Most Popular

1500 questions
23
votes
17 answers

Ideal coffee grind for a French Press?

I recently picked up this Bodum "French Press" style coffee maker and so far, I'm really enjoying it for its simplicity. But I'm curious how I should be grinding my coffee. When I bought it, I grabbed a bag of pre-ground coffee at the grocery store…
Pretzel
  • 433
  • 1
  • 3
  • 9
23
votes
6 answers

How can I make this antique ginger wine recipe using ingredients available today?

I have this old family ginger wine recipe, but some of the ingredients are hard to find or may not exist any more... Essence of Ginger 12mls Tincture of Capsicum 9mls Essence of Lemon 5mls Solution of Burnt Sugar 25mls 2 1/2 lb sugar 1 oz Tartaric…
Rich
  • 749
  • 1
  • 5
  • 11
23
votes
6 answers

Cure for burns from hot peppers / capsicum oil?

So, I foolishly ignored advice about wearing gloves while handling hot peppers. I thought since they were "just" anaheim peppers I'd be fine... I was wrong, and I repent. Does anyone know of a way to stop the burning? I have washed my hands…
JustRightMenus
  • 10,847
  • 29
  • 65
  • 94
23
votes
4 answers

Is there evidence that adding salt to water prior to boiling can damage a stainless steel pan?

In the context of boiling water for pasta or other purposes, all over the Internet the advise is oft-repeated that salt should not be added to the water when it is cold in order to prevent damage to the pot such as pitting over long term use. The…
SAJ14SAJ
  • 73,106
  • 13
  • 154
  • 232
23
votes
4 answers

Trick to making perfect egg ribbons?

I'm looking for a time-proven method for getting perfect egg ribbons in egg drop or hot and sour soup. The result I'm looking for is a clear soup with the classic gossamer egg ribbons. I'm not really asking for soup recipes(although feel free to…
barneco
  • 403
  • 1
  • 4
  • 6
23
votes
7 answers

Are Chives and Green Onions the same thing?

Is it OK to substitute one for the other?
AttilaNYC
  • 7,566
  • 49
  • 96
  • 147
23
votes
5 answers

Flavour combinations - structural analysis

Without neccesarily going into molecular cooking (although we could): does any literature / website / theory provide information on flavor / flavour combinations that go well together? (ignoring texture at this time: I'm sure it's a contributing…
Tobias Op Den Brouw
  • 3,694
  • 4
  • 29
  • 41
23
votes
25 answers

How do you raise your dough in cold seasons?

It is winter down here in Australia and I find it challenging to find a warm spot to raise my bread dough. What I have been doing is placing the dough in the oven (not switched on) with a pot of hot water, replacing it once or twice. The oven…
zachary
  • 2,409
  • 9
  • 27
  • 40
23
votes
2 answers

Why do some powders clump in hot water?

Why do some powders like flour or matcha green tea causes lumps in hot water while other powders like sugar or cocoa or wheat grass (triticum aestivum) readily dissolve? Wheat grass powder is green and easily dissolves in cold water. Cocoa:…
Chloe
  • 1,110
  • 5
  • 16
  • 23
23
votes
4 answers

How does one invent a cookie recipe?

My cookbook has dozens of cookie recipes and I can find hundreds more online. But... If I want to invent my own cookie recipes how can I go about doing it, without wasting tons of ingredients on trial and error? How must I balance the ratios of the…
Village
  • 1,949
  • 9
  • 29
  • 49
23
votes
8 answers

What is ground beef?

I keep hearing about Ground Beef, but I'm from Australia and I've never actually seen it before. Is it the same thing as Minced Beef? Or different? Is Minced beef an acceptible substitute if they're not the same thing?
Mark Henderson
  • 333
  • 1
  • 3
  • 7
23
votes
1 answer

How much salt can I safely add to bread dough?

I recently made ciabatta, which turned out very well, with a good crust and nice open crumb. However, I felt it could use more salt to give extra flavour. I'm aware that salt and yeast do not make good bedfellows (or should that be breadfellows?),…
ElendilTheTall
  • 43,605
  • 13
  • 120
  • 178
23
votes
7 answers

Why did butternut squash make my fingers dry and yellow?

Last weekend I made butternut squash soup. In an experiment to get more of the squash browned I peeled two medium squash and cut them into 2 inch chunks, rather than just halving it, before roasting in the oven. (Result of the experiment was OK, but…
Galapagos Jim
  • 583
  • 2
  • 4
  • 9
23
votes
10 answers

Expiration Date on Milk

What does the expiration date on milk cartons mean? I have different experiences with the date: There is still about a week before the expiration date but the milk has gone bad It is 1-2 days after the expiration date but the milk doesn't smell…
zachary
  • 2,409
  • 9
  • 27
  • 40
23
votes
7 answers

Is it really necessary to wash a skillet that will be heated up again soon?

I made some eggs in a cast iron skillet yesterday and didn't wash the skillet. Today I want to make eggs again. Is it really necessary for me to wash the skillet before making more eggs? It would seem to me that heating it up would kill germs that…
dvcolgan
  • 445
  • 2
  • 4
  • 7