I have heard that to stop guacamole from turning black that you should save the avocado pit and put it on top of the guacamole once it is made. How does this work?--Marc This tip works only if the avocado pit is big enough to completely cover the bowl from edge to edge. What it does is exclude oxygen. Once the avocado fruit has been cut... Read more →

Can green tomatoes be frozen? We love fried green tomatoes and we have a lot of green tomatoes that we hate to throw away. I was wondering if they can be saved by freezing.--Don Fresh tomatoes, red or green, can be frozen by simply removing the hard portion at the stem end using a sharp paring knife. Place the whole tomatoes in a single... Read more →

I have a recipe that asks for "tomato concassé". What is it and how is it used?--Julie Tomato concassé (pronounced "kon-kah-SAY") is a dice of tomatoes which have been peeled and the seeds removed. Recipes that use concassé are striving for a finer result, showing that you cared enough about the quality of the final product to remove... Read more →

Sometimes, when I boil potatoes, after I drain them I find gray or black spots on the surface. What is this, and are they still safe to eat? -- Marianna Those spots are caused by a chemical reaction involving iron, the phenolic compound chlorogenic acid and oxygen. Because it occurs more often at the end of the potato closest to the end... Read more →

Q: Is it all right to store avocados in the fridge? Avocados don't ripen on the tree. After they are picked, they ripen best at temperatures between 60°F and 75°F (15°C and 24°F). If you keep an unripened avocado in the fridge, it can go straight to spoiled without ever completely ripening. This is because the ripening process is... Read more →