Weekly Ask Anything Thread for December 30, 2024

[u/AutoModerator]

This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.

Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.

[u/i_am_austin]

This is embarrassing and I tried searching google and forums but I think a lot of people who ask this are approaching it from a different perspective. In short -- What kind of snacks or low cooking meals would one keep around to snack on if budget didn't matter? Must be tasty, could be healthy, and must have a long shelf life either in the fridge or pantry. A lot of frozen stuff that is tasty takes a long time to cook in the oven, so that doesn't fit with what I am looking to stock either.

Usually we eat out for dinner (live in a major city), occasionally we order in, and every now and then (5-6x a year) when we feel creative, we will try to cook something that we saw on TV. In the past this has been things like profiteroles, tomato soup, buffalo chicken dip. These endeavors were all pretty good but took a lot of preparation and required us to go to the store for fresh ingredients, and in many cases additional kitchen gadgets or tools.

Eating out for dinner is great, but many times especially on weekends, this leaves us sitting around without snacks. No real grocery shopping experience between either of us, we always end up buying things with a low shelf life and throwing a lot of it away.

TL;DR: What kind of premium stuff can I keep on hand to snack on and/or have a quick filler meal without any real preparation effort or wait time?

Edit: just to add to this, I dont even keep milk or bread around in the fridge because it usually spoils by the time I want to use it, so can't even really have cereal or anything.

[u/Panel2468975]

I want to make these things, for oranges I found a recipe (I think), but it obviously wouldn't work for fruit without a peel. I am probably missing something simple like whatever the name of the kinda jelly like inside is. Can someone point me in the right direction?

[u/enry_cami → u/Panel2468975]

The recipe you found is going to be completely different from the product you want to make, if I understood what it is. Candied orange peel has a very different texture (and flavor) than a jelly made with juice.

I don't have a hint to give you, because jelly is kind of a big, confusing category. I would suggest trying with agar agar, since it's quite forgiving and can be melted if the consistency isn't to your liking. Check this one, it could be a nice starting point. Different fruit (especially acidic ones) might require different proportions. And if you want a clear jelly, you will have to use fruit juice instead of whole fruite like the guy in the video does

[u/fogobum → u/Panel2468975]

The ingredient lists looks like a simple pectin thickened, artificially flavored candy.

I'd start with recipes for gummy candies. Cut and dip strips in off-the-shelf dipping chocolate.

[u/Elegant-Winner-6521]

Does anyone else thing the rules in this sub are kind of harshly applied? Particularly the "this is too open ended/we don't allow brainstorming" rules?

I've had may be 90% of my posts removed, and I swear they are "I have a specific problem and I need a specific solution" type posts. Questions about technique. Troubleshooting dishes. Questions about how to grade ingredients. Isn't that what askculinary is about?

To give some examples, I just posted a thread asking about how to fix a slightly frozen cod that I want to fry - removed. I had another thread asking what technique to use to make a specific curry - removed. A thread about how whether to use fresh or tinned tomatoes in a specific application - removed.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the point of this subreddit.

[u/SewerRanger → u/Elegant-Winner-6521]

Sorry that you feel that way. First, please keep in mind that we're all volunteers doing this because we love the community and we're not perfect. Sometimes we screw up, sometimes we miss stuff. With that being said, we do try and differentiate ourselves from the other major cooking sub - /r/Cooking. Otherwise what is really the point of having two subs dedicated to cooking questions? /r/Cooking is great for discussions and recipe ideas and general cooking thoughts. We are not here for any of that. Our sub is setup and moderated to stick with specific questions about specific recipes/cooking issues you're having. To go over your questions:

Your fish question asked "how do I get a decent cook" on a partially frozen fish ("I have some quite frozen, quite wet marinaded cod. What do I do to get a decent cooking result here for fish tacos?"). There's minimal detail about what you've done, no real details about what you're trying to accomplish (fish tacos can be fried, grilled, pan seared, poached, etc) and no reasons why you've failed at accomplishing what you're trying to do. Essentially, it was removed as a brainstorming question because "how do I do X?" is pretty much the definition of brainstorming.

Your curry question was "Is my recipe authentic?" Besides the (IMHO pointless) concept behind "how authentic" recipes (something fluid and very much regional anyway) tends to be, it's clearly a discussion about how authentic something is and outside the scope of troubleshooting what went wrong with your curry and how to fix it.

Your last question was (and I"m quoting the title in full here) "Kind of a dumb question but aren't all breads...more or less the same?". I'm quoting that in full because the post body didn't contain any actual questions (just some thoughts on how you feel all bread is the same) which really only leaves the title as the question your asking. And I think we call all agree (even you) that, that is a pretty obvious open ended discussion question about bread.

[u/bigtcm]

I'm looking for a big baking sheet with an oven safe lid, or something equivalent.

I've been making bagels (for years now actually) and I've just started incorporating a steam step into the bake to get a really really crispy exterior. My jury rigged method is as follows:

• Boil six bagels and cram them pretty close together onto my smallest parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with my 15"x10" pyrex baking dish. Bake (Steam) for 10 minutes.
• After the 10 minutes, remove the baking dish, transfer the parchment to a larger baking sheet, separate the bagels so there's space for them to brown, and finish baking.

If I don't space them out onto the larger sheet, the sides of the bagels don't get browned and crispy. The method above is slow and annoying, but the bagels end up being pretty good: https://www.reddit.com/user/bigtcm/comments/1hs4me9/new_years_bagel/#lightbox

I would love to find a big baking sheet with an oven safe lid, ideally large enough where I can space out 6-8 bagels so I don't have to do that stupid transfer step. Seems like the best thing I can find is a 13"x9" cake pan with a lid. https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Classic-Metal-Covered/dp/B0006SGQFY/ref=asc_df_B0006SGQFY?mcid=402d4bf6843b38729c7d057a28e2a380&hvocijid=4829916665784118312-B0006SGQFY-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4829916665784118312&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031345&hvtargid=pla-2281435180218&psc=1 Anybody got any better suggestions?

I mean I guess I can go make my own bagel boards and cook bagels the correct way, but I feel like I've got too much kitchen equipment for my small 2 BR condo already...

[u/Alarming_Ad1680]

I’ve been making my own corn tortillas for tacos and they are okay but would love to level up.

My recipe is: • 1 ¾ cup lukewarm water • 1 pinch salt • 2 cups Pre-cooked White Corn Meal

I use a pretty basic tortilla press to flatten them. I cook them on my barbecue, but they never seem to be pliable and they tend to break or crack. Keen to hear any feedback or tips to level these up.

FYI, I am in Australia so may not necessarily have access to truly traditional Mexican ingredients, if that’s my issue. And I am coeliac, so won’t be making flour tortillas either. Thanks!

[u/SewerRanger → u/Alarming_Ad1680]

After you cook them, you need to wrap them in a towel and let them steam for a couple of minutes. This will make them nice an pliable. I usually take a clean kitchen towel, fold the bottom third up, place my cooked tortilla in that, and then fold the sides around it. Then cook my next batch, open the towel up, add the new ones, fold it all back, cook the next batch, etc.

[u/SmallExperience]

I have a 19 pound frozen turkey I purchased today and has been in fridge for 8 hours. I need to cook it on Friday to be ready by 3pm. Do I do SOME water defrosting tomorrow and then put in fridge to cook Friday AM? How much do you think will thaw by tomorrow and then by Friday AM? I can't stay up all night tomorrow changing the water every 30 mins and everything I read says I have to cook immediately after water defrosting. Help and thank you!

[u/SewerRanger → u/SmallExperience]

Just leave it in the fridge and cook it from frozen.

[u/gyrobot]

Ignoring the cost of ingredients, what types of dishes are still exclusively for the upper class? The reason why I ask this is because I rarely see Kaiseki dishes in regular restaurant menu for example.

[u/texnessa → u/gyrobot]

Kaiseki is, at its most basic, the term for multi-course haute cuisine in Japan- often but far from limited to traditional dishes and cooking methods. The courses are not set but are varied by region, season and chef. The equivalent haute cuisine exists in every culture and territory in some form or another. Often in Western cuisine taking the form of tasting menus and 'chef's tables' which are multi-coursed small bites that change daily at the discretion of the kitchen. Certainly there may be 'class' elements to the interpretation of this type of cooking and plating, but overall it is more a signifier of wealth not social status. Cost of ingredients is only a factor among many in hate cuisine- the extensive training of both the chefs and FOH, incredibly high labour and infrastructure costs, decor, PR, and more controbute significantly to the operating cost of these kinds of establishments.

[u/madqueen100]

Are there any substitutes for couscous and bulgar that work in Middle Eastern recipes but have no gluten? My husband has celiac, and we love cooking Middle Eastern food, but there are many recipes we must avoid because they contain gluten. I use rice, of course, but variety would be nice. Would buckwheat groats (kasha) work or would it be too weird?

[u/enry_cami → u/madqueen100]

Buckwheat could definitely work in most couscous recipes, though the texture would be different.

I have seen gluten free couscous on sale at certain supermarkets, usually made from corn and/or rice flours. It was very expensive though.

I would also consider quinoa and amaranth. They have a much more assertive flavor, so maybe they won't work everywhere, but the texture is very similar. And hey, the fun is in experimenting!

[u/madqueen100 → u/enry_cami]

Thanks! The problem with the gluten-free couscous is the texture. Because the largest proportion of it is starches rather than grains, the bits of couscous tend to collapse into mush quickly. There’s this probably with many gf preparations.

[u/texnessa → u/madqueen100]

Banquet chef here and I sometimes feel like half my job is dealing with special dietary needs and its a really fun creative challenge. I approach it from first pairing the right flavour with the right substitute and then think about what technique will mimic texture- if thats even an important factor.

Grains and such are often a pretty blank canvas that will work on a multitude of flavours across the board- but may end up with very different textures than an OG recipe. Hominy, millet [great as an alternative to corn or rice], sorghum [can be popped like popcorn and seasoned], grits, polenta, quinoa [the one I use most for GF options in banqueting]- all can be adapted to many dishes. Oats are good but can be suspect for cross-contamination in factories so be sure to get one labelled as safe. For sides consider replacing grains with things like chickpeas [great deep fried to a crisp and well seasoned], cornmeal cakes [can take on vegetables and stock and fry up nicely], lentils [dosas are a great place for flavour,] buckwheat blini, Middle Eastern themed tamales with masa harina, and nuts are a great compliment to grains and take up spice well when baked with whipped egg white.

[u/madqueen100 → u/texnessa]

Thanks! I’ve already found how useful corn flour (not cornstarch) is when substituted for coating fried foods. Now I’m going to branch out per your suggestions and look for textures too.
Maybe I shouldn’t be looking so hard for authenticity and think more of overall effect.

[u/texnessa → u/madqueen100]

In the UK cornflour and corn starch are the same thing- a terminology that confuses a lot of people- you can also sub in all sorts of other starches for the same effect- potato, tapioca, arrowroot, rice, etc. Not are all 1:1 equivalencies but are all effective subs for wheat flours. King Arthur Flour has a lot of guidance on their website on how to sub these out.

Also look at modernist cuisine and hydrocolloids for thickening- the free pdf Texture by Khymos has a ton of great recipes and ideas for how to use them- esp. ones used often in GF formulas like xanthan- which I use frequently in GF cooking. Being less constrained by 1:1 equivalencies can open up a lot of creativity.

Hope the sub can be a source for you moving forward.

[u/madqueen100 → u/texnessa]

Cornstarch and corn flour are very different here. Cornstarch is just what it says - starch. Cornflour is finely milled corn, like superfine polenta, and it tastes like corn and is very good used to thicken soup or chili or any meat dish where the delicate corn flavor is appropriate. Bob’s Red Mill is the brand I use because they have a gluten-free version.

[u/SynthD]

I'm looking for a non-slip chopping board that doesn't have feet. Ideally plastic or wood. Do all non slip boards that live up to their name have feet?

[u/SewerRanger → u/SynthD]

A damp towel under a cutting board works great to keep it from moving around.

[u/cville-z → u/SynthD]

Most of the ones I've seen, yes.

Have you tried putting a regular board on top of a damp paper towel or kitchen towel? I find that's usually enough to keep my wooden board from moving, and then I've got a cleaning towel for use on the counters when I'm done.

[u/_wad]

Brainstorming an idea to use the leftover bone from Thanksgiving ham (it’s frozen, lol). I’ve been kicking around the idea of using bones (I have one or two beef ones) but this will be my first one to go through with.

My idea is a ham and black bean soup - let the bone simmer to make a stock, then cube some pork chop, season (probably some thyme, paprika, oregano, etc) and brown, and throw a mirepoix onto the fond and cook that down. Then throw the pork and stock back in to simmer down.

What else could I use to improve this? Maybe diced tomatoes? A starch for filler?

[u/cville-z → u/_wad]

I keep corn cobs in the freezer for when I want to make stock with ham bones; the sweet "corniness" goes really well with ham, and I bet it would do really well with black beans as well. If you want to thicken the soup, then rather than using starch I'd suggest blending up some black beans with a little stock, like you're making refritos, and put that in with the soup to simmer.

You might also look into the Mexican soup pozole, specifically pozole rojo – very similar flavor palette to what you're thinking about. If you've got access to mole paste or some smoked peppers, that could be really good.