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For answers regarding tips, techniques, and ingredients, e-mail your culinary queries to Ask Michael. When baking, is one supposed to sift and measure or measure and sift? — Katie Professional bakers generally weigh ingredients because there can be great differences in volume depending on the method used for measuring. Consider the difference you have pointed out — sifting then measuring means your ingredient will weigh less than if you had measured then sifted. It's best to measure by weight, and a digital scale can be very helpful. If, like many home cooks, you don't have a scale, it's best to measure then sift. Dip the measuring cup into the flour, fill it, and level the cup off with the side of the bag, the back of a knife, or a metal spatula. Then sift the flour through a sifter or fine mesh sieve, which will remove any lumps. The result will be a smooth dough or batter. Happy baking, and enjoy the show! Could you give me the British equivalent of a cup measure, and also, what weight is a stick of butter? I'd love to try some of the recipes I have seen on Epicurious, but need to be sure of the measurements first! Many thanks — Annie This question arises from the differences in traditional American and British measurements. First of all, a U.S. Customary liquid cup is 8 fluid ounces, and a stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 1/4 pound. The two related systems — the U.S. Customary System of units, used in the United States, and the British Imperial System — are similar. The names of the units and the relationships between them are generally the same in both systems, but the sizes of the units differ, sometimes considerably. To further complicate matters, most of the continental European measures are built on the metric system and three basic units: the liter for liquid, the gram for weight, and the meter for length. For metric conversion, check out our metric conversion chart. I am glad you want to try some of our recipes and I hope this helps you convert them. I want to serve a ham for Easter, but I am so confused about what to buy. What's the difference between fresh ham, cured ham, and country ham? — Jennifer All ham is cut from the hind leg of a pig, usually from the middle of the shank bone to the hipbone. Fresh ham is essentially a large joint of fresh pork, neither cured nor smoked. Most ham goes through a curing process, so then it's called cured ham. Ham is usually cured by dry curing or sweet-pickle curing. Dry curing involves salting the ham and storing it until the salt saturates the meat. Sweet-pickle curing means immersing the ham in brine. The length of time a ham is cured will affect the final flavor. After curing, the ham is removed from the salt, washed, and dried. Most ham recipes that appear around Easter list ham, meaning cured ham, as an ingredient. Country ham is a type of cured ham, but it's very salty and must be soaked before cooking. One of the best-known country hams is the Smithfield ham from Virginia. It is dry-cured, smoked, and aged to a rich intensity during a period that can range from a few months to more than a year. To help you decide which one you want, take a look at our recipe file for Easter ham recipes. Hi, Michael! I love your show and especially this Web site. I have been searching for a recipe for baccalà with a tomato sauce base. My mother used to make it for Good Friday, and lately I've been getting the taste for it. Any ideas? — Elena I grew up on a salt cod dish similar to the one you describe. My mother soaked the baccalà, also known as salt cod, in the refrigerator for 36 hours. She changed the cold water often and the result was plump, white, salt-free fish. My mother heated olive oil in a large skillet, then added a whole clove of garlic and let it cook until fragrant to flavor the oil, and then removed it. She would then sauté onions and pieces of salt cod that had been seasoned with black pepper. She would add large green pitted olives, crushed tomatoes, and sliced, raw potato. She'd then add water to cover, sprinkle with a little Italian oregano, and simmer the dish for about 30 minutes. I couldn't find a recipe exactly like my mother made, but take a look at Brandada and Rose's Baccalà Salad for inspiration. You can also ask around in Gail's Recipe Swap. Buon appetito! What is pâte à choux? — Becky Pâte à choux, also called choux paste, is a versatile pastry. It is made by an entirely different method than other pastries. The dough is created by combining flour with boiling water and butter, then beating eggs into the mixture. Pâte à choux is very sticky and thick. It may be baked, fried, or even boiled. During cooking, the steam produced by the moisture in the eggs makes the pastry puff. Pâte à choux is used to make such specialties as profiteroles and gougères. Is there a trick to recombining a separated hollandaise sauce? I tried whisking in another egg yolk, but that didn't work. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks — Maureen Hertz The next time your hollandaise threatens to separate, whisk in 1 to 2 teaspoons of cold water, or put the water in a clean, dry bowl and whisk the hollandaise into it. This should bring your sauce back. Prevention is the best cure — combine the yolks, lemon juice, a few drops of cold water, and any seasonings in a bowl. Whisk the yolks over a double boiler till they become thick and distinct tracks made by the whisk are formed. Remove from the heat, and gradually incorporate the butter in a slow, steady stream, watching for any signs of separation. Final tip: Always keep the finished sauce warm, and try to serve it as soon as possible. Which type of wood chips do you prefer to use when smoking meats? — Mary Ann I love to mix and match different woods to obtain a unique blend of flavor and aroma depending on exactly what meat, fish, or poultry I intend to smoke. The choice of wood is very important. Some wood — mesquite, for example — is assertive and can overpower delicate meats. Other wood chips, such as apple or pear, are light and mild and could become lost on a full-flavored meat. Hardwood chips, such as oak and hickory, are some of the most popular. Not too strong and not too mild, they are good to use in smoking a wide variety of meats and fish. Their distinct flavors are pleasing to the palate and the nose, yet the smoke does not overpower the meat. A general rule of thumb: The fuller in flavor the meat, the stronger the wood chip for smoking. My favorite smoked meat combination is pork butt slowly smoked in a kettle smoker with dry hickory. Hand-pull apart the pork and douse it with a spicy, vinegar-based sauce. Mmmm! Great! Michael, we had clotted cream on scones in Australia — it was rich and delicious. Exactly what is it and where can I buy it? By the way, what a neat program you have and a fun Web site. I have just started to tune in and turn on. — Cindy Vitez Clotted cream, also known as Devonshire or Devon cream, is a specialty of Devonshire, England. It is made by heating fresh or raw nonpasteurized milk till a thick cream forms on top. As you discovered, it is a delicious, rich treat. It is delightful on scones or biscuits and wonderful on fresh fruit such as strawberries or peaches. Or try it on a warm slice of apple pie or any dessert that suggests a garnish of fresh whipped cream. Look for clotted cream in gourmet specialty shops or best-quality supermarkets. Thanks for the great feedback. We're glad you're watching! How do you test to see if baking powder is still effective? — Michael Baking powder, used in many baked goods as a leavening agent, is a kitchen chemical that gives off carbon dioxide gas. This gas helps muffins, biscuits, cakes, and cookies rise. The trouble is that baking powder is perishable and has a short shelf life. When shopping, always check the date on the bottom before purchasing a new can. I prefer to buy it in small quantities and replace it every six months or so. Also, keep it tightly sealed in a cool, dry place. You can test whether the leavener is still effective by mixing 1 teaspoon baking powder with 1/3 cup warm water. If it fizzes, the powder is still good. If not, it's time for a new can. No one in our house drinks whole milk, so we routinely keep only skim, but we usually have heavy cream on hand. Many recipes work best by using whole milk. Is it possible to mix heavy cream with skim milk to get the equivalent of whole milk? — Frances Dinolfo Cooking means thinking on your feet, and this is a great example of trying to work with available ingredients. However, substituting ingredients is something I try to avoid in baking. Precision is often the key to success. It's probably a safer proposition in savory dishes. After considering the butterfat content of heavy cream (36 to 40 percent), whole milk (about 3.5 percent), and skim milk (0 percent), I conducted a few taste tests. I found that the addition of 1 generous tablespoon of heavy cream to 8 ounces of skim milk will approximate the taste and viscosity of whole milk. Test the theory before entering any recipe contest or trying a new dish, let me know how it worked for you. What is the best way to slice cheesecake cleanly? — Robert Landes Fill a deep container such as a carafe with hot water, dip in a long knife, and quickly, but carefully, dry it with a kitchen towel. Immediately slice into the cake, one cut at a time, wetting and drying the knife between each cut. This technique also works well with other cakes, including ice-cream cakes. You'll have perfect slices every time. Find nearly 100 cheesecake recipes here on Epicurious. Why is unsalted butter specified in recipes that also add salt? Why not simply use salted butter? — Connie Geck This is a popular question sent in by many Epicurious users and viewers. It may seem confusing to add salt to recipes that also call for unsalted butter, but this way the cook is able to control the amount of salt in the dish. It is much better to add the seasoning with your own hand than to rely on an outside source, since different brands vary in salt content. Also, butter is regulated and graded by the amount of butterfat it contains. The higher the butterfat, the higher the grade it is awarded. Salted butter is often made from a lower-grade butter. In fact, salt has been used for centuries to conceal off flavors. I always recommend unsalted butter, also known as sweet butter, for all recipes — savory and sweet. What does "dry" mean in terms of wine? — James "Dry" is a term that describes wine that isn't sweet. In a fully dry wine, all the sugar has been converted to alcohol during fermentation. A medium-dry wine has a small amount of residual sugar, but not enough to prevent the wine from being enjoyed with a meal. When drinking wine, if you do not taste sweetness within the first 15 seconds, then it is a dry wine. "Dry" also refers to the percentage of alcohol the wine contains. As a general rule, wine that is above 12 percent alcohol is considered a dry wine. Wine below this percent has residual sugar and is sweeter. I have a recipe for mushroom stuffing. One of the ingredients called for is Bell's Seasoning. I have searched and searched with no success. What is it? — Jody This mix of dried herbs and spices is a brand of poultry seasoning. It is usually a combination of thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, and nutmeg, and is often used in dishes with chicken, turkey, or stuffing. These days there are lots of celebrity-chef spice blends and sauces in the stores, but Bell's has been a household staple since 1867. Generations of cooks have sworn by it. It's often on display around Thanksgiving among the dried herbs and spices. If you can't find Bell's, then try a best-quality blend. Good luck! Why does your recipe for chocolate-covered strawberries call for vegetable shortening? Can I use olive oil instead? — Tiyah We used vegetable shortening in the Double-Dipped Strawberries. Olive oil would not be a good substitution. Adding vegetable shortening to melted chocolate is a quick trick to avoid the much more complicated process of tempering chocolate. Tempering is a technique by which chocolate is stabilized through a melting-and-cooling process, thereby making it malleable and glossy, but also firm at room temperature. Chocolate that has not been tempered is soft, dull, and sticky. Vegetable shortening is a solid fat at room temperature, and olive oil is not. Adding a tablespoon or so of vegetable shortening will help the chocolate set without tempering. My wife and I look forward to watching your show every Friday. I recently made the Ginger Crème Brûlée. However, I had difficulty finding a vanilla bean and when I finally did, it cost $6.50! Can vanilla extract be substituted? If so, how much? The dessert was excellent and much better than what we have been served in restaurants. — Leonard F. Masek Thank you so much for writing. I am glad to hear you enjoy the show! For those of you who missed the episode, take a step-by-step cooking class in crème brûlée. Vanilla beans are the long, thin pod from the orchid flower of a tropical vine. They can be a little on the expensive side and somewhat difficult to find at traditional grocery stores. We have vanilla beans in our shop here on Epicurious. Vanilla beans can be rinsed, dried, and reused, but pure vanilla extract is a good substitute for vanilla beans. Pure vanilla extract will give you the flavor, but not the beautiful black specks. It is made by steeping the pods in alcohol; the resulting brown liquid is clear and richly fragrant. Imitation vanilla is composed entirely of artificial flavorings and colorings and is to be avoided. Pure vanilla extract is about twice as expensive as its imitation counterpart, and there's no real comparison in flavor intensity. As a general rule of thumb, when a recipe calls for 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, substitute 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Why do some recipes call for mashing garlic with salt? — Sara Mashing garlic and salt together is a French technique that I learned in cooking school and use to this day. Raw garlic is often too strong when coarsely chopped. When garlic is raw in a recipe like vinaigrette, the garlic must be very finely chopped, so the flavor will not be too hot. To make garlic paste, place a peeled garlic clove on a clean work surface. Smash the clove with the broad side of a knife. Sprinkle coarse salt over the garlic and then chop. The grains of salt act as a sort of millstone, helping to pulverize the garlic. The resulting garlic paste will be smoothly incorporated into any dish. To achieve an even smoother paste, don't chop, but rub the broad side of the knife over the garlic and salt, firmly pressing on the cutting board. The result is a very smooth paste. It can take a little practice, so watch our technique video on how to chop and purée garlic. I am looking for a good breading for pork tenderloin sandwiches. I just can't seem to get the right mix. Thanks. P.S. I enjoy watching your show and have picked up a lot of cooking tips from you! — Sheri Good choice — pork tenderloin is a terrific cut to cook with. It's tender and is the leanest cut of pork: A 3-ounce serving contains 139 calories and 4.1 grams of fat — comparable to a skinless chicken breast. Try a barbecue dry rub for flavorful results. A dry rub is simply a mixture of spices, salt, and sugar. Spices for dry rubs that marry nicely with pork include chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Dry rub is not only a major seasoning component, but also a way to lock in the moistness. The best method of cooking when using a dry rub is pan-frying or grilling. For a more traditional breading, first dip slices of meat into seasoned flour, then into beaten egg or buttermilk, and finally into seasoned bread crumbs. To make the flavors really pop, try adding some of my suggested dry rub spices to the flour. If you want more ideas, check out other pork tenderloin recipes. On one of the shows a couple of weeks ago you said Epicurious has a recipe for mozzarella cheese. Where can I find that recipe? — John Quinn You must have seen our episode titled Food to Go. It contained a segment taped in Naples, Italy, and I enjoyed thin crispy pizza topped with creamy mozzarella cheese. At Epicurious we have more than just a recipe! Check out fresh mozzarella to learn how to stretch your own cheese and gather lots of recipes that use fresh mozzarella for your recipe box. Thanks for the question, and enjoy the show! What is the difference between cilantro and parsley in terms of flavor and aroma? — Divina Although the herbs cilantro and parsley look similar and are both members of the Umbelliferae family, they taste and smell quite different. Cilantro (also called Chinese parsley and coriander) has a pungent, musky fragrance and flavor that lends itself well to highly seasoned food. Widely used in Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American cooking, cilantro elicits definite opinions. Many find that it is an acquired taste, and parsley is often suggested as a more agreeable substitution in recipes. An almost unnoticed addition to many dishes, parsley is one of the most popular herbs in European cooking, and is so prominent in Middle Eastern cooking that it assumes the role of a vegetable. Parsley has a crisp, green taste. The numerous varieties of parsley fall into two main categories: curly and flat-leaf, also know as Italian. The crisp, tight foliage of curly parsley makes a very attractive garnish. Flat-leaf Italian parsley has a stronger flavor and is superior for cooking. Hi, Michael. Years ago I had a recipe for peach cobbler. I made a batter and added a can of peaches to it and baked it. It was simple, but I can't remember the recipe. Do you have any ideas? — Pam Brill Cobblers are a real weakness of mine. I look for them in homey cafés all the time. A good cobbler is a baked fresh-fruit mixture topped with a biscuit or flaky pastry topping. We have several great cobbler recipes here at Epicurious, including a fantastic all-American peach cobbler. When making cobbler, it's best to use fresh, seasonal fruit — if fresh peaches are not in season, try apples or pears. Simply adjust the cooking time and bake until the fruit is tender to the point of a knife. However, cobblers are easy to throw together at the last minute. It's very handy to use frozen fruit such as fresh-frozen blueberries or cherries if you are caught off-guard and need a dessert. I am not familiar with your lost recipe using canned peaches, but visit Gail's Recipe Swap and see if another Epicurean is. A New York Times recipe for pizza dough calls for "rapid-rise yeast." Many supermarkets here in Dallas have stopped carrying fast-rising yeasts and only sell regular yeast. Can that be used instead of the fast-rising variety? — John Baer Yeast is the essential ingredient that makes dough rise and gives bread its wonderful taste and aroma. Thousands of living plant-like microorganisms are in every envelope, bag, and cake of yeast. When activated by warm liquid, and fed by sugar or starch, baker's yeast releases tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. This gas is what makes the dough rise and achieve its light texture after baking. There are basically three forms of baker's yeast: active dry yeast, cake or compressed yeast, and fast-rise or rapid-rise yeast. Prevalent in most markets is the active dry yeast. This is yeast that has been carefully oven-dried at controlled temperatures. This product works best when dissolved in water prior to mixing. Cake yeast is soft and moist and makes delicious bread. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find and has a short shelf life. Often when you do find cake yeast it is dead, so it always needs proofing to make sure it is alive. First soften it in tepid water (70° - 80°F); if it bubbles, it's alive and good to use. The final type of baker's yeast is rapid-rise yeast. This yeast need not be proofed and may be added directly to the flour. Simply combine it with other ingredients and use a one-rise method of baking. Since only one rise is required, the time it takes for dough to rise is significantly shortened — by as much as 50 percent. Replacing rapid-rise yeast in your recipe may take a little experimentation. Be certain to proof the yeast first and allow for a longer rising time. Can I bake sweet potatoes and freeze them for a few days then reheat in the microwave? — Carla Black Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods, creamy and rich, with a delicious flavor that perfectly accompanies so many main dishes. You may find sweet potatoes in the frozen section in the supermarket, but they are so much better freshly prepared at home. If you bake and freeze, the result will be acceptable but the texture of the sweet potato will suffer — it will be mushy and soft instead of creamy. If you intend to use the microwave to defrost and reheat, why not just microwave them from scratch? A 12-ounce sweet potato cooks in a microwave oven set at high in about 16 minutes. The result will be fresh, hot, and moist. When I cook pasta, it becomes dry and sticky shortly after draining. It's not very good for using later or the next day. How should I store leftover pasta in the refrigerator? — Susan Dieterich The first thing to consider when cooking any pasta is the ratio of water to pasta. It is best to use six to eight quarts of water per pound of dry pasta. As the pasta cooks, starch is released into the cooking water. The less water that is used to cook pasta, the more concentrated the starch in the cooking water. Consequently, the pasta will be overly sticky once drained. For immediate use, I prefer to drain the pasta and return it to the cooking pot. I then add several tablespoons of pasta sauce or olive oil to coat the pasta. This will help prevent sticking. To prepare pasta for later use, I employ a great chef's trick: I parcook the pasta. First, undercook the pasta by 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse it vigorously in ice-cold water to stop the cooking, and then drain thoroughly. Add olive oil and stir to coat. Cover pasta with plastic wrap pressed to the surface to prevent a crust forming and refrigerate. When ready to use, finish cooking in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes, or reheat in your pasta sauce. Which is preferable when thickening pastry cream — cornstarch or flour? I've seen recipes that call for one or the other, and sometimes both. — Lori Barber Both cornstarch and flour are commonly found in recipes for pastry cream. Both starches derive from grains and react similarly. Each has slight advantages and disadvantages. Many pastry chefs prefer cornstarch to flour for several reasons. Cornstarch has twice the thickening strength of flour, so less may be used to achieve the same results. Cornstarch is also relatively flavorless compared to the often starchy flavor of flour. The starchy taste may be removed from flour, but only after a period of cooking. On the other hand, cornstarch has a rather slick appearance, and some cooks prefer the look of a flour-based pastry cream. I suggest trying several recipes and picking one that suits your ability and taste best. I make a homemade cream of tomato soup, and have tried many ways to add milk at the end without it curdling. Scalding helps but is not consistent; I have resorted to canned milk at times, but dislike the flavor. Do you have any suggestions? — Linda Donley Curdling occurs when proteins join tightly together, this may be caused by overheating or a highly acidic environment. So, first of all, never boil the soup after adding the milk. Also, you may be substituting milk for heavy cream. Traditionally, many cream soups were made with heavy cream. If you replace heavy cream in a sauce or soup with milk, which is lower in fat, the soup is more likely to curdle. The high fat content of cream coats the proteins and helps prevent curdling. Milk, and especially low-fat milk, doesn't have enough fat to coat the proteins. Try this great "chef's trick." Add baking soda. Baking soda raises the pH level and stabilizes the mixture so that the milk is less likely to curdle in the presence of the acidic tomatoes. This should solve the mystery of the curdled milk. What is the proper serving temperature for serving crème bruleé? — John Crème bruleé — a delicious, creamy custard bottom topped with a crisp mantle of caramelized sugar, should be served with the custard slightly chilled and soft while the sugar brittle and room temperature. To achieve this, make the custards and chill them overnight. Resting overnight in the refrigerator improves the texture of the custard as well as the flavor. Then, caramelize the sugar just before serving for best results. I have some older cookbooks and some of the recipes call for a spice called mace. Some of my friends have told me I can just subsitute nutmeg for mace. Is this true? — Jeffrey Lipitz Mace is actually the outside coating of the nutmeg seed. It is removed from the nutmeg and is usually sold separately. This outside coating has more sharply aromatic flavoring and spice than nutmeg. Nutmeg, while assertive in flavoring, is less pungent than mace. So, in recipes that call for mace, nutmeg may be subsituted, although it is best to slightly increase the amount. However, see out mace to enjoy the more robust and heady experience it offers. I made chili the other day and I used a very hot chili powder. I should have cut back on the amount, as it was far too hot. Is there a trick to take out the hotness, after the fact? — Carla Black With so many varieties of chili powders on the market it's no wonder you wound up with some very hot chili indeed. It can be a fun culinary game to try different types of chili powder, but it's a good idea to give it a taste before you add it to the mix. To save a glorious pot of chili, try adding more of the other ingredients to tame the heat: additional meat, beans, or vegetables, like corn or tomatoes. By increasing the amount of chili, the seasoning is thinned without losing the flavor. Also, serve the chili with cheese and sour cream. These dairy products will seemingly cool the heat of the chili powder. What is the difference between parchment paper and waxed paper? I have a recipe for cookies and it asks for parchment paper. Could I use waxed paper instead? Thank you for your help. — Annush Parchment paper is a moisture- and grease-resistant product that professional pastry chefs often use to line baking sheets and cookie pans to prevent baked goods from sticking. Parchment paper is heat-resistant and incredibly strong. Waxed paper is also nonstick. It is coated with a thin layer of paraffin that keeps food from sticking. The drawback is that the wax coating may melt during heating and mar your food. Wax paper should be used as a liner in baking cakes, quick breads, or any baked food in which the batter completely covers the wax paper. It should never be directly exposed to the heat of the oven. So, don't use wax paper to line a cookie sheet, use parchment instead. Other than lining cake pans, reserve wax paper for wrapping cooked foods, for use as an inexpensive food cover for microwave cooking, and for separating layers in candy and cookie tins. What's the best cut of steak? — Sarah in Phoenix The finest cut of beefsteak is purely subjective. Every beef lover has his or her favorite. It's just a matter of deciding what is most important to you. Flavor and tenderness depend on where the meat comes from on the animal. Muscles that receive little exercise are very tender, and muscles that receive a lot are less tender but more boldly flavored. Filet mignon, long considered the king of steaks, is the most tender cut. However, it is less flavorful, lacks sufficient marbling of fat, and is slightly tame for those who love the taste of real beef. The intramuscular marbling of fat (not the visible external intermuscular fat) helps determine the juiciness and tenderness of a steak. The classic New York strip steak, also called the sirloin, is less tender, but is usually wonderfully marbled and full-flavored. My favorite is the rib eye. This cut has great beef flavor, is sufficiently tender, and is marvelously marbled. My family loves fish fillets, but I'd like to try to roast a whole fish. What should I look for in a whole fish? — Shirley Becker I am so glad you want to explore a feast that the rest of the world enjoys more regularly than we do in the U.S.: whole roasted fish. This is a delicious way to cook fish and can be the freshest way to prepare it. Look for whole fish that is fresh, not frozen. Examine the gills to verify that they are red and not brown — brown gills indicate old fish. The eyes should be clear, bright, and shiny, not dull or glazed over. Touch the skin: It should be smooth and free of sliminess. Most of all use your nose: The fish should smell fresh and clean like the ocean. There should be nothing "fishy" about it. Try red snapper, sea bass, and flounder — all delicious fish to roast "on the bone." I am cooking a turkey for our Christmas dinner. This is my first year hosting the family. What's the best way to tell when a turkey is done? — Carol in Tennessee Good for you! The most accurate way to tell if your turkey is fully cooked is to test the bird with an instant-read thermometer, an inexpensive and very handy kitchen tool. Simply insert the thermometer at the thickest part of the thigh just beneath, but not touching, the bone. Remove and read the indicator; you want to reach 180°F for a properly cooked turkey. Also, a prick of the thigh joint with a skewer or a knife should render juices that run clear and free of blood. However, the best and most reliable method will always be the thermometer test. Happy holidays! We are having filet mignon for our holiday feast. I like my steak rare, but does searing meat actually seal in the juices? — Robyn in San Francisco There are several schools of thought on this subject; the most common theory proposes that searing will trap the juices inside. While many chefs (myself included) practice this high-heat and intense cooking method, the effect is a little like smoke and mirrors. The juices are actually pushed by the heat towards the center, a temporary solution at best. In fact, the best result of a good searing is that it leaves a great caramelized surface, which is very pleasing to the eye and the palate. So try searing for flavor first, but be sure your pan is really hot: If too little heat is used the juices will run out and the result more will be steamed than seared. What's a good cut of meat for a pot roast? — Stacy Bernstein With its rich, fatty layer, wide-open grain, and full beefy flavor, fresh brisket yields a delightful pot roast (just be careful not to buy the "corned" variety). And remember, good pot roast is a little like art: be patient, allow ample cooking time — approximately 3 1/2 to 4 hours — and it'll be a beauty. Make sure to take a look in the recipe database, where there are lots of delicious brisket recipes. What does "slice the meat across the grain" mean? — Evan in Atlanta The "grain" refers to the direction the strands or fibers of meat are running. While not always obvious, the fibers in a cut of meat run together in one direction. Closely examine a piece of London broil before cooking and you will better notice these strands. In order to achieve the most tender texture when carving cuts of meat like London broil, flank steak, or brisket, cut across these strands — not with them. If you cut along the grain, the slices of meat will be chewy and tough. Cutting across or against the grain results in a more tender slice of meat. What's the difference between baking soda and baking powder? — Lisa Allen in Lexington Baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda, acts as a leavening agent in baked goods when it is combined with an acidic ingredient like yogurt or buttermilk. To give a light, airy effect to baked goods, sift baking soda with the dry ingredients first. When combined with the liquid ingredients, the baking soda will immediately bubble up with carbon dioxide gas — the mixture should be placed in the oven promptly to capture this "rising" effect.
Baking powder, often labeled "double-acting,"
will release some carbon dioxide gas bubbles when mixed with
liquids but will also produce further rising activity upon meeting the heat
of the oven. Keep baking powder in the refrigerator to lengthen its
limited shelf life. |
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