Seasoned Advice
Seasoned Advice

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1500 questions
24
votes
2 answers

Cracked oven proof dish - trying to understand the physics of what went wrong

I was baking bread for the first time in years the other day, and the instructions said put a baking tray full of water in the bottom of the oven. I didn't have a metal baking tray, so I put a ceramic ovenproof dish in the oven, and let it warm up.…
samfrances
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4 answers

Where do you want 90% lean beef?

The burger recipes I've found online called for rather fatty ground beef, like 80% or 73%. (Spruce eats: 15 - 20% fat), Smoked BBQ source: 15 - 20% fat, Taste of Home: 20 - 40% fat (sic!), Spoon university: 20 - 30% fat, The Kitchn: 20% fat, Serious…
Robert
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24
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6 answers

How do I press avocadoes to make avocado oil?

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?
calico-cat
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24
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7 answers

What is a "roux" and what are its uses?

I've had excellent Macaroni and Cheese that I was told was made with a "roux." What exactly is a roux, when is it used and what are the benefits of using it versus other cooking methods?
Oren Hizkiya
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24
votes
6 answers

How can you melt chocolate without it getting wet?

I've tried a (few times) to melt chocolate but am obviously doing something wrong: Put a pot of water onto the boil Place a metal bowl over the pot Put chocolate into the bowl Wait for chocolate to go off! (Obviously the steam is rising from the…
Christian Payne
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24
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5 answers

What is meant by "cook until the oil separates" in Indian curry recipes?

A lot of Indian curry recipes have a step where you're told to cook an onion-tomato-spices mixture "until the oil separates". Despite having tried cooking such recipes a number of times already, I still haven't really figured out what is meant by…
Rinzwind
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24
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15 answers

Keep milk (or milk alternative) for a day without a fridge

I like to drink my coffee with milk, but my new place of work has no refrigerator I can use. Is there any milk or milk-substitute I can use that will not taste funny around 15 o'clock, when I remove it from my home fridge at 8? What if I buy 1L of…
Ivana
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23
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10 answers

What kind of rice is used in Chinese cooking?

I love the Chinese food we get from takeaway shops, and often to save on the cost we will cook our own rice at home. This is good, but the rice never seems to have the same texture as takeaway rice - it's less sticky, and much harder to eat with…
Bluebelle
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23
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9 answers

When cooking pasta in salted water how much of the salt is absorbed?

Most chefs recommend that you should add quite a bit of salt to boiling water which you cook pasta in (sometimes 1 teaspoon). For those watching their sodium intake, how much of this salt will actually end up being absorbed by the pasta, and how…
LeopardSkinPillBoxHat
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23
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5 answers

Keeping Hot Sauce From Separating

Last fall I tried my hand at making a homemade hot sauce. Essentially: roast peppers, blend with vinegar, garlic, salt and other spices, put in jar for three weeks, strain and you have hot sauce. The sauce was great, but after about a week of…
Vecta
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23
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4 answers

I never succeed in thickening sauces with pasta water. What am I doing wrong?

Every cook praises how starchy pasta water is great for thickening sauces and helping the sauce cling to the noodles. But no matter how much pasta water I add, it never thickens the sauce.Yesterday I cooked one pound of pasta in a liter of water…
Bar Akiva
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23
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11 answers

How long should I keep a cut onion?

Since I only cook for one or two, I will tend to buy an onion and only use part of it, and then keep the rest in the fridge. Sometimes it will be a while before I use the rest. Is there any guidance on when I should finally just throw it out? What…
mbyrne215
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23
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2 answers

Are these tomatoes San Marzano knockoffs?

I buy these tomatoes at my local grocery and always assumed they were San Marzano brand. I was waiting for my soup to simmer and was reading the label when I noticed the initials on the label actually say "San Merican Tomatoes". Google turns up…
John
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23
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5 answers

Preventing my toast from becoming wet when I put it on the plate

Since I moved to my new flat, I have a problem when heating bread in any way. What happens is that if I put it on a plate, it gets very wet on the plate side. This is so acute that drops appear on the plate. If I put paper around the bread, both get…
Felix L.
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23
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5 answers

Are there any calories in roasted coffee beans? Why is black coffee 0 kcal?

Are there any calories in roasted coffee beans? And why do they seem to 'disappear' when turned into black coffee? According to some websites, there are (I've seen values between 300 and 400 kcal per 100 g). At the same time, when I check nutrition…
Nikolay Suvandzhiev
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