Science Answers

What is hartshorn?

I have a Danish cookbook with recipes for Christmas cookies. Several of them call for hartshorn, also called baker's ammonia. I cannot find it. I have tried ...

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Cooking with sugar substitute

I would like to use powdered sugar substitute in my recipes, but I find it is usually sweeter. Is there a ratio of how much substitute to real one should use...

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Homemade chile oil

I tried to make chile oil. I tried two ways. First I cut up the chile and put it in good olive oil.The chile formed a fungus so I strained it and tried putti...

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Preserving apples with sulfur

A friend told me that her mom used to preserve apples with sulfur. She says that the apples always tasted fresh even in the middle of winter. Can you tell me...

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Making candy without corn syrup

I have a daughter who is not able to eat corn syrup. She has been craving some type of lollipop. How would I make lollipops or any hard candy without corn sy...

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Baking with applesauce instead of oil

Can I substitute applesauce instead of oil when baking cookies? My recipe calls for 1 cup of oil, but I would like to make a recipe with fewer calories.

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Is a banana an herb?

I know that a tomato is a fruit, not a veggie. I know that a platypus is not a duck. I didn't know that a banana is an herb. Is it true? I heard it on Emeril.

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What are tannins?

I drink Rooibos tea, which is an herbal tea made in South Africa - it is caffeine-free. Rooibos and other teas apparently contain tannins. What are tannins? ...

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Why brining with salt doesn't dry out foods

Can you please explain to me why when you add salt to food it draws the moisture out, yet when you brine something in salt it causes the food to hold or reta...

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