Editorial Team

11

Nov

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Ingredients InsightSour Cream

What is Sour Cream

Sour cream has become a staple in most kitchens, kept on hand to make quick dips, thicken sauces, and of course, to top baked potatoes. Like its relative, yogurt, sour cream also tenderizes and softens baked goods. Sour cream is a dairy product rich in fats obtained by fermenting a regular cream by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Though only mildly sour in taste, the name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial fermentation, sometimes referred to as “souring”. Adding bacteria derived from lactic…

11

Nov

By Editorial Team

Ingredients Insight

Tips For Baking with Chocolate

Since there are now more types of chocolate than ever, here are a few things to keep in mind when you're baking with chocolate: 1. Know the percentages of cocoa matter. These days, many chocolate labels include the percentage of cocoa matter (cacao) in a bar. The cocoa matter includes the flavorful cocoa powder, as well as the fatty, nearly flavourless cocoa butter. For semisweet, that means 45 to 55 percent cacao, for bittersweet between 56 - 70 percent cacao and for dark more than 70 percent. 2. Choose Chocolate brands wisely. Chocolate brands often tout words and phrases such…

10

Nov

By Editorial Team

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Ingredients InsightChocolate

Benefit of Chocolate

Chocolate is made from the beans of Cocoa. From the cocoa bean pods the beans are separated after fermentation. Then the kernel of the seeds is broken in small bits which are called as nibs. These nibs are ground finely to obtain what is called cocoa liquor. This liquor when crystallized produces the dark chocolate which is the mother of virtually all other chocolates that are prepared. Sometimes by grinding the nibs fat from the resulting mass is separated which is called as cocoa butter. This along with sugar is used to make sweet chocolate. It’s also been said that…

My Cake is Stuck to the Tin! What Do I Do?

10

Nov

By Editorial Team

Baking TipsBaking

My Cake is Stuck to the Tin! What Do I Do?

First, make sure you always grease your tin so you can easily remove your cake easily to serve. My foolproof lining method is : 1. Generously butter the tin. Use softened butter at room temperature and a pastry brush to grease your tin. Do not melt it otherwise the butter won't stick to the sides of your tin. 2. Add one table spoon of all purpose flour to the tin and shake it, so the flour coats all of the surface of the tin. Tap the side of the tin to remove excess flour. This will create a layer that…

How to Test Your Cupcake Baking Done-ness

07

Nov

By Editorial Team

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Cupcakescupcake

How to Test Your Cupcake Baking Done-ness

The easiest mistake to make when baking cupcakes is to overbake them. The cupcakes simply dry out too easily. Most of the cupcakes recipes suggest done-ness when there are still crumbs clinging when tested with a wooden toothpick or wooden skewer. I dont recommend to test cupcake done-ness with metal tester since it will give different results. The metal tester don't really allow crumbs to cling. The brownies cupcakes will show many moist crumbs when they are done - more than most, to take heed.

05

Nov

By Editorial Team

CupcakesCupcake Tin

How to Fill the Cupcake Tin?

In general, you may want to fill the cupcake tins about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way full. This will give you a very large, voluptuous cupcake. I find that filling the wells is most easily accomplished by using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop. After you bake a particular batter in your particular cupcake tins, make a note as to how high you filled them, and adjust for future batches if necessary. These are exceptions to these guidelines for filling the tins. Brownie batter does not rise very much and does not develop a dome at all. So fill the…

05

Nov

By Editorial Team

Cupcakescupcake

How to Make Perfect Cupcake

1. Read every recipe through before starting and follow the instruction to the letter. 2. Use the ingredients called for (for instance, do not substitute jumbo eggs for large eggs). 3. Take time to measure accurately with the proper tools. 4. Use time cues and visual cues, when given, for best results. 5. Do not overbake! Most cupcakes are ready when moist crumbs still cling to a wooden toothpick. 6. Most cupcakes taste best when eaten the same day they are baked and decorated. 7. Relax and enjoy the cupcake making process.

04

Nov

By Editorial Team

KitchenwareRice Cooker

New Uses for Rice Cooker

Your Rice Cooker can do more than just to cook rice or warm it. Check this simple tips below: 1. Layer an entire meal in your cooker. As rice cooks in your machine, you can use a steamer basket to harness the stream and heat from the cooking rice to preapre vegetables and marinated fish or chicken for a complete meal that requires little work and very few dishes. 2. Prepare steel-cut oats. Before bed, add the oats to your rice cooker and program the timer so they are finished cooking as you are ready for breakfast. Since milk should…

28

Oct

By Editorial Team

TipsApple Pie, Pie

Baking Tips: As Easy as Pie

The old saying goes “easy as pie”, so why are so many of us reluctant to try baking our own? Most of us just don’t have the time to spend hours shopping for ingredients, making the pastry from scratch and preparing the filling, especially during the holidays. Some recognized brand names are making it easy. You can now get, for example, two lines of frozen, unbaked pies, Oven Fresh and the Signature Selections by Sara Lee that are ready to pop into the oven. Here are some additional hints from Sara Lee for baking all kinds of pies: 1. If…

28

Oct

By Editorial Team

TipsDutch Oven

Cleaning and Storing Dutch Oven

There are many opinions on cleaning a Dutch Oven. Not all Dutch Oven cooks believe you can use soap in your Dutch Oven. Some cooks suggest never to wash them, others wash them, but not with detergent. We have found that a well-seasoned oven will not be damaged by using a few drops of dishwashing soap if you have been cooking something really greasy. Just be sure to rinse several times to make sure there is no soap residue. If your oven is not well-seasoned, whatever you put in the oven will be absorbed into the pot and become part…