Happy New Year. Some friends of ours just came back from a trip to Mexico and they brought us a bottle of vanilla concentrate. I’ve never used ‘concentrate’ before so decided to Google it. Some people are saying to not use it for it could cause liver damage if there’s a certain ingredient in it. Can you help clarify some of this... Read more →

I understand how the gluten in wheat flour works to capture the gas formed by either yeast or baking powder or soda, but what makes the non gluten containing flours rise? --Lynn In normal baking, the proteins glutenin and gliadin in flour bond with the water and with each other to form long strands and sheets of what we know as gluten.... Read more →

Are Cream of Tartar and Tartar Sauce the same thing?--Helen Seeing this question made me think of a Before and After category puzzle on Wheel of Fortune where the answer is "Cream of Tartar Sauce." No, they are not the same thing. Cream of tartar is a dry white powder that is actually finely ground tartaric acid. The chemical name is... Read more →

Making "White Christmas Pie" for the first time, the recipe calls for beaten egg whites, with cream of tartar and sugar but never says to "cook" it. Is it necessary to cook the egg whites, or is it safe to use them, blended with other ingredients? --Dora You are right to be concerned about using raw egg whites. The USDA now warns... Read more →

I read your previous posting on Baker's Percentage. My question is, given that eggs contain a lot of water, should they be counted in the hydration percentage for bread? --Eric About 76% of the total weight of an egg is water. Of the rest, about 9.5% is fat, 12.5% is protein and 0.4% is glucose. Technically, that means that for a... Read more →

I was supposed to use all purpose flour in my yeast roll recipe, but used self-rising. What will happen now? --Sarah As described in the earlier post on Self-rising Flour, it is regular flour that has baking powder and and salt added. The exact formulas, including the type of baking powder used, vary by manufacturer. There are two... Read more →

Regular readers of KitchenSavvy will know that one of my quests is to make the perfect loaf of bread. You may have read some of the articles and maybe even tried my Breadmaker Jewish Rye Bread recipe (Hint - you don't need a breadmaker. It is just as easy to make by hand or with a mixer). Well, I just spent four great days at the King... Read more →

Hi. I was wondering just what Petit Fours are, how the word is pronounced and where the name came from. Can you help? --Denise The word Petit Four is pronounced most often in North America as "PET-ee for", but comes from the French term for a small fire or oven, pronounced more like "PUH-tee foor". Petit Fours are small baked goods... Read more →

In response to my previous posting Breadmaker Jewish Rye Bread, SeaBee asked: Shouldn't there be some sugar involved somewhere? Now, I'm not sure if this is a specific questions because SeaBee thinks that Jewish Rye Bread should be sweet(er), or a more general question like: I notice in your posting on Breadmaker Jewish Rye Bread there... Read more →

For Easter, I am planning to make an Easter Bunny cake. My problem is that I can never get bright, vibrant color in my icing. It always turns out a pale pastel color instead. How can I get brighter colors?--Tony Your problem is likely that you are using the liquid food coloring that is available at most supermarkets and grocery stores... Read more →