Many home cooks who routinely use aluminum foil may find parchment paper life-changing. It can be used to line cookie sheets, cake pans, etc. It is non-stick, grease-resistant, and heat-resistant. In fact, it can stand up to very high temperatures. That is because it is treated with silicone, which not only makes it non-stick but … Read more
If you use a kitchen sponge to clean your kitchen counters or to hand-wash dishes, you probably know that sponges get very nasty very quickly. They also quickly become little germ factories so that you end up doing nothing more than spreading bacteria over your kitchen or dishes, etc. Now, the truth is that once … Read more
Nondairy coffee creamers are milk or cream substitutes for coffee. Some people make such substitutes out of soy, rice, or even coconut milk. Most of the store-bought coffee creamers, whether powder or liquid, however, are made from partially hydrogenated oils like soybean or cottonseed and contain other ingredients for flavor and texture. Although they say nondairy on the … Read more
There are two types of pepper, closely related that are referred to as a banana pepper, but it is the sweet variety that we usually call the banana pepper, sweet banana pepper, yellow wax pepper, or banana chili. There is, however, a hot banana pepper. The hot variety of this pepper is the Hungarian Wax. Both these … Read more
As far back as 1915, headlines were ablaze with the shocking news: Commercial bread bakers were putting Plaster of Paris, otherwise known as gypsum or anhydrate, into their bread doughs. It caused a controversy and investigation in Boston, New York, and other cities during this time. Was it true? Yes. Plaster of Paris is otherwise known as calcium sulfate. It was … Read more
Supermarket meats tend to come in one of two different types of packages. Traditionally, you will find them in a Styrofoam or plastic tray, sometimes with an absorbent pad underneath, and over-wrapped with a thin plastic wrap. You may also find them in vacuum-sealed packages as I described in the article Can You Age Beef … Read more