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Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 2)

Pontormo

By Pontormo
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Beebs

Beebs

Posted
Posted
Can someone please tell me how to produce perfectly peelable hardboiled eggs?  I've tried and tried, every recommended technique you can imagine, boiling water, cold water, ice water, different times ranges, etc. etc.  And it's always the same - the eggs won't peel cleanly, it escalates into a full scale me vs. eggs battle, and when the smoke clears, I'm left with yolks broken in half, peices of shell with white attached, and not a speck of it is usable.   

My mom has a hard boiled egg cooker that makes perfect eggs every time.  Please, someone, give me the secret that will prevent me from breaking down and purchasing one in an attempt to salve my wounded kitchen pride.

My S.O. always salts the water, he says it makes the white pull away from the shell better so it's easier to peel....

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GTO

GTO

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Just another little fact about boiling eggs. Older eggs will peel easier than fresh ones. The reason being, that over time, the membrane below the shell forms a kind of "double glazing" kind of bubble between itself and the shell.

Or so I've been led to believe, and it seems to be the case with mine.

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Pam R

Pam R

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Peeling hard boiled eggs - sometimes there are eggs that just won't peel. I just peeled 12 dozen and 143 peeled were perfect. They all came out of the same case ('old' eggs, so to speak), were cooked in the same pot (one batch) and I used my standard smash against the stainless steel sink technique. One of the suckers would not give up the shell. At least half of the egg went into the garbage with it.

Pam Reiss aka "Pam R"

Author: Soup - A Kosher Collection - Passover - A Kosher Collection - Pam's Cookie Collection - Blog - Demos - Pam's Kitchen FB 

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Toliver

Toliver

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Okay, I just can't think of it and it's driving me crazy...but what is the term for when you use a fork to prick pie crust before baking it so it won't get air pockets in it when baked?

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Toliver

Toliver

Posted
Posted
Docking?

Yes! Thanks for the reminder.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Pontormo

Pontormo

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Is there a secret to keeping strawberries fresher longer in the fridge? I buy mine and store them in the fridge (in the original plastic case) and by day two they are beginning to look "wilted."

Thank you.

1) Yes. Do not wash them, but take them out of the plastic clam shell. Line a wide, shallow bowl w paper towels to hold them covered loosely w a produce bag that "breathes".

2) Strawberries are always better when they're in season, though ripe, local berries don't glisten for many days, either. It's past their time in August. The type you'll find in supermarkets has been developed to endure shipping and longer periods of storage. You don't know how long yours were sitting around before you bought them.

3) Read Russ Parsons. Cf. The Daily Gullet for relevant excerpt of his book.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Pontormo

Pontormo

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REALLY elementary question, but:

If I bought pork to make a brothy stew (pozole) and stuck it in the freezer, is it okay to simply dump the frozen ribs in water without thawing them first?

The dish does not require browning. I've read recipes for chicken soup that say you don't need to thaw the meat. I figure it should be okay but want to ask you all first since I am not sure if flavor or texture will be affected.

Sheepish thanks in advance....

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

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REALLY elementary question, but:

If I bought pork to make a brothy stew (pozole) and stuck it in the freezer, is it okay to simply dump the frozen ribs in water without thawing them first?

The dish does not require browning.  I've read recipes for chicken soup that say you don't need to thaw the meat.  I figure it should be okay but want to ask you all first since I am not sure if flavor or texture will be affected. 

Sheepish thanks in advance....

I've done that with no ill effects.

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BekkiM

BekkiM

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How come you don't make pork stock? You make beef stock, chicken stock, fish stock, vegetable stock, why not pork? Why doesn't that porky goodness translate to stock?

Feast then thy heart, for what the heart has had, the hand of no heir shall ever hold.
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BekkiM

BekkiM

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How come you don't make pork stock?  You make beef stock, chicken stock, fish stock, vegetable stock, why not pork?  Why doesn't that porky goodness translate to stock?

Oh, but pork stock is big in Chinese cooking, has been for a long, long time.

Cool. I'll look for advice/recipes there then. Wonder why western cookbooks don't mention it...

Feast then thy heart, for what the heart has had, the hand of no heir shall ever hold.
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3kyp777

3kyp777

Posted
Posted

I cant get nice coloring on my pancakes - can someone help?

The first pancake always comes out nice and golden. All subsequent pancakes either burnt a nice black, or if I remove them quickly, the insides are still mushy.

I throw the batter for a 6" diameter pancake on a thin non-stick, heat for about 90 sec, flip, another 60 second, remove

What pan am I supposed to use? Add oil between pancakes? Heat?

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Kouign Aman

Kouign Aman

Posted
Posted

The first pancake usually goes onto a cold pan.

So once its good, turn the heat down a bit. I usually get an undercooked or very very slow first pancake, when the stove is set right for the subsequent ones.

I cook pancakes on one side only, 'til the bubbles pop. Then I flip it just long enough to tan the other side. One side ends up a nice even tan, the other is a bit blotchy looking, but tastes fine.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Pontormo

Pontormo

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Posted (edited)

Help?

Eggplant parmigiana.

Made it for decades, very well, thank you.

Tonight, after hearing people I trust recommend a method that omits the frying, I decided to be open-minded about it all, though I do recall some hippie-horrors involving slabs of raw eggplant baked in the oven.

Followed Mario Batali's recipe which calls for unpeeled slices baked on oiled sheets, seasoned only. 450 F for 12-15 minutes. Take out when golden brown.

Well, after that amount of time the slices, sure enough are still raw and browning to burn vs. cooking and becoming tender, seems to me.

ETA: False alarm. Brushing on oil, flipping and baking one sheet at a time for longer duration seems to have resolved the problem.

Edited by Pontormo (log)

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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slowday

slowday

Posted
Posted

Here's one I always wondered about. When I make Kasha the directions always call for a lightly beaten egg. I'm never sure when I've over beaten the egg. But what difference is there between kasha made with a lightly beaten egg and one that goes past that point?

Allan

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Pontormo

Pontormo

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What's the benefit of the oven-fried method? Less spatter to clean up?

In part, yes. Takes much less time and I figure w beautiful, fresh eggplant from the market yesterday, it doesn't have to go through the whole pre-salting & rinsing stage that was developed to deal w old bitter fruits w lots of big seeds. Also uses much less oil, so fewer calories and a bit lighter.

But mostly, since it's a favorite dish and I've made it at least once or twice a year, the idea of trying something new appealed to me.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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annecros

annecros

Posted
Posted
How come you don't make pork stock?  You make beef stock, chicken stock, fish stock, vegetable stock, why not pork?  Why doesn't that porky goodness translate to stock?

Oh, but pork stock is big in Chinese cooking, has been for a long, long time.

Cool. I'll look for advice/recipes there then. Wonder why western cookbooks don't mention it...

In the southern states, pork stock is quite common for cooking vegetables. Generically known as Pot Likker.

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