Q.
What is the
difference between a garlic bulb and clove of garlic?
What is the best way to chop fresh garlic?
A.
The edible bulb or "head" grows
beneath the ground. This bulb is made up of sections
called cloves, each encased in its own parchment-like
membrane. We have photo-filled, step-by-step tutorials
about
peeling garlic and
chopping garlic in our Cooking Basics
section.
Q.
What does the term
"sauté" mean?
A.
To sauté is to cook food quickly
in a small amount of oil in a skillet or sauté pan over
direct heat. More definitions for cooking terms can be
found in the Allrecipes
Encyclopedia.
Q.
How do I make
homemade chicken stock?
A.
There are actually many options for making homemade
chicken stock -- your choices are limited only by the
contents of your vegetable crisper, your leftovers, and
your imagination. Keep in mind that stock provides a
background to soup, so the ingredients you choose should
be supportive, not overwhelming. Our photo-filled
tutorial,
Making Chicken Stock, provides step-by-step
instructions for producing a good, basic chicken stock.
Once you've got the basics down, feel free to
experiment!
Q.
What is the trick
to making lump-free gravy?
A.
Gravy becomes lumpy when flour particles get stuck
together. This can be avoided by cooking together equal
parts of flour with a fat, such as clarified butter,
vegetable oil or grease. This mixture is known as a
roux and serves as a thickener for gravy. As
a general rule of thumb, 1/2 cup of roux will thicken 4
cups of gravy. Any type of liquid can be added to a roux
to make gravy.
More gravy making tips can be found in our Cooking
Basics article,
No Guts... No Gravy. Take a peek at our other
side dish articles for even more recipes,
meal ideas and cooking advice.
Q.
What is the best
way to mash potatoes?
A.
The best thing to use is a potato ricer, and the next
best thing is a food mill. These two gadgets work so
well because the potatoes achieve a uniform texture as
they pass through evenly sized holes, and they get
smashed only once. With these methods, the potatoes'
cell walls are much less likely to break open, and the
texture will remain light, fluffy and creamy.
Our Cooking Basics article,
Matchless Mashed Potatoes provides additional
tips for making mashed potatoes.
Q.
How do I roast
hazelnuts?
A.
You can roast hazelnuts like you would any other nut:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Remove the shells of the nuts if this has not already
been done, and arrange the shelled nuts in a single
layer on a baking sheet. Roast until the nuts begin to
turn a golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Q.
I often find myself
adjusting recipes in order to make enough for my family,
but it doesn't quite work for some recipes. Do you have
any advice for me?
A.
Changing recipes in order to make more or less servings
is called "recipe scaling." Whenever you alter the
amounts of ingredients for a given recipe, you may also
need to adjust the cooking temperature, cooking time,
pan size and seasonings. But for food chemistry reasons,
recipe scaling simply does not work well for some
dishes: delicate foods such as soufflés, baked items
requiring yeast such as breads, and recipes for a single
large item that is meant to be later divided into
smaller portions such as cakes, pies, breads and whole
turkey.
Our
Recipe Scaling Page will give you a reliable
framework for successful recipe scaling: It offers
detailed guidelines for recipe scaling and easy
instructions for using the handy recipe scaling tool on
our site. You can always find this tool and a link to
our recipe scaling tips from any recipe at
Allrecipes.com. |