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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 .

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Baking or Cooking - why orange and not other sweet citrus fruit?

In most of the recipes that have any sweet citrus flavoring, it is usually Orange (zest and juice). In fact I've hardly seen a recipe that uses a substitute like mandarin, grapefruit, etc. Is there a reason why orange takes a preference and how easy…
Divi
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Shirred eggs elements

I've found a number of recipes online for shirred eggs. Some have a fat (cream, ham) beneath the eggs; others don't (except for a bit to grease the ramekin). Some have a cheese (Parmesan, Cheddar, Swiss) above the eggs; others, I think, don't. Some…
msh210
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Is there a difference in the taste/seeds of egg-sized eggplants, and long and slim eggplants?

Is there a difference in the taste/seeds of egg sized eggplants or brinjals, and long and slim eggplants or brinjals? They are different in shapes. Is there any other "known/visible" difference?
Aquarius_Girl
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Did post-war Hovis bread contain treacle or black strap molasses?

I totally concur with the opinion of YouTube chef Titli Nihan that the modern Hovis loaf tastes nothing like the bread I remember as a child. TN has an interesting theory that the Hovis bread of that generation was in fact based on white flour…
Greybeard
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Are ripe meyer lemons supposed to be soft?

At the grocery store they were selling meyer lemons in mesh bags, they all seemed to be much softer than an ordinary lemon. Are meyer lemons supposed to be a very soft fruit? just touching them lightly was like I was squeezing a rubber ball, I can't…
Manako
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How important are ingredient ratios in pasta-making (as compared to baking)?

It's well-known that the ratios of ingredients matter a lot in baking -- tiny changes in ingredient ratios can create big changes in the quality of results. However, there are other situations where ingredient ratios don't matter as much (for…
Asker
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How can I tell whether my potatoes are waxy vs. floury?

Once in a while I get hold of a bunch of potatoes without any labeling and the least I want to know is whether they are waxy or floury. Is there a way to determine whether raw potatoes are waxy or floury?
michid
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Why do small things taste better than big things?

Small berries have more flavor than large berries, small scallops have more flavor than large scallops, cherry tomatoes have more flavor than beefsteak tomatoes. I can't think of any cases where the larger an ingredient was, the more flavor it had…
Hovercouch
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Should I use raw turmeric that turned rubbery?

I have some raw turmeric, which has become rubbery lying in the deep freeze. Can it be used for cooking? If yes, does it require any special processing first?
p sinclair
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How do I tell guar gum from xanthan?

I purchased both guar gum and xanthan gum in little unmarked baggies from the bulk section of my local health foods store. This was months ago and since I foolishly forgot to label them, now I have no idea which is which. How can I tell? Are there…
leafmeal
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How much star anise should I add to a stew?

I’m making a stew with about 700 grams of meat and it will have a lower rather than higher amount of water. I will be using star anise for first time and I hear a little bit can over power the whole stew so you should start small. I’m guessing…
James Wilson
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Is it normal for raw farm onions to smell like manure?

I bought onions from a truck passing the streets in Mexico and even after peeling the onions smell like manure all the way to the core. Is this normal? If so, why don't grocery store onions have that smell?
user5389726598465
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Difference between frozen and canned fruit paste

I want to make a recipe requiring strawberry fruit paste. I went on a web site of cooking supplies seller, and they have two options for fruit paste, simply "fruit paste" and "frozen fruit paste". The site says that the frozen paste is made from 90%…
SIMEL
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Which one is better in Samosa dough,Ghee or Oil?

Which one is better in samosa dough, ghee or oil? some people use ghee in dough of samosa and some people use oil.Is there any difference in taste and texture of samosa while using ghee or oil in dough after frying it?
user29521
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Is it normal for collard greens to be red?

The collard greens that I have received are red. Is this normal/healthy? Image attached. Google searching this gives me zero results that are anywhere near relevant. I also can't find any images of red collard greens, they are always green in the…
Maximillian Laumeister
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