73
votes
Accepted
Is my microwave damaged if I can smell the food inside it?
Microwave doors don't have an airtight seal; the window between the electronics and the cooking compartment is also not airtight, and the electronics are cooled by a fan. It would be surprising if ...
- 43k
53
votes
Can you put a bottle of whiskey in the oven
In general, you wouldn't want to put a sealed glass bottle filled with any liquid in your oven.
If you want to try and are still working on it, remove the cap, empty the alcohol into another container,...
- 580
47
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to boil water in a microwave?
There is one very different issue to be kept in mind - water in a microwave can overheat and "explode" once it is disturbed.
Another poster had exactly this problem a short while ago: Water exploded ...
- 57.7k
43
votes
Why do Hong Kong chefs use a white towel instead of gloves to clutch a wok?
Because it is more efficient when running the kitchen while in full service.
It takes less time to remove their hands from the towels than it would take to remove gloves.
This also applies to chefs ...
- 20.4k
41
votes
Accepted
Why didn't microwaving a stainless steel spoon set my kitchen on fire?
Metal has a lot of potential issues in the microwave (electric charge buildup + arcing, and microwave reflection). There are too many variables to make general statements like "such-and-such metal is ...
- 2,176
39
votes
Accepted
Is heated up bleach dangerous?
Probably generated some chloramines by reaction between the hot bleach and proteins on the stove surfaces. There's no telling exactly which chloramines you created, as we have no idea what amines were ...
- 11.7k
34
votes
Why must the oven be preheated for a Pyrex glass pan?
While an oven preheats, the heating element or gas burner will be running at full output. For an electric oven in particular, this will generate a great deal of radiant heat. Radiant heat increases ...
- 2,699
34
votes
Accepted
Wooden cooking layout
The steam released by cooking the foods you mentioned, and boiling water outright, would probably damage the wood. Foil might prevent that, if you seal it completely (using some sort of moisture/heat ...
- 2,543
31
votes
Accepted
How sharp should a paring knife be?
All cutting (slicing, chopping) knives should be as sharp as you can get them, really. A dull knife is much more likely to cause an accident and cut you. Dull knives are more difficult to use properly ...
- 1,109
31
votes
Why didn't microwaving a stainless steel spoon set my kitchen on fire?
Spoons (most metal, in fact) are generally not a huge problem in the microwave. My microwave has metal parts...many do. Forks are sometimes a problem due to a build up of charge between the tines, ...
- 72.6k
31
votes
Accepted
What tasks require or work best with a knife point?
A pointy tip is useful in a boning knife, particularly when getting between meat and sinew, or getting under silver skin. The pointy end of the knife is helpful when removing meat from the bone. I ...
- 72.6k
30
votes
Accepted
Can a beef and pork mix burger be served medium
In most developed countries trichinosis is extreme rare, this is due to changes in the way pigs are raised. In the US there were only 16 cases reported between 2011-2015, for example, and in Europe ...
- 74.1k
28
votes
Accepted
Accidentally left the oven on overnight, do I need to do anything?
No, ovens are designed to function for long periods if necessary, for example in overnight cooking. You might have some burned-on dirt that is harder to clean than usual.
I've done this before and ...
- 11.7k
27
votes
Accepted
Cold / cooked pasta safe to eat?
According to Still Tasty, a site that utilizes FDA, CDC and USDA data, cooked pasta should be fine for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
Use a shallow container or a Ziplock bag to store the pasta, and ...
- 58.4k
27
votes
Accepted
What are the safety and warranty implications of steaming bread in a domestic oven?
I think you are being too conservative. The oven door and glass in there is built to handle some temperature differences. When someone opens an oven door and sets a room temperature pan or cooking ...
- 3,634
25
votes
Accepted
How do you clear food that sticks to the cutting knife?
even the greatest knife masters will forget every once in a while to clean with the edge in the opposite direction
No, they won't, not after cutting themselves a couple of times. It's natural to cut ...
- 43.5k
24
votes
Accepted
What pH range is suitable for cooking on teflon?
We shouldn't cook acids, alkali and concentrated salts on teflon.
This is incorrect. Teflon (PTFE) itself is one of the most non-reactive substances you can use on cookware, in some ways better than ...
- 58.4k
24
votes
Can you put a bottle of whiskey in the oven
Use different modelling clay
Two-part putties such as Milliput are just as well designed for fine model-making, and set in air at room temperature.
If you start with a white putty then you can mix it ...
- 1,033
23
votes
Accepted
Melted plastic wrap in oven at high temp
It's doubtful the plastic vaporized. It probably just made a hole because it melted and stretched. I'm sure your oven is safe. Any tiny amount of plastic that might have melted and landed on a surface ...
- 458
22
votes
Accepted
Is a borosilicate glass pot safe to use on a gas burner stovetop?
I specifically would like to know if anyone has used a (verified)
borosilicate glass pot on a gas burner stove top
I have used borosilicate glass vessels on a number of different heat sources, both ...
- 32k
22
votes
Can you put a bottle of whiskey in the oven
I don't know how hot or how long your polymer clay bakes for, so you might get away with it, but in general I wouldn't risk putting a sealed container in the oven, whatever the contents.
The primary ...
- 43k
21
votes
Why didn't microwaving a stainless steel spoon set my kitchen on fire?
There are actually two things worth considering with metal in microwaves.
The big danger is arcing and that happens with pointy things like forks and apparently grapes. It's also worth considering, ...
- 2,172
20
votes
What tasks require or work best with a knife point?
Coring tomatoes, i.e. removing stemlike tissue, requires a pointy end knife, as does removing potato eyes and removing blemishes on fruit. Oh yes, stabbing a hole in the bottom of your can of refried ...
- 11.7k
15
votes
Wooden cooking layout
First off, if you're living in a dorm room then you've signed a contract saying what you are and aren't allowed to do in that dorm room. Read it. It's very likely that it will include cooking as ...
- 1,033
15
votes
Accepted
Can I engrave a stainless steel pot inside?
Go for it. Stainless steel is quite stick-friendly already, and the added unevenness from the microtool won't really make a difference. Also, this is a soup pot, and the side instead of the bottom, so ...
- 135k
14
votes
Accepted
Can I reheat meal in pyrex-like glassware on vitro ceramic stove?
I would absolutely not recommend heating Pyrex with any type of direct heat, ever.
That stuff goes off like a hand-grenade, highly dangerous - not to mention messy.
I've seen it happen too many ...
- 28.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Cracked egg leaves egg white residue. Should I worry about the other eggs?
If the egg actually exploded as in the title, then no, that egg is probably highly contaminated. Not only is it bad, but nothing its contents have touched can be considered safe to use and should be ...
- 8,663
12
votes
Is my microwave damaged if I can smell the food inside it?
It's totally normal to smell the food in a microwave as they aren't meant to be sealed. Microwaves have fans to circulate the air and keep the electronics cool, so they will circulate aromas.
- 74.1k
11
votes
How sharp should a paring knife be?
It needs to be sharp enough to cut easily and cleanly. A sharp knife grips the food, cuts better, and is easier to control. Food also has a nicer presentation with a clean cut. A sharp knife is safer ...
- 6,390
11
votes
Is it safe to cook in discolored stainless steel pots?
If the pan has been always used in the kitchen and for cooking,
then is absolutely safe.
The phenomenon you observe is due to thin film interference. Is the same iridescence that we observe on soap ...
- 834
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible