dish

By Compiled by JANET K. KEELER
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 12, 2001

A weekly serving of food news and views

deconstructing

explanations from the inside out

brown sugar

Brown sugar is granulated sugar combined with molasses, the syrup that remains after sugar cane or sugar beets are refined. A more delicate molasses is used for light brown sugar; a more intense variety makes dark brown sugar. Light and dark can be used interchangeably in a pinch. Molasses gives brown sugar its acidity. The acid reacts with baking soda to make carbon dioxide bubbles and helps baked goods rise. That is why brown sugar is often combined with granulated sugar, according to David Joachim in Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks (Rodale, 2001). If you substitute brown sugar for granulated when baking, the finished product will be moister, with a hint of butterscotch taste. Use 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar in place of 1 cup granulated.

Brown sugar can get rock hard when it's exposed to air. To prevent hardening, keep the sugar in an air-tight container. To soften hardened brown sugar, place a wedge of fresh apple or a slice of bread in the bag with the sugar, which adds moisture. Seal it for 48 hours. If you need it softened quickly, microwave for 30 seconds and then break apart. Continue microwaving at 30-second intervals until sugar is soft.

this web site cooks

www.bhg.com/celebrate/

Better Homes and Gardens' online Recipe Center makes its debut this holiday season with more than 10,000 triple-tested recipes. With a few clicks, visitors to the site can carry out searches, do printing, menu planning and personalized recipe-keeping, and check out daily featured dishes. To compile the collection, BHG.com editors incorporated recipes from Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal, Midwest Living and Hometown Cooking magazines.

constant comment

"I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find." -- Author and chef James Beard (1903-1985)

cooking class

To get a burnished crust on lean roasts such as pork loin, rolled turkey breast or filet of beef, sear the roast in a skillet and then transfer the roast to the oven to finish cooking.

measuring up

One of the more common contortions associated with baking involves the measuring cup: You pour in the liquid, then stoop down to eye the measure on a flat surface. This goes on endlessly during the holiday baking season, so we are grateful to OXO for its new "angled measuring cup." It has a measuring rule in its interior, letting cooks peer down from a standing position. The 2-cup measuring cup costs $6 to $7 at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Linens 'n Things.

better dipper

The makers of Pringles are putting yet another chip in a can. Torengos, white-corn tortilla chips, come in a triangular canister with a snap-on plastic lid. Torengos tortilla chips have a bowl shape which makes it easier to scoop mounds of guacamole or spoonfuls of spicy salsa, a big trend in chips this year. We like the flavor of the new chips; they are lighter than other tortilla chips and have a corn-chip aftertaste. A 5.6-ounce container costs $1.69.

home tasting kit

Looking for a gift for the wine lover on your list? Consider Wine Spectator's Complete Wine Tasting Kit. For $40, you'll get a 240-page wine guide, a pocket guide to wine and a simple guide to wine tasting. Included in the kit is everything except the wine that you'll need to stage a tasting in your home, including reusable bottle bags to conceal wine bottles, stemware tags to label wine glasses, bottle tags and tasting note pads. Look for the kit at bookstores or kitchen shops. It can also be ordered from www.amazon.com.

freezing food

Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Although freezing fruits and vegetables results in some loss of quality, they will be fine in pies, casseroles, soups and smoothies.

Here are the USDA's suggested maximum freezing times for some common foods:

• One to two months -- Bacon and sausage; casseroles; ham, hot dogs and lunch meats.
• Two to three months -- Fruit, uncooked or cooked; cooked vegetables; cooked meat; soups and stews.
• Three to four months -- Uncooked ground meat; cooked poultry.
• Four to six months -- Uncooked steaks and chops.
• Nine months -- Uncooked poultry parts; uncooked roast.
• Eight to 12 months -- Uncooked game.
• 12 months -- Uncooked whole poultry.

-- Compiled by Janet K. Keeler, from staff and wire reports

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