The Cream Of The Crop

Q: What is the difference between whipping cream, heavy cream and half and half? Can they be used interchangeably? --Bob and Dana

A: The difference is the fat content. Whipping cream and heavy cream are essentially the same. In fact, what you'll mostly find in the dairy case is "heavy whipping cream." Half and half, however, is half milk and half cream, with much lower fat percentage. Do not replace one for the other in baking recipes, although you can usually swap them out in sauce recipes without detrimental results.

Q: I know this is going to sound really stupid, but, I have a burning desire to learn how to bake breads, puff pastries, etc. and I've always wanted to know just exactly what baking powder and baking soda are, what they do to food, what is the difference and when is too much or not enough! I don't know if that is a simple question or not, but at age 61, I still don't understand their use! -- Jack Parks

A: Not stupid at all, Jack! I'd venture to say most folks who have used baking powder and soda for years couldn't really tell you what they do if pressed. You have the sort of inquiring mind that makes a good foodie.

Both are used primarily as leavening agents. Baking soda, when it comes in contact with acidic ingredients such as lemon juice or buttermilk, gives off carbon dioxide, which causes batters to rise. Baking powder serves the same purpose, but it contains an acid, such as cream of tartar, which causes it to react without an acidic ingredient being present.

Some baking powders are "double-acting," meaning they contain ingredients that cause two phases of rising: one when the batter is made and one when cooking takes place. Most recipes use double-acting, and it is by far the most common in U.S. supermarkets. If the recipe does not specify, use double-acting.

If you use too much leavening, the most likely result I've come across is that too much carbon dioxide will be generated, and your cake or other baked good will "inflate," and then "deflate" abruptly, leaving you with a fallen mess.

If you don't use enough leavening, your cake won't rise far enough and won't cook properly.

Don't worry too much, though, most recipes allow for that extra sprinkle or so. It's cooking science, not rocket science. Precision in baking IS important, but you've got a little wiggle room.

Q: I have a question about reheating leftover meat. I take my roasts out of the oven when they are still red in the middle, about medium or medium-rare, I guess. After reheating, and I've tried doing that in the oven, the microwave and the stovetop, it takes the roast into the medium-well (and even well) done stage. Is there a good way to reheat and leave it medium? --Ann Hoopingarner

A: It's VERY difficult to reheat meat without cooking it any further. It has to do with temperature. When the meat is what you'd consider hot enough to serve, its internal temperature is well into the overdone range.

You could try slicing the meat fairly thinly and heating it on half-power in the microwave. Run it a minute at a time, and check after each minute.

You could also set the oven very low, no more than the "warm" setting, and heat the meat in there. However, this will ONLY work for small pieces. If you try it with a whole roast, the meat will spend far too long in the bacteriological danger zone and you'll be likely to have nicely warmed Chuck Roast Con Salmonella for dinner.

This is a good time to remind all of you to check your oven calibration. An oven thermometer will cost you less than $10, and it will save you from embarrassment, heartbreak and (worse) burned cookies.

I recently tried a copy cat recipe which called for 48 ounces of penne pasta. Since it didn't indicate "precooked" I assumed this to be a dry measurement. Wow! What a mistake! How do I calculate the dry measurement of pasta when a recipe calls for precooked? -- Barbara T.

Q: The cooked amount of pasta varies a bit by the type. For standard durum pasta, 8 ounces of uncooked will yield 4 cups cooked. So for your recipe you should have used 12 ounces of dry penne.

Egg noodles don't "grow" quite as much. Eight ounces of egg noodles will yield about 2 ½ cups cooked.

Q: On a recent cooking show, the chef stated that cooking vegetables in a microwave oven will kill all the vitamins and nutrients. Is this true? -- M.T.

A: A recent Spanish study reported that cooking vegetables such as broccoli in the microwave destroys a huge percentage of the cancer-fighting antioxidants. The dietary fiber and mineral contents were not affected.

By far the most healthful way to cook veggies, and the one which leaves them with the most flavor, is steaming. Since the water isn't in solid contact with the vegetables, the nutrients "wash out" to a much lesser degree.

Got a question for Ask The Cook? A quandary? A poser, even? Drop me a line and we'll find the answers together!