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Food & Cooking?

Kitchen math, food safety, and the eggs question, settled. 38 questions and counting.

How many ounces are in a cup?8 fluid ounces in a cup. But fluid ounces measure volume and regular ounces measure weight, so a cup of flour weighs abo…
How long do you boil eggs?Lower eggs into already-boiling water: 7 minutes for jammy, 11 for fully hard. Then straight into ice water, which stops…
Should you wash raw chicken before cooking it?No. Rinsing chicken sprays bacteria up to three feet around your sink and kills nothing. Cooking to 165°F does all the s…
What temperature is chicken done?165°F in the thickest part, per the USDA. Color is not a doneness test; only a thermometer is. Dark meat tastes better p…
How long does cooked chicken last in the fridge?Three to four days in the fridge, per the USDA, and the clock does not reset when you reheat it. Freeze anything you wil…
Is it actually dangerous to eat raw cookie dough?The bigger risk is the flour, not the egg. Raw flour carries E. coli and causes real outbreaks. Heat-treated flour plus …
Can you freeze cheese?Hard and semi-hard cheeses freeze fine for cooking, though they turn crumblier. Soft cheeses like brie and fresh mozzare…
What is gluten, and is it bad for you?Gluten is the protein in wheat, barley, and rye that gives dough its stretch. It is harmful to the roughly 1 percent wit…
Why does coffee make you poop?Coffee triggers colon contractions within minutes, and decaf does it too, so it is not just the caffeine. Roughly a thir…
How do you cook rice without ruining it?For long-grain white rice: rinse it, use 1.5 cups water per cup of rice, simmer covered 18 minutes, then rest 10 off the…
How long can food safely sit out?Two hours, one if it is above 90F. Between 40 and 140F is the danger zone where bacteria double every 20 minutes. When i…
How long do leftovers actually last in the fridge?Three to four days for most cooked leftovers, refrigerated. Freezing extends it for months. The clock matters more than …
Do eggs actually need to be refrigerated?In the US, yes: American eggs are washed, which strips the natural protective coating, so they must stay cold. In much o…
What is the difference between broth and stock?Stock is made from bones and simmers longer, giving body and gelatin; broth is made from meat and is thinner but more se…
Why does my nonstick pan stick?Usually heat and wear. High heat degrades nonstick coating and warps the pan, metal utensils scratch it, and worn coatin…
Is milk still good after the expiration date?Usually yes. The date is about quality, not safety, and refrigerated milk often stays good five to seven days past it. S…
What does the color of an egg yolk mean?Yolk color reflects the hen's diet, not the egg's nutrition or freshness. A deep orange yolk means a diet rich in marigo…
How do you ripen an avocado quickly?Put it in a paper bag with a banana or apple. Those fruits release ethylene gas, which speeds ripening, and the bag trap…
Can you cut the mold off food and eat the rest?Depends on the food. On hard cheese or firm produce, cut an inch around it and eat the rest. On soft foods, bread, soft …
Why does asparagus make your pee smell?Asparagus contains a compound that your body breaks into sulfur-smelling byproducts within minutes. The twist: some peop…
What is the water to rice ratio?Two to one for white rice: two cups water per cup of rice. Brown rice needs more, about 2.25 to 2.5 to one, and longer c…
What is umami, actually?Umami is the fifth basic taste, savory, alongside sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It is the taste of glutamate, found in…
How do you keep guacamole from turning brown?Block the air. Browning is oxidation, so press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, or float a thin layer of water on…
Are fresh vegetables always better than frozen?No. Frozen vegetables are often more nutritious than fresh, because they are picked ripe and flash-frozen within hours, …
Why does cilantro taste like soap to some people?Genetics. A variation in smell-receptor genes makes certain people perceive cilantro's aldehyde compounds, the same fami…
How long can you keep meat in the freezer?Indefinitely for safety, but quality fades. Frozen at 0F, meat stays safe forever; taste and texture decline over months…
What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?Baking soda is pure base and needs an acid to work; baking powder is baking soda plus its own built-in acid, so it works…
Does searing meat seal in the juices?No, that is a myth debunked over a century ago. Searing does not seal anything; seared meat can lose more moisture. You …
How do you cook bacon in the oven?Lay strips on a foil-lined sheet, into a cold oven, then heat to 400F for 15 to 20 minutes. No flipping, no splatter, ev…
Why does food taste bland when you have a cold?Because most of what you call taste is actually smell. The tongue detects five basic tastes; everything else, the flavor…
Why does bread go stale, and why does the fridge make it worse?Staling is starch recrystallizing, not drying out, which is why refrigeration accelerates it. The fridge sits at the tem…
Why do you salt pasta water, and does it make it boil faster?You salt it to season the pasta from the inside, which is the only chance you get. It does not make water boil faster, i…
How often should you sharpen a kitchen knife?Hone it every few uses and sharpen it a couple of times a year for home cooking. Honing realigns the edge; sharpening re…
Why does restaurant food taste better than what you cook?Butter, salt, and heat, in that order. Restaurants use far more fat and salt than home cooks, and commercial equipment r…
How do you tell when a steak is done?Use a thermometer and pull it about 5 degrees below your target, since it keeps cooking while resting. Medium rare is 13…
What is the difference between baking and roasting?Mostly temperature and what you are cooking. Roasting uses higher heat on foods with existing structure, like meat and v…
Why do recipes insist on room temperature butter and eggs?Because temperature changes the chemistry. Room temperature butter traps air when creamed, which is what leavens a cake,…
Are seed oils actually bad for you?The mainstream evidence does not support the alarm. Major reviews and health bodies find replacing saturated fat with po…