Patel

When measuring gelatin, your hand twitches: Do I have just enough? Will it be ruined by overdoing it? Will half an envelope do for this panna cotta, or will I need two envelopes to make something like aspic? More often than not, your hunch is wrong. Too little gelatin will result in a runny mess … Read more

A banana seems simple, just a banana. But it’s actualy more complex than that. Depending on how ripe it is, how big it is, or how it was prepared, a banana can has different amounts of nutrients. More often than not, we think that any given banana have a set number of calories. And that … Read more

With eggs, though, most home chef use them as an afterthought, as something of a fill-in-the-blank suggestion instead of building block. Use this many here; do this with that number over there. Crack it in, and don’t give any further thought to what’s holding all that meat together, which is fat. If you are cooking … Read more

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