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1500 questions
24
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11 answers
Is there any difference between chopped and crushed garlic in cooking?
Often recipes say to chop garlic, but I usually cheat and just crush it as it's quicker. Is there any difference in doing this? Will it have much of an effect on the flavour of the dish?
lomaxx
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Shaken, not stirred...but why?
Most people are probably familiar with the line from James Bond, "Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred." What I have never figured out is "why would it make a difference?"
I have tried making martinis both ways and perhaps I don't appreciate the…
Cos Callis
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24
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8 answers
Is it worth tearing lettuce for salad?
I have read that cut lettuce is more likely to brown on the edges than torn lettuce. The stated reasoning is that the lettuce leaves will tear between cell boundaries whereas if they are cut the cells are ruptured.
When preparing a largish salad…
Sobachatina
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2 answers
Can you re-use parchment paper when baking batches of cookies?
I just finished making cookies. The dough was enough to make multiple batches. I only have one baking sheet. Every time a batch was ready, I used new parchment paper on the baking sheet. Is this necessary or could I just re-use the same piece of…
Mien
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24
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6 answers
How do you properly clean a cutting board and knife to prevent cross contamination?
I have one very nice cutting board that I like to use with my chef's knife. Because I only use this single cutting board and chef's knife, if I have a recipe that calls for cutting raw meat as well as vegetables, I have to take turns with the same…
Ben McCormack
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9 answers
How can I create steam in a normal oven to promote bread oven spring?
Oven spring and a crisp crust on bread are largely due to high heat and high humidity. Commercial bakery ovens have steam injectors. How can I replicate this high humidity environment in my home oven? I've tried spritzing and ice cubes and…
rfusca
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24
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9 answers
What temperatures do low-medium-high on the stove correspond to?
I'm quite suspicious that my electric stove runs hot. Recipes that suggest medium-high on my stove are incredibly, incredibly hot and you can feel 'high' radiating heat from across the kitchen.
As such, I've semi-recently purchased an IR…
rfusca
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24
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19 answers
How do I prevent coconut milk from separating in Thai curry?
It seems like every single attempt I've made at making a Thai-style coconut curry ends up with the sauce mixture separating. Although it usually still tastes good, the coconut ends up looking like it has curdled.
My question is what could I be doing…
Derek Dysart
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12 answers
How can I stop fish from sticking to a stainless steel pan?
I think Anne Burrell lied to me. She said fish will always stick to a stainless pan. This is true. No matter how well I lubricate my pan, my fish will always adhere like cement. She also said that the pan will release the fish "when it's ready."…
Tesserex
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24
votes
10 answers
Why add pasta water to pasta sauce?
I've noticed that many Italian chefs add to their pasta sauces some of the water they used to cook their pasta. What is the purpose of this?
David Latt
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24
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5 answers
Can one preserve food by periodically heating it?
I get that keeping food temperature low will slow down chemical reactions and preserve food, but sometimes my sister preserves food by heating it every 6 hours or so (up to 1-2 days). Does this help preserving the food? If yes, how does it work?
If…
Fitri
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24
votes
18 answers
What's the best way to store rice long-term?
I have purchased a rather large bag of long-grain white rice (25 lbs.) and need to know the best way for storing it long-term. This rice will be used as both a food-storage food source and as my everyday source of rice for cooking, so the storage…
Bryson
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24
votes
9 answers
Techniques to get a nice golden-brown crust on bread
How do I make sure the crust of a baguette, etc. turns out a nice golden-brown when baking?
derobert
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24
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1 answer
What is the purpose of using ping pong balls on top of a Sous Vide Bath?
I recently saw a picture of expert Douglas Baldwin with his sous vide equipment in this article. One of his immersion circulator baths was covered with ping pong balls.
What is the purpose of covering the immersion circulator bath with ping pong…
Adisak
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4 answers
How does thermal shock affect pans made of different materials?
In another question, I had a little comment-discussion with TFD on the effect of shock cooling on pans. In a nutshell, I said that it is bad for the pan, and he said that especially if the pan is made of steel, it should have been at 500°C for the…
rumtscho
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