Are Turkish Bay Leaves “Normal” Bay leaves?

Question

I recently saw a recipe that called for Turkish Bay Leaves. Is this any different than the kind I would find in a standard spice bottle labeled "Bay Leaves", or is this a form of exotic marketing? Are there even different types of Bay Leaves?

Asked by awithrow

Answer

Figured I'd check the site of the brand I use. Turns out they are Turkish:

The bay tree is native to the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor. The bay or laurel tree grows well in the subtropics and is cultivated today as a spice in the Far East as well as the Canary Islands, France, Belgium, Mexico, Central America and Turkey (where McCormick's bay leaves are grown).

Answered by awithrow

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What factors do I need to consider to figure out if a particular set of toppings will work well on risotto?

Question

Sometimes, I like to experiment with the ingredients to use as toppings for risotto.

In order to avoid bad results, what should I consider when I choose the ingredients to use as toppings for risotto?

Asked by kiamlaluno

Answer

So risotto is pretty much a blank canvas, much like say rice or pasta.

So your first concern is simply to pick ingredients that go with each other. For example: tomato & corn risotto, good. Tomato and chocolate risotto: bad.

Second, you may want to choose a broth, cheese, and optional wine that goes well with your choice of main ingredients.

Third, because risotto is Italian in origin, the most certain combinations will be those classic Mediterranean flavors. You aren't going to go wrong with say asparagus and olives, or artichokes, peas and lemon. When you start making Thai risottos, you are farther out on a limb.

Finally, much of the pleasure of a risotto is in the rice itself, when properly prepared. That pleasure is fairly delicate in nature, so for maximum enjoyment you should choose reasonably delicate ingredients and/or use them in relatively small quantities.

Answered by Michael at Herbivoracious

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What is coriander root and where can you get it?

Question

I mentioned the book Thai Food in an answer to another question. This reminded me of one of my longest running quandaries with it. Many of the recipes mention “coriander root”. I am aware of being able to buy the seeds (whole or ground) or the leaves, but I have never seen for sale anything calling itself coriander root.

Has anyone managed to source this, or am I missing something obvious?

Answer

It is just the root of the coriander plant. Certainly at least here (UK) you can buy living coriander plants in the supermarket; you could pull one out of the pot and use the root from that.

Apparently you can also subsitute 2 stems of coriander for every piece of root called for in the recipe, but I've never tried this.

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What is the purpose of nutritional yeast?

Question

I have several recipes for seitan which call for nutritional yeast. I've never used it before and am curious about its purpose.

Is it for flavor, texture, nutritional value?

Answer

This product is new to me, but it looks interesting.

The flavour of nutritional yeast is described in Wikipedia:

Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese.

Nutritional yeast is a so called complete protein.

A complete protein (or whole protein) is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the dietary needs of humans or other animals.

This also explains why it is popular among vegans, that needs to replace the amino acids in meat with alternative food sources.

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What is Zwieback toast and where can I find it?

Question

I am baking a black forest cake and it calls for zwieback toast. I cannot find this anywhere. Does anyone know what this is or where I can find it?

Answer

Zwieback toast is a twice-baked sweetened toast fed to teething children. It is also known as teething toast, and can be found in the baby aisle of most grocery stores.

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How to go from instant ramen to gourmet meal?

Question

I'm looking for some common (or not so common) ingredients that you add to your instant ramen to make it a little closer to a full-blown meal.

Answer

I use thin chopped bacon slices(uncooked) as a flavoring agent. Also drop 1-2 eggs in there and stir, this adds texture.

I normally stir-fry some chopped steak on the side and dump in the ramen afterwards. I don't use the seasoning pack that comes with the ramen. For flavoring, I use ponzu sauce, soy sauce and vinegar mixed with garlic powder.

Here's my process with photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinny76/sets/72157607170272817/

Final step:

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What is the purpose of sifting dry ingredients?

Question

What is the purpose of dry ingredients (esp. with flour)?

I heard in one place that it was because this is the best way to mix them well. I heard somewhere else that this is a carry-over from when flour used to still contain some chaff. What's the real reason? When does one still need to do this?

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Edit: Although I accepted one answer, if I could I would have accepted both of the top 2. They're both excellent answers.

Answer

Fix Compacted Flour. Flour will compact over time (and during shipment). You could sift the flour to fluff it back up. Or, you could just stir it before measuring and be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup in order to get a correct volume measurement.

Remove Unwanted Material. Yes, sifting would also remove larger pieces or bits of chaff. It would also remove insects. However, neither of these are problems with modern store-bought flour. If you grind your own flour (my sister-in-law does this), then you may still want to sift it, though.

Mix Ingredients Together. Sifting can also be used to mix other dry ingredients into flour. I bake quite a bit, though, and I've never had a problem with just using a spoon or whisk to mix dry ingredients together.

In summary: don't bother. Just use good measuring techniques and stir your ingredients together well. No one likes a lump of baking powder lurking in a muffin!

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What vegetables hold up well for making vegetarian pot pie?

Question

I am trying to make a vegetarian pot pie, but so far I was not successful. I tried with carrots, peas, and cauliflower, but the pot pie was not that good.

Answer

If you'd like to make something with cauliflower and/or broccoli, try this: trim and wash the florets (keep the stems for something else if you like). Blanch them in boiling salted water for 3 or 4 minutes (a little longer maybe for cauliflower). Drain them and dump them into some cold water, then drain them.

Now (or before now): get a heavy roasting pan (like a big earthenware or cast iron lasagna pan, or something like that - the heavier the better) hot in a 375 degree (F) oven. That should take about 15 or 20 minutes - we want it hot. Pull it out of the oven carefully, and then add some oil. Spread the oil around with a silicone brush or by tilting the pan (carefully please; don't burn yourself and sue me) and then add the drained broccoli/cauliflower. Sort-of toss those around (if you've got some spray olive oil, you can squirt them with that) and then add kosher/sea salt and black pepper.

Roast those in the oven for about 20 minutes, possibly tossing them around halfway through.

Now what you've got is the best tasting cauliflower/broccoli in the world. You can add those roasted florettes to a quiche or to a pot pie or to anything like that. I add thusly roasted cauliflower to Indian "dal" preparations and it's awesome.

Here's another tip: if you want to add cubed potatoes but you don't want them to turn to mush, try this. Cube the raw potatoes. Get some water warming on the stove, but when it's still just warm (less than 130 degrees F) add the potatoes. Keep the fire on, but monitor the temperature very carefully. When the water gets up to 138 degrees F, drop the fire a lot and try to keep it at that temperature for about 10 minutes. After that, raise the fire and let the potatoes boil as you normally would.

That trick will allow a natural enzyme in the potatoes to "firm up" the starch, and they'll end up cooked but not mushy. You can then add them to your pot pie with the confidence that they'll more-or-less hold together. (Beets do this kind-of automatically; it's really hard to cook a beet until it's mush.)

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Ingredients: Icelandic local specials

Question

The question is similar to this one. I'm going to Iceland and I'd like to bring home some ingredients which are specific for Icelandic cuisine but are hardly purchasable in Central Europe.

Anything simple like snack would work fine.

It should survive the flight as well.

Any recommendations?

Answer

Being a treeless island with a harsh climate, there are few natural ingredients that are specific to Iceland that are not available on mainland Europe. Some exceptions include puffin and whale meat, however, it is likely illegal to import those into your home country. Iceland does have some amazing quality lamb and dairy goods (e.g., skyr), however, it might also be difficult to take those home. With that said, there are a number of prepared foods that are unique to Iceland and are difficult to find elsewhere:

• Hákarl: dried putrified shark;
• Harðfiskur: dried fish;
• Brennivín: liquor, similar to akvavit; and
• Tópas and Opal: licorice/menthol liquors.

The makers of Opal also make a candy of the same name that tastes just like the liquor. It's great for getting the children hooked on the flavor from a young age ;-)

While you are in Reykjavík, make sure to get some hot dogs at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur; they are perhaps the best I have had anywhere in the world. I am not sure if they sell their raw sausages, but if they do, that would definitely be something I would want to take home if I were there again.

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How can I make very small quantities of balsamic reduction?

Question

Last night, a dish called for a drizzle of balsamic reduction. I thought that, in order to get a good reduction and not burn anything, I'd need way more balsamic than the recipe called for.

Is there a way to make very small yields of balsamic reduction?

Answer

I've sometimes made small reductions in the microwave. Just put the liquid in a much deeper container than it fits in so it doesn't make a mess, and run it on 50% power, check every 30 seconds or so until it is reduced to the degree you need.

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