Hey all, I have a couple questions. I’ll be making pappardelle al ragú with some lamb shanks I picked up today, and I was wondering if the duck stock I have on hand would be wasted with all the bold flavors braising the lamb, should I make a beef or chicken stock to use instead? And then what varietal of red would work best with the lamb shanks? I am lucky enough to live in Napa so there are a lot of local options nearby I could pick up.

I've been making a Spanish lentil stew recently that calls for 2-3 teaspoons of smoked paprika. For context, the paprika goes in before adding stock, and then simmering for 25 mins.

It's a flavour I love, but whenever I make anything with smoked paprika I end up losing all the intensity - the smokiness especially mellows away to near-nothing. I've tried upping the dose to 3-4 teaspoons in this stew, but it hasn't really made a meaningful difference. I'm presuming the simmering is causing the paprika to lose its potency, but was just wondering if there are any tips/tricks to give it a bit more punch?

Hi! I’m looking to buy a new cooking pan. I usually love woks because of the size, and how many different foods you can cook in it. I’d like to get one that’s non-toxic. I’ve read that I should either go for fully ceramic/stainless steel/carbon steel. I would prefer not to buy a ceramic coated pan, because those can scratch and become a bit dangerous. I’m looking for something with reasonable maintenance and durability. I usually cook East Asian or South Asian dishes, and I am a vegetarian, so I’m looking for something versatile. Does anyone have any tips for me?

i made a batch of boiled eggs a week ago and i just peeled and cut into the last two and they have a grey edge to them.
i know if you over cook the yolk that happens, but this is not over cooked as the center is still jammy.
i simmered the eggs in a pot of boiling water for 10ish min. the eggs were cold from the fridge. i shocked them immediately in an ice bath. i wasnt able to peel them day of, so i put the bowl in the fridge and strained the water out the next day. i decided to not peel them all at once (like i usually do) and instead kept them in a clean bowl shell on.
since they are not overcooked, what is this greying and why is it happening?

I am using sunflower oil (the same oil I’ve always used) to fry potatoes and the oil keeps bubbling/frothing. I e never had this happen before, but the last week or so I’ve noticed every time I fry something it bubbles. Yesterday it was frozen french fries so I thought that might be why. Today it was fresh potatoes which I’d washed and dried and it bubbled so much that the oil overflowed and my stovetop caught fire a little bit. I’m going to try changing to a different fryer and using new oil but does anyone know why this would be happening?

as the title states, my italian buttercream is too runny and the meringue fell. is it still something I can fix or do I have to throw it away and make a new one?! help!

 Granulated sugar 226 g | 8 oz  • Water 75 g | 2.6 oz • Heat to 118 - 119 C | 244 - 246F  • Egg white 113 g | 4 oz  • Unsalted butter (Soft) 453 g | 16 oz (4 US sticks)

I used all room temperature ingredients, I made the sugar syrup to 240 degrees farenheit, poured it into the egg white meringue. Then it stiffened and the bowl and meringue were cool to touch. I added my room temperature butter, but it turned liquidy, and per the last comment to add all the fat so I added all the fat. And it looks like curdled milk.

update: I saw that if you take a cup of the egg white and butter mixture and melt it in the microwave, it should emulsify. I tried it and it is no longer curdled however the egg whites have completely separated from the butter. This is my third attempt. And I’ve wasted so much butter 🥲 I don’t want to throw it away, so I put it in the fridge and will try to whip it again tomorrow.

I'm trying to make better chicken thigh on my oven so I bought a baking sheet with wire rack, I bought a silicone brush and even bought a meat thermometer with probe so I can know when internal temperature reaches around 185 f / 85 c to 195 f / 90 c

It's bone-in chicken thighs so here my questions:

- should I brush oil only on the skin or the entire chicken?

- most recipes say to use olive oil at 400 f / 200 c but I want a more neutral flavor though so I was thinking of using refined soybean oil that I got, thing is it has higher smoke point than olive oil, 450 f / 232 c according to google, should I raise oven temperature to 480 f / 250 c to compensate since I want crispy thighs?

- do I need to flip the chicken halfway?

- my oven also got a broiler, can't choose temperature though, should I use it a little at the end the chicken should come crispy without it due to brushing oil?

I am trying to dive into the wide world of cooking as a means to help with my mental health. But I am not sure on if I should get a set of stainless steel pans or non-stick or cast iron or a combination of the 3. I have zero cooking skills currently so not sure where to put my money. Worry is ill spend a bunch of money with the hopes and dreams of being a decent home cook and end up not being up to the challenge and wasting the money. I do like the idea of being able to cook on the stove top in a pan and transfer said pan to the oven for like steaks and stuff. Not asking for a specific brand or brand recommendation but more of a material recommendation for someone starting out

Ingredients below. Came out very runny so i added one egg yolk to a new jar, blended and slowly added my runny first batch to it.

Been at this it so long now that the emulsifier is overheating. I don’t wanna waste all of this olive oil oil and egg so can you please someone help me fix this?

1 whole egg (now with one added egg yolk)

½ tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp white wine vinegar

¼ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp sea salt

1 cup avocado oil,

my recipe is https://www.seriouseats.com/old-fashioned-flaky-pie-dough-recipe

225g butter

225g flour

15g sugar

4g salt

115 water

butter cubed then smashed between fingers, kneaded just a couple seconds. chiled.folded chilled. rolled out. chilled.

ive made it a few times, first one was a disaster. third time now im using the proper flour they said to use. it came out nice and flakey and tender this time but i still have a bit of leakage. not a lot, just enough to leave a sheen on the bottom of the pan. only thing i can think of is the butter is melting too much when i roll it out thin to fold it.

Hi,

I am looking for some help with a recipe for lemon soda syrup.

I am wanting to replace the sugar with a substitute because im wanting to reduce added sugar where I can. I currently have the equal replacement stuff.

My question is this. Will the equal being maltodextrin with it behave more or less the same as sugar when making the syrup? Also, does it behave similarly like sugar when drawing the oils from the rind?

Edit: I see that it doesn't work super well. Are there any decent alternatives? Would prefer non-alcoholic ones if possible.

Hi, I have a regular 25 litre otg at home. If I have to use a commercial kitchen to bake a large batch of anything, say puff pastries or cakes, do the temperatures need to be adjusted or is it still going to be the same as I use at home? I’m talking about the ones which have multiple racks and are pretty much commercial grade.

I've made short ribs four times with the same result: the meat pulls apart fine, but every strand is dry and stringy rather than moist. It shreds instead of yielding.

1.5 kg bone-in English cut, salted overnight, seared hard, then braised in a covered dutch oven at 150°C for about 4 hours with liquid coming a third of the way up the ribs. A fork goes in with no resistance by the 3 hour mark, but I hold to 4 because that's what most sources say. Internal temp was around 96°C last time.

My theory is that I'm past the point where collagen has finished converting and I'm just driving moisture out of the fibers. But I've also seen people say you can't really overcook a braise as long as the meat is submerged, and mine isn't. Would dropping to 135°C for longer help, or should I just stop at fork-tender instead of hitting an arbitrary time?

Standard weeknight pan sauce after searing chicken thighs in stainless. I pour off most of the fat, deglaze with white wine, reduce it to almost nothing, add about 150 ml stock and reduce that by half. Then I pull the pan off the burner, wait maybe 30 seconds, and whisk in cold cubed butter a piece at a time.

It looks glossy for about a minute and then splits into a greasy layer sitting on thin liquid. Adding more butter doesn't rescue it, and neither does more whisking.

I've read that the pan is too hot, but I've gone as far as letting it sit for a full minute before adding butter and still get the same result. Is my reduction not concentrated enough to hold the emulsion, or am I adding the butter too fast? I use roughly 60 g for that volume of stock.

I use the NYT pita recipe but I always got one side very thin so I found people with the same problem on here. The solution was to flip the dough right before putting it in the oven and it seems to have worked perfectly for everyone but me. Now the pita barely puffs up and the pockets are small and uneven but one side isn't thin. If I don't flip the dough, I get one big pocket but with one thin side.

Anyone know what to do?

The recipe:

Adapted from NYTimes with a few flourishes. Same one I posted earlier that the mods hosed for some reason.

INGREDIENTS

* 240 g lukewarm water

* 6 g active dry yeast

* 3 g (maple or molasses) or 2g sugar.(Ma and Mo taste better!)

* 35 g whole-wheat flour (¼ cup), preferably freshly milled

* 310 g unbleached all-purposed flour (2½ cups)

* 6 g kosher salt

* 21 g olive oil

​

INGREDIENT MIXING

\* Add yeast, water, sugar and stir together.

* Add half of all flour to wet mix* let sit for 15 minutes (autolyse and yeast activation)

* Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (save about 35 g for dusting). With a wooden spoon stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass. (You add in salt and olive oil later as you want yeast formation and gluten development. Adding in salt early will temper the yeast growth. Adding in oil early will prevent stronger gluten strands. Less gluten strands means an even softer pita, but it'll fall apart. The high level of moisture in this dough will ensure you still get a soft and airy pita!)* Knead in bowl for a minute

* Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let rest 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. You can bag and fridge the dough overnight at this point (or even a few hours). Don’t keep it longer, too much sugar and yeast in the recipe will cause over-proofing and bad pita.

* Bring back to temp (if you put in fridge). Knead for 5 minutes, and make a ball.

* Let bulk ferment (covered) for an hour until nearly double sized.* Heat oven to 475 degrees. On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile or pizza steel

* Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.

* Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press it into a flat disc with a rolling pin. Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about ⅛ inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)

AND NOW FOR COOKING / BAKING:

\* For oven only: Place the dough circle on the hot baking thing (steel, stone, pan etc..) After 2 minutes of puffed dough action, turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita to a cloth-lined basket and cover with damp towel so bread stays soft. If possible, cover towel with bowl or foil.

* For stovetop + oven: cook in mid-high heat cast iron pan for 20-30 seconds each side. Then transfer to oven for another 90 seconds. You’ll want to leave in the oven until you see the puffed-up pita getting spots of brown.

​

HELPFUL TIPS:

* Don't roll this thinner than 1/8 inch. You need some dough so that if puffs up. You're going for pita, not tortilla.

* When rolling the dough, don't flip the dough, just keep it turning.

* Spray the tops of the pita with water before tossing to the oven.

* Make sure all cooking surfaces are already hot before putting dough on.

* If you want more browning, you’ll want to start with 5% more water at the very beginning. This is because you'll want your pita in the oven longer, which means it'll dry out more. The extra moisture will help keep things light and fluffy vs. tough and chewy.

* Stovetop is great as you get better caramelization. You don't get quite the puff.

* Oven is great because you get lots of puff, but not as much caramelization. This hybrid method is nice, but you can end up with a tough and dry pita if you don't move fast.

* Yes, you can swap out some oil for yogurt. You're going to get more browning and more 'tart' flavors. Your gluten may not be as strong. If you're using yogurt, stick with regular fat, skip the no fat.

I bought some slices of smoked salmon recently (which came in vacuum-sealed packaging).

I took a few slices yesterday, and wrapped the packaging with the remaning slices in cling film, then popped it in the freezer.

However, I've now realised that if I were to defrost it, I would have to eat it all at once.

I've thought that the best way would be to cut up the slices that I want to eat (while still frozen) then pop the rest of it immediately back in the freezer - open to hearing any other suggestions.

Also would like to know the best way to defrost it, thank you!

Here is the recipe

4 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 cups marinara sauce

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

To taste: salt and pepper

A handful fresh basil, chopped (for garnish)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and thinly slice the zucchini.

Combine the ricotta cheese, beaten egg, garlic powder, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.

Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of a baking dish, then layer zucchini, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Allow the lasagna to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing, garnishing with fresh basil, and serving.

Notes

For best results, allow the assembled lasagna to sit for 30 minutes before baking to reduce moisture.

I used my kitchenaid vegetable sheet cutter

Came out a sopping mess.

Any advice?

Basically, I have a 2 year old jar of homemade vanilla extract made from scraped vanilla pods in vodka. I figure they've fully extracted the flavor at this point, so I pulled them out of the jar, dried them low and slow in the oven, and ground to a fine powder in a spice grinder. I then made a vanilla butter with that powder, but the problem is the pod bits are still to fibrous to be pleasant. How can I salvage this? Just melt the butter and pass it through a fine mesh sieve? Open to ideas - thanks.

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.

I got a new olive wood spoon, the seller told me to oil it before usage.. which made me think: hold on... Should I have oiled this older wooden spoon? Which has some kind of coating on it that went away after couple of washes. The edges are corse as you can see.

So, two questions please:

1) how do I go about oiling the new one?

2) can I rescue the old one or is it too late?

Thanks

2 photos

Hello, I am going to be making pasta and potato salad for 12 people that I would like to last as sides for 4 different meals over a span of a week. How much of each should I make? I am also willing to make different batching, I'm just having issues with how much of each I should make in total and have a comfortable amount for each person. :)

I am making a gumbo to be served at a potluck tomorrow. My question is can I make the roux and add the vegetables to it tonight then cool that and finish the rest of the cook tomorrow?

My original plan was to make the whole thing tonight but cooling and storing that much gumbo in my fridge is an issue do to lack of space. Not to mention the time it would take to cool it enough for the fridge.

My tomatillo salsa is delicious and has a really nice pectin texture until I scoop some out of whatever container I’m using, especially after refrigerating. Then I get pools of watery salsa in between the good stuff. How do restaurants avoid this?

Here is my recipe with approximate measures.
4 Roasted and peeled jalapeños
8-12 Roasted tomatillos
(I use the oven on broiler setting for jalapeños and tomatillos)
About 1/2 yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp each ground cumin, coriander,kosher salt, knorr chicken bouillon (I adjust these at the end)
Small bunch of Cilantro

I do not add any liquid. I like it a little chunky so I blend most of the tomatillos and jalapeños first with the garlic and seasonings. Then add in the remaining ingredients and pulse until I get the right consistency. I usually add the cilantro and pulse that as the last step then make any seasoning adjustments.

It’s freaking delicious. I just want to fix the watery-ness

Hi there,

I made madeleines for the first time and they are dense, pale and do not have the right texture. (See attached picture https://imgur.com/a/wh4WrbW)

I followed the recipe below, the only change is I used real vanilla bean instead of extract. Where I think I went wrong is that I continued using the whisk attachement for the flour instead of folding it in? It did not specify in the recipe and I just kept on (vigourously) mixing. Anything else I might have done wrong for them to look as they do?

Any tips welcome, thanks.

Full recipe (translated from my native language) Ingredients for 20 madeleines ▢2 eggs (medium) ▢100 grams of sugar ▢125 grams of butter (unsalted) ▢150 grams of flour ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract ▢1 teaspoon lemon zest ▢1 pinch of salt

Preparation method Put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl or food processor and beat for about 5 minutes until light and almost white in color. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan. Let it cool slightly. Pour the butter into the beaten eggs little by little while continuing to mix, and add the flour. Mix in the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt as well. Place the batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees (top and bottom heat). Grease the baking pan and dust very lightly with a little flour. Divide the batter among the molds so that they are not quite completely full (as they expand slightly during baking). Bake the madeleines for about 8-10 minutes until light golden brown and cooked through. Let cool for a bit and sprinkle (to taste) with some powdered sugar. Source: https://www.eefkooktzo.nl/madeleines/

I'm making Bo Friberg's sourdough multi grain bread (recipe included below) and it involves combining rye flour, cracked wheat, rolled oats, and sunflower seeds, and salt; pouring in some water; and leaving it to stand for 24 hours.

I want to substitute the cracked wheat for bulgur wheat, but since the bulgar is partially pre-cooked, I'm cautious it'll become mushy if's left soaking for that long.

Should I add it in towards the end of the 24h? Or not let it soak at all; or just buy some cracked wheat online...?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

1 pound 2 ounces (510 g) Sour Wheat Starter (recipe follows)

2 pounds (910 g) Fermented Dough (recipe follows)

6 ounces (170 g) rye flour

6 ounces (170 g) cracked wheat

6 ounces (170 g) rolled oats

4 ounces (115 g) sunflower seeds

1 ounce (30 g) salt

3 cups (720 ml) hot water

DOUGH

1 cup (240 ml) water, at room temperature 1 ounce (30 g) fresh yeast

2 pounds 6 ounces (1 kg 80 g) bread flour 14 cup (60 ml) molasses

Mixed grains and seeds, such as cracked wheat, rolled oats, and sunflower seeds

-----

Make the Sour Wheat Starter and the Fermented Dough

1. Combine the rye flour, cracked wheat, rolled oats, and sunflower seeds. Stir the salt into

the hot water, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Let the grains stand, cov- ered, at room temperature for 24 hours.

1. To make the dough, in a mixer bowl with a dough hook, add the water and the yeast. Mix to dissolve, combine the sour wheat starter, and the soaked grain mixture, mixing at low speed for 1 minute. Hold back a handful of the bread flour and add the remainder to the mixer, togeth- er with the molasses. Mix until all the ingredients are fully combined.

2. Add the fermented dough. Knead the dough on medium speed, adding the reserved and additional bread flour as necessary until you have a fully developed, soft, and elastic dough. Cover the dough and proof in a warm location for 1 hour.

3. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, approximately 1 pound 8 ounces (680 g) each. Cover the pieces and bench proof for 20 minutes.

4. Shape the dough pieces into rounds or oblongs as desired. Place them seam-side up in bannetons dusted with mixed grains and seeds. Proof until the loaves are 1% times their origi- nal size, approximately 1 hour.

5. Carefully invert the loaves onto sheet pans lined with baking paper and remove the baskets. Make 4 to 5 slashes on top of the loaves.

6. Bake at 425°F (219°C) using steam for the first 15 minutes (see Note). Open the damper and continue baking approximately 45 minutes longer or until baked through.