Thread 21636421

I'm new to cast iron. Got a dutch oven for camping and I plan on seasoning it this weekend. A lot of the instructions I'm seeing season the whole thing including the bottom? What is the purpose of seasoning the parts that don't touch food? Should I really season the bottom and sides of the dutch oven?

planning to use avocado oil btw

>>21636421 (OP)
You should season your hands before you touch it too

>>21636421 (OP)
>What is the purpose of seasoning the parts that don't touch food?
It prevents rusting

>>21636421 (OP)
>I really season the bottom and sides of the dutch oven?
yes
>>21636437
this

thread complete

>>21636437
>>21636441
ah, gotcha. Thanks. Any other tips for any common errors regarding seasoning?

>>21636442
yeah that's why I made it a SQTDDTOT. I didn't see one in the catalog and I don't come to /ck/ much so I don't even know if y'all usually have those.

>>21636450
>I don't even know if y'all usually have those
We don't. The entire board is 90% fast food advertising spam, so there's not much of a point

>>21636456
oh. In that case, which fast food place has the best tendies? And which has the lowest-calorie tendies?

>>21636450
>ah, gotcha. Thanks. Any other tips for any common errors regarding seasoning?
Too much seasoning, too hot, too fast, too much oil
The goal is to polymerize the oil and build it up over time

>>21636510
thanks. I've heard to season it 3x before I use it the first time. But after that, what? How do I maintain it after it's seasoned? Do I have to continue seasoning it, or just rinse it off and dry it after every use or what?

>>21636602
>I've heard to season it 3x before I use it the first time.
You don't have to do that. You can season just once and start cooking. Twice if you really want. It should be totally fine for almost everything with one seasoning, eggs will probably stick until you cook a bit, because you probably won't do that good of a job seasoning it. That's fine. It's not a big deal. Just fry some potatoes, it'll work itself out.
>How do I maintain it after it's seasoned?
Rinse it with just water and don't scrub more than you have to until you have a good seasoning built up. Once it's well seasoned you can do damn near anything. Heat it afterwards to dry off the water. Apply a thin layer of oil to prevent rust. This isn't seasoning, you don't have to heat it again, it's just so it doesn't rust before the next time you use it.
>Do I have to continue seasoning it
No. Once seasoning is done, it is done. If you scratch the seasoning, it will be fine. Just keep cooking. If you strip the seasoning with acidic foods, only then will you have to re-season.

>>21636501
Popeyes tendies when the wagie cares are my favorite

>>21636421 (OP)
It's probably pre seasoned so just wash it and it's good to go.

cooking literally seasons it. you don't have to pretend you're doing something fancy up front. you literally won't taste any difference and it won't affect the cast iron any differently.

also, anyone saying to wipe the entire thing is retarded. the parts that touch the food legitimately are the most important. the bottom won't rust if you just dry it properly and throw it in the oven to heat any excess moisture away.

people take this shit too serious

>>21636966
>the bottom won't rust if you just dry it properly and throw it in the oven to heat any excess moisture away.
It absolutely would if it wasn't seasoned.

However literally any cast iron you buy is going to already be seasoned, so.

>>21636966
>bottom won't rust
It will though. Heating bare cast iron actually accelerates this rusting process. Also, this is how we know you've a pseud that's never actually used cast iron.

i dont get meals as my food supply but I snack through out the day. Not chips/junk food. why do i always feel hungry/?

>>21638287
because you're not eating meals

Pro chef here,
1.soak pan in salt water for 8hrs to season fully
2. Bake pan in oven at 475F for 35 minutes
3.while pan is still hot, add 1 cup 50/50 distilled vinegar/lemon juice and let sit overnight.
Pan is now virtually non stick

>>21638287
>i dont get meals as my food supply but I snack through out the day. Not chips/junk food. why do i always feel hungry/?
Part of how your brain sense hunger/satiation is literally from a never pathway to receptors in the gut/intestine that sense how full you are by the stretching of the inner tissue lining:
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/11/415916/we-know-were-full-because-intestines-stretch-sensors-tell-us-so
So if you are never having more that a bit of this here or there, your gut may be fooling your brain into thinking it's starving. My advice is drink more water to add bulk to your stomach throughout the day. Also try to get more insoluable fiber into your diet for the same reason.

>>21638299
>while pan is still hot, add 1 cup 50/50 distilled vinegar/lemon juice
don't do this it makes nerve gas

>>21638540
>>21637241
>>21636979
all retarded posts spreading misinformation. jesus christ.

Caught a deal on a metric fucktonne of ground coffee for cheap recently. I wanna brew a lot at once but not go through the hassle of loading and brewing and reloading and rebrewing (and reloading and rebrewing and reloading and rebrewing) using a moka. Espresso ground is notoriously ill-suited for drip filters. Any suggestion for using up enough quickly to brew about 1500ml of coffee?

I'm a dumbass and got myself in a situation where I don't have a stove and have only limited to nonexistent freezer space. I can spare the time to shop every day, but it's still an annoyance, and I can't bake anything. I do have a hot plate, a pressure cooker, and a microwave, but I get the feeling I'm gonna be spending a lot of time eating soup or beans. Dishes washed by hand, so I guess I'm gonna be eating a lot of leftovers back to back.
How do I best adapt to my own dumbass decision?

>>21636421 (OP)
>What is the purpose of seasoning the parts that don't touch food?
To create a protective layer so your shit doesn't rust

>>21639678
A lot of one pot dishes are going to be in your future. Is your pressure cooker one of those electronic ones that doubles as a slow cooker? That should be a big help if so.

>>21639758
It is. I have a book from my mom because she loves shit like that, so I can lean on it in a pinch, but I hate how so many recipes seem to need 30 ingredients you use for one dish and never seem to use for anything else. Just me being stingy and uncreative, I guess.
I'm trying to reason out how to do pressure cooker Pad Thai, because it's a really good staple food and I can reliably cook it with a pot and a pan, but I want to see if I can get it done in one like pressure cooker spaghetti and meatballs.
I also need to use the next time I get access to a grill to re-season my cast iron because that shit was impossible to do in my apartment and I really want to see if I can reclaim them. I have a fuckton of butter I need to get rid of (impulse buy, don't ask) and I was planning on sacrificing it to season my pans because I may not get another chance for a year or more.

what's a good cleaver?

Should I order KFC or McDonalds?

>>21639639
Just brew in a pot and then filter through a paper filter
or a mesh filter or cheesecloth, depending on how finely the coffee is ground

>>21640737
no

>>21639795
>but I hate how so many recipes seem to need 30 ingredients you use for one dish and never seem to use for anything else
This happens when you mix cuisines (e.g. that soy sauce and mirin wine you use for that one Asian dish doesn't carry over to Indian or European dishes). You can mitigate this by substituting ingredients (e.g. use soy sauce in place of worchestershire sauce) or by dropping some ingredients entirely.

>using butter to season cast iron
Don't do that, use regular cooking oil. Use your butter in your food.

What should I use to filter out the really fine pulp when juicing stuff like apples and grapes to get clear juice? I tried using coffee filters but all the pulp just clogs it up and it stops draining.

>>21641395
Once with cheese cloth (multiple layers). If that's not enough, do it again with coffee filters.

>>21639795
>need 30 ingredients
This is blatant bullshit. I cook for my family every day of the week and I none of my meals require 30 ingredients.

Keeping a kitchen stocked is not hard, you millennial mishap.

>>21636450
my tip is if youre only going to use this for camping, it is going to be way more work than its worth
You gotta coat it in oil before you store it, then clean it off before you cook on it
Cast iron only makes sense if you use it daily, it is not a special pan for special purposes

Its been a while since we had a cast iron thread, used to have these every day

>>21636421 (OP)
>I plan on seasoning
Any pan you bought new in 2025 is already seasoned

>>21641395
Use a metal coffee filter for the first pass, if it clogs you can scrape the inside a bit with a utensil.

>>21641395
use an old t-shirt
or a jelly strainer if you dare

>>21641469
OP, don’t listen to people that spew this autistic nonsense. A cast iron is literally the only thing I bring camping because it’s so versatile and durable. You don’t need to coat it with oil before storage, or wipe it off before using, or put it in the over before putting it away, or re-season any time you use soap, or any of that retarded horseshit.
Just season it once or twice, and then cook in it. The only things to avoid are 1. letting it soak in water and 2. making acidic foods (e.g. tomato sauces)

>>21641435
>>21641514
>>21641520
Thanks, I'll try some of these.

I live in New England and want to buy guanciale. Is my best option ordering from the Internet?

>>21636421 (OP)
>SQTDDTOT
What do you do with these
Came from a "pantry"
I've never had these on my shopping lists

>>21643092
chow mein is used instead of rice for stir frys
coconut chips are for desserts and indian dishes like mulligatawny

First time cooking with picrel. Why does it smell so different than all the products containing artificial truffle aroma?

>>21643094
I thought it was a limp noodle, I've always been a rice guy, never ordered noodles with asian stuff
I tried it in soup instead of saltines, i guess it was fine

I've never even smelled curry. so I'm not about to fuck with some indian shit. but thanks for offering

>>21643102
What is that? Turds?

>>21636421 (OP)
not needed on a Lodge it's already pre-seasoned.

>>21643102
I'll let you on a little secret anon... "truffle aroma" is the nice name for 2,4-Dithiapentane, a compound synthesized from various chemical elements in a way that doesn't involve any agriculturally grown or harvested mushrooms, and especially not truffles.

>>21638299
don't do this youll make mustard gas

I'm making a dish for my gf for a special occasion and I need some ideas for vegetables that I could serve with the dish.
Things that that I'm going to serve:
>Duck beast with an orange, caramel and rum sauce
>Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic pressed through a fine mesh strainer
>Dry red wine
Preferably some vegetable I could sauté so I could create a full dish with different textures.

>>21644582
Duck breast*

>>21644582
Get some beets, roast em till they're soft (in skin) and then grate them. Add some salt sugar lemon juice and sour cream if you want to.
You can prepare this in advance and store in the fridge, and sauté a bit if you want it hot but it goes well cold also.
Beets go excellent with duck in my opinion. One of my favorites.
A more generic option would be broccoli or glazed carrots. I ate red cabbage with duck in a restaurant once but I could never reproduce it satisfactorily

My liquid honey oozes out from the closed container, and makes a big fucking sticky mess in my pantry. I've looked it up and apparently it's from water content in the honey.
Is there any way to stop this?

>>21644582
mushrooms and leeks

>>21636450
Don't overthink it.
>>21639795
A lot of ingredients are redundant. A lot of things can be substituted. A good example is teriyaki sauce. You don't need mirin, rice wine, rice vinegar, corn syrup, and brown sugar. You can just make it with any wine, any sugar, and any vinegar (and the sauce we cannot name.) The trick is not being retarded and being able to portion it on the fly. This shit was just what they made out of leftover crap anyway. Just learn to mix it until it tastes right.
>To much butter
Make brioche. Pastries or buns.

>>21641536
>>21636421 (OP)
Watch the Paul Harrell Thanksgiving specials. He was (rip) primarily a firearm instructor, but he would occasionally film himself cooking full holiday meals in the field using cast iron. He's been dead for years but I think of him every morning when I cut in the lard for my breakfast tortilla because of his autistic anecdote about his home ec exam.
https://youtu.be/sF3nBDbrs44?si=zVRPDGXs16-YF---
https://youtu.be/uYBincQTStk?si=gvFdF8yhZmLi_Ibv
https://youtu.be/s-Ka5TE0dmI?si=z-M2WsMbPry75U_k

>>21636421 (OP)
>>21636434
>>21636437
>>21636442
>>21636450
>>21636456
>>21636501
Picrel is my 9 and something inch cast iron skillet that obviously needs renovating.

What steps should I take?

>>21645225
Bottom

>>21636421 (OP)
this isnt readdit. youre allowed to post a thread dedicated to an inane question that can be answered in two seconds. hope you enjoy your visit.

>>21645225
>>21645231
Scour it hard with barkeepers friend. You're gonna want gloves for it and probably be in a decently aired out space. Scrub with the BF with a sponge you don't want to reuse and when all the rust is gone and it's thoroughly washed off put it in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes
Have a high smoke point oil (like canola) and thoroughly coat all parts of the pan and put it back in upside down to prevent oil from pooling in the pan
Repeat three more times for a nice protective coating and then treat as you would normally from then on

>>21645245
Neat. I happen to have all that on hand.

Is milk+butter a reasonable substitute for cream?

>>21646179
Depends on the application, but if it's getting bound up with something like flour, mashed potato, tomato/veggie puree it's fine. If it's gonna be left "loose" for lack of better term (like added after deglazing fond for a pan sauce) not so much because better is more fat than leaner milk that's been separated out and is mostly water so when melted it'll sit on of the dairy like the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and not come together whereas cream is an emulsion that hasn't split.

Anyone ever try using something like this to quickly wash single servings of rice?

I'm imagining filling it with 1/2 cup rice and swishing it through water - I just feel like it'd rinse it faster.

>>21636421 (OP)
I'm looking for a cooking spatula like pic related that I can cook in cast iron and skillets with, my mom keeps on telling me that those types of spatulas are all for mixing and there aren't any that are made to cook out of a pan with.
If there aren't any that you can cook out of a pan with, I just need a good straight spatula with literally no retarded edge or bent on it.
Thanks.

>>21646428
kinda based

>>21646428
I don't cook much with rice to be able to eyeball dry/wet rice quantities I feel like that is a bit on the small size. Also a lot of the starch might get trapped between the rice depending on how tightly you pack it.

>>21647076
I think this is for splitting layer cakes
There is a bit of serration.
It's straight though

>>21647479
The problem is that it scratches cast iron and can fuck up the seasoning, if it was wooden or silicon it would have been perfect.

>>21636421 (OP)
Vaguely dumb question.
I've had this electric kettle for about a year or so now. It works for, but almost every time I use it and take the lid off, the rubber seal on it looks like it's coming out. It's easy to just push back in, but I'm not sure if there's an issue, if it means I should replace it, or what. Nothings really leaked out of it i think a few drops did one but that's about it.

>>21647490
If i ever use these like you want, I do it quick cause the shit will melt
Find a good sturdy smallish metal spatula. At a garage sale
I customized the one
The small one came from dollar general
Also you could put a bend wherever you want on the first one i posted.

>>21647568
It might be designed that way. It looks like the gasket's diameter is slightly too large for the slot it sits in, but when you clamp it down it'll conform, which could form a better seal by forcing it to expand against the side walls.
But what do I know? I'm just a retard on a Lithuanian mink farming BBS.
Replace it when it leaks.

>>21647580
Eh that makes enough sense to me i guess. It was only like $50 at most so not super attached to it anyways, just making sure it wasn't a defect or something.

>>21647568
Find whatever is causing the gasket to catch and sand it down. If it doesn't cause any problems then it isn't any big deal. Just depends on how much it bothers you.

>>21646428
it is a smart move but i have never seen a mesh tea infuser large enough to accommodate a half cup of rice.

>>21636437
Cast iron is porous. Oiling the top half should be more than enough. If anything you may get surface rust but I never have

>>21641972
You could go to the beepita boppita italiano villagio muy autentico in sunny and tax-free Salem, New Hampshire but youre gonna be surrounded by people ordering gabagool

>>21647076
you’re looking for literally the simplest, oldest and most basic kitchen utensil anon, its called a “wooden spoon”. It’s a lot like a spatula but shaped like a spoon but they make it out of wood.

>>21648107
I used to live in Pelham and my wife always wanted to go there but I told her it was too expensive and never went. Does their store actually have interesting imported stuff like guanciale?
I ended up ordering about 3 pounds' worth online for $89 from a place in New York.
Going to Salem means you're surrounded by the runoff from Lawrence and that's not good either.

>>21645209
Gone but not forgotten. o7

While everyone is asking about kitchen tools, does anyone own a pair of these herb/scallion scissors with several blades (picrel) I sometimes see? Do they work well even on the white of the spring onion? Was thinking about putting them on my Christmas wishlist.

>>21648413
If you cook a lot of chinky vittles they will be a time saver, otherwise just work on your regular knife skills
A scallion knife is better if you want to make lengthwise cuts (even though in all the pictures they are cross cuts that's not actually what they're for)

>>21648416
>If you cook a lot of chinky vittles they will be a time saver, otherwise just work on your regular knife skills
Thanks.
>A scallion knife is better if you want to make lengthwise cuts (even though in all the pictures they are cross cuts that's not actually what they're for)
I've never heard of a scallion knife before. Looks interesting:
https://www.amazon.com/Wakaka-Stainless-Chopped-Vegetable-Scallion/dp/B07FM8KCMN

>>21648422
If you want another weird cutting tool consider a wire potato grater
It's made for placky but you can also shove halved hard boiled eggs through it for perfect egg salad

>>21648432
or any cooling rack with squares
and avacados for guac
I never seen a tool for it, I gotta check it out

>>21648621
*avocados
ESL retard.

How do I keep my risotto creamy ? Rice absorbs everything eventually and becomes dry.

>>21639678
plenty of microwaves nowadays also have grill or convection options. basically makes them a small oven
get one of those

>>21644626
>>21644667
Thanks for the tip!
Managed to find asparagus (which is surprising this time of the year), but I'll also be doing Rotkohl as a second vegetable option. This means that I'll probably have a well balanced meal with most textures and flavors checked off.

My cooking plate sparked and borked
Do I buy another ceramic one or induction?
I was initially kinda hesitant to get induction because my pc is kinda close to it and I wasnt sure if magnet bullshit would affect it
Yes I am retarded

ia hollandaise just butter mayonnaise?

>>21636421 (OP)
I have a cast iron pan that belonged to my mom, she bought it second hand. until teflon pans came out thats all we used. the pan is over 70 years old. in the 30 years we used it when I was a kid we never once seasoned it. I started using it again about 7 years ago and had to re-season it as the original seasoning had flaked off from 25 years of not being used. It's not the same as it was. not sure if it will be properly seasoned again in my lifetime.

what are alternatives to oil in dough recipes? I don't trust jewgle and "AIs", and I just wanna make pizza without sneed oils.

>>21649796
Avocado or real olive oil

Why did my boneless pork loin roast braising liquid turn into jelly?

>>21649960
Collagen cools into gelatin

>>21649796
Olive oil and butter but you don't need to add oil at all

>>21645225
why is so rusted? you let it out of the house?

>>21647076
i just use a wooden one

Does anyone knows how to make jam?

>>21649717
Pretty much, yes.

Stove died, can you "boil" potatoes in a slow cooker?
I kinda dont want to starve tonight

>>21636421 (OP)
when you're camping you're supposed to pack lightweight stuff, not things that are stupidly heavy as possible. Get stainless steel

This thread convinced me that /ck/ is useless for any cooking knowledge what so ever.

>>21650666
Yeah just boil them in milk butter and salt until you can squish them into a paste

>>21652797
That has way too much oil and will go rancid

>>21649796
>what is lard
See lard

>>21652881
So a smaller amount of oil is okay and won't go rancid?

>>21652969
destroyed that retard

>>21652797
nobody here actually cooks they just eat fast food and at best ramen

>>21650374
sure, lots of people do.

In your experience, does spending more money on high quality kitchen tools make you want to use them more? I'm about to drop 2k to get a complete collection of Le creuset and start cooking all my own meals to be healthier.

>>21652996
only for a short while then it becomes normal/boring again
>I'm about to drop 2k to get a complete collection of Le creuset and start cooking all my own meals to be healthier.
don't do that. Just buy what pots and pans you actually need. Which I guarantee is not a $2k le creuset set.

>>21653002
Why not? It'll be fun. What's the vibe on /ck/ I'm new here, is it fart sniffing elitests who demand the best, or people who will look down on you for buying the best when you can just buy a lodge and call it a day

>>21653022
it's mostly retards who can't even cook arguing about fast food and seed oils
>Why not?
Because every set includes junk you will never use to increase the price.

I've been cooking spatchcocked roast chickens and having a hell of a time with carving them. Each of the three times I've done this I've butchered the breasts.

I am able to cut the breasts off of raw chickens or trussed baked chickens, but the spatchcock is throwing me for a loop. I'd appreciate any pointers on how to carve breasts clean from a spatchcocked roast chicken.

>>21653031
your knife isn't sharp enough

>>21653025
Oh, I'm picking and choosing what I want. Not getting a pre-built set. I'll make a thread about it might be fun for everyone to shit on

>>21653040
ok have fun then

>>21653034
I don't think that's it. I have no problem with other configurations.

>>21653031
Buy chicken shears.

>>21653031
try a filet knife, maybe easier to follow that breastplate the tender rests against with something thinner

this isn't reddit. you're allowed to make threads about any inane thing that you want

>>21653609
chicken shears are what I use to spatchcock the bird.

>>21653620
I will try this. I'm going shopping tomorrow and I'll get a new knife.

>>21636421 (OP)
can someone post their carbon steel pan? wondering if I need to reseason this if I don't have any issues with sticking

My mom bought a big bag of beet powder. She has never used it and it's sat in the cupboard taking up space. What can I make with it?

>>21653918
if it ain't broke don't fix it
seasoning is there to stop sticking and rust
if it's doing neither of those things then why bother

>>21639678
Dehydrate. If you don't have anything that can do it go to thrift stores, people regularly dump dehydrator.because they take up space so it's cheap.

>>21653991
great, thank you
that's what I was thinking

>>21644665
Buy a honey container with a bade to catch drip/seal better.

>>21653968
it's more of an additive than anything else.
use it to enhance flavors or add a red/magenta color to what you're making
sounds crazy it actually pairs well with chocolate believe it or not
the beet powder increases the richness of the chocolate flavor and adds a nice red velvet color while the chocolate hides that earthy flavor of the beet powder
go sprinkle a pinch of powder on your tongue and see yourself what you can do with the flavors

>>21645191
>A lot of things can be substituted
This is really good advice.
Also you can use dried/powdered/canned/frozen versions of ingredients.

>>21646428
I use a large stainless mesh strainer/collanderand a pot works way better. You fill pot with strainer over the pot. Fill. Empty pot while hold strainer. Rinse and repeat.

>>21653998
if you use it regularly with oil and give it the lightest oiling before you put it away it will build up seasoning any which way
the whole coat-with-oil then oven it repeatedly thing is meant for cast iron/carbon steel that is fucked and needs to be seasoned from scratch

>>21647076
I like wooden spatula/spoons for this.
Epicurean makes a wood pulp material version of them which has the advantage of being dishwasher safe

>>21653002
Imo there is a scale.
<15 bucks? Its going to be chinseium that feels miserable to use
16-40 bucks? It'll be boring and have something you don't like about it.
41-100$ it will be very solid and dependable and they won't make it anymore when yours breaks
100-500$ - too expensive, but it'll be of okay construction and have one really nice feature. It will also have a feature you HATE
500+$ it will either be made out of chinesium ir will never work right and you'll feel like it's your fault even if it's not

Change the numbers above based on the average price

>>21654050
>>21653022
>>21653002
Wrong tags

>>21654020
I'm basically trying to find out a "handsfree" way to wash. I already thought that but you'd still have to 'swish it'

I basically want to 'wand it' through water and just end up with clean rice... there has to be a faster way to wash it

>>21654061
Put it in a cheese cloth bag, tie it to faucet and let it spray?
Or buy a tiny motor and have it stir it for you, kind of like those hot coffee mugs that stir themselves

Anyone use towels in their kitchen? If so is it necessary to wash them separately? I wash mine with the bathroom towels and even though I know they come out clean I feel weird that the kitchen towels are in the washer with towels that have my body filth on them.

>>21654298
I use cheap towels I got from amazon and walmart
I use them to dry my knives and cleaning around the stovetop, then when they get dirty (about after a day or two of use) I rinse them off in the sink to get most of the food/dirt off of them and then wash them in the washer like anything else
I don't bother washing them separately. as you said, they come out clean but if you're that concerned I guess you could use paper towels

>>21654298
I do and I just wash them with my bathroom towels. it's fine. your body shouldn't be filthier than food waste in your kitchen and it's getting cleaned anyway.

>>21653968
Use it in a health tonic like a smoothie or vegetable juice. Beet juice is a potent vasodilator and an effective pre-workout supplement.

How do you crack eggs consistently? I hate cracking eggs, I consistently fuck it up, I try to use the same amount of force but the end result varies always. I try to hit the bottom of the egg with an angle to the countertop and most of the time it doesn't crack enough so I have to spread the cracked shell with my hands and this causes parts of the shell to fall in the pan. I hate it I hate it I hate it so much.

>>21654783
I lightly tap one or twice on the flat counter (not edge of a bowl), then once it's cracked, I hold it above the pan, and put my thumb in the crack and split the egg apart
I put it into a bowl first so if I get a bad/bloody/weird egg I can discard it instead of having a bad egg in the pan

>>21654786
Thanks anon. I'll try to do better next time I'm cracking eggs. I just bought more eggs from the grocery store.

does the liquid come from just the caramel or is it (also) from the custard splitting?

>>21636421 (OP)
I make a shortcake from time to time; a pizza once in a blue moon; and some other dough and batter related items occasionally. Despite me jerking off for almost two decades now, my hand isn't very pleased with all the mixing I have to do with a fork to make these batters and just kneading the dough. I'm looking at this thing, Braun Multimix 5 that is a hand mixer with dough spiral and blender attachments. I have no space or that much use for a proper standing mixer. How bad of an Idea this is?

>>21656587
the dough just runs up the hooks and gets up to the bottom of the mixer
I've been doing more bread work and been thinking bout those stand mixers

>>21656588
That doesn't sound good BUT I also make dough maybe once a quarter, so I can deal with it I think.

>>21656588
Braun mixer (not that one tho) owner, this has never happened to me. It will mix your shit but don't expect modern mixers to last >4 years.

>>21656682
>not that one tho
Which one? Not set on that one, just want to keep it around 70-80 Euro, so any recs are welcome.

>>21656587
A hand mixer can't knead bread

>>21656688
Have you tried it or just talking out of your ass?

>>21656654
I'm pretty sure my new mixer died from it earlier this year and I had to pull out an old 70 or 80s model that goes strong still
my hooks my have been bad design and cheap brand, if some are having good results with the braun I would think about it

could someone have tape worms without the side effects? i think something is going on.

yesterday i drank a 30g protein shake and ate two huge meals. lunch and dinner and it made my stomach fat/full then when i woke up my stomach was back to being flat and I only poop 1 small piece

>>21656906
are you active?
how healthy were the meals?
the less junk there is in the food the more your body uses in it therefore the less you shit out

either that or you have constipation
eat more fiber

>>21656309
sugar is hydroscopic and caramel is sugar
as the caramel cooks it absorbs the moisture of the custard and as it cools is releases all that liquid which then dissolves the caramel, becoming the caramel sauce that pools on top of and around the custard

>>21656587
If you change your mind on the stand mixer Kitchenaid (it’s the official Kitchenaid eBay store) is selling refurb 5.5 quart lift mixers on eBay right now for $173

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126448889446

>>21658370
Thank you, anon, but this misses all the things for me:
>Stand mixer
>Over 80 Euro
>Picrel

Ive been craving fried chicken sandwhiches but i refuse to eat seed oils, whats a good alternative for home frying. And what the fuck do i do with the oild when im done with it. I know some peope store and reuse the oil but fuck im def not going too.

>>21656587
>>21658396
Stop being a bitch and get a stand mixer. If youre a poorfag you can find plenty used ones in get condition on facebook market place or estate sales.

>>21659353
Are you hard of reading or what? I don't have space for it. None. Physically impossible to fit in my kitchen.

>>21659366
Based gnome anon

>>21659370
You fuck better respect short kings.

>>21656587
I used one of these for years before inheriting a stand mixer (old Hobart, still works, they want me to send it back so they can study it, but I'm not sure I want to let it go)

I see faggot janny removed my DuPont refills and PTO m Paul Harrell cooking links.
Proves what I said about nonstick shills.

Or was that a different thread, because I swear I posted in this one.

I have some frozen, cooked noodles from about a week ago. Can I just dump them into a pan and reheat them on the stovetop frozen as-is, or do I have to thaw them out before?

>>21660149
Yeah I would do it on low covered until it's thawed and then you can turn up the heat to heat it. That way it heats evenly and you won't get over cooked parts

>>21645209
>Paul
>>21659634
you'r just pissed and drunk

>>21659349
Use olive oil
Pour it all down the drain when you're done
Nothing bad will happen, trust me

>>21659349
peanut oil or animal fats

>>21659349
>buy kerosene lamp
>filter oil
>put in kerosene lamp
>light to make sure it works before storage
You now have a survival light source that is incredibly reliable when the power goes out or if you need to turn on light at night. Do the same for all the other oil and store it in a pot or container for later use. It might take you a while before its full enough for you to use the Kerosene lamp so it might be better to google it or store it in a separate container until you have enough.
>Anon, why the fuck would I do that?
Kerosene is a carcinogenic when burned indoors and has the potential to kill you with carbon monoxide if you burn indoors. With olive oil or old cooking oil that is filtered you can burn it indoors without fear of cancer or carbon monoxide murdering you in your sleep. There are downsides though:
>There's still a small risk of getting cancer using once used cooking oil but it's incredibly low and I wouldn't really bother unless you are using all day, everyday for decades.
>Your light source is going to smell like burning food or smokey bacon which will either make you hungry or piss you off. Depends on who you are as a person.
If all of this is too hard then just take the oil in just dump the oil or use it for cooking breakfast tomorrow; other uses of old cooking oil are:
>biodiesel
>lubricating tools
>conditioning wood or leather
>making soap
>soaking tinder in it to use as a fire starter
>composting
there's other uses out there but you can just google it.

whats the best after market crouton? the OEM croutons always run out too fast

>>21661102
Take your stale bread, cut it into cubes, and lightly toast them in butter and olive oil and some dry herbs
Once they soak up all the butter and oil, pop them on a baking sheet and dry them out

I just made a really nice rendang but will only eat it tomorrow and the day after. Is this smarts?

>>21661226
I haven’t had it before but it looks like the kind of dish where the flavor gets even better after resting

I'm making a beef stroganoff for dinner with macaroni pasta. What would be a good salad side dish to go with it?

>>21661874
cabbage or beet salad if you want to keep it slavic

I recently got an apartment in the melanin enriched part of town and the stove has those shitty electric coils. I fucking hate these things almost as much as I hate my neighbors. The latency on these is insane and makes cooking anything that isn't in a pot of boiling water a huge fucking pain in the ass. Is there any way to afro engineer these to be less shit?

>>21662008
Maybe just get one of these? Induction has to be much better. Put it on top of the stove and forget that coils are there.

Can I use Heinz tomato ketchup as a substitute for the tomato base on a pizza I want to make ?

>>21662418
I made quite a few pizzas with tomato ketchup. Italians would probably beat me senseless for them, but to me they tasted alright. Just adjust your spices for the sweetness of the ketchup.

>>21662008
pull them
clean them
make sure the probes are lined up good
that might not make a difference but you gotta try
at least make sure it's setting strong and as level as you can, get new metal under liners if needed, they are cheap at like general dollar stores
>>21662418
do a cook along and I'll allow it

>>21662008
buddy you're not in a place to cry about Black people when you're as poor as them lmao

>>21663057
this is the perfect channel to cry about it
I live in a house but the same circumstances and I can't even follow conversations on the other side of my fence.
I can't imagine them on the other side of my wall!

I'm a fat fuck. I heard about ozempic and how it supresses appetite but it poisons you in the process so I said fuck it I'll raw dog appetite supression and just eat way less.
I'm eating like 800-1200 calories a day and I've lost 15lbs in 3 weeks. I'm mostly eating oven roasted chicken and vegetables, salad mix, eggs on toast and sometimes a turkey cheese sandwich.
I read online losing more than 2lbs a week is bad for you. I'm definitely losing muscle mass too but idk how much of my weight loss is fat vs muscle. I'm walking 2-4 miles a day to try and reduce muscle loss but I get more tired now than I used to. How bad would it be to continue this diet until the end of the year?

>>21654836
anon, you still here? how'd it go?
>>21661226
I do this with caribbean/indian/thai curries

>>21663087
Very good. Continue with exercise and you'll feel much better in a while.

>>21663057
being poor doesn't justify thar behavior

>>21663087
Maybe ease up on it a bit. 2lbs a week is plenty unless you're over 400lbs.

>>21663358
Thanks anon. I'm trying to balance getting enough protein with so few calories while also getting enough carbs to do 4 mile walks somewhat comfortably. On really lean days with no carb I'm gassed at mile 2.
I just got back from a 4 mile and eating some carbs before helped a lot. I think I'll try reducing fat and increasing protein during lunch so I don't have to have to sacrifice carb for protein before the walk.
>>21663466
>unless you're over 400lbs
I started at 255 end of September now I'm 240. I was hoping on reaching 245 by the end of the month but I'm losing it much faster, at this pace I'll be at 230 by Nov 1.
>Maybe ease up on it a bit
You think it's dangerous? I'm honestly shocked at the results I've never lost more than 2.5lbs in a week with any diet.

why doesnt my cheese sauce stick to my mac?

>>21663585
You not using Velveeta and/or American cheese?

>>21663585
Did you foolishly rinse your pasta?

>>21663586
I usually use a mix of american, cheddar, and jack stirred into a bechamel >>21663602
I did not

>>21663574
>You think it's dangerous? I'm honestly shocked at the results I've never lost more than 2.5lbs in a week with any diet.
I'm not a doctor, but probably, yeah. It's also hard to find the willpower to keep going with the diet if you're only eating 800 calories a day.

>>21663585
you want bronze die cut mac. it gives the mac a textured surface which sauce can cling to, vs teflon die which leaves it smooth

>>21663087
id say its a bad idea because its unsustainable. I would find my maintained calories or total daily expenditure, and eat 10% less than that long term.

>>21656587
I boughted. Made some peanut butter cookies. Life's good.
Surprisingly easy to wash the whisks, very pleased with that. About to mince 47 metric tons of garlic for the future use next.

Im doing tuna tataki for dinner and broiled tuna belly with ikura, real wasabi paste, mayb garlic chips
Anything elsei should i add?

Whats a good side to go with Pokémon curry

A local farmer near me is selling fresh cold pressed olive oil he makes on his farm. Its 100 for 3 gal or 25 for a half gal. Both of those seem like insanely cheap prices. Think its worth it? Realistically i wouldnt be able to use that much olive oil that fast, how long would i be able to keep and store it

>>21665677
Make sure that it's not counterfeit.

Aren't dutch ovens enameled? Why even "season" them?

>>21665677
It can sit for a year
Just do some deep frying or such.

>>21647076
Amazon lists several similar things if you look up "silicone spatula".
One example is "DI ORO Silicone Spatula - 600°F Heat-Resistant Rubber Kitchen Spatula"

>>21665296
I wish I knew but it sounds really good already

>>21666235
Varies by manufacturer, for example only 3 of the 15 Dutch ovens on the Lodge site are enameled

>>21636421 (OP)
can i replace the cream in cream gravy with butter and milk powder?

>>21668312
Youre an adult, try it it wont kill you

>>21668312
just use whole milk you dont need heavy cream its sausage beschemel at its core

how do I stop things from sticking to my knife? onions particularly is what im talking about. makes cutting them a fucking mess when they stick to the blade

>>21671111
another dumb question: how do I mince? again with onions shallots garlic especially. I’d normally just look these up but foodtok garbage has spread everywhere and made finding useful info that isn’t fancy camerawork over actual instruction impossible

>>21671111
I just keep them in place with my hand
Helps if you have a very sharp knife
>>21671120
>mince
I first cut the onion in one direction finely, then as fine as I can in the perpendicular direction
Then seperate the things with your hands
It gets really tricky when you have little of the onion left but eh works good enough. If I need it extra fine I take the knife, hold the end of the knife and rapidly chop the already sliced onion on the board. Then I gather it up and repeat. It's kind of messy but works eh

>>21671111
When it sticks just flip the knife upside down and tap on the cutting board.

any reason I shouldnt just throw a wooden cutting board in the dishwasher?

>>21671331
It will warp and you will ruin it.

>>21658219
hygroscopic you retard

>>21671336
is that a serious problem or one that happens after doing it like 50 times

>>21671489
It'll happen the first time if it happens, but if it doesn't happen the first time, it will happen slowly over time
Wood is anti-bacterial no matter what, but a pass through a no heated dry wash cycle probably won't fuck it

What's the skinny chef knife for?

>>21671515
filetting

Filleting what? That thing is way too rigid and chunky for cleaning panfish

>>21671111
They always stick. Just wipe them off with your finger, or use your bench scraper if you're too scared.

>>21663585
Post pic or vid

Any tricks for easier roasted chestnut papery skin separation? I already soak them before roasting, but this damn skin sticks to the chestnut and is annoying to peel.

>>21671515
stabbin

>>21656587
Dutch whisk for mixing.
No-knead method for bread/pizza dough.

>>21672377
Too late:
>>21664291

>>21671111
>makes cutting them a fucking mess
they make knives with dimples and slits on the blade but do they actually help
not that I've seen
get a bigger board so there is no mess, or just take your time if you have just a quick job

even with a small board, after each slice push it to toward the other end and try to knock it off. keeps down on the mess a bit

>>21671331
Its takes like 10 seconds to wash a cutting board stop being a lazy fuck

>>21672568
my sink is tiny and the water pressure to it is abysmal because whoever designed this kitchen was a massive frothing retard

>>21672660
Is there a whole house filter installed? Maybe it needs to be changed.

what does basil pesto taste like
i just want some random shit i can dunk on my noodles so i dont have to cook

Seasoning the pan is a zoomer tiktok meme. Just start cooking.

>>21673575
tastes like basil

>>21673597
ok what does basil taste like?

>>21673624
It's like trying to describe a color to a man who was born blind. Basil tastes like basil. Try it yourself and you'll know.

>>21636421 (OP)
Use canola oil, you'll need to season it, heat it, scrub it, heat it, season it several times to built layers of oil into the pores of the cast iron.

A lot of what's sold as cast iron these days sort of isn't, I don't know how they make it but it's bs. And in these cases there all the more reason to season. You'll only need to do this once so it's worth don't properly.
>>21638299
Fuck you nigger.
>>21639639
So that's when you'd consider making a coffee syrup.
>>21639678
You'll be fine, just cook your meat as soon as you get it and portion out the meat components all at once, then just use the pressure cooker to do your rice/pasta, legumes as needed.
If you buy dried legumes you can rehydrate them, and if left under water they'll actual last several days out of the fridge just in water so you can rehydrate two kinds at once.
You'll also want to get a cooler or sand box, which you can use to store hard vegetables, fermented products outside the fridge.
Freeze half the meals you batch up straight away, so you're not using your limited freezer space to long store low value products.
>>21641395
Muslin. We use the pulp at work to bake muffins. It's far more edible cooked. It's actually a really good way to make carrot and poppy seed muffins.
>>21643092
The fried noodle can be used in salads. Try it with chicken and sweet chilli. Coconut can baked with, or added to museli/oats, or used in curries because it rehydrates.
>>21643102
Try just grating a little bit into butter with herbs then seasoning an omelette with it. Certified frog cooking.
>>21644665
Wierd problem, can't you just take a little bit out of the container pre-emptively?
>>21645225
Looks like there was some kind of coating, be careful.
I'd use steel wool first to get any corrosion or coating off it, wash it, leave it to soak overnight in mild acid, maybe 30% vinegar 30% water. You're going to have to repeat that until all thecorrosion is gone.

Then wash it with boiling water, season.

>>21646428
You wouldn't, it would just rough up the rice, making more starch.
>>21647076
Yes, they exist. You just need one that's heat resistant. If you're cooking something like a fondu there's a good reason to use cast iron, in which case there's also a good reason to use a soft spatula to dole out the sauce. Commercial cookery store.

The baking ones are for mixing batter and will just melt.

For all other applications on cast iron, wooden spoon.
>>21647568
Doesn't really matter, by seals like that do blow out over time. Usually can't be replaced, electric kettles cost like $15.
>>21648413
They don't work, the more blades, the less force on any blade, so they will crush your herbs. I learned Vietnamese cooking, they just use regular scissors. For any quality of herbs you just use a knife, or meza luna.
>>21648432
These really work. Grandma knew what she was doing.
>>21648649
Ah, simple question, many answers. Risotto is a notoriously difficult dish, most people just turn it into a slop even at commercial level.

Really important to wash the rice really well, buy "polished" rice if the cost is sensible. You must add stock gradually not just dump it all in at once. Some ingredients you will find listed just aren't suited to risotto because they are too wet.
>>21649359
The magnetic field is very short range, inches, unless you're trying to cook on top of a pile of solid state drives it won't matter at all. But having said that, keep your PC on is own power line for surge protection.

Get an induction plate, they're super cheap and cold to the touch. Just don't use cast iron on induction plate, it creates hot spots which can crack cast iron. Ordinary steel pots. Get them from thrift stores, use a plastic scourer, spray them with oven cleaner in the car park, hold your breath and then just leave it for half an hour then wash them down with a hose or watering can. You're safe here neet, we're glad your trying.
>>21649717
Yes.
Use a stick blender

>>21650374
Buy a bag of jamsetta. It's for noobs, has the whole instructions printed on the bag.
I made 400 jars this season, all organic, made my own pectin, recycled jars, hard mode.

But you? Buy new clean jars, jamsetta (which is basically just sugar and pectin), do it the easy way.
>>21651102
In the war we used aluminium for everything, trangias. And dehydrated food is a meme because either way you're carrying that same water. Only during cross border incursions did we take dried food and insufficient water, and that made us harder that the Taliban, harder than the Islamic insurgents. So for camping? Just bring regular food bro.
>>21650666
Potato skins have most of the organic toxins peel off anything green. But in 2025 who has a slow cooker that can't boil water? Use a kettle, lift a fire. Get it done.
>>21652797
Is blind leading blind done days.
>>21653031
Remove the legs first, then drive a fork along the cartilage that seperates the best, cut down Between the cartilage and the fork and cut right through the wish bone (that little y shaped bone under the neck) and right against the ribs and you should remove the whole beast in one piece. Then pull out the half of the wish bone that's in the breast. You should then be able to cut the breast on a chopping board with ease.
>>21653918
Your pan looks like shit, hit it with oven cleaner, wash the hell out of it with water, then heat and oil it. You'll be fine then.
>>21653968
Smoothies, baked goods.
>>21654298
Just dunk thew in boiling water with some laundry detergent for half an hour before washing them. In anything, the issue is fouling your towels with kitchen oil.
>>21654783
Beak eggs with some force on the side of the pan, or a kitchen mixing bowl.
Break them into a kitchen bowl first so if they'res any shell you can just fish it out.
>>21656309
The sugar will fall to the bottom, the liquid is a mix of the water leading both the custard and the sauce, it typically collects around the sides.

>>21674088
Get a life, man. You don't need to reply to every post.

>>21656587
Shortbread calls for a spiral mixer, many electric hand mixers don't have the torque for these attachments, but if it's small batch you'll be fine, it's smart.
>>21659349
You really have to fry chicken in seed oil because of the temperature. It that's a big deal for you, make schnitzels which you can pan fry with lard.
>>21660149
I'd microwave anything frozen, for ease. But no you can just dump them into a pan if you want, add a bit of water at first. Though microwave is far better.
>>21661226
Sounds good
>>21661874
Fresh salad with a stroganoff. Ideally rocket.
>>21662008
No they're just shit. But you can use a kettle or microwave at the same time to bring things up to 60-80 then just finish them on the stove. You'll find that by the time the food is up to temperature, the stove will also have reached temperature. This is why people fry things, they use a weak electric stove to bring oil up to frying temp, then can batch fry at the right temperature.
>>21662418
Yes, it willbe too sweet but whatever.
>>21663087
Weight loss is usually the priority, we're proud of you. Learning to cook and regular exercise is how you stay healthy long term. Cut sugar, cut refined fats to a minimum, but eat a ton of eggs, fish, legumes, chicken to maintain muscle mass. Get strong rather than starve.
>>21663585
To much water, cook the pasta first, cheese sauce second. Traditionally it's baked.

>>21674092
This is the stupid questions thread, I'm just trying to help as many people as I can.
>>21665296
Sour rice, miso soup. Instant miso is fine, fresh onion greens, thinly sliced. Ponzu dipping sauce.
>>21668312
Yes
>>21671331
Wooden boards will soak up the hot water. It's not recommended, bad for the board.
>>21671515
Filleting. Carving.
>>21672195
Roast them at a higher temp.
>>21673575
Just buy jar pesto.

My work here is done

>>21674120
>This is the stupid questions thread, I'm just trying to help as many people as I can.
most of those questions were already answered and the people that posted them are probably long gone considering the thread is 20 days old. your heart is in the right place but it's not necessary.

>>21674124
>>21674092
get a load of these tards

>>21674124
>and the people that posted them are probably long gone
W-what happened to them?

>>21675756
They were baked into a loaf of bread.

>>21674120
>Just buy jar pesto.
yeah that's my plan but im super autistic and people keep loitering in the pesto aisle so i wasnt able to get any yet

>>21676861
If you have a Costco membership their refrigerated pesto is the best pre-made I’ve tasted, goes great with a lot of stuff (you may want to freeze some since it’s a lot, and never put a dirty utensil in the jar because it molds easily).

If you have an executive membership then go right as they open and there’ll be almost no one there, or alternatively go at 8PM on a weeknight.

I have an angle grinder, an old Lodge I was going to donate and a free Saturday. Should I grind it down to a mirror finish just for shits and giggles?

>>21677892
It’d be funny to carry around as a hand mirror. Could also put a hole in the center and add a battery powered clock movement.

>>21677892
Yeah how's today going?

>>21679047
I forgot the battery I had charged was only 2 ah so it died after like 5 minutes. I'm charging the 8 ah one now so will (try) to do more tomorrow. This was with 60 grit, will probably do 80 and 120 grit passes after. Not sure if its worth doing the sides but maybe.

>>21679068
It is, people pay good money for smooth cast iron, if you get good you can turn it into a side gig

How do i thaw them in less than an hour?
I tried drpping water once but i takes way 2 long

>>21680555
Dripping water?
Put the bags in a bowl or saucepan, cover them with COLD water.
Replace the water every 10 minutes.

>>21680559
Yea i had cold water drpping on them from the tap, maybe im retarded and they need to be submerged, im just gonna try it

>>21680555
put in on the slightest trickle forget the drip

>>21636421 (OP)
You do not have to season the bottom, esp if only using outdoors. Between uses, any uncoated cast iron will "rust" from humidity and non-usage. Since it's not going to mark up a countertop or stovetop, whatevs. You can save time right now, not seasoning up and down, and get that pot ready for your first campfire or gas stove usage by only doing the interior and parts that touch your food. Do the rest later, if you wish.

>>21636602
>How do I maintain it after it's seasoned?
If you don't use it often, and by use, I mean fry items in oil in it...the seasoning coating that feels solid now, can get sticky. I think a properly seasoned one will not do that after many years, but if the stickiness happens, scrub off the rancid oil coating with hot soapy water and just use it again, or season it again. I also keep them in a drawer on a paper towel in case of rusting.

I made potato and leek soup because people were talking about it in a thread last week. I put dill in it and I can't decide if it's good or ruined. does dill go in potato and leek soup with bacon and cheese?

>>21681538
does it taste good or not? that's all that matters

>>21682033
I can't tell there were already a lot of flavors so it doesn't stand out much.

>>21681538
Maybe add a little chopped pickle to it, sours if you can get them

>made carbonara
>heavy nitrate flavor to the point of bitterness
I’m inclined to blame the panchetta I bought from the supermarket. Or is it supposed to taste like this and this dish is just terrible?

>>21683658
It shouldn't be bitter at all. Are you sure that the panchetta wasn't expired?

>>21683658
pancetta is a processed meat, a heavily processed meat at that, so it will have a lot of nitrates and/or a salty taste but I wouldn't describe it as "bitter".

I have been gifted coconut oil which I've never used before
Do you put it in something or is it just to fry things in?

what does simmer mean? is it just boiling but slowly? if I put a thermometer in the pot what temperature should it read?

>>21684087
slight bubbling. low heat. 2-3 on the stove. if you wanna kickstart it bring the heat up until it starts bubbling than bring it back down to 2-3
>what temp
i dunno lole

>>21683865
>>21683892
It registered to me as slight bitterness but I mean just an overwhelming nitrate flavor. Like the tang of salami. I’m not sure if I used too much or maybe this recipe isn’t for me and I should just use bacon next time if ever again

>>21684103
if it's bubbling does that mean it's boiling? also what does it mean when it says to reduce a liquid? are you supposed to boil it?

>>21684130
>if it's bubbling does that mean it's boiling?
the line between simmering and boiling is blurred, but it's basically about to what degree it's bubbling. a simmer is a gentle, slight bubbling on a low heat. boiling is a more intense bubbling on high heats. bring a pot of water to a boil on the highest heat, then reduce it to a low heat and watch how it changes.
>also what does it mean when it says to reduce a liquid?
to reduce a liquid is to let it partially evaporate. it's generally done by simmering, maybe a strong simmer if you want to speed it along, because usually you're reducing something to get a delicate, concentrated flavour out of it, and boiling it risks burning it.
for a quick reduction, like making a pan sauce or something, it's best to do in a wider, shallow pan because more surface area = more evaporation. to reduce something like a stock in a big pot, it will take quite a bit of time. also, don't leave a lid on if you're trying to reduce, because you want the steam to escape.

>>21684130
>>21684130
boiling is a lot of bubbling. simmer is just a little. strictly speaking yes its boiling. you’re getting the water in the pan hot enough to evaporate. reduce just means boiling it down to less, yes. taking water out of the pan by evaporation.
>why not just boil it faster
too much heat can ruin ingredients or take water out too fast before cooking ingredients that need to be heated low and slow. follow the recipe, but also trust gut instinct a lot of recipes get reduction cooking time wrong.

>>21684153
a slow boil and a fast boil are the same temperature so how could "too much heat" be a problem if you are just trying to reduce a sauce without taking 5ever?

Does grated ginger smell lemony/citrusy to anyone else? That was my first reaction but apparently nobody else makes that connection.

>>21684862
some ingredients need time to cook. burning can happen if theres not enough water left and ingredients start getting direct heat which can happen before the sauce is fully reduced

>>21684868
>Does grated ginger smell lemony/citrusy to anyone else?
Absolutely true.

>>21684897
what about when the food is already cooked and you are just trying to reduce the sauce like for steak au poivre?

>>21685167
you'd want a medium heat somewhere between a low simmer and a full boil for that. as anon above mentioned, reduce sauces like that in a shallow pan to reduce it faster and reduce the risk of burning. but you still probably don't want it on a super high heat. just a nice medium.

temperature control is largely an intuitive practice and you just need to mess around with it and see with your own eyes how things react to different levels of heat to make sense of it. you develop a feeling for it.

>>21685177
how will it burn on high heat when boiling temperature is always the same? won't it just reduce faster at higher heat?

>>21684087
95-98C if your thermometer is at the top of the pot usually
>>21684130
Bubbling means that there is gas escaping from the bottom of the pot.
>>21684862
No, a slow boil and fast boil have different temperatures and different temperature gradients.

When water boils and turns into steam, the phase transition requires energy. That lowers the temperature of the surrounding liquid and slightly increases the temperature of the steam. And of course the temperature of water is uneven because you are heating it from the bottom.
It boils when the bottom of the top (above 100C) transfers temperature to water directly on it (below 100C) and causes it to turn into steam. Fast boil means a lot higher temperature at the bottom of the pot and consequently at the top (close to 100C at the top - not 100C because that would mean it's steam).

The reason to avoid fast boiling is because by having the bottom of the pot at a high temp you're cooking out the flavour compounds. They are affected by the high temperature of the bottom of the pot as well as the steam that is coming out.
You can also burn food because the bottom of the pot is at a high temperature.

>>21685259
a pan sauce has more ingredients than just water in it. you want to strike the balance between evaporating the water contents but not burning the other ingredients.

I guess I'm just not snobby enough but I got this set from JC Penney on Black Friday years ago for like $7 and it does everything I need it to do

>>21636421 (OP)
>SQTDDTOT
do I really need salt pork for pinto beans if I double the smokey bacon that's also called for in the recipe
I've never used salt pork
>>21685571
what a score!

My MOM used my kitchen knife to pry something open, now the tip is bend, im sad because i love my knifes and take great care keeping them sharp and stuff, now i cant sharpen it all the way bacause of the bend.
I tried to bend it back with pliers but it didnt work, can i do something or is my knife to be tossed away?
I thought about just breaking the tip of if nothing works, but i want to use it as a last resort

>>21687509
Hammer on a flat surface, but it's probably going to break anyway from being work hardened

>>21687509
Take it to a knife sharpener

>>21636421 (OP)
Is pic related worth getting?

>>21688823
It's cheaper and better to buy a bag of bricks and build a bread oven in your backyard.
If you live in a flat and make pizza once a week or two I guess it'll be good enough

>>21688823
My apartment came furnished with one of these. I've used it once.

GUYS IM MAKING A BOLOGNESE, should i use one of my (good) red wines, or can i use dry sherry i already have open

>>21662008
the stove is what controls the 'latency' you're talking about, different models of electric stoves will use a timer to blast full power and then rest depending on what you set it at
usually this is fine for basic cooking, but without getting your entire stove replaced, which you do not own, you're not going to be able to get one that works in the preferable way with varied power.
Your realistic best option would be to just get a hotplate of some sort, or just sucking it up and stop blaming your equipment.
I've demonstrated in the past that these things can even use woks if you have the right setup.

>>21671515
slicing roasts mainly, usually paired with a 2 prong fork in a carving set, it's essentially a ceremonial knife at this point since you can do anything else it can do better with a regular chefs knife if it's taken care of at all.
I just have multiple regular chefs knives for if i dull one and need a particularly sharp one to cut a roast.

>>21687509
depends on the metal of the knife, some steels just won't bend back or can snap
if you're having trouble take it to a pro, even if they can't fix the tip they could regrind a new profile maybe
but the real advice is stop living with your MOM

>>21688823
just learn how to use the broiler in your oven if you want to eat burnt pizza

>>21688853
well obviously taste the sherry and see if that's the kind of flavor you want to impart into your sauce
dry seems fine to me I wouldn't do a sweeter wine

>>21688823
the only kind of pizza ovens worth a damn are the 5 figure commercial ones, brick ovens, and these types of counter-top ovens

>>21688868
Yeah it taste good to me, but i cook for other people, so i decided to be safe and open a red wine

smooth pans are a meme

>>21685167
>like for steak au poivre
good fucking luck. i cant never get that sauce to a good consistency

was about to have a meltdown over not being able to cook at all but at least i tried.

>>21684072
it's for beating off

Every year I get my father a themed gift for his birthday - one quality drink, one other item.
For example I've done whiskey and assorted jerky, tequila and spicy chocolate, rum and cigars, and this year I want to go for vodka but I'm not sure what to pair it with. Any ideas?

Which spices are worth grinding? I know pepper is an obvious one, but other than that? I never understood people who grind salt.

>>21690358
salt grinding is fine as long as you don't use metal burrs, just allows you to use untreated salts as a finisher
sugar isn't rare to grind in some countries where it's common to see it in brick/bar form or just large rocks of it, but if you're in a pinch you can grind regular sugar to a finer sugar, just it'll gum up your equipment a bit so i wouldnt do it regularly like they do.

but to answer your initial question more properly, pretty much any spice you can get which isn't ground, will keep a lot longer in it's "solid" form, and will improve your dish if it's ground right beforehand.
cinnamon sticks will last quite literally forever since it's a dried bark, but powdered cinnamon will lose some quality over time, though it's strongly flavoured enough you might not really notice if it's all you use.
some people grind bay leaves so that they dont need to fuck around with cheesecloth or fish them out, but you need to grind them extremely finely for them to not affect the texture
if you want to use coffee as a spice (things like a meat rub usually), i'd recommend grinding it to a fine powder like with the bayleaves.
and a special mention to nutmeg, since it's not usually ground, but grated, and if you really want to get full yield from them you will probably want another gadget called a nutmeg mill. Microplanes and similar also work but don't give you the full yield if you like skin on your hands

>>21690614
Why should I avoid metal burrs for salt? I was looking into buying a pepper mill at the very least and, assuming they worked like coffee grinders, I was aiming for one with metal burrs. Should I go for ceramic ones instead?

>>21690358
salt grinding is if you wanna use salt rocks. the benefit is you dont get the anti-caking agents in your food. does it affect the taste? probably not, at most anticaking interferes with the salt interacting with the other ingredients.

>>21690616
yeah i'd go with ceramic ones because of potential rusting issues when using metal, even the best quality stainless will eventually rust from too much abuse.
if you don't care about the look too much you can get pre-filled grinders for both salt and pepper which are refillable
>>21690623
you can also denature the anti-caking agents with heating but it's definitely too much work to do on the regular for most people
also handy if you're one of those pinksalt people

>>21690358
Pepper is the only one. The rest you should use whole or lightly cracked and only grind as a last resort. Also never buy preground spices.
>>21690627
Never had rust issues with mine. I would buy steel.

How unhealthy is unhealthy food? I'm in Germany so it kinda gets regulated what is allowed to offer but still I eat worse than average. Like at least twice a week at Mc Donalds, lots of frozen pizza, airfrying my fish sticks, popping some pringles or haribos every other day, at least one can of red bull daily. Only veggies I eat are some broccoli twice a week with chicken. Also an apple every now and then. I'm still not overweight or fat, just normal. But that's probably because I'm rather tall.

Will this behaviour put me under soil much faster or does it even matter? At least I don't smoke and don't drink alcohol. Still it worries me that this shitty food somehow mess me up on the inside.. colon or so. Of course I try to get better but damn it's difficult and I'm lazy.

>>21690358
I use a small pepper grinder for rosemary. I find the whole rosemary leaves have an unpleasant texture, but they grind up into a nice dust.

>>21690197
Maybe roasted or candied hazelnuts

>>21691163
ultimately the quantity of food you eat relative to exercise makes more of an impact on your weight than the quality does. you can eat junk and still be skinny as long as maintain a calorie deficit. problem is, junk food isn't very nutritious, which can lead to health problems down the road and often leads people to overeat because they're seeking to overcompensate for their lacking nutrition. so, as long as you keep your calorie intake reasonable, it's not necessarily gonna kill you or make you obese. you won't be as healthy as you could be, but if all you want to do is survive then whatever.

>>21690752
do you live in a dryer climate? i'd imagine it's a larger issue with more humid regions

Not really a question but a warning for other idiotis like me. Today I learned that you shouldn't use oven mitts if they got wet. Turns out cloth becomes super good at transfering heat when wet. Ouch.

>>21636421 (OP)
I fucked a new stainless steel pan up because I had the heat on the wrong pan and the one I fucked up was empty.
Was on the heat for about 15 minutes.
Fuck my life.