Ingredients Answers

How do you revive vanilla beans?

Can you suggest anything I can do to "revive" vanilla beans which have become too dry and crack when I try to cut them open?

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Difference: cider & white vinegar

My mother always had cider vinegar around the house but never any other that I can recall. I have always used cider vinegar like she did for recipes calling ...

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Finding George Washington broth

I have a recipe that calls for George Washington broth. What is George Washington broth and do you know who makes it? Would a chicken broth substitute or wou...

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What truffles should I buy?

I have a question about truffles. I want to get my sister-in-law a Christmas present but am confused. Do I buy truffles or black truffle oil, or white truffl...

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Why use both black & white pepper?

I have noticed that some recipes use both black and white pepper in the same recipe. Is there a big difference between the two? If I don't have any white pep...

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Using fresh peppercorns

I have a large bag of fresh green peppercorns. I can't find any recipes that use these peppercorns fresh, and I am unsure whether they can be dried - and how...

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Fleur de Sel, sea salt

I've come across a recipe for roasted carrots that has Fleur de Sel added. Please tell me what this is, what it does, and the approximate price.

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What are pot herbs?

My grandmother passed on a lot of home-made soup recipes to me recently that I grew up with but most of them require "pot herbs," which I cannot find in my l...

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What are saffron threads?

What are saffron threads and where can I find them? I know saffron is a spice but I have never heard of saffron threads!

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What are mixed spices?

I have a recipe for chow-chow, or green tomato relish. It calls for allspice and mixed spices. I used to know what mixed spices were but I can't find the inf...

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