I imagine you have tried recipes already with an appropriate quantity of xanthum gum and starches... are you making any substitutions, or omitting ingredients?

Substitutions really change the game significantly, even unwitting substitutions like sweet rice flour vs white rice flour, potato flour vs potato starch.

Substituting an alternative flour directly for wheat flour in non-GF recipes won't work (unless you find a GF flour blend that specifies so - for bread, I haven't).

And when I started GF baking I omitted some tiny amounts of ingredients as I didn't want to go out and buy a whole packet/bottle of something just to use a few grams.

Turns out some of those little things were absolutely essential.

Don't skimp on them.

Also, if using yeast, you can take a little bit and proof it to make sure it's not the dud.

Try finding a specifically gluten-free bread recipe with many positive comments, so you are sure it's not the recipe that's the issue.

Personally, my first proper attempt with no subs or omissions at making bread (my first GF bread, and first bread loaf ever - so it had to be foolproof for me) was with this recipe and it rose nicely, much to my relief and delight.

Maybe give it a try, and once you got the rising bit down, work on other recipes from there?

If they are not working even though you are following them to a T, perhaps temperature is your issue - is the water too cold or hot for the yeast ?

Are you leaving the bread in a cold spot?

I have a cool kitchen, so when my oven is pre-heating while rising I place the loaf above the stove to rise, as it receives ambient warmth from the heated oven.

I had limited success making gluten free bread.

The best result I got was from the recipe at http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2010/august/no-knead-gluten-free-bread , which resulted in a half-decent, moist loaf.

A few months ago, I bought a bread machine specifically to make GF bread.

(A risky venture as I didn't cook or bake.)

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and tasty my first loaf was; but it was a little thicker and gummier than I liked.

I used Pamela's Bread Mix http://www.pamelasproducts.com/products/baking-mixes/pamelas-gluten-free-bread-mix/ .

Sooo, I tried a few other mixes (and my own combinations)--melchhhh, I didn't like any of them.

Back to experimenting with Pamela's and researching sites/books.

Here's where I landed.

Follow the standard recipe on the Pamela's bag with the following changes to HELP THE YEAST do its work better: use very warm (but not hot) water (yeast likes warmth) add additional 2 TBS of water (the extra water is for more moisture--too much will make the dough fall) whisk the liquids together add a small amount of sugar (Stevia, maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar) to the liquid (extra food for the yeast)

A tiny smidge more yeast (heaping vs. flat) Baste the top of the loaf with a little olive oil during the last rise and leave the top open the last 2-3 minutes of the baking (if the top crust is too hard, the yeast has a harder time working the dough) DELICIOUS, soft and much lighter.

Hope this helps and happy baking!

I have only made gluten free bread once, but then I used a no knead recipe and it turned out

okay.

I generally find that no knead recipes rise well, probably becuase you allow it a long time to rise.

I don't know what kind of recipe you used, but if it wasn't a no knead one I'd suggest you try that and see if it is easier for you.

Mix the liquids and fold into dry ingredients instead of mixing all together.

It made a world of difference in my banana bread.

Question: I am new to gluten free baking and I am having much trouble getting my breads to rise. I have tried several recipes, with no luck. Can anybody give me some fool proof suggestions? I am desperate. Thank you

Having trouble getting gluten free bread to rise

Try folding the mixed liquids into the dry ingredients rather than kneading all of them together. Make sure the bread is left in a warm enough place to rise, and try recipes that have good reviews to make sure the problem isn't the recipe.

Look for a GF recipe that has good comments. Mix the liquids then fold into dry ingredients. Leave the bread to rise in a warm place.

Try finding a specifically gluten-free recipe for bread.

You need to leave the bread in a warm place.

Mix the liquids then fold this into the dry ingredients.


I'm answering my own question because I did a bunch of stuff from a lot of resources, and collected valuable information that more people may use in the future when coming across this post.

I wanted to use household items.

My flask is a stainless steel with some copper.

What I actually did:

Cleaned with a small amount of tap water, shaking it a little bit;

Boiled a glass of water, and a bottle of vinegar/water (50%/50%);

Cleaned the flask with the boiled water, them with the vinegar solution (50% of the flask, shaking it a little bit).

Then cleaned again with the boiled water (50% of the flask), shaking it, them with the vinegar solution again, then with the boiled water (50%), then with boiled water again (this time 100%).

I didn't emptied the flask from this last cleaning;

I let the water inside for 24h; 24h

later, I opened the flask, and emptied it in a glass cup: there wasn't any solid particles, and the water didn't have any taste, so I believed it was ok to put some whiskey.

Maybe your flask is an old one, with leather, I don't know.

In this case, I suggest you check these resources: http://www.whiskywhiskywhisky.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4254 http://www.thetfp.com/tfp/tilted-knowledge-how/29045-cleaning-inside-antique-hip-flask.html http://ask.metafilter.com/111820/Mildewsmelling-hip-flask-can-it-be-salvaged http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18080329

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14191/Somebody still uses you MS-DOS

If there's no evil smell emanating from the flask, just give it a good rinse with hot water.

Otherwise, a 20 minutes soak in a dilute solution of bleach (around 1 tbs per gallon), followed by extensive rinsing with warm water should do the trick.

Is the flask actually stainless, or merely something that's been plated bright and shiny?I'd go w vigorously shaking some sand around inside of it, to loosen any corrosion/crud deposits.

Follow that w hot water/detergent, and brushing as possible.

Finally, give it a soak in Vodka/Everclear.

Check to see that the rinse solvent comes out clear and without chunks.

For all you know, someone from the 1990's left Cream liqueur in there to evaporate.

Steradent tablets are best for cleaning any type of flask in my experience.

There are a number of flask and bottle brushes available online that will help with this task.

I also found this set of instructions at ehow that recommends the use of boiling water and distilled white vinegar.

Unlike most cleaning products, white vinegar will not leave a lingering scent in the flask.

I have always had a lot of success using uncooked rice as an abrasive and a dish soap/hot water combo.

Shake it like crazy and it's clean.

It's a safe, simple, and effective method.

Great question and some really good answers.

I am the founder/craftsman of a company that sells flasks and

we recently wrote a blog post on it that can be found here: http://1776.co/blogs/journal/54690755-how-to-clean-your-leather-whiskey-flask

The short of it is: Use warm soapy water and allow it to air-dry.

Your flask should always be washed by hand because the chemicals in dish washing detergent may react with the stainless steel interior.

Question: I found an old stainess steel flask that someone once gave me. I want to use it again to hold whiskey.  There doesn't seem to be any liquid inside, though it may have contained some just before the flask was forgotten.   How do I properly clean to start using it again? Just hot water? No soap? Can I trust it? It was only used to hold whiskey.

How to properly clean a whiskey flask?

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14191/Somebody still uses you MS-DOS

Rinsing with boiled water and then a white vinegar solution will not leave a lingering scent, or you could try hot water and detergent (possibly with uncooked rice as an abrasive), vodka/Everclear, Steradent tablets or just hot water if there is no unpleasant scent.

You can use vinegar or soap and hot water. You can also try soaking in vodka or dissolving a steradent tablet.

Use vinegar and hot water.
Use warm soapy water.
Try soaking in vodka.
Try dissolving a steradent tablet.
You can use rice as an abrasive.


Raw protein sticks to hot stainless steel as soon as it comes into contact with it.

However, once the layer which is stuck to the pan cooks through, it releases from the pan.

The trick is to heat the pan over a low heat before adding the eggs, then don't touch them until there is a layer of cooked egg on the bottom - about a minute or two.

Then when you start stirring, the cooked egg will easily peel off the bottom and the pan will be sufficiently seasoned so that the rest of the egg doesn't stick to it.

The worst thing you can do from a sticking point of view is slowly heat the pan with scrambled eggs, the pan must be hot enough to get them sizzling right away or they'll act like glue.

That's the opposite of what you want to do of course, as the slower you cook the eggs the better they taste, which is why I always cook mine in a non-stick pan.

Start with medium heat and get the pan hot but put a tablespoon of butter before it gets too hot.

Once the foaming stops, add the eggs into the pan and stir constantly but reduce the heat to low.

I add about a tablespoon of milk to my eggs.

If it starts sticking to the bottom while you're stirring, then the pan has gotten too hot.

Just move it off the burner and continue stirring.

After scrubbing out many a burned-on egg fond, and giving up and buying a cheap ceramic pan just for omlets, I finally figured out the secret to cooking even notoriously sticky egg whites in stainless: 1)

Heat pan on high until water drops levitate, as usual 2) add oil or perhaps clarified butter 3)

COOL

IT DOWN!

reduce the heat and pick the pan up off the burner for a bit 4) add eggs

only when the pan is down to the same medium-low that would be used with non-stick Tried this with the last of some egg whites on a whim after heating a frozen scallion pancake, and they released once set without the slightest sticking, completely opposite earlier disasters when the pan was too hot and the eggs reached through the thin fat layer to grab and burn.

Boil quarter cup of water, and then add 3 broken eggs.

Stir well for few seconds.

Allow it to cook for 3 minutes, this will prevent eggs from sticking to the pan.

This is perfectly do-able.

Heat some cooking fat (olive oil works well; butter works OK) in the pan until it is, in the words of Usborne's My First Cookbook , " hot but not smoking ".

Keep it at that temperature.

Ideally, this is done by setting the hob to the correct power, i.e. turn the hob down fairly low once the pan is up to temperature.

You might need to temporarily move the pan partly or entirely off the hob, to stop the pan overheating, if you overshoot with the hob power.

(You haven't failed if you need to do this!

And as you get used to the rate at which your pan gets to temperature on your hob, you'll need to do it increasingly rarely.)

Tilt the pan to coat the inner surface evenly with a thin layer of the hot fat .

This will act as both a cooking medium (i.e. it conducts heat from the pan to the food) and as a semi-non-stick surface (i.e. it provides a very thin, slippery barrier between the hot steel and the food).

Add the whisked eggs (or whatever you are cooking) to the pan.

As the food cooks, slide the tip of a stainless steel fishslice under the food to lift it off the pan before the food sticks.

Also use the fishslice to turn the food as necessary.

Keep doing this, actively, until the food is cooked to your satisfaction.

If you let the pan get too hot, or weren't active enough with the fishslice, then the food will stick.

If this happens, don't worry: it won't burn immediately.

But act swiftly: get some suitable water-based liquid (e.g. milk, in the case of scrambled eggs; or water if you were cooking a stir-fry), and pour a small amount (one to several teaspoons' worth, depending on how bad the adhesion is) into pan as close to the adhesion as possible.

This may spit slightly so don't put your face close to the pan while you do it.

It will deglaze the pan and eliminate or at least reduce the adhesion, allowing you to resume your work with the fishslice.

(You might need to press the tip of the fishslice at a shallow angle fairly firmly into the cooking surface of the pan, as you slide it under the food, if the food is sticking.

That will let you scrape the food off the surface of the pan.

Plastic fishslices aren't usually up to this task, which is why I emphasised, above, using a stainless steel one.)

I never use non-stick.

I always use stainless (French copperware with stainless coating inside).

Just make sure that the stainless is evenly hot but not too hot.

Always use animal fat like butter, lard, dripping, goose fat or duck fat.

Vegetable oils have resin.

I make pancakes, omelettes, fried eggs etc.

and it is the very first one you need to take care to pre heat and use butter.

Let the butter melt slowly.

If it burns then the pan is too hot.

Ideally, the butter melts without too much sound.

Once the butter is runny and the particles starting to darken and all the steam is gone, the egg mixture is ready to add.

Do not stir too early.

When the bottom is solidified, just lift and turn or very gently turn in a lift and fold motion.

In some parts of Britain the stirring is done very vigorously, but in this case the heat should be ultra-low and is a paragraph all its own.

Thanks for reading.

Question: I'm having the hardest time preventing scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel cookware. I've tried bringing the eggs to room temperature before cooking, slowly heating the pan, loads of butter (tasted great, still stuck), adding milk to the eggs. How can I prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel?

Prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel

Raw protein will stick to stainless steel on contact, so make sure the pan is at the right temperature first, use butter and wait for a minute or two before stirring.

The pan should be hot before adding the eggs. Let them cook a little before trying to stir. You can also add some milk.

Raw protein sticks to stainless steel. Let the egg cook without stirring until the bottom has hardened.


Removing dissolved sugar from a recipe, as in your soup, practically impossible.

You have two main choices: Reduce the impact of the sweetness.

Increasing acidity (lemon juice or vinegar for example--since ketchup contains vinegar, vinegar or more ketchup may be most compatible with your specific recipe) may mitigate how sweet the soup seems.

This may or may not work--you would have to experiment, and it could make the soup taste worse worse (the risk being you would then still have to discard the soup.)

If you really like the borsht, and can eat (or freeze)

it all: make a second batch with considerable lower sugar, and combine them.

You will now have twice as much soup, but flavor balanced.

I'm adding this answer more for completeness than anything else but it is possible to reduce the sweetness in a dish by using a sweetness inhibitor.

From McGee On Food

And Cooking : Not only are there artifical sweetners: there are also substances that block us from experiencing the sweetness of sugars...

Lactisole is phenolic compound found in small quanities in roasted coffee...

In very small amounts it reduces the apparent sweetness of sugar by two-thirds.

From Wikipedia :

At concentrations of 100–150 parts per million in food, lactisole largely suppresses the ability to perceive sweet tastes, both from sugar and from artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

A 12% sucrose solution was perceived like a 4% sucrose solution when lactisole was added.

However, it is significantly less efficient than gymnemic acid with acesulfame potassium, sucrose, glucose and sodium saccharin.

Research found also that it has no effect on the perception of bitterness, sourness and saltiness.

According to a recent study, lactisole acts on a sweet taste receptor heteromer of the TAS1R3 sweet protein receptor in humans, but not on its rodent counterpart.

There is a branded blend of lactisole, sucrose and maltodextrin called Super Envision, which is the only commercially available version of this product afaik.

It is used in concentrations of 0.5%-1%, e.g., if you have 500g of soup then you use 2.5g-5g of Super Envison.

It can be found on websites selling Modernist cooking ingredients such as Modernist Pantry: http://www.modernistpantry.com/super-envision.html

I would remove some of the borsch and replace with water (removing some of the sweetness) and then rethicken it with a souring agent such as Amchoor (ground unripe Mango).

Then add soured cream at the end to further thicken, improve consistency and remove sweetness.

I was making Spanish rice, which, called for Ketchup to taste.

Uh....the lid wasn't on tight

and I put more than I liked.

Result

dish was too sweet.

Not undaunted, I considered adding tomato paste, which is not usually sweet and is in fact, slightly bitter due to the concentration of tomatoes.

Added, until the sweetness was virtually gone.

A good save for me.....

Try it next time but be sure that you taste the paste and make sure it's not sweet.

I have always used pepper to reduce the taste of too much sugar and this also works the other way although sometimes I use a different sweet substance than sugar if I have put too much pepper in a sauce.

Salt, pepper, hot sauce.

All in very judicious doses.

Worked for me

Question: I was making this recipe:  Cabbage Borscht , which was from the old Lincoln Del, one of my mom's favourite places. I mistakenly doubled the sugar, putting in 1/2 a cup instead of a 1/4 of a cup. Given the 2/3 of a cup ketchup, which was Heinz, the soup turned out way, way too sweet.   Is there any way I can rescue this?

Too much sugar in soup -- how to make it less cloying?

Salt, pepper, vinegar, hot sauce or tomato paste may be able to mitigate the sweetness, or you could replace some of the borscht with water before thickening it again with a souring agent like Amchoor.

You can add something acidic or add some pepper.

Use an acidic food to offset the sweetnes like tomato paste.

Add some water and then rethicken with something sour.

Add something peppery or some hot sauce.


This barista says no, you can enjoy your shot for a little while:

In reality, there are only a couple of things that happen to espresso over the course of a few minutes.

First, the crema or foam that sits on top of the espresso reintegrates with the liquid.

Crema, on its own, contains some of the best flavors and aromatic qualities of the espresso in high concentrations.

Drinking

it straight can be overwhelming

but, it stands to reason, that having the crema reintegrate might actually be a good thing.

Second, the espresso cools down.

The temperature of espresso has a lot to do with how we taste the various flavors contained within it...

I am not an espresso fan myself--

I like regular coffee, but not after it has cooled down, and never reheated.

Many folks are perfectly content to microwave a cold cup and drink it.

I imagine that older, colder espresso is palatable to you to the extent that you are willing to tolerate it.

A small shot of coffee--and lets face it

, that is all espresso is, even if it is brewed in a fancy manner--is going to cool off much more rapidly than a full cup, or a full pot.

Shots die after only ten seconds of sitting.

You can tell by the change in color.

It goes from a nice pretty brown body with a layer of crema on top to a very dark brown/black color.

If you have ever done the taste test and tasted both the dead shot and the good shot, especially if you're sensitive to bitter taste, you can absolutely tell the difference.

That is why Starbucks stresses a barista not to allow your shot to sit out for longer than those ten seconds. Barista

As I understand it, all brewing methods are subject to both oxidation and degradation of yummy acids and oils.

I was first introduced to the 10-second rule for espresso as a customer at a Starbucks.

According to the barista, if the coffee did not touch something (water, milk, syrup) within 10 seconds it would turn bitter and "burnt" tasting.

I was highly skeptical of this claim, so the barista felt obliged to prove her point (which is easily testable, if you can stomach wasting a shot).

She pulled a shot and immediately dropped in a teaspoon of cold water (so that I could drink it right away), then handed me the shot glass to try. Delicious.

Then, she pulled another shot, we counted to 10 together, she added a teaspoon of cold water, and I drank.

Bitter and burnt tasting.

Not terrible, but nowhere near as complex and tasty as the first shot.

The difference was marked.

(Incidentally, she claimed that the temperature of the added water was irrelevant to stemming the bittering process.)

I have since tested this at home on my machine, with the same results.

(And I've tested adding hot or cold water, both do seem to stem the degradation process, as she claimed.)

If you are skeptical -- as you always should be -- test it (at least somewhat systematically) yourself.

Here is a site with more information about oxidation and degradation of acids and such: https://scienceandfooducla.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/coffee-brewing-chemistry-hot-brew-and-cold-brew/ I suspect that an email to the author could easily shed more light on the how and the why.

Espresso starts losing some of its flavour immediately

so I'd say drink it within one minute.

If made at the right temperature it should be cool enough to drink after a few seconds anyway and after a minute it will start getting too cold to enjoy.

I'd also suggest stirring your espresso before drinking to mix the different layers and get a more homogenous drink.

For me, it is not bitterness or flavor, but temperature.

When a shot gets cold, it is not good.

So, I would say it could last a couple of minutes, but it is not a sipping drink anyhow.

Pull it and drink it.

This is correct that coffee flavour alters depended on temperature.

However this argument of better is hard to say as its a matter of preference.

For coffee tastings you should try the coffee had a range of temperatures as the flavours alter you may taste something different.

Question: When pulling a shot of espresso, how long is its life before it is too bitter?  I know this might change by the bean, but what is a rough estimate?  I was doing some coffee tasting and some of the shots were left unused for about 5 minutes and the barista said that these shots were now "dead" and that they don't reflect what the true taste of the coffee is.  Do I really only have 5 minutes to drink espresso before its no longer drinkable?

How long is the life of a shot of espresso?

While you can safely enjoy your shot for a while after serving, they can turn bitter and develop a 'burnt' taste within 10 seconds if not in contact with something like water, milk or syrup. The flavours are also affected by the temperature when tasted.

Many people consider that after 10 seconds an espresso will start to lose its quality.

You don't need to worry, the espresso will still be ok.

Shots should be drunk or milk or water added within 10 seconds as it will lose its flavour after that.

Espressos go cold fast and that affects the quality.


Any seed that has been damaged, cut, smashed, milled, or ground starts to lose flavour, texture, nutrition, and eventually will go rancid due to oxidising oils.

Four hours is too short a time for anything noticeable to happen.

Some types of nuts and seeds show a noticeable change over a day or two, but most take many days or weeks.

Milled flax seed is reasonably tough; it should last for a week or so without a noticeable flavour change, and many weeks before going rancid.

For more information and sources, please see: https://www.goldenvalleyflax.com/flax-facts/health-research-articles/flaxseed-storage-baking-stability/

I could not find any credible sources indicating that flax seeds (also known as linseed) lose significant nutritional benefits after they've been smashed, crushed or ground.

This article from Mayo Clinic in fact indicates that since the seeds tend to pass undigested, it is better to grind them: Most nutrition experts recommend ground flaxseed because your body is better able to digest it.

Whole flaxseed may pass through your intestine undigested, which means you won't get all the health benefits.

I was told by a nutritionist to eat flax seed.

If eaten whole, the seeds simply pass through the digestive system without contributing anything; they have to be ground in order to reveal their properties.

As ground flax seed has anti-oxidative properties, it goes without saying that exposure to air reduces these properties thus the ground seed should be eaten as soon as possible.

Whilst I buy whole flax seed once every five or six weeks (about a kilo and a half), I grind only enough to be eaten in a week.

I've never noticed any taste to the seeds, let alone any rancidity.

Flax can go bad within a few weeks after it's ground Ground flaxseeds "can start to go rancid fairly quickly — as soon as a few weeks after they are ground.

This is when the fats start to oxidize, and ... is when you can also lose the nutritional benefits of those fats.

The taste is also off."

(Source.)

Unfortunately, if you buy ground flax from a store, there's a chance that it might be more than a few weeks old.

Still, please read on.

Buying refrigerated or vacuum-packed ground flaxseed

"Ground flaxseeds are usually available both refrigerated and non-refrigerated.

If you are purchasing ground flaxseed that is sitting on the store shelf at room temperature, we recommend that the flaxseed be packaged in a gas-flushed, vacuum-sealed bag.

If you are purchasing ground flaxseed that is found in the refrigerator section, it's not essential that vacuum-sealed packaging be used".

(Source.)

Once you open a vacuum-sealed bag of flax, air will enter.

Once this happens, it's wise to refrigerate or freeze the product.

Finding vacuum-packed flaxseed in your region

You can do a Google search for [ buy vacuum-packed flaxseed ] to look for companies in your region who manufacture the stuff.

I live in Canada.

Here: CanMar produces various "Fee Fi Fo Flax" and "Flax For Nutrition" vacuum-packed roasted flax products.

These products cost about 5 to 9 CAD per pound, depending where you buy them.

The company states that unopened packages will stay fresh for 18 months.

Puresource produces "Inari" brand vacuum-packed ground flax.

It costs about 7 CAD per pound.

Storing and taste-testing your ground flax Once you have your ground flax, it's wise to always refrigerate or freeze it.

"Because ground flaxseed flows readily even when frozen, many users choose to store ground flaxseed in the freezer for even longer shelf life." (Source.)

You can take a spoonful of your ground flax and taste it.

If it tastes good, it's probably still fine.

If it tastes bitter, fishy, or rancid, it may be best to throw it away.

In my reading of the question, what is being asked is whether we can buy ground flaxseed, (or, alternatively, whether it is necessary to grind flaxseed within four hours of consuming it.)

SAJ14SAJ's answer confirms that it is advisable to consume ground, not whole, flaxseed, since otherwise flaxseed passes through the digestive system intact.

It does not address whether the grinding must be done just before consumption.

According to references such as this (excerpt: " The low levels of FFA and conjugated diene indicate that ALA remained stable during processing and cooking of spaghetti fortified with ground flaxseed.

it appears we can have confidence that it's all right to buy ground flaxseed, just so long as we use it reasonably quickly.

Additional references are welcome.

The main difficulty of grinding flaxseed at home is that the shell is not just tough for the human digestive enzymes, it is also tough for ordinary coffee grinders.

A grinder suitable for espresso or Turkish grinds is likely necessary.

Those are frequently called "Burr" grinders.

They are easy to identify (aside from the price tag).

They move the material from one compartment to another.

They do not grind "in-place".

Related Q & A

Question: I am from Santiago, Chile. Here, there's a rumour that smashed (ground) flax seed loses its properties in around 4 hours. Do you know anything about this?  Basically, the rumors say that the flax seed loses its nutritional properties, and that it can even be unhealthy once it is ground — but, if you grind it yourself and eat it right away, it's OK.

Does flax seed lose its nutritional properties after it's ground up?

While seeds that have been ground  or otherwise processed will lose flavour and nutrition and go rancid, this is likely to take place over weeks rather than hours.

Seeds that are ground will start to lose nutritional properties. They will keep for a few weeks without going rancid.

Seeds that are ground and exposed to air will lose nutritional properties. They will start to go rancid after about 4 weeks.

Four hours is to short, it should take a few weeks before anything happens.


Taste the meat and if it still seems edible to you then there is no reason to throw it out.

When I make stock, I keep it on a simmer for much longer than three hours and any meat is completely tasteless by the time I'm done.

Three hours, however, is about how long you would cook meat to make a stew, so it's quite possible that you could eat it.

On the other hand, not all cuts of meat stew well

and I'm not familiar with this cut.

If the meat has plenty of connective tissues (i.e. collagen) to gelatinise it shouldn't dry out too much.

But the proof is in the pudding: taste it.

I never throw it out.

There are plenty of applications for mostly-tasteless meat shreds.

I mostly make chicken stock

but I will use the meat shreds in soup, pot pie, casseroles, etc.

With a strongly-flavored sauce, you won't mind the meat not having much flavor.

The protein value of the meat is still intact, so it is worth using it up to stretch the family food budget.

Curries are a good use for soup meat, and as Sobachatina said, pot pie.

I make a thick onion gravy as a pot pie base and that makes even the most tasteless soup meat go down very nicely.

Enchiladas are a favorite use in our house for leftover meat from broth-making.

Here is a simple enchilada sauce you can make with ingredients from your pantry that is way better than canned sauce: Put 1/4 cup of paprika, 1 tablespoon cumin and 1 teaspoon ground cayenne in enough fat or oil to make a paste at the bottom of a smallish pot (about 3 tablespoons fat).

It will be kind of stiff and crumbly.

Us a whisk or spatula tomove it around a bit.

Cook it slowly on low heat until the spices begin to change colorand give off fragrance.

Add a jar of tomato puree or roasted garlic tomato sauce.

Correct for salt and consistency, adding water to thin if needed.

If the tomato sauce was chunky, use a stick blender to puree thesauce.

Mix half the sauce with your leftover meat.

Use 1/4 of the remaining sauce to wet the bottom of a casserole dish.

Fill or layer warmed corn tortillas with the meat/sauce mix and use the last of the sauce to top the enchiladas.

sprinkle grated cheese if desired.

Warm in a 350* oven until the enchiladas are fragrant and just starting to color on top.

I don't use meaty bones for my bone broth, but divvy up the pot this way:

I get the broth, the dog gets any meat shreads, and the compost pile gets the veggies.

Reminder - don't give your dog cooked bones!

Bones splinter once cooked - they only get raw.

Nothing goes to waste in this house.

All meat, poultry, etc is saved once the bones are removed and is mixed in with dog kibble for a great treat and a healthy treat for our dogs.

No added salt which is deadly for pets is a bonus.

Question: I am making a simple beef stock from the leftover bones from a New York cut roast beef. Beyond adding a mirepoix and boiling the bones for three hours I'm not doing anything special. When I make stock I typically throw out the leftover meat and vegetables, but do I have to throwout the leftover beef? Aside from the beef I have boiled off the bones I do not have a lot of leftover meat and do not want to potentially waste what could be useable meat.

Should I keep the meat boiled off of bones when making beef broth?

Stock should usually be cooked for many hours, usually leaving the meat tasteless, but you could taste it and reuse it in soup, pot pie, casseroles, curries, enchiladas and other dishes with a strong flavour, or just give it to your pets.

If the meat still tastes ok, then go ahead and eat. You can use it in soup, casseroles or curry.

If the meat still takes good, then go ahead and eat it.

You can use the meat in soup, casseroles, enchiladas or curry.


Natto shouldn't be salty by itself, because salt kills the culture that grows on the soybeans.

Salted soybeans are fermented into miso; unsalted ones become natto.

Normally, you'd season the natto with some combination of strong Japanese-style mustard, soy sauce, scallions or Japanese leeks, and maybe grated nagaimo if you want an even more mucilaginous texture.

The flavor of natto is fairly mild; the aroma is certainly stronger than the flavor itself, and is reminiscent of bleu cheese and sweat.

I'd say it's slightly sweeter than a boiled white soybean would be, but it's possible than an objective measure of sugars might disagree with me there.

Soybeans are very mildly bitter on their own.

Tempeh, a similar cultured soybean, tends to be slightly bitter, but I would say it's not a very pronounced trait, if at all present, with natto, as most of the bitterness seems to be removed by the fermentation.

Assuming you started with frozen natto that wasn't freezer burned that you allowed to reach room temperature, or fresh natto that wasn't excessively old, I would simply mix the natto aggressively in a small bowl for a few minutes until the mucilaginous strands form.

Then season as desired.

If you're expecting a surprising flavor, by the way, you may be disappointed in nattō.

Japanese cuisine emphasizes contrasting textures much more than aggressive flavors, which is to some extent why so many dishes are seasoned only with varying proportions of salt, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin, and vinegar (su).

But if you're experiencing an unusually bitter natto, that sounds like a problem with the natto that you purchased, rather than the ingredient itself.

I have tried a number of types of natto, and the smell and the texture are usually much more prominent than the taste.

Recently I had to describe it to a person that had never tried it, and I said something like "feels like runny, gooey old socks, with a hint of raw potato - worth trying once ".

If we talk just about taste, natto itself is a bit bitter, but it is usually accompanied with a bit of mustard and a light soy sauce which makes it salty and sour.

The smell...

Well, if you can imagine the trash bin, when sometimes there's some liquid in the bottom?

I think we can compare it with that.

At the same time, when you get used to it, it is quite a pleasant taste.

Not everybody gets used though.

Even in Japan.

It's a fermented food and fermented food tend to taste and smell strong, but I wouldn't say it's stronger than a strong French cheese.

Definitely better than Taiwanese stinky tofu.

Agree with everyone.

Just wanted to add, that my family usually mixes in: dashi-flavoured soy sauce, dash of hot mustard, chopped green onions, bonito flakes, julienned-sized nori, and mix thoroughly in its own bowl until stringy - because the stringiness is the healthy fermented bit.

This way it doesn't taste as bitter and the umami flavour contrasts against some nicer flavours.

I believe there's a difference in flavour and smell for different people because some are 'super-tasters' and others aren't.

To me it smells like coffee, and to my husband it smells like ammonia - he is a super-taster and finds raw tomatoes, and raw cruciferous vegetables bitter.

I find them delightful.

I make natto at home, and yes, the smell is strong, but to me it smells like badly made coffee from robusta beans.

Acrid?

The flavour is the same with some ammonia, but I kill that off by sprinkling vinegar, stirring, and letting sit for two minutes before serving.

It's very pleasant like that, but I like to mix it with kimchi.

I like to serve it with a runny egg on kimchi Bokkumbap, actually.

Young natto reminds me of raw foie-gras minus the fat.

Old natto tastes like liver and smells like boiled soybeans mixed with old Brie cheese.

Don't know what people throw in their garbage, but its flavor has never reminded me of that.

Question: I recently tried nattō on top of rice.  All I tasted was bitter.  I didn't get any nuttiness or saltiness.  The natto was also generously garnished with scallions, maybe that was a major bitter contributor.  What is nattō alone supposed to taste like?

What is nattō supposed to taste like?

Natto is fairly mild by itself, but is sometimes accompanied by a bit of mustard and a light soy sauce which makes it salty and sour. An unusually bitter natto could be old or have some other problem with it.

The smell and texture are stronger than the taste. The taste is quite subjective but it is reminiscent of blue cheese. It can be a little bitter.

Natto should have a fairly mild flavor, like blue cheese or soybeans.


Blanching briefly does an excellent job of neutralizing bitterness, or more precisely, astringency, even if the blanched spinach is recooked.

Basically, boil water, add washed spinach until submerged (5-30 seconds depending on preference; chard could go up to a minute or so depending on the target texture desired).

Drain quickly.

Submerge drained spinach in a bowl of ice and water to rapidly chill.

Press spinach to remove excess water.

Recooking, even in applications like quiche, will do a very nice job of retaining the bright green color and generally astringency, if present at all, is minimal.

If I am not recooking in some way, I often just dress simply in something like fresh ginger and soy sauce or a ground sesame, mirin and salt based sauce without reheating.

A remedy I would recommend would be a bit of butter or oil, just enough to give a bit of a coating.

You could do classic with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper.

You could do Italian with some olive oil and garlic.

Or Asian with some sesame oil and soy.

Spinach and Swiss chard contain small amounts of oxalic acid .

This is the same substance that makes rhubarb so tart--in fact, it is the active ingredient in some cleaning chemicals, like Barkeeper's friend.

While toxic in large quantities, you would have to eat a lot of greens (on the order of pounds to kilograms) at once to have any issues other than the unpleasant taste and mouth feel.

While you could chemically neutralize it, as with baking powder, the results would probably be hideous on many levels, including strange color changes.

I would buy only young spinach leaves for short, fast cooking methods; or use one of the longer braise type preparation methods.

Though the adding-fat answer is the correct one in my mind (have had plenty of puckery young-spinach sauteed), funnily enough vinegar or lemon replace one pucker feel for another.

Growing up, vinegar was always on the table with greens.

I particularly like Chinese black vinegar (from Shaanxi) for tougher greens and balsamic for tender ones

I learned a little trick for this while living in Italy.

When you are cooking the spinach, add a bit of milk or heavy cream, just enough to coat it lightly and cook off.

I use about 2 tbsp for about 6 oz of raw spinach.

Alternatively, I have soaked spinach in milky water before cooking.

Rather than patting it dray or straining it, I use tongs to pull the spinach out of its bath, which leaves just the right amount of the milky water on it.

This solves the aftertaste problem every time for cooked spinach.

I'm at a loss for raw!

Question: Spinach and chard dishes, if prepared from fresh veggies, have a somehow astringent mouthfeel, that can be unpleasant. Does anybody know what exactly causes this mouthfeel chemically and/or knows a good counter substance that makes the astringency go away?

What helps against astringent mouthfeel from spinach or chard?

Spinach and Swiss chard contain small amounts of  oxalic acid, which can be neutralised by blanching or coating in a fat like butter or oil, or even milk or heavy cream. The bitterness of vinegar or lemon juice can also replace the astringency.

Spinach and chard contain oxalic acid. You can reduce astringency by blanching, cooking in butter or olive oil or adding some fat like cream.

Spinach and chard contain oxalic acid. They can be blanched to reduce astringency.

Cook the in some butter or olive oil or sesame oil and soy sauce.

Add some form of fat to neutralize the astringency.


The difference between the two can be seen below (the post it is from is an experiment comparing corn meal and flour used in anadema bread ):

The corn flour is the white, finer ingredient on the right.

The first obvious difference is that the texture will differ between the two.

The second is that it would have different uses.

Both would be effective at displacing gluten-containing flours (as in, neither would be helpful in gluten formation).

In terms of substitution, however, corn meal is likelier substituted by something like semolina flour and corn flour is likelier better substituted by quinoa or garbanzo bean flour.

Both are ground corn (maize, as they would have it in Europe).

The difference is that corn flour is usually ground to a much finer texture than cornmeal.

While in some contexts (such as breading chicken), they can both be used, you will get different textural results.

In general, you want to use the right product.

For example, corn muffins are normally made with corm meal, and if made with corn flour, would be much denser and without the mouthfeel the individual cornmeal granuals provide.

Update: in some places, polenta is another term for corn meal (as well as for the porridge or mush made from the corn meal).

Masa is dried lye-treated corn, which has been ground.

It is used widely in southwestern, central, and south American cuisines, including for the iconic corn tortillas, and for tamales.

Corn flour could either be finely ground untreated (the alkaline process) corn or powdered starch (usually corn or sometime wheat based) depending where you live

The only way to tell is to check the recipe to which is required.

If it is a bulk ingredient like flour for bread volumes, then is probably is finely ground untreated corn.

If it is one or two spoons mixed into a liquid and then heated, then is probably is being used as a thickener and they are referring to the powdered starch

In many countries of the world you generally cannot purchase finely ground untreated corn, but can readily purchase corn derived starch Please post a link to the recipe if you are unsure

Possible definitions are available in a recent publication of Annals of New York Academy of Sciences - look for table 4.

Corn meal is listed as particle size from 300 to 600µm, with fat content of 1.8%, while corn flour is listed as particle size less than 212 µm, with fat content of 2.7%.

They also mention various definitions in US CFR 137, which provide indirect particle size definitions in terms of how much of the product will pass through various types of sieves/cloth/gauze.

In very simple words difference between Cornflour and Maize flour is Corn flour is the Starch part of Maize flour..

That means From Maize flour the starch and protein is separated and the fine smooth part is starch as itvis in Wheat flour when Starch and protein is separated...

the starch part is called as Mayeda in Hindi and the protien part is called as Ravaa in Hindi.

By:Izzuddin Saify

Question: I have a recipe that calls for a mix of corn and wheat flours, but my local grocery stores (in the south east US) only carry corn meal.    What is the difference between corn flour and corn meal?  Can I safely use corn meal in the place of corn flour?

What is the difference between corn flour and corn meal?

Both are ground corn, but corn flour is ground much finerand has a higher fat content. Corn muffins with corn flour would be denser and without the mouthfeel of the cornmeal granules.

Both are ground corn. Corn flour is a much finer texture than corn meal.

Both are ground corn. Corn flour is usually ground to a much finer texture.

Corn flour is usually used in baking as corn meal would make a much denser result.


Reduce or leave out the salt.

It is not essential to the chemistry of the recipe.

I will not speculate on salt substitutes, as that is a health and medical issue, off topic for this site.

The pancakes will then not taste as good, but that is unavoidable.

Perhaps you can serve them with a highly flavorful accompaniment, like a reduced peach chutney or similar, to make the entire dish more interesting.

Not sure what kind of advice you expected.

Edit : Based on the discussion of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) usually used in pancakes: as Kate Gregory points out, there may be alternate chemical leaveners.

Another possibility is to use mechanical leavening, by beating the eggs, fat, and any sugar well until they reach the ribbon stage (probably more than necessary, per Harold McGee, but still a clear indication); at this point they will have the maximum amount of air incorporated.

This batter cannot be held, but it should rise reasonably well, even without baking powder.

There are also recipes that use whipped egg whites to leaven pancakes, but they produce a different, fluffier product that may be called Fluffy Pancakes or Swedish Pancakes depending on the recipe.

I agree with SAJ14SAJ.

You can leave out the salt or use a small amount of it, without a problem.

What you can add to minimize the loss of flavour, is a pinch of vanilla (for neutral-tasting pancakes) or a different aroma, for instance almond extract (for a variation).

A random web site I have no reason to trust claims that half a teaspoon of baking soda contains 616 mg of sodium.

This more reputable site says 150 for 1/8 tsp, which pretty much agrees, and also says 100-200 in 1/4 tsp of baking powder.

Let's take those as correct for now.

My favourite pancake recipe uses 2 tsp of baking powder to make about 12 pancakes, so that's 800-1600 mg, meaning a person could have one (or possibly two if the sodium content is more to the low end) of those pancakes and meet your requirements, assuming you didn't add any salt.

If you would like to serve them 2 or 3 pancakes (which I think is a more reasonable serving size) then you probably want to look into low-sodium and sodium free baking powder and baking soda.

Discuss with the pancake-eater's dietician whether the substitute is actually ok or not, (sometimes low-sodium also means low-bunch-of-other-stuff) but that same Low Sodium FAQ lists several brands of baking soda and baking powder with no sodium at all.

Using those brands would let you serve all the pancakes you want!

Assuming you are making savoury crepes/pancakes/waffles then missing salt could a big compromize on the flavour/taste.

There's no substitue for salt but low-sodium table salt(that contains Potassium chloride).

(So I still prefer sea salt).

Lemon juice activates the same taste receptors as sodium, so adding a spritz of lemon to your food in place of salt makes biological sense .

Anyway it's not a substitute.

However for savoury bits, if you can use very little portions (puree) of herbs (e.g. tamerind ) that could save the palate...with that sour-saltyness .

I use this herb and some others with absolutely less salt to even marinade fish/meat, make pickles.

Low Sodium Salts: * Morton Lite Salt, 50% less sodium than table salt* Diamond Crystal Salt Sense, 33% less sodium

But hey!

For Sweet pancakes, salt is not a must.

Infact never used.

As everyone else pointing out you may leave it out for sweeties.

My husband has had a low sodium diet due to kidney and heart disease since 2008

and I've faced this challenge already.

Baking soda is the culprit - not added table salt.

There are several low or no sodium recipes online for pancakes but be sure to select using a no sodium baking powder.

One of my favorite websites is lowsodiumcooking.com.

There is a no sodium / gluten free baking powder online called Featherweight Baking Powder by Hain Foods.

I purchase mine on Amazon as I cannot locate it in the Boise area.

In the past I've tried to use a product found at Walmart - Rumford Reduced Sodium Baking Power but the content is still quite high for our needs at 35 mg per 1/8 teaspoon.

Most pancake recipes call for a minimum of 2 t of powder which equates to 280 mg per serving size.

With syrup is added to the equation it just adds up too quickly for us.

If kidney disease is also an issue, do not use a salt substitute as the potassium levels are increased.

You can buy no sodium baking powder and baking soda as far as salt goes I just leave it out

but I do whip my yolks and whites separately.

Question: I work with heart failure patients who  have  to limit their sodium intake, but still would like to enjoy some of their favorite foods. How can I reduce the sodium (to 140mg or less) in pancakes and waffles?

How can I make low sodium (140mg or less per serving) pancakes / waffles?

Salt is not essential in sweet pancakes, so you can safely reduce it or leave it out. However, baking soda has a lot of sodium and can be replaced with sodium/gluten free baking powder.

Salt is not essential for pancakes so you can always leave it out. You can try using lemon juice instead. Think about trying a low sodium baking powder to further reduce the sodium.

You can leave out the salt, especially for sweet pancakes.

Baking soda is often a problem for soda. You can buy low sodium baking powder instead.


The spice powder clumps together because it has been exposed to moisture.

Carbohydrates or proteins in the spice dissolve a small amount, becoming sticky, causing the granules to stick together.

To prevent this, keep your spices quite dry: If you buy in bulk, consider transferring some to a "currently being used" container, and leaving the rest away from the stove with its steam, and any other sources of moisture, well sealed against the humidity (and oxygen) in the air.

This will protect the bulk of your supply, even if the working container gets a little clumpy.

Use good quality, air tight containers for your spices.

I like to buy mine from the same vendor I buy spices from, but of course there are a myriad of options.

Add a food safe desiccation packet to the container.

I use the first method two methods, and have only had clumping in very old working spice jars that probably should have been discarded for having lost their flavor over time anyway.

Often, the clumps are quite fragile--banging the container on the counter a few times will often free up a bit, but it's a mechanical process.

The fork twisting is a good method to free up some for use.

As nicoleets hinted at, if your spice is clumpy, it is a sign that it has been exposed to the environment, and water and air have gotten in.

It may have also declined in flavor.

I wanted to add the "put some rice in the container" method, as one might for sugar or salt, but I cannot find any easily accessible evidence if this is a myth or if it really works.

After all, why should the rice be more likely to absorb water than the spice itself, when the spice has far more exposed surface area?

So, there are a few reasons spices lump like that.

Mostly because they have been exposed to "the elements" of your kitchen.

Either moisture, too much heat, etc.

For instance if you shake your spice dispensers over a hot pan the steam will get in and clump the remaining portion.

You may want to consider getting smaller containers of spices to avoid their shelf life being shortened by exposure (while I know those bulk ones seems so appealing in the long run

it hurts more than helps), mixing your spices in a separate bowl before cooking so as not to keep the containers out/open for extended periods of time, sealing them in air tight containers when you're not using them (this may require getting rid of the containers they come in), and making sure they are kept in cool dry areas.

Dried spices also tend to start losing flavor fairly quickly (the type of spice and how it's dried will determine the "rate of decaying flavor").

Not that they're bad and there's no food safety issue it just might not taste as you would expect.

I've heard some speak about freezing spices to keep them longer, but I've never seen the science behind it

so I can't be sure.

Try adding dried beans to the spices.

It works the same as adding rice to salt.

The dried beans are big enough to not pass through the holes in the large spice jars.

Having had the hardening of garlic granules problem for some time and tried all the other additives like rice and beans etc., without success, I finally came up with this solution and has worked well for me for the past 4 months.

Remove the top from an empty tube of Vitamin effervescent tablets.

With a sharp knife (I used a scalpel) cut off the soft spring close to the top rim.

Next carefully cut down the side of the silica gel capsule to remove the top rim.

Discard the spring and rim.

Ensure the little cartridge is clean.

Reconstitute the spice powder and break up any lumps etc.

Pop the little cartridge into the spice container.....

Job done.

Happy sprinkling.

I have step by step pictures, send me your email address

and I happily send to anyone that wants them.

If you're just a simple person, and not a pro/chef who needs a bulk solution, just put it in the freezer.

As you can see in my video , I've had my onion/garlic powder in my freezer for at least 6 months.

I live in an hot and humid environment so storage even in dry cupboards tends to be a problem.

I also find those rice/bean things kinda tricky.

Question: I notice that sometimes, some of my spices become one hard block. I have this especially with my garlic powder, in a smaller degree with my chili powder (that contains the same garlic powder). I'm pretty sure it can happen to other spices as well.  Is there something I can do to prevent this? Is there a different solution for when it happens, other than putting in a fork and twisting? Why does this happen?

How can I prevent spices from lumping together?

This is a sign that the spices have been exposed to moisture either during storage or when shaking over a pan. Use good quality containers protected from cooking steam, and consider adding dried beans or a food-safe desiccation packet to the containers.

Spice powder clumps together when exposed to moisture. Keep in an air tight container. You can also try adding a food safe desiccation packet.

Spice powder clumps together if it is exposed to moisture. Keep spices in air tight containers and avoid shaking over a pan with steam.

Try adding dried beans or add a food safe desiccation packet.


The cinnamon "sludge" is fiber.

The fiber that came from the cinnamon is soluble in water.

10 grams of cinnamon is about 8 grams of fiber (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon ).

It is safe to eat / drink (fiber!)

in moderate amount (Chinese cinnamon or cassia is not safe in high dose because of its toxic component called coumarin).

Of course, cinnamon sticks won't produce so much sludge.

If you use a hot drink, stir it so it doesn't sit at the bottom.

Ceylon cinnamon ("true" cinnamon) is different from Chinese cinnamon ("cassia") and may have different properties with regard to solubility and water.

Check out your container that doesn't sludge, and compare with what you have been using in your grinder.

After having to avoid consuming powdered cinnamon for months, I've recently found out the method to prevent it from turning into a slime when mixed with water or tea (hot or cold).

The trick is to mix the cinnamon with honey first .

You can mix 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon with a teaspoon or two of honey, and stir it up very well so that the mixture becomes homogeneous as much as possible.

Then slowly add the water or tea while stirring the mixture.

A cup of mixture prepared this way will make a perfect drink.

Since honey is very healthy by itself, it can only boost positive effects the cinnamon has.

Use a two bottle system.

Make your cinnamon tea and let is stand overnight to settle, then decant into the second bottle leaving the sludge behind.

If I am going to drink hot cinnamon drinks i use a shaker bottle to keep the powder mixed into the drink.

I use a french press to make my loose leaf tea.

All the cinnamon slime gets wrapped around the fine mesh strainer, and does not go into my tea or coffee.

I've tried all the already mentioned methods to avoid the "sludge factor" and all have been unsuccessful for me.

My solution?

I don't put the honey/cinnamon mixture into a liquid.

I make a paste of 2 teaspoons cinnamon stirred into 1 tablespoon of honey.

I use it as one would jam on toast or hot biscuits, or on apple or pear slices.

Make it ahead if you like as it will keep indefinitely refrigerated or not.

The mixture ratio was found online as one being most beneficial when taken daily to get the health benefits.

It may help to use a mesh bag or strainer.

This doesn't precisely prevent the sludge, but it can help one avoid it in their drink.

mesh bags, or even tea bags, are available and often used for such purposes - allowing flavor to infuse out while keeping the less-desirable parts (like the fiber in cinnamon) in the bag, easy to pull out and dispose of.

It may be wise to consider pre-preparing your cinnamon infusion or tisane, especially if making a complex or thickly textured drink - this will let you get the cinnamon flavor without problems like heating ingredients not meant to be heated in a cold drink, or letting flavor infuse more easily into a thin liquid rather than a thick one.

Question: When you grind up cinnamon (say in a coffee grinder) and use it in a drink, it ends up producing this thick sludge.  You can only prevent the sludge from forming if you leave it very course.  Why does it turn to sludge?  I swear I once had a container of cinnamon that did not produce sludge.  Am I buying the wrong cinnamon?

How to avoid cinnamon sludge in a beverage?

Ceylon cinnamon ("true" cinnamon) is different from Chinese cinnamon ("cassia"), and may have different levels of solubility in water. However, the 'sludge' is fiber that will dissolve easier if mixed with honey first or can be strained out with a mesh bag or strainer.

Try mixing the cinnamon with honey first. Using a bag or strainer might also help.

The sludge is fiber. Try mixing the cinnamon with honey first and using a bag or strainer.

Ceylon cinnamon and Chinese cinnamon have different properties with regard to being soluble.


Yeast, depending on the strain, can typically sustain in alcohol in concentrations of up to 14-18% .

Some strains can actually go higher .

(I personally keep a champagne yeast on hand for homemade root beer and ginger ale that goes to about 18%).

Typical bottled beer runs to about 6%.

Once started the fermentation process, at room temperature, is only slowed or stopped by CO2 build up or starvation, until the alcohol reaches toxic levels.

Given the portion of beer to the overall volume in beer bread recipes, the abundance of food for the yeast and the relatively short period allowed for rising none of these factors should inhibit the yeast.

In short, the environment in your dough will reach nowhere near 'toxic' levels during the rise.

Even after reading a bunch of peer reviewed articles, I was unable to find a definitive answer to this question.

The closest thing to a direct answer

I found that in this Serious Eats article focused on pizza dough additional ingredients

, dbcurrie says: [Beer] Creates a supple dough.

Depending on the recipe, beer can be substituted for just some—or all—of the liquid in a bread recipe.

There was a cached google reference to Shirley O. Corriher in Fine Cooking saying that "eventually" the alcohol produced by yeast as a byproduct of its metabolism would inhibit further activity.

However, no level or percentage was given.

Historically, we know that bread yeasts were a byproduct of the beer brewing industry, so they must be able to tolerate at least up to beer levels of alcohol.

While it may possibly be in the range where their activity is retarded, they obviously were not killed as the brewer's yeast could then be reused in the next batch, and given to bakers.

Given that the ingredients in a single loaf of bread cost very little, and that one beer is not a huge investment, I would encourage you to try it and see.

According to the always-accurate Wikipedia , baker's yeast is the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain used by us beer brewers.

One of the most common beer yeasts used is California Ale yeast, an example of which is Wyeast's 1056 .

They call it American Ale, but it's the same strain as White Lab's WLP001 California Ale .

Wyeast lists alcohol tolerance at 11%.

So I would have no worries about a normal strength beer causing problems.

I have been experimenting with yeasted (not baking soda) beer breads for weeks now.

The flavour of a long fermented, yeasted beer bread blows anything you do with baking powder totally off the table.

I'm experimenting with 30-50% of my hydro content beer and with fermetantion times between 4 and 12 hours.

And no, the yeast is just fine.

All produce different tastes.

At the cost of salt, a beer and flour & yeast for a loaf, you can experiment too until you find your best taste.

PS:

Different Lagers & Pilsners

I've tried thus far all produce similar flavours.

The only thing that tasted radically different was a Craft IPA.

But then THAT is to be expected!

Have fun!

I use Guinness Extra Stout in my Beer-Cheese-Jalapeno Bread, substituting beer for water one-to-one. Comes out terrific.

I use a bread machine.

Latest loaf made this morning.

I bake bread in a bread machine and have found that Budweiser and Heiniken do alright.

That are roughly 5% abv.

However, Steel Reserve with an abv.

of 8.1% did not allow the mix to become sticky and hold together, nor did the bread rise.

I tasted it and it was gooey and seemed undercooked.

About half of the flour wasn't even mixed into the final loaf.

Question: I want to make a bread with a stout in it for extra flavor. The stout will replace most of the liquid content of the bread and I am worried whether it will kill the yeast due to the alcohol (4% volume) content of the stout.

Does beer in bread retard the yeast?

Beer can be used in oven and breadmaker-baked breads, and the alcohol concentration is well within the tolerable level for the yeast to survive. Beer can be used as a substitute for some or all of the liquid in a recipe, or a long-fermented yeasted beer bread recipe can be used.

Yeast can survive in alcohol and should make for very tasty bread.

Yeast can survive in alcohol and should be fine in cooking bread.

Baking bread with beer has an excellent flavour.


There is no trick, it just won't work.

Synthetic corks are popular as replacements to cork not only because they are cheaper, but more effective at preserving wine as they don't dry out, and they expand more in the neck keeping a tighter seal.

This makes it more difficult, if not impossible, to get them back in.

The simple and easy solution is to buy re-usable bottle stoppers.

There are many different types, I prefer the ones which have a lever or button you push down to expand the stopper as they are best at preventing spills and leaks.

There are vacuum sealers as well, however IMHO

they're gimmicks and don't improve the storage of wine.

One method that has worked for me if you desperately need to use that cork again is to shave the end with a knife to create a taper so that it will slide into the opening of the bottle and then with the pressure of your hand you can squeeze it down in.

I always keep a set of reusable rubber corks around though for this very problem.

They're cheap, come in sets of 2-4 and will fit pretty much any bottle.

Why not just use a old "Real Cork" cork...

You should still have one around the house...

I save my corks from whiskey bottles, as the have a nice top, and almost always fit into the neck of any wine bottle.

I can sometimes get them back in by flipping them over and using the corkscrew end.

But if you can, you're better off using one of those rubber stoppers with a vacuum pump (e.g. "vacu-vin").

It will remove a lot of the air, preventing the wine from oxidizing as much.

I just tried it and got it back in.

Put the cork in at a 30-45 degree angle and keep applying pressure.

This works best if you can sit down with your feet under you butt and keep the bottle tight between your thighs.

Apply pressure and take a butter knife and keep working the edges in.

Once in just put your weight on the cork and ta da!

Saw a bit of diameter off the cork with a bread knife and happily plug it back in (it may not seal it completely but it'll do overnight)

I shaved the plastic rind off with a scissors, squeezed it in as far as I could with my hands, then put the hard plastic bottom of a bottle of ibuprofen on top of the cork and pressed down.

I imagine any kind of grippable, flat and hard thing would work.

The ibuprofen bottle made it much easier to apply force once the cork was in a workable position.

Question: The past couple times I've bought wine stopped with a  synthetic cork , I've had a very difficult time reinserting the cork after opening the bottle. It seems the cork expands after leaving the bottle, and it's made of such a rigid material that sometimes I can't squeeze it back in. (And no, inserting the back end doesn't work, as it sometimes does with real cork.)  Is there a trick to getting an expanded synthetic cork back in a wine bottle?

How to get a synthetic cork back in a wine bottle?

You can sometimes force them in at an angle or upside down, or shave off enough for them to fit. Alternatively, use a cork from a whiskey bottle or a re-usable bottle stopper. Synthetic corks are popular alternatives to real cork as they are cheaper, don't dry out and expand to make a better seal.

You can reuse stoppers from other bottles or buy reusable ones. You can also try trimming the cork so it fits back in the bottle.

Synthetic corks are impossible get back in. Buy re-usable stoppers or reuse stoppers from other bottles.

Try trimming off some of the cork so it fits in.


It is almost impossible to reduce the sweetness of cookie dough once made, without further reducing the quality.

The closest you could come would be to create a second batch of cookie dough ingredients with reduced sugar, and combine it with your existing dough.

However, it will be difficult to achieve good integration of the two batches, and even if you do, the extra working of the first batch from the mixing will create additional gluten, making tougher cookies.

In this case, you might want to try some sort of tart lemon glaze or perhaps a very bittersweet chocolate icing to compliment your cookies and reduce the impression of sweetness.

On the other hand, except for butter, sugar cookies contain no expensive ingredients.

It may not be worth trying to salvage this batch.

In the end, this is probably a lesson learned that your particular recipe is not to your liking as is.

Next time, you will want to either reduce the sugar, or use another recipe.

A (too) sweet cookie dough can easily be disguised or complemented by adding heat like cayenne pepper.

In my experience I added it to the dough and mixed it in.

(Second batch of cookies.)

Since you've already got your dough mixed working your dough is just going to end up with a tough dough.

I've found the combinations of chocolate, heat, and sweet or lemon, heat and sweet work very well.

Make a glaze or frosting.

Add the heat to disguise or complement the sweet.

I don't think it's a good idea to bite directly into the heat, particularly, when one is expecting something sweet.

I'd experiment with a few of the cookies.

First test - Use a very very light sprinkle of the cayenne on the raw cookie dough, press it in so it doesn't just burn on the surface, bake the cookie, frost, taste.

Second test - separate some of the glaze or frosting from the main source, add a very very light sprinkle of cayenne to the glaze or frosting, mix thoroughly, frost a baked and cooled cookie, taste.

Adjust to your preference.

You should end up with heat but that is an after effect.

Sweet with chocolate or sweet with lemon are the first impressions, a few chews and one becomes aware of the heat.

A little suggestion, if I may.

Mix your remaining dough with no flour, some soft butter and corn flakes.

Work the dough gently and form your biscuits as usual (try using a spoon to put them on the baking tray, since the high content of butter makes the dough very soft) and finally cook them - though a bit less than usual.

You'll get biscuits with a pleasant, sweet taste, but slightly salty and in proportion to the other ingredients there will be less sugar.

I often use this trick to save dishes with an excess of a certain ingredient.

My attempt to bake chocolate chip cookies from a store bought log came out too sweet.

I added a small amount of lemon zest and a few drops of peppermint flavouring to the next dough log.

The cookies are much better.

When my chocolate cookie dough was too sweet, I put crushed walnuts and hazelnuts on top of the dough before I baked them, and when they came out of the oven I sprinkled a tiny bit of salt on top of the cookies.

This helped tone down the sweetness a lot.

I made my sugar cookie dough too sweet, and I just added lime juice and salt to a cup and mixed it well, then mixed it into the cookie dough, and the cookies came out really good.

Adding oats and nuts help to lessen the sweetness of the batter :)

Question: I just baked the first batch of cookies and I found them to be too sweet to my liking.  The remaining dough is sitting in the fridge right now and I was wondering if there is anything I could do to it to reduce its sweetness.  These are the simple sugar cookies,  btw.

How to salvage a cookie dough that is too sweet?

It is difficult to correct this, but you could mix in a second batch with reduced sugar, use a lemon glaze or bittersweet chocolate icing or add lemon, cayenne pepper, oats or nuts.

While you can't reduce the sweetness of existing dough, you can try combining it with lemon zest or peppermint flavouring.

You can't reduce the sweetness of existing dough.

You can try combining with lemon zest, peppermint flavouring or cayenne pepper.


Olive oil degrades over time

so freshness is important.

Some of the higher priced olive oils sit on shelves for a very long time and by time they are sold they can be of lower quality than some mass produced olive oils.

I'd say you're in the right frame of mind and would recommend finding a brand with a local representative who can trust and know the source and timing of the oil.

Many smaller olive oil producers don't bother with organic certification because of cost, but they have same or better standards.

Therefore there is a sweet-spot where you can get quality olive oil similar to organics at decent prices.

Keep in mind good olive oil is produced in many places, including Greece, Spain, and Lebanon.

Not just Italy.

"Organic" is not only about pesticides.

Other factors that would prevent something being labelled "organic" include: use of inorganic fertilizers (mined phosphates etc) use of farmland that has been non-organically fertilized in recent past lack of record keeping to show that organic steps have been taken

It's entirely likely that olives for olive oil have been fertilized with inorganic fertilizer.

It's also not unusual for olive oil (and many other products) to be produced to 100% organic standards, but for the producers to not feel it worthwhile to spend the money and effort required to get certification.

It is not really correct: olives are subject to be attacked and eventually destroyed by different kind of parasites, as for instance the olive fruit fly , one of the most serious pest in the cultivation of olives.

Also, olives tree can be attacked by mushrooms, bacterius, and parasites.

What is true, on the contrary, is that the olive tree is quite resistant to cold weather, and it can go below zero with no substantial damage (depending on the subspecies).

An "organic" label certifies that no chemical products are used, and of course if you want to be completely sure that you are not using contaminated oil, you should avoid completely the posibility that pesticides are being used (= it should have an organic label).

About the quantity of pesticide used... it's really difficult to give an answer:

it depends on too many factors: where the olive plants are located, the laws of the country about pesticides, the 'common sense' of the producer.

In this interesting blog post (sorry it is in italian, you can try with google translate)

they explain shortly that to have abiologic oil you can in any case use biological treatments (killer insects, biological pesticides and so on) which guarantee that you have no pesticide residua in your oil.

This is the only guaranteed way to have organic oil.

Another advantage of organic olive oil is that the producers are required to use tinted glass for the bottles.

Oil stored in tinted glass bottles has longer shelf life because such glass filters UV light which is principally responsible for the deterioration in oil quality especially the for loss of vitamin E over time.

This is valid for Europe, I am not sure whether in the USA the same standards are in force.

I understand organic standard involves testing for adulteration (mixing lower quality and fake oils in) along with checking for pesticide residues etc.

So organic can mean you are more likely to get 100% extra virgin.

But scams happen with organic too, especially imports from other countries to the US.

Question: I have this idea that if I buy high quality olive oil from non-industrial producers then it doesn't need an "organic" label because olives are pretty resistant and don't require that much pesticide.  Is this correct?

Is there much of a difference between organic vs. regular olive oil?

Olives for olive oil may be fertilised with inorganic fertiliser or treated against parasites, but it is also possible for some olive oil and other products to technically qualify as organic without the producers being willing to pay for certification. An organic certification will ensure that the oil is free from adulteration and the presence of pesticides etc.

The olive oil might not have the organic label because the producers don't feel the label is worth the hassle, or because they have used chemicel products on their olive trees.

The olives may have been treated with inorganic products or the producers just didn't feel like the organic label was worth the hassle.

Olive trees can be attacked by parasites.

The organic label ensures that no chemical products have been used and that he


Yes, of course you can keep flour in the freezer.

For whole wheat flour, which is susceptible to rancidity due to the fat from the whole grain being included, it is even recommended.

For white flour, according to the University of Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County (emphasis added): For longer storage, keep white flours in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

All-purpose and bread flour will keep up to two years at 40 F in your refrigerator, according to the Wheat Foods Council.

They can be stored indefinitely in the freezer.

Short answer, yes provided you emphasize the airtightness of your storage container.

I often trust the wisdom espoused on the forums of King Arthur Flour's website, and specifically this topic on freezing flour .

All commenters who report personal anecdotes with freezing flour report positive ones.

The one note that should be made is that self-rising flour could lose some effectiveness if frozen, "thawed", refrozen, etc due to the moisture changes.

Also note that if you remove the cold flour from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature it will gather moisture from the air because of its temperature (ala a cold glass of water gathering condensation.)

I've had great success freezing flour to kill the bugs.

It's important to keep the chilled flour in its sealed container as its brought back to room temp.

That way, condensation from ambient air will precipitate on the container and not the flour.

Same with baked products that you freeze to store--keep them sealed up as they transition to room temp, and a slight crisping in the oven will bring them to almost new.

I know this is a little late, but IMHO, you should never store any flour, pancake mix or corn meal in its original package.

That's the easiest way for bugs to get in.

Always store it in airtight containers (such as Tupperware or something like it).

Someone once recommended using glass mason jars with a good lid.

I always cut the date from the paper package and place that on the top of the flour (that I've stored in Tupperware)

so I can see at a glance when the best by date really is.

If you really don't use a lot of flour, freeze some and date it.

It will be fresh for months.

Hope this helps.

I know it does when making ginger cookies.

The moisture picked up tends to make the cookies "flat" versus slightly raised with surface "cracking" which is so typical of ginger cookies.

The moisture completely eliminates the characteristic "cracking".

Whenever I buy bulk grains, flours, beans, I put them in the freezer for a month.

Or for years.

If the freezer ever dies then all that dry goods just starts a shelf life.

Freezing extends the life of these foods indefinitely.

And kills all bugs.

I purchase Gluten-free organic flour mix from Costco.

It comes in a plastic air-tight bag with a tear-off resealable zip top.

I store it in the freezer and take only what I need and combine it immediately with all other ingredients.

Sometimes the use-by date has expired and the flour is still good, however, I am not a food scientist and cannot recommend using out-of-date anything to other people.

Question: Years ago I noticed I was getting little bugs in the flour that I kept in the pantry.  To prevent this, I started keeping my flour in the freezer.  I don't do a lot of baking, but I was wondering what effects this might have on anything I do bake.  Do baked goods turn out any differently when flour is kept in the freezer vs flour kept at room temperature?  Also, if it's okay to freeze flour, how long will it last this way?

Is it okay to keep flour in the freezer?

Flour can be stored indefinitely in the freezer and its shelf life will be extended in the fridge. Freezing can kill bugs that are present, although repeated freezing and rethawing may affect the effectiveness of self-raising flour. Keep flour in an airtight container rather than its original packaging.

You can keep flour in the fridge or freezer.

You can definitely keep flour in the freezer. It will kill bacteria and insects and extend its shelf life.

You can keep flour in the fridge in a sealed container.

You should never keep flour in its original package.


You could try wine coolers*.

Wine likes temperatures around 50F, so they should all be around the temperature you want, and the nicer ones will have accurate thermostats too.

Mini-fridges could work - if their warmest temperature setting is warm enough.

But be careful: they tend to have very bad circulation.

On normal fridge temperature settings, a lot of them range from frozen on one end to too warm on the other end.

If you set it warmer, you might end up with a range from too cold to room temperature.

If all you're storing in it is roots, this is totally fine, but it could cause problems if anything is sensitive.

So your mileage may vary, and it can be tough to tell without buying and trying.

That said, you don't want temperatures that cold for tomatoes.

Storing them at room temperature is fine and generally recommended, unless your room temperature is excessively hot.

(For example, Harold McGee says this in On Food and Cooking, and that temperatures below 55F will mess with the texture.)

Most herbs also do pretty well in the refrigerator, wrapped loosely with paper towels inside an open bag.

Things like basil that like warm weather do better at room temperature, with cut ends in water, like flowers.

(You can also do this in the fridge, if you're having problems with them drying out too much - you'll want to cover the "bouquet" loosely with a bag still.)

See How to Store Fresh Herbs for more.

The things that you might want to store at intermediate temperatures are root vegetables - this is why they were traditionally stored in cellars (like wine).

Potatoes, for example, have an ideal storage temperature around 45-50F.

But it's not a huge concern; their storage lifetime is pretty long at room temperature.

Unless you find them sprouting before you use them, there's not much to worry about!

* Note that I said wine cooler not wine cellar -

in general the ones marketed as cellars are more expensive, but there are ones marketed as coolers that are back down closer to the minifridge price range.

Rumtscho's additional suggestion of drink refrigerators is probably good too - though quickly searching, I didn't find ones that were any cheaper than the cheap wine coolers.

Like many Canadians I have a "beer fridge" in the basement.

In this case it's an ancient fridge that once belonged to a relative.

I've turned it up as warm as it can go and it makes a great "root cellar" for carrots, beets, and the like from my Community Support Agriculture winter program.

However it is significantly dryer than the typical damp earth root cellar, so I have to keep all the produce in plastic bags in there.

(Anything not in a bag becomes wizened very quickly.)

They definitely keep better there than at room temperature in the kitchen, or in the main fridge upstairs which is set to fridge temperature.

Many modern fridges have compartments that run at different temperatures and humidity levels than the main fridge area

For a really modern look, try this fridge drawer designed and made in New Zealand :-).

It matches the dish drawer and can be set to -18°C to 15°C (0°F to 59°F)

Yes, they exist.

They are called "drink refrigerator".

Unlike a normal fridge, they don't have a freezer compartment, cheese compartment, etc.

They are supposed to be used by kiosks who sell cooled soft drinks, and normally are regulated at around 15 Celsius, which is actually a bit better for some kinds of produce (e.g. tomatoes, tropical fruit) and not that bad for lettuce and such.

But as far as I can remember, you can regulate their temperature within some interval, and getting them down to 10 Celsius (50 F) does not sound unreasonable, if that's what you want.

I took an old refrigerator and placed a wine-making thermostat (with sensor mounted inside on top) which keeps the temperature around 60 to 62 degrees.

Then a small computer fan was added by mounting it inside on an angle.

This moves the air around throughout the whole interior.

For power I used a small plug-in type transformer which satisfied the fan.

This way, all the food, etc.

remains fresh for a much longer time.

I keep my medicine, vitamins, spices in there too because it's that elusive 'Cool, Dry and Dark' place.

The freezer area is now warmer than a regular refrigerator, yet it's a great temperature for beer.

On the outside is a label which warns all that this not a freezer, or even a refrigerator.

This sounds very much like the function of the Kimchi refrigerator, a type of refrigerator that typically features multiple compartments and sometimes has separate controls to manage each compartment's temperature separately.

Most of them can be set to fermentation temperatures around 60-68f, and then have cooler settings for long term storage.

I'm not sure how much control you have outside of the sweet spot ranges (30-40f vs 60-68f)

but it wouldn't surprise me if you These are obviously more popular in the Korean market than anywhere else, but there are some companies that sell them for people outside Korea.

It might be a clever solution if you can find one that meets your needs.

Rather than spend a lot of money on devices marketed as wine cellars or similar (which are just plain regular refrigerators, perhaps with a glass door or differing aesthetic treatment and a higher price tag), you might wish to purchase small chest freezer and an aftermarket temperature controller, with a temperature probe that goes into the freezer cavity.

While focused on home brewing beer, The Barley Blog explains it in detail.

They recommend a particular model of controller, which you plug the freezer into:

The device essentially overrides the freezer’s own cooling mechanism by cutting power to the appliance when the desired temperature is attained.

All you have to do is plug the freezer into the Johnson Controls and then plug the regulator into a suitable power supply.

It does seem that such controllers are available through Amazon , for example.

(I wanted to be sure this idea is practical).

Question: It seems there are many foods that benefit from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 to 15 degrees Celsius storage temperature--herbs, peppers, tomatoes, etc.  As it stands, I store tomatoes and some herbs on the counter, which shortens their shelf life.  Is there a small home refrigerator available that will provide a suitable environment for such produce?

Does a home produce refrigerator exist?

There are special refrigerators for wine or kimchi, and many modern fridges have different compartments with different temperatures and humidity levels. Alternatively, you can use an old fridge with a wine-making thermostat to keep the temperature at the right level.

You could try a wine cooler or a mini fridge on its warmest setting.


In On Food and Cooking (2004 edition), page 307, Harold McGee indicates that the... erm... flatulent effects of sun chokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes) are due to complex fructose-based carbohydrates that are not digestible by humans.

Long, slow cooking allows enzymes present in the fresh of the tuber will convert these fructose over time.

McGee recommends 12-24 hours at 200 F / 93

C. He indicates that the result will be soft and sweet, akin to a vegetable aspic.

Note that the ogliosacharrides in beans are a different class than the inulin in sunchoke (

galactose based versus fructose based, respectively), and evidently Beano is not effective sunchoke.

Short of this extreme measure, your best defense against wind may be smaller portions of the vegetable.

Harold McGee addresses this subject in his excellent book, The Curious Cook (1990).

He explains the Jerusalem artichoke in great detail in the chapter titled, "Taking the Wind out of the Sunroot."

His conclusions are (a) the quantities of the responsible carbohydrate are somewhat dissipated during cold storage of a month or more, (b)"about half of the remaining indigestibles can be removed by boiling in a large volume of water for 15 minutes, and finally (c)

"A larger proportion can be broken down into fructose by cooking for 24 hours."

This final conclusion has made me consider using a water bath (sous vide), but I have not gotten around to the experiment.

By the way, for those of you considering a planting...once you plant them, you are stuck with them.

The multiply like crazy and are difficult to eradicate.

Your best bet is a contained raised bed.

Our Topinambour grows in the flower bed, not in the vegetable garden, so no need to dig all of them up.

We harvest as much as we need for one meal during winter and leave the rest in place.

Last harvest is in late winter/early spring, just before the tubers start sprouting again.

Looks pretty in summer when flowering, too.

As we haven't noticed any nasty side effects (yet?)

, I'm led to believe that harvesting them during winter when dormant is equivalent to 6 weeks of cold storage.

I asked a similar question to this (missed it while searching because I was not aware of the nameSunchokes) and the answers I received have been merged into this one.

I was asked to provide the information from my original question as an answer here.

Since some of the answers might look out of place in reference to the original quetion I will try to provide the context they were given in.

The gaseous effects of Sunchokes are caused by the high content of a carbohydrate called Inulin.

Our digestive system is not able to digest this carb, while the bacteria in our colons absolutly thrive on it.

As one of the other answers outlines: the most accepted remedy is cold storage or late harvesting.

When left in the groud during the winter, the tubers transform the inulin, thus enabling us to effectively digest the Sunchokes.

This means that if you are growing your own, you can just harvest the tubers on the day you eat them, provided you do so late in the season.

If you grow your own and find that you need to harvest them all at once it is best to leave the soil on them, wrap them in a cloth and leave them in a cool and dark environment for 4 to 6 weeks.

If you buy them from a store and you are unsure about how long they were stored before going on sale, that makes it quite hard to be sure

and I also do not know if the tubers will keep for weeks once cleaned.

Regardless of the storage method, there will always be a amount of Inulin left in the tubers, which brings us to the question from the OP: how to cook them to minimise the effect.

I have played around with cooking methods a bit.

My conclusions: A long cook, while getting rid of much of the Inulin does not do it for me.

Sunchokes are best when they retain a crunchiness

and I find their texture dissapointing when overcooked, kind of like when you cook sweet potatoes for a minute too much.

Obviously this effect is negated when used in a blended soup, which is why we use them for this dish quite a lot.

Stir frying at really high temperature does have a positive effect.

While I am not certain about which chemical transformation takes place, the caramelisation due to the high heat levels seems to change the chmical composition of the product sufficiently to take care of most of the problem.

The idea has been presented that if you lactoferment sunchokes, the fermentation process converts most of the inulin into simpler carbohydrates that don't cause the gas.

The idea is to let the microbes have their way with the sunchokes -before- they enter your digestive system.

There's tons of info on youtube and the web about lectofermenting veggies, which provides other health benefits (besides preventing super gas) like improving the the gut bacteria, which aids your immune system.

According to the article linked below, boiling in an acidic liquid (lemon juice or vinegar is suggested) for 15 minutes will convert enough inulin to make them digestible but leave enough to give you the probiotic benefits.

There is a pickling recipe in the same article that should have the same inulin decreasing effect.

Some recipes suggest adding caraway and/or asafoetida (hing), and these spices are there for a reason - they are known for reducing gas.

I use the artichokes in soup, which I then puree.

The first few soups all caused major gas problems and I could only put it down to the artichokes.

My next lot if soup had a lit less artichokes

and I found the gas was vastly reduced.

As well, something else that may also have an impact on reducing wind is that after I scrubbed the artichokes I have left them in a bucket of cold water

so I use them as I need them.

Question: I'd love to eat sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes or topinambour) more frequently, but the side effects (gas, abdominal discomfort) are a bummer. In a home kitchen, how can I prepare the sunchokes to prevent this side effect?

What can I do to prevent the gaseous side effect of sunchokes?

Cold storage and late harvesting can help, but stir frying at a high temperature, boiling in water with lemon juice or vinegar for 15 minutes, pickling and lactofermenting will also reduce inulin. Adding caraway and/or asafoetida (hing) will also help to reduce gas.

Various methods for reducing gas when eating Jerusalem artichokes exist. These include cooking with an acid, pickling, cold storage and fermenting.

One method of reducing gas is cold storage or late harvesting of the artichokes

Different cooking methods, for example, pickling or cooking in vinegar, can help reduce gas.

Fermenting the artichokes helps reduce gas.


I assume you cooked your chicken thighs to 165–175°F (74-80°C) (depending on preference).

165°F (74°C) is the recommended temperature for safety (at least by US authorities), 175°F (80°C) is often recommended for texture (in legs and thighs; not for breast).

The best bet is to measure in several spots.

You generally want to guess the thickest spot of meat, insert the probe past the center, then slowly withdraw it.

How slowly depends on the response time of your probe.

You then use the lowest temperature you see, especially if you see anything under the food-safety temperature (165°F or 74°C).

If there are multiple pieces of chicken, you should check several.

Especially if they're different sizes.

Probe response times are anywhere from 20 seconds on fairly cheap thermometers, down to 3 seconds on expensive ones (like a Thermopen).

10 seconds is typical.

You'll know its finished responding when the numbers stop changing quickly.

You also should rest the chicken, loosely tented, for at least 5 minutes (for just thighs, more like 15 minutes for a full chicken) after taking it off the heat—this lets the heat even out, and also will reduce the amount of juice lost when cutting.

You want to: Stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, not touching any bone which would give you a falsely high reading Wait long enough for the temperature reading to stabilize (which may be 5-10 seconds depending on your thermometer) Note that once you start measuring your temperature, you may be cooking your thighs properly, but may be so used to overcooked meat that properly cooked thighs are unpalatable to you.

Of course, you should find the temperature

you like as long as it is above the safety threshold.

Typically, thighs would be cooked to about 165-170 F.

According to the FSIS site you should check the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh.

The middle of it is the part that will take the longest to cook, so that's where you should put the tip of the probe.

Take care to not touch the bones, since they can conduct the heat from the "outside" and give an incorrect reading.

Finally, it will depend on your taste, but I would overcook it the first time (let's say, 165 F) and then see if it's more or less to your desired point.

Then I would adjust the temperature to the desired taste.

I put the probe in the thickest part of the thigh and try to also hit the bone as the thickest part will have a bone n the middle.

Also the last places to reach temperature are always closest to the bone.

(I never put the probe near the ends of the bone (where it's not thickest anyway) and I've never had a false high reading.

Just let the point touch the bone but don't push it into the bone.

I like to hit the bone with the point at the thickest spot.

If it's 165 there then the rest is good.

I also pick the thickest piece if they don't vary much in size.

If they vary I check the smallest first.

I pick them off from smallest to largest as they reach 165.

From this kitchen tips page on my blog: To use insert the full length of the kitchen thermometers sensing area.

These are usually 2 to 2 1/2 inches for dial and 1 or less for digital thermometers (check manufacturer's directions).

Insert in a way that the sensing area is in the center of the thickest part of the food and not touching bone, fat or gristle.

Ideally you would require about 15 to 20 seconds for the temperature to be accurately displayed on a dial thermometer and about 10 seconds on a digital thermometer.

THINNER FOODS Insert

the thermometer sideways with the sensing area in the center for a thin foods, like hamburger patty or boneless chicken breast.

DISHWASHERS Kitchen thermometers are not dishwasher safe.

Wash by hand with hot soapy water and consequently rinse with water before and after use.

Make sure you're not measuring the temp.

of the pan as well.

Just put the thermometer into the meat far enough that you're measuring in the middle of the piece of meat.

Question: I tried to bake chicken thighs the other day and I used my  probe thermometer  to tell me when they were done.  Well it seems that I did something wrong when inserting the thermometer because the thighs were still undercooked.  How can you use a probe thermometer on a chicken thigh to accurately take its temperature?

How do I accurately take a chicken thigh's temperature?

You can measure in several spots, or stick the probe in the thickest part of the thigh while avoiding the bone, which will give an artificially high reading.

To ensure chicken thighs are cooked the temperature should be taken at the thickest part. The thermometer needs to be inserted far enough to measure the temperature in the middle of the meat, which should be 165-170 F. It is also considered a good idea to take readings at several spots.

Measurement should be taken at several spots

It is generally agreed that the temperature should be measured at the thickest part of the thigh.

The thermometer should be inserted far enough to read the temperature in the middle of the meat.

The temperature for cooked chicken thighs is 165-170 F.