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Q: Can I freeze homemade salsa, rather than having to can it? --Sonja M.
A: When you're dealing with freezing something like salsa, you have to look at the freezing characteristics of everything in it. Most traditional salsa ingredients, such as tomatoes, onions and peppers, are notoriously bad freezers unless blanched, and blanched veggies do not good salsa make.
Q: I have a question about the differences of pasta. Egg noodles vs. shells? Or spaghetti vs. noodles? Are they all the same basic recipe? What is it that makes them different? I really can't tell the difference in taste of some of the pasta. It's an elementary question, but I would like to know. -- Alice K.
This is an "elementary" question on which entire books have been written and entire careers built.
However, being a wordsmith as well as a culinary genius, I'll answer it in just a few words.
Italian pasta is primarily made from wheat flour. There should be little or no taste difference within a brand. Chinese pasta comes from a variety of flour sources. The shapes are utilitarian: Use the best shape for the dish. Feel free to mix them up at will! Make elbow macaroni to use with your spaghetti sauce. Make macaroni and cheese with fusilli or rotini. You'll either discover a new culinary sensation or learn why the specific pastas were used in the first place.
Q: What is the difference, if any, between sweet butter and unsalted butter? -- Connie B.
A: "Sweet" butter is another name for unsalted butter, which is preferred for cooking, especially in baking. Salted butter is best for table use. The reasoning is simple: When cooking, it's best to use ingredients in their simplest form. If you use salted butter, you're trusting that the manufacturer added the precise amount of salt you need to achieve your desired flavor. That can be a dangerous assumption. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt going into your recipe.
Q: What is canola oil made of? I have often wondered. -- Anonymous
A: Contrary to popular belief (and no small amount of Web hysteria), canola oil is made from canola seed, not rapeseed. Yes, canola seed was developed from rapeseed, but the resulting oil has completely different fatty acid and other properties. There has been a lot of misinformation circulated on the Internet about supposed health hazards from canola oil. It's a load of hooey. In fact, canola oil has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.
Canola oil is my oil of choice for deep-frying when a neutral oil with a high smoke point and good durability is called for.
Q: Should you leave the top of the grill up or down when barbecuing steak? Chicken? Does it matter if it's a gas vs. charcoal grill? Are there any hard-and-fast rules? Thanks! -- Kim
A: First off, we need to define our terms. "Barbecuing" is cooking slowly with aromatic smoke, whereas "grilling" is cooking with direct heat, usually from burning charcoal or gas. By nature, barbecuing is a "top down" method, since the smoke needs to surround the food in order to flavor and cook it.
I suspect what you're really asking about is grilling. My philosophy has always been to leave the top closed as much as possible with chicken, to moderate the temperature and get it done all the way to the bone and get as much smoke flavor into it as grilling can. It usually takes me an hour or more to grill leg quarters.
For steak, it's top off and put the spurs to it! Open your vents and get that oxygen to the coals. Generate abundant heat to get a good, brown crust on the meat. Watch out for excessive flame, though, as that will deposit soot onto the meat, which is hardly tasty. If you (shudder) like your steak well done, close the lid after your sear and let the heat finish ruining your meat.
I'm sorry, but those who've read my scribblings for any length of time know I view well-done beef as an abomination.
Q: What exactly are the five spices in Chinese five-spice powder? Is it something that can be concocted at home, instead of buying the semi-tasteless stuff at the market? -- Christine
A: Of course you can make your own five-spice powder at home! Just combine 2 tbsp. szechuan peppercorns (or black if that's all you have), 3 whole star anise, 2 tsp. fennel seeds, 6 whole cloves and two 3-4 inch cinnamon sticks, broken, in a spice grinder or blender. Process until blended and powdered fully. For extra flavor, toast the anise and fennel seeds lightly in a nonstick skillet before blending. Sealed tightly, the powder will keep up to three months.
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