KitchenSavvy

Can I Use Olive Oil to Marinate Beef

I have a family favorite flank steak marinade that uses vegetable oil.  Can I substitute olive oil (health reasons) and get the same taste and marinade?  I am worried that when the meat is marinaded over night in the refrigerator that the olive oil will harden.  Thank you for your assistance.

--Sandy

The reason for using fat of any sort in a marinade is because many flavor compounds dissolve in fat, but very little or not at all in water.  The oil carries those flavor compounds onto the surface of the meat.

Very little oil is actually needed to accomplish this.  Only enough to lightly coat the meat.  For a typical marinade, a few tablespoons of oil per cup of other liquids should be enough.  The exception, of course, being pastes that are made of herbs puréed in an oil base, like pesto.

Contrary to popular belief, the oil does not help to tenderize the meat.  Marinades only penetrate the outer 1/8" (3 mm) or so and therefore can not affect the interior.  Since the meat is made up largely of muscle fibers which are saturated with water, it is almost impossible for the oil in particular to penetrate even that far.

So, to answer your question, olive oil will be perfectly fine, as it doesn't have to stay liquid to do its job.  In fact, I use olive oil for marinades all of the time.

In order to be sure that the oil soluble flavor compounds are carried to the meat, finely chop any fresh herbs that you use, and mince or press garlic.  Combine the herbs, spices and other flavoring ingredients like garlic with the oil before adding the other liquids.  Also, I am a fan of putting the meat and marinade into a resealable plastic bag, since this allows you to redistribute the marinade by "massaging" the meat through the bag.  This helps distribute the oil, and therefore the flavors, over the surface of the meat.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Beating Egg Whites - How Cream of Tartar Helps

While you mentioned that cream of tartar, in a properly sealed container, can be kept indefinitely, I used mine last evening and the beaten egg whites did not turn out to be stiff as described in the recipe.  I suspect the culprit is my cream of tartar being too old, even though it was kept in a tightly sealed container.

-- Lucy

Cream of tartar does not affect the stiffness to which egg whites can be beat nearly as much as it helps stop beaten egg whites from collapsing. 

When you beat egg whites, proteins in the whites unfold from their natural shape and become tangled with each other.  At the same time, you are beating air into the whites, forming small bubbles.  The protein molecules become attached to each other through chemical and electrical bonds that reinforce the skin of the air bubbles.  Over time, these bonds can pull the proteins closer together, forcing out the water trapped in the surface of the bubbles.  Eventually, the proteins pull themselves together so strongly that compact, grainy protein lumps form and the liquid pools in the bottom of the bowl.

This is where the cream of tartar comes in.  It helps prevent the formation of chemical bonds between protein molecules.

To understand this, first a little chemistry.  Protein molecules have, along their length, sulfur atoms that in turn may have a hydrogen atom attached.  If the sulfur atoms release their attached hydrogen into the surrounding liquid, then they can attach to something else.  Sometimes, that something else is a sulfur atom on another protein molecule.   If too many sulfur - sulfur bonds occur, the proteins pull together too strongly and the foam collapses, as above.

Because it is acidic, the cream of tartar increases the number of free hydrogen atoms in the liquid.  These extra hydrogen atoms either stop the sulfur atoms from releasing their attached hydrogen, or else provide another hydrogen atom to quickly take its place.  Because of this, the rate at which sulfur - sulfur bonds can be created is slowed down enough to help keep the egg whites stiff long enough to be used.

Any acid can be used for this purpose, although cream of tartar and lemon juice are the most common.  The amounts needed are 1/8 teaspoon per egg white for cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon per egg white for lemon juice.

If you are having trouble beating egg whites to stiff peaks, there may be one of three causes.  If you got any of the yolk from the eggs into the whites while separating them, this can lessen the ability of the eggs to form stiff peaks, as can contamination from oil, fat or detergent on the utensils.  You should never use a plastic bowl to beat egg whites, since fat molecules are attracted to some plastics and may leave a film on the inside of the bowl.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Adjusting Baking Powder in Pumpkin Muffins

I am making low cal pumpkin muffins using a box of spice cake mix combined with a can of pumpkin. Can I add a little baking powder to make them rise up and be a little bigger?

--Judy

You can certainly try adding more baking powder, but there are a few things you might want to consider before you try that. 

First, you don't say whether you are making the cake mix according to the instructions on the box, or modifying it in any way.  According to the USDA nutritional analysis for canned pumpkin, one cup of pumpkin contains around 7.5 fluid ounces of water.  By weight, canned pumpkin is over 91% water.  If you are using canned pumpkin pie mix, things are slightly better.  A cup of that contains only 6.5 fluid ounces of water.  That is still 71.5% water by weight, though.

For cakes or muffins, if the batter is too thin, then the bubbles released by the baking powder, or other leavening, may rise to the surface and escape before the batter starts to set and is able to trap the bubbles.  If you are not compensating for the water in the canned pumpkin, that may make your batter too thin.  Since the water is trapped inside the pumpkin, the batter may look good going into the oven, but still be too wet.

To remove some of the excess water from canned pumpkin, the folks at America's Test Kitchen line a rimmed baking sheet with a few layers of paper towel, spread the pumpkin evenly over that and then cover with another layer of towel.  Pat lightly to press the top layer of paper towel into contact with the pumpkin.  Peel off the top layer of paper towel and then roll the pumpkin off the bottom paper towel as if you were making a jelly roll.  This technique will remove over a quarter cup, or about 1/3 of the water.

You could also correct  the cake recipe by reducing the other liquids used.

On the other hand, if the batter is too thick, then it is more difficult for the leavener to work, so if you are only using the mix and canned pumpkin, you may need to add a bit more liquid.  Either way, you will likely need to experiment a bit to get the desired result.

So, back to the original question, yes, you can try adding more baking powder, too.  Start with maybe 1/2 teaspoon or so, and see what happens.  Too much baking pwder, though can cause your muffins to rise too quickly, resulting in them splitting open or collapsing.  If that happens, reduce the amount of added baking powder and try again.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How to Tell if Eggs are Fresh

I have a carton of eggs without a best-before date on it.  I think I have had the eggs for about two or three weeks.  Is there any way to tell if they are fresh?

--Lin

There are two ways to tell how fresh your eggs are, but you need to remember that these are rough guidelines and that they don't necessarily tell you if the eggs are safe to eat.

The first method is to fill a container with cold water.  If your egg is fairly fresh, it will sink to the bottom of the bowl and lay on its side, maybe tilted a little toward the rounder end up.  As the egg gets older, it loses moisture and the air sac inside the rounder end enlarges.  A somewhat older egg may still sink to the bottom of the bowl, but will rest on the pointy end.  If the egg floats with the round end slightly above water, then it is old and should be discarded.

The container needs to be deep enough that you can clearly see if the egg is submerged, touching the bottom, or floating.  A four cup (one liter) glass measuring cup is ideal for this test.

If you were planning to crack the egg anyway, you can also tell the freshness by emptying the egg onto a flat dish, such as a side plate.  If the egg is completely fresh, the white will stay together and mound up noticeably around the yolk so that it clearly can be seen to have two levels.  The yolk will be rounded and well domed.  As the egg get older, the white becomes more runny, spreads more on the plate and doesn't rise around the yolk.  The yolk also becomes flatter.  If the white is watery and shows little or no rise in level around the yolk, then the egg is quite old.

As I said above though, these are tests only of the age of an egg and don't tell you about the safety.  improperly stored eggs can be contaminated and still pass these tests.  For safety, always try to be sure and buy eggs in a carton with a clear date, keep them in the carton, and don't move eggs from one partly used carton into another.  Always use eggs before the best-before date.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How Long will Leftover Turkey Keep in the Fridge?

We roasted a fresh turkey un-stuffed on Thanksgiving and the left-over pieces have been stored in the refrigerator in it's own container.  How long is too long to safely consume the left-over turkey?  Thank you.

--Betty

In our house, most of the leftover turkey is consumed for late night snacks or lunch the next day as Turkey Buns.  In fact, I have been known to say the only reason to roast a turkey for supper is to have leftovers for turkey buns.  Still, there is alway some leftover for turkey with gravy, tetrazzini or some other dish.

The general rule for meat is that it will safely keep for about three days, provided that:

• the meat was thoroughly cooked;
• it was not left in the "danger zone" temperatures of between 140°F (60°C) and 40°F (4°C) for more than two hours; and
• the refrigerator is kept below 40°F (4°C).

If any of the above is not done, then the storage time will be reduced, and the risk of food-borne illness greatly increased.

For turkey and chicken, the meat must be cooked to at least 165°F (74°C) throughout, although you likely want to cook the dark meat to closer to 180°F (82°C) for the best results.  If the turkey had been stuffed, then the stuffing should be completely removed from the bird and refrigerated separately.  Because of the extra moisture in stuffing, it will only keep for one or at most two days.  As much as possible, the meat should be stored in large pieces.  Most food safety experts recommend taking all of the meat off of the bones before refrigerating.  The carcass can be discarded or used to make stock or soup.

Reheat the leftover turkey to at least 165°F (74°C), preferably in gravy, or some other sauce, before serving.

To learn more about how long food can be left out before refrigeration and the danger zone, read How Long Can Cooked Food Be Left Out.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Smoke Point

I recently heard a TV chef say that she prefers a certain kind of oil because it has a high smoke point.  What is a smoke point, and why does it matter?

--Sean

The smoke point of any oil or fat is the temperature at which it begins to smoke.  This is  important because at or near the smoke point, the oil begins to also undergo chemical breakdown.  The byproducts of this breakdown can ruin the taste of the food being prepared.  Also, at this temperature there is greater risk that the fumes given off could igniting, causing a fire.

Oils with a higher smoke point will withstand higher temperatures for longer periods of time without degrading as quickly.  Chefs prefer certain oils like peanut oil for deep frying because of their high smoke point,  and neutral color and flavor.

According to The New Professional Chef, Sixth Edition from the Culinary Institute Of America the smoke points for some common oils are:

	Smoke Point
Oil or Fat	°F	°C
Butter, whole	300	150
Butter, clarified	300	150
Corn Oil	350	175
Lard	375	190
Olive Oil	375	190
Peanut Oil	440	225
Safflower Oil	510	265
Vegetable Shortening	325	165
Sunflower Oil	440	225

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

What is a Bouquet Garni?

In soup recipes, I keep seeing mention of a bouquet garni.  What is it?

--Gaylene

A bouquet garni (pronounced boo-KAY gar-NEE)  is a bunch of fresh herbs used to add flavor to stocks, soups and sauces.  Although there is no single common recipe, typically it will contain parsley, bay leaf and thyme.  Depending on what is being made, it may include other herbs.  The bouquet garni is intended to be removed from the liquid after sufficient cooking.

If only fresh herbs are being used, they may be wound with string to keep them together, or they may be wrapped in cheesecloth tied with string.  In either case, leave enough string to knot around the handle of your pot to make fishing the packet out easier, by just lifting on the string.  You can also use a tea infuser to hold the herbs.

If you are using cheesecloth or a tea infuser, then other items like whole cloves, peppercorns or garlic cloves can be included in the package.  You can also include dried herbs, provided they are not powdered.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Let Them Eat Cake

One of the most common questions I get has to do with cake recipes or variations on cake recipes.  Some examples of the questions I receive are:

- What is the correct ratio of baking powder to baking soda for a cake?
- How much baking soda should I use per cup of buttermilk or sour cream?
- Should I use baking powder or baking soda?

One of these I have answered already.  All other things being equal, the amount of baking soda to use per cup of buttermilk is about ½ teaspoon.   All of these questions, however, are related.

For a simple cake recipe, you want to use about 1 to 1 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder for each cup of flour.  That is the starting point.  Now, suppose you use buttermilk in place of milk in the recipe.  If the recipe calls for ½ cup of milk, which you replace with ½ cup of buttermilk, then you need ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to react with the acidity of the buttermilk.

If you just add the baking soda to the recipe, then your cake may have too much leavening, which may make it rise too much, split, or even fall.

That means you need to reduce the baking powder by the equivalent amount of leavening.  In Baking Soda vs Baking Powder, I  noted that the formula for equivalence is 1 teaspoon of baking powder can be replaced with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda and ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar, with ¼ teaspoon of cornstarch.  In this case, the cream of tartar is used to provide the acidity to react with the baking soda.  The cornstarch is added simply to make up the same volume and has no real role in the mixture.

So, back to the cake recipe, if you replace ½ cup of milk with the same volume of buttermilk, you need to replace 1 teaspoon of the baking powder with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda.  If the recipe only uses 1 teaspoon of baking powder, you will replace it all and the recipe only needs baking soda.  If it uses more, then you have to use both baking soda and baking powder.

Now, suppose you are making a chocolate cake that uses cocoa powder.   If you are using cocoa powder that is not "dutched", it is acidic, so you need to replace more of the baking powder with baking soda.  If you don't, the cake may turn out a light reddish brown color.  Cocoa powder that is dutched has an alkaline ingredient added to neutralize the acidity and darken the color, so the amounts of baking soda and baking powder do not need to be adjusted to compensate.

If, however, you were making a ginger cake, then you would need to replace baking powder with baking soda, since the molasses used in ginger cakes is acidic.  The exact amount you would need to replace would depend on whether you are using fancy or cooking molasses in the recipe, as they vary in their acidity.

Now, just to make things more complicated, eggs are a natural leavener.  If they make up the largest proportion of the liquid in a recipe, then it is entirely possible that you don't need to use baking soda or baking powder unless, of course, you are adding an acidic ingredient that needs to be counteracted.

All of this changes again if you live someplace where altitude can affect your result.

In short, creating a recipe from scratch can be a difficult problem involving a detailed understanding of the chemistry of food and a lot of trial and error.  The easiest approach is to look in cookbooks for recipes that come close to what you are attempting, and then adapt them by making small changes.  If you want to make a coffee cake, look for similar coffee cake recipes as a starter.  If you are planning something with the consistency of a pound cake, start from there.  In any case, plan to try a few times before you get the result you are looking for.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How Long Can Cooked Food Be Left Out

Please let me know how long you can leave freshly cooked food out at room temperature, i.e. turkey, roast beef.  I was told by a friend that you must either freeze or refrigerate immediately because bacteria builds up immediately.

--Annette

This is probably the post I get the most comments on, and most of them are "I hate to waste food."  Just in case the message below isn't clear, do not risk you health or that of others to save a few dollars.  Throw out any food that has been left in the temperature range below for more than 2 hours.  -- Dave

The general rule of thumb is that the time the food spends between 140°F (60°C) and 40°F (4°C) should be no longer than two hours, total.  Within this temperature range, which is often called the danger zone, bacteria can multiply at a very fast rate, doubling in number about every 20 minutes.

Because the turkey, roast, chicken or whatever, comes out of a significantly hotter environment, there is a bit of time at the start where the food is still warmer than the danger zone.  On the other hand, the two hours is not the amount of time before you put the food into the refrigerator or freezer, but rather the total time it spends in the danger zone, since the food may still be warmer than 40°F (4°C) when you put it away.

In fact, your friend may be creating a different risk all together if they are putting the food into the fridge or freezer immediately.  If it is too warm, heat from the food being put away may raise the temperature within the fridge or freezer high enough to increase bacterial growth on food that is already there.  This is especially true for anything that is either touching or just close to the food that was just put in, as it will be the most likely to get warmed up.  This lesson I know from personal experience -- and not a fun one!

The best approach is to leave the food covered with foil or plastic on the counter until it has cooled down until it is just warm to the touch and then put it away.  In practical terms, this means you can probably eat supper while the food is cooling down.  If you enjoy long slow meals and sit at the table for hours on end, put the food away between courses.

Sometimes it may be necessary to speed up cooling in order to avoid having food sit in the danger zone too long.  When making larger batches of soup, for example, I will frequently place the stockpot full of soup into my kitchen sink and run cold water around it.  To speed things up even further, I keep a couple of large plastic pop bottles filled with water in the freezer and may drop one or both of them into the surrounding water bath.  If not, I drain and refill the sink as soon as the surrounding water gets warm.

Improper cooling of food is the cause of about 30% of all food borne illness and not leaving food at temperatures within the danger zone for longer than two hours is a key food safety skill.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Coating a Spoon

What does it mean when a recipe says to cook something until it is "thick enough to coat a spoon"?

--Angie

The term to "coat a spoon" refers to a simple test to determine when a sauce or custard has thickened enough to use.  As the liquid thickens, it becomes less and less runny.  At some point, if you dip a spoon into the liquid, it will cling to the spoon rather than run off.  The standard technique is to run your finger through the sauce on the back of the spoon.  If a fairly straight line of exposed metal or wood, depending on the spoon, remains visible then the product has thickened to the desired degree.  If the liquid flows back across the line, then it needs to be cooked some more.

Remember when making custards to continue to stir the product off heat for a while once it is done to avoid having the liquid at the bottom become over-cooked from the residual heat in the pan.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward