Milk Street Q&A

Answered by April Dodd

Ellen - so glad to hear that you are thinking about how to use all parts of the carrot; using the juice and pulp is a great way to reduce food waste and enjoy the full nutritional benefits of carrots. There is no one hard-and-fast ratio for replacing shredded carrots with carrot pulp, but a good place to start is using half as much pulp (by volume) than shredded carrots. If you are weighing your ingredients, there's no need to change the weight amount; but since pulp is way more densely packed than shredded carrots, we have to use less if measuring by volume. The other tip I would give is to be sure to break the carrot pulp up well before using. Otherwise, you run the risk of a big clump of carrot sinking to the bottom of a lovely cake or bread. Happy baking! - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Zachary - a brisket can feel like a big project, but we've found that it quickly becomes manageable when done in a pressure cooker. Do you have an Instant Pot or other multi-cooker? If so, the techniques described in our Mexican brisket salad are excellent for any brisket preparation, and you can easily make a sauce with a different flavor profile than the one called for here: Mexican Shredded Brisket Salad Just say the word if you don't have a pressure cooker and I'll get back to you with recommendations for other ways of tackling brisket. - April D.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kimberly - A mornay sauce can be tricky but you've got the right idea by using freshly grated cheese and adding it off the heat. It's likely the type of cheese you are using. Aged cheeses don't melt well. For this reason when I make macaroni and cheese I use a combination of cheeses - sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack. Sharp cheddar has a ton of flavor, but doesn't melt well (you can tell that it won't because it sort of crumbles when you cut it). Monterey Jack is a creamy cheese that melts really well, but lacks a ton of flavor. The two together create the perfect balance of flavor and texture. This flavor profile creates a pretty classic Mac and cheese, but yny good melting cheese can be used in place of the Monterey Jack - gruyere, fontina, muenster, taleggio. Feel free to experiment with a flavor combination you like best and good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by April Dodd

Hi Susana - we do have a recipe for an excellent Thai soup that we learned as Khao Tom; take a look and let us know if it is what you're looking for: Thai Rice Soup (Khao Tom) In terms of whether these ingredients are available in supermarkets, that will depend on the supermarket! Fish sauce and chili garlic sauce have become pretty widely available staples. If you can't find lemongrass, simply add an additional shallot, as well as the zest of one large, or two small, lemons. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Mike - there are about as many ways to caramelize onions as there are cooks, so the short answer here is that if you have a technique that works for you, then use it! There's no "correct" answer here: rather, if the approach you use gives you the results you want, then it's a good one. The longer answer is that the lower and slower the heat, the more sweetness will be coaxed out of the onions over time. A traditional French-style caramelized onion might cook for two hours or more, with occasional splashes of water added to loosen up anything that might have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pan. However, for the home cook, there's no shame in cooking them over medium heat for less time - even 20 minutes will see a good amount of caramelization - like we do in our Lentils and Bulgur with Caramelized Onions: https://bit.ly/2wn6WBt. I will note that salt can dramatically transform caramelized onions; added too early, salt can result in oddly mushy onions. Wait to season to taste until the end. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Good questions, Chi. In our gnocchi recipe, we recommend boiling the potatoes until tender, draining, and then drying them further in a hot pot back on the stove top. Our goal is cloudlike, airy gnocchi, meaning that we want to avoid anything that might produce dense or gummy texture. To that end, we are looking to minimize the moisture trapped inside the dough and to control gluten development. That's why we wait until the potatoes cool before ricing; as they cool, steam evaporates off the surface of the potatoes, and excess moisture drains through the wire rack. This is also why we use a comparatively small ratio of flour to potatoes: more flour produces a glutinous, chewy pasta, not the airy one we want. Using too little flour, however, results in a gummy texture reminiscent of overwhipped mashed potatoes. - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Chi - you can certainly make almond paste at home; when I'm not able to find any in the store, I follow this simple recipe: https://bit.ly/39Pk0NT. What are you hoping to make with it? (I hope it's our Apfelkuchen recipe; check it out here: https://bit.ly/39QHan2.) - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Elizabeth - sorry for the delay getting back to you on this! The best option we can find is this one; is that what you're looking for? https://www.webstaurantstore.com/chicago-metallic-glazed-47125-customizable-3-pan-rye-bread-miche-pan-set/32647125.html

Answered by April Dodd

What we do in our development kitchen is this: simply place a whole clove of garlic on a cutting surface, then place the flat side of a chefs knife over the clove and smash with the palm of the hand. The knife helps to distribute the force of the smash so that the garlic's skin pops open, making it easy to peel off. Then, if needed for the dish you're making, just slice off that small root end. Happy cooking! -April D.

Answered by April Dodd

Dean - this is a question we have heard many times, and you'll be happy to hear that we recently changed our approach to pasta so that all new pasta recipes we develop will use the full 16 ounce quantity. In the meantime, if you have 4 ounces of any long pasta - like spaghetti, angel hair or bucatini - lying around, a great use is this Parmesan, Thyme and Pasta Frittata: Pasta, Thyme and Parmesan Frittata For any of our old pasta recipes that call for 12 ounces, you can always increase all the ingredients by one third in order to use the full 16 ounce box. - April D.