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)
The word "canola" is a derivative of the phrase "Canadian oil, low acid."
Let's break that down a little further. Canola oil was first developed in Canada (in the 1970s), so that takes care of the "cano-" part of the word.
What about the "-la" or "low acid" part? Canola oil is made from varieties of rapeseed that contain very little amounts of something called erucic acid. Rapeseed naturally contains high levels of erucic acid, which has been suspected of being toxic to some animals in high levels.
People have been cooking with rapeseed oil for centuries. However, given the suspicions about its cumulative negative health effects, breeders began developing rapeseed that contained only small traces of erucic acid. And that's how "cano-" got its "-la".
Sesame oil is extracted from sesame seeds and comes in two varieties.
Light-colored nutty sesame oil is popular in Southern India and works in salad dressings or as a frying oil with a high smoke point. Dark toasted sesame oil is pungent in flavor and frequently used in Asian dishes. A few drops add dramatic flavor to marinades, soups, noodle dishes, dressings and other preparations.
Sesame oil can also be used to lubricate the skin, as it penetrates quickly. Sesame seeds are one of the most ancient crops cultivated for oil.
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.
Cornstarch is a silky smooth powder made from the starchy part of the corn kernel known as the endosperm.
Most commonly used in cooking as a thickener for gravies, soups, sauces, pie fillings and puddings, cornstarch does not alter the flavor of a recipe or cloud the consistency of a dish.
Whisk cornstarch with cold water to make a paste (called a slurry) before adding it to a recipe to prevent lumps from forming.
Cornstarch can be used in baking and in gluten-free cooking as a substitute for small quantities of flour. When substituting, note that 1 tablespoon of cornstarch equals 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
What is the difference between a shrimp and a prawn?
What is the difference between a shrimp and a prawn?
In some culinary circles, the word "prawn" is used to describe a large shrimp. In other circles, "shrimp" is used exclusively to describe both shrimp and prawns. And to further complicate matters, in other circles, "prawn" is used exclusively to describe both shrimp and prawns.
So is there a difference between the two?
Yes, there is a difference. Technically, shrimp and prawns are separate species, with mildly different gill structures and tastes.
The saltwater crustacean known as a shrimp is found in warm water (like the Gulf of Mexico) or cold water (like the Atlantic). Much of the shrimp we eat is pond-raised. In general, the colder the water, the smaller the shrimp.
Marketed according to size, shrimp are named based on the rough number of them that make up a pound. "Miniature" shrimp are so small that it take roughly 100 to make a pound, while just 10 "colossal" shrimp make a pound.
A prawn is a different kind of crustacean that resembles a miniature lobster and has sweet, succulent meat. The French langoustine, Spanish langostino and Caribbean lobsterette are all prawns, as is the Italian scampi (which shouldn't be confused with the dish known in the United States as "shrimp scampi"). Freshwater prawns like the Hawaiian blue prawn look like a shrimp-and-lobster love child, with thinner bodies and longer legs than shrimp.
Since in most recipes one can be substituted for the other, at Cookthink, we prefer to say "shrimp" when referring to shrimp and prawns. Using our synoynm feature, you can search for shrimp or prawns and we'll know what you're talking about.
Recipe: For recipes using shrimp and praws, take a look at the "related recipes" box on the left
