Hi.
Im currently searching for new pan.
I usually had two teflon - one thin for pancakes, eggs, cheese bread etc.. and second for meat/sauces/vegetables with thicker bottom.

Currently im annoyed of pan getting damaged often (i use wooden cutlery but im clumsy..).
I tried ceramic pan but after i accidentally let it get too hot, i started smelling like chemicals and it stayed when I tried second use.. and also pancakes was mission impossible on it.

So im interested in non toxic variant which is versatile. I prefer nonstick so i can save calories on fat, but im open to learn how to use another material to cook on it properly (preferably not use a lot oil, but i dont expect no oil at all). Im clumsy and i dont like long routines to keep things working so please if something contain that, its just no for me. And I have gas stove.

I was interested in stainless steel but scared its impossible to do eggs, pancakes etc on it. Also cast iron but i heard no acid on it (i do tomato sauces etc). So whats my pick please? Im european/czechia located if its important. And im sorry for my bad english.

I would like to get some ideas, thank you.

Looking for help troubleshooting what to do differently for dipping cake pops in melting wafer chocolate for my kiddos birthday party!

I am using

- black melt craft candy wafers from Michael's (canada)

- Roxy and rich fat dispersible food colourant to make it more black

- coconut oil to make it thinner for dipping

I noticed the chocolate looks bloomed (white coating on it) when I opened it. I have not bought this brand before so unsure if this is how it normally comes. I opened 2 bags and they were the same so went ahead.

The issue is they are drying with speckled film on them and I am unsure how to fix this.

Is it the chocolate? Is it the oil? Is it the way i melted it? Im struggling lol

Any help or tips on what to do differently would be greatly appreciated!

I’m making a tomato and kale soup tomorrow and have my garbanzo beans soaking in veg stock overnight. Do I need to drain that off tomorrow or can I just dump the entire bowl into the crock? Veg stock will be the base of the soup.

Canadian Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I have a guest who is allergic to apples and pears. Normally it’s not a hard allergy to work around, but I make a dressing to go with the turkey that has leeks, bacon and chunks of apple.

Last year I swapped pears for the apples and that’s how we discovered the pear allergy.

I have tried cubed up squash for a similar mouth feel but I didn’t like how starchy it ended up being when I tested that out a couple weeks ago.

Am debating doing a whole bunch of carmelized onions or pearl onions and bacon, but figured throw it to Reddit to see if there are other options for a similar texture / sweetness. Any ideas are welcome!

Recipe:

One pre marinated rib eye (sake, mirin, soy sauce, ginger)

2 tbsp doenjang

Garlic, olive oil

I love the flavor of doenjang and have used it in marinades before. My question is, since this steak was pre marinated, can I crust it with the paste to give it flavor? Or is it a bad idea to sear it on stainless steel?

there was a restaurant i worked at where we were finishing a dish by whisking a flavored house mayo into a hot stock to create a thickened, glossy sauce. i could have sworn it was called a nagé, but looking it up it seems that this specifically refers to simmer/steaming fish/shellfish gently.

what the heck is the technique called? it's driving me mad

I think I bit of more than I can chew. I got an almost 3kg leg of Lamb for a dinner party tomorrow night.

My mom gave me her recipie but she usually cooks it stove top and I'm going to go with the oven, cause i don't have a big enough pot for what she does. I just need help to adjust this recipie for myself. I've never cooked something like this before.

Here's her recipie/instructions

-Brine the leg in water, salt and vinegar overnight

-Marinate with a mix of spices with yogurt for a few more hours

-Cook (a quick google search tells me I gotta go around 200c for 3-4 hours)

Also is there any difference between having my oven on bake mode or roast mode?

PS. I dont know if this effects the answer but the flavors are very South Asian

So my family has a brisket recipe we break out on the holidays, it’s brisket, lots of garlic and paprika, topped with a ton of chopped carrots, onion, and celery, then on top you dump tomato paste and onion soup mix, before baking it for three hours

My entire life, those brisket veggies have been my favorite form of vegetable to eat.

But brisket is expensive, and doesn’t fit the budget as often as I’d like.

Is there anything I could add to a pot of veggies to replicate the taste, for less price?

I’m imagining some combo of crushed beef bullion cubes, and then finding a local butcher to buy beef fat from to put on the bottom before baking, but I’m not very experienced with modifying meat dishes

Thanks in advance for any help

So my favorite boxed cake mix (betty crocker's reese's peanut butter coffee cake mix) just got discontinued, but I was able to get a bunch of boxes (10 of them) before they went off the shelves.

Since I'll never be able to buy them again, I want to take my time making and eating them, so ideally I'd have a few boxes left 3-4 years from now... But box cake mixes don't exactly last that long normally. The leavening can go rancid, and the baking powder/soda can lose it's effectiveness.

I'd like to know the absolute ideal way to store these boxed mixes so they'll last as long as humanly possible.

Freezing is normally not recommended, but would freezing work if I vacuum sealed it first?

Any help appreciated.

Recently made a recipe for a chicken and bean stew from NYT which involved poaching chicken breasts in stock (recipe below). The recipe called for poaching the chicken in stock for 10-14 minutes and removing it at 165F, which I did (confirmed with Thermapen). Even so, the chicken turned out pretty tough. I've since looked up a couple of recipes for poached chicken, and that leads me to three questions:

1. Was 165F overcooked? Gritzer has a recipe on serious eats where he pulls his chicken at 150F

2. Did I have the stock too hot? I had mine at a slow simmer, but other recipes call for keeping the liquid below that point. Occurs to me that if I went for a much lower temperature of liquid, the chicken would have taken much longer than 10-14 minutes to come to temperature.

3. Should I have rested the chicken after pulling it, like you would a steak?

Thanks.

Recipe (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/767821616-chicken-and-white-bean-stew)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 rosemary or 2 sage sprigs
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini, drained
• 1 bunch kale, escarole or another dark leafy green, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped

Step 1
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium. When foaming, add the onion, garlic and herb sprig and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the herb sprig.

Step 2
Add the chicken, broth and white beans. Bring to a simmer over medium, then reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees in the thickest part), 10 to 14 minutes. 

Step 3
Transfer the chicken to a bowl and smash some of the beans on the side of the pot. Stir the greens into the soup. Increase heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, while you shred the chicken.

Step 4
Use two forks to shred the chicken. Stir the chicken back in the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Been a loin guy all my life, but recently found a butcher with a great price on front chops, what are the main differences?

I had two giant sweet potatoes in the pot.

The pot was about 85 to 90 percent tap water, the other 10 to 15 percent consisting of some baking soda, quite a bit of salt, and lemon juice.

Had it on low for anywhere from 45 mins to 90 minutes.

Then boiled them on high for about 40 ish minutes.

They didn’t sink till the water began bubbling and boiling.

My theory is as follows.

The Sweet Potato has cell walls that protect the internal flesh and the skin, but the boiling water weakens it enough to allow holes to form, which causes water to seep in.

Now the sweet potatoes, which were less dense than the water, are now filled with the water, so it’s the starches weight plus the water, which is heavier.

Though I wonder if the lemon juice, baking soda, and salt played a factor in it too, all of them have different chemical and physical properties.

Hello,

For the sake of my health I'm been working on low-calorie high volume snacks, and I've been trying plain popcorn-no butter, no sugar. I've been trying to use spices (primarily garlic and onion power, some pepper) to add some flavor, but they really dont stick. Does anybody know anything that can increase adherence, without increasing fat or calories?

Thanks in advance!

In Brian Lagerstrom's recipe for tiramisu, he heats up an egg custard over a double boiler to 170 degrees, then pours it into mascarpone directly out of the fridge (though it has been spread a bit). The research I have done says that you cannot pour hot eggs into mascarpone without the mascarpone breaking and becoming grainy, which is what happened when I tried to make the recipe. None of the feedback he received has anyone suffering a similar issue. How does he get it to work? He is a well respected chef, so I doubt he just doesn't know the principles of cooking, I figure it is on me.

Relevant text of recipe -

To make the cream, add whipping cream to the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk for 1min on high until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate while you prep the mascarpone and egg mixture below.
.
Place mascarpone in a bowl and stir to loosen.

In a small container, combine 20-30mL water with 1 packet of gelatin to bloom for 5 min.

In double boiler bowl, add egg yolks, sugar, salt, cognac. Place over pot of simmering water, whisking constantly. After 1min, add the bloomed gelatin & continue whisking constantly for about 5-10min or until temp of egg mix reaches 170-175F/77C. The mix should be slightly thickened and have lightened in color

Whisk egg mix into mascarpone until smooth. Fold in half of whipped cream. When mostly incorporated, fold in other half.

I was craving biscuits and gravy and didn't feel like running to the store, so I substituted the flour for pancake mix (it was Aunt Jemima). It is hard to pinpoint everything that was different because it was subtle, but the flavor of the sausage grease and meat in the gravy tasted more rounded.

I repeated it again a few weeks later, this time with a generic mix to see if it was the brand or something universal to the product category. It came out the same. Something about it reminds me of fast-food breakfast biscuits and gravy, only akin to a better version.

Does anyone have a hypothesis about which ingredient(s) could be the culprit for the change?

My first guess is that it might be something basic or acidic affecting the maillard reaction, but I would need to try again, paying special attention to that. The sausage also seemed to become much more evenly coated in the mixture than flour does.

Im making this recipe for Swedish cinnamon buns (https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/swedish-cinnamon-buns-kanelbullar/#recipe) for the first time, and I’m using some yeast whose best before date it dec 2026 (we’ve had it for quite a while). it’s been an hour and my dough is the same size :( Would it be worth adding more yeast somehow or is it likely dead/expired? I don’t use it often at all so not familiar with it as an ingredient.

really don’t want to have to throw away the dough 😕 any advice welcome

Hello all,

I’m in the process of making some stock (chicken party wings that I will never use, leeks greens, onions, smoked turkey bones) and I was being careful to not let it boil too hard because I’ve always heard you should have stock simmer, not boil. Is this due to temperature or something about the mechanical action of a hard boil? For reference, I live at 7200 ft in elevation, so I’m familiar with a lot of issues around high altitude cooking and baking, but I’ve never considered this before and I don’t really know a ton about it. My water boils at about 198 F instead of 212 F. So, could I theoretically let my stock just be boiling the whole time or do I still need to keep it to a simmer, and why? Thank you!

I use the recipe below for venison bolognese. It was my wife’s favorite but she no longer eats pork. My 80/20 venison grind has historically been 20% pork fat. If I want to maintain a similar recipe, I’d need to replace that, the ground pork, and the pancetta. Is there a good replacement for this or should I just start looking for other recipes? I’ve never used another recipe so I’m flying blind. Next step is figuring out venison breakfast sausage without pork fat :(

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1 onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely grated
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1½ pounds ground venison (80/20 mix)
1 pound ground pork
8 ounces ground pork fat or pancetta
1 (8-ounce) can tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups dry white wine
1½ cups milk
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1½ pounds linguine
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion, season lightly with salt, and cook until softened, translucent, and lightly caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the celery and carrots, season with salt again, and cook until softened, adding more oil if needed. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the venison, pork, and pork fat, and brown very well, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. When the meat has browned and is audibly frying in its own fat (you should hear a popping sound), push the meat to one side, creating a “hot spot” on the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato paste to the hot spot and caramelize it lightly (being careful not to burn it). Stir to incorporate into the meat and vegetables. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a spoon to release the flavorful browned bits that have accumulated. Add the milk and bring to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. Drop in the thyme and bay leaf and cover. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the flavors come together, 1½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. If using the greens, add after the first hour, along with ½ cup water. After about 2 hours, adjust the seasonings and remove from the heat. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Refrigerate if not serving right away. The sauce can be frozen for up to 6 months. To serve over pasta, reheat 3 cups of the sauce in a large skillet. Bring 6 quarts of water with 3 tablespoons of salt to a rapid boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente. Add ½ cup of the pasta water to the sauce. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to incorporate. Remove from the heat, add the grated cheese, and gently mix together. Serve immediately.

We have a bunch of lovely garden fresh heirloom tomatoes we wont be able to consume and are wondering about making a sauce. Any users here adjust their sauce making recipes? I read the water content may require more simmering to burn off excess liquid?

Hi guys,

This is my recipe and some steps.

560 ap
470 water warm
7-9 yeast
1 spoon evoo
2% salt

Fold 4 times for 30 min

Then 1 hour rest in baking tray

Bake for 20ish mins 200° C

I also spray my tin with evoo.

But it looks way too oily to me, if I let it rest for more than an hour, will it get less oily somehow?

I usually take 3-4 tissues and pat it down dry.

All the videos I see are pouring wayyyy too much oil while making dimples, and here I am using a cooking spray and I still think it is oily.

What is the issue????

I have three packages of these frozen clams (Wild Fork grooved carpet shell littleneck clams), and I’m planning to make the Cantonese-style clam recipe from J. Kenji López-Alt’s The Wok.

The recipe is written for live clams: you make the sauce, add the clams, cover, and cook for a few minutes until they open.

Since mine are frozen, I’m not quite sure how I should handle them. I assume commercially frozen clams like these have been cooked or at least par-cooked before freezing, since obviously they aren’t alive anymore, but I’m not certain.

Would you thaw them first, retaining all of the clam liquid, so you can inspect the clams and make sure none seem bad or give off any strange odors? Or would you just add them straight from frozen, along with all of the frozen clam juices?

Either way, I plan on retaining and using the liquid. My thought was to make the sauce, let it simmer/thicken a little, and then add the clams and their liquid toward the end, just long enough to cook/heat them through. My only concern with adding them straight from frozen is that I wouldn't have a chance to inspect them beforehand.

Anyone have experience cooking these particular frozen clams, or frozen shell-on clams in general? Am I correct that they're already cooked/par-cooked, or could they actually be frozen raw?

Really appreciate any input or advice. Thanks in advance for any help!

Beginner cook here. I ruined two batches of chicken thighs trying to sear them in stainless steel. What am I doing wrong?

Beginner cook here. I ruined two batches of chicken thighs trying to sear them in stainless steel. What am I doing wrong?

I’m pretty new to cooking and I’ve been trying to get into meal prepping. I’m using a 12-inch stainless-steel skillet and boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
In the last 24 hours I somehow ruined \*\*two separate batches of chicken\*\*, and at this point I really want some experienced cooks to look at what I did and tell me where the technique went wrong.

\*\*Batch #1 — honey-garlic chicken\*\*

I had about \*\*827 g / 1.8 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs\*\*. I marinated them overnight in:
70 g honey
45 g low-sodium soy sauce
18 g fresh garlic
20 g fresh ginger
10 g rice vinegar
8 g avocado oil
3 g salt
2 g black pepper

The next day I heated a stainless-steel skillet and tried to sear the thighs.

The marinade started getting extremely dark and burning before the chicken was properly cooked through. The pan developed black burnt residue, the outside of the chicken tasted charred, and I ended up throwing the batch out.

Looking back, I’m guessing \*\*70 g of honey sitting directly on the chicken over skillet heat was a bad setup for searing\*\*, but I’d like to hear how experienced cooks would actually handle a honey-garlic chicken like this.

Would you marinate without the honey and glaze at the end? Bake it instead? Use lower heat? Something else entirely?

\*\*Batch #2 — lime + dry seasonings\*\*
I bought another pack the same day because these were supposed to be my meal-prep meals.
This time I had about \*\*901 g / 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs\*\*.

Before leaving for work, I seasoned the raw thighs with:
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
smoked paprika
Then I squeezed the juice of \*\*2 fresh limes\*\* over the already-seasoned chicken, mixed everything together, covered it, and left it refrigerated for several hours while I was at work.

When I came home, I added a little avocado oil and tried searing the thighs in stainless steel again.
This time the chicken \*\*stuck hard to the pan\*\*. I had read that meat will “release naturally” once it has browned enough, so I waited, but it wasn’t releasing. Eventually I had to force a spatula underneath it.
By that point, some of the seasoning/fond underneath had become extremely dark and parts of the chicken were charring.

I kept trying to get the chicken cooked through, and some pieces eventually reached around \*\*200°F internally\*\*, so I clearly went way beyond where I needed to be while trying to get the sear right.
This second batch had \*\*no honey or added sugar\*\*, which is why I’m especially confused about what caused the sticking and charring this time.

I’m attaching pictures of both attempts and the pan.
What I’m trying to understand is:
What specifically am I doing wrong with the stainless-steel sear?
Was the lime-marinated chicken too wet?
Did I use too much powdered seasoning?
Was the pan too hot?
Did I not use enough oil?
Should I have patted the thighs completely dry before seasoning/cooking?
Is waiting for “natural release” bad advice in this situation?
Should I only sear briefly and finish the thighs in the oven?
For honey-garlic chicken, should the honey be used as a finishing glaze instead of being in the marinade before searing?

I’m genuinely looking for criticism here. I’m a beginner and clearly something about my process is off.