What did you learn about cooking today?

What I learned today.

Deep joy, there is actually a formula for upscaling ingredients if you want to bake a cake in a differently sized baking pan.

You take the square of the radius of the pan you want to use and divide it by the square of the pan listed in the recipe.

So if the recipe calls for a 7 inch pan and you only have an 8 inch pan the calculation is;

(4x4) / (3.5x3.5)
16 / 12.25
= 1.306
So you multiply the amount of ingredients by 1.306.

I haven't tried this yet so can't verify its accuracy. May try it later.

I would also imagine that depending on the size difference you may have to alter your baking time?
 
medtran49 said:
Yes.

I usually just figure it out in my head by guestimating, though I'm usually downsizing. Didn't know there was an actual formula.
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Obviously this is for circular pans, and I don't know if it is accurate.

It might work for square pans (roughly) if you just used half its length or width? And rectangular you'd have to use the average of half length and width.

Found it on the internet and even if someone on the internet claims black is black, white is white and 2+2 = 4 I'd still think about checking it. :laugh:
 
This week, I learned what a kolache is. Better still, I learned that I can bake damn good kolaches.

I have rarely baked anything, even after joining this forum. I am so encouraged by my kolache results.
:okay::chef:
 
I learned that Jacques Pepin pours crepe batter to the side rather than in the center of the pan because it apparently helps with the swirling, making it easier. Haven't tried it yet, but certainly will next time I make crepes.
 
medtran49 said:
I learned that Jacques Pepin pours crepe batter to the side rather than in the center of the pan because it apparently helps with the swirling, making it easier. Haven't tried it yet, but certainly will next time I make crepes.
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That's the only way I've ever seen it done "properly," the side pour (apart from those specialty crepe griddles you see at Christmas markets).

I made crepes last night and I used my little crepe spreading tool and it was an improvement...marginally. I may just need to get the knack of it, or I may need to learn to live without crepes that are perfectly round and perfectly evenly thin all the way across. :laugh:

There are a lot of videos of Pepin making crepes (it's one of his "greatest hits" along with deep-frying raw eggs, making three kinds of omelettes, and deboning a chicken in 30 seconds), and it's something I've watched him do literally hundreds of times. Just like you can listen to your favorite songs over and over again, I can watch Pepin make crepes over and over again, just because of how effortless he is with it, and how, unlike every other instruction video, he doesn't get into "it must be this way, and you must do that, and if it's not exactly like this, it's wrong."

Holes in your crepes? Pepin says no problem - pour in a little more batter. Too much batter in the pan? Pepin says duh, pour it back out.

Crepes have a ragged edge? Pepin says get a knife and cut off the ragged edges (and eat them right there). One side a little under/overdone? Put that side down or roll it to the inside. I love it.
 
I learned that there are three types of meringues, Swiss, French and Italian.

I also did my first attempt at a merigue, the Italian type, and learned how to do this and that great care must me taken to strictly eyeball the results as the blend is done and not to add too much heated mixture, or too little. It's more than a matter of measured amounts. You need to develop a tuned feel for it as the blend and whipping is being done.
 
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