Questions tagged [culinary-uses]

Questions about the culinary uses of products that are normally discarded or used in non-culinary applications. DO NOT use for everyday ingredients, leftovers, etc - this is off topic.

This tag is used for questions about the culinary applications of edible items which:

  • Would be considered waste (e.g. stale bread or apple peel);
  • Are edible but primarily used for non-culinary applications (e.g. hops or lavender).
  • Are extremely rare and difficult to find recipes for (e.g. sumac). At a minimum, items in this category should be unavailable in typical supermarkets.

Questions about leftovers or common ingredients are not an appropriate use of this tag and will likely be closed as they are equivalent to recipe requests. When using this tag, please make sure the question fits one of the above criteria in order to avoid having it closed.

Tip for answerers: try to answer with classes of use (e.g. nutritional yeast is a flavor enhancer for soup, starter dough can be used for quickbreads) and also explain why the ingredient is effective in that class. Favorite recipes are not useful answers.

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What is sumac used for?

A friend of mine told me she uses sumac (I am not sure she was teasing me, or what). Is sumac used in cuisine? If it is used, what is it used for?
apaderno
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Culinary uses for bolted lettuce?

Does anyone have a culinary use for a lettuce which has bolted? Or do I throw it away? Bolting being what gardeners call that moment when your lovely full bodied lettuce suddenly shoots skywards, in order to produce seed. Once salad crops have…
Tea Drinker
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What to do with grapefruit seeds?

I have several grapefruit trees and get tons of grapefruits almost year round. When I eat the grapefruits, which is fairly regular, I typically eat a good amount of the seeds with the fruit for nutrition, though I do get tired of them after a…
jhawes
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Culinary use for the green parts of lemongrass?

In most recipes/applications I've seen only the white part of lemongrass is used. Is there any culinary use for the upper/outer green parts?
talon8
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What to do with old coffee beans?

I have several bags of quality coffee beans brought from Costa Rica. Their best before date is over a year ago. I just grinded and made a pot of coffee of them, and although it was drinkable, taste wasn't that good anymore. Is there any other…
tequilatango
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Can I use tapioca pearls for thickening?

A friend of mine went shopping in an Asian market. I asked them to bring me tapioca starch. They brought me a package of small tapioca pearls. Is there any way to use the pearls as I would use the starch? For example, can I grind them with mortar…
rumtscho
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What to do with crumbled muffins?

I made some muffins that apparently didn't have enough liquid to stick together (perhaps substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream was not such a good idea, as that, butter, and an egg contributed the only liquid). So the muffins crumbled completely…
justkt
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Is there an application for soft cheese rinds?

When I melt soft cheese into something, I don't use the eatable rinds, because they ruin the whole texture. But sometimes the cheese is expensive (like DOC rawmilk camembert, or handmade gorgonzola), and there is still lots of cheese sticking to the…
rumtscho
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Lemon Balm Uses

It's growing like a weed, and has a wonderful smell just wondering what I can use it for in the kitchen?
Simon
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Is sarsaparilla used in cooking?

I love the taste of sarsaparilla. It's a key flavor in root beer, and I know Aviation Gin has some in it, but I've never seen it used in a food. Are there any ways to cook with it?
keithjgrant
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Uses for radish and turnip greens?

Got a lovely bunch of radishes and turnips from the farmer's market, giant mass of greens included. Can I use the greens for anything aside from compost? Are they edible? Worthy of salads? Stir-fry?
Daniel Bingham
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Are there any cooking techniques that employ "Dry Ice"?

I was watching a cooking show and one of the chefs used dry ice to "flash freeze" some fruit for a dessert - are there any other uses for Dry Ice that can be employed in preparing different foods? Obviously, you can't eat Dry Ice, so my question is…
AttilaNYC
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Can the skin of lychee be used for anything?

We recently saw and picked up some lychee from the grocery store. It appears that the skin is inedible, but my girlfriend is wondering if it could be used for anything. Should the lychee skin just be tossed, or can it be used in some way?
James Skemp
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What is the difference between acetate sheets and baking paper when making chocolate deco?

I would like to make chocolate decorations with melted chocolate. After searching on the web, however, I am not quite sure I could find acetate sheets. But I can find baking paper. Would there be any substitute, like baking paper, parchment paper?…
Ryan
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What to do with the fat rendered when making beef stock?

I just made beef stock and after cooling the stock in the pot I skimmed the solidified fat off the surface and the walls of the pot. Since I often read 'keep duck fat' when making duck stock/broth and because lard is probably something similar from…
tobiw
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