This question has been answered several times as part of more general questions about seasoning.

See the (closely) related links in the related questions list.

This one in particular: What's the best way to season a cast iron skillet?

Specifically about oil-

you want to use an oil that has a high iodine value: http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html#highiodine Of those you listed canola (rapeseed) would be highest.

If you can find soybean oil it would be even better.

These oils polymerize more easily.

To create an even coating with good adhesion, multiple thin coats work well.

I have read of people doing as many as 6 coats

but, in my opinion, you should do at least 2 or 3.

The best is flax oil.

The next best is soybean oil.

The third best is liquid canola (not hydrogenated Crisco).

This is because of where those oils are listed on iodine index; which is a measure of how much an oil will polymerize.

Polymerization is when oil turns into plastic and is the actual chemical process responsible for "seasoning".

Here's a whole site dedicated to this topic with more detail: Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning:

A Science-Based How-To

I will disagree with the top answers here and say that it is best to look for something saturated, with low iodine value.

I personally stand by lard, but there are other options.

The advice that suggests high iodine oils is based on their easy polymerisation.

So, if you don't execute your process perfectly, you end up with a polymer layer for a high iodine oil, and a greasy pan for a low iodine oil.

Sounds like high iodine wins,

right?

Well, this superficial advantage is actually their biggest disadvantage.

The polymer you get from a badly executed seasoning with a high iodine oil is a major PITA.

Enough of the abundant "sticky sites" on the molecules of the oil have made a connection to form the polymer - but even more are still free, available to grab on to something else, for example the food you are frying.

The coating is soft, gummy, and sticky, and I have had it come off in patches during use.

It can be hardened under the right circumstances, but that's not easier than getting a low iodine oil to harden (and I suspect it might be even trickier).

Save yourself the grief and go for the low iodine oils.

I would say that whatever makes a nice firm bar of soap - lard, palm oil, coconut - is a good choice here.

If you can get it right, it's a great layer - and if you can't, you at least know that you're back to the drawing board, instead of a silent failure that will cost you nerves down the road.

From personal experience, I have seasoned my Lodge cast iron skillet recently following the process described here and I achieved good results with basic Crisco, which is more or less Canola oil.

So far so good:

no sticking and great tasting results.

I went through the process five times, but I think that may have been a little overboard.

Perhaps someone with more practical experience can comment, but I didn't see a huge difference between the fourth and fifth seasoning.

After the third round the pan was already a rich, black color with the sheen of a well seasoned cast iron utensil.

However, if you are starting from a freshly scoured pan--you mentioned that you are cleaning up an old rusty pan--it may make sense to go through the process a couple of extra times to make sure all the nooks and crannies are properly filled.

Mine came from the factory seasoned, but it wasn't done very well--I had food sticking after about a month.

Since I re-seasoned myself

it's been going strong for a couple of months now.

Having grown up in the southern US, the traditional seasoning of cast iron in those parts was to simply cook bacon in it a few times.

Nothing near as fancy and involved as what you see recommended these days.

That has been my usual lazy approach.

On a recommendation from a cast-iron retailer, I have started using the new fancy approach (rub with oil, bake to polymerize) using flax-seed oil.

I have to say that the flax-seed oil gives a very strong coating.

Nearly impossible to remove from the sheet pan I used to catch the drips during the oven 'cure'.

If I have a complex-shaped cast-iron item (grill, back-side of skillet) I use the flax-seed approach.

If I want to simply build up the coating on the inside of a skillet, I cook the bacon.

Always a good excuse to cook up a batch of bacon.

Question: I just cleaned up a rusty cast-iron skillet and I would like to season it. The thing is that I don't have lard handy and I'm wondering whether any of my other oils and fats would do.   I have: canola, olive, sesame and almond oil.   Also, I've heard that appying the oil and reheating multiple times improves the seasoning. Is it true? How many times does it make sense to repeat the process?

What oil is best for seasoning a cast-iron skillet

Canola, soybean and especially flax are some of the best, and they should be applied in multiple thin coats for an even coating with good adhesion.

Use an oil with a high iodine value. Use soybean,flax or canola oil.

Use an oil that has a high iodine value.

You should use soybean, flax, or canola oil.


Isn't that normal?

I suppose if it's causing a problem, you could use a non-stick (teflon, etc.)

muffin pan, without the paper liners.

You could also try silicone-coated (parchment) liners.

A quick check reveals that e.g., Amazon sells them.

<purist>cornbread shall be cooked in preheated cast iron, and if that's sticking, you need to season your cast iron properly .</purist>

I've had this happen too

and I've found this little trick helps.

Line

your muffin/cupcake tin with your papers and then give the papers in the pan a light coating with non-stick spray.

If you put them upside down into the microwave under a wet paper towel for 15 seconds, the cupcake papers come right off.

One question would be why do you need the wrappers?

If you don't need them at all, just grease the pans and don't use them.

I once agreed to make cupcakes for a wedding**, and as I knew this was a potential problem

(and I didn't want people dressed nicely having to struggle with unwrapping frosted cupcakes), I greased the muffin tins, and purchased larger than normal wrappers.

Once the cupcakes were baked, I removed them from the pan, and just placed them in the wrappers.

** I actually agreed to make a cake.

I was told 'just a plain white cake'.

So I took 3 months of cake decorating classes.

Then somehow it changed to '150 cupcakes, with a rose on each one' ...

luckily, I found a place where I could buy the roses, but I had to clean 'em out.

Have you tried the silicone baking cup liners?

My wife and daughter used it whenever they bake muffins and banana bread and with perfect result, no burnt side and bottom and evenly cooked muffins non-sticky and easy to slide cupcakes and banana breads.

You don't need to buy paper cupcake liners everytime because silicone cupcake liners are reusable and easy to clean.

To learn more see... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P87R4PO

I second the non-stick spray.

Another suggestion would be putting a water bath in to keep the muffins or cupcakes from drying out too much and sticking to the paper.

I've found cooking them in paper cases and silicone cases seems to stop them sticking.

I think the silicone stops the moisture escaping and the paper means they don't stick to the silicone.

Slide a cookie sheet filled with water under the bottom rack.

The moisture in the oven prevents the muffin from sticking to the paper liners.

My muffin recipe calls for melted butter, so I brush a little into the bottom of the wrappers and up the sides a bit.

Works a treat.

I've also seen greaseproof silicone ones that might be worth a try.

Using tin foil type liners instead of paper ones has worked for me in the past.

I stumbled upon Wilton parchment paper cupcake liners and voila!, no sticking to the paper.

Something must be different though because cupcakes never used to stick to paper liners like they do now.

The parchment works great though.

Jo-Ann's sells them and you can find them in stores where Wilton products are sold.

I used both paper liners and the foil

outer they did not stick.

Then I bought cheaper paper and they stuck really bad.

Question: I have found that every time I make cupcakes (or muffins, cornbread & hot dog muffins, etc) that the paper liner sticks to the finished cupcake. I know its not me because the Tim Hortons 'muffins' also stick to their liners.  How do I fix this?

How to stop my cupcakes from sticking to their cupcake wrappers?

Parchment or silicone liners would work best, or you could coat the pan with a non-stick spray or butter and place them in wrappers after the muffins are baked. A cookie sheet filled with water under the rack can help to loosen the muffins, and stuck cupcake papers will come off easily if placed upside down in the microwave under a wet towel for 15 seconds.

Try silicone liners or greasing the liners before cooking.

Try greasing the papers or place them in the wrappers after cooking.

Put them upside down in a microwave under wet paper towels for 15 seconds. They should slide out of the wrappers.

Put a cookie sheet filled with water under the bottom rack.


I'm not really sure why you would want to bother making something that by definition is fatty when you are trying to avoid fatty foods.

Egg substitutes simply don't have the same flavour or richness.

So, yes, you could do that.

It just won't taste recognizably like quiche.

You may suffer from denser texture, also.

Ener-G and Bob's makes an Egg replacer that is used as a substitute in many dishes.

I have not tried it in quiche specifically

but it works well in other baking applications

(it's not an egg substitute like Egg-Beaters, which would be another substitute).

If your primary aim is to reduce the fat, you might consider just using the whites of the egg and adding more savory ingredients to supplement the loss of the yolk flavoring.

The actual body of the quiche will not suffer (the structure is due to the whites); it might throw off the ratios of how much [egg] yields how much [cake].

Also, you can omit or substitute the cheese for low-fat options, change the crust to a less fattening one (use vegetable shortening as opposed to lard), substitute butter for Earth Balance, etc.

Although I understand what Daniel is saying about it not tasting the same as a traditional quiche I disagree in that I think trying to look for alternative ways to have 'similar' recipes to those you need to avoid for health reasons is an excellent idea.

I often cook a 'crustless' pizza in order to cut out the bread and you can do something similar to cut out the pastry of the quiche (as rumtscho said, this is the part that contains the most saturated fat).

The recipes tend to require eggs, but you will be cutting out the pastry and it should have more of a 'quichey' taste.

If you want to go even further and cut out the eggs you can use a vegan quiche recipe (although you will be compromising on the traditional taste).

An example of a crustless quiche that includes eggs is here- http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1920/easy-mushroom-quiche.aspx

If you're really worried about fat and cholesterol, you shouldn't be eating quiche, period.

You might be able to make something that's low in fat, but it won't be a quiche anymore.

Not that I have made any, but I have eaten some - the Spanish make frittatas, which are like crustless quiche! http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=frittata

Perhaps you should look into that -

Question: I'd like to make a quiche this weekend (for the first time!), but I really want to reduce some of the fat and cholesterol due to health issues. Can I use an egg substitute (one of those that comes in a carton) instead of whole eggs in a quiche?

Egg Substitutions in a Quiche

While proper quiche is fatty by necessity, you could make an acceptable alternative with an egg replacer by Ener-G and Bob's, omit or substitute the cheese with a low-fat option, use vegetable shortening instead of lard or try something like a crustless frittata for a similar flavour.

Egg substitutes don't give good results but you can try Ener-G and Bob's egg replacers. You can also try substituting the cheese or making a crustless quiche for lower cholesterol options.

Egg substitutes will not give you the same result. You should just abandon eating quiche.

Ener-G and Bob's are good egg replacers.

Try substituting the cheese or making a crustless quiche instead.


A lot of us just eat the peel, but assuming you don't want to...

Certainly it's going to be a lot faster to boil a potato that's already been cut up than to boil a whole one,

so between boiling whole and peeling, dicing, then boiling, I'd certainly pick the latter.

It doesn't really have much to do with cleanliness, though; a good washing leaves the peel plenty clean and safe (and like I said, I eat it).

You're not losing anything with your method, besides the nutritional value of the peel.

I imagine the reason a lot of people boil their potatoes whole is to be able to peel them without a peeler.

You could sort of have it both ways.

If you partially cut the potato (thick slices, probably), you could boil them in not much longer than it'd take to boil small cubes, then peel the slices by hand, and cut further if necessary.

Not sure it'd really save you a ton of time, but if your peeler is dull/broken/missing/stolen, it'd be a decent fallback.

(You could probably also partially boil them whole, peel, chop, then finish cooking, but that's starting to sound like it just makes more work.)

Boiling potatoes with the skin on leads to much less absorbtion of water.

This is particularly desirable when making mash.

And I'm not sure who upthread said mud isn't water-soluble or why.

Do you know what mud is made of?

Dirt and water.

In what universe would that not be water-soluble?

Scrub your taters, toss 'em in cold water, bring to boil.

Peel

if needed (personally I love leaving the peel in mash

I make at home, nice texture).

If I HAVE to boil potatoes, I prefer boiling them whole, with the skin on.

This keeps them from getting too water logged and "soggy".

This may also help with your "Muddy water" problem, since the inside of the potato is protected by the skin.

Give them a good scrub with an old tooth brush, under running water.

If you're making a small quantity, microwaving potatoes works really well.

It's very easy to peel a boiled potato.

You just rub it a bit and the skin falls off.

I've seen this recommended in recipes for potato salad that use red potatoes.

Since the red potatoes are smaller, they are more of a pain to peel, but they do cook relatively fast, so it end ups being easier to boil, peel, cut instead of peel, cut, boil.

Where I live (my household, the households of my family & the households of my friends), people always peel potatoes before boiling them.

Most don't use a peeler, but a kind of paring knife (for more information, but not in English: link ).

I think this is the case because a lot of people still buy potatoes from farmers, so the potatoes are really really dirty.

Washing them could be too much work.

Even when the potatoes are store bought, people peel them before boiling.

I think it's just a habit.

The only thing I've heard is that it's better to not cut the potato in pieces before boiling, because you lose nutrition.

I have no idea whether this is true.

Once in a while, people here do boil potatoes with the skin on, but only if these are 'new potatoes' (the first potatoes of the new season).

I would suggest washing your potatoes.

This link has a fine step-by-step.

I typically use a brush with a medium-hard bristle, meant for scrubbing vegetables.

It depends on the result you're after.

If you are going to eat it boiled or steamed, just go ahead as you already do.

However, if you want to make mashed potatoes, then it's recommendable to leave the peal on.

That way, the potato takes less water and absorbs the milk, butter, nutmeg, or whatever...

Question: I've mostly seen people peel a potato after it has been boiled and then cutting it to pieces if required. Given it's muddy exterior, I find it cleaner (and probably takes less heat) to remove the skin with a peeler before boiling. Am I losing anything when I use my method? What do you suggest?

Peeling and dicing potato before boiling it

Many people eat the peel, and washing the potato before boiling makes it clean enough to cook. It is faster to cook a cut and peeled potato rather than a whole one with skin on, but it is quicker to peel a cooked potato and the skin has nutrition that you would otherwise lose. The choice is largely based on preference and custom though.

You can eat the peel if you want to. It's personal preference as to whether you peel them before or after boiling. It's much easier to peel them after.

You can just wash your potatoes before boiling. It's much easier to peel a boiled potato.

A lot people peel potatoes before boiling them.

You might lose some nutrients by peeling before you boil them.


Turkish coffee is simply a very, very fine grind - basically ground into a powder - prepared by boiling it and subsequently waiting for sedimentation, more or less as you describe in the question.

There is no particular kind of coffee you need for it - any will do.

Just buy whole coffee beans in any coffee shop or bulk food store and ask for a very fine (Turkish) grind.

Most burr grinders can handle this; as Michael says, you can also buy your own burr grinder or use a specialized Turkish grinder.

Either one will tend to run you around $100.

(Note that you probably won't be able to get the right grind with the majority of blade grinders.

They're just too imprecise.)

Commenter Martha also points out that many coffees marketed as Turkish coffee will also contain a certain amount of cardamom or cloves, which is confirmed by several internet sources .

If you try it with pure coffee and it doesn't taste right, try adding a small amount.

In addition to the other answers which point to getting very finely ground coffee, the method of preparation is critical.

I learned to prepare it from Armenian friends, so I tend to call it "Armenian coffee", but the technique remains identical.

They ground cardamom with the coffee and stored it in the freezer until ready for use.

The pot used to make the coffee has a handle and a pinched collar below the lip to facilitate pouring brewed coffee while leaving the grounds (which are muddy).

Mix one teaspoon of coffee and one teaspoon of sugar with each cup of cold, filtered water.

More coffee or sugar can be added, but compared to drip coffee one teaspoon of each is will be both sweeter and stronger than usual.

Put the pot on low heat (the lower the better unless you are in some sort of hurry) but don't let it reach a boil.

If it isn't even close to a boil after a few minutes, you can turn up the heat a bit.

(A gas stove greatly helps control the amount of heat.)

When the coffee has neared a boil take it off the heat and let the coffee settle.

A drop or two of cold water seems to help with that.

Some people reheat the coffee once or twice more, but if you let it reach boiling slowly that step seems unnecessary.

When the grounds have settled, carefully pour off the top layer of coffee into small espresso-style cups for each guest.

It's very difficult to preserve enough foam for each cup, but do your best and use a steady hand.

Enjoy!

All sorts of details can be changed: sugar and coffee ratios, boil or not boil, number of times the coffee is reheated, which spices to add, and so on.

The key seems to be infusing the coffee directly in the water and leaving the grounds on the bottom of the pot via careful pouring.

In order for the grounds to be fully waterlogged and sink to the bottom, the coffee must be ground as finely as possible.

Since that also maximizes the strength of the coffee, sugar and spices are added to balance the cup.

And since the result has many, strong flavors, it should be consumed slowly.

So the entire process is a consequence of the method of preparation more than anything else.

It bears noting that this style of coffee is best experienced with good friends around a table, eating some decadent treat and discussing politics, religion or philosophy.

Not sure where you can buy the coffee preground, but you can buy a coffee grinder (like this one) that will give you the right grind for Turkish coffee.

Then you just need an Ibrik (here's one ) and you can make it at home.

And finally, here's a guide to make it.

There are many Turkish Stores in US that you can purchase Turkish coffee, try Tulumba.com if your area does not have a local Turkish store.

They have Turkish coffee as well as the pot used to brew (called a cezve).

Turkish coffee tastes very different than others and even if you grind regular coffee it is not even close to Turkish coffee in terms of the taste.

cooking.stackexchange.com/users/10916/Dallas Homes For Sale

A few suggestions: Greek coffee is basically an alias for Turkish coffee so you can try Greek restaurants and grocery stores.

Middle eastern grocery stores in big cities (such as L.A., N.Y. and Paris) will carry ground coffee from Israel (Elite) or other countries for making "Bots" or Turkish coffee.

There is even a small appliance for making Turkish coffee.

See, for example, this Turkish coffee blog

Simply find an Arabic stores near you like a middlle east grocery store they sell Turkish coffee

the 16 oz around 8 dollars there is two kind one with cardamom and one without!

Use a Mazzer Mini grinder when you're sufficiently prepared to Do It

Right.

The best Turkish coffee I found on amazon is Andalusia Turkish coffee , you can buy it directly from amazon with free fast shipping in the USA : https://www.amazon.com/Andalusia-Turkish-Coffee-cardamom-Product/dp/B01KEEC0JU/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1474321421&sr=8-6&keywords=ameed+coffee

Few months ago I tried similar coffee in Dubai called Hamwi cafe, and finally found it in USA, you can order it online from www.hamwi.us

Question: When I visited Israel I became a big fan of something they called "cafe botz" or mud coffee. It tasted real good, and you sort of poured warm water over it, stirred and waited for all the coffee material to sediment, I gues that is why its called botz in herbrew. It was marketed in the shops as "Turkish Coffee". I havent been able to get it in the Unites States. Where can I get, preferably online, good quality of this Turkish coffe.

Where in the US can I purchase Turkish Coffee/Cafe Botz/Mud Coffee

Turkish coffee does not need to be a particular kind of bean, so you can buy any coffee and ask for a very fine (Turkish) grind. Cardamom is also often ground up with the coffee, and it is stored in the freezer until use. The secret is in the preparation, where the grounds are infused directly in the water and poured to allow them to stay on the bottom of the pot. Turkish coffee can be found online, and Greek coffee is very similar.

You can find Turkish coffee from Turkish or Greek stores or from Amazon.

Turkish coffee is normal coffee that it very finely ground. You let the coffee infuse in the water and let the grounds settle on the bottom.

Look for Greek or Turkish stores or order from Amazon.

They sometimes add cardamom to the coffee.

The method and ingredients can be changed to suit your taste.


Green peppers are green because they are unripe.

Unripe fruits and vegetables are naturally more bitter and less sweet than ripe ones.

By far the easiest/laziest path is to just use a red pepper.

It's essentially the same food, just ripe.

Sugar won't really do anything to the bitterness other than mask it.

Salt will .

Khymos has written that in parts of Asia, unripe fruit is commonly eaten with salt, salty spices, or soy sauce .

These are all excellent options for peppers, as they reduce the bitterness and enhance the taste.

Finally, cook at low heat if possible.

Pan-fried peppers tend to be a fair shake bitterer than slow-grilled or oven-roasted peppers.

(P.S. Removing the skin obviously works as well

- I personally prefer them unskinned, but if you want to skin them, have a look at this Chow video on it - it's simple to do, you just char the outside and shake it in a plastic bag.)

Also, the interior white part and skin (not the big obvious part, but the sort of interior skin of it) are rather bitter also.

Remove it be sliding your knife carefully and parallel to your cutting board slowly and shallowly.

Much of the bitterness comes from the skin.

The skin can be removed with a peeler, or by roasting the pepper until the skin starts to release.

Well, the obvious answer is to add a little sugar, though this probably won't make much difference to the actual pepper itself.

If you don't want a bitter tasting pepper, why don't you just use a red or yellow one in the first place?

I cook the pepper using olive oil and don't get that bitter taste.

It also could be the combination of seasonings that I use with the olive oil.

I have found that Mrs. Dash Tomato/basil/Garlic seasoning does wonders with the green bell pepper.

Cook the green peppers in water and add a some apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.

Cook for about 5 minutes and then take them out of the water and stuff them as you usually would.

I remove the insides and white skin on the inside of the peppers before boiling.

Question: Green pepper has a more bitter taste than red or yellow pepper.  Are there tricks to remove or diminish this bitter taste? A special way of cooking, or adding a bit of sugar or something maybe?

How to remove the bitter taste from green bell pepper?

Green peppers are unripe and more bitter, especially in the skin, but you could try countering the bitterness with with salt, salty spices or soy sauce, cooking in water and adding some apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, or making slow-grilled or oven-roasted peppers rather than pan-fried.

Most of the bitterness is in the skin. Try grilling or roasting to reduce bitterness.

Green peppers are bitter because they are unripe. They can be eaten with salt or soy sauce.

Try removing the skin. Grilled or roasted peppers are less bitter.

Cook the peppers in apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.


You can get the same result by frying the garlic in a saucepan of oil.

Place peeled cloves in a saucepan and add enough light olive oil or canola oil to just cover the cloves.

Cook at medium to medium-low heat, stirring not too often until the garlic becomes golden brown.

Strain the cloves into a strainer or colander to remove excess oil, but save as much of the oil as you can.

It is now filled with the lovely roasted garlic flavor, and is wonderful for sauces, salad dressings, and drizzling over cooked foods.

If you don't mind a less-neutral base oil, you can use good extra-virgin olive oil instead of light olive oil.

The resulting infused oil will have an even richer flavor.

My first suggestion would be a " dutch oven " at a low temperature.

If you have a small ceramic dish you might set that into the dutch oven and then the garlic into the dish in order to further manage the "low and slow" effect that is desired for roasting garlic. (add a couple of small wood chips on some aluminum foil in the pot but away from the garlic to create a 'smoked garlic'...

if you like that.)

If you can invest in additional kitchen equipment, you might consider a small crock pot to get the same results.

I have had great results by taking individual garlic cloves and cutting the root end off each, but leaving them in their papery skins.

Then you put those dry into a small saucepan (ideally one with a thick bottom) over low-to-medium heat.

Put a lid on it, and let it go for 20 minutes or so, shaking vigorously every couple of minutes to turn the cloves over.

When the cloves are really soft, you're done.

The paper skins protect the garlic cloves from burning, but the direct contact with the hot pan cooks them nicely.

When you're done you can squeeze the soft, roasted garlic goodness out of the root end of the skins.

This is a particularly nice technique when you want roasted garlic flavor but only need a few cloves, not a whole head.

The first time I did a recipe that called for this process, I was sure the garlic would scorch or the skins would catch fire, but it worked great.

Roasted garlic needs a lot of slow, even heat to cook through and not burn.

I doubt that you will be able to replicate this without an oven or oil.

I have two ideas that might work.

First, take four or five heads of garlic and cut them flat at the stem and place a little bit of oil in a pan to sear the cut surface until it begins to caramelize mostly to get the process started and begin to develop the roasted flavor.

Then place the head of garlic up so it sits on its side in a crock pot.

I bet in four or five hours it would make nice roasted garlic.

(I've never done this but would like to try.)

I know a very famous French Chef who boils the garlic for his vichyssoise in milk for about half and hour to take out the bitter, spicy bite.

So if you need soft, sweet garlic for pureeing to use instead of roasted you can boil it in milk first.

Because if you saute the garlic raw it might burn before the inside is softened, boiling before using a little oil in a pan to saute the garlic to get some complicated flavor and color might work very well.

These are just two alternatives to the other answer of cooking the garlic in oil.

However, it is very frequent that restaurants will cook the garlic in oil to not only get nice caramelized garlic but also amazing flavored oil to use as a condiment or in salad dressings.

You might want to look up confit garlic.

Hot air rises and one needs a vegetable steamer, or crumpled aluminum foil will do, for the bottom of the pan, or both, to keep the garlic from burning on the bottom.

The drizzled evo over the tops of the garlic cloves is important and keeps garlic moist.

A cast iron skillet and lid, plus the mechanism to keep the garlic off of the bottom, works beautifully.

My technique is to heat the iron skillet, put in the steamer amd foil, and wrapped garlic on top, and immediately turn the flame down to low.

The fragrance of the garlic will surely alert the chef when the garlic is ready, or almost roasted.

Doubtful

you will have a 'burned head of garlic, if you check after 25 - 35 minutes, then roast longer if necessary.

Also, I have used an oven thermometer sitting in the pot on top of the vegetable steamer and foil to help regulate the heat.

This method is better for me, because it uses less energy than heating an entire oven for one head of roasted garlic.

Question: I'd like to make roasted garlic, but I don't have an oven, only a gas range.  Is there any way for me to get the same results with the range as I would in a conventional oven?

How can I achieve the same flavor and texture as roasted garlic without an oven?

Use a Dutch oven or crock pot at a low temperature with a way to keep the garlic off the bottom.

Try cooking in a dutch oven or a skillet on a grill.

Put the garlic in a dutch oven or crock pot.


We have a Polish & Greek place by us (don't ask), and theirs are always boiled.

They are delicious that way (usually topped with bacon and sour cream)...

Personally I always grew up w/

them boiled then sauteed, which is my favorite.

The most common way here in Poland to prepare them is to boil them.

Put them into boiling and salted water, wait until they start floating on the surface and then boil for 2-3 minutes

(longer if they are frozen).

My Polish mother-in-law boils them.

The sweet ones are usually served with a bit of yogurt or sour cream, and the savory ones are often fried (after boiling) until golden, and served with onions and bacon.

My babcia (grandmother, she came to the states in '49) boils them after assembly.

If she's serving them right away, she browns them in some butter.

Otherwise, she packages them up in ziplock bags and freezes them.

Packaged pierogi are probably already boiled.

I would thaw them and saute in a little butter until golden brown and warm through.

First boil them.

Remove from water and brown some butter and pour the butter over the pierogi and toss in a large bowl.

Later you can either fry them or warm them in the microwave.

My grandmother, who is from Poland, simmered them in boiling salted water and then drained them.

She smothered them in butter that had been browned, this was how my mother taught me.

Not sure if this is the authentic way

but it is what was passed down three generations.

This process is used for the potato cheese mix as well as the fruit pierogi, both being covered with browned butter

Question: I've been buying pre-packaged pierogi from Trader Joe's and local Polish delis. But I can't seem to get a straight or consistent answer on how you are  supposed  to cook them. Should you steam pierogi, boil them, or saute them with butter?

What is the authentic way to cook pierogi?

The traditional way in Poland is to boil them in salted water, although packaged pierogi may already have been boiled. When serving right away, you can brown them in some butter and serve with onions and bacon, or serve with a bit of yoghurt or sour cream.

They are generally boiled and then sauteed or fried. However, packaged pierogi are probably already boiled.

You can boil them and fry them before serving with sour cream, onions and bacon.


Honey should be stored at

50-70 Degrees Fahrenheit Honey is similar in to olive oil and should be storaged between 50-70 Degrees Fahrenheit according to Max Shrem from Slashfood : Similar to olive oil, honey should be stored at a cool temperature between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, it's best to store it away from your oven or stove.

Also, it should not be refrigerated.

Extreme changes in temperature will spoil the flavor of honey.

Looks like this confirms that you may want to keep it in a cool place and away from hot temperature where it would cause honey to degrade in quality.

Shrem from Slashfood continues: Remember Do not store honey in a refrigerator or near a stove or oven.

Store it in an air-tight container.

Thus, choosing an appropriate container is an important part of the equation.

Penn State has a great article germane to this topic.

Refrigerating Honey

In the article , it talks mentions the crystallizing state of honey if it is refrigerated in no way it harms the honey at all.

Restoring honey from a crystalized form

I know this is not related to your question.

But something you asked in the comments.

Apparently, honey can be restored from it's crystalized form :

placing it in the microwave for 20 seconds can restore it from a crystallized form.

Therefore, you can store it in the refrigerator and heat it afterwards.

The downside is that if stored in the fridge too long it'll turn hard and sugary .

Proper Storage Container

Since honey has very little moisture in it it is difficult for microorganisms to grow.

Thus, an airtight container is of utmost importance.

If moisture gets in the container it can be an ideal environment for mold and yeast to grow.

Honey should be thrown out if it foams and smells like alcohol Long Term Storage of Honey Honey can be stored for long periods of time without any issue.

Over time, honey will darken and intensify with flavor .

When I was a child, we used to keep honey (taken from our own bees, and not pasteurized or whipped or whatever) in the root cellar, where it was dark, and cool but not cold.

This was a situation where some of it would be kept for years.

Sometimes when honey gets cold it crystallizes, which is really no big deal - just sit the closed jar in warm water from the tap for a few hours, stir, maybe repeat.

Or scrape off however much you need with a sturdy spoon, and carry on with your life as though it wasn't crystallized.

It's harmless, just inconvenient.

Totally reversible if the inconvenience is getting to you.

If you just have a jar of it in your house, and you go buy another when it runs out, I don't think it matters.

Keep it where the ants are least likely to find it (for us this means out on a kitchen counter rather than away in a cupboard) but not in the fridge.

That's what we do with whatever current jar we're using.

The honey stores (from my adult hives, which have since died since I was not as good a beekeeper as my Dad, or perhaps it's because mites and such are a much bigger deal now, but anyway we're working through a dwindling store over a multi year period)

are in the cool dark (but heated) room in the basement where we keep all our canned goods.

One of the wonderful properties of honey is that if it crystallizes all you need do is put it in a microwave (or warm it some other way) and it is just as good as it has ever been.

Honey crystallizes quickest at 14C (57F).

Above this temperature the rate of crystallization decreases until by 32C (90F) it will stay runny.

Similarly, below 14C the rate of crystallization decreases until by 0C (32F)

it will be frozen solid and no crystallization can occur.

You might deduce then that keeping it warm is best but this results in an increase in enzyme activity which increases the level of of a chemical called Hydroxymethylfurfural which is, apparently, bad for us.

Here in the UK it's illegal to sell honey for human consumption is the level exceeds 40mg per Kg.

The darkening of honey is also due excessive warmth/enzyme activity.

So, from health perspective and to avoid degradation of the honey, in the fridge is best.

I have to admit though that I don't keep mine in there (but it's not normally very warm here!).

FYI, Honey crystallizes differently according to the types of sugar present in the nectar.

Those high in Glucose set quickly with a fine crystal, those high in Fructose set slowly with a large crystal. "

Cream-style" honey is honey that has set solid (preferably small crystal) then warmed just enough to allow it to be mechanically agitated which breaks the bonds between the individual crystals and results in the lovely smooth texture.

Hope that helps.

I buy honey in 5lb.

plastic jugs, 6 per case.

if it crystallizes I warm it in my crock pot in water.

a better way to store is on the top shelf In my pantry ( heat rises)

so far none stored there has crystalised.

Question: I was wondering what temperature is suitable to store honey bought from stores?  Now in the summer, it can be around 30+ Celsius, and even nearly 40 on some day. Do you suggest keeping honey while being consumed in the refrigerator? If not, what harm can that cause?

What is the best temperature to store honey at?

According to  Max Shrem from Slashfood :   Similar to olive oil, honey should be stored at a cool temperature  between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It should not be refrigerated, but not allowed to get too warm either, which makes the honey darker. A cool dark place is a good option.

The optimal temperature for honey is 50-70°F. Excessive heat might cause it to darken.

Honey is best at 50-70°F and should not be refrigerated.

It can be kept in a cool dark place like a cellar.

Excessive warmth might cause it to darken.


I believe the primary reason is that the pasta water is already hot.

When you need to thin your sauce on short notice, you add hot pasta water and it will not cool down your sauce.

Secondary benefits are: The pasta water has nice salinity, so you're not diluting the salinity level of the sauce.

This assumes you salted your pasta water.

You did, right?

There is some starch in the pasta water.

However, since the pasta water has already achieved a high temperature, any thickening benefit would already be achieved.

If your pasta water is anything like any I've ever seen, it's just about as runny as any other water.

So this benefit is probably negligible.

Perhaps it has more of an effect once the pasta water added to the sauce has reduced.

Adding water will thin a sauce, but the starch in the water does help it cling to the pasta, and adds some body to the sauce.

Another key step is to finish cooking the pasta IN the sauce (in a skillet, usually) before serving, allowing the starchy pasta to absorb the sauce more completely.

See also: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/does-pasta-water-really-make-difference.html

In a restaurant you will cook a lot of pasta in the same pot of water over the course of the night.

This water will end up having quite a bit of starch.

Using a bit of this starch water will help the sauce adhere to the pasta.

At home the resulting water isn't going to contain as much starch, but it will still help.

You wont see quite the same effect as a professional kitchen.

I'm not sure which professional chef said it, but he said that it would be great if they bottled this starchy pasta water for home use.

Harold McGee did a great piece on the amount of water used to cook pasta that discusses this topic. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25curi.html

Basically, if you're going to do it at home, use less water, and you'll have a more concentrated, flavorful liquid, which you can use like stock in a sauce (not saying it is stock, but it has a lot of flavor).

It's obviously starchy and salty, but it will have a good amount of wheaty flavor.

I find the water from whole wheat pasta also has a lot more flavor than white pasta.

Probably the most famous dish that I'm aware of

that makes use of this technique is Cacio e Pepe, a Roman pasta dish where the sauce is made from olive oil, pasta water, pecorino romano and/or parmigiano reggiano, and of course a good amount of black pepper.

Sometimes butter is used as well.

It's a pretty cheap meal, but very comforting.

Sometimes I make a vegan version with olive oil, earth balance, fresh garlic and some nutritional yeast

(fiancee is allergic to dairy).

The starch in the cooking water acts as an emulsifier, so for a dish like spaghetti, aglio e olio it will make a more luscious sauce.

I thought it gives either the pasta or whatever you add it to flavor.

Once you cook the pasta in it, it has the starch and the salt that might enhance the dish more when you let it steam and absorb into the food.

Many people build it into to recipes as they feel it changes the mouth feel of a sauce.

Some chefs refer to it as adding silkiness, or a creamy finish.

This is subjective of course, but i think it does add something to the body of a sauce.

On top of this

it's already seasoned and hot

so is good to "loosen" a sauce that has been simmering for a while (as other users have stated).

I certainly don't think it thickens a sauce (the starch content isn't that high), but it tastes thicker... somehow.

Pasta water does thicken the sauce...

you don't pour in huge amounts, just add bits here or there to increase flavour and to thicken with starch.

The main benefit of this is that the sauce will bind with the pasta.

If you pour in a huge amount, it will drown your sauce.

Source: I learned to cook pasta sauces in a Roman kitchen.

Adding the pasta water does thicken the sauce & help with acidity.

I make a pasta dish my family loves & once in a while it doesn't turn out

right.

I finally tracked down the reason for this.

Every time I forget to add the pasta water, it comes out wet.

With it, it's smooth, creamy & all the pasta has soaked up the sauce.

I cook my sauce down & then add a small amount of the water (about 1/3 cup)

then cook it a little longer to let it thicken back up.

It doesn't take but a minute or two to get it back where it was.

I also make my pasta with a little less water.

The past water just makes the sauce creamy and luscious.

Give it a try both ways.

I'll bet you'll see & taste the difference.

Question: I've noticed that many Italian chefs add to their pasta sauces some of the water they used to cook their pasta.  What is the purpose of this?

Why add pasta water to pasta sauce?

Pasta water contains starch and acts as an emulsifier, 'loosening', thickening and adding textture to a sauce as well as helping the sauce to adhere to the pasta.

The pasta water will thin out a pasta sauce and help it to thicken. It will make the sauce creamier.

The pasta water is already hot and will thin out a pasta sauce.

It will help the sauce to adhere to the pasta and make the sauce creamier.

It thickens the sauce and reduces acidity.


First, I'm assuming by "pesto" you mean "Pesto alla Genovese", given your question about pine nuts.

Basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and cheese is a delicious combination, but it's only one of many "pestos" (peste, actually), since pesto refers in general to any sauce which is made from crushed or pureed ingredients.

Mix and match to your heart's content.

Walnuts are actually a traditional alternative to pine nuts for Pesto alla Genovese; pine nuts have always been scarce, even in early-20th-century Italy.

As a caution, though, you need to get good, fresh walnuts and make sure to get all of the skin off the nuts, or the pesto will taste bitter and rancid.

Almonds could also work, although I'd think they'd be rather bland.

The herb pastes which traditionally have crushed almonds -- such as Romanesco sauce -- include some hot pepper.

Again, freshness and getting the skin off is important.

I'd think sunflower seeds would be kind of odd and oily, but you don't know until you try.

If you do, post a comment to let us know!

Of course they would be appropriate, the taste wouldn't be the same though.

Have done a bit of experimenting with pesto.

Have used pistachios instead of pine nuts.

Parsley instead of basil is good too.

Expect that many of the green fresh herbs would make interesting pesto.

From Wikipedia : The name is the contracted past participle of the Genoese word pestâ

(Italian: pestare ), which means to pound, to crush , in reference to the original method of preparation, with marble mortar and wooden pestle.

I vary the proportions of herb/olive oil/garlic/nuts to taste as I make it.

Fun to mess around with when the new herbs are in.

Have always wanted to make pesto with tarragon, haven't though.

Have fun.

To my personal taste, you could even go without nuts completely and still have a great sauce.

Walnuts and almonds are absolutely ok: there are many forms of pesto (the most famous being of course the Genovese), and they employ a variety of herbs and nuts.

Pesto alla trapanese (named after the city of Trapani, in Sicily), for instance, uses almonds and includes tomatoes.

Pesto alle noci (noci means walnuts), another great sauce, is made with walnuts and celery.

A quick check on google tells me that pesto with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds is not unheard of, lots of recipes are available.

Others

I know of: pesto with arugula, pesto with green beans and potatoes and probably many other obscure variants.

Another option, but it depends greatly on your physical location, is to just collect pinecones by yourself - time consuming, but could make for a nice sunday activity (it certainly did for me when I was a kid)

this question has also been asked here

What is a good pine nut substitute for pesto?

although with a different focus (his problem is not money but allergy).

Walnuts would probably taste good, but it is not Pesto alla Genovese if there are no pine nuts.

Cashews are the simplest replacement, many people don't even notice the difference Commercially Cashews are used in many packaged products sold as Pesto or Pesto + something (roasted peppers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes etc.).

It is usually a filler to make up for a low pine nut percentage For home made pesto it is a bit more obvious unless your really processes it down to a smooth paste.

I personally like my pesto

very chunky

so don't like using cashews

by all means use walnuts in pesto sauce.

As earlier posts have recommended, choose walnuts that are fresh, in other words, very pale in colour.

Darker walnuts are bitter.

If you can shell them, so much the better.

I also use lemon juice in my pesto.

And use a hand blender so that the sauce is grainy rather than pureed.

Walnuts are great in any sauce, try roasted egg-plant, tomato paste, garlic and walnuts, all blended.

Mmmm.

I use almonds frequently as my husband detests the taste of pine nuts (and can detect them in things at 40 paces).

I prefer to use raw ones; make sure to blanch them so you don't have the skins in there.

While Walnuts are common, they have a stronger flavor.

I've converted several friends to "almond pesto".

There are many Pesto variants out there.

It's basically a matter of taste.

See, for example, recipe and suggested variations here : A common change to the recipe is to replace some or all of the pine nuts with sunflower seeds, walnuts, pistachios or almonds.

The pine nuts can be replaced with an equal quantity of sun-dried tomatoes.

You may change the taste by changing the base of the pesto from basil to other easily obtained herbs/vegetables.

Some variations include using cilantro (coriander, for a more aromatic taste) or spinach (more "bang for your buck", as spinach is much cheaper than basil, yet still has its own distinct flavor).

Question: Possible Duplicate:  What is a good pine nut substitute for pesto?     Pine nuts are very expensive here. I'm wondering if I can substitute any of the following:   Walnuts  Sunflower seeds  Almonds   Would any of these be appropriate in a pesto sauce?

Can I replace pine nuts with other nuts in a pesto sauce recipe?

Fresh and pale walnuts are a common replacement in Italian pesto, although they do have a stronger flavour. Almonds may be a bit tasteless, but they are used with tomatoes in Pesto alla trapanese. Cashews are commonly used in commercial pesto, and pistachios or sunflower seeds are other options. Some people might actually prefer pesto without nuts or seeds at all.

You could use walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews or sunflower seeds.

Walnuts are a good substitution but should be fresh.

Almonds are a bit bland but are a possibility in pesto.

You could remove nuts entirely and the sauce would be fine.


Gruyere is DELICIOUS.

It melts without getting too gooey or soupy, and it is the traditional cheese component of a Croque Monsieur (if you're into that ham thing...).

You could actually probably use any of the cheeses in that "variations" list, but I love Gruyere so that's my recommendation.

It's widely available but tends to be kind of pricey here in the US.

Brie is also a good choice; since it is soft to begin with, it melts nicely.

(Just make sure to cut off the rind before putting in the sandwich - that would be a weird texture combo.)

It's great in grilled or toasted cheese sandwiches because of the richness and slightly buttery flavor.

As a local reference, check out Gorilla Cheese's menu for some tasty ideas; they do classic grilled cheeses with cheddar, American, gruyere or mozzarella, but they make others that have additions of other non-cheese components.

I'm not sure if this counts as 'natural' - but you can transform nearly any cheese into a melting cheese transform nearly any cheese (a better version!)

into a melting cheese .

Wondra flour and a little cream go in with your crumbled/shredded cheese into the steamer and steam till its gooey - it forms a stable emulsion.

Then you can pour and cool it into slice, a burger, or into a delicious toasted cheese sandwich.

Other natural good choices include Gruyere and Comte.

Provolone and mozzarella fit your spec, although I find them frankly too mild for grilled cheese.

Brie separates slightly, but is otherwise excellent in grilled cheese (particularly if you add sweet notes to the dish.

I've not tried Camembert, but it should work about as well as Brie, I would think, and be slightly more flavorful.

No matter what cheese you end up using (cheddar with a little mustard is my favorite), if it is semi-hard like cheddar or provolone, it will melt more evenly if it is grated.

colby cheese?

Wisconsin cheddar?

i always like pepperjack, but if you want a mild taste that may not work (its slightly zingy)

Mimolette is my favorite.

It melts extremely well and has a nutty enough taste that it complements other flavors quite nicely, rather than just adding texture or fat/calories. :-)

It's also great on its own in a toasted cheese sandwich.

Of course, the appearance, the story about its appearance, and its history are all nice as well if you're in a pedagogical mood when presenting it.

My favorite combo is swiss and american.

I know you said no processed cheeses but those two compliment each other really well.

A lil pepper and mustard and hmmm thats damn good.

It shouldn't be a surprise, but, the fattier the cheese, the better it melts.

Cheddar is a good example.

smoked Havarti and marbled cheddar are great for grilled cheese sandwiches

My kids love a take on aa sandwich they saw on food network.

When you butter the bread dip it in some fresh grated parmasean.

And in the sandwich.

Lotsa cheese american swiss mozzerella monterey jack a slice of each!

Enjoy

Manchego.

Went to a nice restaurant in San Diego, and as an appetizer they served grilled cheese sandwiches with (what I think was) creamy vodka sauce for dipping.

The sandwiches used Manchego cheese on Sourdough bread.

And they used truffle butter, but I haven't been able to find that at the store.

But in recreating it, the sourdough/manchego dipped in vodka marinara sauce is the best grilled cheese sandwich I've had, and it's wonderfully simple.

Question: I enjoy both toasted and grilled cheese sandwiches, but I generally only alternate between havarti and muenster cheese. I would like to branch out but don't know where to start. These are the factors I think are important in melted cheese sandwiches:   Melt well and fairly quickly  Fairly mild taste and texture  Generally available  Be a natural, dairy cheese (aka not Cheeze Whiz or American cheese)    What cheeses fit these requirements? Are there other components that are vital to the cheese element of melted cheese sandwiches?

What cheeses work 'best' in melted cheese sandwich applications?

Gruyere and Comte are good options, while Provolone and Mozzarella might be too mild to work well. Semi-hard cheeses like cheddar can be grated for more even melting and soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert should also work. Other popular options include Mimolette and Pepper Jack.

You can use gruyère, mozzarella, cheddar or comté.

You can use gruyère, mozzarella, provolone, cheddar or comté.


It depends what the recipe is, but I've successfully replaced brandy with orange juice or apple juice in the past.

It's not a direct replacement for the flavour, of course, but gives a similar strength of flavour, if you see what I mean.

I would probably make a simple syrup and heat it and then steep some chopped raisins or dates in it for an hour or two, and then use some liquid from that instead of the brandy.

That way you're adding some flavor, but without the alcohol.

Much like the other suggestions, it won't be exactly the same as adding brandy or other liquor, though.

I don't think there is a recipe that will give you trouble if you just skip the liquor.

As for substitutes, I would says add a bit of brandy extract, you can find small bottles in the supermarket.

You can add other liquor extracts (rum etc.)

if you don't like the taste of brandy.

But be careful to adjust the amount.

I think 1 Tbsp of extract will me more than enough in your recipe here.

I don't wish to detract from those saying "skip it", except that I would draw attention to the fact that if you choose to "skip it" there is a price to pay, you loose the flavor that brandy provides.

This does not mean that your product will be 'bad' just 'different'.

As for those advancing the idea of Vanilla, In the US Vanilla Extract is a MINIMUM of 35% alcohol (or 70 proof).

The flavor change may indeed be fine, but it is not an alcohol free decision to switch from brandy to vanilla extract.

The actual process of baking removes much (but not all) of the alcohol from the final product.

Then there is apportionment to consider.

4 Tbl is 2 shots, or roughly the amount of alcohol in 2 beers, before reduction.

If you start with 4 Tbl and bake for one hour you are down to 1/2 of one beer, apportioned over 8 to 10 servings.

Each consumer will receive the approximate amount of alcohol as the consumption from looking at a bottle of beer (ok, 1/16 of a beer...)

Now I appreciate that you may well have important reasons to maintain a standard of "no alcohol" and I would not attempt to dissuade you from those values.

If, however, something like vanilla extract is an acceptable cooking ingredient then too should small amounts of other alcohols be acceptable when treated as an ingredient.

That said, if you wish to substitute for brandy then your best choice is whiskey.

Brandy is a distilled wine (fermented grape mash) which has been aged in oak barrels.

Whiskey is distilled from a fermented grain mash and then aged in oak barrels.

In each case the oak is the primary source of flavor (while distillation and quality of the mash contribute to the 'smoothness' the flavor is OAK)

Depending on the recipe, you might be able to substitute additional vanilla extract to give more flavor.

I wouldn't recommend doing a whole 4 tablespoons as vanilla is much more concentrated than actual brandy, but maybe 1-2 teaspoons vanilla + some water or apple juice to end up with the right overall amount of liquid?

If cake recipe uses milk already, use vanilla + milk.

Rehydrate some raisins in hot water or tea for same minutes, grind, sieve and add to the recipe in the same quantity.

I have made this substitution successfully with something that's similar to the current answers, but gives a richer taste.

The best, but time-consuming option Make a small amount of caramel*, maybe a single tablespoon per 100 ml of brandy-to-replace.

You'll have to use a small vessel, maybe a muffin cup, if that little sugar is spread in a normal-sized pot, it will go from pale to burning almost instantly.

When it caramelizes, add clear apple juice in the needed amount, take from the heat, and wait until it is properly dissolved.

When it cools down a bit, add some drops artificial brandy flavoring (check if it is alcohol free if that's a concern for you) and then top up to replace the juice that evaporated when hitting the hot caramel.

The easier option with less complex flavor Add brandy essence to apple juice.

This also works for other alcohol types such as rum, if you have the proper essence.

Also, many recipes are very tolerant to having the alcohol type "replaced", for example I have used this technique with rum essence in a recipe which called for brandy.

Here I mean to caramelize sugar without adding butter or dairy - I know people do that, but in my terminology the result would be called caramel sauce, toffee, or something else.

When I say caramel, I mean sugar heated until it's brown.

Question: I have a cake that calls for 4 Tablespoons of brandy. I don't have any brandy in the house, nor any kind of liquor at all (besides maybe red wine vinegar which doesn't help much). Is there anything I can substitute, or should I just skip? (I think I've skipped the brandy sometimes before when making this recipe and it came out fine.)

Non-alcoholic substitute for brandy?

Vanilla or brandy extract can be used for flavour, or you can try orange or apple juice, or raisins rehydrated in simple syrup, hot water or tea and then ground up.

Try adding orange juice or apple juice. You can also add dehydrated raisins or vanilla extract.

Dehydrate some raisins in a sugar syrup and use that as a replacement.

You can get brandy extract in small bottles.


Most fair sized Asian markets carry boxes of powdered coconut milk/cream.

The shelf life on these products is generally quite good, and allow you to make just the amount (and strength) of coconut milk you want by simply adding water.

I don't know about the "low calorie" part of your question but if you take a container of coconut milk and freeze the left over portion in an ice cube tray, and store the ice cubes in a ziplock in your freezer they should last a good long while allowing you to use them in smaller portions in the future.

As for "making your own at home"...

first you plant a coconut....

You can make coconut milk at home by using dessicated coconut powder available at stores.

Take the coconut powder and make it fine by wet grinding in the mixer (you will be able to extract more milk this way).

Take lukewarm water (helps extract the milk better).

Add this water to the powder when running though the mixer.

(Not too much or the coconut milk will spill over when grinding).

Take a wide-mouthed sieve and filter the wet powder through the sieve into a vessel.

You can obtain more milk by running the powder through the mixie again with more water.

However, this milk will be watery and not as good as the first run.

To make coconut milk, I either use frozen shredded coconut or whole coconut from Indian stores.

Take a cup of shredded coconut and add 1/2 cup of lukewarm water (lukewarm water brings out the maximum milk and beautiful white color).

Blend it nicely for a minute or two until all the flakes are ground thoroughly.

Strain the ground mixture using a thin kitchen cloth colander.

We call this extract as "First milk".

You can use the residue to make "thin coconut milk" (follow same steps).

We call this second extract as "Second milk".

I'm pretty sure you cannot extract coconut milk from bakers coconut.

In Indian cooking, First milk and Second milk makes difference when you add them in a curry.

The order in which they are added also makes difference to a dish.

Well, if you want to make coconut milk from scratch you would first have to get a dried coconut.

This is a coconut that's a dark brown colour on the outside.

You will know that it's good if when you shake it you hear liquid slushing around inside.

Use a hammer to crack open the nut and drain out the liquid (which you can drink).

Take a knife to pry the white flesh from the coconut shell and be careful so as not to cut yourself.

Chop these into smaller pieces, put in a blender along with some water.

Strain and use the liquid as desired.

Here is a recipe using fresh mature coconut to make coconut milk like it is traditionally made.

After making coconut milk, don't throw out the pulp because you can make coconut flour out of it. http://ilovetraditionalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-to-make-coconut-flour.html

Question: I rarely use coconut milk, so it's not something I like to keep around the house. On the rare occasion I do use it, most of it goes to waste because I only need a little bit. How do I make it at home, and can I make a low calorie version?

How do I make coconut milk at home?

You can use powdered coconut milk/cream, dessicated coconut or a dried coconut, which are available at most large Asian markets.

You can make your own coconut milk from dried powder. You can also freeze your leftove milk.

You can make your own from dried coconut powder.


I don't believe you will be satisfied with any cookies you roll out and cut from this dough.

That said, there are three options that may allow the dough to find a tasty future.

Make a ' Mega Cookie '

: roll the dough out and fit it onto a pizza tin and bake.

This can be decorated as one large cookie/pizza.

Make ' Brownies '

: work the dough into an 8"x8" or 9"x13" pan and bake.

' Cupcakes ':

scoop a spoonful of dough into each compartment of muffin tin and bake.

Of course you will have to watch to get them done enough as the standard bake time probably won't apply.

If your recipe doesn't include eggs (or you are not concerned with the risk that raw eggs may pose) adding it to homemade ice cream would be a fourth option.

Good luck.

The dough should still make edible cookies; the problem will be with spreading.

So instead of cutting out shapes, just drop the dough by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet and bake it, possibly for less time than the recipe calls for.

You can still decorate the cookies, or you can keep these for munching and make a new batch (with butter!) for cutting out and decorating.

I had the same problem by using margarine instead of butter, thought it would be ok because it said it was used for baking on the package, but mine was so soft and looked up receipes where you had to refrigerate the dough

so I just put in the freezer for a few mins, got a little stiff and was able to make some crooked Christmas trees into fall leaves.. happy baking.

The natural answer would be to add a little more flour.

You will probably need to leave the dough out of the fridge a while to soften

so you can fold/mix in the flour until the mixture stiffens sufficiently.

The method I use for the “butter shortbread biscuits” could be useful in your case, too:

I roll the whole dough out on the baking paper ,

And then place it on the baking tray with the paper and there slightly cut into shapes by knife,

After baking, I cut the shapes again (as it is still warm and kind of soft) and let the biscuits to cool before taking them out of the tray.

Question: The other day I made a batch of sugar cookies intending to roll them out and cut into shapes.  I used the standard Martha Stewart's recipe, but didn't have butter, so I used Smart Balance Lite Margarine.  Needless to say the dough didn't get stiff enough to cut or roll, even though its been refrigerated for more than 24 hours.  Is there anyway to either use this dough as is OR to add ingredients to the dough to make it more stiff?

How to Rescue Too-Soft Cookie Dough Made with Butter Substitute?

Chilling the dough or adding flour should make it firmer, but you can also bake a large cookie on a pizza tin or make brownies with it, or drop spoonfulls of the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake it for a shorter time.

Instead of cutting, drop the dough by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. You can also freeze the dough before cutting.

Roll out the dough and cook it as a single piece or make a brownie like mixture.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls on a baking sheet.


Spanish hot chocolate and Italian cioccolata fiorentina both use cornstarch as a thickening agent.

Both are used more for dipping or sipping (churros in the former case), however you could easily just use less cornstarch to make it more 'drinkable'.

Try a teaspoon of cornstarch, mixed with a little cold water, added to the milk when you boil it.

As Kate Gregory suggests, you could also use full-fat milk, or loads of shaved chocolate.

I would agree with Kate to add higher-fat milk or cream to it

and I would avoid putting in thickening agent if possible.

One thing I have tried at a cafe before that instead of boiling the milk, they used the espresso machine steamer to mix milk and drinking chocolate powder together.

The hot chocolate turned out really nice and thick.

The other way of making thick chocolate

I discovered was to melt cooking chocolate in a bowl on top of a pot of boiling hot water (just like hot you making chocolate cake, but no butter).

While you are melting the chocolate, you may add in some sugar and cream or milk.

Therefore, you will get a very thick chocolate drink and you are always in control of the thickness.

Mexican style hot chocolate, Atole , is thickened with masa harina - a fine ground flour or meal made from corn that has been nixtamalized or processed with a strong alkaline, either slaked lime or lye, to improve its nutrition.

The corn taste is inoffensive in the Atoles I've had, mild and sweet and complimenting the chocolate taste, a bonus rather than a problem.

This drink is traditionally flavored with cinnamon or other spices (this is specifically called champurrado ), but it is not required to to be tasty.

The result is a thick, hearty, and very chocolaty drink - just what you seem to be looking for.

If you're looking for a flavorless thickener which you cannot even tell is there, Guar Gum is your man.

You can get it in your cooking store or specialty grocery for an inflated price, or go to an arab or indian grocer (trust me, there's one around you) and get it for cheap.

This is also good to have around because it is especially good at thickening acidic liquids, like some chocolates.

Cornstarch sifted if preferred for lumps and literally like 1/8th or maybe even less per every 8 ounces of fluid.

Bloom" your starch like you would yeast for breads in a small side cup with 1/4th a cup of warm milk stirred to remove any lumps and introduce it to your heated mixture before adding chocolate.

You can also use an egg yolk in the same manner ratios change to one yolk for every 12 ounces of liquid.

Or (bear with me you non- old world cooks) pigs blood as a coagulation method adds a nice amount of richness and actually enhances the chocolate.

You can get it by the pint from a good butcher.

2 oz blood for every 14 oz of chocolate.

Note that last measurement is not liquid!

Note:

adding too much of any of these will turn your lusciously creamy drink into pudding by a fraction so...

Experiment.

(: Source:

Italian grandparents made it these ways.

See if Ciobar is available in your country.

This is what you find in Italian grocery stores, cafés and homes.

If you can't find it at the local shop

I'm sure you can buy it online.

Question: I've been trying to make a thicker hot chocolate and I'm not sure what to add without taking away from the flavor of the chocolate. Usually what I do is boil the milk, and then I add chocolate baking powder and shaved chocolate.

How can I make my Hot chocolate thicker?

Mexican hot chocolate is thickened with masa harina and Spanish and Italian hot chocolate is thickened with cornstarch, which can be sifted and added very sparingly. Guar gum is a flavourless thickener that can also be used. Finally, you can use full-fat milk or add lots of shaved chocolate, or use a milk steamer to mix the milk and chocolate powder together.

You can use thickening agents like cornstarch, guar gum or Mexican masa harina. You can also try using full-fat milk and a milk steamer.

Try using a steamer to mix the milk and drinking chocolate. Also try using full-fat milk.


Chutney is a fairly generic term, so your confusion isn't too surprising - the definition may also vary from region to region, and it's a loanword.

It's generally defined as a condiment consisting of some combination of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and/or spices.

(So by definition, it's intended to be paired with other foods.)

This means they're usually fairly flavorful, so that a smaller quantity can complement something.

They could be chunky, finely chopped, or smooth; they often have enough liquids to be wet (no air in them), but are sometimes dry; in English at least they can be either fresh or pickled.

Since the word and food come from South Asian cuisine (particularly in what's now India), the term is most commonly applied to condiments referred to as chutneys there, or ones which are somehow similar to those.

Since the word has been adopted into English, I'm sure there's starting to be some drift in the meaning; if you hear it used on a contemporary American cooking show, you probably can't count on much more than it being some sort of flavorful condiment, possibly Indian-inspired but possibly not.

Basically, a chutney is a kind of savoury jam.

This is a very simplistic definition though.

The main differences between jam and chutney are as follows: The preservation in jam is only by sugar.

In chutney, vinegar and sugar are used together, so chutneys are not necessarily sweet.

Jam is almost always made with fruit as the main ingredient.

In chutney,fruit can be used, but so can vegetables.

Also, chutneys tend to be a mix of more than one thing.

For example, an apple chutney will have plenty of apples, but also swede and onion in it.

Jams usually do not add other flavours to the fruit and sugar (pectin is for texture).

Chutneys are usually flavoured with several spices, as well as chili peppers, onions and garlic.

In the Indian subcontinent, chutneys are served along with the meal in small amounts, as a condiment to add to the meal.

They are usually eaten with the blander side/starter dishes like pakoras or samosas, rather than with the spicy and flavourful main dishes.

In the rest of the former British Empire, and particularly in England, it is eaten on bread, with butter or cheese, in a similar way to jam or pickle.

Note that what the English call pickle is also a sort of savoury jam, not pickled cucumbers like in America.

Chutney is a blend of ...things, with quite a sharp taste.

It can be sweet(tamarind) or savory(chilly), cooked(mango) or uncooked(chilly).

Generally its a mash of spices and herbs (common ingredients being green mint, green/dry coriander, red/green chillies, garlic).

Sometimes thin yogurt may be added.

Some chutneys can be cooked, like chutney made of tomatoes(savory), or raw mangoes(sweet).

chutney is an indian cuisine where it consists of spices and other condiments such as vegetables or fruits.

Chutneys may be either wet or dry, and they can have a coarse to a fine texture.

It is similar to be eaten instead of pickle.

chutneys were ground with a mortar and pestle made of stone .

Nowadays, electric blenders or food processors can be used as labor saving alternatives to the traditional stone utensils.

Various spices are added and ground, usually in a particular order; the wet paste thus made is sauteed in vegetable oil, usually gingely or peanut (groundnut) oil.

In my experience, it's pretty broad.

They're condiments served with Indian or other South Asian cuisine.

Usually served on the side to be added to taste, rather than sauces that are served over food.

Most that I have had are sweet, spicy, and/or tart, and can range from thick pastes to fairly thin sauces.

There's many many different kinds of chutney from various areas of the Indian subcontinent, as well as Anglicized chutneys such as Major Grey's which tend to be quite sweet.

I grew up in India.

There can be some variations invented outside India.

But in Indian context,Chutneys are far different than jam.

They are used as a side dish complimenting the main course.

And usually had in small amount , served on the (left) side of the dish.

They are almost always spicy.

Chilli or chilli powder is one of the main ingredient in chutneys.

Adding sugar is optional and amount is very little if added.

We usually do not use vinegar too.

Chutneys can come in different flavours, made using cilantro/mint/lentils/tomatoes/sometimes some fruits etc.

Chutneys can be wet or dry.

Wet chutneys can be seen as close to Salsa/dip.

There is another dish that can be on sour/sweet side made using fruits

but we do not call it chutney.

@AdamJaskiewicz is right.

(I could not add it as a comment due to lack of reputation.)

Question: Chutney is foreign to my culture and the food i grew up with. Thus, the lack of sophistication and familiarity with chutney. So please forgive my misunderstanding. I often hear the buzzword on food cooking shows.  I'm curious as to what are the technical requirements of a chutney. What is and what isn't chutney? Also (correct me if i'm wrong), what is chutney and why is it often paired with other foods?

What is a Chutney?

Chutney is a loanword with quite a loose definition, but it's generally a kind of savoury jam with a sharp taste using vinegar and sugar, which is often used with Indian or South Asian cuisine. Both fruit and vegetables can be used in chutney.

Chutney is a generic term that depends on where you are. They can contain vinegar and sugar to make a kind of jam with fruit or vegetables.

Chutney is a generic term that changes from region to region. In India they are served as condiments.

They are like a kind of savoury jam that contains vinegar and sugar with fruit or vegetables.


Admittedly I have only stored my starter in a glass jar, but I wouldn't want anything else.

You should look for a size that is neither too large, nor too small.

It should comfortably hold your sourdough starter when you are simply feeding it

- I usually store 200g of starter, at 100% hydration (100g flour, 100g water) or thereabouts.

However, when actually making sourdough starter you make more - perhaps 400g or so, depending on how much bread you are making, plus you want to have something left to restart your bread.

A typical recipe might call for 20% starter, so 200g for a kilo loaf.

The other solution is to of course have two separate jars, and only use both when doubling for bread.

When I say it must be able to hold that much, I mean that it will have to hold it fully risen, which means around 2x to 2.5x of the original size.

In addition, narrow and high is better than low and wide, since it makes it easier to tell how much it rises.

Also, you will want a wide opening, so that you can easily clean it.

As for covering it, I just use a sheet of plastic.

Just take care not to get it gooey.

It will hold in the moisture so the sourdough doesn't dry out, but won't trap the carbon dioxide.

Good luck

I use a regular wide mouth canning jar with an inverted coffee filter over the top, secured by a canning jar ring.

It's worked great for me.

if the coffee filter ends up getting stuck, as they eventually will, I just replace it with a new one.

The filter breathes and also allows more yeast to get in.

I recommend the Harsch Fermenting Crock.

I use the smallest one and it is pretty large, but I have never had a problem with my starter overflowing.

The water seal on this crock lets gas out and provides a good seal.

I always worry about using glass jars.

You can't seal too tight or they might explode.

I also don't want bread that tastes like the inside of my fridge.

They are expensive and I have not been able to find an alternative.

However, if you are serious about maintaining a starter I think it is worth it.

as long as it's not airtight, in my experience you can use almost anything: a large jar with a loose lid, a tupperware container that has a small hole in it... that sort of thing.

I find wecks jars perfect.

I rest the glass lids on top.

So the gasses can escape if they need to.

I use the straight sided ones.

I like a clear jar

so I can see when the bubbling starts after feeding.

The King Arthur crock is a nice size and looks good.

The logo clearly distinguishes the contents.

However, I prefer to be able to see through to the contents.

A tall wide mouth glass canning jar seems ideal to me.

With the ring on loose (or fitted with something breathable), I would not worry about it exploding.

If a shorter, wider container would fit your space better, Pyrex makes 7 cup glass storage containers.

You can buy them with airtight, silicone-sealed glass lids, but plastic lids with vent tabs also are available.

Years ago when I worked with sourdough a lot I used a stoneware crock that was just the right size for the amount of starter and it had a lid that was not air tight, so it worked perfect for the job.

Over the years of not having a starter (I stopped doing it when I had to go back to work) and moving a couple of times, I misplaced that "perfect" crock and it's nearly impossible to find a crock the size of the one I had, but I happened across a website that has what I think will be the right vessel for the job.

It's a 1.5 Qt wide mouth glass jar, made in Italy by Bormioli Rocco and it is a really good price.

If anybody is interested

it's on the breadtopia website at:

http://breadtopia.com/store/sourdough-starter-jar/ I have already ordered mine.

Maybe this will help someone out there...

I hope so.

Wide mouth glass jar with a piece of wax paper loosely rubber banded over the top.

Keeps it from drying out, but if the starter goes nuts, it just pushes the wax paper up and out of the rubber band--no worry of exploding glass.

Half gallon Mason jars with the 2 piece lid work great.

Leaving the ring portion of the lid loose allows the gas toescape by lifting the flat portion.

Otherwise it is sealed.

I found that a wide mouth Mason jar, folded cheesecloth and a rubber band extremely successful!

Success the first day!

I use a glass jar with a fermenting lid.

In other words, vented.

This jar will auto release gas or you can set the release manually.

No more worry about your glass jar breaking under pressure or anything icky falling in.

I use a 1400ML or 1.5 Quart jar like the one in this link from Amazon .

I use a 64 oz pickle jar and store it in the refrigerator.

I take out starter out of it for recipes.

Each day I put in 1/2 of my starter that I feed every 12 hrs

and I use the oven light to keep the smaller jar at a constant 75 deg.

I stir the larger starter jar before putting it back into the refrigerator to add air.

I have had great results using this method.

I tighten the lid AFTER

I know there's no gases being formed.

The starter is acid so do not use any metal.

I like to use a one quart cylindrical crock which I cover with a loose fitting saucer/plate.

I have been experimenting with starters of varying degrees of sourness.

I keep each batch in a separate pint jar with loose fitting lid to let the CO2 out.

Don't want the starter to explode out when the lid is removed.

The starter is sticky so wide mouth containers are easier to extract the starter from and clean.

Question: I was going to buy the King Arthur set of starter + crock, but the crock is on backorder, so I plan to instead locally source a vessel for the starter. What should I look for? Should I find a similar crock? A jar of some kind?   ETA: More specifically, what should I be looking for? Size? Materials? Lid type? I read elsewhere that I don't want an airtight seal; I'm looking for more advice like that.

What makes a good vessel for storing sourdough starter?

You can use many kinds of container, but the acid in the starter could react with metal. A glass canning jar with a wide mouth would be ideal, and this can be covered with an inverted coffee filter, a piece of wax paper, a 2-piece Mason jar lid or folded cheesecloth. A fermenting crock is also a good option, but anything with a non-airtight lid could work.

You can use any jar or tupperware with a loose lid or hole in the lid.

A glass canning jar with a loose lid will be fine.

Avoid using metal as the starter is acid.

You can use almost any container with a loose lid.


Heston Blumenthal has brought his unique scientific approach to bear on this recently.

The main pointers for a perfect poached egg are as follows: The egg must be fresh .

A fresh egg has a thicker, more gel-like albumen.

As it gets older, this becomes watery, and so just disperses throughout the water when you add it.

To test if your egg is fresh, place it in a jug of cold water.

If it floats, it's not fresh - the egg has had time to absorb air through its shell.

A fresh egg sinks and stays sunk.

The water temperature should be 80ºC/176ºF exactly .

You can measure this with a sugar or probe thermometer.

The egg should be at room temperature.

The egg should not come into contact with direct heat, so put a plate or small bowl on the bottom of the pan, bottom up.

Once the water (in a medium to large saucepan) is up to temperature, carefully add the fresh egg and cook for 4 minutes exactly (for a large egg of the domestic chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus ).

Drain and serve - the white should be set but not rubbery (a drawback of using vinegar) and the yolk should be creamy and rich.

Just simmer water, and poach the egg.

The vinegar is simply there to help coagulate the white.

I never use vinegar for poaching eggs.

You just have to try to be as careful as possible when setting the egg into the water.

have the water at a bare simmer, not a rolling boil.

These things will help to keep the white intact.

This method may not be practical if you want a lot of poached eggs

but this is what I do.

wait for the water to come to the boil

turn down heat

somewhat use a spoon to stir the water until a visible vortex forms in the middle of the pot gently pour in the egg in the vortex wait until done

What I generally do is use a slotted spoon to drain the runny parts of the white of, before putting it into the water.

This goes well with the aforementioned method from Heston Blumenthal.

In addition to simmering water, fresh eggs, salt and vinegar, and getting rid of the outer egg white with a slotted spoon or mash, there is a way to use older eggs.

You first boil them for 90 sec in their shell, and afterwards break them in the liquid for poaching.

This sets the outer eggwhite somewhat, and keeps it together.

I have had mixed results with this, but give it a try if you have older eggs

personally I use lemon, it helps to acidate the water and adds a unexpected flavour to the poached eggs, its wonderful when making eggs benedict.

Question: What is the best way to poach an egg without vinegar? Is there a quick and easy alternative?

How to poach an egg without vinegar?

The vinegar is there to help coagulate the white, so you can add lemon juice or leave it out. To poach an egg, carefully add it to a medium or large saucepan of simmering water and cook for 4 minutes exactly. Alternatively, you can first boil them in their shell for 90 seconds before breaking them into the liquid for poaching.

Vinegar helps to coagulate the water but it is not necessary for poaching. You can just poach the egg in simmering water. Boiling the egg for 90 seconds in the shell helps to stabilize the white when poaching.

Boil the egg in the shell for 90 seconds and then crack the egg in the poaching water.

Using lemon in the water gives it a nice flavour and adds acid to the water.

The vinegar helps to coagulate the water but this is not necessary.


Here, in Turkey, cabbage dolma is also very popular.

I have no clue about cooking, but probably you may need to cook it differently.

Of course there are other types of dolma, but they are not supposed to be similar to grape leaf dolma, just like ricotta isn't similar to cheddar, even though they are both cheeses.

To imitate grape-leaf dolma, I would look for a big-leafed green vegetable with some taste on its own and slight acidity.

Sadly, most types of salad will be way too tender for this application, the wine leaf has its own toughness and thickness.

I suppose that good candidates will be sorrel and chard.

The taste will be appropriate, but they could be both a tad too tender.

Blanch them briefly before wrapping, and if part of the stem stays hard and crispy (it always will with Swiss chard), cut the lower part of the leaf off.

Another thing to try would be radish greens.

And of course, you can just look for the leaves in a Turkish grocery, they sell them canned.

If the cans you find were conserved with vinegar, blanch them to remove the taste.

Dolma among Armenians and in my household is stuffed zucchini, eggplant, potato, tomato, or onion.

We call stuffed grape leaves "Sarma."

Now, the ingredients are similar.

Some differences exist in different cultures.

For example, you will see Dolma (as in stuffed onion, zucchini, or eggplant) in Iraq use curry while only rice, meat, garlic, and lemon juice are the primary ingredients in Lebanon and Syria

So, for the Sarma in my home, if you don't have grape leaves, you can use a big cabbage.

Place it in a plastic bag, and put it in the microwave for 10 minutes, until the top layers are very soft.

Then put on some cooking gloves and start peeling each large leaf one by one.

I recommend the gloves because it will be very hot and hard to handle right out of the microwave.

You may use whatever means you can not to get burnt.

The middle layers will be tough, so put it back in the microwave and heat it for another 10 minutes, then repeat the peeling process.

Back in my Syria, my mom used to boil it for one hour, but since we like to minimize cooking time we just use the microwave.

The result is identical and just as delicious.

What I recommend for the filling when using cabbage and grape leaves is as follows: 2 cups of short-grain rice 1 pound of ground meat (beef, pork, or chicken) 80/20 meat to fat ratio is ideal 2 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon of minced garlic salt and black pepper to taste and 1/2 cup lemon juice or to taste When combining the ingredients, first rinse the rice, then add the remaining ingredients with the meat added in last.

You must cut the middle stem of each cabbage leaf because otherwise, they will be very hard to swallow and digest.

To wrap the Dolma/Sarma, the leaves have to have 2x2 inch dimensions, more or less, so you will have equal sized pieces in a plate.

This way it would be very presentable.

So give the leaves their proper shape, lay them down flat, and place a finger-sized dollop

(Armenians aren't very faithful to strict recipes like this :P) of filling at the bottom of each leaf.

Roll it up

so it looks like a small finger or a pen.

Make sure to seal the ends so nothing falls out.

Do not wrap it too tight, because the rice will expand and it needs room.

Put the completed ones in a pot.

I prefer to lay them in a circular pattern, stacking them sort of like a tower but with a hole in the center (I actually put whole cloves of garlic in this hole).

Fill the pot with water and a little more lemon juice, if you like the taste.

Make sure to weigh down the Sarmas with a plate or some other device.

Put some salt in the water and bring it to a boil.

Lower the heat and cover the pot.

After about thirty minutes, add some more lemon juice, and boil it once more, and you should be done!

I wish you luck—I view this cuisine as an art form and it thrills me to see questions about it.

This can also be a difficult process to overcome with the cabbage leaves but it is worth it.

Done with cabbage leaves (or any type of wrapper, for that matter), this dish can be deeeeeelicious!

Extra Trivia:

"Lahana," "dolma," and "sarma" in Turkish mean "cabbage," "stuffed," and "wrapping" (as a noun) or "envelopment," respectively.

When in living Georgia we had dolma all the time (mmmm), and used a leaf very similar to chard for the wrapping-

the middle stems were cut out and the leaves were folded raw, and they always seemed to hold up well!

The taste was not QUITE as distinctive, but a great substitute by all means!

You can use raspberry leaves, cabbage leaves.

There is also a vegetable dolma.

In this case уou stuff eggplants, tomatoes, pepper and cabbage leaves with meat.

Cabbage leaves should be blanched before.

Question: I want to make dolma, but grape-leaves aren't available here. What can I use instead? I would like to stay as close as possible to the original, grape-leaved dolma, in looks, taste and texture.

What can I use as the leaf in dolma?

Cabbage dolma is very popular in Turkey, or you can use any large-leafed green vegetable with the right taste and acidity. Options include radish greens, sorrel and chard.

You can use any green vegetable like cabbage, chard, sorrel and radish greens.

You can use any big-leafed green vegetable like chard, sorrel and radish greens.


Ideally, of course, you'd be baking your pizza on a baking stone, which you would heat to 500F for 1/2 hour before putting the pizza in the oven.

However, you asked about baking a pizza in a metal pan.

In general, you want to get as much radiant heat into the bottom crust as possible in order to make sure the crust is fully cooked and not soggy.

This means that in an oven with a bottom baking element (whether gas or electric)

you want your oven rack in the bottom position.

Again, make sure the oven is thouroughly heated to 500F (250C) (or more, if it'll go higher) before you put the pizza in.

If you have a top-heating oven, things get a bit more complicated.

You'll need to somehow ensure that the bottom of the crust gets cooked, which won't happen if you just put the pizza in the oven, regardless of position.

There's a couple of different ways to take care of this:

Blind-bake the crust until halfway done, flip it, put the toppings on top and finish it,

Do the pizza in a cast-iron pan first on the stove top, finishing in the oven.

In either case, with a top-heating oven, you want to put the rack close to the element ... in the middle or top position, so that the pizza is only about 2-3 inches (5-8cm)

away from the element.

Serious Eats compared the results of cooking six of the same pizza crusts on different racks of the oven.

The oven was set to 560F, with the heating element on the bottom.

The pizza stone was preheated for 45 mins, and other precautions were taken to make sure that the results were not biased (ie: the stone was taken out of the oven between testings for 30 mins, to allow for temp differences between the different racks).

The results showed that:-Pizza's cooked on the highest rack will have over-cooked toppings-

no good.-Pizza's cooked on the middle rack will have over-cooked bottoms-

no good.-Pizza's cooked on the bottom rack will have burnt bottoms- very bad.

Generally, they concluded that the rack in-between the middle and top (known as the 'upper rack') will produce the best results.

It depends on your type of oven and your used setting.

Your goal is to have the highest possible temperature to bake your pizza.

Cook pizza on bottom rack, then check half-way before it is done.

If it looks like the pizza crust is very close to being done, but the toppings are not, then move the pizza up a rack or two or more, so the crust will stop cooking and to allow more time for the toppings to finish cooking.

You might even need to reduce your oven temp at this time too.

For an example: If you have it set to 550F, reduce it to 450F until toppings are done.

Please note the question...

You shouldn't have to be moving your pizza around in the oven or play with the heat!

That's why people are asking this question, so they don't have to do this.

Set oven to highest setting.

Place on top rack and depending on fresh or par baked crust and amount of toppings, see how this works.

At most, you might have to drop the next pizza down to the upper rack.(just below the top rack)

Variables.....

Amount of toppings, thickness of crust, type and style of oven.

In short: Highest heat, start at top and work your way down till your pizza comes out to your liking.

Question: I make pizza in a baking tray in my oven. My question is where do I place my baking tray in the oven, the bottom top or middle?  The resources I have seen so far on the internet are far too ambiguous. For instance,  Yahoo Answers  have given many different answers to the same question.

Pizza in Oven : Bottom/Mid/Top

Try using the highest heat and start at or close to the top, and work downwards until the pizza is to your liking.

You should put the pizza as close to the heating element as possible.

In a top-heating oven, put the pizza at the top close to the element.

The rack in between the middle and the top is supposed to give the best results.