The Washington Post
Writer Emily Horton and pastry chef Alex Levin recently joined The Washington Post staff to answer questions about all things edible. Here are edited excerpts from that chat.
Q: When I substitute browned butter for regular, do I need to make any other adjustments to the recipe? I thought I read somewhere that you need to adjust for the lower water content in browned butter, but now I can’t find the article.
A: A good rule is to look at butter as 80 percent fat to 20 percent liquid. When you brown butter, the liquid boils off and the remaining milk solids turn brown, so you’re left with 80 percent of the original amount. If you want to be a perfectionist, you can add back that amount of liquid into the recipe. I usually just go for the even substitute of brown butter for regular butter, but there’s no right or wrong way about it. — Alex Levin
Q: I have just retired, which means I am at home alone for lunch every day. How do people cope with this if there aren’t dinner leftovers to go for? Most of the time I don’t want a sandwich, and eggs get old fast. Grain bowls? Something with lentils and greens? Pasta plus whatever is in the refrigerator?
A: Grain salads (grains plus vegetables, optional protein, a dressing and add-ins) are a great option and offer versatility. You can really adapt your salad of the day(s) to what you have on hand. Something I like to do is cook a batch of grains and legumes, dress them, and vary the mix-ins for two or three days; this really minimizes the in-the-moment work when you’re hungry. — Emily Horton
Q: We bought some frozen cod a couple of weeks ago (fillets individually vacuum-sealed), and when I unwrapped some to thaw, there was a strong odor. I let the fish thaw in the refrigerator during the day and then cooked per the instructions in the evening, but the end product was still super fishy, so we ended up tossing it (and the remaining frozen fillets). I’d never had cod that smelled or tasted that fishy before. Expiration date wasn’t until December 2018, and we had kept them frozen the whole time. Do you think we overreacted, or maybe got a bad pack? Now I’m afraid to buy/cook fish at home. The fish was purchased at Walmart, and had a certified sustainable seafood logo on it.
A: Really good questions, and timely, because the subject of frozen fish is on my radar. I might have returned the unused stuff in packages to the store, but otherwise you did the right thing. A lingering odor is generally not a good thing, but I will say that sometimes any protein that’s cryo vacuumed can initially have some off aromas.
A couple things might have happened with the fish you bought: It might not have been so pristine when it was packaged; it might not have been handled well in shipping/storage. That said, I would hope that this doesn’t keep you from cooking fish at home. Frozen still provides consumers with a very good product. — Bonnie S. Benwick
Q: Weighing ingredients has changed how I cook, especially my baking. Do you think American cookbooks will ever fully incorporate weight-based measurements?
A: I think American books on baking might incorporate more weights in the future, but given the way cookbooks come together these days — with most of the heavy lifting relying upon the author and not a team of full-time publishing company editors, etc. — I’d say it is a step fraught with introduction of conflicting information (medium carrot is 3 ounces? 5 ounces? in grams, too?) and much too time-consuming for the recipe development process. — B.S.B.
A: I’m with you. It’s changed how I bake, too. I’m an advocate for buying an Escali scale, but I don’t believe that American cookbooks will evolve toward weight-based measurements. Bonnie is spot on regarding conversions of items that vary in size. I suggest just writing the weights next to the ingredients so that the next time you use that recipe, it’s already converted into ounces or grams — particularly for baking. — A.L.
Q: What’s the reason for removing ribs and seeds from peppers? I see the instruction in recipes for all kinds of peppers from fresh bells to dried anchos and the hot little red ones in Chinese food. Unless the idea is to avoid having to floss the seeds out of our teeth later, it seems like unnecessary extra work — and waste.
A: It’s not so much a cosmetic/annoyance issue as a matter of taste and flavor control. The ribs are the source of the heat found in most peppers. The attached seeds are typically coated with the same substance (capsaicin) that brings the heat and spice. — B.S.B.
Q: I’m trying to limit sugar and calories so got some sugar substitute only to find it says “not for use in cooking or baking.” Why not? This particular one is dextrose with maltodextrin and aspartame. Is there another one that I can use in cooking, including stir-fry and marinades, and for baking?
A: The big issue with pure substitutes are the bulking agents like the maltodextrin. They will just burn when exposed to heat and won’t develop any caramelization the way that sugar experiences when exposed to heat. If you read carefully on the labels, many sugar substitutes may even have sugar in them — just less. One example is Splenda for Baking, which actually has some sugar in it, and helps it act like sugar and caramelize while cooking or baking. The best sugar substitute are sugar alcohols like Maltitol — but there are some side effects that are unpleasant though temporary for some people. My suggestion is to use an ingredient that you love that is not sugar — something like agave or even a small amount of honey. All natural and no side effects. — A.L.
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