I run a gluten free bakery and yes, over mixing is a concern for many cake batters, cookie doughs, pie crusts, etc.

I find, what makes overmixing an issue is the gums used in the recipes.

This being either xanthan or guar.

An over-mixed cake batter will become very stringy and goopy, and will not pour smoothly when run off of a spoon, for example.

Cookie dough, when over-mixed, will become very tough and elastic-like.

Cookie dough should break apart easily when you separate it, but an overmixed cookie dough will stretch when pulled apart...

Kind of like play dough or fondant.

Just like when baking with wheat flour, GF recipes that use gums (so pretty much all of them) yield a tougher, somewhat unpleasant texture.

If there's leavening in the cake (baking soda or baking powder) that gets activated once incorporated with the rest of the ingredients, and you substantially overmix, you may lose some of its power as you help the gas escape from your batter.

Unless you're whipping it vigorously, you're not going to be bringing enough air into the batter to make up for it.

This is pretty much like letting the batter sit out on the counter for a while before baking, except faster.

It depends on what is in the flour.

Xanthan gum's binding power is certainly dependent on the amount of mixing.

More mixing produces a tougher colloid.

As many gluten-free recipes use xanthan gum as a binder, this will indeed be a problem with overmixing.

If you are using a pre-made gluten free flour, you have to read the ingredients.

If these are pure starches only, you can't overmix.

If they have thickening agents, it is possible that overmixing is bad or not, depends on the thickener used in the specific brand.

In terms of 'toughness', yes you can mix it a long time.

However, while you are mixing, you are incorporating air into the mixture, so you must take care to not go crazy.

That being said, the main reason to mix a cake until 'just incorporated' is because of gluten development.

I guess what I am saying is, that within reason, you can mix a gluten free cake for quite a while with no adverse affect.

In New Zealand, We have 2 main g/f flours to bake with.

Both are a combination of rice flour and tapioca among other ingredients.

using these flours it is easy to over-mix baking recipes using these flours and the baking becomes tough and chewy.

The more tender and delicate

you want your cake, the less you mix it in my case.

As long as I don't use rice flour in my custom blended g/f flour mixes, I can mix the batter "until the cows come home".

I use premixed GF flour available from most UK stores.

I start off building a thicker batter to start with by withholding the egg white until the end.

You can thin the mix out to make it easier to work in the earlier stages (I mix by hand).

Once the yolk and dried ingredients are combined sufficiently I then fold the whisked whites until almost fully incorporated.

The air trapped in the white also helps with the rise.

Question: If you're making a regular cake, you add all the first ingredients (eggs, butter, sugar, ...) and mix everything well. When you add the last ingredient, the flour, you mix until it's just incorporated, since over-mixing can make the gluten form and you'll end up with a tough cake.  If you work with gluten-free flour, can you mix as long as you want?

Can you overmix a gluten-free cake?

While gluten free cakes may be less sensitive to overmixing, gums like Xanthan can be affected by the mixing time or leavening like baking soda or baking powder can be partially activated, decreasing their effect.

Overmixing is still a problem if the flour contains xanthan gum or another gum.

Overmixing is still a problem due to the gums, like xanthan gum. There is also leavening in the cake that risks overmixing.

Overmixing is not a problem because there is no gluten.


I am surprised no one has mentioned this wonderful graphic (Credit: Espresso Field Guide by the aptly named Jay Mug ):

Espresso: This is a finely ground very dark roast coffee, packed somewhat tightly in a special metal filter, with water "expressed" through it under pressure.

A very strong dark coffee, typically served in 1-2 ounce portions.

Very commonly incorrectly called "Expresso."

Americano:

Italians typically don't drink American Strength coffee.

They drink espresso in tiny cups.

Then the tourists came and wanted a mug of coffee like they get at home.

The Italian solution was to make an espresso and keep the water running through the grounds to weaken the coffee, and make the desired quantity.

(edit: Some locations may simply add hot water to the espresso in the cup.

This doesn't change the basic concept.)

An Americano is simply an espresso that has been drawn out with extra water to an American strength beverage -- Not to be confused with the typical brewed coffee, which is usually filtered.

Caffe au Lait: This is strong filtered or brewed coffee (not espresso), with warmed milk.

This is probably the easiest specialty coffee to make at home.

Just scald some milk in a pot and pour it over strongly brewed coffee.

Cappuccino:

A 1:1:1 ratio of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam.

Typically the milk is steamed through a special high pressure steam pipe on the espresso machine.

This serves two functions.

To warm up the milk and to create a stiff foam on the top.

When pouring, the foam is held back with a spoon, and then scooped out on top.

I'll arbitrarily define the cappuccino as the base beverage for all that follow.

Macchiato:

Typically in North America, this is a cappuccino, but with the steamed milk component missing.

That is, it is espresso and frothed milk foam only.

Also called a "Dry" Cappuccino.

Macchiato has different meanings elsewhere.

Latte: A "wet" cappuccino.

Hold back the foam with a spoon, and pour the warm milk over the espresso.

Put a little bit of foam on top for decoration only.

Mocha:

Any one of the above espresso + milk drinks with chocolate added.

Some places will add hot chocolate to the drink, others will add a chocolate syrup.

A mocha latte is the common preparation.

Not to be confused with Mocha beans, which are an Ethiopian coffee bean which has a little bit of a naturally occurring chocolate flavour.

Misto: A Starbucks synonym for a Cafe au Lait.

Latte:

An espresso drink that consists of espresso, steamed milk, and foam.

In a latte there is a greater percentage of steamed milk than foam.

Mocha: An espresso drink that consists of espresso, steamed milk, foam, and chocolate syrup.

In a mocha the chocolate syrup in stirred with the espresso to create a caffeinated hot chocolate with foam.

Cappuccino:

An espresso drink that also consists of espresso, steamed milk, and foam.

In a latte there is an equal percentage of steamed milk and foam.

In a wet cappuccino there is a slightly greater percentage of steamed milk.

In a dry cappuccino there is almost no steamed milk and consists of almost pure foam.

Espresso Macchiato:

A real macchiato is a shot of espresso and a single dollop of foam on top.

The shots can vary from 1 to 4.

Any more takes too long to pull and spoils the first 2 shots.

Starbucks has a drink called a caramel macchiato which is just an inverted latte with vanilla syrup at the bottom and caramel drizzle on top.

Americano:

A cup filled with hot water and topped with espresso shots.

An americano is an alternative to a regular cup of coffee and usually is more flavorful.

Cafe Au Lait: A cup of coffee filled 1/3 of the way with steamed milk.

An au lait is preferred by customers who want to add milk or cream to their coffee but do not want to lose the heat by adding cold milk.

Red Eye:

A cup of coffee that has shots of espresso added to make it stronger.

There is a fantastic graphic from Oatmeal , that explains the contents of most of your coffees.

I'd argue that a true cappuccino only contains foam, and no steamed milk, but besides that, to me, it's quite accurate.

The one it doesn't mention that I've made before, and is often confused with a mocha is a Cafés viennoise.

This is a latte where the milk is replaced by hot chocolate.

Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gaelach) is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar (some recipes specify that brown sugar should be used), stirred, and topped with thick cream.

The original recipe explicitly uses cream that has not been whipped.

The coffee is drunk through the cream.

Question: There are many different coffee-based drinks on an average coffee-house menu.  But what makes them different from each other?  What are the differences / distinguishing characteristics between: latte, caffe misto, cappuccino, mocha, macchiato, Americano, and Cafe Au Lait?

What's the difference between latte, mocha, and all the other drinks on a coffee-house menu?

An Americano is an espresso drawn out with extra water, and is not the same as filtered coffee. Café au Lait is strong coffee filled 1/3 of the way with steamed milk, and is called a Misto in Starbucks. A Mocha is an espresso drink that consists of espresso, steamed milk, foam, and chocolate syrup. A latte has a greater percentage of steamed milk than foam, and an Irish coffee is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar, stirred and topped with thick cream.

An Americano is an espresso with hot water. A caffe au lait is a coffee with milk. A mocha has espresso, steamed milk and chocolate.

Americano is an espresso with added water.

A caffe au lait is a coffe with milk, known as Misto by Starbucks.

Mocha is an espresso with steamed milk and a bit of chocolate.

In a latte there is more steamed milk than foam.

An Irish coffee is a cocktail of hot coffee and whiskey.


You need to warm them up a bit.

There are a number of ways to do this 20 or 30 seconds on a griddle (or a comal if you have one) wrap a stack in foil and place in 325 oven for until warm wrap a stack in a clean towel and steam them using a steamer slightly moisten a towel and wrap it around a stack and microwave them for a bit If you've warmed them and they are still tearing then

your tortillas are no longer fresh.

If possible, don't buy your tortillas from a modern super market, but look for a source of homemade/fresh tortillas.

These can be found in many cities in the U.S. at Mexican or Latin American stores or neighboroods.

Perhaps check your yellow pages for "Tortilleria" (The spanish word for "Tortilla Store").

These tortillas will also taste much better (at least in my opinion), and have fewer preservatives or other additives (such as artificial colors, etc).

If you can find a good source of fresh tortillas, they will generally be much softer than those you buy pre-packaged in a supermarket.

They will be fresher, and if you find a good source, they'll be sold to you still warm (often kept in an ice chest or similar, to keep them warm until sale).

If you can't find this, you can learn to make your own tortillas.

Or, you can do as @djmadscribbler suggested, and warm your tortillas gently.

Between warming and using, keep them covered so they don't dry out or cool down.

Don't overheat them, or you'll dry them out (especially if you're warming them individually on the stove).

I spread coconut oil on the tortilla (thin layer like butter) and heat them in a hot skillet for about 15 seconds per side, drop it in the enchilada sauce, stuff and roll.

That way the tortilla gets pliable, the sauce gets on the tortilla, and the sauce helps it stick together and look nice and neat.

I've tried many ways (enchiladas are one of my favorite dinners to make with leftover beef or chicken) and this one has proven to be the easiest for me.

My husband is Mexican grew up in Puebla, Mexico, the proud "mecca" of Mexican cuisine.

His family puts their corn tortillas in a plastic grocery bag and microwaves them for a few seconds.

Or, they warm them in a frying pan in olive oil for a few moments on each side, long enough to soften but not crisp them.

I've never seen Poblano cuisine use crispy tortillas.

i have kind of given up on having perfect store bought corn tortillas.

so i decided to just layer them all across the bottom of a casserole dish and then filling

and then all across the top with whatever sauce and cheeses you want to add.

almost lasagna like.

i know its fake bu i slice them in enchilada size portions.

no one knows the difference.

I used to make enchiladas all the time and what I did was dip the corn tortilla in hot oil briefly, flip and do it again.

However, now the tortillas I get turn mushy and tear easily, so I think something about the tortillas in my neightborhood has changed.

A friend's family's technique is to fry them in oil until they are almost hard enough for tostadas since she explained that the enchilada sauce will soften the tortillas once they are cooked.

Using tongs, dip corn tortillas in hot manteca (lard) briefly on both sides, and drain on paper towels.

Just made a large pan of chicken enchiladas.

Heated the corn tortillas in a small, dry skillet (no oil).

This is the first time I have not either dipped them in enchilada sauce or fried in oil.

Was able to easily roll them, except for repeatedly burning my fingers.

:o

( I think I prefer the dry way, as I'd rather not add additional calories if I don't have to.

[Note: the tortillas were pretty fresh, which I do believe helped.]

Question: I like the flavor and texture of corn tortillas (store-bought), but they always tear apart whenever I try to use them in a non-flat way - enchilada-style, for example.  How can I make the corn tortillas soft enough to work with (to roll around some ingredients, for example)?

How can I get a corn tortilla to be pliable enough to work with?

You can wrap a moist towel around them and microwave them, pan fry them briefly on both sides with or without lard, wrap in a clean towel and steam them in a steamer, wrap in foil and warm them in the oven, or dip them in hot lard and drain on paper towels.

You should warm them up. You can do this in a skillet or a grill or in a microwave.

You need to warm them up. You can do this on a griddle, in a skillet or briefly in hot oil.

You can heat them up for a few seconds in the microwave.


McGee writes: "Capsaicin appears to accumulate in the fruit concurrently with the pigment during ripening".

(On Food and Cooking, p.212)

So yes, chilis get hotter as they ripen (that is, as they turn from green to red).

Many chili varieties are picked and sold in stores while still unripe and green (e.g. jalapeño, serrano, poblano), but you will occasionally see ripe, red ones in stores.

All of the dried chilis I've seen in stores have been completely ripened before drying (e.g. chipotles, which are smoked, dried red jalapeños and anchos, which are dried, red poblano peppers).

I've personally observed this effect with padron peppers, which are usually picked green and mild, but can ripen to red, hot peppers if left on the plant.

I know this is an old post, but had to reply.

I grew jalapenos this year, and the heat difference between green and fully-ripened red is astounding.

The green jalapenos had a very, well, green flavor like that of a green bell pepper, but with a mild heat.

After reading a lot of posts around the web, that almost all seem to say that peppers get "smoother" as they ripen, I interpreted that as meaning that the heat wouldn't increase.

My interpretation was faulty!

The red, ripened pepper was many, many times hotter than the green.

I wasn't expecting that burst of flavor when I popped a slice of pepper in my mouth to experience the "smoothness" of the ripe pepper!

I can't tell you the science behind it, but I can verify that, at least in my garden and with my jalapenos, the ripe peppers are far hotter than the green.

Not really.

The chemical that gives chillies their heat is called capsaicin .

It is an extremely stable alkaloid, and so remains potent even after a long period of time:

note, for example that dried chillies and even chilli flakes are still hot.

Most chiles become more picante as they ripen.

But they also become much sweeter.

Jalapenos are a good example.

Red jalapenos are much more delicious than green ones.

Most of the 'heat' is in the seeds and the tissue connecting the seeds to the capsule.

You can pare those parts out with a small knife.

I eat most of my ripe jalapenos right in the garden, pocket knife in hand!

I have traveled the world seeking hot peppers here is what serious farmers have helped me to understand.

Mother nature uses animals to spread seeds.

If you notice most peppers have two strategies to make sure animals don't eat the fruits before the seeds are mature.

First one when the pods are immature the peppers are well camouflaged (blends in with the srems or leaves) and as they start getting larger and more noticable they get very hot so as to deter animals from eating them until the seeds are ready to be distributed in the animals "poop".

Just prior to maturity the placenta is larger and the hottest.

Very quickly now the pods change color and become noticable and sweeter to attract the distributors but the placenta membranes start shrinking and the "hot" concentrates briefly.

At this moment when they are changing color is the best if you want the heat.

A couple of days can make a huge difference in heat and either bitterness or "sweetness", just understand this is not a "sweetness" as in sugar or honey but a reduction in bitterness.

According to my next door neighbour, a chilli farmer, heat isn't determined by colour, but by how long you leave them on the bush.

Question: This answer might vary between types of chillies, but I'm curious to know when they're hottest.

Are chillies hotter when they're ripe?

Chilis do tend to get hotter as they ripen on the bush and change colour, but most of the heat is in the seeds and membrane.

The heat of chilis depends on the time is stays on the plant, not on the colour.


Soaking in water works for me.

Put the colander in the pot, fill it with water - preferably before it dries out in the first place - and then leave it alone until you are ready to do the dishes, whether that's after dinner or (gasp!)

in the morning.

Either way the starch will slip off easily.

In my opinion, the most important part is to rinse immediately after use.

If you use the collander, then let it sit for a few hours (through dinner) or 'til the morning, you're going to have to soak and/or scrub.

A quick spray-down immediately after using will save you a ton of work later: pour pasta into collander.

spray down the pot (I have a pull-out sprayer, and I spray around the edge where the ring formed at the water level; you can give it a quick swipe with a scrub sponge, but you have to be careful about soap near the sink if there's a collander of pasta sitting in there))

dump out the pot (not over the collander)

pour the stuff in the collander back into the pot or whatever serving vessel.

spray down the collander (both sides) & move to the dish drain for full cleaning later

If there is some build-up then a soak in mild borax solution will get colander shiny new again.

However, starch will then again want to stick even more easily...

Prevent it with a wee spray of non-stick.

I justify my use in that I spare a good deal of hot water in the clean up.

I am aware that I address the question indirectly.

What I have observed is that starch is a problem only if the concentration of starch in the water is high.

What I do, is to make sure that I cook the pasta in way more water than most people do.

I try to use at least 1-2 L of water for every 50g of dry pasta.

The main reason why I prefer to use that much water is because the quality of the pasta turn out considerably better that way.

The easier washing is just a side effect :) Yes, bringing all that water to a boil does take a bit more time.

I've only found that hand-scrubbing works.

I use a soap and Bon Ami (no-scratch cleanser), at least for the colander.

Regular soap and a no-scratch scrubbing sponge works on the pot for me, too.

Here's a trick I just discovered.

What I used: Non-Stick dishwasher-safe pot

that's starch-encrusted after 2 years of use, a couple times a week every week.

(Shush, I like spaghetti..)

I've put it through the dishwasher before and tried to scrub it off, but never had any success; it's always looked just as bad after drying of as before I started trying to clean it.

Dawn ultra-concentrated dishwashing liquid (The only dishwashing liquid I've used on pots/pans; I use it because my parents did.

Others will probably work as well) Disposable scrubbing sponge (Very cheap; I found them at Walgreens)

Dishwasher Cascade detergent pacs (powered by Dawn) , for the dishwasher Steps I took: Put a few drops of Dawn in the pot, turn on the faucet at high blast so the agitation makes it foam up. Fill it to the brim.

I only let it soak for about 2 hours, more might work better.

Use the scrub-sponge over the whole internal surface to get off the loose starch.

You shouldn't need to actually scrub hard; I lightly brushed it for a short time, like 2 or 3 minutes, and so much residue was coming off

that had I to rinse the sponge often.

Put it in the dishwasher.

Come tonight, about 80% of the inside of the pot was completely clean of residue, no evidence it was ever there in the first place.

The remaining residue has streaks in it as though the scrubber just didn't get all the surface-starch off.

I'm pretty confident that doing this only one or two more times will have it looking as good as new.

I looked up how to do it and it seems there is no easy answer.

I decided to try baking soda and vinegar.

It worked pretty well!

I put vinegar in a bowl, got the colander wet with the vinegar, poured baking soda into the colander and scrubbed it a bit.

The abrasive soda helps loosen the starch and the vinegar starts to bubble up.

I left the colander in the bowl of vinegar for a while, scrubbed again and rinsed.

It was a lot better, but needed another round.

I poured more baking soda into the colander, scrubbed and left it in the vinegar again.

It looks so much better.

I might try heating the vinegar the next time to see if it speeds up the process!

I've always used the Lagostina stainless steel pot cleaner to remove starch stains and it works great! :)

I was always told to rinse the colander or pot with cold water as soon as the food is removed to prevent the starch from setting up on the utensil.

Rinse with cold water immediately, then wash in warm.

Hot water makes the starch turn gluier; cold water releases it.

Question: After cooking pasta, I typically drain it in a colander.  I have found the starch residue in both the cooking pot and particularly the colander is difficult to clean without hand scrubbing it.  I am curious if anyone knows a solution - either a method or product that makes clean-up quicker and easier.  Thanks for any ideas you may have!

What is the best method/product for cleaning pasta's starch residue from colander and cooking pot?

Rinse immediately with cold water to prevent the starch from adhering, or soak before washing. Hand scrubbing using a soap and Bon Ami (no-scratch cleanser), dishwashing liquid, baking soda and vinegar or Lagostina stainless steel pot cleaner can work well. It also helps to use more water when cooking to reduce the starch content.

You should rinse it as soon as possible and then soak in water. You can clean it with dish soap or baking soda and vinegar.

Soak in water, then scrub with dish soap or baking soda and vinegar.

Rinse it as soon as the food it removed.

Cook in more water than needed to dilute the starch.


Applesauce has little flavor and almost no nutritional value.

It is added to baked goods for the one thing it does have- pectin.

Pectin interferes with gluten in a similar manner to fat although by a different mechanism.

For this reason applesauce is often used to replace some of the fat in recipes for health-conscious bakers.

See this question .

Other banana bread recipes are very similar to cakes and rely on a huge amount of fat- often creamed with a large amount of sugar.

Your options are then to: Replace the applesauce with some other oil substitute.

Another puree of high-pectin fruit would work.

Switch to a recipe that just uses the fat and enjoy a richer banana bread.

Why not making your own?

Making your own applesauce is actually very easy.

So I bet there are apples for sale in the stores?

The simpelest I can think of is:4 apples

3/4 cup water(1/4 cup sugar)1/2

teaspoon ground cinnamonPeel core and chop the apples.

Cook it all together on medium heat until the apples are soft.

(15-20 minutes)It is no work at all and tastes delicious.

Personally I would use applesauce with no added sugar when using it in cakes.

However if you think it is to much work anyways

(but I do not hope so!)

it is good to know that in lots of recipes, applesauce is used to replace oil to lower the amount of calories.

(Some also claim that applesauce replaces eggs, but I have no experience with that)However, stating something like: 'replace 1 cup of applesauce by 1 cup of oil' can not be done properly.

Applesauce contains water where oil does not.

So it will make your cake more fat, and applesauce make the baking more 'cakier'.

Also you are making a fruit cake, and of course the apple taste improves this fruity taste.

I also think using oil will make you cake more 'heavy' then applesauce.

You can read more about applesauce replacing oil via this link.

I think if you are going to replace the applesauce by oil, you have to experiment about the substitution rate.

But I would start with using 1/4 cup of oil in stand of the 1/4 cup of applesauce.

If you don't want to make your own applesauce, nor replacing the sauce by oil you might want to look at baby-food.

Some jars of baby-food contain just some kind of apple puree.

The unsweetened applesauce also provides a bit of acid.

How about replacing the same weight, not volume, with apple juice and increasing the banana content by an small amount -say half a sm banana?

According to http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm 1 cup AS =

8.6oz so 2 oz of juice would be about right With only 1/4C in the recipe, I am assuming that changes here

and there won't spell disaster.

Use chocolate pudding out of a little kids cup.

It adds an amazing chocolate flavor to the banana but it's not over powering.

Use the same amount of pudding as you would with applesauce.

Look for applesauce in the baby food section.

A whipped fat can substitute the missing applesauce.

Question: This   banana bread recipe  calls for applesauce and it's not something that's available at the stores here. Will it be okay if I just leave it out or can I use any other common ingredient to replicate the effect?

What can be used as an alternative for Applesauce?

You can replace it with another oil substitute, a puree of another high-pectin fruit, apple juice and banana or chocolate pudding from a kids' cup.

You can substitute with an oil or fat or another fruit puree.

Replace it with another oil substitute or some other fat.

Another fruit puree or some apple juice can replace it.


Butterflying a hot dog (or any similar sausage) has two effects.

First, as the moisture inside the hot dog expands during cooking, causing the casings to frequently burst due to the pressure that builds up.

When you butterfly a hot dog the this is prevented.

Such blistering does not 'harm' the hot dog but are somewhat 'unsightly',

so I would call this an aesthetic effect.

The second effect is that it allows the hot dog to cook through more evenly.

Particularly for those who prefer their hot dog well done butterflying can get the insides cook through without charring the outside.

[Edit: found something interesting to add...

]If

you want to impress your friend with something different,

try spiral cutting your hot dog .

Butterflying also exposes a greater area of the surface to the grill's direct heat, leading to browning and smoky flavor.

Butterflying a hot dog or sausage increases the surface area available for the Maillard reaction (all the awesome taste sensations that come from browning and burning.

It also decreases cooking time and allows for more even cooking; a thick sausage cooked whole will often be dry on the outside in order to get it fully cooked at the center.

The trick to effective butterflying is to put the open side down on a hot pan (a bit above medium will usually do it) for a minute or two.

Do not press down as you’ll lose juices.

Flip the sausage or hot dog and lower the heat to a little below medium.

You’ll see juices rise to the top like when you cook a burger.

Again, do not press down and lose the juices.

Total cooking time should be less than usual.

When you take it off, place it flayed side up on a dish and let it sit for 3-5 minutes so any juices soak into the meat and aren’t lost to the plate when cutting.

Enjoy the lovely burnt/browned umami!

Some people slice hot dogs lengthwise in an effort to make them a little safer for children.

Hot dogs are a choking hazard for kids , so the idea is to make the pieces in each bite smaller and easier to chew.

I don't know of any research that demonstrates that slicing lengthwise is effective, but since pediatricians recommend cutting hot dogs into small pieces for little kids, it seems a step in the right direction even for not-quite-so-little kids.

For quicker cooking or to for on tost.

Just don't cook to long.

You also can put a piece of cheddar down the middle.

Question: A friend of mine butterfly cuts (in half lengthwise without separating) his hebrew national hot dogs before grilling them.  I don't notice a difference in flavor and didn't perceive a decrease in required grill time. Is there anything gained by butter flying a hot dog for grilling?

Is there anything gained by butterfly cutting a hot dog for grilling?

This increases the surface area for browning, stops the hot dogs from bursting, helps the hot dogs to cook more evenly and reduces the choking risk for children.

Slicing them prevents them from bursting and makes them easier for children to eat. It also helps them to cook more quickly.

Slicing the hotdog prevents the hotdog from bursting.

It should allow it to cook through more quickly.

Slicing them lengthwise makes them easier for children to eat.


Recipes for which you can substitute margarine for butter can have non-dairy margarines substituted instead - you have to check the ingredients list, most margarines contain milk solids.

Here in Australia, my dairy free friends and I use Nuttelex, but that's not available in the USA.

In general lard can always be substituted for butter, but you will not get the same flavour, obviously.

Lard is perhaps a bit more 'savoury' than butter, so it may be worth trying a pie out just to see if it works with a sweet filling.

You should be able to convert straight from butter to lard.

Another alternative is vegetable shortening, which you can use in all kinds of baking.

If you use Butter Flavored Crisco its an ' acceptable ' substitute for butter in a 1:1 ratio.

Coconut oil is gorgeous in crusts and many baked goods.

Get the best quality raw you are willing to pay for and she won't miss butter at all.

Try a bottle of macadamia oil too.

A little in baking where butteriness is wanted or even sauteeing veg.

Supposedly, these oils are back in favor nutritionally so baby will get the benefits too.

Although most people have said that you can do a 1:1 substitution, I want to warn you that it's not always true.

The problem is that butter is part water, and so when you bake with it, it'll give off a little steam.

If you use it melted it'll add water to the mix, which will develop a little bit of gluten when mixed with flour (first recipe, part of the second).

You may need to adjust your recipe slightly.

Typically, you want to reduce the amount of lard or other solid fat used by about 10-20%, and add back in 10-15% water (or other liquid; if you're dealing with un-melted butter, you may want to use vodka so it won't add to gluten development, but will still add steam).

That being said, one alternative might be to use clarified butter or ghee.

Depending on how sensitive the person is, it might not be worth the risk, but for people with a milk protein intolerance who really crave the butter flavor they might be willing to try it.

(and, as with the solid fat substitution, you need to adjust as it's all oil, no water)

If you use lard or criso, you'll want to substitute canola or another neutral oil for a portion.

Butter has a lower melting point than lard or shortening, so a little oil help match the mouth feel of butter.

I can't help you on the flavor.

Maybe sprinkle some buttered popcorn jelly-bellys on top?

Question: My wife is currently unable to consume any dairy as our breast-fed baby has a milk protein allergy. When reading many dessert recipes, many of them call for butter. For example:  http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/shaker-lemon-pie/ or  http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/cinnamon-rolls/   I know pie crusts for example can be made with either, but can they always be substituted?  When would I not want to use lard over butter?  What ratios should I use to convert the recipe?  Is there some other milk-protein free alternative that would work better?

Lard (or other fat) as a subsitute for butter in desserts for someone with a dairy allergy?

Recipes that allow margerine instead of butter can be substituted with non-dairy margerine. Lard and shortening can often be used instead of butter, but a little oil can be added to match the mouth feel. Coconut oil, macadamia oil and ghee or clarified butter are also good options.

You can try a non-dairy margarine, lard, coconut oil, macadamia oil or ghee in baking.

You can always substitute lard for butter. Add a little oil to match the mouth feel of butter.


It is designed for the likes of hard cheeses, nutmeg, or zesting lemon and orange skin.

As you mentioned, a lot of what you want to grate or zest gets stuck between the puckers and it clogs easily.

I would really recommend getting a micro plane as it gives the same fine result without becoming clogged.

I use it for hard cheeses such as Parmesan and Romano.

It grates it quite fine for things like pasta.

This side is ideal for zesting and fine grating of hard items (ginger is my regular task for this) and can be used much more cleanly and easily with the addition of cling wrap.

To use, you pull cling wrap around that side, then grate; you will be able to collect the result much more cleanly and completely by just peeling away the cling wrap.

A micro-plane grater is good, but this method will work in a pinch.

AS others have said its for grating hard things very finely, but not just cheese!

personally I use mine most for grating nutmeg.

I use the star side of the grater to grate sweet potatoes to make a sweet potato pudding.

However, it must be the star side with the larger holes, 7 across the top and bottom and 15 along both sides.

I'm 64 yeas old, and its an old recipe from my father.

Question: Ok, this picture has two sort of weird looking holes, but the one I'm asking about is on the left side of the picture - the metal sort-of puckers up, like it's been punched through from the back side.  I've tried this kind of grater to zest things before, with no success, and it clearly mauls cheeses... I can't figure out what it's for!

What's this "pucker" style hole on my cheese grater for?

This side can be used to grate hard cheeses, nutmeg, lemon zest, ginger and other hard items. It can also be used to grate sweet potatoes for a pudding.

It is used for grating very hard things like lemon zest or nutmeg.

It is used for grating very hard things like cheese, nutmeg or lemon zest.


If it's high quality, store it in the refrigerator in an air-tight container and try to use it as quickly as possible so you can enjoy it while it's fresh.

There are always excuses to use loads of parmesan: cheese plates, pasta dinners, fondue, scones, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.

It should last for 3-4 months in a sealed container in the fridge.

As time goes on it will get drier, but that's to be expected.

If you can't eat it in time, consider giving some away to a friend.

If you wanted, you could freeze it as well, but I would only use it for baking or melting once thawed as some flavor and a lot of texture will be lost.

Fresh parmesan....

hmm : )

Parmesan is typically aged 6 months to 2 years...

it is aged with no special covering or container, it forms what is called a natural rind.

To store it, once it has been cut is very simple: place it in as airtight a container as possible and refrigerate.

DO NOT wet it, this may lead to spoilage...do not leave it exposed to the elements.

Pretty simple...

I make artisan cheeses.

You could wrap it into cheese paper (like http://www.amazon.com/Formaticum-Cheese-Paper-Adhesive-Package/dp/B002I47P40 ) and store it in the fridge.

I strongly disagree with the idea of storing it in an airtight container and using it quickly.

I assume people suggest using it quickly because in an air-tight container you'll have condensed water in the box which will make your cheese go bad.

I recommend to put it in a box and put the top on, but leave the top open a little bit (or use a box that lets air through; that would be even better).

With that, most excessive humidity will leave the box, without creating too much condensed water inside and without drying the cheese too fast.

With this method I can keep my Parmesan for at least 3 weeks.

Cheese paper might be a good idea also.

But not in airtight containers - since you'll definitely have humidity leaving your cheese.

(This applies to a piece of Parmesan, not pre-grated Parmesan.)

What we would always do at home would be to wrap it in paper towel and then put it in a plastic bag in the fridge.

This will prevent it to dry too much, and the paper will absorbe any moisture forming on the surface.

The paper should be changed every now and then to avoid mold growing on the cheese.

If mold grows on the cheese just remove the "moldy spot" and you'll be fine.

Per Marcella Hazan, author of the wonderful "Essentials of Italian Cooking" - Wrap it tightly in wax paper, then in heavy-duty aluminum foil, being careful not to poke the foil.

Store on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator.

Works perfectly.

Smear butter to prevent drying.

I have also experimented freezing parmesan.

It does dry out a bit but still could be used in hot dishes like pasta.

Coming from Italian origin.

I remember my grandmother and aunties in Italy leaving the block of Parmesan in the large round Parmesan grater that everyone seemed to have and that's where it stayed, in amongst the grated cheese.

Because the lid has hundreds of small holes in it, the cheese would eventually dry out.

However, this doesn't spoil the cheese as it's perfect to grate even when the cheese has dried hard.

I never saw moulding or spoiling.

I have seen Parmesan go green when stored in the fridge in plastic.

But, don't throw it out just remove any mould

and away you go.

Good Parmesan, Regianno, is matured for 2 years in cellars and doesn't need a fridge.

Just a container with a breathable lid in a cool cupboard is best I find.

We don't give it time to go off anyway, that would be so wrong.!!

Wrap it in a clean, damp kitchen towel, then in foil.

It will store well for a long time, without losing any of its texture or nutty flavor.

This will allow the cheese to breathe.

Change the towel every time you use the cheese to prevent any possible cross-contamination.

While on a visit to a Parmesan cheese factory in Italy, we were advised to wrap the cheese in a clean teatowel and keep it in the fridge.

(by the way, dry rind pieces can be added to soups or stews to enrich the flavour.)

Were I live as we have.

Dip twice in melted bees wax.

Store in a cool place.

Or dip in wax.

It can be put in jars of salt sea water.

Then stored in a cool place.

Bees wax seems to work best.

I have found that for just a week wrap in plastic bags.

Thin ones like you get at store.

Put in fridge.

This is 3rd world tropics.

I like the idea in a jar with bread.

Going to try that.

Put it in a jar with a piece of bread...

works every time and its lasts a long time.

Question: I recently lucked into about 4 lbs of a delicious Parmesan. Sadly it's already in 4 pieces, and so I'm pretty sure its going to be more prone to spoilage than a single large chunk. How does one go about setting up a block of dry, hard cheese for long term storage?   Also how long can I expect my cheese to retain its flavor?

How to store Parmesan cheese?

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or in the freezer with some loss of flavour and texture. Parmesan will get drier as time goes on, but this does not spoil the cheese.

You could wrap it in cheese paper or a paper towel to let it breathe and keep it cool.

You could freeze it or put it in a closed box in the fridge.

It will dry out but it will still be fine to grate.

You could wrap it in paper towel to let it breathe and keep it cool.


Pros

Any colour you like (even black)

With some machines you can make rainbow stripes just like toothpaste tubes do Any consistency you like, and more or less eggs, or just egg yolks.

Add baking soda or Kansui to make stronger, more shape-able pasta (not more than 0.5% or it tastes soapy in a sauce)

Any flavour you like (herbs, spices, extracts, extra egg'y ...)

Any flour you like (wholemeal and buckwheat is my favourite)

Any shape you like, make lasagne sheets to fit your favourite lasagne pan, or make your own extruder dies (not trivial, but possible)

Easier and quicker to cook Extruder machines give your arms a great work out Fun to do with children, and educational

You control what ingredients go into it (more and more commercial pasta are including 'weird' ingredients for no reason I know of?)

The extruder you want :-) Cons Expensive to make if you account for your time (you should)

Flour is flour.

The base tastes more or less the same Large amount of time to make decent pasta, especially in tricky shapes Pasta machines can be hard to clean Special hardware (roller, drying racks, extruder etc.) required for anything but the basic flat noodles

One of the best reasons to make fresh pasta is to make your own tortellini and ravioli.

It is simply impossible with dried pasta, since dried pasta no longer sticks to itself.

There are more variations of fillings than the standard "cheese" or "meat" that are otherwise unavailable if you only buy filled pasta at a grocery store.

There are some of us that do this as part of a slow food / living simply / homesteading type thing.

Some of the main reasons for doing this: Reduced packaging (eggs from the chooks, buy flour in bulk)

Reduced food miles Focus on whole foods and reduced additives

The enjoyment of producing something with your own hands and involving your family in production Ability to make things in larger quantities at a reduced or comparable price (I get my flour for free from a friend in exchange for the occasional pizza night) Ability to home-make things which can be shared for free or exchanged for free with neighbours Minimal or zero waste (flour bags can be re-used or composted), left over dough scraps and flour can be fed to livestock

Cheaper, customizable flavor (spinach, tomato, squash, etc), and in my opinion, far more delicious (ie fresh, different mouthfeel, and also because you control the ingredients you can use your favorite spices or veggies) than store bought.

Only downside is the effort.

With homemade pasta, you don't need any preservatives, and have complete control over what ingredients (quality, variety) are used.

You can add elements for a specific flavor

(spinach is common, beet is something I'd like to try, I could see basil, and now @lemontwist has me curious about squash...), or substitute ingredients for specific dietary or health reasons.

I know several people who make their own pasta so they can make sure no salt is involved.

Fresh pasta is easier to cook, and doesn't require additional pantry space.

You likely have all the ingredients on-hand.

It's better for sure, it tastes great and you can choose better raw ingredients and quality flour.

Moreover you can add veggies, spices, eggs and customize pasta in many ways.

You can also choose the best shape that suits your condiments.

Question: What are some good reasons for people to make their own pasta? Does it make it cheaper? Does it taste any better?

What are some good reasons for why people make homemade pasta?

While it does require more effort to make and clean up afterwards, homemade pasta allows you to experiment with flavours, control the ingredients used, reduce waste in packaging and transport, remove the need for preservatives and other unwanted additives.

While the final product is similar to what you might buy, you will reduce costs and you can control all the ingredients in it.

You can choose the ingredients that you put it in.

You would reduce packaging and food miles and be able to make larger quantities for less cost.

It takes a lot of effort and you need to buy a special machine.


Heating it up in the microwave will temporarily make it runnier, but then it will go back to its original consistency.

Here are some ways that may work for you: Add some neutral flavored oil: just a bit though or it will get greasy Add chocolate syrup: chocolate syrup is very runny will thin it out while still keeping the chocolate flavor.

Hershey's is available in the US and UK, Tate and Lyle makes one in the UK.

Not sure where you are but there will likely be something available If you can't find chocolate syrup try making a very thick chocolate milk with some cocoa powder or chocolate milk powder

After experimentation, here is what we came up with: 1 tsp.

of milk (I know you said no milk, but you need the fat in itto keep the Nutella from seizing) 1 TBSP.

Nutella Instructions: Heat the tsp.

of milk a couple of seconds in a bowl in the microwave - just a couple seconds!!

Take a little chunk from the TBSP.

of Nutella and stir it into the milk until smooth Repeat the above step until it is the desired consistency for drizzling over your bananas - or whatever.

When it cools, it will be firm again.

Enjoy!

Use a bain marie: get a pot of steaming hot water, and place a glass bowl on top.

Make sure the water isn't touching the glass bowl directly.

Place your chocolate in the bowl and stir and it will melt.

I microwave a tsp of coconut oil for 15 seconds, then mix in a tbsp of Nutella and microwave in 10 second bursts until I'm happy with it.

We place container of Nutella in a bowl of hot water...works faster if you put the amount you want in a small glass bowl and set it into a larger container of hot water.

Melts but doesn't harden.

Dip your banana right in.

Easy!

I found that adding any nut milk or regular milk made the Nutella thicker to a fudge like texture.

What worked for me was putting the Nutella in a glass bowl over a boiling pot of water (double boiler) and adding hot water teaspoon by teaspoon while mixing to the right consistency.

What i did for pancake day last year was get a pan of water and put a bowl over it, boil the water for a bit and then add the nuttella.

gradually, add the milk bit by bit until it goes to the liquid thickness that you like.

It worked for me so try it

1 Table spoon of Milk and 1 Table spoon sour cream to a half a jar (13 oz) of Nutella.

It will not weaken the chocolate flavor, it actually enhances the flavor.

Delicious!

I used 1 teaspoon half and half to 1 tablespoon of Nutella.

Put half and half in small bowl in microwave until hot and then stirred in the Nutella.

Worked beautufully!

Was able to drizzle over my mini bunt cakes without losing any flavor.

Tried many different ways before and ruined the Nutella.

This method works!

If you need to reduce the viscosity of nutella (make it more liquid/runny)

here is what you do: it must be fresh (expired/old nutella's chemical properties change)

1 part nutella to 1/10 (10%)

part

whole milk - stir (it may become hard at first!

don't stress) once the first 10% is mixed in, add another 10% milk and again and again until its you reach the viscosity required.

The two secrets to thinning syrup and nutella are start with the syrup or nutella and SLOWLY

add the milk/water ALWAYS

add TINY/MINUTE/SMALL amounts [in ratio obviously.

for a bucket containing 10Litres Nutella, you'll need 1 litre of milk ;) ]

Question: I usually put some amount in a cup and add a very small amount of water to start mixing. This is usually effective as long as the amount of water is very small compared to chocolate, in which the chocolate still has a strong taste.I thought of using milk, but I do not want the chocolate's taste to be faded (milk has a taste compared to water being neutral ).I also tried using the microwave, but that was pretty useless.  I want something really fast and reliable.

What is the best and fastest way to liquify Nutella chocolate spread?

Nut or dairy milk can actually make the texture thicker, but you could make it temporarily runny by heating in a microwave or bain mairie, or mix it with a little chocolate syrup, thick cocoa, oil, coconut oil or half and half.

You can melt it over a bain marie or add oil, syrup or cream.

Heating it up in the microwave will only melt it for a short time.

You can add some milk, coconut oil or cream.


Cook it less, if you can.

The more you cook it, the more you get that smell.

Perhaps you are just more sensitive to it than most; I don't generally notice it until it's overcooked by my standards.

Along with this, cook it as fast as you can.

The flavor you don't like is produced by enzymes converting precursor molecules into those with the flavor.

From On Food and Cooking : Heating cabbages and their friends has two different effects.

Initially the temperature rise...speeds the enzyme activity and flavor generation, with maximum activity around 140F/60C.

The enzymes stop working altogether somewhere short of the boiling point.

If the enzymes are quickly inactivated by plunging the vegetables into abundant boiling water, then many of the flavor precursor molecules will be left intact.

If the cooking period is prolonged, then the constant heat gradually transforms the flavor molecules.

Eventually the sulfur compounds end up forming trisulfides, which accumulate and are mainly responsible for the strong and lingering smell of overcooked cabbage.

So as suggested by others, boiling instead of steaming to reduce cooking time helps.

So does cooling quickly, with cold or ice water.

Boiling in excess water will also leach some out, but you might also lose flavor you like.

A couple other thoughts, also from On Food and Cooking .

Cabbage family vegetables grown in the summer, and under drought stress, produce more of the flavor precursors, and those grown in the autumn and winter with less light and more water have less.

They're also more concentrated in the core of the vegetables.

And for cabbage, you can remove a lot of them by chopping and soaking in cold water; conceivably the same could work for broccoli, but again perhaps at the cost of desirable flavor.

This does not happen if you boil it for 30-60 seconds, drain, then ice water shock the broccoli instead of steaming.

In steaming, the usual way to prevent this is to eat it quickly and to steam for a very short time.

However, steaming to the same point of moderate tenderness takes at least 6 minutes at high pressure, and the cooking doesn't stop after you remove it.

In my experience, blanching provides superior results for broccoli's flavor compared to steaming, even if you end up recooking the broccoli (like you might in a casserole), because the halting of the cooking process from the rapid cooling.

It's possible that ice water shocking steamed broccoli may have the same effect, but I prefer the shorter cooking time that blanching enables so I've never tried it.

It may be worth experimenting with, if you're committed to steaming.

I've never had a problem, but I also don't do a 100% steam cooking method ...

you may want to try it and see if it sets off your nose, as we're all sensitive to smells to a different degree: Heat a skillet with a little bit of oil in it.

(you can use non-stick, but you still want a little bit of oil) Cut up the flourets, but set them aside.

Slice up the stem Sauté the stems for a minute or two.

Add the flourets, and saute for another 30-60 seconds.

Add a bit of water, and slap on a lid.

Let steam to your desired doneness.

Drain off the water (tilt pan over sink while holding lid slightly askew) Serve

I left out the seasoning step ...

I typically season when sautéing, but if you're used to steaming, it might be more similar to season after cooking.

We love all things broccoli ; soup included.

I always add a pinch of baking soda, and that's the end of the odour.

Good luck.

I have always had good results with adding a stalk of celery when steaming broccoli, and then discarding it after cooking.

Don't know why it works, but my mom had done this for years after reading it in some cookbook, and it does seem to change the odor that permeates the kitchen.

Question: I really enjoy snacking on steamed vegetables lightly sprinkled with some salt and pepper, especially broccoli. However I find that steamed fresh broccoli has a slightly sulfuric smell that smells a little bit like fart. I was wondering if there is anything I can do to lessen that smell.

Is there a way to lessen the unpleasant smell of steamed broccoli?

You can neutralise the odor by adding a pinch of baking soda or a stick of celery or slicing up the stems and sauteeing them for a minute or two. Try cooking them less, possibly blanching for 30-60 seconds before shocking in ice water rather than steaming.

Cook it very quickly either steamed, sautéed or boiled. If you are boiling, then add a little baking soda.

You should cook it for a very short time and put in ice water after.

Add a pinch of baking soda with the cooking water.


The 'lemony' flavour in a lemon cake is from the volatile oils which are present in the fruit's zest,(mainly nerol, limonene and citral).

I would'nt advise adding actual lemon juice to the cake as it will disrupt the ratios in the cake recipe and ususally the tart, zingy flavour gets lost anyway after baking.

To get a really lemony flavour whilst still using a pound cake recipe (using the creaming method) there are several things which would enhance the lemon flavour: Adding finely grated lemon zest to the sugar, then blitzing with a blender (to release the oils) and leaving to infuse.

The sugar is simply a medium to infuse into Melting the butter (using it as a 'quasi' solvent) and adding it to some more lemon zest to infuse.

Then once cooled use it as per the recipe requires.

Add lemon extract too (we're trying to get as much flavour as possible into the cake!)

And if all else fails, you can always soak the cake in a lovely tangy lemon syrup and may be top it off with some lemony cream cheese frosting!

I know of three ways to add extra lemon flavor to recipes: Add lemon pudding like this copycat recipe for Starbuck's lemon poundcake: Starbucks

Iced Lemon Pound Cake Copycat Recipe Use frozen lemonade concentrate instead of lemon juice as Marge suggested, add grated lemon rind.

Fresh is good, dried is more intense.

My mother's cherished lemon-nut bread recipe, which uses dried grated lemon peel, actually requires the bread to be wrapped and refrigerated overnight to "cure" the flavors after it is baked.

This post is years old but I added 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice per 200g of flour and it turned out amazing.

Super pronounced lime flavor.

The recipe asked for 1/3 cup of buttermilk or sour cream but I didn't have any.

Hope it helps.

Here are a couple of ideas: Add some limoncello to the batter After baking and initial cooling: Apply a lemon sugar syrup.

Use a skewer to make holes in the cake.

Pour over the lemon syrup.

Use lemon curd as a topping Here is an example of a recipe with lemon syrup.

Lemon emulsion is especially designed for baking as it won't "bake out" like a juice or flavoring.

If you are using an Lemon Extract, be sure it is all natural and has no added sweetener, like corn syrup.

I found baking emulsions on line from a company called Lorann Professional Kitchen and the size was 4 oz....

not a pint or quart like most bakery supply

Boyajian lemon oil...

Only use a few drops.

Won't affect the recipe texture.

Pure flavor.

Probably find at Whole Foods, New Seasons, etc.

My Costco has it also.

The strength of that lemon twang comes from the essential oils of the lemon and the acid in the lemon (which is why the icing is sooooo GREAT!).

Unfortunately the acid will all be reacted and evaporated out by the time you finish baking anything.

However, the oils will not have evaporated or reacted with the air.

The oils predominantly come from the zest or skin.

The most effective way to get the strongest lemony flavour in baking will be to use a juicer to completely strip all the oils out of the entire lemon, then boil it down to a thick syrup.

The skin is very bitter, but with some sugar you should be able to bring out a great tangy lemon flavour.

Remember, chocolate comes from a very bitter substance too

but we love eating it all the time! =D

You will end up with a very intense lemon syrup for use in various baking.

Make sure to practice your baking mixtures a couple times to get the consistencies correct.

The thickness of the syrup should help a lot not to water down any recipe you are following, rather than just adding lemon juice (which, like most fresh produce, has heaps of water in it).

Question: I have tried and tried numerous recipes for lemon pound cake.  None of them taste very lemony.  I tried adding extra lemons n lemon extract but no real difference.  The only thing to make it taste like lemon is the glaze. What am I doing wrong?

Lemon cake has no flavor

The flavour of lemon juice can 'bake out' in the oven, but the zest (possibly blitzed with and infused in sugar) can release oils that enhance the flavour. You can also try adding frozen lemonade concentrate or limoncillo, lime juice, lemon sugar syrup, lemon emulsion or Boyajian lemon oil.

Try adding lemon zest or some lime juice.

Use limoncello, lemon emulsion or lemon oil.


I can't claim familiarity with that particular area's style of fried chicken, but I have two ideas that may meet that description: Korean

fried chicken wings with ultra-thin crust a la http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/10/the-food-lab-korean-fried-chicken.html Double fried chicken wings with no batter a la http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/01/the-food-lab-how-to-make-best-buffalo-wings-fry-again-ultimate-crispy-deep-fried-buffalo-wings.html

I know these are recipes for wings, but I would assume this would translate well to other pieces of chicken.

Both of them start with a neutral base that you can modify with sauces etc.

to your liking.

I'm afraid I don't really have a good recipe for breaded fried chicken though, something about good Korean fried chicken makes everything else pale in comparison ;)

I've lived in the Pittsburgh area all of my life.

My great grandma and grandma always made fried chicken the same way.

They just tossed the chicken pieces with a dusting of flour, salt and pepper, and pan fried it, in a VERY scant amount of oil, skin side down first, and then turning.

Usually they would cover it near the end of cooking, after adding just a small amount of water to the pan and turning it skin side down, to get all the delicious gooey fond off the bottom of the pan.

Here it is.

Straight from my sister in law who was born in Pennsylvania.

The first time I saw her cook fried chicken

I though she was crazy, no coating and no breading.

Heat the skillet and add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet.

If you were lucky enough to plan ahead, you could soak the chicken in salted water, but she didn't.

She took it out of the wrapper, rinsed it off and tossed in in the skillet with the hot oil.

Salt and pepper the chicken and let it cook on low to medium.

Hot enough to cook, but hot enough to scorch the chicken.

When the chicken is browned with a nice 'ccoked' browning, turn it over and cook the other side.

Salt and pepper each time you turn it.

Cook all sides.

It will take about twenty to thirty minutes to cook this way, but the results are terrific.

She calls it Yankee Fried Chicken.

When the chicken is cooked through (check by inserting knife into thigh or leg.

If the meat or bone is still pink, even slightly pink, cook it longer.

When browned on all sides, remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Cover loosely with foil.

If necessary, add a tablespoon of butter to the drippings in the pan.

Stir in flour, salt and pepper to make a roux.

You can make 'Yankee Gravy" by adding hot water to the roux.

You can also use chicken stock,

That's how you do it.

Here's the real deal fried chicken without breading... best to use legs or thighs.

Soak chicken with skin on at least overnight in a sealed container with buttermilk, plenty of sea salt, and pepper to taste, next day, place chicken on a rack to drain/dry.. heat a good frying pan to medium high heat, not high, with sunflower or peanut oil, enough so it will be half way up the side of the chicken pieces in the pan.

When the oil is hot, add your skin on chicken pieces, turning every 2-3 minutes until done, this will be the crispiest, juiciest and most delicious chicken you will ever eat!

The skin is the breading and it seals all the flavor in the chicken pieces.

Enjoy!

I've been cooking for years, I take my chicken, put what seasonings I want on it, then coat the chicken with honey and put it in the deep fryer, no breading, no flour or anything.

Cooking is sort of my hobby.

Experiment with what you want, keep in mind every cooking method is unique to the person doing it and or writing it.

Just had something very near that today at a Churches Chicken restaurant in NorthEast Texas.

The mgr told me it was fried without batter or flour and is either coated or seasoned with a slightly sweet dry bbq coating that was very thin, almost translucent except for the amber color.

Quite tasty.

Question: When I was a little fellow I lived in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania. Many diners that we ate at had a fried chicken that had just a thin crispy amber coating. The order was usually a half of a chicken. I have been living in North Carolina for 24 years now and have not come across anything close. I would like to know how to make it.

PA style fried chicken with no breading or batter, just a thin amber color crisp coating

Soak chicken overnight in a sealed container with buttermilk, plenty of sea salt, and pepper. Drain on a rack while heating sunflower or peanut oil in a good frying pan to medium high heat. There should be enough to cover the chicken half way up. Toss the chicken pieces with a dusting of flour, salt and pepper or a slightly sweet dry BBQ coating and pan fry it, in a VERY scant amount of oil, skin side down first, before turning. Add a small amount of water, turn it skin side down again and cover it near the end of cooking in order to get the fond from the bottom of the pan.

Dust the chicken with flour, salt and pepper and then fry in just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

This is unbreaded chicken. Just dust with flour, salt and pepper and just enough oil to cover the pan.


I imagine you have tried recipes already with an appropriate quantity of xanthum gum and starches... are you making any substitutions, or omitting ingredients?

Substitutions really change the game significantly, even unwitting substitutions like sweet rice flour vs white rice flour, potato flour vs potato starch.

Substituting an alternative flour directly for wheat flour in non-GF recipes won't work (unless you find a GF flour blend that specifies so - for bread, I haven't).

And when I started GF baking I omitted some tiny amounts of ingredients as I didn't want to go out and buy a whole packet/bottle of something just to use a few grams.

Turns out some of those little things were absolutely essential.

Don't skimp on them.

Also, if using yeast, you can take a little bit and proof it to make sure it's not the dud.

Try finding a specifically gluten-free bread recipe with many positive comments, so you are sure it's not the recipe that's the issue.

Personally, my first proper attempt with no subs or omissions at making bread (my first GF bread, and first bread loaf ever - so it had to be foolproof for me) was with this recipe and it rose nicely, much to my relief and delight.

Maybe give it a try, and once you got the rising bit down, work on other recipes from there?

If they are not working even though you are following them to a T, perhaps temperature is your issue - is the water too cold or hot for the yeast ?

Are you leaving the bread in a cold spot?

I have a cool kitchen, so when my oven is pre-heating while rising I place the loaf above the stove to rise, as it receives ambient warmth from the heated oven.

I had limited success making gluten free bread.

The best result I got was from the recipe at http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2010/august/no-knead-gluten-free-bread , which resulted in a half-decent, moist loaf.

A few months ago, I bought a bread machine specifically to make GF bread.

(A risky venture as I didn't cook or bake.)

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and tasty my first loaf was; but it was a little thicker and gummier than I liked.

I used Pamela's Bread Mix http://www.pamelasproducts.com/products/baking-mixes/pamelas-gluten-free-bread-mix/ .

Sooo, I tried a few other mixes (and my own combinations)--melchhhh, I didn't like any of them.

Back to experimenting with Pamela's and researching sites/books.

Here's where I landed.

Follow the standard recipe on the Pamela's bag with the following changes to HELP THE YEAST do its work better: use very warm (but not hot) water (yeast likes warmth) add additional 2 TBS of water (the extra water is for more moisture--too much will make the dough fall) whisk the liquids together add a small amount of sugar (Stevia, maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar) to the liquid (extra food for the yeast)

A tiny smidge more yeast (heaping vs. flat) Baste the top of the loaf with a little olive oil during the last rise and leave the top open the last 2-3 minutes of the baking (if the top crust is too hard, the yeast has a harder time working the dough) DELICIOUS, soft and much lighter.

Hope this helps and happy baking!

I have only made gluten free bread once, but then I used a no knead recipe and it turned out

okay.

I generally find that no knead recipes rise well, probably becuase you allow it a long time to rise.

I don't know what kind of recipe you used, but if it wasn't a no knead one I'd suggest you try that and see if it is easier for you.

Mix the liquids and fold into dry ingredients instead of mixing all together.

It made a world of difference in my banana bread.

Question: I am new to gluten free baking and I am having much trouble getting my breads to rise. I have tried several recipes, with no luck. Can anybody give me some fool proof suggestions? I am desperate. Thank you

Having trouble getting gluten free bread to rise

Try folding the mixed liquids into the dry ingredients rather than kneading all of them together. Make sure the bread is left in a warm enough place to rise, and try recipes that have good reviews to make sure the problem isn't the recipe.

Look for a GF recipe that has good comments. Mix the liquids then fold into dry ingredients. Leave the bread to rise in a warm place.

Try finding a specifically gluten-free recipe for bread.

You need to leave the bread in a warm place.

Mix the liquids then fold this into the dry ingredients.


I'm answering my own question because I did a bunch of stuff from a lot of resources, and collected valuable information that more people may use in the future when coming across this post.

I wanted to use household items.

My flask is a stainless steel with some copper.

What I actually did:

Cleaned with a small amount of tap water, shaking it a little bit;

Boiled a glass of water, and a bottle of vinegar/water (50%/50%);

Cleaned the flask with the boiled water, them with the vinegar solution (50% of the flask, shaking it a little bit).

Then cleaned again with the boiled water (50% of the flask), shaking it, them with the vinegar solution again, then with the boiled water (50%), then with boiled water again (this time 100%).

I didn't emptied the flask from this last cleaning;

I let the water inside for 24h; 24h

later, I opened the flask, and emptied it in a glass cup: there wasn't any solid particles, and the water didn't have any taste, so I believed it was ok to put some whiskey.

Maybe your flask is an old one, with leather, I don't know.

In this case, I suggest you check these resources: http://www.whiskywhiskywhisky.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4254 http://www.thetfp.com/tfp/tilted-knowledge-how/29045-cleaning-inside-antique-hip-flask.html http://ask.metafilter.com/111820/Mildewsmelling-hip-flask-can-it-be-salvaged http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18080329

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14191/Somebody still uses you MS-DOS

If there's no evil smell emanating from the flask, just give it a good rinse with hot water.

Otherwise, a 20 minutes soak in a dilute solution of bleach (around 1 tbs per gallon), followed by extensive rinsing with warm water should do the trick.

Is the flask actually stainless, or merely something that's been plated bright and shiny?I'd go w vigorously shaking some sand around inside of it, to loosen any corrosion/crud deposits.

Follow that w hot water/detergent, and brushing as possible.

Finally, give it a soak in Vodka/Everclear.

Check to see that the rinse solvent comes out clear and without chunks.

For all you know, someone from the 1990's left Cream liqueur in there to evaporate.

Steradent tablets are best for cleaning any type of flask in my experience.

There are a number of flask and bottle brushes available online that will help with this task.

I also found this set of instructions at ehow that recommends the use of boiling water and distilled white vinegar.

Unlike most cleaning products, white vinegar will not leave a lingering scent in the flask.

I have always had a lot of success using uncooked rice as an abrasive and a dish soap/hot water combo.

Shake it like crazy and it's clean.

It's a safe, simple, and effective method.

Great question and some really good answers.

I am the founder/craftsman of a company that sells flasks and

we recently wrote a blog post on it that can be found here: http://1776.co/blogs/journal/54690755-how-to-clean-your-leather-whiskey-flask

The short of it is: Use warm soapy water and allow it to air-dry.

Your flask should always be washed by hand because the chemicals in dish washing detergent may react with the stainless steel interior.

Question: I found an old stainess steel flask that someone once gave me. I want to use it again to hold whiskey.  There doesn't seem to be any liquid inside, though it may have contained some just before the flask was forgotten.   How do I properly clean to start using it again? Just hot water? No soap? Can I trust it? It was only used to hold whiskey.

How to properly clean a whiskey flask?

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14191/Somebody still uses you MS-DOS

Rinsing with boiled water and then a white vinegar solution will not leave a lingering scent, or you could try hot water and detergent (possibly with uncooked rice as an abrasive), vodka/Everclear, Steradent tablets or just hot water if there is no unpleasant scent.

You can use vinegar or soap and hot water. You can also try soaking in vodka or dissolving a steradent tablet.

Use vinegar and hot water.
Use warm soapy water.
Try soaking in vodka.
Try dissolving a steradent tablet.
You can use rice as an abrasive.


Raw protein sticks to hot stainless steel as soon as it comes into contact with it.

However, once the layer which is stuck to the pan cooks through, it releases from the pan.

The trick is to heat the pan over a low heat before adding the eggs, then don't touch them until there is a layer of cooked egg on the bottom - about a minute or two.

Then when you start stirring, the cooked egg will easily peel off the bottom and the pan will be sufficiently seasoned so that the rest of the egg doesn't stick to it.

The worst thing you can do from a sticking point of view is slowly heat the pan with scrambled eggs, the pan must be hot enough to get them sizzling right away or they'll act like glue.

That's the opposite of what you want to do of course, as the slower you cook the eggs the better they taste, which is why I always cook mine in a non-stick pan.

Start with medium heat and get the pan hot but put a tablespoon of butter before it gets too hot.

Once the foaming stops, add the eggs into the pan and stir constantly but reduce the heat to low.

I add about a tablespoon of milk to my eggs.

If it starts sticking to the bottom while you're stirring, then the pan has gotten too hot.

Just move it off the burner and continue stirring.

After scrubbing out many a burned-on egg fond, and giving up and buying a cheap ceramic pan just for omlets, I finally figured out the secret to cooking even notoriously sticky egg whites in stainless: 1)

Heat pan on high until water drops levitate, as usual 2) add oil or perhaps clarified butter 3)

COOL

IT DOWN!

reduce the heat and pick the pan up off the burner for a bit 4) add eggs

only when the pan is down to the same medium-low that would be used with non-stick Tried this with the last of some egg whites on a whim after heating a frozen scallion pancake, and they released once set without the slightest sticking, completely opposite earlier disasters when the pan was too hot and the eggs reached through the thin fat layer to grab and burn.

Boil quarter cup of water, and then add 3 broken eggs.

Stir well for few seconds.

Allow it to cook for 3 minutes, this will prevent eggs from sticking to the pan.

This is perfectly do-able.

Heat some cooking fat (olive oil works well; butter works OK) in the pan until it is, in the words of Usborne's My First Cookbook , " hot but not smoking ".

Keep it at that temperature.

Ideally, this is done by setting the hob to the correct power, i.e. turn the hob down fairly low once the pan is up to temperature.

You might need to temporarily move the pan partly or entirely off the hob, to stop the pan overheating, if you overshoot with the hob power.

(You haven't failed if you need to do this!

And as you get used to the rate at which your pan gets to temperature on your hob, you'll need to do it increasingly rarely.)

Tilt the pan to coat the inner surface evenly with a thin layer of the hot fat .

This will act as both a cooking medium (i.e. it conducts heat from the pan to the food) and as a semi-non-stick surface (i.e. it provides a very thin, slippery barrier between the hot steel and the food).

Add the whisked eggs (or whatever you are cooking) to the pan.

As the food cooks, slide the tip of a stainless steel fishslice under the food to lift it off the pan before the food sticks.

Also use the fishslice to turn the food as necessary.

Keep doing this, actively, until the food is cooked to your satisfaction.

If you let the pan get too hot, or weren't active enough with the fishslice, then the food will stick.

If this happens, don't worry: it won't burn immediately.

But act swiftly: get some suitable water-based liquid (e.g. milk, in the case of scrambled eggs; or water if you were cooking a stir-fry), and pour a small amount (one to several teaspoons' worth, depending on how bad the adhesion is) into pan as close to the adhesion as possible.

This may spit slightly so don't put your face close to the pan while you do it.

It will deglaze the pan and eliminate or at least reduce the adhesion, allowing you to resume your work with the fishslice.

(You might need to press the tip of the fishslice at a shallow angle fairly firmly into the cooking surface of the pan, as you slide it under the food, if the food is sticking.

That will let you scrape the food off the surface of the pan.

Plastic fishslices aren't usually up to this task, which is why I emphasised, above, using a stainless steel one.)

I never use non-stick.

I always use stainless (French copperware with stainless coating inside).

Just make sure that the stainless is evenly hot but not too hot.

Always use animal fat like butter, lard, dripping, goose fat or duck fat.

Vegetable oils have resin.

I make pancakes, omelettes, fried eggs etc.

and it is the very first one you need to take care to pre heat and use butter.

Let the butter melt slowly.

If it burns then the pan is too hot.

Ideally, the butter melts without too much sound.

Once the butter is runny and the particles starting to darken and all the steam is gone, the egg mixture is ready to add.

Do not stir too early.

When the bottom is solidified, just lift and turn or very gently turn in a lift and fold motion.

In some parts of Britain the stirring is done very vigorously, but in this case the heat should be ultra-low and is a paragraph all its own.

Thanks for reading.

Question: I'm having the hardest time preventing scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel cookware. I've tried bringing the eggs to room temperature before cooking, slowly heating the pan, loads of butter (tasted great, still stuck), adding milk to the eggs. How can I prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel?

Prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel

Raw protein will stick to stainless steel on contact, so make sure the pan is at the right temperature first, use butter and wait for a minute or two before stirring.

The pan should be hot before adding the eggs. Let them cook a little before trying to stir. You can also add some milk.

Raw protein sticks to stainless steel. Let the egg cook without stirring until the bottom has hardened.


Removing dissolved sugar from a recipe, as in your soup, practically impossible.

You have two main choices: Reduce the impact of the sweetness.

Increasing acidity (lemon juice or vinegar for example--since ketchup contains vinegar, vinegar or more ketchup may be most compatible with your specific recipe) may mitigate how sweet the soup seems.

This may or may not work--you would have to experiment, and it could make the soup taste worse worse (the risk being you would then still have to discard the soup.)

If you really like the borsht, and can eat (or freeze)

it all: make a second batch with considerable lower sugar, and combine them.

You will now have twice as much soup, but flavor balanced.

I'm adding this answer more for completeness than anything else but it is possible to reduce the sweetness in a dish by using a sweetness inhibitor.

From McGee On Food

And Cooking : Not only are there artifical sweetners: there are also substances that block us from experiencing the sweetness of sugars...

Lactisole is phenolic compound found in small quanities in roasted coffee...

In very small amounts it reduces the apparent sweetness of sugar by two-thirds.

From Wikipedia :

At concentrations of 100–150 parts per million in food, lactisole largely suppresses the ability to perceive sweet tastes, both from sugar and from artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

A 12% sucrose solution was perceived like a 4% sucrose solution when lactisole was added.

However, it is significantly less efficient than gymnemic acid with acesulfame potassium, sucrose, glucose and sodium saccharin.

Research found also that it has no effect on the perception of bitterness, sourness and saltiness.

According to a recent study, lactisole acts on a sweet taste receptor heteromer of the TAS1R3 sweet protein receptor in humans, but not on its rodent counterpart.

There is a branded blend of lactisole, sucrose and maltodextrin called Super Envision, which is the only commercially available version of this product afaik.

It is used in concentrations of 0.5%-1%, e.g., if you have 500g of soup then you use 2.5g-5g of Super Envison.

It can be found on websites selling Modernist cooking ingredients such as Modernist Pantry: http://www.modernistpantry.com/super-envision.html

I would remove some of the borsch and replace with water (removing some of the sweetness) and then rethicken it with a souring agent such as Amchoor (ground unripe Mango).

Then add soured cream at the end to further thicken, improve consistency and remove sweetness.

I was making Spanish rice, which, called for Ketchup to taste.

Uh....the lid wasn't on tight

and I put more than I liked.

Result

dish was too sweet.

Not undaunted, I considered adding tomato paste, which is not usually sweet and is in fact, slightly bitter due to the concentration of tomatoes.

Added, until the sweetness was virtually gone.

A good save for me.....

Try it next time but be sure that you taste the paste and make sure it's not sweet.

I have always used pepper to reduce the taste of too much sugar and this also works the other way although sometimes I use a different sweet substance than sugar if I have put too much pepper in a sauce.

Salt, pepper, hot sauce.

All in very judicious doses.

Worked for me

Question: I was making this recipe:  Cabbage Borscht , which was from the old Lincoln Del, one of my mom's favourite places. I mistakenly doubled the sugar, putting in 1/2 a cup instead of a 1/4 of a cup. Given the 2/3 of a cup ketchup, which was Heinz, the soup turned out way, way too sweet.   Is there any way I can rescue this?

Too much sugar in soup -- how to make it less cloying?

Salt, pepper, vinegar, hot sauce or tomato paste may be able to mitigate the sweetness, or you could replace some of the borscht with water before thickening it again with a souring agent like Amchoor.

You can add something acidic or add some pepper.

Use an acidic food to offset the sweetnes like tomato paste.

Add some water and then rethicken with something sour.

Add something peppery or some hot sauce.


This barista says no, you can enjoy your shot for a little while:

In reality, there are only a couple of things that happen to espresso over the course of a few minutes.

First, the crema or foam that sits on top of the espresso reintegrates with the liquid.

Crema, on its own, contains some of the best flavors and aromatic qualities of the espresso in high concentrations.

Drinking

it straight can be overwhelming

but, it stands to reason, that having the crema reintegrate might actually be a good thing.

Second, the espresso cools down.

The temperature of espresso has a lot to do with how we taste the various flavors contained within it...

I am not an espresso fan myself--

I like regular coffee, but not after it has cooled down, and never reheated.

Many folks are perfectly content to microwave a cold cup and drink it.

I imagine that older, colder espresso is palatable to you to the extent that you are willing to tolerate it.

A small shot of coffee--and lets face it

, that is all espresso is, even if it is brewed in a fancy manner--is going to cool off much more rapidly than a full cup, or a full pot.

Shots die after only ten seconds of sitting.

You can tell by the change in color.

It goes from a nice pretty brown body with a layer of crema on top to a very dark brown/black color.

If you have ever done the taste test and tasted both the dead shot and the good shot, especially if you're sensitive to bitter taste, you can absolutely tell the difference.

That is why Starbucks stresses a barista not to allow your shot to sit out for longer than those ten seconds. Barista

As I understand it, all brewing methods are subject to both oxidation and degradation of yummy acids and oils.

I was first introduced to the 10-second rule for espresso as a customer at a Starbucks.

According to the barista, if the coffee did not touch something (water, milk, syrup) within 10 seconds it would turn bitter and "burnt" tasting.

I was highly skeptical of this claim, so the barista felt obliged to prove her point (which is easily testable, if you can stomach wasting a shot).

She pulled a shot and immediately dropped in a teaspoon of cold water (so that I could drink it right away), then handed me the shot glass to try. Delicious.

Then, she pulled another shot, we counted to 10 together, she added a teaspoon of cold water, and I drank.

Bitter and burnt tasting.

Not terrible, but nowhere near as complex and tasty as the first shot.

The difference was marked.

(Incidentally, she claimed that the temperature of the added water was irrelevant to stemming the bittering process.)

I have since tested this at home on my machine, with the same results.

(And I've tested adding hot or cold water, both do seem to stem the degradation process, as she claimed.)

If you are skeptical -- as you always should be -- test it (at least somewhat systematically) yourself.

Here is a site with more information about oxidation and degradation of acids and such: https://scienceandfooducla.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/coffee-brewing-chemistry-hot-brew-and-cold-brew/ I suspect that an email to the author could easily shed more light on the how and the why.

Espresso starts losing some of its flavour immediately

so I'd say drink it within one minute.

If made at the right temperature it should be cool enough to drink after a few seconds anyway and after a minute it will start getting too cold to enjoy.

I'd also suggest stirring your espresso before drinking to mix the different layers and get a more homogenous drink.

For me, it is not bitterness or flavor, but temperature.

When a shot gets cold, it is not good.

So, I would say it could last a couple of minutes, but it is not a sipping drink anyhow.

Pull it and drink it.

This is correct that coffee flavour alters depended on temperature.

However this argument of better is hard to say as its a matter of preference.

For coffee tastings you should try the coffee had a range of temperatures as the flavours alter you may taste something different.

Question: When pulling a shot of espresso, how long is its life before it is too bitter?  I know this might change by the bean, but what is a rough estimate?  I was doing some coffee tasting and some of the shots were left unused for about 5 minutes and the barista said that these shots were now "dead" and that they don't reflect what the true taste of the coffee is.  Do I really only have 5 minutes to drink espresso before its no longer drinkable?

How long is the life of a shot of espresso?

While you can safely enjoy your shot for a while after serving, they can turn bitter and develop a 'burnt' taste within 10 seconds if not in contact with something like water, milk or syrup. The flavours are also affected by the temperature when tasted.

Many people consider that after 10 seconds an espresso will start to lose its quality.

You don't need to worry, the espresso will still be ok.

Shots should be drunk or milk or water added within 10 seconds as it will lose its flavour after that.

Espressos go cold fast and that affects the quality.


Any seed that has been damaged, cut, smashed, milled, or ground starts to lose flavour, texture, nutrition, and eventually will go rancid due to oxidising oils.

Four hours is too short a time for anything noticeable to happen.

Some types of nuts and seeds show a noticeable change over a day or two, but most take many days or weeks.

Milled flax seed is reasonably tough; it should last for a week or so without a noticeable flavour change, and many weeks before going rancid.

For more information and sources, please see: https://www.goldenvalleyflax.com/flax-facts/health-research-articles/flaxseed-storage-baking-stability/

I could not find any credible sources indicating that flax seeds (also known as linseed) lose significant nutritional benefits after they've been smashed, crushed or ground.

This article from Mayo Clinic in fact indicates that since the seeds tend to pass undigested, it is better to grind them: Most nutrition experts recommend ground flaxseed because your body is better able to digest it.

Whole flaxseed may pass through your intestine undigested, which means you won't get all the health benefits.

I was told by a nutritionist to eat flax seed.

If eaten whole, the seeds simply pass through the digestive system without contributing anything; they have to be ground in order to reveal their properties.

As ground flax seed has anti-oxidative properties, it goes without saying that exposure to air reduces these properties thus the ground seed should be eaten as soon as possible.

Whilst I buy whole flax seed once every five or six weeks (about a kilo and a half), I grind only enough to be eaten in a week.

I've never noticed any taste to the seeds, let alone any rancidity.

Flax can go bad within a few weeks after it's ground Ground flaxseeds "can start to go rancid fairly quickly — as soon as a few weeks after they are ground.

This is when the fats start to oxidize, and ... is when you can also lose the nutritional benefits of those fats.

The taste is also off."

(Source.)

Unfortunately, if you buy ground flax from a store, there's a chance that it might be more than a few weeks old.

Still, please read on.

Buying refrigerated or vacuum-packed ground flaxseed

"Ground flaxseeds are usually available both refrigerated and non-refrigerated.

If you are purchasing ground flaxseed that is sitting on the store shelf at room temperature, we recommend that the flaxseed be packaged in a gas-flushed, vacuum-sealed bag.

If you are purchasing ground flaxseed that is found in the refrigerator section, it's not essential that vacuum-sealed packaging be used".

(Source.)

Once you open a vacuum-sealed bag of flax, air will enter.

Once this happens, it's wise to refrigerate or freeze the product.

Finding vacuum-packed flaxseed in your region

You can do a Google search for [ buy vacuum-packed flaxseed ] to look for companies in your region who manufacture the stuff.

I live in Canada.

Here: CanMar produces various "Fee Fi Fo Flax" and "Flax For Nutrition" vacuum-packed roasted flax products.

These products cost about 5 to 9 CAD per pound, depending where you buy them.

The company states that unopened packages will stay fresh for 18 months.

Puresource produces "Inari" brand vacuum-packed ground flax.

It costs about 7 CAD per pound.

Storing and taste-testing your ground flax Once you have your ground flax, it's wise to always refrigerate or freeze it.

"Because ground flaxseed flows readily even when frozen, many users choose to store ground flaxseed in the freezer for even longer shelf life." (Source.)

You can take a spoonful of your ground flax and taste it.

If it tastes good, it's probably still fine.

If it tastes bitter, fishy, or rancid, it may be best to throw it away.

In my reading of the question, what is being asked is whether we can buy ground flaxseed, (or, alternatively, whether it is necessary to grind flaxseed within four hours of consuming it.)

SAJ14SAJ's answer confirms that it is advisable to consume ground, not whole, flaxseed, since otherwise flaxseed passes through the digestive system intact.

It does not address whether the grinding must be done just before consumption.

According to references such as this (excerpt: " The low levels of FFA and conjugated diene indicate that ALA remained stable during processing and cooking of spaghetti fortified with ground flaxseed.

it appears we can have confidence that it's all right to buy ground flaxseed, just so long as we use it reasonably quickly.

Additional references are welcome.

The main difficulty of grinding flaxseed at home is that the shell is not just tough for the human digestive enzymes, it is also tough for ordinary coffee grinders.

A grinder suitable for espresso or Turkish grinds is likely necessary.

Those are frequently called "Burr" grinders.

They are easy to identify (aside from the price tag).

They move the material from one compartment to another.

They do not grind "in-place".

Related Q & A

Question: I am from Santiago, Chile. Here, there's a rumour that smashed (ground) flax seed loses its properties in around 4 hours. Do you know anything about this?  Basically, the rumors say that the flax seed loses its nutritional properties, and that it can even be unhealthy once it is ground — but, if you grind it yourself and eat it right away, it's OK.

Does flax seed lose its nutritional properties after it's ground up?

While seeds that have been ground  or otherwise processed will lose flavour and nutrition and go rancid, this is likely to take place over weeks rather than hours.

Seeds that are ground will start to lose nutritional properties. They will keep for a few weeks without going rancid.

Seeds that are ground and exposed to air will lose nutritional properties. They will start to go rancid after about 4 weeks.

Four hours is to short, it should take a few weeks before anything happens.


Taste the meat and if it still seems edible to you then there is no reason to throw it out.

When I make stock, I keep it on a simmer for much longer than three hours and any meat is completely tasteless by the time I'm done.

Three hours, however, is about how long you would cook meat to make a stew, so it's quite possible that you could eat it.

On the other hand, not all cuts of meat stew well

and I'm not familiar with this cut.

If the meat has plenty of connective tissues (i.e. collagen) to gelatinise it shouldn't dry out too much.

But the proof is in the pudding: taste it.

I never throw it out.

There are plenty of applications for mostly-tasteless meat shreds.

I mostly make chicken stock

but I will use the meat shreds in soup, pot pie, casseroles, etc.

With a strongly-flavored sauce, you won't mind the meat not having much flavor.

The protein value of the meat is still intact, so it is worth using it up to stretch the family food budget.

Curries are a good use for soup meat, and as Sobachatina said, pot pie.

I make a thick onion gravy as a pot pie base and that makes even the most tasteless soup meat go down very nicely.

Enchiladas are a favorite use in our house for leftover meat from broth-making.

Here is a simple enchilada sauce you can make with ingredients from your pantry that is way better than canned sauce: Put 1/4 cup of paprika, 1 tablespoon cumin and 1 teaspoon ground cayenne in enough fat or oil to make a paste at the bottom of a smallish pot (about 3 tablespoons fat).

It will be kind of stiff and crumbly.

Us a whisk or spatula tomove it around a bit.

Cook it slowly on low heat until the spices begin to change colorand give off fragrance.

Add a jar of tomato puree or roasted garlic tomato sauce.

Correct for salt and consistency, adding water to thin if needed.

If the tomato sauce was chunky, use a stick blender to puree thesauce.

Mix half the sauce with your leftover meat.

Use 1/4 of the remaining sauce to wet the bottom of a casserole dish.

Fill or layer warmed corn tortillas with the meat/sauce mix and use the last of the sauce to top the enchiladas.

sprinkle grated cheese if desired.

Warm in a 350* oven until the enchiladas are fragrant and just starting to color on top.

I don't use meaty bones for my bone broth, but divvy up the pot this way:

I get the broth, the dog gets any meat shreads, and the compost pile gets the veggies.

Reminder - don't give your dog cooked bones!

Bones splinter once cooked - they only get raw.

Nothing goes to waste in this house.

All meat, poultry, etc is saved once the bones are removed and is mixed in with dog kibble for a great treat and a healthy treat for our dogs.

No added salt which is deadly for pets is a bonus.

Question: I am making a simple beef stock from the leftover bones from a New York cut roast beef. Beyond adding a mirepoix and boiling the bones for three hours I'm not doing anything special. When I make stock I typically throw out the leftover meat and vegetables, but do I have to throwout the leftover beef? Aside from the beef I have boiled off the bones I do not have a lot of leftover meat and do not want to potentially waste what could be useable meat.

Should I keep the meat boiled off of bones when making beef broth?

Stock should usually be cooked for many hours, usually leaving the meat tasteless, but you could taste it and reuse it in soup, pot pie, casseroles, curries, enchiladas and other dishes with a strong flavour, or just give it to your pets.

If the meat still tastes ok, then go ahead and eat. You can use it in soup, casseroles or curry.

If the meat still takes good, then go ahead and eat it.

You can use the meat in soup, casseroles, enchiladas or curry.