35
votes
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Is it safe to cook with food grade mineral oil?
Well, food-grade means you can ingest some without poisoning yourself. It does not mean it’s a suitable replacement for cooking or baking. If you do use it, you will soon learn that it’s a laxative, ...
- 57.8k
16
votes
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How can I render bacon fat without frying it?
Chop bacon finely...or even use a food processor. Place in a pot. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of pan and prevent initial sticking. Place on very low heat. You might even need a heat ...
- 73.2k
13
votes
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Why does Alton Brown call for three types of milks in a recipe?
The main purpose of the one part of Half-and-Half is to aid in homogenization of the one part of milk and one part heavy cream.
Per this article (toward the end):
Half and half is also a good ...
- 2,782
12
votes
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What milk and yoghurt is the best for mango lassi?
It all depends on taste [of course].
Lower fat milk & yoghurt are sharper, more tangy, almost 'lemony'.
High fat are rich, smooth & creamy.
So, start with 'How tart do you like your lassi?' &...
- 28.9k
11
votes
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Is my heavy cream not actually heavy cream?
You're comparing different quantities. A serving of cream (per your label) is a tablespoon. You're comparing that to 1 cup (or 16 tablespoons) of milk.
The percentage that you're seeing is not what ...
- 58.4k
10
votes
sous vide producing inedible food because of fat not rendered
Sous vide is simply a tool. It's not the correct one for every job. Rendering fat is generally a problem because of the low temperatures used. What was the final result you had in mind? If you ...
- 73.2k
10
votes
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Discarding ox heart fat
In general, when a recipe says 'discard,' it means that the part to be discarded is not to be used in the scope of the recipe. I see no reason why you couldn't save the beef fat for other recipes, it ...
- 831
10
votes
Accepted
Water concentration of butter post-melt
The proportion of water will not change significantly unless you leave it hot for a while (evaporation will occur even below boiling temperature); the only substance that will evaporate in any ...
- 11.7k
9
votes
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What are these white 'bits' in my nutella
Great pictures: those are so clearly areas of oil/fat which have separated from the main nutella emulsion. Carefully gouge one out and smear it around or put it onto a heated surface & see if it ...
- 7,082
9
votes
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Combine skim milk and cream to substitute for whole?
If you want a fat fraction of f, starting from cream with a fat fraction c and milk with a fat fraction of m, then the fraction of cream to use is (f-m)/(c-m).
All you have to do is multiply that by ...
- 58.1k
9
votes
What is the yellow colour and what ingredients go into seekh kebabs fat?
Common sources of fat-soluble yellow colours are curcuma (curcumin as colorant, tends to give an almost fluorescent yellow), and chilli peppers (lycopene, tends more towards the orange in higher ...
- 1,147
9
votes
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Does fat as opposed to oil distribute flavour better?
Saturation doesn't effect the extraction or distribution of flavors, your beef stew was just more flavorful than your chicken stew. Any fat (and that includes oil) will do the job, the difference is ...
- 74.2k
8
votes
How do you get gelatin from rendering cow fat?
I beg to differ with most of the responses. In my personal experience, rendering of fat - not simply suet - from 'general meat' produced a great deal of gelatin. I am using some as a base for tonight'...
8
votes
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Does pork fat oil give an off taste?
I wouldn't describe it as an "off taste", for me it is the tasty flavor of pork fat, commonly known as lard. But yes, it is certainly not taste neutral. It only gives a slight to moderate hint in ...
- 135k
8
votes
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What is the fatty tissue in beef/pork after it has been braised/stwed?
That is a type of protein and connective tissue.
Mainly you have collagen and elastin in a cut of meat.
Collagen turns into gelatin through heating and melts away. The elastin will get softened. I ...
- 4,286
8
votes
Can fat be used as a sugar substitute?
We can't speak to health or medical issues on this site. Beyond that, I don't see how fat can be used as a sugar substitute. They are completely different ingredients that serve completely different ...
- 73.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Why is it safe to bake a fish when unsaturated fats degrade in low temperatures?
Foods that contain quite a lot of water don't exceed the boiling point of water until that water has boiled off. So in bread or cakes that's part of the reason why we get a crust -- the inside is ...
- 43.1k
7
votes
Why doesnt curry powder completely dissolve when heating in oil?
As Max correctly points out, curry powder is not soluble in oil. It's basically just crushed-up seeds, and that kind of bulk plant matter isn't going to dissolve in anything. The exact reasons why a ...
- 1,881
7
votes
What is the ratio of fat to flour in shortcrust pastry?
Typical ratios are 3:2 or 2:1 (flour to fat). In fact, you can use a flaky crust recipe if you prefer, the difference is only in the mixing. I have used these ratios successfully for short pie/tart ...
- 135k
6
votes
Accepted
Why my meatballs sweated all of their fat?
Regarding the chemistry of what happened here, @rumtscho's comment addresses that very nicely. Quoting from the relevant portion of the linked answer:
This scum is made from proteins. Meat ...
- 14.9k
6
votes
Are there reasons to use olive oil when roasting food at high temperatures?
Just because the oven is reaching high heat does not mean the olive oil that is on the surface of what is being cooked will reach the oven temperature (or get past the smoke point, even). In a deep ...
- 6,102
6
votes
How do you get gelatin from rendering cow fat?
When I render fat scraps (usually taken from brisket and shoulder roast), there is usually a significant amount of connective tissue mixed in (although I try to trim away all of the meat). Thus, after ...
- 61
6
votes
What are these white 'bits' in my nutella
If you touch the spots and they are dry and do not melt, it's sugar bloom. If they taste like sugar, it's a good indication, too.
I would not recommend eating it, because after this time the fat is ...
- 3,094
6
votes
Accepted
How does this kebab products ensure fat stays inside meat while maintaining a safe temp?
Fat doesn't just leave meat when it's cooked; plenty of it stays in the meat. Sure, some amount of water and fat comes out of meat during cooking. But it's by no means all, or even most of it! So ...
- 58.1k
6
votes
Accepted
How interchangeable are fats in yeast bread recipes?
If you're the type of person who measures all your ingredients on a gram scale, theoretically you do.
However, unless the fat in the recipe is on the order of 1/2 cup, the amount of omitted water is ...
- 58.9k
6
votes
What to do with excess fat in meat?
What you describe is known as 'rendering' the fat -- you cook it until the liquid comes off. But the goal isn't to eat the fat, but to create something oily that you can cook with.
If I'm just ...
- 79.3k
6
votes
Why doesnt curry powder completely dissolve when heating in oil?
Curry powder is not soluble in oil (or water or anything else).
The small particles will change the color and flavor of the oil, but not dissolve in it.
The size of the powder particles will ...
- 20.4k
6
votes
Accepted
Is skyr supposed to be fat free?
Yes, Skyr has only 0.2-0.5% fat, as it’s traditionally made from low-fat or skimmed milk.
We tend to perceive Skyr as a yogurt variety, but technically it’s a cheese: Like yogurt it’s made by adding ...
- 57.8k
6
votes
Pork substitute for Game Meat Pie
Duck fat.
You could use butter, of course, which would make it delicious like everything made with butter is. But duck fat has a higher melting point than butter and in that respect is more like ...
- 6,596
6
votes
Accepted
Cooking ground beef without the fat rendering off
Counterintuitively enough, cooking it at a higher temperature will help. The longer you spend cooking it, the more fat will render out. Cooking it faster means more fat will still be in the meat, even ...
- 10.6k
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