I've never done anything in particular.

I just don't use soap on it.

You season it by cooking pizza on it.

Nope, there is nothing you need to do to prepare a pizza stone for use, other than giving it a good cleaning to remove any residue from the factory.

While you don't have to pre-season most stones these days, you can speed up the natural process by:

Wipe the new pan with a wet cloth (no soap) Dry in oven (low heat)

Apply a very light coat of neutral vegetable oil with an old towel (I find paper tends to snag on new stones) Bake on med-high (400) as you would a cast iron pan (but not upside down).

Once the stone is seasoned, you'll find things don't stick as badly (or at all).

After normal use, just wipe the stone with a wet cloth (if soiled) and use a gentle utensil for scraping off anything that might stick (it should pop right off).

Both of my stones are a much darker colour after both seasoning and using for a few years.

This is normal.

After your first pizza-making experience you'll learn they are hard to clean--

cheese likes to glue itself to the sandstone, oil soaks into it, etc.

A common piece of advice

I found on the internet is to leave the pizza stone in the oven all the time.

This has been working for me as it means what ever I can't get off the stone is constantly being re-baked and turned into something other than mold.

You can stick a pizza stone in the oven on a self clean mode.

The super high heat of the cleaning cycle will burn off 90% of stuck food.

Don't put it on a rack though, just put on the bottom.

The racks get destroyed in the cleaning cycle.

Ceramics do just fine in high heat; that's how they make your plates and cups - by firing them in high heat.

Just make sure you don't expose the stone to temperature extremes, let it cool down by itself.

And yes, don't use soap on a stone.

The porous nature of the stone will suck up the soap and is impossible to get out.

You don't have to do anything to season it.

If you do need to clean it, it's ok to use PLAIN warm water on it (never soap) and a scrub sponge (again, no soap) after it cools completely, but make sure you let it dry thoroughly before you heat it up again or it may crack.

Our electric self cleaning oven did the trick.

I was afraid the stone might crack, but it cleaned completely, so the advice above about just leaving it in the oven is probably good also.

We use cornmeal on the peel.

It doesn't burn like flour.

Do not oil a pizza stone.

Oil will be absorbed and will likely go rancid.

Do NOT season your pizza stone, EVER!!!

Simply dust it with flour or corn meal before you put it in the oven to get hot and once its up to a nice hot temp of your choice, ( I prefer 450 ) using a pizza peel slide pizza onto your stone and let it do its magic and once its done remove pizza from stone using the same utensil you used to place it on stone in the first place.

Once stone has cooled wash it with water and dry it and keep in safe place until next time.

BTW

this info was directly from pizza stone manufacturer... ENJOY!!!

Question: I just bought my first pizza stone.  The instructions that came with it recommend that I wash it thoroughly with plain water before using it for the first time.  Is there anything else I should do to it to season it so it lasts and performs optimally?

How do I season my new pizza stone?

Clean with plain water to remove residue from the factory, and make sure it is thoroughly dry before baking with it again, but otherwise there is no need to season other than using it for its purpose.

You don't need to do anything to season it but if you want to speed up the process you can wipe it with a wet cloth and dry it in the oven.

You don't need to do anything in particular to season it except rinse it in plain water to remove any residue.

To speed up the seasoning process, you wipe it with a wet cloth and dry it in the oven on a low heat.


Bread is basically just flour, water, and yeast, so it's pretty hard to make it inedible unless you burn it to a crisp in the oven.

The difference between all-purpose flour and bread flour is gluten strength; if you substitute all-purpose flour then your bread won't rise as high or be as strong; this is a desirable quality in, say, cake, but not bread.

However, AP flour isn't that far off from bread flour in terms of gluten; while cake flour may be as low as 6% and bread flour can be as high as 14%, AP flour tends to weigh in at around 10% or more, which is why it's called "all-purpose".

As Michael says, yeast bread is actually not as sensitive to the exact quantities as (for example) most pastries, but it's still better to use a recipe that was actually built around AP flour instead of just trying to substitute it for bread flour.

If you are determined to make the substitution, then I would suggest you try to find some wheat gluten and add a small amount of that to the AP flour.

Mathematically, if you assume that you're lacking some 3% protein, then you'd want to add about 1 tbsp of gluten for every 2 cups of flour.

It's really not much, though, and if you don't have or can't find wheat gluten then your bread would probably survive anyway with AP flour

, it just might be a little denser than you expect.

Bread baking is remarkably tolerant.

It is very hard to make an inedible loaf.

That said, why not start with a recipe that has been tested with all-purpose flour.

There are plenty of them.

By the way, a terrific book to get you started with baking is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day .

Enjoy the journey, learning to bake bread is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do in the kitchen.

Actually, I think you are fine making any of those recipes with AP flour, especially the two recipes for white bread.

If you want a good general "sandwich" bread, then AP flour will give you a softer crumb that most people actually prefer for that kind of bread.

If you had bread flour, you could try it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get the bread flour or vital wheat gluten to add to the flour in these cases.

In the case of the whole wheat recipe bread flour can be particularly beneficial because the bran in the whole wheat flour inhibits gluten development somewhat.

Even in this case, the proportions are such that it shouldn't make much of a difference, and I wouldn't go out of my way to source higher gluten ingredients.

If you want more gluten development out of your AP flour one thing you might try is what bakers call an autolyse.

This is a technique where you bring the dough together just to the point where all the dry ingredients are hydrated and let it sit without messing with it for about 20 minutes.

This allows the gluten in the dough to get a headstart knitting itself together.

After that 20 minute period, then you knead the dough.

As a general rule of thumb, for breads you make in a loaf pan you should be fine using AP flour if that's what you have.

If you want to make artisan crusty breads that are usually formed into baguettes or other shapes to be baked free form on a pizza stone or other solid oven deck

then bread flour will help out (along with a host of other techniques).

The book Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman (the head baker for King Arthur Flour Co) is a great book for more than you would ever want to know about flour and has a lot of good recipes and techniques for the not-in-a-loaf-pan kind of bread baking.

I've been baking bread for sixty years and have used both AP and bread flour.

I have yet to notice any appreciable difference...at least any difference worth worrying about.

It's just not worth the trouble to store both types at home when AP does such a good job for both bread and pastries.

My biggest problem is finishing the bread before it goes stale, which it does so much faster than commercial bread because of the lack of preservatives.

I have only ever used all purpose flour myself.

As a young bread maker I did not know about bread flour, gluten, etc.

Now I know about it, I live somewhere where I can not obtain it.

To add insult to injury the all purpose flour here tends to have a rather low gluten content.

That being said, with the exception of one type of bread

I have always had very good results with AP flour

(I also always buy the cheapest generic flour).

The most important thing in bread making is not really your gluten content or flour quality, but your experience and practice.

You will find a well seasoned bread maker can make an amazing loaf out of almost any flour (even if they are picky).

Likewise a first timer can destroy the very best flour.

Long post short

yes you can make bread with all purpose flour.

I started that way.

AP flour can be bought in larger quantities where I am.

You might not even notice the difference.

In fact, if you want to really see the difference, make two breads side by side with the different flours.

Note the difference in water you need, the feel, and the eventual eats.

When I first started making bread, I always used AP flour.

All turned out well, tasted great.

I do buy bread flour now, but I cant see any difference.

To the lady that was saying her bread gets stale before she finishes it, I cut the bread in 1/2 and freeze 1/2 half.

Second lot tastes as good.

When thawing it do it in your fridge.

Stops the soggy bottom.

Question: I'm a bread-baking novice and have acquired a vast quantity of all-purpose flour.  If I follow a typical bread recipe, for example  one   of   these , but use all-purpose flour instead of the recommended variety, what will happen?  Will the bread be edible?  [How] could I modify such a recipe to work with all-purpose flour?  update  Used Canadian all-purpose flour with  this recipe , unmodified; results were delicious.

baking bread with all-purpose flour

Bread flour has more gluten and will make it rise better and be stronger, but otherwise AP flour will be fine for bread making.

You can bake bread with AP flour. The result might not rise as much but it will be fine otherwise.

It is perfectly fine to make bread with all-purpose flour.


Salt is a good means to control/suppress flames and flareups without having a cooling effect on the coals.

Possibly they were using it to slow the coals a bit.

Salt doesn't really burn (though if you can get it to melt you can get a nice orange flame from the sodium burning off), and if you put enough of it on the fire at once it could smother it.

It's also possible that they believed, as @Jasie mentioned, that the salt would somehow get from the coals to the meat and season it.

This would not happen.

Mostly because the salt doesn't burn or atomize, so it won't rise up to hit the meat.

Perhaps if it had LOTS of flavorful impurities in it, they might smoke or atomize and hit the meat--but they wouldn't add a salt taste.

They'd taste like whatever they taste like.

So in the interest of assuming the cooks weren't just being superstitious, I'd go with the flame control idea

: It's something that could be used to damp the fire down that would not turn to steam (ruining the dry heat you're after with charcoal), and is a safe, known compound so you wouldn't be risking getting something harmful on the meat.

I have been taught by folks using cast iron Dutch Ovens outdoors, that not only does salt spread heavily over coals reduce flair ups, it helps keep the heat in, while reducing how quickly the briquets burn.

My own experience with fruit pies or fillings,is that it keeps the spill-over from burning and smoking for prolonged periods.

Sure works in my oven for making spills easy to clean up and eliminating fire.

I don't think this provides a full answer to your question, but the following snippet I came across

might at least provide some clue:

Solid salt crystals melt at 800°C and evaporate at around 1.500°C, temperatures reached in wood fires and glowing coals, which can vaporize salt and deposit a thin film on foods above them.

(Source:

On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee, p. 643)

But this appears in a brief section on "The Physical Properties of Salt" and there's no further explanation as to the implication on cooking in practice, that is, whether the glowing coals in an average barbecue get hot enough to vaporize salt and whether the film that's deposited on the foods is enough to make a noticeable difference in the taste of the food.

Though it's been years since the original question, I just recently found another possible answer: Apparently when cooking with Japanese Binchotan charcoal, chefs will throw rock salt at the coals to knock off the white ash around them, exposing more of the red hot surface.

Of course, binchotan is really a whole different category of charcoal from what most people use--it gets to something like 1500 degrees F.--so

it may be that the salt would have a different purpose than on "normal" charcoal.

In the case of burning frankincense you would put salt on the charcoal so you don't get the smoke and unpleasant smell and only smell the herb or root your burning.

It also controls the speed at which frankincense burns.

I would think that may be a valid reason at a barbecue.

Question: At a recent barbecue in Chile, I watched the chef throw large handfuls of salt over the charcoal a few minutes before placing on the meat.  What would be the reason for this?

Why throw salt over a barbecue before cooking?

Salt will help to suppress smoke and flareups as well as slowing the coals a bit, which can help especially when burning herbs. Salt also helps to remove some of the ash layer and expose more of the red hot surface.

Salt slows down the coals and stops them from heating too much.

Salt suppresses the flames and slows the coals down a bit. It also prevents smoking.

Salt removes the ash and exposes the red hot surface.


Generally it's things that have been prepared

such that there's some sort of added preservative -- salt, sulfates, sulfides, nitrates, etc.

So this would include all hams except 'fresh ham', almost all deli meats, all sausages, bacon, jerky, corned beef, etc.

So yes, sausage is considered a processed meat.

If you want to get all technical about what 'processed' means it could also include any other form of curing (eg, smoking), and most any form of processing (grinding, slicing, etc), although this second group typically isn't refered to as 'processed meat' (unless it's then glued back together, like chicken nuggets, but those tend to have additives in them already)

As for the health aspects ...

like most anything, it's fine in moderation, although there are some people who react badly to sulfates and sulfides.

Some sausages have more additives in them than others, and there are plenty of sausages out there that might be considered 'healthy' if it's in place of other higher salt/fat foods (eg, some brands of chicken & apple sausage).

Generally such health fears will be to do with the amount of additives in "processed meat".

The use of Mechanically Reclaimed Meat (MRM) is also rather frowned upon.

At the height of the media coverage of such issues in the UK, Turkey Twizzlers were singled out for particular hatred, the ingredients list almost speaks for itself.

(Via: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/mar/23/broadcasting1 ) Ingredients: Turkey ( 34% ), Water, Pork fat , Rusk, Coating (sugar, rusk, tomato powder, wheat starch, dextrose, salt, wheat flour, potassium chloride, hydrogenated vegetable oil, citric acid, spices, onion powder, malt extract, smoke flavourings, garlic powder, colour [E160c], mustard flour, permitted sweetener [E951], herb, spice extracts, herb extracts), Vegetable oil, Turkey skin , Salt, Wheat flour, Dextrose, Stabiliser

(E450), Mustard, Yeast extract, Antioxidants

(E304, E307, E330, E300),

Herb extract, Spice extract, Colour (E162).

Note the percentage Turkey in that list, and that is MRM.

Turkey skin is added separately in to the mix as well you will notice, as well as pork fat.

Sausages can fall in to this trap, many cheap sausages are around 30-40% meat and contain a great deal of additives.

There are however many good quality sausages that contain few, if any, additives.

Some people advocate that sausages should be close to 100% meat, personally I think they are better with a good bit of rusk and other ingredients.

It is the word processed that is key to the argument.

Sausages are necessarily "processed" meat, in that the meat is not in its original form.

But the health issues are for when "processed" means a lot of unhealthy additions, poor quality meat, a great deal of fat, salt, etc.

good quality sausages don't contain sodium nitrite.

you can tell, because it looks like ground up meat in a sausage stuffing.

the "processed" meats you're referring to have a different texture & color - think hot dog or deli-meat (pink).

mechanically process is very different from chemically processed.

nutritionally, you want to steer clear of the chemically processed (preservatives & sodium nitrite).

I get my sausages from a great butcher, and I'm certain that all the "processing" done to them is benign.

Processing" in this case entails mincing, mixing with breadcrumbs, spices etc.

and putting in the skins.

They will be high in fat -- because it's pork and it won't be from the leanest part of the pig, and because the fat makes for moist delicious sausages.

Of course you can make sausages with as many filthy additives as you like, and if you go far enough downmarket

that's what you'll get.

But the same could be said for, say, lasagne.

A homemade lasagna is quite different from the cheapest lasagna ready-meal in the freezer section of your supermarket.

Generally they put those chemicals in the meat to enhance the flavour (salt / sodium) and so it stays on the self longer - nitrates (prevent bacteria from growing)

Long as you look at the packaging and look for high levels of meat 70 - 80% they will need put less salt in for flavour.

but they will always need put the preservatives or it wont keep for very long and producers lose money.. and you get annoyed if it doesn't keep in the fridge.

My tip is for a decent sausage is to visit the local butcher..

he'll tell you what's in it or more importantly

what's not in it.

Plus you'll get a better service and the meat is better quality and there sausages are always always much nicer.

Question: Over the years, I've read a lot of health information that says processed meats are some of the worst foods for you from a fat, sodium, and nitrate intake perspective.  Then I read that Sausage is a processed meat, which, makes sense.  Is all Sausage considered a "Processed Meat", and is therefore relatively high in fat, sodium, and nitrates?

Is all sausage considered a "Processed Meat"?

Sausages are not in their original form and are necessarily processed, but higher quality sausages will have fewer additives such as sodium nitrate. There are also some sausages that are healthier than others, such as some brands of chicken and apple sausage.

Sausage is a processed meat. Some sausages contain a lot of additives, while others contain hardly anay.

Some sausages contain more additives than others. They are ok in small amounts and are intended to enhance the flavour and preserve them for longer.


Well I would suggest if you really can not get it, then leave it out altogether.

It provides accents of flavour rather than a primary usually in most curry recipes, so it can be omitted.

If you want to substitute it, then you can use lemon or lime zest, possibly with some mint leaves to freshen it a little.

But the end result will not be the same, just enhanced in a similar fashion to that which lemongrass achieves.

Western grocery stores generally don't carry lemon grass, you'll need to go to an Asian market.

Many of them will also sell dried (powdered) lemon grass, which is definitively the best substitute you can find for fresh lemon grass.

Honestly, there's really very little else you can substitute.

Lemon grass has this hint of citrus flavour but also, as the name implies, a sort of grassy , herb-like flavour.

If I were really desperate, I would substitute lemon zest (fresh only ), at 1/2 tsp for each lemon grass stalk called for by the recipe, and several pages online seem to suggest adding in some arugula (to give it that grassy quality).

But be warned, it is not going to be the same, it's going to be a great deal more bitter, so consider either reducing the quantity or adding more sweet/savoury spices or ingredients to the curry to compensate (cinnamon, perhaps).

I always think lemongrass tastes more like lime than lemon.

I'd use the grated zest of a lime, perhaps mixed with some of lemon.

Lemongrass freezes well.

If you cannot find it in the fresh section, try the frozen section of the market.

Personally, and unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it even it at my own local Asian market.

Recipes in some of my cookbooks call for lemon zest as an alternative.

I'm certainly not an expert but as was mentioned briefly before, lemon balm might be a better substitute than lemon or lime zest.

It has a subtle lemon-y flavor and also the 'grass-y' note (if fresh).

I've used that before when I was out of lemongrass and

it was better than leaving it out.

I just had to play with the amount, however, adding tiny bits at a time and tasting.

Question: I have a meal planned in a few days and it calls for lemon grass.  Problem is I've been to the store a couple of times and they don't have it.    (the store is a block away and I don't feel like driving all the way to the next one to look)  The dish is curry spiced noodles, basically a stir-fry.  Any suggestions?

Substitute for lemon grass in curry dish

You could use lemon or lime zest, possibly mixed with arrugula for the grassy quality, or use lemon balm instead.

The the zest of a lemon or lime or some lemon balm.

Try using the zest of a lemon or lime instead.


When making rice for a large group, you should take a hint from the restaurants and do it in the oven in a large roaster or baking pan.

Put the rice in a pan, add boiling water and salt, and then cover with foil.

Or you can make it like a very large pilaf which will make it more special.

But oven in large pan is the way to go and make it fresh.

I don't have amounts because you will know how much you need to make.

Common knowledge is 2 times as much water as the rice, and common knowledge is, generally, too much water, particularly in large batches.

Again, a restaurant recipe will do you well.

You have to be very careful when preparing rice for consumption later.

Cooked rice can contain a toxic spore which causes severe food poisoning.

You should cool the rice as rapidly as possible to prevent too much of the toxin being produced by the spore.

ok, so this may not be a correct answer for a cooking site, but... maybe you could buy enough cooked rice on the day of your event from a local chinese restaurant? : )

one less thing for you to worry about on the day of your big party (and nobody needs to know)!

Rice will dehydrate when it's left over night.

So it will be very dry when you try and reheat it.

Cook it ahead of time, but keep it as close to ahead of time as possible.

The less time it sits around, the better.

When it's time to serve, place a little water in with the rice, cover it (slightly vented), and then microwave till warm.

The steam from the water will help rehydrate.

I don't think the result is quite as good as fresh rice, but it's much easier.

I have two options here..

one was not easy and the other one was rather creative (but traditional) Fried Rice.

A quick way of reheating a large amount of rice from the fridge (I guess you pre-cook all the rice prior) is to make fried rice.

Just heat up a wok and add a bit of oil will do the job.

It may take you a few rounds, but it's better than reheating rice in microwave.

Make Rice dumplings - you may have heard of Chinese rice dumpling which is usually made of glutinous rice, but you can use short grain rice instead which is sticky enough.

It may look kinda fancy if you serve people with rice dumplings.

The advantage of rice dumpling is you can keep them in hot water before you serve and you don't need rice cooker as the whole cooking process is in a pot.

I cannot find you the exact recipe, but this blog article seems pretty good.

http://eatfirstthinklater.blogspot.com/2006/05/making-chinese-rice-dumpling-bak-chang.html Just ignore all the ingredient and put in rice only.

I got some links here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi

I do this for parties all the time.

I put several large spoonfuls in a plastic ziplock bag.

Seal the bag, stick it in the microwave for 3min intervals till it is hot enough.

flipping the contents around in between heating.

Question: I am having a party. I have no rice cooker.  I plan on cooking the rice the day before.  Is it possible to reheat it and have it taste good?  How to?

Reheating rice for 25 guests

Cooked rice can cause severe food poisoning, but if you are careful and cook it close to the time of consumption it should be fine to microwave it with a little added water. If short of time, a local Chinese restaurant may be able to deliver enough cooked rice at the right time.

Put a little water in with the rice and microwave until warm. Alternatively, you can get large amounts of rice from a local Chinese restaurant.

Rice can cause food poisoning if not cooled and reheated properly.

Try buying the rice already warm from a local Chinese restaurant.


Using a mixer is not "a must".

You should be able to whisk 1-2 egg yolks together quite easily which a whisk and some elbow grease.

How do you think we beat egg yolks for the centuries prior to electricity?

I don't even bother with a whisk for something that small.

(the only wisk I have is medium sized balloon whisk, I don't have any small ones).

I find a fork and a small bowl work well for up to about 3-4 eggs.

I tip the bowl towards hand with the fork so I can get a better angle on it, and it keeps the eggs from spreading out too much across the bowl.

I think a great option for beating small amounts, if you don't just use a whisk, is a hand-cranked egg beater.

They're cheap and easy to use.

I have one I got from my Mom many years ago, and it works great.

If you get one, don't let batter or egg or whatever dry on it--wash (or at least rinse) as soon as you're done using it.

They're hard to get dried-on stuff off of because the spaces are small.

I'd use my immersion blender , which gets plugged in.

have you tried tilting your blender?

i had the same problem for awhile and tilting the blender so the blades could reach the eggs

did the trick.

just be sure to have a firm, two hand hold; one on the base of the blender and one on the glass.

then just tilt the top towards you.

This is what I use currently - a drill on a high speed using the micro mixer attachement.

I think Dremel Stylus on low would work as well, but I don't have that one.

When I make waffles for 4 people, I use 4 yolks and my immersion blender gets the traction needed, but for two yolks I need a narrow glass and this.

One option I've found works well is, I had picked up a immersion little milk frother gadget, and it works like a tiny immersion blender.

Honestly, I find beating eggs can be done just fine by hand, with a fork and a bowl or with a whisk (sometimes just "churning" between the hands if the whisk is too large or the quantity or bowl too small), but the little frother works when I've lumps to be worked out of something, or actual blending would be nice but the quantity is small - and since I've got it, I can use it for things like beating eggs if I'm in a hurry or feeling lazy.

Question: Many sauces and pastries call for beaten yolks. You need to beat yolks well, till they are thick again and are lemon-colored, so using mixer is a must. But if you need only one or two egg yolks, regular mixers are too big for the task. What I'm currently using is a battery-driven micro mixer, and it is not powerful enough and eats up batteries fast.Can anybody suggest a good solution to the problem?

How to beat one or two egg yolks?

A hand whisk or fork can work best here, or you can use an immersion blender, milk frother or hand drill with a micro mixer attachment.

While 2 eggs should be Ok to beat by hand, you can also try using an immersion blender.

You can easily whisk 2 egg yolks by hand.


The cold process is easy.

Just blend the fresh pulp using a kitchen blender to make a thin and smooth pulp.

Heat the pulp in low heat and maintain a 50 degrees celcius heat for about an hour and a quarter.

This is called malaxation which enables the oil molecules to collect into globules visible by eye.

Then after malaxation,take the warm malaxed pulp and strain it into a cheese cloth or a muslin cloth and press by squeezing out the oil as it collects into a container beneath.

There you have pure virgin avocado oil.

I never buy cooking oil at home.

I use this for deep frying,baking and desserts making.

Its very health and pocket friendly cooking oil especially if you live where avocado is grown in plenty like my home area of Meru in Kenya.

I have 20 avocado trees which i make use of.

You can try this too at home and enjoy your cooking.

I made avocado oil from my trees here in southern Florida.

I whipped up the pulp of 12 avocados with 1/3 cup coconut oil.

I whipped for about 25 min with a hand blender on high.

The mixture looks creamy and starts to look shiny.

Then I put in my food dehydrator overnight .

I cut muslin circles to fit the tray and layered it about 1/2 thick.

There was enough to do two overnight batches.

Dry till it's almost a leather.

Peel it off the muslin and press the oil out.

I used my potato ricer.

It's a rich dark emerald green.

Store it in the fridge.

I've heard of this being pressed, or cold pressed.

The 'pulp' not the seed.

Then use a muslin cloth squeeze out the oil.

Perhaps then separating the oil via a light boil or by skimming the top after letting it separate.

I'm sure there are easier or more efficient ways, but I figured I'd share my findings.

Press the skins only (with an orange press).

Mix the pulp with coconut cream (not creamed coconut or cream of coconut)

, heat on stove.

Put cheesecloth over a bowl.

Put heated mixture into cheesecloth.

Pick up sides of cloth, close so it resembles a bag, and squeeze.

Squeeze as much oil out as you can.

You can combine the oil produced by pressing the skin with the oil you squeeze.

Most of the oil is in the skin.

Another cold pressed method without a dehydrator is to mash or blend the flesh, spread it very thinly on baking sheets, pie pan, etc.

let it dry in the sun until the pulp turns black and flakes are hard, then strain it with two layers of cheesecloth, butter cloth,nut milk bags, or a thin old cloth of similar material to cheesecloth.

you can also put the pans in the oven and turn the oven to the lowest setting, but this uses a lot of energy.

I've done this, and its simple and easy.

Am in Uganda, so I get avocado pears.

Blend it or mash the ripe avocados, then spread out to dry in the sun.

Put in a cloth, and squeeze out the oil.

It comes out quickly....

a dark green appearance.

Question: Avocado oil is expensive and I've been trying to figure out a solution to make my own. I'd love to make a press (I do woodworking) but I haven't found anything online.  Is there a way to extract avocado oil from avocadoes at home?

How do I press avocadoes to make avocado oil?

Avocadoes can be pressed, cold pressed or malaxed, then strained through a cheesecloth or muslin cloth.

You can use a cold press method with the cooked pulp in a cheese cloth.

Pass the pulp through a cheese cloth to let the oil fall through.


Mold doesn't grow that fast in a refrigerator overnight.

I'd bet some ingredient reacted with your baking powder or baking soda.

I've seen something similar before in three separate circumstances: instant oatmeal that turned blue when mixed with iodine-treated water (day after day on a camping trip); garlic mixed with yogurt turns blue when heated; blueberry pancake batter turned green overnight.

This is normal.

The batter is not bad and is a chemical reaction.

Just stir it up.

I have been eating pancakes for years and always refrigerate the extra batter.

Its good for a couple of days.

Was it just a layer of green on top or was the mixture itself a green colour?

The former would suggest it went mouldy; the latter that some chemical reaction occurred to alter the colour.

You can also give it a good sniff...

if the smell is at all unpleasant or noticeably different, this can be a sign that something went off.

Even if it didn't go "bad", I'd probably still toss it and just make half the amount next time, for a few reasons:

The change in colour might also indicate a change in the flavour.

If the batter is green, your pancakes will likely come out an unappetizing colour too.

I never enjoy eating something that I'm wondering if it might make me sick.

It's just not worth it.

The pancakes will almost certainlynot rise well after the batter hassat overnight (anything with bakingpowder should be cooked as quicklyas possible after mixing the bakingpowder with the wet ingredients).

this happens every time I make buttermilk pancakes, the next day the batter looks grayish!!

I mix it up well and cook with it

and it's fine!

I had some tonight for my dinner!!

I always use Martha Stewart's recipe.

It's funny, because my pancakes never rise well on day one of the batter mix.

Then after standing overnight.. I notice this chemical reaction...

I used to think it was mold...

but others are right.

That is too fast to become mold.

But, the pancakes always rise better...

higher... the next day or two from the same or mixed additional batter.

So my original question was what kind of mold is it that makes the pancakes rise so well and become so tasty?

I assume this is just a time thing for the mix to get into gear.

I don't know why it is, but saving some of the old mix for future mixes also seems to work for making them rise better and be lighter and tastier.

Question: I like making buttermilk pancakes but usually the batter is too much for one day, after I put the mix in the refrigerator, the mix was a greenish color the next day. Does anyone know if this means it went bad or is this just a characteristic of buttermilk?

Buttermilk pancake mix is green?

Unles the smell is unpleasant or noticeably different, it is probably just a reaction with your baking soda or baking powder and the batter has not gone bad at all.

This sounds normal and is just a chemical reaction with the baking powder.

Just smell it to decide if it's gone off.


You can still add rice, just wrap it in some cheesecloth first, so it doesn't get mixed with your sugar.

Another solution is to save the little silica dessicant packages that come in many prescription drug packages.

They are blue when they are fresh, and turn pink as they absorb moisture.

Once pink they can be dried out by gently heating in the oven for a few minutes (10-15 mins at 200F or so).

Place in the bottom of the sugar jar and check on them every few weeks or months, depending on the ambient humidity in your region.

I use a specialty ceramic stone to keep my brown sugar from clumping.

I found this product page http://www.cooksquarters.com/19386341.htm that has a pretty thorough description of a "Sugar Saver" that can be soaked to keep sugar moist, or dried in an oven to keep spices dry.

Depending on what your sugar needs, you can probably use something like this.

I use a piece of bread in the canister.

It works in the same manner as rice does.

Gilladian is very correct about using silica dessicant packages except for these issues... The Silica that turns pink when it has absorbed moisture is known as "indcating silica gel" and has a chemical in it that is NOT FOOD SAFE!

(you can find out about it on line).

The silica packets found in prescription drugs often contain other ingredients like carbon (which absorbs odors), and some others I won't go into.

The silica packets found in prescription drugs have been mostly 'used up' by keeping the drugs fresh so the drug companies can get a longer shelf life.

That said, I found a wonderful product called Dry Spice that is especially made to put in with sugar, spices, almost everything.

It is the perfect size and shape to fit in any size spice jar or whatever, is 100% natural, and perfectly food safe...

and wors REALLY GOOD!Check out www.dryspice.com

and you will see what I mean.

Readers beware:

The user who posted this has an undisclosed affiliation with the above product.

Food-grade silica gel is readily available on the market and readers are encouraged to do their own research.

Saltine cracker,eh?Isn't that what grandma used?

Just change it out occasionally.

Question: We store sugar in a ceramic canister, and we get some clumping. Restaurants in humid areas that will often add grains of a rice to a salt shaker to stop clumping. (The rice acts as a  desiccant  and absorbs moisture, keeping it away from the salt; I believe the salt also acts as a preservative for the rice.) Is there an equivalent common household item that will keep moisture away from the sugar, or is getting a better canister really the only way?

Preventing white sugar from clumping in the canister

You can add rice wrapped in some cheesecloth, a special ceramic stone for the purpose, a saltine cracker or a silica dessicant package, although the  ones with "indcating silica gel" contain a chemical in it that is NOT FOOD SAFE!

You can use some rice, a saltine cracker or buy a special ceramic stone.

You could use silica dessicant packages if you were sure they were food safe.


I buy tortillas in bulk (36 to 48) at a time.

I freeze them because even our family of 6 won't go through them fast enough if left in the refrigerator!

I stack them with individual freezer wax paper between the tortillas (get them at warehouse stores such as costco) and then place in a plastic freezer bag or in a plastic storage container.

I THAW them in the microwave 6 at a time, papers removed, then wrapped in a SLIGHTLY damp kitchen towel.

30 seconds on high does it for the stack.

If you are freezing the tortillas yourself and don't mind putting in a little extra work in the beginning to get more convenience later, I would separate the tortillas with waxed paper (actually I use the paper sheets that are waxed on one side, intended for bakeries).

What this buys you is the ability to pull out one or two tortillas as you need them.

They will defrost just fine in the pan that you are going to warm/brown them in anyway.

If you customarily run through a dozen tortillas, then you probably don't want to bother.

But if that is the case then you probably aren't freezing your tortillas in the first place.

The microwave is good for this sort of thing.

Just wrap them in a towel to hold in steam and go for a couple minutes until they are soft.

Or if you aren't too worried about plastic toxicity, you can put a few holes in the bag they came in and do it right in that.

If you've got the time, just put them (back) in the fridge for a couple of days.

I always keep some frozen (mostly because I have more room in the freezers than in the fridge).

I put them directly on the stove burner and flip with tongs.

Works great, they taste better this way.

Question: There is a wide variety of suggestions about how to thaw frozen flour tortillas.  What works best?

How do I defrost frozen flour tortillas?

You can put them in the fridge for a couple of days, thaw them in the microwave six at a time or just defrost them in the pan or directly on the stove burner.

You can defrost them in the fridge, the microwave or in a pan.

Defrost them in the microwave a few at a time.

Put them in the fridge for a few days to defrost.


The quickest way to get rid of leftover wine is to think of it as flavoured water.

In many if not most recipes that call for water - especially stovetop recipes like sauces and stews - you can simply substitute wine for the water or stock that the recipe normally calls for.

We actually had a similar question recently:

In what kind of recipes can I substitute stock for water?

and I'd recommend

you take a look at that, as many of the points there apply equally well to wine.

Probably the best summation was in bikeboy389's answer :

I'd consider stock to be just another flavorful liquid (thanks Alton Brown), to be usable in exchange for others like wine, etc.

You need to be conscious of the gelatin aspect and mindful that some substitutions will be more successful than others, flavor-wise, but it's always worth considering if stock might be a good substitute for any other flavorful liquid.

Just swap the terms "stock" and "wine" and you're good to go.

Even though wine doesn't contain any gelatin, you actually do need to be mindful of the gelatin aspect when substituting wine for stock, because you might have the opposite problem if the liquid is supposed to thicken.

Similarly to stock, I also wouldn't recommend using wine in anything that you plan to refrigerate or freeze for a long period, for a different reason obviously - because it can go sour over time.

So try to only use it in recipes that will be consumed in the near future.

Other than that, just experiment; whenever you're making a savoury recipe that calls for water or stock, try using some wine instead.

You'd be surprised at how much character it can add to otherwise simple dishes.

Some examples of places where you can replace some other liquid with wine: Rice or risotto Soups and sauces Deglazing a pan (for a pan sauce) Salad dressings (this is an especially good use for sour/fermented wine) Marinades Poaching liquids (for eggs, chicken, etc.)

There really are no rules, and any time you find yourself tossing plain water into a pot or bowl, you should keep in mind that you are potentially missing an opportunity to add flavour (which a good wine will add plenty of).

Wine is excellent for deglazing a pan and making a pan sauce .

Basically, if you a have a pan with any fond on its bottom, like a pan where you have sautèed meat or even onions, you can just add the wine (don't turn off the heat yet, just lower it), scrub vigorously the bottom of the pan until all the fond has dissolved in the wine, then let it reduce a bit

(this will also let some of the alcohol evaporate), turn off the heat, add some butter, whisk until the sauce thickens, serve.

Pan sauces really help potentially dry meat, like chicken breast.

Speed is of the essence, it takes more time to write it down than to do it...

And Orbling's suggestion about the risotto is golden.

It really helps.

Well if it is white wine, then a risotto is probably a good choice, always benefits from a good glass or two of white to get started.

For red, I find it makes a wonderful base, as a reduction, of any sauce with sausages, just google "red wine sausages" for a multitude of recipes.

Freeze the wine using an ice cube tray.

Transfer to a bag when frozen.

Then use them the next time you have a recipe that requires wine.

Leftover white wine is good in French toast.

And really any kind of wine makes a great addition to soup.

I would recommend a white wine in cream base or chicken broth soup and a red wine in any sort of beef soup.

If it's a sweet wine, you can make a reduction sauce which is phenomenal on just about anything (I use it as a drizzle for stuffed figs, but it's really versatile -- it gives you a lot of room to get creative.)

Wine turns to vinegar.

You can use it for that purpose.

I have often reduced leftover white and red wines over low heat until it becomes syrup quality, and then drizzled it on a dessert dish before plating cake, etc.

If you allow it to become thick enough, it will develop into the most gorgeous "threads" and adds a beautiful touch to an otherwise plain plate.

In addition, I use leftover red wine to make a sauce for pork tenderloin.

In a pot, combine chopped shallots, sprigs of fresh rosemary, the wine and balsamic vinegar to equal the amount of wine.

Slowly reduce this mixture until it becomes a sauce.

Remove the rosemary stems and pass the sauce through a sieve.

Serve with roasted pork tenderloin.

Yummy stuff!

White wine goes excellent with mussels and you don't need a lot, approx.

4 cm in a cooking pot will do.

Or indeed risotto (but I prefer vermouth) or sauces.

Various Italian tomato-based sauces call for a splash of wine.

This would seem like a pretty good way to get rid of it, since the quality/condition of the wine probably won't get noticed too much.

I don't drink wine either.

I'm still 'tweaking' an answer to the question regarding red wine, but I am solidly married to the idea of dry vermouth (Gallo) in pretty much anything that needs white wine.

It lasts in my cupboard longer than most spices.

[It's 'fortified' giving it a long shelf life]

Furthermore, it tastes good in recipes.

America's Test Kitchen agrees.

Question: We don't really drink wine in our house, so we only ever buy a bottle for cooking. Typically whatever meal we have made requires ~1/2 bottle.  How can I incorporate the rest of this wine into some other simple meals without resorting to any particularly fancy recipes?

What can I do with leftover wine?

Wine is great in sauces and stews, and can be used to deglaze a pan before making a sauce. It can also be used when cooking risotto or french toast, or as a sauce for sausages, mussels and other recipes.

You can use wine as vinegar, as a stock and to deglaze a pan. Good recipes with wine are risotto, with meat, french toast or any tomato based sauce.

You can use wine in place of stock. It will work with risottos, french toast, mussels or any tomato based sauce.

Wine is good for deglazing the pan, as a vinegar, as a reduction or you can freeze it in an ice cube tray.


Milk is mostly water.

Instant coffee will dissolve just fine in milk or even cream.

Of course, flavour-wise it's going to be more like a weak latte than coffee.

That's essentially what a latte is - coffee and milk.

The principle is the same as adding instant chocolate milk powder to milk.

The end result is also similar: what you end up with is not so much coffee as it is brown-beige, caffeinated milk (so, something like a latte).

My grandmother's generation (in South Wales) would always make instant coffee using only hot milk.

I would ask for it made with water, but she wouldn't dream of doing that for a guest, for fear of appearing mean.

As far as I'm concerned, there are no issues.

With a suitable mug, you can heat the milk in situ in the microwave.

I put milk in a saucepan for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

When I come back, the milk usually has a "skin" on it.

Remove that with a spoon, and then pour the milk into the cup.

I add a healthy spoonful of instant granules and some sugar, and it's as good as any coffeehouse leche...and way cheaper.

Just in case your coffee doesn't dissolve in milk.

You always mix your coffee with little bit of water before pouring in milk

There are places in NE USA and Canada where you can go in and ask for "coffeemilk" - it is usually made with real coffee.

Go to India and a lot of places will serve you "char" which is tea boiled up with milk.

Whatever floats your boat ...

having instant coffee, or camp (chicory) coffee made with hot milk is the only way to serve it!

Loads of regional variations on what it's called, I just know it as a coffee made with milk!

It won't split the milk, and if you have 1 spoon of coffee when made with water, add at least half a spoon again when making it with milk to give a rich, smooth flavour.

I add the instant coffee BEFORE heating the milk in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes.

The coffee disolves better in the milk that way.

Also, I used rice milk or not regular milk, so it can be compared to skim milk in terms of consistency.

For even more added flavor I will add either cocoa powder or chocolate syrup.

I usually just take a bottle (I have an eco-friendly aluminum bottle) and fill it with milk.

Then I add some instant coffee, a tiny bit of sugar(helps the grinds dissolve), and some cinnamon or cocoa powder (to flavor).

After that I just shake the bottle until it is mixed up very well.

The ratio to how much of each ingredient depends on taste.

And heating is really optional depending on how well you shake it.

During the summer I usually don't heat my coffee because... well it's hot during the summer.

Anyway, if you try it and like it then the answer is most likely yes.

I also add the instant coffee before heating the milk.

It does make the instant coffee dissolve better.

Oddly enough, I also heat the milk for 2:30-2:45 like Melissa.

To top it off, I then add a creamer like International Delight into the brew and then mix it all together.

It is absolutely divine.

I personally don't like the taste of coffee that has been brewed in water.

It is too bitter for me.

Making it with milk seems to take away the bitterness and only leave the coffee flavor and whatever creamer I have added.

The only thing you might want to consider if you are thinking of adding it to hot milk is a chance of splitting the milk.

I would suggest you mix it with a tablespoon of hot water before adding the milk.

Less change of splitting.

It's all about your palate and the flavors that you enjoy, like wine.

Try making it side by side with water, then milk.

I grew up in Ireland & we drank this as kids.

It was made with Sanka .

This was easy to make, just pour milk into a sauce pan and then watch it to make sure it did not boil over.

Then we would throw instant coffee and sugar into the pot, stir it up, pour it into mugs and drink it.

Then we would make another batch 'lol' because even to a child's pallet it's 'friggen' great

Question: I like milk. So I thought of doing milk with instant coffee. I mean, I have coffee here but it says I should use water. I always use it with water and put a little bit milk.  Can I also use  only  milk without any water?

Instant coffee with only milk?

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6538/Johannes Schaub - litb

This is common in some countries, but you may want to mix the coffee with a little water first to avoid splitting the milk.

Instant coffee will dissolve in milk. The flavour will be weaker than normal coffee.

Instant coffee will dissolve in hot milk. Many people do this.

The flavour will be weaker than normal coffee and be aware of not splitting the milk.


Steaming them will soften them up for your dogs.

The quick-and-easy way to do that would be to microwave (as another user suggested), or just over a pot of water briefly until they're soft enough

You could try microwaving the buns.

Microwaves tend to make things,

especially bread-like things, soggy and soft, which normally is not great, but in this case might be helpful.

Another option might be to put some warm water underneath them in the toaster oven.

I'm not sure how logistically feasible this is, but in theory it could help to soften up the bottoms of the buns.

I did not try it myself, but if you have an apple-core remover, you can make a hole in the bun and put the sausage in through the hole.

If your sausage is too big, it could be a mess, maybe 'stab' several times then.

Good luck!

As a work-around you could cut a V-shape in it to fit the hot dog in.

put your bun in microwave no more than 20 seconds , then remove from microwave and pierce one end with a sharpening steel pushing straight through bun .

insert hotdog gently , there u have it neat tidy and so easy .

Take a sharp knife, and cut a vague circle or square into one end of the bun (no problem how it looks) -

depending on preference, it can be deeply angled, or pretty shallow.

Work the plug of bread out.

Levering your knife towards the middle of the bun should pop it out, if not try a few times on opposite sides.

Take a butter knife, and slide it into the bun.

Wrap your hand around one side of the bun, and push the flat side of the knife towards your hand.

Rotate, pushing the bread away from the center, with your hand braced on the outside of the bun

(note having your hand there helps keep the bread from splitting, it may not be necessary if the bread is soft, if you already cut deeply, or if you don't mind if it tears a bit).

You now have a hollow hot dog bun.

It's probably easiest to add whatever sauces you want on your hotdog first

(toppings might be a little trickier depending on how dry they are).

when you slide the hotdog in, it will displace the sauces, and spread them all the way down and back up the bun.

You can be pretty generous with sauces, they won't leak out since they are enclosed in the hollow bun.

Drier toppings you might have to try to tuck down the sides of the bun as you're sliding in the hotdog to fit - or just layer on top per bite afterwards.

This basic principle is how they make the 'puka' style hotdog in Hawaii (though I think they're called 'hula' style now).

You can use the leftover plug of bread to stop the open end, keeping the sauces in while it's horizontal on a plate or while you make multiple hotdogs.

A shallower cut plug is easier to fit back into the open end, a deeper one is easier to hollow out - and if you don't care about putting it back, you can even slice the very end off the bun horizontally to get access to the softer crumb for hollowing it.

If you don't replace the bread plug, you can eat the extra, use it for breadcrumbs, or simply discard.

The splitting happens a lot less if the buns are fresh.

Try to use your hot dog buns the same day you buy them.

Additionally, check the dates on the package when you buy them.

Question: I have some store-bought, pre-slit hot dog buns. They are a little brittle, and if I open the slit wide enough to take the hot dog, the bun splits in two.  I've tried using my toaster oven to warm the buns. They taste nice that way, but it they don't soften much.  Any other tricks?

How can I put a hot dog in a bun without splitting the bun?

The quick and easy way would be to steam or microwave the buns quickly, and/or cut a hole or v-shape in the bun to fit the hot dog.

You can use a microwave to soften them or cut a piece out of the bun to slide the hotdog in.

Try warming them in the microwave to soften them up.

Use an apple corer or cut a shape into the bun to slide the hotdog in.


You might consider citrus or other tart fruit with citrus -- mandarin oranges segments are fairly common to pair with spinich; even if you didn't use whole fruit, consider making a vinagrette using orange juice.

I've also seen recipes for spinich salads with strawberries or cranberries; I've also had a pineappe and avocado salad before that might work well with spinish instead of romaine.

For salads I advise chicory and apple.

I'm not sure if I use the right word when I say 'chicory' so here 's a picture of what I mean.

I think it's not a very loved veggie because of its bitterness, but I like the combination of the bitterness of the chicory and the sweetness of the apple.

Oh and one tip

: cut out the 'root' of the chicory, it's the most bitter part.

Edit: I see the question has changed a bit.

I can recommend spinach with sun-dried tomatoes and a few grilled pine nuts (and if you like onion, oregano, garlic).

This is something that goes very well with pasta.

The qualities I like in complementing raw spinach are tart, crunchy and creamy.

You’ve probably seen before toasted nuts for the crunch, and cheese or dressing for the creamy, but you asked about fruit.

Here are some ideas:

sour apple, Asian pear, dried banana chips, jicama (not technically a fruit), melon, star fruit, seedless grapes, dried cranberries, raisins, avocado.

Dino Kale and Avacado.

Separate Kale from stems; rip and distress the kale into a bowl, cut up avacado, add sea salt.

I'll be honest the first time eating it is a bit of an adjustment

but I love it now.

I feel great every time I eat this salad.

2) Mandarin Oranges and Bell Peppers.

Think Thai Peanut Salad with a peanut dressing.

pear and candied walnuts with some citrus dressing...

maybe some goat cheese too!

I think that figs go brilliantly well with spinach salads.

You could use pears, white flesh peaches or green apples for when you can't get figs.

On a different note, Roquefort cheese also works beautifully.

That's actually the recipe for one of my favourite salads.

I once had a spinash salad with raisins and cuts of Parmesan cheese.

Very tasty.

Pomegranate seeds and walnuts fit well with baby spinach salad.

Question: What fruit pair well with spinach? This is for a cold spinach-based salad rather than cooked spinach, but I'd be interested in warm spinach too.

What fruit pair well with spinach?

Citrus fruits, sour apple, Asian pear, dried banana chips, jicama (not technically a fruit), melon, star fruit, seedless grapes, dried cranberries, raisins, avocado, sundried tomatoes, pear and candied walnuts and pomegranate are a few possible options.

Spinach goes well with citrus fruits as well as figs, raisins and many more.

I can recommend spinach with sun-dried tomatoes and a few grilled pine nuts (and if you like onion, oregano, garlic).

You might consider citrus or other tart fruit with citrus -- mandarin oranges segments are fairly common to pair with spinich; even if you didn't use whole fruit, consider making a vinagrette using orange juice.

sour apple, Asian pear, dried banana chips, jicama (not technically a fruit), melon, star fruit, seedless grapes, dried cranberries, raisins, avocado.

pear and candied walnuts with some citrus dressing...

I think that figs go brilliantly well with spinach salads.

Pomegranate seeds and walnuts fit well with baby spinach salad.

I once had a spinash salad with raisins and cuts of Parmesan cheese.

Spinach goes well with many fruits such as figs, raisins, banana chips and cranberries.


The USDA says refrigeration temperature should be 40°F (4.4°C) or below.

If food is in there at a higher temperature (such as the 43-45°F the question mentions), for longer than 2 hours, and they're saying the food isn't safe.

Keep in mind that when too cold, after a while parts of things freeze, which can damage items, or severely diminish their pleasant taste.

This especially goes for produce such as lettuce or even tomatoes.

If you want to store leftovers longer, consider freezing them.

Edit: corrected to 40°F or below

Optimum temperature range for perishable food storage is 3 to 5 °C (37 to 41 °F).

I've noticed that there are differences in temperature inside the fridge.

I think the top is a bit more colder than the bottom, I don't really know why.

I keep my lettuce and tomatoes in the bottom, otherwise they'll be a bit frozen (like zanlok said).

So things that'll go bad fast (e.g. meat) go in the top.

Another thing (which I learned on House M.D.): don't put your milk in the door.

The temperature there is more fluctuating

so the milk becomes sour more rapidly than if you'd put it inside the fridge.

Regardless of what target temperature you choose remember that most domestic fridges cannot maintain that temperature reliably over the day and cannot maintain it evenly throughout the fridge.

This error is generally improved with a full fridge

The best way is to measure it is with and accurate and calibrated thermometer on the shelf's you wish to store critical stuff, not the temp setting dial built into the fridge 4°C

is common as it preserves milk well, but vegetables can suffer this low It would be great if fridges came with four or five compartments, each with their own temp setting :-)

Different countries have different food safety standards.

I'm accustomed to 4°C, which is the North American standard.

However, in Europe I see that eggs are sold unrefrigerated and cheese is often kept unrefrigerated in people's homes, so I think there's a cultural component to the tolerated level of risk and the expected consumption time frame.

It also depends on the food items you want to preserve.

Meat and especially fish should be cooler and vegetables and fruits a little bit warmer.

The 4ºC guideline mentioned is correct.

Notice that most fridges are warmer at the top and colder below.

Fish should be close to 0ºC for two reasons.

The enzymes of the fish will keep working (even when frozen) and 2.

The bacteria of fish will be less affected by lower temperatures.

The reason being that fish are cold blooded animals that live in a cold environment.

So, there is no one ideal temp.

but a range from 0ºC - 5ºC for food preservation.

On a side note, family of mine have their fridges at higher temperatures so beverages come out warmer than we are used to.

So, there again, there is not one ideal temperature but whatever you (and your peers) are used to.

Question: I notice that in both countries where I lived the fridges are kept at 6 or 7 °C (43-45 °F). When it would be colder, people find their drinks to cold, when served straight out of fridge (especially in winter). Also a lower temperature would cost more energy.  What would be the best temperature for food storage. Would that be even lower? For storing meals, how much time longer would food stay good when the fridge would be colder?

What is the ideal fridge temperature

There is some cultural difference in preference, including for foods like cheese and eggs that are sometimes kept at room temperature, but the USDA guideline is that refrigeration temperature should be 40°F (4.4°C) or below.

Fridge temperatures vary according to the country. An optimum temperature for food storage is around 4°C.

Optimum fridge temperature is between 0 and 5 °C for food preservation.

Fridge temperatures tend to vary according to the country.


Clean it immediately , before anything has a chance to dry.

As soon as I'm done grating anything, I run the grater under water and wipe it with a sponge.

Wipe with the direction of the blades, then run a little water inside it.

Optional: put the grater in the dishwasher to clean fully.

I put mine in the dishwasher.

If that doesn't get it clean, soaking it for a while and then brushing it with a stiff brush usually does the trick.

The best way that I've found to clean a grater is to use a toothbrush.

The bristles are usually the right combination of stiffness and flexibility to not get caught in the blades of the grater (so you don't end up with grated toothbrush bristles), and they are fine and tightly packed, fitting into the tiny spaces and removing stuck on bits of ginger or cheese quite well.

I expect some vegetable brushes might also work well, if the bristles are thin and tightly packed.

For the shredding or slicing sides, a washcloth is usually a better choice, but for the grating sides, I haven't found anything as good as a toothbrush.

I use a dishcloth to brush mine with the grain (upside down of how you cut).

This works for the larger holes.

It doesn't work so well for the zester-sized holes, which catch the cloth no matter which direction I move it.

In that case I use a brush.

After it is clean, I put it in my aging dishwasher which doesn't do much cleaning but does send hotter water at it than my hands can stand.

Try giving your grater a spray with Pam before using.

It makes it easier to dislodge small bits when cleaning.

Clean the grater immediately after use.

Take a rough sponge or plastic hair brush and scrape towards yourself, or in the opposite direction you would grate.

If you happen to use the common 4-sided grater with the hard-to-clean truncated pyramid interior, say scrap it and get a microplane grater.

They are a lot easier to clean and better at grating.

This is copied from my answer on cleaning a vegetable peeler.

Soak in a mild borax solution.

fill the sink and throw in gummed up juicers, colanders and tea-stained spoons as well.

If your kitchen is humid, a bit of an oil rub after thorough drying should slow down the rust.

Maybe doing this once a week would do the job.

I put mine in to soak in washing up water for 15-20 mins whilst I clean up elsewhere.

I then scrub down each surface with a washing up brush and rinse with clean water to dry.

Comes out sparkling clean every time regardless of what I've been grating on it and the same one has lasted for years.

I give mine a solid whack on the sink or bench top.

This dislodges most of the solids, then wipe.

Also works great for sieves.

A plastic version of a wok brush works great.

Like this: http://www.hdxy.org.cn/brown-bamboo-asian-style-wok-brush-pot-brush-11473.html

I recently read somewhere that putting some parchment paper on top of the grater while you grate, does not make the grater dirty.

I was sceptical, but I tried it anyway.

I put some parchment paper over my grater and grated a clove of garlic, I peeled off the paper and there were no bits left in the grater.

The paper was still intact.

However, the garlic was very fine, sometimes a bit mushy, so I'm not sure yet if this works with everything.

I will update this answer after I tried it with some citrus and nutmeg.

Question: A grater is a very useful instrument in the kitchen and it's fun to use. You can use it for a lot of food: cheese, citrus fruit peel, nutmeg, all kinds of vegetables, etc.  But cleaning a grater is a pain.  Anyone here knows an easy and effective way to clean a grater?

What is the best way to clean a grater?

Clean it immediately or leave to soak for a bit after use, possibly in a mild borax solution. You can use a brush or dishcloth (working with the grain) to clean it, and spray it before use to prevent food from sticking.

The easiest solution is to clean the grater before it dries. Otherwise, put it in a dishwasher or soak in warm water before cleaning with a brush.

Use a dishwasher or soak it in water before cleaning.

You can use a brush or soak in a borax solution.


Go around the edges, tapping the rim with the handle of a butter knife ( leaving little dents ).

That should allow you to twist it off.

In future, if you're using a jar that you'll be emptying (like pasta sauce), the quickest way to open them is take a sharp, sturdy, pointed knife (or even a screwdriver), brace the jar well in a cloth, then carefully make a hole in the top of the lid (just place the point on it and give it a tap or two on the end of the handle).

This breaks the seal of the jar, which is what makes it hard to open.

Ok - finally got it open!

While googling, I came across a suggestion to cover the lid with a plastic glove and use that for traction.

Not sure if it was the combination of running under hot water + the glove, or if the glove would've worked on it's own, but it's open now :)

One thing that has worked for me is to slide a flat (butter) knife along the glass under the edge of the lid.

Turn slightly to break the seal.

Warning -- if your knife isn't strong, it will twist the blade.

You'll know if you got it, since you'll be able to hear the seal breaking

My favorite jar opener:

The Brix JarKey

You just need a gentle lift to let a little air in

and then you can remove the top bare-handed.

The lid is not damaged (unless you use more force than necessary).

In a pinch, you can use channel-lock pliers to do the same thing.

Hold the pliers "upside-down"

so the longer jaw is under the edge of the jar lid and the other jaw is against the top and gently lift.

A little air leaks in just as with the JarKey

and then you easily open the jar by hand.

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1101/Paused until further notice.

You need to depressurize it.

It is very easy to do to simply take the pointed edge of a fork and jab the top of the container (the tin lid).

Any small puncture made will work, once done the lid will open normally without any strenuous force.

This method will work in the case where traction cannot force the lid open.

Either (1) Tap around the lid with a hammer/meat pounder or

(2) Grab the lid with a rubber glove and twist.

I've had success with 2 methods ..

Tap the lid on the edge of a worktop, working all the way round.2:

Either hold the top of the jar under running hot water or stand jar upside down in a bowl of hot water for a couple of minutes.

(failing that I shout for son or husband!!).

I use a pipe wrench -- plenty of leverage for opening even the toughest jars.

Other suggestions would be: Turning the jar upside down, and using the palm of your hand to thwak the bottom a few times.

Using a rubber band instead of a rubber glove, if you don't have one available.

Put a rubber band around the lid of the jar, grip firmly, and twist.

The OXO Good Grips Jar Opener works well for me.

I have arthritis in my thumbs of all places.

use a butter knife and stick it in between the side of the lid and the jar.

Pry it away from the jar a bit, and this should let air inside, making it incredibly easy to open (since there's no vacuum anymore)

Sometimes the vacuum in the jar causes a lot of friction between the lid and the jar.

Holding the jar upside down and banging a few times on the bottom with your palm can get some air inside and free the lid.

For a few years I have used a Culinare One Touch Jar Opener .

I bought one for my grandmother who was too weak to open jars herself

and she loved it, and

as I have a touch of RSI, thought I would get one for myself, it can open pretty much any straight sided jar - tad noisy, but very effective!

(Amazon)

Question: Help! I need to get a jar of pasta sauce open but can't seem to budge it. I've tried using a dishtowel, and running it under hot water, but the lid is still stuck. What else can I do to open this jar?

What is the best way to open a tightly fitted lid of a jar?

Tap the rim with a butter knife, poke a hole in the lid or slide a butter knife under the edge of the lid to release it. Alternatively, use a rubber band or pipe wrench to grip the lid properly.

Push the point of a knife in between the lid and the jar or make a hole in the lid to relieve the pressure.

Use a knife to tap the rim of the jar or slide it in between the lid and the jar. You can also use a rubber band for extra traction.

There are many products on the market that will open jars for you.


The Umami information Center has a list of Umami-rich foods along with natural concentrations of glutamate.

I've copied some of their list below (included some meats for comparison)

in case the link disappears (concentration number is mg glutamate/100g food).

There's also some information at the above link about how to prepare the foods to maximize the umami taste.

Food/Concentration: Beef/107

Tuna/188 Nori/1378 (not a typo) Tomatoes/246

(the riper the better) Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms/71 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms/150 Enoki Mushrooms/22 Soy

Beans/66 Potatoes/102 Sweet Potatoes/60

Chinese

You don't specify that you're looking for a natural source, so consider that Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is basically nothing but a concentrated dose of umami (which is defined by a relatively high level of L-Glutamates).

It's not too difficult to find, especially if there's a bulk food store near you.

You can also find it marketed as Accent seasoning

(MSG is the predominant ingredient).

The suggestions to use MSG, Marmite (any strong yeast extract) and Parmesan are all very good.

I tend to add MSG if food is just for me, as many people complain about it as an additive despite it's ubiquitousness in nature.

In certain dishes, just adding a small chunk of parmesan to the mixture works very well.

I sometimes use "Mushroom Ketchup" for this purpose, as that is quite a powerful savoury enhancer.

I use dried shitake mushrooms to make a dashi and it works really well, miso also will help impart those flavors.

parmesan cheese is, i believe, the highest concentration of umami in the food world.

marmite may be the second highest.

using Glutamate powder (MSG) seems easy, too.

not sure how high they rate, but liquid aminos have naturally-occurring glutamates, too, and you can generally find a bottle of that in any health food store or health food section with supplements.

I often use dried forrest mushrooms for this purpose.

I soak them and then use both the mushrooms and the soaking liquid.

Other good vegan umami sources are nutritional yeast flakes and tomato paste.

Nutritional yeast is a family favorite.

Also, porcini/shiitake mushrooms are excellent.

Use the one most appropriate to the dish.

I've made a great savory salad dressing with tahini, tamari or soy sauce, and some olive oil.

Mix ratios to your optimal consistency.

The addition of tahini and olive oil helps cut down on the raw saltiness of the tamari/soy.

Question: I'm looking for a source of the umami flavour to add to various dishes. However, since I became vegetarian I can't think of a good source for the flavour.  I used to use Worcestershire sauce, or Nam Pla (fish sauce). I can't think of a vegetarian source of the flavour in the same vein though.   I've tried soy sauce, and it does work, but it imparts too much saltiness to the dish.

What is a good vegetarian source of umami flavour?

The Umami information Center  has a list of Umami-rich foods along with natural concentrations of glutamate. MSG, Marmite, parmesan, nutritional yeast andmushrooms in different forms are good choices.

You can use mushrooms, MSG, parmesan or marmite.

Try the Umami information center for ideas.

Try using MSG, parmesan, marmite or nutiritional yeast.


I'd say your best bet is segmenting the grapefruit before trying to eat it.

Here's a good video about it.

How to Peel and Segment

a Grapefruit Downside:

It's a lot more work, and you still wind up with a juice-covered cutting board that needs to be washed.

You can peel them and then pull the segments apart very much like an orange, but it is only modestly less messy because the segments are too big to easily stick in your mouth whole and they squirt when you bite them.

Plus their peel is often pretty tough.

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1670/dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten

Segmenting the grapefruit is likely the least messy way, however, if you like the half a grapefruit thing:

There's something called a 'grapefuit knife', which has a curved, serated blade you can use to loosen the segment before you try to scoop them out with a spoon.

You'll end up with a fair bit of liquid left over at the end, but you don't end up spraying juice as you try to dig the segments out with a spoon, it mostly just sits in the bowl created by the 1/2 a grapefruit peel.

There's also 'grapefruit spoons', which have one side with a serated edge on it; I've never used 'em for grapefruit, though, but the serated edge might help to keep down the amount of spray when trying to spoon out bits of grapefruit. ...

I should also mention that when I think of 'segment', I'm talking about peeling it (without a knife, except to start it), and then manually pulling apart the segments so they're intact, and might have a little pith still stuck to them.

What the chef in the video that bikeboy389 linked to, I've always referred to as 'supreming' or 'cutting supremes'

Grapefruits are one of my favorite fruits, and you can get around the entire process by just tossing the whole fruit in a high quality juicer...

then you can drink it and never have to worry about spraying yourself (unless you accidentally spill!)

You can go further by adding other fruits like strawberry or grape and even some vegetables with low acid content (so the fruit will overpower the taste of these) and make yourself a very tasty and healthy beverage.

Maybe this should've been a comment, but

oh, well: Little grapefruit juice jets are in intrinsic part of the half-grapefruit experience.

If I'm eating one by myself and reading, then I make sure it's not something I mind getting juice sprayed on.

If I'm eating with other people, well, we all half-expect to get sprayed.

Face it: if God (or replace with your appropriate deity) intended us to eat half-grapefruits w/out juice spraying everywhere, he wouldn't have made them so darn tasty and juicy.

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/266/Ward - Reinstate Monica

I have started squeezing some of the juice out of the grapefruit half before eating with a grapefruit spoon.

It seems to really cut down on the wild squirts!

The enzyme denaturing of membranes makes it possible to remove the skin and membrane without breaking any segment cells

This requires the fruit skin to be pierced to membrane level.

The fruit is then placed in a vacuum pot with an enzyme solution.

The vacuum causes the air pockets in the membrane to collapse and then filled with the warm enzyme solution which in time dissolves the membrane

The tricky part is buying a bench top enzyme processor though...

Question: I usually cut it in half (through the equator) and eat it with a spoon but the juices tend to spray everywhere.  Is there a better way?

What's the least messy way to prepare grapefruit?

There are serrated graphefruit knives and spoons that reduce the amount of spray, but otherwise your best bet is segmenting the grapefruit like an orange.

Try segmenting the grapefruit before you peel it. You can also use a grapefruit knife to make it easier.

You can find a grapefruit knife and grapefruit spoons.


This doesn't answer your question directly, but spices are only a small part of the picture.

Below are some techniques to get more flavor in your soup.

Longer Cooking

Depending on the type of soup you're making, you may just need more time.

Some flavors just need more time to get out.

This is especially true of meat and bones.

It's possible to make a ham and pea soup in an hour, but simmer that ham for 3 hours

and it's night and day.

Rest

overnight Many stews, chili, etc.

seem taste "better" the next day.

Give an overnight rest in the fridge a shot and see if the flavor improves.

Add volatile flavors later

There is a caveat to go along with longer cooking.

Some items work over long cooking times, while others lose flavor.

In addition to meat/bones, garlic, onion, bay leaves (and others) benefit.

Many fresh herbs, pepper, vanilla, saffron (and others) lose their flavor from the heat.

If you are cooking for a while, you might try adding some more volatile flavors later in the process.

Add salt

early Salt helps to extract flavors, so add it early on in the process.

Do be judicious with it, however.

Long cooking tends to concentrate flavors, so you can easily make it too salty.

Sweat vegetables / brown meat Before getting any water involved, sweat your onions, celery, peppers, mushrooms, or whatever vegetables or playing in this game.

Likewise, brown your meat.

The maillard reaction is necessary for developing great flavor from the meat.

Soup making usually involves two steps: Making the broth Adding the particular ingredients that make it an XXX soup.

As far as I'm concerned, the first step is the critical one.

Here are my broth-making tips: Ingredients: Bones with a bit of meat on them.

1 carrot (peeled, whole) 1 Celery Stalk (whole) 1

Onion 1 clove garlic 1 Bay Leaf Marjoram (optional).

-- Thank you Polish Mother-in-law for adding this to my repetoire Steps: Brown

the bones, particularly beef orveal Dice and Brown the onion inbutter.

Throw everything in the pot,and cover with water.

Bring to aboil, and reduce temp to a slowsimmer.

Simmer until it tastes good.

Remove veggies and bones.

If desired,strain broth to eliminate onions andprotein globules.

I have several suggestions, also: I feel that adding fried onions or garlic adds a lot to soup giving it spicelike taste addition.

I really like adding Za'atar to soups, especially fish soups.

Lemon juice works well with a variety of soup flavours, when added just before serving.

I also find that you need less salt when using lemon juice at the end.

I had the same problem as you.

You could try adding a bouquet garni , which contains: Parsley Bay Leaves (Laurel) Thyme Celery Rosemary

If you have them fresh, you can tie them together using kitchen rope and toss them in, and remove them after boiling.

If you have them dried, you can (of course leave them in).

Romano cheese is really good on soup, especially with black pepper.

Mmm.

If you're going for a savory taste, add bay leaves and some dill.

Dill also works really well with cream of potato.

Basil adds a little bit of taste, too, but it works best with something tomatoey - you can buy little cans of tomato sauce and put them in if you want to thicken your soup.

try some nutmeg in your soup.you can get excellent results in broths, stocks and creams.

for beeth or chicken stock, also try pimento and juniper, mace, bay leaves and parsley.also try a dash of sherry in your bouillon or consommee...

(yammy yammy)

making stocks: do not brown the onion with any fat, just dry brown them.

when cooking soup, just let it simmer (a soup should always be smiling)

Question: I've been experimenting with soups recently and trying different recipes, and I've found that I often come out with a good soup that's a bit too bland in taste. And yes, salt and pepper makes a huge difference... but it needs something else. Beyond finding the right spice for the right soup, what are some general things that I can do that won't greatly change the flavor but will add some fullness to the flavor?

How do I keep soup from being bland?

Try cooking the soup for longer, and adding fried onions or garlic, lemon juice, dill and bay leaves or a bouquet garni, which contains parsley, bay leaves (laurel),  thyme, celery and rosemary. Salt helps to extract flavours, so add it early in the process.

Try cooking for longer with salt and herbs. Add fried onions and fresh herbs at the end.

Try adding salt early in cooking. Add fresh herbs near the end. Fried onions, lemon juice and herbs like rosemary, bay leaves and nutmeg for extra flavour.


Others are saying that bell peppers have no taste -- but I'd disagree.

The green ones have a kind of grassy quality to them.

Obviously, there's wheat grass, but I never have that around.

There might be some herbs that could pull it off (eg, flat leaf parsley; maybe taragon, but also gives a licorice note)

You might try some dark greens ... spinich, kale, swiss chard.

They've got a touch of other stronger flavors to 'em, but if you cook them down first, you might be able to tone them down some.

(I guess you might describe it as a 'spiciness' ...

it can be a sharp flavor. ... for the texture, though, my first thought was bok-choy.

It's actually a cabage, and it has some dark green leaves, but the thicker white parts have that watery/crunchy quality that other people have mentioned about bell peppers, but there's that sharp cabbage note that might keep it from fitting your requirements.

update :

okay, as the issue is specifically fried peppers, you're going to be bringing out the sweeter notes of the peppers, which you're not going to get from a cabbage.

Sweet onions might give some similar qualities (once fried well), as the cooking will mellow the oniony qualities, but the sugars will caramelize.

You can also try looking for jarred peppers -- they're usually packed in oil or a vinegar solution after being roasted.

There are 'hot' and 'sweet' varieties, where the hot ones also have some hot peppers in there.

The non-vinegared ones sweet ones might work for you.

Also, remember that bell peppers, like most vegetables are a seasonal item -- if you're in the north, it's the end of winter, so any peppers are being being grown in hot houses, or brought in from the southern hemisphere, which jacks the prices up.

I find that bell peppers are a predominately watery and crunchy.

As such, I'd look for other vegetables that have that characteristic.

Depending on how much you are cooking them, you could use carrots, red or white onions, or celery.

I think those are all pretty close.

To get a little further away from the texture and flavor, you could also try broccoli, asparagus, or green beans; although I'm not sure any of those will be cheaper than bell peppers.

Depending on your climate, peppers are actually quite easy to grow too (at least in my experience).

If price is a significant issue, you could try some of your own gardening.

Nothing will ever replace the taste of fried bell peppers.

And I mean nothing, if the price double then you pay double.

Simple as that.

Watery and crunchy could also describe water chestnuts, or to go a bit further afield, bamboo shoots or even baby corn.

These all tend to be inexpensive, since they are purchased canned.

Can't eat peppers any more (red, green, yellow etc) in chili I substitute with green squash.

No one yet has noticed.

I haven't found any thing that tastes like a bell pepper.

So, I collected the seeds from one I purchased at the grocery store (well over 50 seeds)

Bell pepper grow well in pots even on my tiny deck.

I picked and froze/dehydrated 15 peppers from just one plant!

I saved those seeds too.

It only cost me a slight increase in the water bill.

This year I planted three.

Dehydrating changes the texture but saves the flavor and space.

Question: I recently became addicted to the taste of fried bell peppers (green specifically because that's what's cheapest) as an ingredient in meat dishes. However, in my area the price has doubled so I can't buy as many.   What are some things (if any) that can replicate the flavor (and the lack of spiciness) of bell peppers? Specifically I like to add them in beef and make sandwiches with cheese and onions.

Substitute for bell peppers in meat dishes

Some herbs and dark greens could work, or you could try caramelised onions, carrots and celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts or even baby corn.

Try herbs like parsley, fried onions or water chestnuts and baby corn.

You could try some herbs like flat leaf parsley or tarragon. You could also try fried onions, swiss chard, water chestnuts or baby corn.


Use something that will help you measure the dough or mix uniformly.

Some possible tools to co-opt for this task:

Ice cream scoop, melon baller, measuring cups or spoons : all depending on size of course.

You should be able to get to where you can eyeball the size in relation to the tool you are using.

If you have a dough that is dry enough (bread, cookies), the simplest method is to simply weigh your final dough, and then divide it into portions that weigh the same.

You'll be exact every time.

If you have something wetter but kinda keeps it's shape, like some cake mixes, I like to put it in a piping bag and then eyeball the portions.

It does not take too much practice to get even portions.

Though I sometimes fail at getting the correct number of portions.

If it gets even wetter, use a measuring spoon.

I suppose if you really plan ahead, you could also weigh all your containers first, and then you could weigh out the wetter mixtures too.

If your aim is truly for "identical", then the only real solution is practice.

Certainly dividing your dough or batter into the requisite number of pieces before you start forming can help since you can do so more evenly than by scooping each one individually.

However, the main thing that allows people to get uniform results is less by technique and more by making the item over and over.

I try to make items in quantities of powers of two.

Cut the batch in half.

Cut the halves in half.

And so on.

It's not as perfect as using a measuring device, but on the other hand you'll never have that remainder with which to contend.

I just made a batch of cookies (Walnut size) using a melon baller.

Recipe called for 48 cookies and that is exactly what I got.

The baller was not heaping, pretty much just filled to the top.

Makes nice round cookies.

Question: I get frustrated by recipes which call for the cook to shape or form little balls out of a dough or cake or biscuit mix.  The recipe will say something like "form into little walnut sized balls ... should make about 16".   I always seem to end up with some larger than others. Individuals may look and taste good but it's a shame if they don't all look identical.  Anyone got any advice?

Any advice to help me form and shape stuff more uniformly?

You can use an ice cream scoop, melon baller, measuring cups or spoons to give an even size, or measure the dough by weight, especially with dough that is dry enough. For wetter mixes, try a piping bag. In all cases, your results will improve with practice.

Try using a melon baller  or weighing each ball.

You can use a melon baller or ice cream scoop.

Try measuring each ball to get the exact weight.


Supercook Supercook 's core feature is a "pantry inventory" system.

You basically fill in all the ingredients you have in your kitchen.

You are presented with recipe choices based on a subset of your ingredients, as you enter them.

You can then "emphasize" certain ingredients which makes them a required ingredient in the recipes you are shown.

It will also show recipes where you are only missing 1-3 ingredients; useful if you don't mind running to the grocery store.

You can also exclude specific ingredients from recipe results.

Creating an account permits you to save your ingredients as well as your favorite recipes.

You can also generate shopping lists based on the missing ingredients from your favorite recipes that you don't currently have in stock.

The quality of recipes varies a lot.

Supercook sources its recipes from many other sites, including: Allrecipes, Recipezaar, Epicurious, FoodGeeks and others.

Some sites (like Allrecipes) I feel have a lot of "filler" recipes, which are simply present for search results.

Epicurious Epicurious doesn't provide the "pantry inventory" aspect that Supercook does, but it is very useful in its own way.

With Epicurious you search for your main ingredient, e.g. chicken, and then refine your search using ingredients and other parameters such as: meal, dietary requirements, holiday, cuisine, and preparation method (among others).

I find their interface very intuitive.

One of Epicurious' greatest strengths is the quality of its recipes.

Many of the recipes are originally from the reputable food magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetit.

I find the recipe ratings to be very accurate, and the community feedback on the recipes is also of a reasonably high caliber.

I also find their original content recipes to be very high quality.

They often come up with quality themed recipes for major holidays, including full menus.

They also have a useful iPhone/iPad app that provides recipe syncing.

I often use the iPhone app when grocery shopping to check off ingredients that I need for whatever dish I'm planning to make.

Allrecipes Allrecipes is another site I have used.

Allrecipes has a general purpose recipe search, similar to Epicurious.

It also has an ingredient search that is similar to Supercook.

The ingredient search doesn't provide the ability to save your pantry inventory like Supercook does, but is more of an ad hoc way to find recipes based on a list of ingredients and exclusions.

Unfortunately, I find the recipe quality to be rather low here.

There are a lot of user submitted recipes which tend to range in quality from mediocre to atrocious.

The feedback left by the community is also subpar.

I tend to use it when I want a really basic recipe to use as a base for something more.

They do have a lot of these "filler recipes", as I call them, which are very simple and often missing a thing or three that make them memorable.

This is useful for experimenting or giving yourself ideas.

Food Network Food Network is another site I use that functions very similarly to Epicurious.

Food Network has a general purpose recipe search that permits filtering of results by cuisine, ingredients, technique, show, tv personality, and others.

I use Food Network primarily to look up recipes that I've seen on a Food Network show before, but didn't record at the time.

I also find it very useful for finding new recipes by a chef I like.

It's pretty much the canonical source for all Alton Brown recipes for example.

The community feedback and recipe ratings are middle of the road.

I find they are less reliable than Epicurious, but far more reliable than Allrecipes.

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx This site has tons of good recipes.

You can include up to 4 ingredients, pick a category, and enter additional keywords.

http://www.recipepuppy.com/ seems to generally be quite good.

google recipe search!

I personally prefer Recipes By Ingredients: Its on almost everything from windows, apple , android , amazon, and chrome

It allows for searching by ingredients, allergies, servings, calories, and a lot more It also allows you to save a recipe and access it from any device

The main suggestions are provided above.

But I'll add that you can go to just about any of your favorite cooking blogs.

Many have a search feature and you can type in an ingredient name and a list of entries including that ingredient will pop up.

I've tried this before.

But I do love allrecipes.com because you can add a list of ingredients.

What Could I Cook? is a great and growing resource of member-submitted recipes.

One of its big supporters and submitters is the UK Guardian website, which attracts high-profile chefs.

Quite a few dead tree cookbooks have indexes ordered by main ingredient.

Question: How does one find recipes given an ingredient rather than the recipe name?

How does one find recipes given an ingredient rather than the recipe name?

Supercook's 'pantry inventory' system, Allrecipies general purpose recipe search and Recipes by Ingredients work well.

Try Supercook, Allrecipes and Recipes by Ingredients.


What Tim said.

Eggs just don't hold very well, and they are very sensitive to temperature--reheating them

basically will mean re-cooking them.

I would never store eggs in this manner, because the texture and flavour degradation will make them unpleasant to eat.

However, to actually answer your question--and again, I urge you not to do this because stored and reheated eggs will taste like garbage--cooked eggs should keep for up to 72 hours in the refrigerator.

Remember to chill them as rapidly as possible after cooking, and you may wish to undercook slightly in order to minimize problems when reheating.

I would use 72 hours as an absolute maximum, particularly if you are undercooking.

48 hours is probably wiser.

So I was thinking about this, and realized that there are plenty of egg dishes that work well out of the refrigerator, but the thing is, you don't reheat them, you serve them at room temperature: quiche fritatta pizza rustica tortilla (the spanish dish, not the south american item of the same name)

I mean, it's not going to be the exact same as making it fresh and serving it warm, but the problem is in reheating eggs when you tend to overcook it.

(I once turned a pizza rustica into a nasty puddle of water when I tried reheating it)

So, my thought on the matter is you could probably pull it off, just don't heat it.

You might be able to microwave it on really low heat to just take the chill off ... but don't try to get it hot.

You'd have to try it yourself to see if it's an acceptable taste / texture / temperature for your palette.

You might also consider either serving it with something else warmed through to let some of the heat transfer (eg, place it on a freshly toasted bagel or english muffin)

When it comes to taste, eggs are very difficult to preserve.

When they are warmed after refrigeration they cook further, and fried eggs have a narrow window in which they taste great.

I don't know how long they remain sanitary

but when I'm cooking scrambled eggs for a lot of people and I have to store them in the oven to keep warm I always cover them with slices of cheese.

This seems to help keep their flavor as if they were right off the pan and prevents the surfaces of the eggs from drying out and becoming crusty.

It may improve their refrigeration life as well?

I have been scrambling three large eggs at a time.

I eat one and put the rest in the fridge in a sealed plastic container.

I make egg salad out of the leftovers for sandwiches over the next two days adding various things like onion bits, dill, mustard, hot sauce, lemon pepper, cheese slices, etc.

The eggs taste just fine.

The sealed container keeps them moist.

Keeping cooked eggs is not very tasty Follow my previous post on "better-scrambled-eggs" for making scrambled eggs in 60 seconds from eggs to plate (thin stainless skillet on a gas stove)

I've been cooking my eggs in a small round pan.

To keep that shape, I'll cook 4 batches for 4 days at a time, then place them in fridge.

Wake up, grab one round cooked egg, nuke in the microwave for 30 secs and it tastes great to me on a piece of Ezekiel bread.

I have 3 small children and a busy morning, so I need something healthy and fast with no mess in the morning.

Eggs keep fine for two weeks just fine raw in the shell and about abit over a week cooked into a fritta shape, 25 sec in a microwave works wonders

Question: Is it a good idea to keep make a lot of them and keep them in the refrigerator? I like them for breakfast but I don't like cooking every morning. For how long I can keep them?

omelettes and scrambled eggs - How long can I store them?

Cooked eggs don't keep very well and are sensitive to temperature, but can be better in dishes like quiche and Spanish tortilla that do not need to be reheated

Eggs are difficult to reheat but can be warmed in the microwave.

Eggs are difficult to reheat. Thye can be kept in the fridge for 72 hours.

There are plenty of egg dishes, like frittata, that will keep in the fridge and are eaten cold.

You can keep cooked eggs in the fridge in a sealed container.

You can reheat eggs quickly in a microwave.