Ask MetaFilter questions in the food & drink category

My rice cooker keeps infecting my rice!

rxrfrx — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:26:59 -0800

My Zojirushi rice cooker is contaminated with some kind of bacteria or mold. If I leave cooked rice in it for more than 24 hours, the rice goes mushy and stinky. This never happened with my $15 cooker. Help! I have a made-in-Japan Zojirushi rice cooker (NS-JCC10) that I bought used on Craigslist for $50. Good deal, right? It makes slightly better jasmine rice than my $15 cooker, and way better short grain rice.

Problem: I am used to cooking rice, scooping some out, and then closing the lid (with the cooker unplugged) and coming back over a period of a few days to get the rest of the rice. I've never had my rice spoil in the $15 cooker, which makes sense, because the cooking process sterilizes the inside of the unit with steam.

In the Zoji machine, the rice comes out fine, I scoop out some rice, close the lid, and come back the next day to find some absolutely foul mushy stuff. The rice becomes liquified and slightly blue over the course of a few days. This happens even if I scoop the rice with a spoon that I've sterilized by boiling.

I suspect that the steam vent unit is somehow allowing steam to condense on a cool, non-sterile surface and then drip back into the rice pot. I've pulled out the steam vent plug thingy and soaked that in rubbing alcohol, but there's a lot of space inside the lid that I can't reach (and it smells like the gross stuff that grows on my rice).

Is there some way to disassemble the whole lid and get in there? Has anyone had a similar problem? Thanks!

Weight Watchers survival kit

notjustfoxybrown — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:50:19 -0800

Weight Watchers start-up survival kit? I'm joining a few colleagues at work for Weight Watchers. I did the plan about six years ago and was pretty successful in dropping about 20 pounds. I was in law school then and had a very set schedule, some regular workout buddies and well, no full-time job.
I don't remember exactly how the first few weeks went but it seems that I had some go-to foods to get me through the day and still leave me full enough to hit the gym after work.

Any Mefites have suggestions on things I should stock up on at the grocery this evening? (outside of the obvious fruits and vegetables, of course.) Oh .... and I'll be counting points. I don't like that core stuff too much.

Thanks

Itty, bitty, teeney, tiny chicken...how does one cook this?

jeanmari — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:17:13 -0800

In our meat share this month, we got two (adorable) but completely confusing tiny little chickens. What can I do with these things? Friends of ours tried to grill them and, while they proclaimed them to be tasty, recommended that we try to keep them whole.

I've roasted a chicken before, but never something so small. I mean, look at these things! A drumstick is the size of my thumb! I'm super intimidated as I am not the greatest cook to begin with and this is completely foreign to me. Searching for "tiny chicken" on the Internet wasn't as helpful as I thought it would be

Help? Ideas?

Lookin' for the national beer o' Texas

pazazygeek — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:31:38 -0800

Asking for a friend: How can I get Lone Star beer in the Seattle area? I'd be willing to drive up to an hour, and/or pay shipping.

its a tureen, its not a tureen. what is it?

chasles — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:27:00 -0800

What is this item? image1 image2(its NOT called a soup tureen, i'm pretty sure) I believe it is used in indian or middle easter cooking...

Pasta la vista, baby!

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:04:19 -0800

Why the long noodle? So a quick Google tells me that long noodles represent long life in Chinese tradition. But there had to be some point to eating long noodles before the tradition was established. And long noodle varieties, though difficult to eat courteously, seem to be common to many cultures who make noodles. Why? Is there some gastronomic benefit to not cutting the pasta into more manageable lengths before drying? Some practical pasta preparation consideration that's escaping me? Or is slurping up an endless mouthful of noodly-appendage simply an odd Freudian universal pleasure, an excuse for even the most adult among us to play with our food?

I'm the king! of 11 pounds of salmon.

mimi — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:04:18 -0800

Fathers-Day-Fishing-Outing: Success. Yay! ...but I'm more accustomed to tiny, easily-packable, easily-fryable bluegills, and with the relative freezer space, too. I've got a whole king salmon saved (off-site) for smoking next month, but what do I do with the other eleven pounds? I asked them to save the carcasses, and have two+heads simmering for stock, but ohgodthere'smore in the freezer--in addition to all the filleted meat. Apart from grilling a side (bbq sauce+bacon is the plan for that one)... please nominate ideas and recipes for the rest of it, as well as the stock. Salmon smoking advice and canning thoughts welcome, also. Merci!

Is my friend allergic to... food?

perpetualstroll — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:49:32 -0800

My friend can't figure out the cause of her digestive issues, it's not celiac, not lactose intolerance, no allergy to caffeine - anyone experience something similar and can offer some suggestions? More details below. Posted for a friend:

With the acknowledgment of YANMD, I have been dealing with stomach and digestive issues for roughly the past six months or so. For a good while I was eating nothing but an egg on back bacon (canadian/peameal bacon) on toast with coffee (1% cow's milk) each morning for breakfast and was doing fine with this - it filled me up all morning and was easy. That worked for me until about maybe two months or so in when I started feeling nauseous every morning after eating breakfast. This nausea was usually accompanied with fairly severe stomach pain/discomfort (feels like someone is squeezing my stomach into contractions) and bloating. I kept gravol in my desk at work. Although it sounds silly now, I couldn't figure out that it was the food I was eating until a few weeks later when a coworker suggested that eggs would be too heavy to have each morning - so I stopped eating that. I switched to oatmeal (with some psyllium fibre cereal, berries and almonds mixed in) instead (with coffee with 1% milk too of course). That works. When summer came along though I switched to cold cereal instead of oatmeal - muffets (whose sole ingredient is shredded wheat) instead. I have been eating the muffets with fresh berries, dried goji berries, raw almonds, cinnamon, and vanilla almond milk (accompanied by the coffee) each morning for a while now until recently it has been making me ill in the mornings again - even worse than with the eggs this time! I had to go home from work early on Friday, the pain was that bad.

Today, I tried replacing the Muffets with millet puffs. Nope. The nausea lasted all through brunch at my sister's and most of the afternoon and the pain and discomfort even longer.

This whole thing seems so random to me and I am beyond frustrated - not to mention running out of breakfast ideas. I'm keeping ginger root in my purse now because I am finding it harder to predict what sets me off. The other night it was beer and nachos, for goodness sake! I know that I am sensitive to eggs, so I try to avoid them and I know that I have always been sensitive to ice cream and hydrogenated oils so I avoid them too, but nachos? Shredded wheat? Millet? What the - ?

I've tried cutting out coffee - no difference. I know that I am sensitive to ice cream but I am not lactose intolerant - I can drink glasses of cow's milk just fine. I am not allergic to nuts - I can eat handfuls of almonds, peanuts, any nuts fine. I can also drink glasses of almond milk with little reaction (maybe a little twinge of indigestion, but I can't figure out why that would be - almond milk is supposed to be easier to digest). My mother has celiac disease, and I have tested (maybe three or four years ago) for the same but the test came back negative so it's not wheat gluten (although I have heard that it can show up later -?), as far as I can tell. I mean, I can eat most other wheat and various grains with no reaction. It's all just weird and frustrating to me.

So, according to my experience it's not lactose (except for ice cream) and it's not nuts, and according to the doctors it's not wheat gluten. Ugh.

Oh, and yep - not pregnant.

Again, I plan to see a doctor and dietitian about this soon but I was just wondering if anyone here might have any insights about this. Also, if you know of anywhere else to direct me, or have any breakfast ideas (with no eggs, cereals or milk) that would also be appreciated! Sorry about my longwindedness and excessive use of parentheses.

Help me convert an entire office into cheese fiends.

Xere — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:04:03 -0800

I've been put in charge of a workplace cheese lunch. Introducing the staff to the world of fancy cheese, hopefully to convert them away from the usual radioactive-orange ... stuff ... that's out there. But I have no idea what to prepare. French bread, I think? And sparkling cider because we can't have alcohol on the job? But the cheese? What cheeses are near-guaranteed winners, and won't be overpowered by sparkling cider? Help! I wish to go down in history as the awesomest cheese introducer ever. My work colleagues don't know much about cheese, and can't imagine what I could possibly come up with. They're telling me, Well, nacho cheese dips and mac-and-cheese are pretty ordinary, isn't it? WELL OKAY THEN LET ME BLOW YOUR MINDS.

So my idea is an expanded version of a fancy lunch basket. The wine/bread/cheese basket, except that I can't really have wine. Although I do think sparkling cider will kill the taste buds.

Workplace pays for this, so there's no budget!

Best Korean food in Portland?

Joseph Gurl — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:19:43 -0800

Best Korean restaurant in Portland? Coming to PDX next week and want to take some friends out for Korean food. Where's the best place to do that?

What's a good bar in University City, Philadelphia?

ludwig_van — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:22:43 -0800

Philadelphians: recommend me a good bar in University City. Somewhere with a good beer selection (I like IPAs). Somewhere hip, with a good atmosphere. Somewhere good to take a date. What's like the Royal Tavern in University City?

Tonight's dinner was veal. I repeat, veal. The winner of tonight's mystery meat contest is Jeffrey Corbin who guessed "some kind of beef."

spec80 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:45:31 -0800

How do you explain umami to kids? My friend is working for a summer day camp and the ages of her campers are 11-14. She would like to do an activity about the 5 tastes. She has no problem coming up with explanations and examples for bitter, sweet, salty and sour but she is having a tough time trying to figure out a way to explain umami. How do you explain it in a way that kids will understand? And for a possible future activity, what dishes can they try to make (they can have 2-4 hours for it)?

Good sausage of the month club?

lackutrol — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:12:59 -0800

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good "sausage of the month" club? The intended recipient is not exactly a foodie but appreciates good food and good sausages in particular. He lives in New York, as I do, so New York City sources, though tasty, might not be ideal. Googling seems to yield relatively few places and almost no critical opinion.

Makin' Bacon

arcticwoman — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:20:48 -0800

I just opened up my box of pork bellies (to cure my own bacon, duh) and discovered that the skin in still on. This wasn't mentioned in my recipe and I can't find any real info about it! Do I leave the skin on? Remove it? Remove it before it's been cured (wet-cure), before it's been cold-smoked, or before I eat it? I'm using the recipe from this episode of Good Eats.

Good food in Chicago?

ztdavis — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:41:42 -0800

Where are your favorite places to dine in Chicago? Romance is preferred, good food is a must, and I'd like to spend less than $100 for my wife and I. We'll be in the loop, so near downtown but don't worry about that too much.

There were good answers back in February, but many of those were above my price point.

Fun 40th Birthday Celebration Idea Including Dinner?

slo — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:13:18 -0800

Chicago hive: any ideas for a 40th birthday celebration that includes dinner on a Saturday night for about a dozen people but is more fun than just doing dinner? My friend is turning 40, and we wanted to have a fun, intimate celebration that includes dinner but is more than just dinner. We tried a cooking class, but there are no openings that night. A few other things to consider:

- he does not enjoy games, so something like Whirlyball, bowling or poker night is out

- we have a decent, but not huge budget (so some of the fancier lake cruises might be prohibitive)

- it would be in the evening

Can you think of any unique venues that don't cost a fortune?

Ideally it would be something that makes it easy for the group to interact. If you've ever been to one of those birthday dinners at a long table in a loud restaurant where you talk to the same 2 people all night, you know what I mean.

Thanks!

help us by helping our coffee

bobber — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:39:28 -0800

What's better for you? Coffee-Mate or half-and-half? There has been a debate in my household about which one of these products is better for you. On one hand, you half-and-half which has a higher amount of calories and fat, but seems more natural. On the other hand, you have Coffee-Mate which is mostly corn syrup solids, hydrogenated soybean/cottonseed oil, and a long list of unpronounceable words. Which product is better in our coffee?

Will trade cow for magic beans

Horace Rumpole — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:06:22 -0800

CoffeeFilter: Where I can find good flavored coffee beans in the Boston area? I know we're big coffee philistines and all, but the wife and I like flavored coffee beans for our morning cup, and the only ones we've been able to find, at Shaw's and Dunkin Donuts, are adequate but underwhelming. The intense sweetness of flavor syrups is too much to go with my Frosted Mini-Wheats in the morning. Is there someplace I can go to get the hazelnutty goodness I need to start my day off right?

I'm willing to travel, but it should be T-accessible, and something in the Cambridge-Somerville-Downtown Boston area would be preferable.

Help me cut, chop, dice like a pro

Abbril — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:15:46 -0800

Trying to find a good Knife Skills cooking class or workshop in the Ottawa area. Any ideas?

I fail at math.

Morrigan — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:07:57 -0800

After a long day at work, I picked up the check at my favorite restaurant. Checking my receipts today, I realize that I messed up the math and inadvertently left an embarrassingly paltry tip. It was in no way a reflection on the service. What now? Go in and talk to the host? Make it up on a future visit?

how to make cake in a jar

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:35:14 -0800

how safe are cakes baked in mason jars? I realize that it's not shelf stable canning, but google searches seem to indicate that the cake can stay good for up to 6 months. How successful have you been? Also - i'm looking to ship this from texas to new york and i'm concerned that the seal will break with the heat from the shipping. will freezing the cake before i ship it make any difference at all?

Any other tips or tricks about baking cakes in jars is certainly welcome. this is my first time!

anonymous since this is a gift to a mefite.

Seven Sober Nights

The Toad — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:03:14 -0800

Can I order non-alcoholic beer in Dublin pubs? I'm going to Dublin in some weeks and I'd like to visit some typical Irish Pubs. I don't drink alcohol - at home in Germany I usually order "non-alcoholic beer" which is quite common here (*).

So, I have some questions for Irish Mefites or Mefites who have been to Ireland:

- Is non-alcoholic beer commonly offered in Ireland's pubs?

- If yes, can you recommend a brand that is good or even typically Irish ("NA Guinness", even?)

- Is it regarded as normal to ask for NA beer in irish pubs or would people think you're crazy/strange? I know some German pubs where this is the case and where ordering NA beer equals ordering chamomile tea or hot milk...I would like to avoid such a cultural faux pas. If NA beer is not common in Ireland, what are good non-alcoholic beverage alternatives in Irish pubs that are not as sweet as coke/lemonade and not as boring as water?

- Would you actually call it "non-alcoholic beer" or are there other expressions for that kind of drink in Ireland?

Thanks for Your help!

(*) I realize NA beer contains some alcohol, but anything under 0.5% ABV is o.k. with me.

Scape?

availablelight — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:17:39 -0800

GarlicFilter. Are these scapes, or just immature bulbs with a stalk attached?? So I read this (which really makes me want to grow my own, by the way) biut it didn't answer my question: what the heck did I just buy from the nice Guatemalan man at the farmer's market?

He kept saying, "garlic leaf, eat like scallion"....but this doesn't look like a scape (twisted, tender, trimmed from the bulb). It's a sturdy, straight, relatively tough 18" stalk...with a small green bulb still attached. (Which he told me was "not for eating.") The stalk is tough and distinctly garlicky, so there's that.

Did this particular farmer misunderstand when/what to trim, or is this something that is also commonly sold/eaten? The texture (and I'm guessing pungency) is so off from a traditional scape I'm not sure if I would try following the same recipes. ( It's not as soft or mild as a scallion, either.)

If you're familiar with this strange object and have culinary advice, please advise. Pics upon request.

Extra points if you can suggest how to use it with pattypan squash.

That cool and refreshing demon on my back

ChabonJabon — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:41:59 -0800

I'm addicted to coke, and I just can't seem to break the habit. Please help me! I used to smoke, and I stopped that at some point without a single look back. I can smoke a cig now without wanting to become a smoker again. I smoke about 10 cigs a year. So I know that I'm not the addictive type.

Apart from when it comes to Coca Cola. I drink about 2 liters of the stuff a day. I can go for days without drinking water, just coke. I have been trying to quit real hard, but I get this craving for it. If it is hot out, I NEED that cold coke. I spend a lot of money on coke. I hate this habit, because it is unhealthy, bad for my teeth, and I really dislike the feeling of being a pawn of the coca cola company. Why am I paying the m 50 bucks a month for what I could get free?

Otherwise, I do not drink any other addictive drinks. No coffee, no tea, not even chocolate.

One big problem is that people do not take this addiction seriously. They tell me - just stop. I can stop for about 3 days, and then I start again. I replaced coke with sprite, but sprite disgusts me after a few days.

I tried coke caffeine free, but I can't stand the taste. How do I brwak the habit? I reaally need to!

What are your recipes for prickly pear?

dancestoblue — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:36:23 -0800

Prickly Pear -- The official state plant of Texas. How do you prepare them? I just bought five of them for a buck (first time I've ever seen them in the grocery, much less bought them), asked some fellow late-night shoppers how to eat them -- they told me not to eat the skin but rather just the inside. Which I did, soon as I got home; I quartered one, ate the inside, and it's sweet as candy -- cool. Sort of a Southwestern kiwi fruit. But what is your recipe for prickly pears? Do you use the skins of the pear also?

While we're at it, what is your recipe for prickly pear 'pads' or 'paddles,' whatever it is you call the stems?

Our friend Google tells me that there's just all kinds of things to do with them, different recipes. Also, I didn't know that the prickly pear is the official state plant of Texas, which I find sortof comical -- I mean, how about bluebonnets, or Indian paint brushes? But they didn't ask me, that I can recall.

Anyways, what do you MeFites do with them, how do you prepare them? Can I toss the 'pad' part into the smoothies I make? How about the entire pear, can I toss that into a smoothie, skin and all? Or, rather, I know I can do that, but have you, or would you?