Baking Techniques

Blanched almonds are called for in many good cookie recipes and nut dishes. Blanching will make the skins easy to remove, but it usually takes some time. Of course you can purchase blanched...

The are different kinds of candy: Hard candy, soft candy, candy bars, candy squares and the list goes on. In terms of hard candy two of the most common types are the kind like peppermint cough...

If you're anything like me, you love using tub margarine for its health benefits but hate baking with it because of the fear of inaccurately measuring and getting the recipe all wrong. You don't...

Man do I love hard boiled eggs. You can make a sandwich with them, put them in your salad, or just crack them and eat them. The problem that I use to run into is the shell being a pain in the butt...

Television chefs and gourmet cookbooks throw around terms that the home cook may not always know, and their techniques sometimes require equipment that not everyone has. A double boiler is one...

Eggs are an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals. They are also an integral ingredient in many dishes from baked goods to traditional breakfast fare. One of the drawbacks of cooking...

Emulsifiers are the ingredients in a solution that mix together substances that normally would not mix, i.e. oil and water. The resulting solution is an emulsion. Emulsifiers are used in food,...

Melting chocolate chips requires some patience. Rushing the job could result in a clumpy mess that won't behave like you want it to. The important things to remember are to keep your heat low,...

We all know that making the perfect flakey pie crust is not easy. My grandmother taught me how to make this flakey crust and it's one that is anticipated among family when the holidays come...

Many, Many ideas & hints for working with the incredible egg. Learn how to tell if an egg is fresh or not. Can you tell if an egg is hard boiled without breaking it open. How to make a...

Put hot water in your bowl then add your flower mix then add milk in your pan after you have the gravy going and if its to thin then add more hot water and flower, If you like doing it with milk...

I make lots of eggs and this is the best method I found to avoid getting that green, icky, slimy layer that shows up around the yolk of a hard-boiled egg.

Although you would certainly not want to spoil a perfectly good banana that you plan on eating as it is, there are many recipes that actually call for ripened or spoiled bananas. One such recipe...

Grains must be ground until they become flour. Precise amounts of water, yeast and any desired seasoning are mixed with the flour in a large mixer. The mixture is kneaded with more water added...

Par-baked bread, short for partially baked bread, is a process of cooking the bread through without finishing it, removing it from the oven for a time to cool, then completing the baking at a...

Making your own corn oil at home can be a somewhat slow and tedious process. However, if you raise your own corn and you want to give it a try, you can make corn oil in your own backyard. Of...

Whether you're preparing for a camping trip or a disaster situation, dehydrated food can be a lifesaver. Removing the water from food not only makes it lightweight and compact, it extends its...

Fondant is icing made from gelatin, confectioner's sugar and water. It is used to create a uniformly smooth topping for cakes. Fondant may also be used to create detailed cake decorations for a...

Green beans are typically canned with a pressure cooker to ensure safety. If you don't have a pressure cooker, learn how to process green beans in a water bath as an alternative method.

Need milk? OK, you want to save your milk for the kids to drink or use on cereal.(They loooove that chocolate milk too.) BUT you want to do some baking that requires milk. Do not despair. Every...

A sourdough starter leavens bread dough with wild, uncommercialized yeast. Following are some steps for capturing that yeast and keeping it alive so you can use it in recipes.

If you’ve ever had a cake get stuck in its pan, you know how irritating it can be. No matter how you wiggle and jiggle it, the cake won’t come out. Or it does come out, in pieces. It may have...

Everyone knows there’s going to be an apocalypse. If it’s not zombies (and really, why wouldn’t it be zombies?), it will be something. Few people are going to survive the initial wave of...

Being from NY, I love pizza...good pizza. My husband has created a great pizza dough recipe, which started with a good recipe and adapting it according to various results. Most importantly we've...

The last thing you want do on Thanksgiving morning is defrost a 13 pound turkey in your microwave. You should not put hot water on frozen meat, and leaving a turkey on your kitchen counter is just...

Finally, here's an easy way to peel potatoes.

The expiration date on your yeast may say that it has expired, but if you have stored the yeast in the refrigerator, or better yet, in the freezer where it will remain active even longer, it may...

If you don't have the time to poach an egg on the stove, you can do it in the microwave. Save time and still enjoy a delicious poached egg by following a few easy steps.

There are a few tricks to cutting cheesecake to achieve nearly perfect slices.

Like many people, I’ve had my fair share of tears when chopping an onion. This is because the bulb root contains sulfur that causes you to tear up. When you cut the bulb, it releases sulfur...

When you spend precious time and money carefully crafting the perfect cheesecake, you don’t want to just cross your fingers and hope that this time, those ugly cracks that have plagued your...

Stupid tricks to boil water, and the answer to the question, "Which boils faster? Hot or cold?"

Before you begin to cook your turkey you should allow ample time to prepare properly. One should keep kitchen surfaces clean and separate the turkey from other meats.

Removing the mystery from cooking hard candies from suckers to peanut brittle to the sky is the limit. These tips on making candy are only intended for candies that are cooked to the hard ball...

Rose water has been used for years in cosmetics for its light astringent properties. My grandmother made her own and she used it as a toner for her fair and dry skin. It can also be used when...

How to properly and easily melt chocolate.

Raisins are sweet and delicious dried grapes that have been popular through history, and made as early as 2000 B.C. in Persia and Egypt. They are good for your oral health, so you can have that...

When cooking or baking, measuring cups typically need to be used for multiple ingredients. Unfortunately, much time is wasted trying to clean out the measuring cups after each ingredient is used....

When attempting to make a homemade cheesecake for the first time, many people find that although they followed the directions perfectly, the cake turns out not quite right-it is either cracked,...

The last thing you need to worry about as you're in a cooking frenzy or simply rushing through the day is an egg that cracks when it's boiling. Instead of a nicely boiled egg that can be eaten...

The pies available in a bakery leave much to be desired; or worse the frozen food aisle! The advertising world has convinced us that making a pie crust is far too difficult, but their imitation...

This flaky dough is perfect for using with pasties and any kind of a pot pie. The trick with the dough is to keep it as chilled as possible to keep the butter in small pieces instead of melting...