Questions tagged [equipment]
Questions on selecting, maintaining, and using cooking tools and equipment.
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What additional uses are there for a food dehydrator?
Recently browsing a certain online website I've discovered the cost of food dehydrators has fallen considerably since they first came to market. Realising that I may incur the wrath of my other half ...
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Is there a measurable chemical difference between the 'wet' cooking from gas and the 'dry' cooking with induction? [duplicate]
I am doing a bit of food science research around induction cooktops, and wondered if there are any measurable differences in the cooking outcome when using electric heat vs. gas heat. In specific, gas ...
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Type of silk to use for making tea bags
I am investigating the possibility of making my own reusable tea bags. There are several types of textiles to choose from, each with their own pros and cons:
Paper tea bags are cheap and common, but ...
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What to look for in an air fryer
I'm looking to get an air fryer to make stuff that is usually deep-fried, like falafel, chicken nuggets or spring rolls, hopefully with less oily taste and without having to buy and dispose of ...
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how to unseam - or otherwise safely open - steel olive oil cans
Is there a simple household technique to undo the seam of olive oil cans?
Olive oil is sold in 3L metal cans. They might have a shoebox profile - are brand names OK? Filipo Berio brand. There are ...
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What is the apparatus used to keep meat upright called?
My mother has this thing that we use to cook whole chickens with. It is a round tray with four holes in the sides. It then has two pieces of strong wire in the shape of an omega sign that clicks into ...
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What happens to nitride-treated carbon steel skillet if overheated?
I just got a nitrided carbon steel skillet that has a max temp of 450f. This is supposedly the max temp of the treatment, but I can't find anything about what happens if it does overheat. Does it ...
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Heat retention of parchment paper vs aluminum foil vs oven bag
Let's say a pepper is completely but loosely wrapped in either tin foil, parchment paper, or a Reynold's oven bag. Let's say the oven is maintaining a relatively constant temp.
Which would cook the ...
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Is it ever safe to use a non-stick pan under the broiler (e.g. frittatas)?
I see a lot of frittata recipes call for using a non-stick pan, and for finishing under the broiler (or "grill" in UK-speak). However, I have also read that non-stick pans in general are not ...
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Preheating in toaster oven
This is not a duplicate of other question currently being asked.
My question is in regards to specifically toaster ovens.
How does a toaster obtain and control the desired temperature within enclosure?...
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Wok slides around in ring
I have a round bottom wok with a metal handle. When placed in the wok ring, the wok slides down to the handle side due to the weight. The ring is reversible, however it slides on either side. This is ...
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Rice cooker vapor from cooking brown rice leaves a starchy film on surrounding surfaces
I have a really old, basic rice cooker. When it cooks brown rice, the steam/cooking vapor that escapes forms a grubby film on the lid, and usually leaves residue on surrounding surfaces in my kitchen ...
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Kitchen utensil identification - small delicate chopper
Recently, we were cleaning out my grandparents house and found a couple of tools in the kitchen that were odd. One is this small tool that looks like a chopper, but it's very lightweight. The blade is ...
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Kitchen utensil identification - double-ended shaker? [closed]
Recently, we were cleaning out my grandparents house and found a couple of tools in the kitchen that were odd. One is this narrow metal tube with a star pattern of holes on the end. The cap on the ...
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How do I know what kind of coating is on this pan?
My family bought a pan in France. There is very little information about this pan (it's a Monoprix brand), but the label attached to the pan says that the pan's material is aluminum and the coating is ...
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Honing rod with angle guide?
My mother-in-law likes to have sharp knives, but she also has unsteady hands. She needs a honing rod (not a sharpener) that has a very firm angle guide of some kind. Does such a product exist? I've ...
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Bread from bread maker turns out strangely shaped
I am a bread making newbie. I purchased a break maker and followed the instructions for white bread to start and pushed the button that outlined and got this:
What did I do wrong?
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Can my copper bottom pot be fixed?
My favorite copper bottom pot is finally losing it's bottom. In fact, everyone uses this pot. However, I've hidden it so no one can use it until I find a solution. I hate the thought of tossing it and ...
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Looking for stovetop sandwich maker
I'm looking to find a stovetop sandwich maker that seals the sides and bisects them into two triangles (possibly called "jaffles"1). We used to have a countertop sandwich maker that looked ...
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Feeding pasta dough through Kitchen aid roller
The problem
I recently bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the 3 in 1 pasta roller/cutter attachments to make fresh pasta.
I found a few recipes online, made some dough and when I get to the part ...
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What type of nonstick pan is this?
I need a new nonstick pan. I saw a video with a pan which looks good to me. The person in the video didn't grease or oil at all, and her pancake didn't stick to the pan. She could flip her pancakes ...
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A cheap piece of equipment/appliance that can help with reducing stock in a room that is not suited for cooking
I've just reduced a 4l of stock in my "kitchen" to 0.5l by boiling it over an hour.
I wrote "kitchen" with quotation marks, because that room might have been designated as a ...
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How does one "reprogram" a Frigidaire oven?
We accidentally attempted to start the cleaning cycle on our Frigidaire Gallery double wall oven (model GLEB27T8ABA) while the lower oven door was open. Thankfully, the oven did not actually turn on ...
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Do I need a wooden spoon to make proper Pate a Choux?
I have a lot of silicon spatulas at home, and I was told I needed to buy a wooden spoon or spatula to make pate a choux the correct way. I watched a couple of Bon appetite cooking videos, and the ...
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Can I use j-cloth to squeeze water out of grated zucchini?
As per title.
Can I use j-cloth to squeeze water out of grated zucchini ?
I will be using never used/new j-cloth.
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Any substitutes for a pizza peel?
I'm not cooking with a special pizza oven; I'm just using a regular oven with a pizza stone. However, I don't have a pizza peel. What can I use to put the pizza onto the stone? Any way I can make a ...
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What kinds of stains are these and how do I remove them?
I recently bought an All-Clad D3 4qt sauce pan. I've used it exactly twice. I boiled water with the pot filled 2/3rd to 3/4ths of water and then once it was boiling I boiled spaghetti noodles in it ...
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How much is the flavour of a BIR curry affected by the aluminium pans used in takeaway restaurant cooking?
BIR (British Indian Restaurant) cooking is a specific method used by takeaway restaurants to quickly cook curries using precooked ingredients. Typically, spices are fried in oil, ginger and garlic ...
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What is the function of this tool of my scissors?
What is the function of this part of my scizors.
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What baking sheet material(s) are best, and at least safe, in temperatures up to 550 (°F) degrees?
My oven goes up to 550 Fahrenheit degrees and it seems the sheets I've found so far are safe up to 500-450°F. Are there concerns with potential chemical releases that buyers should be familiar with if ...
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When baking bread in a multi cooker is some water required?
If I want to bake bread in a multi-cooker, do I still need a small amount of water at the base of the inner bowl?
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Large kitchen scale shows very inaccurate results for large masses
I have a three different huge kitchen (?) scales with accuracy / being able to measure stuff to up to 200 kg / 440 lb.
When I compare the results, for first two scales they're:
comparable or ...
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How to use a carbon steel pot (not pan)
I found a very old pot in my very old house. I suspect it to be carbon steel, for the following reasons:
It's rusty
It's magnetic
It looks a lot like the carbon steel pans that were stored with it, ...
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What are the dips in muffin/cupcake tins called?
When I was writing this answer I realized that I have no idea what to call the dips in muffin/cupcake tins. I used to call them cups but when I looked it up I found that the cups are the paper inserts ...
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Why do some springform pans have bumps all over the bottom piece?
Some springform pans have a perfectly flat bottom piece, but other springform pans have a bottom piece with bumps all over it, such as this one:
Do the bumps serve any purpose? I have never used a ...
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Does this tool where a knife edge is dragged between two angled abrasive pieces hone or sharpen?
A few weeks ago I bought an awesome Global knife. I ordered this tool from Amazon:
My question: Does this tool hone the knife, or does it sharpen it?
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Holes inside Siemens IQ700 Microwave, Are these holes causing the microwave to switch off?
So my ~11 year old Siemens IQ700 microwave oven has developed a number of small holes right through the enamel & metal on the inside - I noticed these when the microwave developed an issue where ...
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Do the conventional round ovens have any advantage over an OTG?
The "conventional round oven" (can be used for baking, grilling and roasting, as per the claims on the packaging) I'm referring to:
The typical Oven Toaster Griller (OTG) I'm referring to:
...
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Why is the Gastronorm system based on 530 × 325mm?
I met the Gastronorm system tonight, by accident, and discovered it was based on a standard container size of 530×325mm.
Wholly logically, other sizes are fractions or multiples of that 1/1 standard, ...
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What is the purpose of this microwave platter with outer ring for water?
I recently inherited a platter for use in the microwave. It is made of plastic and has a channel around the perimeter for water.
Its markings read:
FOR MICROWAVE OVEN ONLY.
DO NOT USE WITHOUT FOOD ...
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How to measure 4tbsp of corriander
I am following a recipe that mentions 4tbsp of coriander leaves and 5tbsp for Mint. How can one measure leaves in the weight of tbsp?
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Scraper for Ugolini & C miniGel L4
I have recently inherited a "Ugolini & C miniGel L4" gelato or ice cream maker that my mother bought in the early 1980s (Williams and Sonoma began importing this model in 1979 but ...
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double boiler (temp?)
It seems that almost everywhere, I see the advice to keep the top of a double boiler away from the water in the bottom--with the explanation that the top will get too hot if it touches or is semi-...
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What is the name of the tool which involves a ball inside a sealed container that is shaken to grind up spices?
I have seen a tool which is in two parts. In either part, you place both the plastic ball that comes with the tool and spices. You then screw the two parts of the tool together (it's plastic, it's ...
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Will I crack the enamel if I put a room temperature dutch oven in a pre-heated oven?
Is it safe to put an enameled cast iron dutch oven in a pre-heated oven, when the dutch oven is starting at room temperature? Or will this cause thermal shock and break the enamel? The Internet says ...
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My new convection/convention oven will not bake anything correctly
I just bought a KitchenAid oven which, has both convection and conventional settings with a convection conversion setting. I have been baking for over 40 years, and nothing I have made in this oven is ...
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What are the risks to store a digital scale under an object?
The storage space in my kitchen is rather limited. For that reason, I store my digital scale under a (rather lightweight) salad spinner.
Is there any risk to mess up the calibration of the scale and ...
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Is my rice pot still safe to use?
The bottom part metal of my rice pot has turned into darker colour as shown below. May i know if it is still safe to use and what causes it to turn colour? I think the pot is made up of anodised ...
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Why we use bronze die (and not steel) for pasta extrusion?
I found many research papers on differences between Teflon and bronze die for pasta extrusion but there are no comparisons between bronze vs steel/brass/any other metal dies. Why we still stick to ...
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Can you make pasta dough in a breadmaker?
Is it a good idea to buy a breadmaker instead of a food processor for making pasta dough (and bread, obviously)?
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