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1500 questions
21
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4 answers

What is the purpose of seasoning a skillet?

I've seen a couple questions on how to season a skillet, and this may be a dumb question, but why do you season a skillet? Does it impart flavor onto the food? For how long? (which I guess is one way of asking, "How often do I need to do it?" Do…
cgp
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Why can't this ice cream scoop go in the dishwasher?

I have an ice cream scoop that is labeled with something like: Do not immerse in water hotter than 140 °F / 60 °C. Do not wash this item in the dishwasher. What is the real reason for these warnings? I have found mentions of things like: Hot…
Greg Hewgill
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2 answers

How does velveting work?

The Chinese technique of velveting works. It creates a lusciously tender bit of meat, and I'm a complete advocate of making the small additional effort. If you've ever done it, you're already a believer, it's amazing. (I usually do it this way…
Jolenealaska
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4 answers

What does it mean to "fold in" an ingredient into a mix?

I see this in baking recipes, but I've never been quite clear on the difference between mixing and "folding."
Sam Hoice
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21
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8 answers

How did people make bread before sugar was 'discovered'

Modern recipes (as far as I know) for bread includes sugar. Sugar gives the yeast a food source, which supports it growth and allows yeast to give bread many of its qualities. It hit me the other day that sugar (produced from sugar cane) is a…
Hoytman
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21
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11 answers

Are there books describing the general principles of cooking?

Perhaps my question is too weird, but whenever I read a book on cooking, it's just a list full of recipes. There are a lot of examples but there are no explicit laws or general principles of cooking - here I must admit that I don't browse this kind…
Red Banana
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21
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2 answers

Is smell a bad way of determining whether meat is still good?

I have always relied on my sense of smell to determine whether meat (most often chicken) is bad and I thought it was reliable. However, I have just heard that [1] smell is not always reliable, since some of the toxins produced by bacteria won't…
Ben
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3 answers

How do I cook and hold pasta for 200 people?

I am making spaghetti dinner for 200 people. I am not sure how to make 20 pounds of pasta ready for a three hour dinner. I thought about a steam table and cooking all the pasta and putting it in a steam table. Would that work, or is there a better…
James Kemp
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7 answers

First onion or first minced meat?

When making e.g. spaghetti sauce, do I: first sweat the onions and then add the minced meat? first brown the minced meat and then add the onions? do both at the same time but in different pans and add them together afterwards? What are the…
BioGeek
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2 answers

Do nuts ever go bad?

I have some walnuts I found in the back of my cabinet that are probably 5 years old. The packaging says best if used by 2010. I tasted them and they taste alright, maybe a little tartish but I don't mind. I was wondering if walnuts and other nuts…
amphibient
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8 answers

Is it ok to store open cans in the fridge?

I'd been taught growing up that you should never store canned food in the fridge in the open can. Is there any scientific basis to this, or is it just an old wives tale? What types of foods should not be stored in their can once open? Would olives,…
Jessica Brown
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3 answers

Can heavy cream be frozen?

Sometimes, I want to try a recipe that calls for a small amount of heavy cream. Can the remainder be frozen and then used to make whipped cream? If so, how long will it keep in the freezer?
apaderno
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4 answers

At what point should carrots be thrown away?

We tend to buy a big bag of carrots from the supermarket (mainly because it's cheaper than a small bag), but usually these are starting to go soft halfway through the week. My current rule of thumb is that I'll cook them until they are so soft that…
Paul Michaels
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21
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9 answers

How do I maximize the shelf life of my homemade hot sauce?

I am planning on putting this year's crop of hot peppers to use by trying my hand at making my own hot sauces. I've never tried this before, but I've found a number of recipes on the Internet. However, I'm concerned about shelf life, and the…
Beofett
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2 answers

Is it okay to use aluminium foil instead of parchment paper while baking cookies?

I don't have access to parchment paper or even butter paper for that matter. I just read on a website that it'd be okay to use aluminium foil as long as I apply a coating of grease on it. And also since aluminium conducts heat faster, will I need to…
Uday Kanth
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