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Questions tagged [ingredient-selection]

Questions about selecting desirable ingredients (e.g. checking fruit ripeness). Please do not use for "which ingredient should I use in my dish" - this kind of question is subjective and will be closed.

The tag is for those looking to improve their "catch" when out picking ingredients, usually at the market. Questions about gauging the ripeness of a particular fruit or recognizing when a particular vegetable is still fresh are welcome topics in this tag.

This tag is not meant for general recipe-modification questions, i.e. "what can I add to X?" Those questions are likely to be closed, unless they focus on a very specific type of improvement. In that case you should a tag that describes the modification instead, e.g. or .

176 questions
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What is the difference between various types of flour?

Is there a difference between the various types of flour that you see in the stores (i.e. Cake, Bread, and All-Purpose? Is it really necessary to stock 3 types of flour in my pantry or is this just a scheme from the manufacturers to get more money?
Covar
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Can I make popcorn with any corn?

Up until today I only knew about one type of corn for popcorn. Searching for Peruvian food I found out that in Peru there are different "popcorn" varieties. So that made me think: is it possible to make popcorn with just any variety of corn? If not,…
Luciano
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What can you surmise about coffee beans that have oil on them at the time of purchase?

I find myself favoring the purchase of coffee beans that have visible oil on them. My inference was that this bean had some extra flavor or awesomeness. Am I right, are beans 'better' if they are oily, or more simply, what does that mean about the…
Nathan Feger
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8 answers

How can I curate ingredients for my child to do foolproof self-directed sensory play + baking?

My 6 year old child really likes to play "spices" where we put various herbs, spices, flour, and other ingredients into small jars, set those on a baking sheet, and give her a mixing bowl. She mixes them and, usually, makes some sort of dough she…
Steve V
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4 answers

Why do some recipes recommend Kosher salt?

Is it healthy or more tasty?
CodeToGlory
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27
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4 answers

Potato for a purpose

I noticed that my super market sells packaged potatoes for different purposes, for example they sell: potatoes for a salad potatoes for baking potatoes for frying etc.. They all look pretty similar to me. Are these labels just for marketing, or is…
failedCoder
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Are there different grades or styles of bacon?

In commercials and when I go to restaurants (even fast food!) the bacon that I get is a reddish brown color and seems to be mostly meat, or at least meat textured. However, when I buy bacon at the grocery store, it's inevitably almost all fat. It…
JPhi1618
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4 answers

What type of beer is best for beer battered fish?

I was looking for a beer battered fish recipe the other day when I noticed most of the recipes don't state a style of beer to use. Some of the recipes use a significant amount of beer so I assume that some of the flavor profile from the beer will…
WildLAppers
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How can I identify dutch process cocoa?

I have a hard time finding "dutch process cocoa" in the store sometimes. What other names might dutch process cocoa be known as? Is there something else in the ingredients that might identify dutch process cocoa. What is the key property of…
KatieK
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How can I choose good avocados at the supermarket?

I've been trying to ignore my burning desire to make some guacamole because every time I go to the supermarket to buy avocados I can't manage to pick out good ones. They always either become too soft before I have a chance to do anything with them…
Oren Hizkiya
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What's the difference between masa for tortillas and for tamales?

I often buy fresh prepared masa from Mexican markets in order to make tamales and pupusas. Mexican cookbook authors stress getting the correct masa for the recipe, either masa for tamales or masa for tortillas. However, the masa at the market is…
FuzzyChef
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How does buttermilk affect a waffle recipe?

A lot of waffle recipes call for buttermilk and some claim its addition makes superior waffles. Apart from thickening the batter and giving it a slightly acidic flavour, does its addition do anything else?
Noob
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Is there any advantage to combining spices before applying them to meat?

Up to this point when preparing steaks, ribs, or any sort of "meat" I would apply my spices in sequence: first adding salts, followed by a pepper-based powders, and lastly some sugars (if applicable). I often see cooks combine these spices into a…
Carl Edwards
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Do I need to worry about differences in produce in foreign recipes?

I am from Egypt and so I think some produce is different from the ones in Europe or the US where most of the recipes found online are written. Should I stick to a regional cook book or is the variation in things like garlic, onions and tomatoes…
Ahmad Hani
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Which is the most caloric, edible, single ingredient by weight?

There is a lot of articles among the Internet talking about the most caloric meals you can eat, but just out of curiosity, I would like to know which is the most caloric single ingredient you can add to you recipes. At first I thought about sugar,…
Charlie
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