Patel

An apple is an apple (or so most think), but as we all know, most bags don’t share the full nutrition details of what gets placed in your belly. Are you grabbing a medium-sized one for a snack? The number of calories will vary greatly depending on whether you remove the skin, how large this … Read more

Home cooks don’t tend to measure their meatballs in weight but in volume: Scoop some seasoned ground beef into bowl until it seems like it’ll be enough for four plates (or an appetizer tray). It usually doesn’t, since there are two variables at play, raw density and shrinkage after cooking. Enter the calculator; tell it … Read more

Banana bread. Your recipe requires 3 eggs, but all you’ve got is flour and yogurt in fridge. It’s one of the most popular kitchen improvisations to swap dairy for eggs. If you’re panicking that you can’t pull it off, don’t worry. You’re not alone. But it’s also one of the least understood swaps. And here’s … Read more

What’s that? When you need eggs, you’ve got none? It happens at the exact wrong time. And there’s always flour and sugar waiting in a bowl on counter. Should you head to the store? Or should you skip baking altogether? But wait… What about all the mayonnaise chilling in your fridge? Yes, it’s magic. And … Read more

Have you ever been frustrated by a failed gelatin dessert? Have you watched as your fruit puree simmers away, only to add egg yolks and spend hours tempering them before pouring the whole mess into a mold? I chilled it all in the fridge. I turned it upside-down onto a plate. Did you watch it … Read more

Tofu: Using Silken Tofu as an Egg Substitute Everyone thinks tofu is simply solidified egg white. Nope. They share some of the same chemical makeup, but you can’t substitute one for another and expect the same structure (lift) or even binding properties. While silken tofu adds moistness and binds, it doesn’t has the protein network … Read more

Why bake with butter and shortening? They both have different levels of water content. Shortening contain no water; it’s all fat. On the other hand, butter has about 16 percent water and is around 80 percent fat. These two ingredient act very differently during cooking. One impact is that steam forms in the oven. Without … Read more

And here’s where you’re standing in aisle in front of pantries with a bag of marshmallows. Is this a ten-ounce package meant only for you? Or will there be enough for all those kid? The white fluff doesn’t seem so much. But then again, these aren’t jumbo. These are mini marshmallows, completely different creature from … Read more

Say the recipe asks for three eggs, but all you have is liquid-y pasteurized version of just the whites. Maybe you reason you’ll just add some protein in liquid form and call it good. But cooking is chemistry; while both parts play a role, the yolk do things the white can’t. To get equivalent results … Read more

Two sticks is one cup of butter. That’s a direct relationship, something I like in my baking, as it makes seeing amounts easier than making careful measurements of each substance. A half stick is a quarter cup. A stick and a half are three quarters. No need for graduated cylinders here. Math has become something … Read more