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hello GWS. I was cleaning out the cupboard and found some old dry goods, I'm asking you guys whether it's likely to be safe to eat them or if I should just bin them (I hate wasting food). there are two sealed packets of split peas which are about 6 months out of date, I'll probably be eating these since they haven't been opened and for dry goods aren't that far past the bb date There's some opened packets, one of brown rice best before 2011, one of mixed beans and one which is a country soup mix (split peas, barley, beans, that kind of thing). The soup mix smells sorta musty so is probably destined for the bin, the others smell fine but are past their dates and are open. finally, about 2kg of sushi rice, in hand-decanted taped up bags. No date at all on these, but at least a few years old. obviously you can't see this stuff so just best advice is fine. I'm not too worried about regular food poisoning since anything I do use will be put in a soup or at worst boiled for 20+ minutes, but if there's some weird fungus that only grows on dry rice and produces toxins that aren't destroyed by cooking and cause like kidney failure or some poo poo it would be good to know.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:23
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If it doesn't smell bad, it's fine.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:32
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If it looks and smells normal, it's safe. Maybe it won't taste good anymore though. Also you might have to cook the peas etc longer to get them soft.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:55
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I think the brown rice won't be so good, brown rice is supposed to have a much shorter shelf life than white rice because of the bran. I think roughly half a year to a year for brown and many years for white.
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Jul 6, 2014 07:42
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Eeyo posted:I think the brown rice won't be so good, brown rice is supposed to have a much shorter shelf life than white rice because of the bran. I think roughly half a year to a year for brown and many years for white. You'll know brown rice has gone south because it smells rancid. If it doesn't smell, it's fine.
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Jul 6, 2014 11:21
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I opened a can of chipotle in adobo, used two of them and put the rest in a tupperware thingy in the fridge...how long can I expect them to stay fine like that?
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Jul 6, 2014 16:11
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In an airtight container, almost forever. It's smoked and pickled.
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Jul 6, 2014 16:27
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Squashy Nipples posted:In an airtight container, almost forever. It's smoked and pickled. I was hoping you'd say that :-) Thanks!
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Jul 6, 2014 17:32
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Squashy Nipples posted:In an airtight container, almost forever. It's smoked and pickled. I usually just throw everything in a baggie and then into the freezer. It ain't like freezing's gonna gently caress up the texture.
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Jul 6, 2014 20:41
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What is a good simple recipe for lentils? Like lentils+spices+maybe broth and/or a vegetable, but mostly just lentils - trying to get more lentils into my diet but I don't want to add them into any of my regular recipes.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:23
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black.lion posted:What is a good simple recipe for lentils? Like lentils+spices+maybe broth and/or a vegetable, but mostly just lentils - trying to get more lentils into my diet but I don't want to add them into any of my regular recipes. I like making tacos with them a little bit. Boil the lentils as usual. While they're boiling, sautee up a sofrito (garlic, onion, peppers, tomatoes). Once the lentils are a bit soft but still have some firmness to them, drain and transfer to the pan with the sofrito and add cumin, mexican oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika and sautee for a bit longer. Throw on some corn tacos with shredded cabbage and pickled carrots. Very tasty and filling, plus the pre-assembled lentil mixture freezes well.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:36
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SubG posted:The composition of the actual adobo varies a lot by region and, if store-bought, by company. A lot of store-bought adobo isn't going to be acidic enough to retard microbial growth. So while the peppers themselves will presumably still be fine, the adobo will start growing poo poo in a couple weeks if everything isn't re-sterilized before storage. Ok, guess I was wrong about that. I've never seen mold on mine.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:37
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black.lion posted:What is a good simple recipe for lentils? Like lentils+spices+maybe broth and/or a vegetable, but mostly just lentils - trying to get more lentils into my diet but I don't want to add them into any of my regular recipes. heat some spices up in oil - whatever ones you like, cumin, paprika, garlic, curry powder, turmeric, mustard, cardamom... Boil some yellow lentils in water for 20-30 minutes or whenever they are done, mash them up a bit. Toss in some parsley or spinach, add in your oil/spices, this will thicken as it cools. You could also cook diced onions, carrots, tomato, hot peppers and add those to the spice mixture as well.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:41
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Squashy Nipples posted:Ok, guess I was wrong about that. I've never seen mold on mine. I've had some keep for at least half a year in the fridge easy, so your experience is not unique. But it is probably attributable to different brands/etc.
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Jul 7, 2014 18:44
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Count me in doing the freeze thing with chipotles in adobo. If you put them in a ziploc and lay it flat you can make sure there's just a single layer of peppers in there, then when you need one you just break it off along with some adobo.
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Jul 7, 2014 18:52
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Count me in doing the freeze thing with chipotles in adobo. If you put them in a ziploc and lay it flat you can make sure there's just a single layer of peppers in there, then when you need one you just break it off along with some adobo. Why would you ever need just one? 
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Jul 7, 2014 18:55
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Going to stick the the chipotles in the fridge, just to be sure, then. especially because my country de decided not to sell them anymore after only one year of availability :-/ Lentils...google sloppy lentil joes, you're welcome!
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Jul 7, 2014 20:01
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Ug, yes fridge them please! In my original statement, I assumed that part... not just "airtight container", but "airtight container in the fridge". I always keep them in the fridge. I'm lazy about freezing stuff.
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Jul 7, 2014 20:18
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Squashy Nipples posted:Ug, yes fridge them please! In my original statement, I assumed that part... not just "airtight container", but "airtight container in the fridge". Oh, they were in the fridge, my mistake! But i stuck them in the freezer just to be sure
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Jul 7, 2014 20:34
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I am in need of a good Brussels sprout slaw recipe. Nothing I have found through googling has really grabbed me.
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Jul 7, 2014 22:39
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Steve Yun posted:Pics! They arrived today! 1 9qt oval cocotte, 1 grill pan, 3 mini cocottes.   I think my cookware is now worth more than the appliances in my kitchen. The mini cocottes are so cute, any suggestions what to make in them? I was originally thinking single serving mac&cheese, but any other options? They look a little small for single serving hot pots.
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Jul 7, 2014 22:50
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Rurutia posted:They arrived today! 1 9qt oval cocotte, 1 grill pan, 3 mini cocottes. wooooo staub buddy! 
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Jul 7, 2014 22:57
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I signed up to bring a side dish to a department potluck/meeting tomorrow, and I've just realized that I don't have too many good side dish recipes. I have a couple of stand-bys I could go to but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if any of you goons have a quick one I could put together for tomorrow. Everyone is bringing something so I don't need a huge amount. Bonus points for anything that can be made using a microwave right before the meeting for maximum freshness.
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Jul 8, 2014 00:53
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bunnielab posted:I am in need of a good Brussels sprout slaw recipe. Nothing I have found through googling has really grabbed me. If you're making a slaw, wouldn't cabbage work better? I know they're not the same but processing brussel sprouts into a slaw seems counterproductive to me, when the thing I enjoy about them the most is their size and texture.
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Jul 8, 2014 01:33
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Rurutia posted:They arrived today! 1 9qt oval cocotte, 1 grill pan, 3 mini cocottes. GrAviTy84 posted:wooooo staub buddy! Staub Club
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Jul 8, 2014 02:45
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C-Euro posted:I signed up to bring a side dish to a department potluck/meeting tomorrow, and I've just realized that I don't have too many good side dish recipes. I have a couple of stand-bys I could go to but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if any of you goons have a quick one I could put together for tomorrow. Everyone is bringing something so I don't need a huge amount. Bonus points for anything that can be made using a microwave right before the meeting for maximum freshness. IS there any sort of theme or what other types of food are people bringing? It's hard to make a suggestion for something so broad. Few things are good made in a microwave so "maximum freshness" isn't going to be a great thing if the dish wasn't that great to begin with. A good salad or slaw won't require reheating so can work well and you can dress it closer to eating time if you're doing a salad with greens or things that would wilt. Soups and stews are things that reheat well. A baked macaroni and cheese is not quite as good as just out of the oven but will reheat decently. Comic posted:If you're making a slaw, wouldn't cabbage work better? I know they're not the same but processing brussel sprouts into a slaw seems counterproductive to me, when the thing I enjoy about them the most is their size and texture. Brussels sprouts are delicious when shredded to eat raw in slaws or salads, cabbage would work too but as you said, it's not the same. One of the tastiest things I've eaten was a shaved Brussels sprouts salad with fennel, parmesan, and a browned butter vinaigrette.
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Jul 8, 2014 06:04
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C-Euro posted:I signed up to bring a side dish to a department potluck/meeting tomorrow, and I've just realized that I don't have too many good side dish recipes. I have a couple of stand-bys I could go to but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if any of you goons have a quick one I could put together for tomorrow. Everyone is bringing something so I don't need a huge amount. Bonus points for anything that can be made using a microwave right before the meeting for maximum freshness. It's the season where a beet and apple salad will go over well, because it's cold and refreshing. Grated stuff: 2 beets, 1 granny smith apple, 2 small carrots Diced: 1 small onion Ground in blender: peanut butter, sesame oil, ginger, apple juice, salt Toss everything together the night before. It'll get more tasty as it sits.
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Jul 8, 2014 08:43
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While I think that the General Questions thread and the GWS wiki is full if extremely helpful information I think it is organized in a way that makes it inaccessible to the casual reader. I would like to participate in an effort to create a new stickied thread that is more helpful, organized and concise. My model would be The Let’s Play Sandcastle thread. The Let’s Play Sandcastle thread has the following: 1) An overview on how to post a new thread in the subforum properly. 2) Resources to help you figure out what has already been covered by other posters if you are creating content and how to find what you’re looking for if you are searching for content to read. 3) Technical information on what equipment, software and techniques you may need in order to craft a high quality post. i.e. recommendations on equipment to capture the game, software to comment, edit and share video and techniques to improve the quality of the LP. 4) A FAQ that lists and answers the common questions like: “What are these posts?” “Will people like the stuff I am posting about?” “Is this the correct format for my post?” “Has anyone covered what I am trying to do?” “Can I do better and if so can I present it better?” In this new thread we would have the following: 1) Start with the information in the GWS Posting guidelines but build on them. 2) Provide a list of major topics and discussions covered by GWS and link to them. 3) While this step is harder to cover in GWS you could do it by: a) You need to supply the reader with the information on the tools they need to succeed in creating good food. You could do the following to achieve that: Provide the basics of http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Choosing_Pots_And_Pans and link to the article for more information. Provide the basics of http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Cookware_deals and link to the article for more information. Provide the basics of http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Knife_Guide and link to the article for more information. Provide the basics of http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Seasoning_Cast_Iron and link to the article for more information. These would cover the equipment. b) You would need to create a list of resources one could use to improve their technique, whether it be knife skills, portion control, presentation, seasoning, balance or ways to gauge doneness. c) You need to give the reader the tools they need to create a good post. This would include: How to craft a post. Recommendations on good sill and video cameras to document your food. How to plate and light food for documentation and presentation for other humans. 4) Use The General Questions thread to create a list of at least ten most commonly and easily answered questions that GWS gets. Perhaps I should do this myself but I am not sure if I am the most qualified to do this work. Please leave a comment on this webzone on my ideas and I will send you a pizza roll.
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Jul 8, 2014 10:17
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Top 10 questions: 1) Is this safe to eat? If it's cooked food or meat, and it's been sat out in the "danger zone" temperatures of 40º - 140º for more than four hours, throw it out. If it's a dry good from your pantry, smell it. If it actively walks away from you, use your best judgement. 2) Can I use my crock pot for literally everything? There are specific jobs to which the crock pot is uniquely suited: that is, jobs that require long, slow cooking to bring out the best in the food. Beans fit this criterion, as do tough cuts of meat, and any kind of stock that you're making. It isn't suited well for boneless skinless fill-in-the-blank. It's not suited for pasta. Use a loving pot, you goddamned lazy goon. 3) What should I make for __________ (fill in the blank with dinner tonight that I can use as leftovers tomorrow that reheats well, now because I'm broke, potlucks, my vegetarian friend, my new significant other)? Daal. This has been my answer to more questions than I care to think of that involve any of those scenarios I listed above. It's cheap. It's filling. It reheats extremely well. It's easy enough for a novice to make, but can be fancied up if you aren't a novice. Just make the freaking daal, please. 4) What knife set should I get? Victorinox Fibrox in whatever length you like. Don't get a knife set. They're all ploys to get you to spend more money on more poo poo you don't need. Get one good chef's knife, one good serrated (bread) knife, and one paring knife IF you find yourself wishing you had a paring knife. For most people, one good chef's knife is more than enough. 5) What cookware set should I get? Again, avoid cookware sets. Get one good stock pot, in as nice a quality as you can afford. This one is your go-to pot for large meals. You want the bottom to be heavy enough that you can sautee aromatics without the stuff sticking horribly to the bottom, or getting burnt. You want the pot to be (relatively) large enough to boil 1 lb of pasta at a time (that is, it can hold 4 quarts of water, along with 1 lb of pasta). Get one 10 inch sautee pan. This one's going to be your pan that you reach for every time you want to make a sauce that needs to reduce (because the wide surface area allows for quicker evaporation), sautéing vegetables as a side dish, quickly searing off proteins before throwing them in the oven, and pretty much any task that you'd traditionally use a skillet for (crepes, pancakes, dosa, etc). Avoid plastic handles, because you want to be able to throw your sautee pan into the oven. If you find yourself wishing that you had a smaller pot, get a decent quality saucepan in about 1 1/2 quart size (or thereabouts; 1 quart is fine, as is 2 quart). This'll be the one you reach for when you want to make ramen, or boil an egg, or cook in smaller quantities. Aside from that, one good cast iron skillet is great to have, as is a cast iron or enamel coated cast iron dutch oven. 6) What should I get for my cooking friend? Avoid knives, unless you know said friend wants a specific knife. Avoid stupid gadgets that do something gimmicky. This includes "cupcake makers" or "breakfast sandwich makers". Nobody ever uses them as much as you think they do, they're shoddily built to break after one decent use (if you even get that), the people who run those companies are shady as hell and don't honour their warranty in the way they say they will (IF IT EVER BREAKS, WE WILL REPLACE IT!!!111 But then you read the fine print, and it says you have to pay $100 to ship the broken part to them, and $100 for them to ship you a replacement one). I've made a helpful blog post for those who want specific suggestions. 7) My friend/lover/driver/pizza delivery man dislikes _______. I know I can convince him/her/it/they otherwise if they'd just try it in ____ way. How can I go about hiding said thing or convincing them to like it? Let it go. People dislike different things. There are a lot more important things to worry about. 8) My friend is a complete cooking newbie, and wants to know what book to buy. Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything is a good primer to get someone comfortable with cooking ... everything. The recipes err on the bland side, so make sure to adjust seasonings to your liking. Michael Ruhlman's Ratio also does a fine job of teaching the basics of cooking for day-to-day needs. Cook's Illustrated produces thoroughly researched recipes. They do tend towards the bland, and tend to cater to a WASP-y palate, but the recipes are tested over and over again to produce consistent results. 9) I made ______ recipe, but it didn't turn out like I wanted it to. Did you follow the recipe exactly? If not, follow it exactly as written, and see where it takes you. The first time you make a thing, try to follow things to the letter, so that you have an understanding of how the recipe itself works. You can always add flavour easily. It's not so easy to take it out once it's in there. If you /did/ follow the recipe to the letter, and want to know what might have gone wrong, nobody can help you unless you post the recipe, and a reasonable recreation of what your steps were. 10) If I have time, what are some things I should make ahead, and save in my freezer? Stock. Make large quantities, boil it down for as long as you have patience to reduce the liquid level, then cool to room temperature. Freeze in ice cube trays (never put boiling liquid into ice cube trays), and then pop the cubes out of the ice cube trays, and into zip top bags. They keep for ages. Chili freezes great. No reason to spend all that time and effort and make a small batch. Make plenty of it, and freeze in INDIVIDUAL portion sizes, so that when you're in the mood for some more, you can reheat however much you like. Dumplings/tamales work great in the freezer. When you are going to make a labour-intensive thing, like dumplings, samosas, pierogie, mandu, wontons, pot stickers, tamales, or any other stuffed finicky to make thing, make as many as you have ingredients for. Freeze on wax-paper lined cookie sheets. When frozen rock solid, remove from the baking sheet, and transfer to zip top bags. Freeze for later use. Brothy soups (not creamy or roux-thickened ones) and stews. Creamy soups with lots of potatoes don't reheat very well. Those need to be eaten quickly and with great gusto. Brothy soups (without pasta/rice in them) freeze perfectly. Beans work great in the freezer. Cook them up, and spice them according to your taste. Freeze in 1-cup increments, so that you can have beans without all the cooking. Can't think of any others off the top of my head, Loanarn. The top 5 are actually the most commonly asked questions.
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Jul 8, 2014 13:07
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This is awesome. I do think the part where the OP talks about equipment might want to include brands and even a link to Amazon or another place to purchase, and have both of those questions followed by a link to the product recommendation megathread. I know when I was looking for a good knife that I just took the link to the Victorinox and bought the drat thing and didn't look back. Also in the knife section, maybe: proper cutting boards? Plastic or wood, NEVER ceramic or glass lest ye wreck the edge. And maybe something on sharpening and how the only dangerous knife is a dull one? If this is the basics I think we should include the fundamental pitfalls most new cooks encounter with the items we're recommending here. As for cookware, I do think it's important to mention a brand and stainless rather than nonstick; lots of people grew up with nonstick and don't know better. I really like my t-fal pots and pans though I'm sure there are more high-end brands we could throw in there. I also think that last bit about cast iron skillets should probably be linked to the cast iron seasoning thread, if it's still kicking around. That thing was invaluable when I was reseasoning my thrifted skillet. I almost want to write up a "common mistakes" thing for this post. Or maybe it's a better idea to start up a megathread for newbie chefs who might be getting overlooked / not given enough guidance in the general questions thread?
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Jul 8, 2014 14:09
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I made pad thai about 2 months ago, and had an excess of sauce, so I put it in a container and stuck it in the freezer. I'm planning to make it again later this week and I'm wondering; would the sauce still be any good or should I toss it and make a fresh batch? Oddly it never really froze in there, but I imagine that's because of the salt in the fish sauce. Mainly curious about it since the only thing I can see that actually goes bad in a pad thai sauce (fish sauce, tamarind, palm sugar) would be the tamarind.
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Jul 8, 2014 15:52
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Rurutia posted:The mini cocottes are so cute, any suggestions what to make in them? I was originally thinking single serving mac&cheese, but any other options? They look a little small for single serving hot pots. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10382/easy-ratatouille-with-poached-eggs
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Jul 8, 2014 17:03
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Anybody have a good recipe for Detroit-style pizza? (Think Buddy's or Louie's)
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Jul 8, 2014 17:05
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Zeratanis posted:I made pad thai about 2 months ago, and had an excess of sauce, so I put it in a container and stuck it in the freezer. I'm planning to make it again later this week and I'm wondering; would the sauce still be any good or should I toss it and make a fresh batch? Oddly it never really froze in there, but I imagine that's because of the salt in the fish sauce. Mainly curious about it since the only thing I can see that actually goes bad in a pad thai sauce (fish sauce, tamarind, palm sugar) would be the tamarind. If your freezer can't freeze a bit of salty sauce, it is not cold enough.
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Jul 8, 2014 17:12
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Funktor posted:Anybody have a good recipe for Detroit-style pizza? (Think Buddy's or Louie's) This doesn't look bad - http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/foolproof-pan-pizza-recipe.html
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Jul 8, 2014 18:03
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I'm having some friends over for chickpea burgers, sweet potato fries, and salad. Do I need any other sides?
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Jul 8, 2014 18:39
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Happiness Commando posted:I'm having some friends over for chickpea burgers, sweet potato fries, and salad. Do I need any other sides?
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Jul 8, 2014 19:48
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I am in the midst of a crazy mascarpone kick. I've covered the basic bruschetta combinations, but I need more ideas. What are some good uses for mascarpone?
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Jul 8, 2014 21:14
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Brennanite posted:I am in the midst of a crazy mascarpone kick. I've covered the basic bruschetta combinations, but I need more ideas. What are some good uses for mascarpone? Mascarpone makes a mean frosting.
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Jul 8, 2014 21:17
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dino. posted:4) What knife set should I get? Also, the (current) general hive mind recommendations seem to be, from least expensive on up: Victorinox/Forschner; Tojiro; whatever Wüsthof/Henckels/Global/Shun/whateverthefuck you happen to like; handmade/custom stuff (Moritaka gets special recommendation for being inexpensive for a handmade kitchen knife). Also: side recommendation for a Chinese cleaver, with the CCK small slicer being the canonical recommendation as an entry point into the world of the Chinese cleaver. For paring knives I'd also throw out that the Dojo paring knife is the tits and is totally worth it if you have the US$50 or so to blow on a paring knife. That being said, your knife budget is best spent on buying the best chef's knife you can afford, then if you want a bread and paring knife spend what's left over on them. dino. posted:5) What cookware set should I get? More broadly I'd say you generally want to go with the bigger pot if you're going to go with only one, just because you can do less in a big pot but you can't do more in a little pot. Same applies to knife selection---when in doubt, go with the biggest one you're comfortable handling. dino. posted:7) My friend/lover/driver/pizza delivery man dislikes _______. I know I can convince him/her/it/they otherwise if they'd just try it in ____ way. How can I go about hiding said thing or convincing them to like it? I could make an argument about trying different things, even things you don't like, as a way you learn about food in general and about yourself as a person, but I'm not going to do that here. I just think that there are a lot of people out there that dislike a lot of kinds of food just because they've been given a lot of crap food. Like there are a lot of people out there who dislike broccoli or whatever because their mother boiled the everloving gently caress out of that poo poo when they were a kid and now they think broccoli is a green paste. Which is loving gross. Or people who have only ever had watery supermarket tomatoes. And there are large numbers of ingredients---olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, honey---where people quite possibly have never actually had the real deal. I mean speaking just from personal experience and off the top of my head, my girlfriend used to think she hated black pepper because she'd only ever had the pre-ground stuff that tastes like sand, and she thought she hated loving apple sauce because at home she'd only ever gotten sugary goop from a can. Like I said that doesn't mean that anyone should be a loving pain in the rear end food evangelist, but just making food as well as you know how and actively encouraging people you know to try it is, I dunno, good citizenship or some poo poo.
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Jul 9, 2014 01:20
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