The cooking-time tag has no wiki summary.
26
votes
13answers
20k views
How should I cook bacon in an oven?
I've heard of people cooking bacon in an oven by laying the strips out on a cookie sheet. When using this method, how long should I cook the bacon for, and at what temperature?
23
votes
4answers
10k views
What is the internal temperature a steak should be cooked to for Rare/Medium Rare/Medium/Well?
I'd like to know when to take my steaks off the grill and please everybody.
15
votes
3answers
256 views
Timing an oven to start while I am out - but what about preheating?
Many ovens have a timer which allows you to set the start time, so you pop your item in and later in the day it will automatically start cooking it unmanned.
But all the oven cooking I can think of ...
15
votes
8answers
758 views
Why do I need more time and liquid than my risotto recipe calls for?
Whenever I make a risotto, I always find that I need about 50% more liquid and 50% more cooking time than my recipe suggests. I recently made a Jamie Oliver risotto that called for 1 cup arborio, 2 ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
How can I tell if the food inside a pressure cooker is done cooking?
I've been looking into getting a pressure cooker since it works on the premise of increasing the boiling temp of water thereby cooking things more quickly. Operating on the premise that a pressure ...
12
votes
9answers
14k views
Can I safely roast a chicken for 4 to 5 hours on a low heat?
Hard pressed office worker and cook here. If I go home at lunchtime and put in a medium sized chicken to roast in the oven can I ensure it's ready to eat when the family get in in the evening?
I've ...
12
votes
5answers
10k views
How can I melt cheese for dipping?
I love dipping things like pretzels in metled cheese.
I've done this lots of times at fairs and other places with 'pretzel carts', but I've never been able to replicate it myself at home.
Whenever I ...
12
votes
10answers
15k views
How To Tell When Corn is Done With Boiling
When boiling corn, how can I tell when it's done?
I usually remove the husk and silk. Would there be any advantage to leaving them on when boiling?
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Does bacon need to be fried until crisp?
I'm not sure how much to fry the frozen bacon I get. Should it be crisp? When do I stop?
11
votes
3answers
5k views
How to know when to stop churning ice cream?
I've got a simple Cuisinart home churn, the kind that uses a frozen bowl rather than a compressor. On a couple of occasions, I'm pretty sure I've overchurned the mix, because it seems to leave a ...
11
votes
6answers
12k views
How should I prepare dried chickpeas?
I've never used dried chickpeas before, but I'm not wanting for chickpea recipes. The bag of dried chickpeas I got contains no instructions for cooking. I know that I need to soak them in water for a ...
10
votes
5answers
27k views
Time vs. Temperature - What changes what?
Really basic question that's bugging me...
Speaking mathematically, 200 degrees of heat for 10 minutes should be the same as 400 degrees of heat for 5 minutes , but that's not the case, right?
So ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
Why would you Parboil Some Vegetables Before Stir-Frying them?
An example would be green beans - some recipes call for parboiling green beans before stir-frying while others do not? Is there a reason behind this?
10
votes
11answers
521 views
What is a simple and easy way to make a meat dish for a college student
I need a bit of variety and more simplicity in my cooking. My 25 minute chicken curry is great, but it can get a bit frantic since I often leave cooking until I am very hungry (studying takes ...
10
votes
3answers
402 views
Which non penetrating method is recommended to check chicken breasts for done-ness when pan fried
i love pan fried chicken usually with some tumeric, salt, pepper, rosemarry, and evoo. Anyways, I don't like to get my thermo dirty everytime, and sometimes i get it a bit overdone, sometimes the ...
10
votes
3answers
846 views
What are the advantages of using a stove instead of an oven?
Are there any advantages to using a stove instead of oven? As a woman of science, this is a question that has been lingering in my noggin for a very long time.
The main points I'd like to see ...
10
votes
2answers
744 views
How long and at what temperature do the various parts of a chicken need to be cooked?
I'm interested in baking thighs, legs, breasts and wings. How long do each of these items need to bake and at what temperature?
9
votes
3answers
3k views
Rule of thumb for cooking or baking different quantities?
I often want to cook double quantities from that stated in a recipe - say, twice the quantity of pasta bake or casserole (all in one dish), or two cakes instead of one (in separate tins).
Is there a ...
8
votes
3answers
386 views
What do I need to know when moving from an electric hob to a gas hob
Soon I will be moving into a flat with a gas hob, and I've only ever had experience with electric hobs before.
What do I need to be aware of in terms of the differences between them? I've heard that ...
8
votes
2answers
633 views
Know if a turkey is done cooking
I am making a turkey in a bag this weekend and I was wondering if there is a sure fire way to know when your turkey is done cooking. I don't have a meat (or any other) thermometer.
7
votes
3answers
6k views
Chili cooking time
I've often heard that the key to a great chili is letting the ingredients soak and/or simmer for a really long time. However, all the recipes that I'm finding suggest about a 30 minute simmer once the ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Cook Time vs. Cook Temp trade off
So I've always thought of cooking this way:
Higher Temp & Less Cook time = crispier
vs.
Lower Temp & More Cook time = softer
Now obviously this doesn't apply to everything, but generally. ...
7
votes
3answers
361 views
How to measure egg boiling time?
Which factors influence the moment of soft-into-hard egg during the boiling?
size of the egg
putting egg to cold/hot water
colour of the egg
atmospheric pressure (water boiling temperature)
How to ...
7
votes
1answer
7k views
How long should I steam Artichokes?
I know that it should steam until the leaves pull off easily. But how long does that take?
7
votes
4answers
2k views
How to bake a chicken?
I've been using a rotisserie oven to bake my chickens for a while now. However, it's no longer available to me.
My first attempt at baking a chicken in a long time:
Purchase a chicken that's ...
7
votes
2answers
742 views
What are the correct simmering times for chicken/vegetable stock?
I recently read that cooking stock for more than about 2 hours negatively affects the flavor, and eventually vitiates the vitamins due to heat degradation.
This seems to conflict with advice I've ...
6
votes
3answers
7k views
How do I adjust the cooking time for two joints as opposed to one?
I have a recipe for roasting sirloin of beef. It calls for a 1.5-2kg piece of meat. I couldn't find a piece this large, so have two half sized joints - one about 950g, one about 700g. My recipe tells ...
6
votes
1answer
333 views
Doubling a batch of soup
Straying from the printed recipe still makes me a little twitchy, so I ask you, gentle cooks (chefs?):
Can I safely double the cooking time? (In this case, it's a split pea soup, dried split peas - ...
6
votes
3answers
332 views
Are commercial foods adjusted for integer cooking times?
Pasta, noodles and such foods are often labeled "cook for n minutes". Are the ingredients for these foods purposefully balanced such that the average optimal cooking time is integer?
Of course the ...
6
votes
2answers
871 views
Blanching time for different vegetables
Well my rule of thumb is to boil the following vegetables for that time before putting them in the ice bath:
1 minute for broccoli
3 minutes for carrots
2 minutes for beans
1 minute for flat beans
4 ...
6
votes
1answer
137 views
When is is necessary to par bake a pie crust?
I am making small pies (in muffin tins!) for a party. I plan on pre-cooking the filling (ground beef and veggies), then finishing the pies at the location. Would it be helpful (either for transport ...
6
votes
1answer
6k views
Why are my (italian Whole foods) sausages still pink inside?
I bought some italian pork and garlic sausages from Whole foods. I cooked them on a low heat, they were in the pan for probably an hour but the middle remained slightly pink. To be precise, by ...
6
votes
1answer
168 views
How does double-bagging sous vide food affect cook time?
Does double vacuum bagging food for sous vide cooking measurably increase the cook times? Or is the extra bag not thick enough to make an impact?
5
votes
4answers
2k views
How to decide the baking temperature when recipe doesn't mention it?
On what factors does the temperature setting depend?
Of course if I have to bake a stone, I would need to set the temperature at 900C perhaps :rolleyes: ;), but in normal cakes where you have a ...
5
votes
4answers
19k views
How should I boil green beans to keep them crisp?
I just pulled fresh Blue Lake Bush green beans from my garden, snapped the ends and wanted to boil them, while keeping then crisp. How should I boil them so they are cooked through, but not limp?
5
votes
3answers
1k views
How do I scale a recipe that calls for boiling off liquid?
I made a lamb ragu last night, but doubled the quantity for a large group. One of the steps called for 1.5 cups of red wine and then boiled it off. Doubling to 3 cups seemed entirely too much (once ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
How can I reliably bake pizza with no temperature control or pizza stone?
How do I make a pizza in a gas oven, with no temperature control and no pizza stone?
I have all ingredients to make pizza without actually knowing how it's made and baked. So I did some research ...
5
votes
1answer
3k views
Frozen pizza - Understanding time and temperature equivalency
When cooking a frozen pizza in a conventional oven, I have two similar personal pizzas: one box's instructions say to cook at 425°F for 19 minutes, and the instructions on the other pizza box says ...
5
votes
5answers
8k views
I'm baking an acorn squash. How long should I bake it for?
I'm baking an acorn squash. How long should it bake for and at what temperature? I also noticed on the spaghetti squash question that those are baked sliced face down. Should acorn squash bake face ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
How can you know that your bread is done?
Most bread recipes give an estimate to how long that bread must bake. However, I find it hard to check whether it's done or not. I don't have a thermometer, and I don't think the toothpick trick works ...
5
votes
2answers
103 views
How long to cook seafood in paella?
This recipe for seafood paella says to add mussels, prawns, squid and monkfish to the paella pan 5 minutes before finishing, stir and then cover with a lid.
I made this twice and I have never been ...
5
votes
1answer
486 views
New potatoes in pressure cooker with salt: how to optimize water amount and cooking time?
I am trying to replicate a recipe that my father-in-law performed once at home… well, not much of a recipe, rather a cooking style, as you'll see.
The idea is to cook new potatoes (specifically, new ...
4
votes
3answers
902 views
Is a little oven less hot than a bigger oven?
Some months ago, I found a recipe for cookies and made them in a big oven; they were delicious and cooked very well (soft cookies) at 180 °C (356 °F) for 7 minutes.
I recently tried the recipe again, ...
4
votes
1answer
137 views
How do I know when fish cooked in parchment or salt is done?
I want to try fish (either fillets or whole) baked in parchment or salt. I have found several recipes but they specify a certain weight fish. How do I adjust the cooking time for the size fish that ...
4
votes
2answers
3k views
How do I adjust cooking time for an under-powered microwave?
Example:
I have an 800-Watt microwave. Cooking instructions for a certain product say to cook on HIGH for 4 minutes in a 1,100-Watt microwave.
How do I properly adjust the cooking time so that my ...
4
votes
1answer
643 views
What's the minimum time to cook raw prawns?
I typically cook raw prawns in boiling water for around 3 minutes. If they go over a little bit longer they can tend to become rubbery.
Is there a minimum/optimum time a raw prawn should be boiled?
4
votes
2answers
553 views
How to get puff pastry to cook right through
I often use bought puff pastry to make a topping for a chicken pie. However, I tend to find that the pastry is fully cooked on the top but the underside of the pastry remains almost raw. How can I ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
Can you estimate how long it takes to reduce a liquid?
In a lot of recipes, there is a step that includes reducing your liquid. In most sauces, this isn't a problem, since you just need to thicken it and that's something you can see and doesn't take a ...
3
votes
3answers
184 views
Can I bake bread in pieces?
Because bread is basically brick sized and shaped, it'll take a long time to get cooked properly.
Assuming I don't care about the shape, does it make sense to cut the bread dough into small pieces ...
3
votes
4answers
5k views
how long to cook a turkey per pound
I'm cooking a turkey for thanksgiving for the first time. I've got a beautiful 11 lb turkey and according to the websites I found, I should cook it for about three hours. When I asked my girlfriend's ...
