Q: What is high altitude cooking? Altitude cooking refers to the changes caused by differences in geographic elevation. The boiling point of water drops by about 2°F (1°C) for every 1,000 feet (300 meters) increase in altitude, above sea level. What that means in practical terms depends on what you are cooking. For example, if you... Read more →
Q:I find regular store-bought white vinegar to be too wimpy for my tastes. Is there anything I can do? Regular white vinegar is 5% acetic acid. You could try using pickling vinegar which comes in 7% concentration. You should be able to find it with the other vinegars in your grocery store.... Read more →
Q: I have an older cookbook that calls for ascorbic acid to be added to sugar syrup when freezing peaches. The local grocer doesn't have it and never heard of it. How come it's not available anymore? Ascorbic acid is used in recipes to reduce or prevent enzymatic browning of foods, particularly fruits. It should stil be available in... Read more →
In a comment on the earlier article Cooked Chicken "Goop", Alice wrote: I marinaded some chicken breasts the other day in a yogurt marinade (that I've made before with no ill results). My ingredients were all fresh (mostly yogurt, shallots, garlic, that kind of thing) and it looked whitish when I was done, as one would expect. I took the... Read more →
I don't know why they call it Cheap Thrills, but have a look at this fun recipe comic strip.... Read more →
Q: Sometimes when I cook chicken, there is a white residue, kind of like cooked egg whites, that comes out. What is it and how can I avoid it happening? This happens frequently with grilled chicken breasts or kabobs. What you are seeing is protein from the meat, dissolved in water either from the meat or added during processing, which has... Read more →
Q: What does it mean to 'season' a frying pan? How is it done? To season a frying pan means to treat it with oil so as to create a non-stick coating. This is usually done to cast iron pans. The oil fills any microscopic holes in the metal and then dries like a shellac, sealing the surface. Since Teflon coated and hard-anodized aluminum... Read more →
Q: When I boil eggs, the shells crack. How can I prevent this? Here are a few things you might try in order to avoid having the shells crack when you boil eggs: Visually inspect the eggs before cooking. If possible, avoid using eggs with fine surface lines that may crack during cooking. Always discard eggs that are already cracked. Start... Read more →
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating by Walter C. Willett Eat, Drink and Be Healthy is not a diet book. Rather, it is a book that cuts across diets and food trends. Using detailed dietary information collected from numerous sources over decades of research, Dr. Walter Willett is able to tell you... Read more →
Q: What is the substitution of vanilla extract for beans? There isn't an easy answer to this question. According to Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Inc., the substitution of whole vanilla beans for vanilla extract is one bean equals approximately one tablespoon of extract. However, The Vanilla.COMpany says ½ vanilla bean is the equivalent of 1... Read more →