r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Technique Question Why doesn't adding a parmesan rind make a bunch of stringy/clumpy cheese due to the high heat, like often happens with Cacio e Pepe?

43 Upvotes

Title, basically. I don't quite understand how this doesn't cause issues with the cheese on the rind splitting. What's the difference here? Is it that the cheese gets leeched off a tiny bit at a time? Wouldn't that happen with any cheese? I'm confused. Thanks!


r/AskCulinary 22h ago

Food Science Question Can i freeze hollandaise sauce to save for the future?

0 Upvotes

Its not often that i can stir butter in a double boiler, figured i could make a bunch and then just freeze it.. i understand its like 98% butter but id be ok with just tossing a cube in the pan microwave (if it just comes down to personal preference)


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Technique Question Freezing fried chicken: cooked vs uncooked?

0 Upvotes

I'm a huge fan of fried chicken wings, but not a fan of the hassle and mess of coating them, so thought it would be a novel idea to make a bunch up at once and freeze them, so when I want fried wings, I just take a few out and throw them in the deep fryer. Debating whether to just coat and freeze or coat, fry and then freeze. If it makes any difference, when making fried chicken wings, I don't do anything fancy like soaking in butter milk and what not, just coat the wings in Louisiana chicken fry and deep fry. As a side note, my idea for freezing uncooked is to simply coat and place on a tray lined with parchment paper and freeze then transfer to Ziploc freezer bag. My idea for freezing is cooked is pretty much the same as uncooked.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Need advice on temperature while making beef stock

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone, Yesterday was my first serious attempt to make a quality beef stock. I had roasted the bones (mostly cross-section marrow and some shank bones, some meat included) beforehand and had also roasted the vegetables. Added some port for acidity. Had enough water in to cover everything. Stock was on for a total time of about 11 hours, but vegetables went in towards the end at the 9 hour mark, and the aromatics at the 10 hour mark. Here's the thing: The stock didn't gel as 'shown' in most YouTube videos and I'm trying to determine why that is. Maybe I wasn't cooking the stock hot enough? I even had a thermometer in the stockpan to monitor things and my temp hovered between 82 (180°F) and 95°C (200°F). What gets me is that there mostly advised to use the lowest possible setting on your stove, but to maintain a simmer. I have induction so the lowest setting goes pretty low, but should I try to get more in the direction of that slow simmer for the collagen extraction that helps with gelling? I think I'm missing some theory here that would help with getting better results. I suspect I should have had a couple knuckle bones in there l but for a 12 hour extraction I thought that shouldn't be a problem. Any advice from the pros here would be appreciated! Thank you!


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

I usually pull my own noodles. (Biangbiang and oil noodles.) But when I cook for my mother, I have to use gluten-free flour. (A starch blend, mainly tapioca.) Am I doomed? Can I still pull noodles?

25 Upvotes

When I try to make dough out of gluten-free flour, it is not solid or stretchy. It's just shear-thickening. I can change the viscosity by changing the water content, but I can't make it permanently retain its shape the way gluten dough does. (I thought egg might help, but as of yet it has not helped.) Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way for me to create dough that I can pull into noodles?

(More information on the nature of my mother's objection to gluten: she does not have coeliac; she has a gluten allergy. This allergy was diagnosed by a quack, so I'm not sure she has even that, but I'm not going to lie to her about the ingredients of her food, and I'm not going to serve food with ingredients she doesn't want.)


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Technique Question What’s wrong with my potatoes?

9 Upvotes

Whenever I roast a chicken in a cast iron, I chop up some wedge potatoes and stick them around the chicken, hoping for some delicious chicken drippings soaked goodness.

When the chicken is done, my potatoes have an unpleasant texture. They seem to be all the way cooked through but the outside is weirdly chewy but the potatoes also fall apart.

Some details: I’ve had similar reactions trying with gold and russet potatoes. Potatoes are tossed in avocado oil and salt. The chicken is dry brined with a salt/baking powder mix the night before and rubbed with butter before the oven. Cast iron is heated in 400 degree oven, chicken is plopped in to jumpstart thighs, I surround the chicken with the potatoes Bake one hour-ish to 155f


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Does it matter what side of aluminum foil to use?

83 Upvotes

There is a glossy and non glossy side and I've read that which side you use matters. For example if you make a foil boat to bake things in, either the glossy or non glossy faces the inside, i forget which. But does it really matter which side to use?


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Timing for an 8-pound bone in prime rib at 225 F

0 Upvotes

Hello!

I’m cooking up a prime rib roast for a birthday dinner. It’s not necessarily my first rodeo, but it’s my first “oh shit everyone has to work the next day” dinner.

I have a crappy little apartment sized oven that really only kicks in well at 225 and I suffer from a bit of time blindness. Meat would be brought to room temp prior to entry. If I were to serve the roast at around 6:30 PM, what would be the optimal time to put it in?

I know this may vary, but a ballpark time is greatly appreciated!


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

New Korean Oven Help

1 Upvotes

Hi guys. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this so if it's not, please let me know where to ask.

So before I came to Korea, I took an interest in baking everything. I wanted to make everything from scratch such as bread and cakes and more. I did get stationed overseas and I now have this new oven. It's a conventional oven and im super confused.

I tried to make bread and followed the temperature and everything but the inside was still a bit raw and the outside was golden. It baked really fast. It also was really hard... I tried again and same problem. I wanted to make banana bread but I don't know if I should anymore. I wanted to make bread today to make pasta but I don't want it to burn or anything.

I've never used an oven that uses fans. It doesn't let me manage how strong I want the air in the oven while it's baking. Maybe im missing sometjing obvious, but im getting disheartened because I just started to bake and now I have this oven that rotates like a microwave and blows air. I was wondering if anyone of you guys know what I can do because I found something I enjoyed and I don't want to give it up for the next 3 years...

Its not letting me add any attachments but it's a LG lightwave DIOS. It has an oven button, grill button on the very right and 3 other buttons in Korean, a twist know in the middle, a choose button, 2 other korean buttons that i don't know what it means, and clear button, and a start button. I don't know how you guys can answer without the photos and a terrible description, but i appreciate any advice. ♡


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Ingredient Question Lentils in Cabbage rolls

7 Upvotes

If I'm subbing lentils for rice do I need to pre boil the lentils? I know they take way little time versus most other beans.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Brown butter cookies

0 Upvotes

What is the difference/affects of freezing vs chilling cookie dough? I am using a brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe if that matters.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Recipe Troubleshooting Cream puff failure

0 Upvotes

I’m in a culinary class and we’re making cream Puffs tommorow so I figured I could get some Practice in tonight. I got all my ingredients prepped and did the recipe almost exactly to a T. The recipe called for one cup water, one whole stick of butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and one cup of flour. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to add in some sugar for a sweater dough and put in a full tablespoon. The recipe we got told us to melt our butter in boiling water so I put my butter (I used two half sticks of land o lakes butter) in the boiling water and let them melt completely. Shortly after I added in my sugar, salt, and flour all at once and started stirring, soon after though my dough just looked like applesauce and had the same consistency. I stirred for over ten minutes on different heats and nothing changed. I ended up adding more flour which sort of helped but in the end my dough still looked like applesauce. I kept chugging on and added my eggs but still afterward, though more stiff, it still looked like applesauce. I cooked the dough for the length and temp required and this was the final product. What did I do wrong? Edit: I forgot to attach the photo before posting, if needed I can hopefully get the photo to anyone that needs it.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

My chicken won’t freeze!

0 Upvotes

Ok on Jan 6 I bought a package of chicken breasts at Walmart. Took it home, sliced each piece in half and put 2 halves in its own ziploc bag before going into the freezer. On January 7, I noticed that one of the ziplocs hadn't frozen up yet. So I thought maybe there was something wrong with the fridge/freezer but then I see that everything else is still frozen and the other ziplocs of chicken froze up. Next thought was maybe it was because of where that ziploc landed in the freezer, maybe it was somehow blocked by something that prevented it from freezing (I really was grasping at straws) Well anyway here it is Jan 12 and it's still not frozen!! everything in my freezer is frozen except this ziploc of chicken breast. People of Reddit: Any ideas?


r/AskCulinary 3d ago

Technique Question Why do we add liquid to pot roasts and other slow cooked meats?

428 Upvotes

Hi guys :) I have been cooking at home for quite a while now, but I am very new to doing low and slow cooked meats. My question is, what's the point of adding liquid, and how do you actually do it correctly? To me it seems like leaving meat in hot liquid for hours would cause it to be tough and gummy, but clearly that's wrong because pot roast is a classic and comes out amazing when done right


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Tom Kha Gai recipe - if using only thighs instead of an entire cut up chicken, will this yield adequate results?

4 Upvotes

Here is the recipe I am referring to: https://shesimmers.com/2013/03/tom-kha-gai-the-rustic-way.html

As mentioned in the title, in this version the author uses a whole cut up chicken and simmers it for 40 minutes is a low volume of water (to get a sort of quick concentrated broth). If I did the same thing but with skin on bone in thighs, would my end result suffer?

Thanks in advance


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Meal prepping/freezing in deli containers at home

2 Upvotes

Home cook here!

For dietary reasons and to reduce my time in the kitchen, I want to start scaling up my meal prep and storing cooked meals for 1-2 months in the freezer that could be easily reheated. I'm thinking these would mostly be simple grain+protein+veg meals or soups. Ideally I'm prepping things that could be dumped in a bowl, microwaved, and still be tasty and nutritious.

I already have a ton of plastic deli containers which I would love to use for this, but I'm afraid of how cooked food will fare only in a deli container in the freezer. I figure most soups and liquid immersed foods will do fine, but are there ways to still use these containers and keep dry-ish food like rice and cooked chicken/fish fresh in the freezer? Would it be enough for me to just fill the containers to the top to reduce the amount of space for air inside? Or should I abandon all of this and invest in a vacuum sealer?

Thanks!


r/AskCulinary 3d ago

Technique Question [Custard?] Recipe calls for mixing egg yolks, milk, sugar, then boiling it for four minutes. Why don’t the egg yolks become scrambled?

131 Upvotes

The closest term I could find was custard. When you boil egg yolks they become solid and powdery. But why don’t they split when boiled over the stovetop? (The recipe is an Ottoman dessert called “Keşkül” if anyone is wondering)


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Duck wellington and the mushroom replacement

12 Upvotes

Look, I know that sounds like a weird animated kid's movie, but I swear it's relevant.

I absolutely love duck, and I've been kicking around an idea of making a duck wellington. I have both the duck breasts and some duck breast prosciutto. My problem is my wife is allergic to mushrooms, so I'm trying to find an alternative. I'm thinking diced chestnuts but I'm not sure it'll give the right earthyness of mushrooms. I saw a recipe where the writer uses soy sauce and congnac while cooking down the chestnuts. I'm iffy on that combination. Regardless, since I'm dealing with duck I'll be likewise substituting the shallots in the duxelle with melted leeks, since it's a very similar flavor profile, but that duck and leek are just such a good combination.

A friend had recommended tempeh into the faux duxelle, but I've never used it before so I'm unfamiliar with the flavor, texture or haven't of the ingredient.

If anyone has suggestions, I'm ducky to hear them!


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Equipment Question Scratched Stainless Pan [any tips]

0 Upvotes

Hi !
So I inherited my grandma’s stainless steel pan, but years of using a metal sponge (wrong way of cleaning a stainless steel pan, I know...) left it super scratched.
As I'm using this stainless pan, the food is constantly sticking to my pan. Even if it tried the water droplet test, different oils and gentler cleaning method (even if it's already super scratched...)

Could deep scratches be why food sticks more ? Can I polish a heavily scratched stainless pan to improve it? (in my opinion it's not recommended as I haven't found people doing that).

  • Has anyone restored a similar pan?
  • What techniques or products worked for you?
  • Are there risks or pitfalls with polishing stainless steel?

Thanks in advance!


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Technique Question Veggie "meatballs" help

1 Upvotes

I want to make meatballs in curry sauce for my partner, she is vegetarian however, and the only way I know how to make the dish, is with the boiled water from making the meatballs (more taste)

However, having never cooked with veggie replacements (nor Cooked much in general) i wondered if the, pre-made veggie-mince?? Or whatever you would call it,,, can be boiled like normal minced meat?

Mix egg, flour, chopped onion, then form them to balls with a spoon and directly into the water?

Sorry for the basic question, never learned how to cook, so my only knowledge is what I'm used to make for myself, much of that is probably wrong in any case 😅


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Central / wok ring not staying on

1 Upvotes

We have a new gas hob. All 4 outer rings are fine, central one will light but as soon as we let go of the knob the flame goes out, any ideas?

It is different to all other rings, instead of small holes it has 2 large ones and some adapter pieces


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

How to unthick Pistachio butter | Dubai Chocolate

1 Upvotes

I recently bought 100% pistachio butter and mixed it with melted white chocolate and butter. After refrigerating the mixture, I left it at room temperature for three hours, but it didn't return to a liquid consistency. I tried reheating it using a double boiler, but it remained thick.

The reason I prepared the mixture earlier was that I had work and needed to finish it later. My goal is to combine it with kunafa to make Dubai chocolate.

Do you have any tips for ensuring the mixture becomes creamy and smooth when I make the Dubai chocolate?


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Ingredient Question Should saffron be bloomed using hot water or ice cubes?

11 Upvotes

I've been looking at instructions on the proper preparation of saffron and I've found two opposite methods:

Some recipes call for blooming with hot water.

Some others encourage sprinkling the saffron on ice cubes and letting them infuse while melting.

Which of these do you guys think is more effective for achieving satisfactory results?


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Recipe Troubleshooting brioche buns

1 Upvotes

hello guys. i wanted to try this brioche bun recipe. all i „changed“ was i added tangzhong but the dough came out really sticky. i kept adding more flour until it eventually got manageable. could have been more than 100g. i didn’t want to put anymore so that it doesn’t get too dry but i feel like it’s not gonna turn out the way i wanted. any tips? reassurance that it will turn out fine? i did knead it with a kitchen machine and eventually changed to my hands because it just wasn’t working so i did unfortunately knead it for more than let’s say 20mins. did i overdo it?

400g (3 cups) flour, 21g (1 tablespoon) sugar, 7g (2 teaspoons or one packet) instant dry yeast, 5g (1 teaspoon) salt, 240ml (1 cup) lukewarm (105f/40c) milk, 28g (2 tablespoons) softened butter, 1 egg


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Technique Question Split pea soup with ham bone - water or chicken stock or both?

5 Upvotes

Hey all. I have a nice ham butt bone with PLENTY of meat left on there. I like leaving extra on there to make a soup with. I'm planning on making split pea soup with it.

I want to get the most out of this ham bone and meat. I have some great homemade chicken stock in my freezer. If you were making split pea soup, would you make a new "stock" for the soup by cooking the ham bone and meat in water for a while, then adding the meat, necessary veggies and peas into the soup? Or would you cook the ham bone in the chicken stock instead? Or maybe a combination of chicken stock and water?

I want to extract the flavor out of this ham bone + meat, but I wonder if using chicken stock would be overboard? Thank you.