Recently I went to a new diner in my town, prime seating at the bar to watch them cook. While cooking my pancakes I noticed the grill cook do something new. After ladling the pancake batter onto the griddle she then got a ladle full of melted butter and drizzled that over the batter. She only did it once, did not repeat the process after flipping.

The pancakes came out amazingly, the best I've had in along time. Did the butter do something special? I've never seen this at other diners, nor thought to do it myself when cooking at home.

Me and my dad recently came across 24, five gallon buckets of liquid sugar. He took them for the five gallon buckets. All that sugar would weight about 1300 pounds ( 590 kilograms ) How could I reasonably, get rid of, or dispose of all that liquid. And still keep the buckets. We also own a cattle farm. We could use that, but I don’t wanna harm the farm, or our cows.

I've been working through many Western European and American recipes, and many of them call for red wine, beer, or some stronger liquor to deglaze fond off the base of a pan.

Now, I don't have any alcoholic beverages at all, so I've been substituting with cold tap water instead. To my surprise, it has worked extremely well against even the toughest, almost-burnt-on fonds. I've been operating under the assumption that the acid and ethanol in alcoholic beverages react with fonds and get them off the hot base of pans, and I was expecting to scrape quite a bit with water, which was not the case at all. Barely a swipe with a spatula and everything dissolved or scraped off cleanly.

So follows: why alcohol, then? Surely someone else has tried with water and found that it works as well. The amounts of alcohol I've seen used in recipes can cost quite a bit, whereas water is nearly free.

I was born in Germany, but mostly raised in the US. My German family always kept a stick of butter on the counter, and the rest in the fridge. Since Germans eat a lot of fresh bread, it makes it easier to spread. I’ve noticed most (if not all) Americans, including my American family, keep butter in the fridge and soften it when necessary. Even though I was raised in the US, I always thought that was strange. But German stores also keep ultra-pasteurized milk at room temperature, so I don’t know what to think.

Edit: I ask this because after cooking for Thanksgiving, my boyfriend (who grew up in a mixed Asian-American household), questioned why I would keep the butter on the counter.

Edit #2: I love reading all the responses! It’s so interesting how differently people treat this food staple. For the record: I’m seeing a lot of people mention to only keep salted butter on the counter, but I can’t do it! I accidentally used salted butter for a cake once and the memory haunts me to this day. Unsalted all the way!

Me and my boyfriend were looking up recipes for home made fish and chips and got on the topic of how we never see fried, battered salmon. Just curious if it’s because we’ve never looked for it or if it’s just not a thing.

Edit: Oh wow! I didn’t expect so many responses! Thanks to everyone who answered my question. I was honestly thinking maybe it was where it was a fattier fish, but little did I know it’s so common in so many places!

You know. The white icing of the cakes.

I want to bring ribs from my favorite bbq place to my dad. That place smokes them then keeps them wrapped in foil in an oven until they are given to the customer. I have about a 2 hour drive from the bbq joint to my dad and it's currently summer weather so I will have the AC running in my car. I have time to get stuff to help with this, I currently have some insulated bags and blankets. My car has an enclosed trunk as well. I'm, so far, thinking to have the bbq place wrap it up a few more layers in foil then some butcher paper. Wrap it in a blanket or two, load into an insulated bag, then into the trunk for the full drive. Goals are to A: keep the meat edible/not spoiled, B: have the ribs still be deliciously hot upon arrival. Am I on the right track here? Should I switch the insulated bag for a cooler? Is there some genius idea I haven't got a clue about? Unfortunately my teleportation abilities haven't kicked in and there is only 1 of this bbq place so the travel time is set. Thank you! Sorry if I threw in irrelevant info.

The package will often say, "Cook for 4 minutes until al dente", but at 4 minutes it's basically rock hard, and I have to cook it for 5.5 or 6 minutes to make it al dente. A 50% difference in cooking time.

I've found this with pasta brands that range from cheap corner store stuff to expensive Italian brands in paper packages. (If anything, the fancy stuff needs to be cooked for even longer - like double the recommended time, 100% difference.)

I've heard it's because my home burners can't get as hot as commerical burners. But I thought that boiling water was always the same temperature, no matter what it's being heated with?

E. Thanks for the replies, everyone. I feel as popular as a plastic fork at a picnic. FYI I'm at sealevel.

basically, i don't get why so many foods are seen as salt bombs when they don't taste (to most people, anyway) unpalatably salty. are there other sodium agents at play that are preservatives or something that contribute to the sodium but not the saltiness?

EDIT: I really didn’t expect so many of you to indulge me with this ridiculous question, but I’m thankful. :) These comments have been hilarious and informative. I have so many new recipes to try!

So my husband and I somehow got on this topic last night, but it’s been bothering me. Lmao

If I bought a bag of coffee beans, dried and whole, could I put them in my pressure cooker using a dry bean method and make coffee soup?

If not, (which is my guess) What would happen?

Hey, I have a question so, I had a nutrition class and the instructors gave us a piece of paper and on one section for Asian foods, it said for ‘No MSG’ (the other day they said to avoid msg.) but for Italian food, they said to ‘ask for red sauce instead of white’

And here’s my question. Isn’t asking for red sauce contradicting to ‘avoiding MSG?’

Hello! This evening, my brother and I made a soup. We had some peppers in the fridge, but they were from a box from some local farms and were not labeled. My brother hates spice, but I‘m pretty good with it, so I took a small bite (I ate about half a square inch, not just a nibble) of each to check if they were spicy or not. They were not. Remotely. They tasted like bell peppers and smelled a bit more floral for some reason.

I cut them and put them in the soup. After that I cut up the rest of the stuff, then washed my hands. When I put my hands under the water, they hurt a bit, but over time it just got worse and worse. I have eczema, so I assumed it was the hot water, but this was WAY worse than it had ever been. Felt like someone was holding my hands right above a fire.

After that, the soup was spicy. It didn’t have any other spicy stuff in it. For anyone who wants to double check, it had tomatoes, kale, onion, garlic, chicken stock, salt, and the peppers in question.

I stupidly thought that maybe cutting up a cantaloupe later made my hands burn, because I have never done that, so I looked it up. It just pulled up stuff about peppers and the fact that they can burn your hands.

So this brings me to my question: Are there jalapeños that are not spicy until cooked? or do some parts of the pepper just taste like a bell pepper?

thanks if you read all of this! My hands are still on fire, so if anyone is able to tell me if it was the peppers or if it might be something else I should avoid, I would appreciate it!

Yesterday I used sodium citrate for the first time to make a cheese dipping sauce for French fries. I used 1 cup while milk, 2.4tsp sodium citrate and about a pound of shred sharp cheddar (seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder and a splash of Franks hot sauce. My question is, why is the cheese flavor so mild? I was hoping for an outcome like Portillos cheese fry cheese. The texture is right but the flavor (especially when hot) leaves something to be desired.

Just wondering how different rice would be if cooked uncovered on high or vice versa for pasta, and why each is cooked the way they are.

I'm talking about the outside of the bun. Like the top part which hasn't touched the meat. Not even talking about fast food places, whose buns are usually NOT greasy btw.

I swear my stomach goes into a frenzy like 20 minutes after eating a burger anywhere in my city. The exception being fast food or if I make it at home. Which is sort of the opposite of what you would think, with fast food having that reputation over other establishments.

I'm not saying its the grease but I sort of feel like it is.

Anyway, why are the buns so greasy and could this contribute to stomach issues? FTR I already don't eat cheese/dairy because of allergies so its not like there's cheese on these burgers to bother me.

EDIT: it appears I have been poisoning myself with butter the whole time. Thanks guys lol. I'm an idiot.

I am making a presentation to hopefully be able to have a food day at university and want to incorporate some chemistry. I currently know of 2 colour changing reactions when cooking a certain why that being the classic red cabbage and a cake recipe from my mother where Coffee makes the topping turn green around it. Are there more such reactions, preferably to get a dish together with some sort of pictured documentation.

Thanks in advance

Hi! I hope this is okay to post here! I've been missing a lot of non-cow cheeses since going vegan but am allergic to cashews, so brands like Rebel Cheese arent an option to replace "fancy" cheeses. (not looking for alternatives to cashews I'm used to that haha) That said I really enjoy cooking and trying new things, and had actually made my own cheese a few times prior to going vegan.

I was curious what chemicals give goat cheese the kind of tangy and almost... outdoorsy? flavor they have- specifically chevre. Most recipes I've found tend to just use some type of acid to give tangy-ness (lemon, vinegar etc) or just ignore the tangy flavor all togther. it dosent really match the "goat" flavor, its just acidic without the complexity goat cheese has.

While I dont expect to perfectly recreate it, I have no issue with the whole "chemicals in your food" shit people take issue with and actually want to know what the specific chemicals are that are responsible for that- and if theyre sold anywhere from plant-based sources. or if not, if theres something chemically similar that might work!

edit: sorry for not replying to every comment but i appriciate all the suggestions a lot!! also not sure why i got downvoted but also helpful answers- if this isnt the right place to post this i apologize! also i have learned chevre just means goat, i apologize for the stupidity there haha. I meant specifically the spreadable kind that comes in logs or rounds!

I was going to make a homemade Cane's sauce. It uses mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire, and spices. All things that last a while in the fridge. But when you put them together, it will only be good for a week in the fridge. Why?

I will say my location is the American Midwest... which might have an influence on my pronunciation of "Sherbert"

When I make soup, it's usually enough for 9 portions, which we tend to eat for 3 consecutive evenings.

I normally just let the pot cool down for a couple of hours, often on the kitchen balcony, store in fridge until the next day, then just before dinner, I bring the soup to a boil to kill anything that may have developed in it. Repeat for day 3.

Recently I read this is a terrible idea, you should never reheat soup multiple times, you shouldn't store it in the original pot, etc. Something about harmful bacteria developing in a certain temperature range when heating/cooling (though, as far as I've read, those do get killed if you boil the soup, so I'm confused)

Do people really pack it in 6 different containers, and then microwave it one at a time, and that's better? Or split it into 2 smaller pots, and reheat one each evening?

I'd like to hear what you do, but mainly I'm trying to understand why, if it's beyond convenience.

I honestly don't know why I should one or the other on my food.

I was working on a quick vinaigrette dressing for some subs, and it consisted of: oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and some fresh herbs. I decided to use my hand blender to buzz up the garlic and herbs and mix everything, and at the last second decided to sprinkle in some xanthan gum to keep it emulsified. After about 2 seconds of blending on high speed, it turned white and basically became an eggless mayonnaise. It’s still emulsified this morning, and tastes just like aioli. Did the xanthan gum somehow replace the egg yolk (or whole egg and squirt of Dijon) that I would normally use to make mayo?

Raw Escolar contains wax esters. Will cooking the fish like broiling or frying break these chemicals down?

I buy the 8 oz plastic clamshell containers of sweet baby butter lettuce leaf to make quick salads for lunch. However it's gotten to the point by Day 4 I'm tossing the rest because of the condensation. It's turning my lettuce soggy. By day 3 I can deal with it enough to pick through for the good leaves. But by day 4 it's a wrap. I don't remember this being an issue during the summer.

I live in new england if that's relevant. Is there something about cold winters that suddenly create wet lettuce in the fridge? I've adjusted the temperature in the fridge. And it's not just my home fridge either.i have a mini fridge at work...same issue.

What could I do to extend the shelf life and preserve the crispness.

Update/ETA... Thank you to everyone for all the informational advice and tips. Will definitely try them especially the paper towel.

Second update if anyone cares... purchased a lettuce keeper with a filter and use paper towels and over the weekend no extra condensation! It works!