I got a new quick read probe thermometer, but I'm not sure it is reading accurately. Is there an easy way to check it?-- Dan There are two temperatures that are very easy to check a thermometer for in the home kitchen -- the freezing point of water, and its boiling point. Water freezes at 32°F (0°C). If your thermometer will read... Read more →

A colleague and I were recently at a business meeting where lunch was provided. I took a sandwich from the tray, only to be told that one of the lunch wraps was a healthier choice. Is that true? --Greg Since I don't know what was inside the wrap or the sandwich, it's hard to make a complete comparison, but I can comment on the choice... Read more →

I recently learned that all white salt is processed and devoid of some 80 minerals. Is that why iodine is added?--Name Withheld Salt, whether of the table salt variety or harvested by vestal virgins under a full moon in October contains almost no iodine, unless it is added. According to M. G. Venkatesh Mannar, Executive Director The... Read more →

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 →

Lots of recipes for stews and braises say to brown the meat "being careful to not overcrowd the pan." What does this mean and why does it matter? --Lisbeth The basic idea of searing meat is to create a nice brown crust on the meat that adds flavor to the dish through a process called the Maillard Reaction. Note that searing... 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 →

Being an incurable foodie and techie, I of course have been grabbing cooking apps for my iPad. Some apps are little more than shameless money grabs or self promotions. Others are poorly constructed technically or have little quality content. The exception, far and away, is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything application. This is... Read more →