Is it safe to roast marshmallows over a sterno flame?

Question

It's become common practice around my apartment to use a sterno to roast marshmallows because it's easy, cheap and (primarily) because we can't have a campfire in my living room.

Is this dangerous?

Asked by stevvve

Answer

Sterno is (roughly) alcohol mixed with gel. The same type of alcohol (ethanol mixed with enough methanol to make it poisonous) is commonly used in marine stoves because it's considered to be quite safe: it doesn't explode and it can be extinguished with water.

Alcohol also burns cleanly and quite completely, so there are essentially no methanol molecules in the flame that could land on your marshmallows and harm you.

Answered by Ward

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Is it necessary to rinse Chinese or other tea before first brew / steep / infusion?

Question

I've been told that I should be rinsing Chinese tea with the boiled water before the first full infusion intended for drinking.

I make the occasional very-expensive tea from Taiwan and I feel it is a waste to throw away a first pot simply for "rinsing". However, my mother-in-law insists it is correct to rinse the tea first :-)

Is this practice of rinsing always advisable, or are there specific cases or kinds of tea where rinsing is necessary? What are we trying to rinse away? Is the practice only for Chinese tea, or for other kinds of tea as well?

Looking for some enlightenment from some tea experts. Thank you!

---

Update:

Since I asked the question, my mother-in-law came across a newspaper article, in Chinese, describing pesticides found on some teas from China, and so it is advisable to rinse before consuming.

Here's a scan I made of the article:

Something in English...

Essentially, the article references a 2012 report by Greenpeace. You can read a press release about the report, and here's a link to the report itself: Pesticides: Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea Report (PDF). Press release summary:

A Greenpeace investigation has found pesticides banned for use on tea in the products marketed by some of China's top tea companies. Some of the firms, which include China Tea, Tenfu Tea and China Tea King, export tea products to Japan, the US and Europe.

For that reason, I accepted the answer below which suggests rinsing for reduction of pesticides.

Of course, I don't think I'd want to drink a tea with 17 kinds of pesticides present, even if rinsed! Caveat emptor ... I plan to ask more questions when I buy my tea.

Asked by Chris W. Rea

Answer

Usually the first infusion is to remove pesticides and some tea dust accumulates through aging of the tea; another reason is to let the dry leaves "breath" so to bring out their taste in subsequent infusions. You suppose to drain out the water in seconds; so it shouldn't take away the taste.

Answered by KMC

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When I'm separating egg whites, how much does it matter if a little yolk gets in?

Question

I was separating egg whites today and one of the yolks broke and contaminated my bowl of whites. I started from scratch, but I'm wondering if I really needed to; would a tiny bit of yolk (say, 1/8 tspn in 4 egg whites) mixed in with the whites make a big difference?

To provide some context, I was about to whip the whites with castor sugar to make almond macaroons.

Asked by Highly Irregular

Answer

Yes, it matters a lot. When you are separating egg whites, it is for whipping them into a foam. This foam is a protein-based foam, relying on protein ends hooking into each other. Even small traces of fat will prevent the foam from forming. Egg yolks contain high amounts of fat. Once an egg yolk breaks in your whites, you have to start the separation anew, because it can prevent your foam from forming. Also, don't use plastic bowls for whipping egg whites (their surface retains some fat molecules even after washing, giving you a less stable foam) and only whip with a cleanly washed whisk or mixer attachment (not one you have just used for something else, not even if you wiped it clean).

To prevent big mishaps, just separate each new egg in a teacup and only add the new white to the old whites after it has separated cleanly. Else you are in big trouble if you are separating a lot and the last egg contaminates the whole whites with yolk. And a single contaminated egg is easily reused for a quick egg-and-feta sandwich or something else.

Contamination the other way round isn't so worrisome. You still want to work as precisely as possible, as yolk-only recipes will often have somewhat worse texture if eggwhite is included, but small contaminating amounts are usually not noticeable in the finished product, even in foams (zabaglione, mayonnaise). This is because yolk foams are fat-based, and small amounts of protein don't prevent a fat foam from forming.

Answered by rumtscho

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How to quickly make refried beans (or thereabouts) using Kidney beans?

Question

I've been trying for awhile now to make a bean-like paste for burritos/nachos/etc. akin to Refried Beans I so enjoyed while living in North America. What I've got so far isn't half bad, but I'd really like to improve on this, if possible.

Here's how I do it now:

1. Empty beans into strainer; wash with cold water.
2. Put beans into pan slightly under water and bring to boil.
3. Lightly simmer until beans come out of their shells.
4. Turn heat down to min; Drain off 3/4 of the water.
5. Mash mash mash away.
6. Add spices and mix; let water burn evaporate until consistency is to my liking.

NOTE: I only recently added steps 2-4 in an attempt at mashing the shells better. It has not helped. If I remove those steps, the entire process takes maybe 10 minutes (= happy stomachs :)

No matter how much or long I cook and/or mash the beans (while adding water), the skin never quite "liquidizes" so there are these annoying strainy-blobs that everyone complains about.

I usually use Red and White Kidney Beans or some kind of baked beans in tomato sauce, simply because I don't have to cook them at all i.e. I can eat them out of the can and they taste good :) Perhaps that logic is bad and I should be using other beans (assuming I can find them here) ?

Asked by glenneroo

Answer

This isn't the "quick" nor the healthy answer, but I personally do a twice-cooked system. I leave the juice from the can in the mix, and boil it down, which takes 15 minutes or so. Retaining the flavor of the canned fluid is essential, in my opinion.

Then I "fry" the dry-ish mixture which is beginning to separate in maybe 1 tbsp preheated lard per can of beans, stirring a lot at first. Lastly, very slightly simmer this on low heat for 1 hour or so, stirring occasionally. Flavor is awesome. Any kinds of beans can be prepared in this way, and it is similar (varying on oil and legume variety) to other paste concoctions created elsewhere.. such as in the middle east.

Note that this method negates the need for lots of "mashing". So, if you're more looking for less effort, than necessarily for "quick".. this could be your answer :)

Answered by zanlok

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How long can I store mole?

Question

I'd like to have a go at making some kind of mole, but all the recipes I have seem to make big batches. How long can I keep mole for, either in the fridge or freezer?

Asked by ElendilTheTall

Answer

In the freezer, more-or-less indefinitely, depending on how good your freezer is. Certainly months to years.

In the fridge, it depends on the kind of mole. Quick moles (like various green moles) don't keep very long, maybe a week at most. A long-cooked mole should keep a bit longer -- up to 2 weeks -- since all of the ingredients are completely cooked.

If you're not planning to use it within a week, though, why not freeze it? The texture won't take any harm from freezing and thawing.

Answered by FuzzyChef

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Is there an alternative wrapping for tamales?

Question

I'd like to have a go at making tamales, but the corn husk wrappers are hard to come by here. Is there anything I can use as a substitute wrapper?

Asked by ElendilTheTall

Answer

I've had the same problem once. The first substitute is banana leaves. But they're not easy to find either.

The second one is using big leaves of chard. Tamales will be done in the same time and you could eat the leaf if you want. I've tried it once and it came out great.

Here it's a recipe for tamales from Michoacan made with chard. Here it is a graphic step by step recipe for tamales with chard. They are written in Spanish, let me know if you need a translator ;)

PS. My mexican mother in law used to do it with chard.

Answered by doctoraw

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How can I stop my eggs from cooking when I make lemon/lime curd?

Question

I used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-lime-curd/. I added a lot of the hot liquid to temper the eggs and they looked good and then I added the mixture to the pot and whisked but the egg whites still cooked and I had to strain the curd to get it all out.

Is there a better way to avoid this from happening?

Asked by Luz_Ramirez

Answer

To prevent this from happening, apart from what Jefromi says, check the temperature with a thermometer. Eggs start coagulating around 60ºC. If you keep the temperature around 55ºC you are pasteurizing the eggs at the same time.

Answered by BaffledCook

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Tempering chocolate: ± 2 °C too much?

Question

I am planning to buy a laser thermometer to measure the temperature of melted chocolate for tempering it. As I have found out, the thermometer I want to buy has a measuring tolerance of ± 2 °C. That means even if it shows the correct temperature on the display, the chocolate can be 2 °C too hot or 2 °C too cold. Will this cause any trouble? Do I really need a thermometer that has a smaller measuring tolerance?

FYI: 2 °C are about 36 °F

Edit: 2 °C are about 3.6 °F, thanks msh210!

Asked by Sven

Answer

Yes, it is too much. Chocolate has very tight working intervals. Dark chocolate must be used at 32°C. Below 30°C, it is too thick for use, and at 35°C, the cocoa butter separates from the chocolate. An error interval of 4°C when your complete workable interval is 5°C wide is simply unacceptable. You want a thermometer with a much higher precision, actually one which shows you tenths of degrees centigrade.

You also want a thermometer which reacts quickly enough. If you are working with small quantities, a ten seconds delay in measuring can give you errors of over half a degree centigrade, which is also a lot, given your tight working interval. Try finding a thermometer with a 4 sec response time or less.

Also, you don't want a laser thermometer at all! The difference in temperature between the surface of the chocolate and the mass of it near the bottom can be substantial, I once measured 4°C difference in something in a bowl with about a litter of stuff (it can't have been chocolate, probably it was custard, I forgot exactly). You need a candy thermometer for chocolate. Buy a laser thermometer separately for measuring the surfaces of pans, if you need it.

As a last note a 2°C interval is not 36°F, it is just below 4°F. The formula is 32 + 5/9, so your converter probably meant that when there are 2°C outside, a Fahrenheit thermometer shows 36°F. This is obviously incorrect for calculating intervals.

Answered by rumtscho

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In how much water do I need to put ramekins when cooking au bain marie in the oven?

Question

I have been given four ramekins and a cooking book with 30 recipes for eggs in a ramekin as a present.

Everything is explained very clearly:

• Preheat the water for the bain marie dish in the oven at (I think) 180°C
• Put the eggs in a ramekin
• Add other ingredients
• Place the ramekin in the bain marie dish in the oven
• Get the ramekins out when you see the egg white is starting to coagulate

I have never used ramekins and I have never cooked au bain marie in the oven, but I believe the amount of water you use is pretty important. Unfortunately the book doesn't mention this.

So how high should the water level be for the ramekins?

Asked by Kristof Claes

Answer

Ideally, the water level should be just as, or a bit above, the egg level. So, you fill the ramekin to maybe 1.5 cm below the rim, place it in the dish, and fill the dish until it is 1 cm below the ramekin rim. You can deviate a bit, if you must - if you had a bit too much custard and filled the ramekins more, you shouldn't get the water too high, because you don't want to get water splashed onto the custard if it should start boiling (actually, you want to avoid a roiling boil in your bain marie, but it can happen). Even if the egg is slightly higher than the water, it will still be OK. If you have the water level too low, you risk to overheat the upper portions of your custards.

This assumes the souffle-cup-like ramekins usually sold to home bakers. If you have very flat ones, like crema catalana dishes, it gets more complicated. You have to have the water close to the rim, and bake at lower settings. It can help to put them high in the bain marie, e.g. on a cake cooling rack, so that they are cooled from below rather than the sides.

Answered by rumtscho

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Is it normal for the Chickpeas to develop white froth after being soaked for 12 hours?

Question

Yesterday at 08:00 I had soaked white Chickpeas in water and left the container in the kitchen. Daytime temperature here is 44C.

At 20:00 the same day I saw the container covered by white froth. Is it normal for the Chickpeas to develop white froth or was it caused by the heat?

Not sure if that's edible.

Asked by Anisha Kaul

Answer

Yes, it is normal for pulses to develop froth when soaked. I've seen it at lower temperatures and shorter soaking times. They can feel slimy too. This isn't a sign of bacteria development in itself, I think it is caused by the oligosaccharides slowly dissolving in water (but don't remember where I read this, so not 100% sure).

On the other hand, these conditions are also risky. Your chickpeas can have developed bacteria independently of the froth. In temperate regions, soakers aren't a problem, because bacteria growth in them is not especially quick (the 2 hours rule is made tight enough to cover things like meat, and a soaker doesn't even have enough hydrated bacteria food initially). But I have noticed that food I would have had no problem with at 22°C goes bad in short time at 28°C. The relationship between bacteria growth and temperature is not linear, and with growing heat, bacteria growth can speed up a lot. So I don't know if I would eat the peas - not because of the froth, but because of the conditions you had them in. I would recommend that you soak in the fridge next time - you don't need any fermentation to take place, so the low temperatures aren't a problem.

Answered by rumtscho

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How do I keep dough moist while rising?

Question

If I'm rising dough for a really long time (at home), what techniques are there for keeping the surface moist? What I'm finding is that the crumb comes out as I'd like (very aerated, mature), but that the top forms a skin, causing the side to burst despite scoring on the top with a razor.

Asked by Mick Sear

Answer

The best recommendation I have seen is plain plastic wrap. If you have an oil mister, mist the wrap before using it. If you don't, pour oil into a bowl, enough to form a puddle, and toss your ball of dough in the oil. Then transfer your dough to the rising container (if you use the same bowl you used for oiling, take the dough out, pour out the superfluous oil, return the dough into the bowl). In the best case, the bowl will be deep enough for the dough to rise without the middle touching the wrap, but if it rises more (even with the dough pressing against the wrap), dough with enough gluten development will peel off the oiled wrap with minimal losses, even if it is wet.

The wrap will keep your dough surface moist in both the fridge and outside. It doesn't allow breathing, but this shouldn't be a concern in most cases. If you overyeast the dough, the collection of fermentation byproducts in the bowl will probably make for worse taste than if they are allowed to dissipate, but the correct solution for this problem is to not produce them in the first place. With your "very long times", this is probably not a problem in your case.

You can also use this method for the secondary fermentation. But in the final proofing stage, you have to make sure that your dough never rises enough to touch the wrap, or else the loaf will deform while you are removing the wrap. Also, if you are proofing in banettons, don't oil them, use flour combinations to prevent sticking.

If you are out of plastic wrap, substituting alu wrap is a bad idea, because yeast is very sensitive to metallic ions. Today's non-reactive metal utensils are safe enough for use with yeast dough, but untreated aluminium can be problematic. Try baking paper instead (you may have to tape it to the outer bowl walls).

Answered by rumtscho

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chestnut puree quantity

Question

My recipe called for 250g of chestnuts, blended with 125ml of cream and 125ml of milk that you then blended together to make a puree. When i went to the supermarket I discovered they had tinned "Chestnut puree" so I grabbed that instead I am now wondering how much of that I should add ?

Asked by scottishpink

Answer

Assuming the chestnut puree is just chestnuts, well, use 250g of it.

If it has other ingredients... I guess you'll have to try to figure out how much of them. You might be able to deduce it from the nutrition facts and the nutritional content of the chestnuts themselves, especially it's just chestnuts and water.

Edit: To be clear, I'm telling you how to replace the chestnuts. You still need the rest.

Given that it's chestnuts and water, it's trivial to figure out how much of it is chestnuts. (It would be difficult if there were other ingredients providing nutritional content.) Just use enough paste to account for 250g of chestnuts, then remove a mL of milk for every extra gram of paste you've added. If it's a substantial amount, replace some of the remaining milk with cream to keep it as rich as the original, if you like.

For example, according to the data I linked to, chestnuts are about 10% sugar, so you want enough paste to provide the 25g of sugar your 250g of chestnuts would've provided. So if the paste contains only 8g of sugar per 100g of paste, then you'll want about 300g of paste, and you can remove 50 mL of milk to balance the extra water you'll have added as part of the paste. (At that point it probably wouldn't be worth bothering to rebalance the milk and cream, since it's such a tiny difference.)

Answered by Jefromi

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What styles of barbeque exist in American cuisine?

Question

I'm originally from the Michigan thus i don't know much about barbeque due to the lack of barbeque establishments.

From my understanding (correct me if i'm wrong), there are several regional variations or styles of BBQ in the US. Each of type is defined by a BBQ technique or method: Texas (Brisket style), St. Louis, etc.

Thus my question; what other types of BBQ currently exist and what defines it?

Asked by chrisjlee

Answer

There's a great YouTube video by Rhett & Link called the The BBQ Song (A Review of BBQ in the Southern United States) that is actually a really good starting point for answering this question.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

In the mountains of Tennessee, they like a smoky sauce.
But over there in ole Memphis, a dry rubbed rib is boss.

The folks down in Georgia can't make up their mind,
You can give it to 'em sweet or spicy, and they'll say "that tastes alright."

You might think that South Carolinians are just a little bit off,
Would you believe their BBQ's yellow--with a mustard sauce?

Pork shoulder is the cut of choice in Mississippi
And they pride themselves on BBQ that's totally vinegary.

And Louisiana, them Cajuns,
they like to spice it up. They like to spice it up.

This is our review of BBQ,
in the southern United States.
And when my life is through,
bury me in BBQ,
But make sure it's vinegar based,
cause you know that slows decay,
and it's the style from our home state, North Carolina! Solo!

Mutton is big in west Kentucky, that's a fancy name for sheep,
But in the rest of the state, sliced pork butt is what they eat.

Arkansas is kinda like Georgia, a BBQ meltin' pot,
and when you ain't looking, them good ole boys'll make that BBQ hot!

Alabama's got the strangest thing I've seen in my BBQ days,
Cause their BBQ sauce is white, made out of mayonnaise.

Down in Texas, where the long horn steer roam free,
They love to smoke their brisket, that's a big ol' slab of beef.

And down in Florida...
Is Florida a southern state? No it ain't.

This is our review of BBQ,
in the southern United States.
And when my life is through,
bury me in BBQ. . .

People not from the south
think BBQ means "cookout"
and that's something they're wrong about.

(Spoken outro:)
BBQ is not a verb, BBQ is not a grill
BBQ is meat prepared in a very special way
Which varies depending on where you go

Answered by Callithumpian

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Turning a cast-iron grill into a smoker

Question

I have a Char-broil gas cast iron grill. This is one of the style where the flame is under cast iron pans filled with lava rocks rather than cooking the food directly. Works great for when you don't want to bother with charcoal. But I digress.

My question is: I think this type of grill would make an excellent smoker, and has anyone tried doing so before?

• were you able to keep it at the right temperature? How?
• how much wood chips did you use? Did you soak them?
• did you try to seal it to keep the smoke in? again, how?

Asked by FuzzyChef

Answer

You can use a gas grill for smoking and indirect cooking. Run the burner on one side of the grill, and place the food on the other. Wrap wood chips in foil, poke a few holes in it, and place the foil pack over the active burner. You can soak the chips if you like. I've never seen much point in that, myself. The water evaporates rather quickly, and you're back with dry chips. Better to limit the oxygen supply to the wood so it will smolder, and place the smoke pack somewhere so that it does not have too much heat applied to it.

It absolutely does matter what kind of wood you use. Avoid soft and sap-laden woods like pine. Stick with hardwoods or fruit woods. Hickory is often paired with pork. Apple and cherry are used ubiquitously. Oak is strong, but imparts an interesting flavor. Mesquite can be too powerful for some people -- I personally use it for grilling, but never for smoking.

Finally, be aware that you are going to have some limitations with your gas grill. It neither holds nor convects heat in the same manner that purpose-built smokers and some charcoal grills do. You are more likely to have hot and cold spots on your grill, so you will need to examine what you are cooking each hour and adjust accordingly if necessary. You will also not get nearly as much smoke to your food, so you will also have to adjust how much wood you use accordingly (though many people make the mistake of too much smoke in their barbecue, so a gas grill's limitation in this regard can be a benefit).

Answered by Sean Hart

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Bagels not rising

Question

I recently made bagels following this recipe, but they didn't pass the "float test" (see step 10). I took them out of the fridge for an hour, put one in a bowl of cold water, and it sunk. I repeated the test a couple times during the next hour, but they still sunk, and they hadn't noticeably increased in size.

Eventually I just went ahead with the boiling and baking. They came out edible, but pretty dense and small.

What are some things that might have gone wrong?

I bought the (instant) yeast within the last couple of weeks, so it should be good. In fact, I used the same package of yeast when making this other bagel recipe, which worked very well.

I did have to add a little extra water to the dough, since it was very dry. Could that be part of the problem?

Asked by JW.

Answer

Yes, a very dense dough will not be able to rise. The gases will not have the strength to push the hard dough apart. There are types of bagels which are supposed to be quite dense, but American bagels are seldom made this way. This recipe is quite low hydrated at 52%, so even small errors can push it into problematic territory.

Individually packaged instant yeast keeps for a very long time. Big packs keep well if refrigerated after opening. Your yeast is not likely to be the problem. There are three possible problems you may have encountered:

• You measured your dry ingredients by volume, not weight
• You used the wrong type of flour
• The recipe gives an insufficient amount of time

Measuring Ingredients

I suspect that you probably measured by volume. This is the most common mistake which leads to a wrong dough consistency. You should measure by weight because measuring by volume is not precise enough: depending on your technique and on the humidity in your pantry, you can have up to 50% measuring error. The recipe gives you a weight; use it. If you find a recipe which doesn't give you a weight, consider changing the recipe - the best sources always use weight. If you insist on using a recipe specified in volume units, use a converter and measure everything in weight. This ensures that you use the ratio given in the recipe and eliminates technique errors on your part. If the recipe author didn't make technique errors while creating the recipe, you will get the right output. (For example, Corriher calculates her recipes by weight ratio, but she lists them in volume because her readers prefer it that way. If you convert back by the factor she gives, you will never be wrong). If you absolutely must measure by volume, then pour your flour into the measuring cup and level it by shaking. Never scoop flour. Still, prepare for botched doughs from time to time, even with pouring.

Flour Type

The second likely reason is the wrong type of flour. Or maybe not "wrong" per se, but different from what the author had in mind. In different regions, flour labeled as "bread flour" has different amounts of gluten. If in doubt, look at your nutrition label; it should be around 12% for bread flour. If it's not, adjust the amount of water slightly (you have to go by feel here).

Timing

The time given in the recipe is also shady. At 4.5 g dry yeast and 453g flour, it is equivalent to 3% fresh yeast (even less if you overmeasured the flour). This is a good percentage for a slow, long rise. But saying to ferment it in the fridge "for at least one hour" is nonsense. This amount of yeast needs more than an hour at room temperature, or something like 6 hours in the fridge, even for a rich wet dough - probably more for the lean dense one. If you only kept it for an hour before shaping, you didn't have any primary rise. Next time, just go by volume. Primary fermentation should double the dough volume. The change in volume in secondary fermentation depends on the process, and I don't remember the correct one for bagels.

Bottom line: your diagnosis sounds very likely - not enough fermentation for the amount of flour. Measure correctly, and allow enough time for fermentation, to get your bread right.

Answered by rumtscho

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Safe to eat mac 'n' cheese the next day? [closed]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer?

I've made mac and cheese. If I put it in the fridge (not freezer) in the original baking dish, covered with aluminum foil, will it be safe to eat the next day?

Is there a better way to store it for a day (better than covering with foil)?

Asked by Krzysztof Kowalczyk

Answer

Make sure your fridge is cold enough You need to make sure your fridge is cold enough otherwise food poisoning bacteria will still be able to grow. Your fridge should be between 0ºC and 5ºC.

If you’re not sure how the temperature setting or dial works on your fridge, you could use a fridge thermometer to check it’s the right temperature.

Here are a few other fridge tips that you might find useful:

keep the fridge door closed as much as possible
wait for food to cool down before you put it in the fridge
if your fridge is full, turn the temperature down to help keep it cold enough

Cool leftovers as quickly as possible (ideally within one to two hours) and then store them in the fridge. Eat any leftovers within two days, except for cooked rice, which you should eat within one day to help avoid food poisoning.

Answered by scottishpink

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My tea bags are expired, can I still use them?

Question

What do you think?

Asked by TheX

Answer

Tea bags will be fine for at least a year in the pantry, but even long after that, they're still safe to consume. They just might change colour or flavour.

If your tea has an expiration date then it's just for best quality, not safety. I've personally found tea bags sitting at the back of the pantry that were more than 3 years old, the packaging had even started to fade, and the tea was still fine. I just had to steep it for a little longer.

Answered by Aaronut

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What should I do if power goes out while I am baking cake/cookies?

Question

If I am baking cake or cookies in the oven and I lose power, what should I do?

Does it make to sense to leave the cake/cookies in the oven until the power comes back on, or should I take them out?

When/why would I need to leave them in the oven vs. take them out?

Asked by Anisha Kaul

Answer

Removing things from the oven halfway through is not very friendly to baked goods. In general, they'll collapse as they cool off since the structure isn't cooked and set, and the leavening (baking soda/powder in these cases) will be spent, so there's no way to get what you originally wanted. It might be something like what'd happen if you forgot the leavening in the first place.

The exception is if they'd only just started - not bubbling much yet, just warm. In that case, you could probably get away with yanking them out quickly, and waiting to bake later.

Cookies could probably survive this by leaving them in, though. They don't have very long baking times - somewhere in the 5-15 minute range. Your oven won't cool off all that much in that time without power. So if you leave them in for a little bit longer than the original baking time, they'll probably be fine. If your oven has a window, look in with a flashlight to check on them - you don't want to open it to check them.

A cake is iffier. If it's 15 minutes into a 45 minute baking time, you may just be out of luck. I think I'd still leave it in, hoping that the power comes back within 5-10 minutes, in which case it'd probably make it. As I mentioned earlier, if you lose power early and for long enough, the cake will have spent its leavening and collapsed. You could finish baking it, but it'll still be collapsed - it probably won't have a terribly palatable texture (definitely dense, maybe chewy).

The only time this has actually happened to me was with some cornbread muffins, around 2/3 of the way through their baking time, and the oven didn't have a window. I wildly guessed how much extra time to add, pulled them out then, and they were great. So there is hope!

Answered by Jefromi

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Can I freeze Parmesan?

Question

I am thinking about buying a larger amount of Parmesan and freeze it for later use. Is this possible? How long can I keep it for? How is the taste/texture affected?

Asked by Sven

Answer

Yes, you can freeze parmesan cheese. Even without freezing, Parmesan is very durable since the low water and high salt content prevents mould from growing. The younger varieties may be more prone to mould growth (having a higher water content), but I've kept ripe Parmesan (30-36 months) for at least a year in the fridge without problems (and it would probably have stayed good much longer). Just remember to keep it e.g. wrapped in paper and not in a sealed plastic container to prevent a buildup of condensed water.

Answered by Tor-Einar Jarnbjo

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How to keep my (deep frying) oil usable as long as possible?

Question

I have a new deep fryer. I am pleased with its results so far. I am not a 'heavy user' though - say once every 2-3 weeks. I want to re-use the oil a couple of times. The deep fryer is covered but not airtight, however.

The new deep fryer has a cold zone, which means the oil won't become dirty due to particles over-frying. I don't overheat the oil either. So, in principle, I'm frying correctly, I think.

So, how long can my oil safely sit in the deep fryer, if I ensure it's thouroughly heated next time I fry? Should I be allowing the oil to cool and store the fat in (sealed) containers instead, if there's going to be this long a gap between uses?

Edit: yes, I've seen this question and answers: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/3014/frying-oil-reuse

Asked by Tobias Op Den Brouw

Answer

First thing, a cold zone doesn't prevent particulate build up, it just cuts down on the amount that will remain suspended in the oil. You should still filter if you want to keep your oil as long as possible. You can detect bad oil (meaning rancid) by a few ways, like smoke point or smell.
You should store your oil someplace dark and cool, which could be the inside of your fryer as long as you filter and clean the sides before you stick the oil back in. Another thing you can do to extend the life of your oil is switch to tallow (beef fat) or rended pigs fat (lard) as saturated fats do last a lot longer than the poly-unsaturated.

Once again, you should lose the oil when the smoke point drops, or if it is to dark, or if it develops any foul odor. And as I said before, once you use the oil once, you should NOT use it past six months under any circumstances, if you do, you are taking your gastro-intestinal tract into your own hands.

Answered by sarge_smith

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