The term "Thai basil" can refer to three different types of basil common in Thai cooking -- Queen of Siam basil, Holy Basil or Horapa basil. Horapa is the most commonly used Thai basil in the United States. It has purple stems, small greenish purple leaves, and a licoricey taste that is different from Italian sweet basil.
Thai basil adds a subtle anise flavor and perfume when added to hot soups, stir-fries or curries just before serving. Or it can be eaten fresh in salads, wrapped in a lettuce leaf with mint, or fried in spring rolls.
Recipe: Beef Pho (Cookthink)
Recipe: Thai Carrot-Cucumber Salad (Cookthink)
Reference: What is pho? (Cookthink)
Reference: What is sriracha? (Cookthink)
What's the point of sifting flour?
What's the point of sifting flour?
Originally, the point of sifting flour used to be to remove lumps and the occasional insect, although modern flour is generally free of those concerns. If you don't buy pre-sifted flour, sifting can still be a good idea for a number of reasons.
First, it loosens up flour that has been sitting around in storage for a long time, aerating it and helping your baked goods to have a lighter texture. It's also a good idea to sift flour if you are combining it with other ingredients, such as salt, baking powder or soda, or cocoa powder, to give the mixture a homogeneous texture.
Flour can be sifted either with an old-fashioned sifter, or by shaking flour through a sieve. Dry ingredients can also be whisked together with a wire whisk in a pinch, which also helps lighten up the flour.
Nevertheless, some people think that sifting flour is a pain, and skip it altogether, claiming they don't notice the difference. Do you?
Recipe: Sour Cream Bundt Cake (VeganYumYum)
Recipe: Banana Hazelnut Upside-Down Cake (Hogwash)
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
Extra-virgin olive oil is the precious unrefined first result of cold-pressing olives to make a fruity liquid that contains less than one percent acid.
Extra-virgin olive oil is the most expensive olive oil variety, and it is best appreciated in salads or as a garnish to give preparations a final flourish. If you are using olive oil to cook, it's fine to use regular olive oil.
Greece is the #1 consumer of olive oil in the world and also the leading producer of extra virgin olive oils, which account for 82 percent of their olive oil production. The U.S. is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), which regulates olive oil standards worldwide, and the IOOC does not recognize the U.S. standards for extra-virgin oil.
There is much controversy in the olive oil world, with accusations of corruption and adulteration smearing consumer confidence and shedding doubt on the purity of so-called virgin olive oil.
Basil is an aromatic herb originally from India. Common sweet basil is green, with large, soft leaves. It is the star ingredient in Italian pesto, and iconic Italian dishes such as the caprese salad. It is also commonly used in Provençal dishes like soupe au pistou.
Thai basil is an herb that can refer to three different types of basil used in Thai cooking -- Queen of Siam, Holy Basil or Horapa, which is the most commonly used Thai basil in the United States. It has purple stems, small greenish purple leaves, and a licorice taste that is distinct from Italian sweet basil.
Thai basil adds a subtle anise flavor and perfume when plunged into hot soups (including Vietnamese Phở), stir-fried dishes or curries just before serving. Or it can be eaten fresh in salads, wrapped in a lettuce leaf with mint, or fried in spring rolls.
Kosher salt is a bright-tasting white, coarse-grained salt made without additives (such as iodine).
It is called kosher salt in North America (elsewhere it's referred to as coarse-grain salt) because it is used to aid in the preparing of kosher meat that is salted after butchering in order to draw out the animal's blood. Kosher salt works particularly well because its large grains don't immediately dissolve on the surface of meat, drawing in liquid instead.
But you don't have to keep kosher to appreciate kosher salt, a favorite of cooks everywhere for its large flaky texture and clean taste that works in a variety of dishes.
If you're new to kosher salt, be aware that it doesn't always dissolve completely in baked goods and that its grains vary in size according to the manufacturer, so be sure to check the box for measurement conversions. The large flakes of kosher salt make it a nice finishing salt to sprinkle on dishes before serving.
What's the difference between white and brown eggs?
What's the difference between white and brown eggs?
Don't judge an egg by its shell. Whether an eggshell is white or brown is determined by the breed of the hen who laid the eggs. It has absolutely nothing to do with taste or nutritional value.
The only time you may want to consider the color of the eggs you're buying is around Easter and Passover time, since white eggs work better for dyeing and decorating purposes.
You can leave basil leaves whole and add them to salads and hot dishes toward the end of cooking, tear them into pieces for more capricious basil flavor, or thinly slice them. To avoid bruising the basil, slide a sharp knife down and across the basil with a deliberate, smooth stroke. A clean cut will darken the leaves less than a pounding cut.
To slice basil, first stack the leaves together.
You can either roll them up like a cigar and slice through them to make a chiffonade, or just slice away at them as they are.
Side by side, they might fool you: cucumbers and zucchinis share the same dark green skin, pale seedy flesh, and long cylindrical shape. To the touch, however, these near-twins are not the same: cucumbers are cold and waxy, while zucchinis are rough and dry.
The two vegetables also perform very differently when cooked. Cucumbers wilt but maintain a slight crunch when heated. Zucchinis soften, sweeten and brown on the stove top or in the oven. Eaten raw, cucumbers are juicy, cool and crisp. Raw zucchini is heartier, a little sweet and a little bitter. As a general rule, we prefer cucumbers raw and zucchini cooked. (There are many exceptions to this rule.)
While you can’t replace one with the other, zucchinis and cucumbers do complement one another. Slice two cucumbers, two zucchinis and one sweet onion, and soak them all in rice vinegar for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Serve as a cooling side dish alongside something spicy or layer a few slices on top of a burger or sandwich.
Recipe: Cucumber, Carrot And Radish Salad With Creamy Avocado Dressing (Cookthink)
Recipe: Couscous With Raisins, Zucchini and Feta (Cookthink)
Reference: How to seed a cucumber (Cookthink)
Reference: What is raita? (Cookthink)
