Stupid food questions

[Die Capacitrix]

Regarding the banana bread, I'll have to look up the recipe, but I do use a glass loaf pan instead of metal.

I actually have a few recipes which I use, so I'll see what I can find when I get home (it's now Friday morning, and I have to leave in 15 minutes).

ETA:

Links!

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bananabread

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/betterbananabread

[marrya]

Sometimes, the size and ripeness of the bananas seems to make a difference, and maybe, how mashed or not they are?
But I like fluffy crusty banana cake...

My question: why can I tolerate goat milk and sheep milk, but not cow milk? Is it REALLY that different?
I mean, I know they have shorter proteins, but I'm not reacting to the protein, it's the lactose.
It can't even be the fat, because sheep is ultra creamy/rich and goat is like trim?

ETA what do you get when you type into google: what's the difference between


My favorite autocomplete: what's the difference between a duck?

[Aud 1]

Because of allergy girl I replace the egg with applesauce. This leads to denser bread.

Here is the recipe I use
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

I use 1/4 cup of applesauce for each egg. I also use Earth Balance instead of butter but I don't think that makes a big difference in the texture.

[Morgaine]

erwins: I have a recipe for zucchini bread that I really liked. Give me time to get over this crazy weekend & I will find it & post it. Very easy & good and makes 2 dense loaves. The kids devoured it!!

[erwins]

Originally Posted by marrya

My question: why can I tolerate goat milk and sheep milk, but not cow milk? Is it REALLY that different?

What I'm seeing says that goat milk has about 10% less lactose than cow milk. Often, lactose intolerance isn't a complete lack of lactase but rather a shortage. And then there's a threshold amount of lactose that can get through before symptoms will occur--that is, the gut bacteria could get a small serving of milk sugar without producing enough by-products to cause noticeable symptoms. Maybe 10% less lactose takes you into an area that your body can handle? The rather unpleasant way to test, I guess, would be to drink a bunch of goat milk and see if you eventually, um, cease tolerating it.

The other theory I'm seeing is that some people who cannot tolerate cow milk but can tolerate goat milk may actually have a mild allergy to cow milk protein rather than lactose intolerance. But the sites that mentioned that mentioned it only as a theory and didn't have anything to back it up.

[Sylvanz]

Back to bannana bread: I think I like the one that erwins does not like. If someone can give me a tried and true recipe for that I'd be very happy. My mom used to make an awesome one, but lost the recipe and never found one like it again. I got a very simple and delicious one from someone else, but am afraid I lost that one.

[tagurit]

I got a recipe for the best banana bread when I posted here that I don't think I have a copy of my mother's banana bread recipe. I can't remember who gave it to me but it was several years ago. This makes a dense bread with a moist top. Let me pull it up.

Here it is:

Banana Bread With Walnuts

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (not margarine)
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)


Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

Notes:
If you don’t have a wire whisk on your mixer, so your banana-sugar mixture never gets to the cream stage, beat for an additional minute and the bread will come out great.

I always use salted butter. Other than that, make substitutions at your own risk.

[marrya]

Thanks erwins,, that makes sense- I can tolerate small amounts of dairy, but not over a long period of time, (I have milk in my coffee) I feel like I reach a tipping point (that plus yoghurt coated rasins in my cereal can do it) where my body goes, too much! and then it's all on.
Interesting!!

[Esprise Me]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

And how long do you boil an egg?

I have a little egg-shaped piece of plastic that changes color as it's exposed to heat. You put it in the water at the same time as your eggs, and it starts to darken from the outside in as the eggs cook. It's similar to this one.

[erwins]

Originally Posted by Sylvanz

Back to bannana bread: I think I like the one that erwins does not like. If someone can give me a tried and true recipe for that I'd be very happy. My mom used to make an awesome one, but lost the recipe and never found one like it again. I got a very simple and delicious one from someone else, but am afraid I lost that one.

This is the recipe that actually says it's meant to be light and fluffy, and it was. It's from Cook's Illustrated, The New Best Recipe book

Banana Bread

For best results, be sure to use a loaf pan that measures 9" long, 5" across, and 3" deep.

2 cups (10 ounces) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped coarse
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place oven rack in lower-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of 9 by 5 inch loaf pan; dust with flour and tap out excess.

2. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together in a large bowl; set aside.

4. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

[Dropbear]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

And how long do you boil an egg?

For a 60gram egg start with cold water and bring to a boil on a medium high setting. Once the pan reaches a boil sufficient to make the egg clatter on the bottom of the pan wait 3 minutes and then take off the heat and rinse in cold waterto stop them cooking. You should end up with a firm white and a yolk that is a little firm on the outside but a little liquid in the middle.

Dropbear

[LyndaD]

I'd always assumed that eggs were added to cookie recipes to 'bind' the dough together, or keep the cookie from being too crumbly.
I'm making persimmon cookies (a spiced, cakelike cookie) and used the recipe my mom had jotted down on a scrap of paper and left in her cookbook.
After putting the first batch in the oven, I realized no egg had been involved. I dug out the original copy of the recipe (that I usually refer to while baking), and sure enough, it calls for an egg.
The cookies seem fine. The first dozen whas gone before the second was finished baking. So maybe cookies don't really need eggs?

[tagurit]

How do pie shops make that whipped cream that stands up so nicely, and carries well, but still tastes like whipped cream?

[Mad Jay]

Lynda, eggs are usually used to give cookies that cakey texture. "Cookie" is a catch all term , and you can make cookies many differrent ways. There are many cookie recipes that don't need eggs (for example Pecan sandies) Technically, even brownies (that are very egg heavy) are cookies too

The term "cookie" originated right around the time hearth based cooking was invented. They had no way of telling if the oven was ready for baking, so they would prepare some dough and put it in the oven while it was heating up. By watching the dough bake they could guess if the oven was hot enough. Eventually, they realized that instead of wasting that dough, they could eat it as snacks, and they started making it tastier. Everyone came up with their own way of making cookies. That's why you have so many types of cookies

Coincidentally (and I have no real proof of this), in NorthWestern India there is dish called Koki, and it's slow cooked on a hot plate and it's usually made for breakfast. I have no real proof of this, but I suspect, that Koki fulfilled the same function as cookie. It was some dough put on the plate used to measure the hotness of the plate. so, they would make Koki while the plate was heating up in the morning, and serve it for breakfast. By the time the Koki was made they would start preparations for lunch

[lavender blue]

Are probe thermometers very different from candy thermometers? I want to try to make something for which the instructions call for a candy thermometer, but I don't know if I need to buy one or if I can use the probe thermometer that I use for meat.

[tagurit]

I want to buy a probe thermometer, lb. Do you like the one you have?

[Tabbyclaw]

Does anyone have recipe links for flavored marshmallows? I'm going to try Alton Brown's basic recipe and see if it's viable for Christmas gifts, but I'd also like to play with variations on a theme. Searching my usual recipe site is useless, as the search engine doesn't make a distinction between the recipe name and the ingredients list.

-Tabby
the princess with claws

[Mad Jay]

Generally, candy thermometers can measure higher temperatures than meat thermometers. Thermometers for meat are meant to be used upto 200F, whereas Candy thermometers are meant to go upto 400F. I don;t know if you have a high end thermometer, but usually, meat thermometers won't be accurate/quick enough at that temperatures to act as candy thermometers.

[lavender blue]

Originally Posted by tagurit

I want to buy a probe thermometer, lb. Do you like the one you have?

I do. I can't remember what brand/type it is, though. I'll need to check when I get home.

My only problem is that I can never stick it in the right place in the thigh of a chicken (entirely operator error, nothing to do with the design of the probe). I should just give up and stick it someplace else instead.

[tagurit]

I've been cooking all my life using proven timetables. Suddenly I find myself cooking things I never have or using new methods. It's great fun, but I need support. I need a probe.