Techniques Answers

How to use lemon grass

Lemon grass. I've bought this on a couple of occasions from Asian markets, but can't figure out how to use it. I've eliminated the outer leaves, and then thi...

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How to grate fresh ginger

What is the best way to grate fresh ginger? I typically use the finest grater on a four-sided box grater, but much of the ginger tends to stay mashed into th...

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How to glace fruits

Could you please tell me how to glacé things, as my mother and I have been searching for the instructions for ages and just can’t get them?

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How to clean a leek

How do you properly clean a leek? I can never get all the dirt out of it.

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Getting jam to set up

I made 6 pints of Bing cherry jam, following the instructions from the pectin package. I sealed it in jars but did not use a water bath. The jam has not set ...

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Cooking fruit butters in a crock pot

I just read an article on fruit butters that went way beyond the old stand-by, apple butter. The recipes and suggestions sound very, very good, and I hope to...

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Silver spoon deflating whipped cream

I was told not to leave a silver-plated spoon in whipped cream because it makes it go flat. Is this based on scientific evidence or just another old wives’ t...

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Keeping yogurt from curdling

I bought a recipe book during a recent trip to India to try and recreate some of the delicious food I tasted when I was there. However, a lot of the recipes ...

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How to make mozzarella

I would love to make some fresh mozzarella cheese to go with the tomatoes from my garden.Do you have a recipe?

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Egg safety

When making chocolate-covered strawberries, is it OK to use butter instead of shortening?

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Beating egg whites

How do you get egg whites to form stiff, firm peaks? I separate the yolks from whites, wait until they are at room temperature, then mix with a hand whisk. T...

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Cutting back on oil in recipes

There is an Indian recipe of mixed veggies in a tomato base that uses 6 tablespoons of oil. How can I reduce the calorie content?

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Fixing burned soup

I was cooking some soup over the weekend and didn't watch it carefully enough. The soup burnt to the bottom of the pan and left a burnt taste and smell to th...

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Using stovetop smokers

Do you have any recipes for stovetop smokers? We recently cooked with one for the first time and the chicken was not good. It tasted like it was steamed.

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Tips for writing cookbooks

I will be developing a cookbook for a small country inn over the next year or so and was wondering if you knew of any materials out there that would give som...

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