Cooking

Answered by Lynn Clark

I think the main problem with canned fruit is that it's usually packed in syrup or fruit juice which adds additional sugar and calories. You could use it to make smoothies or popsicles, a fruit cocktail cake - this is a well-known cake in the Southern U.S., add to muffins, puree and add to cocktails. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Sherry - Spearmint is the standard when we call for mint in recipes. It is the type of mint most often sold in grocery stores and, therefore, the most widely available. Also, spearmint is milder in flavor – it contains significantly less menthol than peppermint – and lends itself to more preparations. However, peppermint can be used in place of spearmint in sweet dishes where it’s stronger flavor is more balanced by sugar. Here is a breakdown of the differences: Peppermint: A natural hybrid of spearmint and water mint. Because peppermint is a mix of two types of mint, it contains a higher content of menthol (40 percent as opposed to spearmint’s 0.5 percent). Menthol is the chemical ingredient that creates that recognizable cooling effect on the mouth. Its strong flavor is best suited for sweet dishes, especially those with chocolate. Peppermint is used in extracts and oils. Spearmint: Compared to peppermint, spearmint has a delicate flavor and fragrance. It gets its flavor from the chemical ingredient carvone, which is much subtler than menthol and doesn’t evoke the same cooling sensation. In cooking, spearmint is used in savory recipes unlike peppermint. Whether it’s blended into a tzatziki sauce, drizzled over a rack of lamb, folded into a pork- and veggie-packed spring roll, or muddled into a refreshing mojito, spearmint will let the dish’s other flavors shine alongside it. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Sharon - Flour weights per cup are all over the map. That's because they are determined by taking an average weight of a sample of people measuring flour by cup using the dip-and-sweep method \or\ spooning method - two very different methods which can produce wildly different results. Every person in the experiment is a variable - some people have a heavy hand, others packs more tightly, etc. - and each experiment may use different methods to achieve their results. Even the weather that day can affect them. We did our own experiment here at Milk Street and came to 130 grams per cup (about 4.5 ounce) in order to have consistency across our recipes. In my opinion, all baking recipes should be developed and written using weight measurements since the ingredient balance when baking is so critical. However, since not everyone does, I would probably go with 4 1/2 ounces per cup. I find the Cooks Illustrated number a bit of an outlier when you look at other baking experts' numbers. I can't be sure it will work for you across the board (obviously use the CI measurement for their recipes), but I think it's probably the closest to "standard." Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Daniel - I don't think we have a latkes recipe here at Milk Street so I can't offer advice on how to modify that recipe without a microwave. Each specific recipe will likely require different instructions to switch from a microwave to the stovetop or oven so, unfortunately, I can't offer any across-the-board suggestions. If you have a specific recipe in mind and can let me know what the microwave is used for in the recipe, I can try to provide alternate instructions. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Susan - Honey is a super-saturated solution of two sugars: glucose and fructose. The proportions of these two sugars are characteristics of the plants that bees feed on to make their honey. It's the glucose that crystallizes, so some types of honey are more resistant to crystallization because they have low glucose. Crystallized honey is perfectly fine and normal. Some even argue that crystallized honey is even better since crystallization is a sign that your honey hasn't been altered through pasteurization or filtering. You can decrystallize honey but putting the jar in a pot of water and heating it over very low heat. The honey will return to its liquid state but will likely not stay there for long. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Eileen - Canned tomato paste can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks or frozen for a few months. I would portion it into and ice cube tray, freeze, then transfer the portions to a freezer zipper-lock bag so you can defrost only what you need. I actually prefer tomato paste in a tube. It's a little more expensive but easier to open, portion, and store. The manufacturers say it will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of months before the flavor will begin to change but I know mine has been in the fridge for much longer than that and I don't really notice a difference. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Valorie - Our goal at Milk Street is to travel the world and learn how the rest of the world cooks on a daily basis and introduce our readers to those dishes and techniques. These are bold dishes using fresh vegetables, herbs, fish, etc., many of which I'm sure fit into the keto/paleo lifestyle, but we don't have plans to focus on any specific diets in our magazine. I am not schooled on the intricacies of the Keto/Paleo diets, so I'm not sure which ingredients are and are not acceptable. However, most reliable recipes for pumpkin, butternut squash, or sweet potato gnocchi usually also include white potato. This is because squash and sweet potatoes are significantly more wet than white potato which, in turn, creates a very wet gnocchi dough that's would be hard to work with. If you want to use squash or sweet potatoes, I would recommend really drying them out before using them in your dough. You can do this in a low oven or a dry pot on the stovetop after cooking them. Also, as I'm sure you know, gnocchi needs flour for structure so you will need to sub with a gluten-free flour as well. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Omar - Hmm, I'm not sure that Christopher did a recipe on the show for miso rice. He did do a fantastic recipe for a Miso-Ginger Dressing that can be used as a salad dressing, drizzled over roasted vegetables, or mixed into rice. Maybe that's the one? Either way, it's a great recipe to have in your repertoire if you don't already. It's super versatile - I even use it to make chicken salad. Hope this is helpful! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Eileen - Are you deep frying the fish? In other words, is the fish fully submerged in the oil or are you just pan-frying the fish in a small amount of oil? If you are deep frying or cooking over a relatively high heat, I would use an oil with a higher smoke point, such as grapeseed or canola oil, rather than olive oil. Olive oil will smoke around 390 degrees, extra-virgin around 350. You'd want to heat oil to about 350 before frying so you run the risk of smoking the oil, which will negatively affect flavor. Although you can typically reuse frying oil, I wouldn't reuse fish-frying oil. The strong flavors of fish can get pretty funky during storage and make your next meal taste pretty terrible. For other oil, you can strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter (a paper towel will work too) and return it to an air-tight container. Oil can be reused at least 3 times and up to 7 or 8, if you've fried something mild in it, like potatoes. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Jared - I love Portland! I used to live there too. I also lived in Colorado for a month, so I've had some opportunity to cook at altitude. It's hard. When cooking, everything takes a lot longer to finish since the boiling point at altitude is lower than at sea level. For example, an apple baked in an oven set at 350°F will reach an internal temperature of 200°F in 20 minutes in Las Cruces, NM (3,500 ft elevation), while in Taos Ski Valley, NM (10,000 ft elevation) it will take 45 minutes to reach that same temperature. So plan for everything you made in Portland to take longer in Denver. Baking is a bit more complex. King Arthur Flour has a guide to baking at altitude that is fantastic and links to two other guides from Colorado State University Extension and New Mexico State University with even more information. Hope that provides some guidance for you! Best, Lynn C.