tool for handling dough, it is not sharp, it is wide and flat so it does an excellent job of scraping dough up when it sticks to the bread board, and it is completely capable of cutting through dough if you are subdividing.

It is also plenty handy for actual bench scraping...

i.e. getting remnants of old dough off your cutting/bread board/counter.

My mother used to roll a sheet of dough into a tube for cinnamon rolls, then cut the individual rolls by wrapping a piece of string around the tube and pulling both ends until it cut through.

For most kinds of dough any blade will do, but you may want to sprinkle some flour on the knife if the dough is sticky (especially if the dough already contains flour; for non-flour ones, it may be a problem)

I've never seen a special knife, but I often use a long, thin, smooth edged (not serrated) blade.

Cuts cleanly.

Doesn't stick.

Doesn't crunch the dough.

The only knife I would avoid would be a serrated blade because of how the teeth "hook" material to tear.

Question: What's the best type of knife [and/or method] for cutting raw bread dough? Is a special dough blade necessary, or will any blade suffice?

Knife to Cut Dough

A large non-serrated knife or even a pizza butter with smaller quantities can work, but the standard tool is a bench scraper.

A dough scraper is what people typically use. You can also use a pizza cutter or any sharp, not serrated knife.

Try a dough scraper.
Any sharp knife will work.
Try using a pizza cutter.


@Cos is right, a pizza stone is great - so is a pizza screen in the oven.

If I don't want to heat up the oven (big oven, little piece of pizza aways seems like a waste), then a cast iron pan over medium heat on the stove with a lid does pretty well.

I have always had the most satisfactory results from preheating the oven to 400F with a pizza stone and then setting the cold pizza on the hot stone for 8 to 10 minutes?

If you just want to reheat a slice or two, you can warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute and then put it in a toaster oven on toast or a hot oven setting for a few minutes.

It's best in the toaster oven if you put the slice(s) on the broiling rack on top of the baking sheet.

Since I prefer thin crust pizzas, oven re-heating often results in something resembling a burnt cracker with some half-cold toppings on it.

To avoid this, I "fry" leftover pizza to reheat it: I place a tiny bit of oil or butter into the bottom of a non-stick skillet, add slices of pizza, cover, and place over very low heat until the cheese is re-melted.

This method allows the pizza to warm and steam gently, while also ever-so-slightly frying the bottom of the crust, so one ends up with something very near the consistency of a fresh slice rather than a dried-out, inconsistently-warmed leftover.

This technique works with everything from thin crust to deep-dish pizza; only the reheating times are different.

I like to put a heavy sheet pan in the oven and preheat it to 350°F.

Then I just slide my leftover slices onto the hot pan and bake for 5 minutes.

The hot pan crisps up the bottom of the crust and the hot oven does the rest.

Does a nice job of bringing a good slice of pizza back to life.

I found that a short burst in the microwave heats up up the whole piece.

Then, you have to immediately put it into a very hot oven to get it crispy on the outside.

(You said "the best way", not the most energy efficient.)

I use an oven at 250°F for a longer period of time--usually about 15 minutes, with the pizza either in or on tin foil.

This seems to work well, it heats the pizza but doesn't toast the crust.

Pizza stone on 350 for 10 minutes.

Or if your lazy and don't own a pizza stone, like me, toaster oven on toast for however long it takes too heat, crisp up and not burn.

With a waffle iron!!!

Leftover Pizza + Waffle Iron

= Delicious Crispy, Gooey, Cheese-Stuffed Snack

For larger amounts of leftover frozen thin crust pizza-

Line a medium/large baking pan/sheet that has at least 1/4 inch vertical sides on it with tin foil.

Use middle rack.

If two baking pans are used, use rack positions 1 and 4. 1

being the lowest rack, 4 being the higher one.

Preheat oven on Convection/

Bake at 425F to 450F. After preheating oven, place frozen thin crust pizza on baking pan/s.

Put pan/s in oven and heat for approx 30 minutes.

Check at 20 minutes to make sure not to over cook.

Enjoy!

Question: Whats the best way to reheat leftover pizza? We usually use Boboli Crust with our own toppings, or sometimes we have frozen pizza.

Best way to reheat pizza

A hot oven with a pizza stone for 8 to 10 minutes produces the best results, although you can also warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute first or fry it on low heat in a covered skillet.

Try using a pizza stone, quickly reheating in a microwave or frying in a little oil.

Try microwaving or frying with a little oil.


Contrary to what several folks have said, garlic is not crushed primarily to help peel the skin.

For example, garlic can be peeled easily with the clove intact, by cutting the small hard circular bottom of the clove (the part that's attached to the base, opposite to the pointy end).

This will help loosen the skin, which should then come off very easily or will separate if you gently slide the blade of your knife in and loosen it.

While it certainly is true that crushing helps separate the skin, making it easier to peel (perhaps some folks might do it for that reason at home)

, that isn't the reason why professional cooks do it or the reason why recipes suggest it.

Why crush garlic?

Garlic is primarily crushed to release its oils, which in turn infuses subtly different flavours to the dish than if you didn't crush.

Joe's comment above explains the chemical reaction: ...

within the garlic cells are alliin and alliinase, which when combined, form allicin, which is the 'strong' flavor ...

You might also find this article from the Washington Post, where the author talks about the art of cooking with crushed garlic in Italian restaurants, a really good read.

Specifically, the author addresses some of these key points which are very relevant here.

Crushed vs. Minced

From basic physics, something that is broken up into several tiny bits has a much larger total surface area than the whole intact piece.

Since the oils extrude from the cut surface, it stands to reason that minced garlic will release them sooner and readily, often leading to a more pungent taste than desired.

In addition, minced garlic can be quite temperamental and you might often end up over cooking/burning.

As the author notes: In its customary minced or chopped form, garlic can impart a pungent flavor that is difficult to harness.

Add it too early to a sauté or stew and garlic burns and becomes acrid.

Add it in the latter stages of cooking and the garlic steams or boils, leaving it raw-tasting and unpleasant.

On the other hand, slightly crushed garlic is more versatile and heat tolerant.

Left whole and partially smashed (just enough to release its powerful oils), garlic adapts to a range of high-heat techniques, cooking steadily and lending a mellow richness to a dish.

Usage in dishes Crushed garlic is pretty standard in several Italian dishes.

The advantage of having one or two large crushed pieces (in addition to those mentioned above) is that you can easily remove them from the dish once you're satisfied with the aroma/taste of the dish.

This can be extremely annoying to do with minced garlic.

Some of the dishes that are enhanced by using crushed garlic are: In [roasts, stews, quick meals and stir-fries], smashed garlic cloves are remarkably flexible, absorbing high heat and in turn giving off subtle but substantial flavor.

What happens when you crush?

To answer why crushing garlic works, let me quote a bit from a good answer to the very popular question on chopping onions (since we all understand onions better):

The enzymes and amino acids involved in producing the Onion Lachrymatory Factor (seriously!) are normally contained in the cells, and only become a problem when released in volume.

Using a sharper knife will avoid mangling cell walls, creating more clean separations between layers, and reducing the amount of enzymes released.

Garlic, along with onions, shallots and leeks belong to the group of plants (genus) called Allium and being very closely related, the above is more or less true.

Indeed, it makes sense that if you want large volumes of oils/enzymes, you'd do exactly the opposite of the above advice, which is to crush it and break all the cell walls!

This also aids in the mixing of the chemicals per Joe's comment above.

Note that although a large volume is "released" or ready to be released due to the crushed cell walls, they make their way to the dish slowly because of the smaller surface area.

I smash it first to loosen up the papery skin, which makes it much easier to peel.

If the garlic is raw I find smashing to be the fastest way to "chopped", hit it with your meat tenderizer and then a few seconds with the knife

and it is ready for whatever you want to do with 'chopped' garlic.

If the garlic is roasted, then smashing it turns it to a mush that is easy to spread.

For me it's more of a texture issue.

When I want the garlic to be crunchier, I chop it.

When I really want it to melt into a dish, I smash it.

In either case, I tend to use so much garlic that there's plenty of flavor. :)

There are two reasons to smash garlic.

If you are using fresh garlic, it makes peeling really simple.

Merely separate out a clove and smash it with your knife.

The skin pulls away easily.

The other reason is it does make it easier to chop.

If you going for finely chopped garlic.

Smash it, and using a chefs knife you can now easily rock back and forth of the garlic to make it fine.

This is probably going to repeat what many others have said but:

Garlic comes in a papery outside cover that you need to remove before cooking (unless you're going to roast it).

Otherwise you need to get the garlic free from this, which is best done by cutting off each end and slightly crushing the clove, so that you can remove the skin.

Remove the skin, lay the clove flat,put the flat of a knife on top, and smash down with your hand to spread the fibres.

It is then flat and you can chop it sideways across the clove to produce finely chopped garlic.

Garlic is a very complex ingredient, but its other ways of use are, I think, outside the scope of this question.

Its effects depend on how it is chopped/sliced/crushed, where it is added and how and how long it is cooked - pretty well a text book in inself.

Question: It seems a lot of people say to smash or crush a clove of garlic before they cut it up. Why is this?  I've cut up garlic both ways, and I could see crushed being potentially a little easier to handle since it's flatter and doesn't roll as much.

Why do people smash garlic?

Crushing garlic releases the oils, makes it easier to peel and chop and provides a different texture than chopping alone.

Crushing garlic makes it easier to peel and to chop.

It depends on the texture that you want in your cooking.


Where do you live?

European Pyrex is made from borosilicate glass, the same as in laboratory's equipment; American Pyrex is made from common soda-lime glass.

If you are in America, don't bother trying it at all; soda-lime glass is sensitive to thermal shock.

Even though it's tempered for kitchenware, it is nowhere near good enough for the burner.

In Europe, you could take your chances if you have a bowl you don't mind risking.

However, there is still a significant chance that it will break on the burner some day.

While I think that they use the same raw material for both kitchen dishes and laboratory test tubes (which are obviously OK on a gas burner), kitchen stuff is much thicker.

This makes it much more likely to break under thermal expansion.

If you decide to make the experiment with a borosilicate Pyrex, take care to warm it gradually, starting with a small flame, and don't pour cold ingredients into it.

Proceed at your own risk.

And ask yourself if you really have no pots better suited for the task.

Just tried it - answer is no.

Wish

i'd read this before it cracked because of the heat.

From the PyrexLove FAQ: Is it all right to use my vintage Pyrex directly on the stove?

We’d like to just nip this one in the bud and say - NO.

Some pieces actually say “Not for stovetop”, but we never put vintage pyrex bowls, casseroles or whatever directly on the stove, ever.

You can try it, but

we’d rather not risk it.

But we do get a lot of people who are asking about Flameware and related Coffee makers / pots.

Flameware was indeed meant to go directly on the stove, and that includes the coffee makers.

However, some of those came with “heat spreader” grids to help diffuse the direct flame or intense heat from an electric stove.

Some modern Pyrex (Visions, etc.) is also meant to go directly on the stove.

Again, use your best judgement, and never temperature-shock the Pyrex by putting it on something cold!

No. Tried it today melting some butter on a low heat and it exploded violently sending glass shards in a 1 metre radius.

Suprised me as I remembered using Pyrex test tubes over a Bunsen burner in science class.

Won't be trying that again.

Epic fail!

No no

no.

I cooked a whole meal and had to throw it away because my casserole dish exploded !

I was heating hot pan drippings to make a gravy on my stove top and after 5 minutes on low-med flame it exploded and glass (chunks and very fine pieces)

flew 2 rooms away!

Thank god no no one was hurt.

I have personally successfully broken a Pyrex dish through heat shock

so I'd answer this question with a, "be careful," or, "probably best not to."

In my case I was making marzipan for my Christmas cake.

I used the dish on top of a second steel pot containing water to warm the egg on the gas stove.

Then transfered from that hot location to a bath of cold water to try to quickly cool and set the marzipan.

After a few seconds in the cool water I heard a crack sound.

In lifting the the dish up, the rim separated cleanly from the lower half of the dish leaving me with a glass hula-hoop.

Question: There seems to be conflicting views on whether a pyrex dish can be used on a gas burner. Can anybody here provide a definitive answer?

Is pyrex safe to use on a gas burner?

While European Pyrex is made from borosilicate glass, the same as in laboratory's equipment; American Pyrex is made from common soda-lime glass and is sensitive to thermal shock. Unless it is intended to go directly on the stove, this could cause the dish to explode.

Normal Pyrex is not supposed to go on the stove top. Some Pyrex is specifically meant for stove tops.

Pyrex is not meant to go on the stove top. It will probably explode.

Some modern Pyrex is meant to go on the stove.


Hmm, you might omit the sugar, reduce the lemon juice (maybe by half or so), and blend the strawberries very thoroughly with the remaining lemon juice, and that way you will get a nice flavorful strawberry sauce.

If, you then strain the sauce very well, and reduce the (basically) strawberry juice to the desired thickness (I'm picturing a honey-like consistency), you will end up with a translucent, thick, and smooth strawberry not-syrup - since syrup is defined by the added sugar, as others mentioned, and assuming the natural sugars in the strawberries don't end up counting enough to make it a "real" syrup.

I don't think it will reach a really syrup-like stage without that straining, since the berry fibers will turn it into a paste instead when the water is too low for a sauce.

This strawberry not-syrup would be much more strongly strawberry flavored, for the same consistency, since the extra sugar needed to make it syrup-thick is substituted with extra strawberry juice, minus water.

You will also get much less syrup out of it, between the volume of the missing sugar, the missing half of the lemon juice, and the loss of the extra water needed to make the final product thick enough.

But, it should act, and store, much like a strawberry syrup would.

You can make your strawberry sauce syrup without sugar easily just by replacing the sugar with stevia and then adding it to a proper amount of gelatin water for the proper consistency.

It won't be the same for sure but it will be almost sugar free and thicker than water but not have the exact consistency of a syrup.

Maybe a little xanthan gum along with the plain gelatin would be a little closer though.

You could replace the sugar with some artificial sweetener.

I don't know the exact ratio, but I believe you can use less sweetener to an equivalent amount of sugar.

But by definition syrup contains sugar, so you wouldn't be able to eliminate it (or a replacement completely).

I suppose, depending on what you're doing with it (topping for dessert, waffles, pancakes), you could just take the strawberries, add some water and lemon juice, and reduce it and make a sauce instead of a true syrup...

Use Agave Syrup/nectar instead.

Reduce the quantity a little, about 2/3cup instead of your 1 cup of sugar.

Since you're using a liquid instead of real sugar, you may need to then reduce the amount of lemon juice.

To keep a lemon flavour, you could try infusing the syrup with a slice or two of lemon while it's cooking.

Definitely remove any lemon rind before bottling or using as it will be too bitter otherwise.

I always use stevia.

It's not an artificial sweetner, it's natural and it comes from a leaf.

You can buy the extract which is super super sweet (a tiny level scoop

it usually comes with equalls a tablespoon) or you can buy stevia sugar which is supposed to come to the same volume as sugar

(so you don't have to add bulk)

but it's more expensive.

I usually buy the liquid stevia drops since I make a lot of chocolate at home

and it just mixes right into other liquids I'm using.

Nice.

Liquid stevia can even come in different flavours.

Oh, right, and it doesn't have any carbs/calories!

Question: I make strawberry syrup using the follow ingredientes.   1 pound of strawberrys;  half lemon juice;  1 cup of sugar.   How can I make a sugar free (or at least using less sugar) strawberry syrup?

How can I make a sugar free strawberry syrup?

You can replace the sugar with agave syrup, Stevia or an artificial sweetener, added to a proper amount ot gelatin water.

You can replace the sugar with stevia, agave or an artificial sweetener.

You could use artificial sweetener instead.