The Washington Post

Rachael Jackson, a writer for EatOrToss.com, recently joined The Washington Post staff in answering questions about all things edible. Here are edited excerpts from that chat.

Q: I like to use fresh ginger when I’m cooking, but I always feels like I can’t use all of it before it starts to soften and shrivel. Are there any cool ways to use it as the ginger is about to go bad?

A: Yes! I love blending it with pineapple (fresh or canned). Have it with yogurt for breakfast, or mix it with juice/seltzer/rum to chill out in the evening. — Rachael Jackson

Q: My husband bought me one of those KitchenAid ice cream maker attachments. It’s nice if I want to just make a small amount or if I’m doing add-ins, but the paddle attachment is awful. It pops off before the ice cream is done and then we have to reattach it as the ice cream is getting hard. Can you all recommend some other kind of ice cream maker that is better designed?

A: Yes! At least one commenter questioned why in my ice cream story I said that America’s Test Kitchen did not recommend the KitchenAid attachment, and this is exactly why. My pick (as well as ATK’s and Jeni Britton Bauer’s) is the Cuisinart ICE-21. It’s about $40, easy to use, assemble and clean. Plus, it makes ice cream with superb texture. — Becky Krystal

Q: I recently sprang for a jar of real maraschino cherries from Italy. Given how pricey they are, I want to savor the cherries and the juice. Any suggestions for cocktails that would show off the juice (as well as the cherries)?

A: Oh yes, don’t waste that syrup! I like to use it to enhance Manhattans, as a syrup substitute in old fashioneds, and it’s great mixed into a gin and tonic. I would maybe try it out in a martini riff, too — try a couple ounces of gin or vodka, an ounce of dry (or blanc) vermouth, a dash of orange bitters and a spoonful of that cherry syrup and see where it needs tweaking. Honestly that stuff is so tasty it’s hard to think of drinks it wouldn’t enhance. — M. Carrie Allan

Q: I recently bought some premium gelato in a milk chocolate flavor. The problem — it is grainy. It doesn’t taste freezer burned, but the texture is definitely not fitting for a premium (and expensive!) gelato. So, any suggestions on what I can do with this gelato to make it more palatable? I’d hate to throw it out, but it’s just not worth the calories to eat it as is.

A: I have not tried this, but both Rose Levy Beranbaum and David Lebovitz have said you can rechurn melted ice cream. Do you have a machine to do that? Or, let it melt and then use it as a kind of sauce/creme anglaise on fruit, pound cake, a crumble, cobbler, etc. — B.K.

Q: I love having raw garlic in dressings like ranch, but I often don’t need to use all the dressing at once. I’d like to save it, but I’ve always heard you shouldn’t touch raw garlic after a day unless it’s been in oil. Do other fats like buttermilk also preserve it for longer? Or should I still toss it and not try to save it for later use?

A: I’ve never had trouble with adding raw garlic to dressings and keeping it for a few days. Maybe my tastebuds aren’t as sensitive. But another way of approaching it is to make garlic confit, which is to slowly cook garlic cloves in a vat of olive oil (which you can reuse) until they’re soft (takes about 30 minutes) — and then add to dressings and such. It takes the sharp bite out of garlic but preserves the flavor. — Olga Massov

Q: How do you all wash your produce? Do you just rinse it under water? Use vinegar and water and let it sit for a little bit? I’ve seen people use dish soap to wash apples and things with a tougher skin, which always seems a little strange to me.

A: Yes, I pretty much stick to water. Studies have shown that water and then drying is very effective at removing pathogens from produce. Definitely do not use soap. That’s not recommended because soap is not approved for eating! Stick with water, a brush if need be and a clean towel. I have also used a 3-to-1 vinegar to water solution sometimes to wash things with exteriors I plan to eat, but don’t bother with that anymore. — B.K.

Q: I have a pretty strong hatred of soy sauce. I’m fine with it if it’s just a few dashes in a soup or much larger sauce where it’s just providing some umami and I can’t actually pick the flavor out. But once it’s concentrated enough for me to taste it, no thank you. This means pretty wide swaths of whole cuisines that seem to use it in most of their dishes are lost to me. I really would like to explore some of these cuisines, but when soy sauce makes up a large portion of a dish or sauce, I’m at a loss as to what to do. Is there some substitute I could use? Even just maybe broth? I cut it out when I can, but so often it seems to make up a significant part of the recipe.

A: How about liquid aminos or coconut aminos? Have you tried them? If not, it’s worth a taste to see if you like. Another thought is Chinese black vinegar. I’ve used that in the past to cut some of the sodium from soy-sauce-heavy dishes, and it’s super tasty. — Joe Yonan

Q: I made homemade salad dressing for the first time last night — olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, fresh basil. However, the dressing is a bit too tart for my taste. Any suggestions please on a way to rescue it that doesn’t involve sugar or gluten? (I’m avoiding both right now for health reasons.)

A: Well, the easiest way to correct over-tartness in a dressing is to add a little honey, but sounds like you don’t want to go there. So another thought would be to just dilute it — add a little water and/or olive oil, and re-season with salt to make sure it tastes good. Basically, you want to up the proportions of everything that’s not tart, which in this case would be the lemon juice and, to a lesser extent, the mustard. — J.Y.