Milk Street Q&A

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Jordan - If you slice the guava paste slightly thinner the paste should soften and melt while it bakes. It will, of course, solidify a bit as it cools but that is normal. If you still prefer the guava paste softer, you can try mashing the paste before adding it to the pastry. However, we still think this will solidify when it cools. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Robert - When we simply call for "white vinegar" in a recipe (which, admittedly is rare) we mean regular distilled white vinegar. If and when we call for white wine vinegar we will specify it as such. We usually only call for distilled white vinegar in situations when we want the tartness of vinegar, but otherwise the flavor of the vinegar is masked by other more prominent flavors. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Dennis - I will definitely pass along your comments and suggestions to Chris and the rest of the kitchen/editorial team. We generally don't call for using convection settings because not all of our readers have convection settings on their ovens and, even if they do, each manufacturer and even every oven's settings are slightly different. But we love the idea of a tutorial on how to use your oven to its best potential! Thank you so much. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Bob - Hopefully someone else who's actually used one of these devices can give you some hands-on advice on them. We haven't had a chance to work with these at Milk Street so, unfortunately, we don't have much insight. We do, however, highly recommend a good oyster knife. You want to look for a New Haven oyster knife - that is, one with a wider blade and a convex pointed tip. The shorter and wider blade with a pointed tip is great for easily shucking on the half shell by the hinge without spearing the oyster meat. The curved tip also means you’re less likely to stab your hand, making this a safer option. A Boston or Providence oyster knife, one that is narrower and has a completely flat tip, is more of a commercial-style knife and better for shucking from the side or speed shucking. You also want to look for a thicker handle made with a "grippy" material for better traction. A handle made of smooth wood is hard to hold onto when applying pressure to the oyster. Good luck! Hopefully someone else here has tried the shucking devices and can provide some more info! Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Joshua - We definitely don't think it's your Kitchenaid mixer or stainless steel bowl. That being said, you do want to make sure your bowl is clean and free of any remnants of fat or grease. A quick wipe with lemon juice or vinegar will remedy that issue. Other than that, here are some other possible troubleshooting areas: Are you temping your sugar syrup? If so, it should be at 240 degrees before adding it to the gelatin in the mixer. You might want to calibrate your thermometer to make sure it's working properly. Even a degree or two off could cause the marshmallows to resist setting up. Under-whipping the egg white-sugar-gelatin mixture is probably the most common issue. You want to whip the eggs until the bowl is just warm to the touch and the mixture holds a soft shape before falling back onto itself when you pull up the whisk attachment. Any delays can wreak havoc on candy making. Have all ingredients ready to go and tell your family that you can't be interrupted! Once the sugar syrup is ready it needs to be added to the bowl immediately - you don't want it to cool down too much. Likewise, once the mixture has been whipped fully work quickly to transfer it to the prepared pan. Weather or climate is another area that can significantly affect candy making and, particularly, meringue or marshmallows. Living in a particularly humid climate, if it's a rainy day, or the temperature of your home (too warm) are all things that can all prevent marshmallows from setting up properly. Milk Street is located in the Northeast and we find there are many days that just aren't great candy making days in our climate. Hopefully reviewing some of these tips will help you identify where you think things aren't working properly. Good luck and let us know how it turns out next time! Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Matthew Card

It's been awhile, but circling back to this. We've tested a bunch of shucking tools for the store and the Triangle oyster knife is hard to beat. German quality too! https://store.177milkstreet.com/products/triangle-tools-oyster-knife?\_pos=1&\_sid=decbf24c8&\_ss=r

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Marci - This is interesting since almost all no-knead bread recipes call for preheating the pot. I would contact Staub directly and ask them about the warning. It may be more geared toward heating on the stovetop, which is more direct heat than heating it in the oven. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Samantha - We find that guava nectar is more widely available than guava juice (Goya and Ceres are both widely available brands). The pulp in the nectar is necessary to achieve a really velvety sauce. Thinner juice will produce a more syrup-like sauce than a true fruit sauce. It will still probably taste OK, just not exactly the right texture. If you decide to try it with juice, we would just make sure to reduce 3 cups of juice to 1 1/2 cups. Since nectar usually contains more sugar, you may find you need to make it a little sweeter and you may want to add a little more cornstarch slurry to thicken it a bit more. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Sonya - Canned coconut milk and the kind you find in the carton are technically not the same product. Although they both contain coconut milk, the boxed kind is meant to be used as a beverage and, therefore, contains more water. The canned kind has a higher fat-to-water ratio and, therefore, will produce thicker and more flavorful dishes. You can make your own coconut milk, which is pretty easy. To make coconut milk from unsweetened shredded flakes, take 1 1/2 unsweetened coconut shreds/ flakes and 4 cups of warm water. Place in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Strain using a cheese cloth in a clean container. Best, The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Karen - Thank you for your comment. This discussion may be helpful to understand why we don't include nutritional information for our recipes - https://www.177milkstreet.com/discussion/discussion/comment/1247#Comment\_1247 Best, The Milk Street Team