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1500 questions
25
votes
3 answers
What causes water to boil over?
What are the mechanics of water boiling over? How can you stop it from happening? Is it more likely to happen with certain ingredients? Which? How does the amount of water effect the likelihood of water boiling over? What role does burner…
yossarian
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25
votes
3 answers
What is that gooey stuff from okra?
When cooking okra in a bit of water, the water becomes gooey. What does the okra release that makes the water slimy? Would the goo have other culinary uses (as an additive to thicken sauces or improve the texture of ice-creams)?
papin
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25
votes
3 answers
Is there any way to bring an egg to its natural state (not boiled) after you cook it?
This is probably a stupid question, but I'm curious now after I opened the refrigerator looking for eggs to make a cake and there was only one and it was cooked. Is there any way to undo that, whether at home or an industrial way?
Suhany
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25
votes
1 answer
Why stir sourdough only with wooden spoons?
When reading about sourdough (in german texts at least), they almost always say to stir it with a wooden spoon.
Why do they do that? Does metal or plastic somehow interfere with the sourdough?
Jost
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25
votes
1 answer
How prevalent was foodborne botulism before stricter food safety guidelines?
Nowadays, foodborne botulism seems to be quite rare, even from potentially high-risk things like home canned goods. (The CDC Botulism Surveillance reports indicate on the scale of tens of confirmed cases per year in the US.)
But I can only assume…
Cascabel
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25
votes
14 answers
How can I cool tea quickly?
Imagine you're making someone a tea, but for whatever reason they have to leave soon. How can I cool the tea so that they don't have to choose between leaving it unfinished or burning their mouth? Ideally the method should not only be fast, but also…
08915bfe02
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25
votes
6 answers
When boiling potatoes, should I put them in with the cold water or in to the hot?
I've heard both. What's the correct way to boil a potato? Why?
yossarian
- 19,079
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25
votes
4 answers
Substituting garlic powder for garlic salt?
I love using garlic powder but I also see recipes call for garlic salt. I thought that you could just add garlic powder instead of garlic salt (which of course is sold separately!) and then just add some actual salt if necessary. What is the…
Kryptic
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25
votes
14 answers
How can I improve my fried rice?
I'm an amateur cook with almost no experience (never taught by my parents, first time cooking on my own was first few days living on my own), so I'm studying very hard because I want to be a great cook for the people living with me.
I'm trying to…
BlueBuddy
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25
votes
1 answer
How to clean an octopus - and is it worth it
I've bought an octopus from my fish monger, but, when I asked if he could clean it, he openly admitted he's never done octopus before and doesn't know how. Well, neither do I but I've taken it on myself. This is clearly a poor decision, I don't even…
Dave
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25
votes
4 answers
What's wrong with using spin dryer to dry lettuce?
I love lettuce salad. I eat it very often. I bought a spin dryer, which I find very handy and I use it all the time.
But recently I heard Gordon Ramsay saying that you should never use a spin dryer, that it will destroy the lettuce.
Is that true?…
Fczbkk
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25
votes
11 answers
Why is my cheese sauce gritty?
Sometimes when making a very simple cheese sauce (butter, flour, milk, cheese [cheddar, usually]), the final sauce has a sort of gritty or slightly pebbly texture (rather than smooth) - it seems like maybe the cheese hasn't totally melted, even if I…
SarahVV
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25
votes
3 answers
How deeply will the flavors in a brine penetrate chicken?
I'm not asking about salt or "juiciness". I think there is enough evidence here and elsewhere to answer that question with "pretty deep, or all the way to the bone". My question concerns spices and other flavorings in the brine. I want to know not…
Jolenealaska
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25
votes
19 answers
Cooking an egg without oil or butter
I like scrambled and fried eggs but the butter or oil probably add unnecessary calories. How can I fry an egg with no butter? I tried in a Teflon pan but it was a mess.
tooshel
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25
votes
6 answers
Does wax on citrus fruit make the zest unsafe to eat or compromise its flavor?
A number of (chiefly British) recipes specify unwaxed lemons for zesting. Unwaxed citrus fruit are not widely available here in Sweden, so I have to make do by attempting to remove the wax before zesting. Recently I have had doubts regarding the…
Chris Steinbach
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