What did you learn about cooking today?

[TastyReuben]

I learned a handy-dandy common sense way to convert recipe amounts. It works based on servings (like if you want to adjust servings up or down), or if you have a certain amount of an ingredient, but the recipe you're following uses a different amount.

Example: I'm making a green bean dish tonight, and the recipe calls for 1-1/4 pounds of green beans. I weighed the fresh green beans I bought over the weekend, and found I had right at a pound.

Take the amount/number that you want (in this case 1, for one pound of beans) and divide that by the original number in the recipe (1.25, for the 1-1/4 pounds of beans the recipe calls for) and that gives you your multiplier, 0.8.

Take all the other amounts (like 2 TB this, 3 oz that), and multiply by 0.8 to get the new amounts. There may be a little rounding up/down, but as long as you're not baking, you should be ok.

It's something that should be obvious when you stop and think about it, but I was so used to finding a conversion website, that I never really thought about what was going on behind the scenes.

 

[FoodFighter]

Today I learned that a frying pan full of leeks, off gasses a lot of lacrimators.

Eyes stinging

 

[pocofan]

Today I learned that my hickory smoked hamburgers are the best in town.

 

[flyinglentris]

I recently learned how to very effectively whisk up meringues and cloud egg whites.

The first time, I used a blender and the meringue was flat and not as puffy as desired. Thumbs down.

The second time, I used a hand whisk and that failed completely, so I got my stick blender out with the whisk attachment and within 2 to 3 minutes got excellent results. When I first got my stick blender kit, I recall wondering whether I would ever need the whisk attachment. And now I have my answer.

First try for a meringue with blender was flat ...

Strawberry Coconut Crush Meringue

Success was found with the stick blender and whisk attachment for cloud eggs in two recipes to get cloud eggs ...

Eggs Californian

Tomato Potato Egg Bake

Tomato Potato Egg Bake

 

[flyinglentris]

I learned recently, by doing, how to make three types of sushi, - nigiri, uramaki and temaki.

 

[flyinglentris]

I haven't mentioned it in this thread, so I will now. When I made lemon chicken egg drop soup for the egg challenge, I used egg white only. That meant that I had to separate white from yolk. I thought, since I was dripping the white, that the best trick would be to pin hole the egg shell and let the white drip out, but in way that the yolk would not. I had to open the pin hole a bit, but no so large a hole that the yolk would come out.

This technique which I have never heard of before and for all I know, I invented, turned out to be a very clean and quick way to separate egg whites and yolks, much better than hand cracking or using an egg separator device, both of which methods, had often left me with broken yolks. Better, the yolks remained nicely stored and separate from multiple yolks in the shells. They did not need to be spooned out of a shared bowl. All that was required, when it came time to use the yolks, was to open the hole further, large enough that yolks would pour out. No spoon was necessary and no risk of breaking the yolks. Again, the method made things clean and quick.

So, I recently learned as much, a new way to separate egg white and yolk, a method which from now on, I will use by preference.

 

[TastyReuben]

I recently learned that a handy substitute for baking powder is ...to just make your own, with 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp cornstarch - scale up accordingly.

 

[pocofan]

I learned that when you are making smashed potatoes if you add 1 TBS of baking soda to the water as well as salt, you potatoes will get crispier.

 

[flyinglentris]

I learned a few things that I did not know about brandy, cognac and armagnac.

 

[Lullabelle]

On Sunday I learnt how to fry eggs using spray oil.

 

[Morning Glory]

On Sunday I learnt how to fry eggs using spray oil.

How do you cook the tops? There is no oil to baste them.

I've got this magic pan which is so non stick you don't need oil at all. Its possible to 'fry' an egg in it with no oil or anything else and then when its almost done but the top still not quite, add a little water from a boiled kettle and baste it with that. Its not poached nor is it technically 'fried'.

 

[TastyReuben]

I just watched Jacques Pepin make breakfast soup with milk, rolled oats, leeks, and some seasoning - that's a new one on me.

 

[Morning Glory]

I just watched Jacques Pepin make breakfast soup with milk, rolled oats, leeks, and some seasoning - that's a new one on me.

I must admit it doesn't sound very appetising to me. Anything else in it?

 

[TastyReuben]

I must admit it doesn't sound very appetising to me. Anything else in it?

Not really, very basic. It just looked like a big bowl of thin porridge, and it's intrigued me. He said his mother made it when he was a kid.

 

[Morning Glory]

Not really, very basic. It just looked like a big bowl of thin porridge, and it's intrigued me. He said his mother made it when he was a kid.

Hmmm... I did find this which it may have come from:

Irish Oatmeal Leek Soup

EDIT: I just realised he was born in France so not likely this. It certainly doesn't sound remotely French though.