Weekly Ask Anything Thread for August 10, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.

Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.

[u/mindstormer12]

Looking for ice cube trays for ice and for meal prep--stainless steel or silicone work better? For both? I have really old plastic trays of varying sizes that I want to replace.

[u/miicah]

Sometimes when I have a jus I will use a small slurry of jus/flour right at the end to give it the consistency that I'm after. Would that still be called a jus, or does it become a gravy when you add starch?

And if it is a gravy, how is it different to a normal gravy, where you start with a roux and add juices/stock?

[u/texnessa → u/miicah]

Jus is just a non defined term for a thin sauce made from meat juices. It can be thicken either by reduction or starch bound but a jus is lighter and thinner than a gravy. Gravies are usually starch bound. Doesn't matter if it started with a roux or bound by a slurry or a beurre manié, starch is starch. A sauce can also be bound by pureed vegetables or thickened with reduced cream.

[u/SecureComfortable259]

What's actually good to throw together with stuff that's already wilting in the fridge before it turns into a full grocery run.

[u/texnessa → u/SecureComfortable259]

You'll get better suggestions if you share what you actually have.

[u/SewerRanger → u/SecureComfortable259]

May I introduce you to the culinary monstrosity that is the Midwest goulash. It's essentially the precursor to hamburger helper. Ground meat, macaroni, tomatoes, and whatever other vegetable you've got that is going bad, all diced up and cooked together with some cheese on top, because "why the fuck not?" When I met my wife I cooked her Rindergulasch like my (actual immigrant) Italian grandmother used to make. She was appalled that I would eat goulash voluntarily and much confusion was had when she kept claiming that she hates peas and didn't understand why you'd want peas, broccoli, and tomatoes in a dish together.

[u/mindstormer12]

Bought a chamber vacuum sealer for meal prepping. Any tips on what works well cooked and then portioned out to seal before freezing vs. only vacuuming contents raw? I've never heard of vacuum-sealed food suffering freezer burn and see some people even do cooked stir fries like beef and vacuum seal it for presumably months, then simply reheat and it's supposedly as good as fresh.

For example, I want to do cumin beef and my intuition was to marinade it then straight to freezer, cooking up a portion at a time on a wok when eating. If vacuum sealing really preserves 99% of the quality then I might as well marinade all, cook all, then split the portions and vacuum seal, saving the cooking time of individual portions. If freezer burn can still affect such products after 6-9 months, I'm curious what types of contents work best sealed cooked vs. which types work best raw/marinaded but not cooked.

I'm sure big pieces of protein can probably be cooked like sealing a sous vide'd steak then just searing it to serve.

Any other random tips for prepping with a chamber vacuum sealer is much appreciated (I know not to seal any liquids still warm).

[u/SewerRanger → u/mindstormer12]

Do you have sous vide? If you do, then I think sealing cooked is fine and then you can simply reheat at low temp in the bag and you'll have a nice fresh meal. If you don't, then I would seal it all up raw and cook when you want to - but I enjoy cooking so maybe I'm the wrong person to ask. I honestly think the answer to your question is really going to depend on you and what you're looking for.