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 →
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 →
What do people mean when they say that conventional butcher's steels don’t actually sharpen your knife. According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, sharpen means to "make sharp or sharper." It seems to me that is why I use a steel, and the effect that it has. --Art OK, this is something that really bugs me too. It all boils... Read more →
Help! My recipe calls for a sprig of fresh parsley, chopped. How big is a sprig?--Danielle Technically, a sprig is a small branch or shoot of a plant. Unfortunately, that's pretty much useless knowledge in the kitchen. The problem though, is that a lot of cooking is about inexact measures such as sprigs, pinches, dashes, handsfull and... Read more →
What is the difference between a brunoise and a mirepoix?--Sylvia Both brunoise (pronounced "broon-WAHZ") and mirepoix (pronounced "meer-PWAH") are preparations of vegetables used in cooking. A mirepoix is a dice or rough chop of carrots, onions and celery used as a flavor base in cooking. The dice is usually around 1/4 inch (6 mm)... Read more →
On a recent trip to Victoria, British Columbia, Pat and I visited the home of some friends -- old friends for her, new friends for me. As probably is happening among foodies all over nowadays, conversation turned to the movie Julie & Julia which had just come out and, with that, discussion of the supposedly challenging and difficult... Read more →
Isn't it true that 16 oz of dry goods is different than 16 oz of liquid measure. If a recipe calls for 8oz of flour, you should measure it using a scale rather than using a cup (which is a liquid measure, no matter what kind of cup you use). I'm confused. --SM The confusion comes from the fact that in English we use the word "ounce"... Read more →
What on earth! Here is my internet journey, seeking the answer to "Baking soda vs. baking powder." Baking powder can replace baking soda Baking powder cant replace baking soda Baking powder can't replace baking soda and vice versa. Here are some excerpts: "You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more... Read more →
I have a family favorite flank steak marinade that uses vegetable oil. Can I substitute olive oil (health reasons) and get the same taste and marinade? I am worried that when the meat is marinaded over night in the refrigerator that the olive oil will harden. Thank you for your assistance.--Sandy The reason for using fat of any sort... Read more →
While you mentioned that cream of tartar, in a properly sealed container, can be kept indefinitely, I used mine last evening and the beaten egg whites did not turn out to be stiff as described in the recipe. I suspect the culprit is my cream of tartar being too old, even though it was kept in a tightly sealed container.-- Lucy Cream... Read more →