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Q: When is it appropriate to use copper cooking pots? I seem to recall someone along the line saying they're very good for cooking certain things but I can't remember what and why. -- Nikki Larsen
A: Nikki, I'm having your Frequent Customer Card mailed! Thanks for another great question.
Copper pots ... your grandmother probably has a set. You've seen them on the set of cooking shows, usually arrayed carefully hanging from a pot rack. You've seen them in upper-end cookware stores and have probably run screaming for the door when you got a peek at the prices.
The allure of copper, besides its attractiveness, is its unmatched ability to conduct heat. Whether making a sauce or simmering a stew, nothing matches copper for "surrounding" your food with heat. Modern copper cookware is generally lined with tin or stainless steel to keep it from interacting with certain foods.
In my own opinion, copper pots are an extreme luxury, not superior enough to other, cheaper metals to make the extra expense worth it. Buy one if you must, just so you can say you've got it ... but don't make it your everyday pot.
Q: My refrigerator has a humidity control button and my 2 bins are always full. Do vegetables keep better in high or low humidity? Appreciate your advice. -- Roger
A: Don't play around with that humidity control too much. According to my applicance expert, that control is put there as a selling point. If you want to age beef, you might want to run the humidity down, but otherwise leave it at the default setting.
Of far greater importance is the temperature. Your vegetable drawer should be between 34 and 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure it doesn't freeze.
Q: I can just about cook or bake anything. The one art that I have not mastered is meringue. My egg whites are stiff, I spread them over pies evenly, the pie comes out of the oven "picture perfect" and after a few minutes "poof" the meringue is about as flat as a pancake. Please help. Thank you. -- Judi Baltas
A: What you need is a little "insurance," Judi. Add a pinch of cream of tartar to your egg whites and that will help your peaks stay peaked. Also, be VERY sure you use a squeaky-clean bowl. So much as one molecule of fat, say from something you made in the bowl a month ago, can spell disaster. That's why it's a great idea to have a glass or metal bowl that you use ONLY for egg white work.
Q: What is the best way to store fresh green beans in the refrigerator until ready to use them? -- Kim Kuzniak
A: Green beans are pretty hardy critters. Kept in a perforated plastic bag, they'll be fine for four or five days in your fridge.
Q: Can milk be frozen? If so, for how long? -- Robin
A: If you must freeze milk, be sure you do so before the "best by" date on the package. Skim or lowfat milks freeze far better than "full-strength" milk, as the fat has a tendency to separate.
Separated milk can be mostly restored to its original state with a blender or electric mixer.
Q: My pineapples are almost ripe. I have 16, so I wonder if I can clean slice them and put them in freezer bags. If so how long do you think they will keep? Thank you. Dave Nesbit
A: Pineapples are one of the easiest fruits to freeze. They're very freezer-friendly. Just cut and core them and freeze them in airtight bags for up to three months. You can even crush them and freeze them.
Q: I've got the last of my tomatoes coming in, and I'd like to make sun-dried tomatoes. How do I do it? -- Scott P.
A: If you've got good, meaty tomatoes, like Roma, you can dry them in the oven. Cut them about ½ inch thick and put them on wire racks on sheet pans. Set the oven on "warm," which should give you a temperature of 140-150 degrees Fahrenheit. If using an electric oven, prop the door open to help keep the heat steady.
Drying will take 12-24 hours, depending on the starting moisture content of the tomatoes and other factors. The dried tomatoes can be stored for up to six months in airtight bags or in jars with airtight lids.
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