Notes on KemoNine's Culinary Notebook

Gluten and Grain Tags

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:11:52 +0000

Not all gluten is the same gluten, and not everyone who avoids one grain has to avoid the others. So the recipes here don’t just carry a single “has gluten” label — each gluten grain gets its own tag, and there’s a separate tag for the “it depends on the brand” cases. Here’s what each one means.

The three grain tags

contains-wheat — the recipe needs a wheat ingredient: wheat flour, bread, breadcrumbs or panko, regular pasta or noodles, semolina, couscous, farro, bulgur, seitan, a roux, a wheat-flour tortilla, pie crust, and so on.
contains-barley — the recipe needs barley or something made from it: malt, malt vinegar, malt syrup, or beer.
contains-rye — the recipe needs rye, including rye breads like pumpernickel.

Tagging the grains separately means you can filter for exactly what you react to. If barley is your problem but wheat isn’t, you don’t have to skip every wheat-tagged dish; browse contains-barley and avoid just those. Oats are naturally gluten-free, so an oats recipe is not tagged with any of these — but oats are often processed alongside gluten grains, so those recipes carry a footnote reminding you to reach for certified gluten-free oats if you need to.

Expiration Dates

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

From

https://www.foodandwine.com/sell-by-vs-use-by-8402060

Use-by date

Use-by dates suggest the peak quality of a product, and are not safety dates. According to the USDA , “With the exception of infant formula, if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until spoilage is evident. Spoiled foods will develop an off-odor, flavor, or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.”

Al Dente Pasta

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

place pasta in cold water in pot with lid on
bring to boil
uncover
al dente in 5-10 minutes

Juicing Lemon

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

There’s no denying how much vibrant flavor fresh lemons and limes bring to a recipe, but they’re not cheap! So here are a few tricks that I use to juice a lemon (or lime) to make sure you get every last drop of juice and leave no penny wasted.

Choose Ripe Lemons

This step might be the most obvious, but it can also be the most difficult depending on the season or your location. Unripe, rock-hard lemons are not likely to give you much juice no matter what, so spend some time checking for ripeness before you buy.

Mushy Rice

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

So the rice I made during meal prep recently turned into a mushy, horrible, gross, sticky mess

I wasn’t sure how to salvage the starchy mess but then I remembered I’ve done 2 things that were yummy, if not a little ‘mushy’ texture wise

fried plantains
fried left over mashed potato pancakes

Turns out mushy rice will cook up similar to plantain/mashed potato if you form it into a patty of sorts, put some canola oil in a pan and then fry the ever loving shit out of it like you would other starches

Prevent Apple Browning

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This is a copy of the information at the link. Cataloged here to ensure the information isn’t lost to the sands of time.

Plain Water

The most important thing you can do to avoid browning is to reduce the apple’s exposure to air. And the simplest way to do that is to submerge your apple slices in water. Since the slices will float to the top of the water, place a clean paper towel on top. Once the paper towel is wet, it will push the apples under the water’s surface. Another technique is to put the apple slices in zip-lock bags with the air pressed out. Neither of these techniques call for additional ingredients, and both work great for keeping the apples from browning.

Grandma's Cookie Notes

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Notes

sometimes use canned (evaporated) milk
don’t use fat free milk
use at least 2% milk
cream or 1/2 and 1/2 works best for milk
any milk will work if you use a little butter or margarine to substitute creaminess ; about 1 tsp or so
always have powdered sugar handy in case consistency isn’t right for spreading
it should not run off cookie
remember to stir frosting as you go, it hardens a bit
i don’t use a mixer either ; “beat” and whip by hand

Internal Meat Temps

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Chicken: 165F
Beef: 160F
Fish: 145F
Pork: 160F

Measuring Conversions

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

3 tsp == 1 Tbsp
4 Tbsp == 1/4 cup
5 1/3 Tbsp = 1/3 cup

Dehydration Times

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredient	Temp	Time
Ground Pork + Ground Turkey mix	160F	4-6 hours
Ground chicken	160F	Unknown
Ground veal	160F	Unknown
Snapper (Skin on or off)	160F	10-12 hours
Herbs/Spices	110-115F	2-4 hours
Peppers	135F	6-8 hours

Instant Pot Cooking Times

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredient	Ingredient:Water Ratio	Setting	Pressure	Time	Pressure Release
Rice - Basmati (white)	1:1	Rice	High	4-8 minutes	Quick after 10 minutes if not natural
Rice - Jasmine	1:1	Rice	High	3-5 minutes	Quick after 10 minutes if not natural
Rice - Brown (long/short)	1:1	Rice	High	22-28 minutes	Quick after 10 minutes if not natural
Rice - Wild mix	1:1	Rice	High	25-30 minutes	Quick after 10 minutes if not natural
Risotto	1:2	Rice	High	5-6 minutes	Quick release (NOT natural)
Steel cut oats	1:1.25	Manual	High	10 minutes	Quick after 12 minutes natural release
Barley	1:2.5	Manual	High	20-22 minutes	Quick release
Millet	1:1.5	Manual	High	9 minutes	Quick release
Farro	1:2	Manual	High	10 minutes	Quick release after 5 minutes natural
Quinoa	1:1	Manual	High	1 minute	Quick release after 5 minutes natural
Couscous	1:2	Manual	High	2-3 minutes	Quick release

Chili Pepper Notes

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Scoville Unit Table

Pepper	Scoville Units
Banana	0 - 500 SHU
Poblano	1000 - 1500 SHU
Anaheim	500 - 2500 SHU
Jalapeno	3500 - 8000 SHU
Fresno	2500 - 10000 SHU
Serrano	10000 - 23000 SHU
Cayenne	30000 - 50000 SHU
Habanero	100000 - 350000 SHU

Cleaning Cast Iron

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

While the pan is hot: put 1 tbsp olive oil in center of the pan and pour 1 tbsp salt onto it. Using tongs with paper towel, wipe the pan until clean.

Reliable Drying Rack Setup

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The below setup keeps paper towel off the food so the grease won’t make it soggy but still absorb excess liquid.

Get a sheet pan
Line bottom with paper towel
Put cooling rack upside down on top of paper towel
Put ‘wet’‘oily’‘fried’ foods on rack

Storing Jerky

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Once the jerky is completely cool, place it in a bag or airtight container. Failing to do so will make the jerky sweat in the container and encourage mold and bacterial growth.

Always remember:

If you store at room temperature (around 70 F-74 F) leave it in a dark cool place and use it within a month.
If you store in the fridge, you have four to six months to use it.
If you choose to freeze it, you have one full year for consumption.

Always remember to label a jerky bag with the date in which it was prepared and the expiration date that it’d have depending on the method of storage you’re using.