Delicious shortcuts challenge update

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
101

I almost never make my own red sauce anymore, so jarred it is (whatever is on sale that’s at least a bit better than Prego or Ragu). I’ve tried making my own fettucine (rolling out on the countertop) and that pretty much sucked, so dry boxed pasta for me. I do use Minor’s or BTB bases or boxed broths at times if I’m short of stuff in the freezer - lately this has been more often just because I’m cooking smaller meals.

I mostly make my own clam chowder but if Progresso’s is BOGO, I will get a few cans of that and dress it up a bit. And mac-n-cheese used to be primarily from scratch but now it’s the “blue box” probably 80% of the time. I quit making my own mayo because I hated trying to use up the extra egg whites. Plus with the two big consumers of mayo in college, we don’t go through it much.

I was interested to see how many people use jarred minced garlic and ginger. I’d love to give up the tasks of peeling and mincing/grating those, but all the brands I’ve tried seem to put phosphoric, citric, and/or lactic acid in there (probably helps color retention). But even in a cooked meal, man, I can really taste that stuff and my brain says, “that flavor ain’t supposed to be there”.

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102

Yeah, I think I tried that jarred garlic. Once. Don’t even remember if it was in water or oil, but I thought it had an aftertaste I didn’t like. Plus I almost always have fresh garlic in the house. Peeling can be a PITA, especially when the cloves are young/very fresh, but the flavor is far superior (since the thread is about delicoius shortcuts, specifically). I find that frozen garlic works better with no discernible rancid aftertaste, and the ginger is a no-brainer (I rarely have fresh ginger in the house).

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103

I’m not sure what it is about jarred minced garlic, but I find that it repeats on me for hours after a meal in a way that fresh garlic does not. So, it is a non starter for me. I’ve never tried jarred minced ginger because I buy it fresh, break it into fingers, and freeze it. Then it is easy enough to grate on a micro plane from frozen (I don’t bother to peel) or thaw and use however it is needed.

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104

I’ve used the frozen Dorot garlic for cooking exclusively for at least a decade. It contains sunflower oil and salt, but I’ve never tasted anything but garlic and it’s convenient af. Doesn’t work if you want an uncooked garlic flavor though.

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105

I’ve never liked jarred garlic. It tastes off; I’d rather use a really good garlic powder. I always have plenty of fresh garlic — too much —I have tried garlic paste and ginger paste in a tube (from the refrigerated produce section) and at least the garlic is far superior to the stuff in a jar. For Caesar Salad or pasta aglio e olio, though, nothing but fresh will do. But I sometimes (cough cough) use a garlic press (my fave is an old-style Rösle) - the tubed ginger, kept in the freezer, is a good enough sub for me when I’ve neglected to replenish my stash.

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106



Thanks, I’ll borrow this. I normally buy a hand fresh then use a lot from fresh, but end up letting the other half of it get partially (or worse) dried out.


ETA:


Thanks to you, too. I had no clue this product existed. I guess as frozen there’s no need for the citrate/lactate/phosphate etc.

My typical store does not list it, but Kroger does (and Target has a similar product), and they’re easy enough to get to occasionally.

And I very rarely want that “raw” garlicky flavor, so 99% of the time this should work for me.

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107

It’s the Dorot brand frozen garlic I was referring to in my post. The ginger & cilantro come in handy as well.

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108

Thanks for the help - I misread that part and thought you meant you (yourself) were freezing fresh garlic.

109

We use jarred garlic. I just don’t want that raw garlic smell on my hands. I know people mention lemon juice and rubbing your hands against a stainless steel faucet to get rid of it. Tried both. I’ll stick with ready chopped. Not about to waste 2 latex gloves chopping a couple cloves of garlic.

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110

I think we had a whole post on the use of “stainless steel ‘soap’ bars” to remove hand odors and the results were mixed.

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111

The steel thing (I sometimes use a spoon) works for me.

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112

The weird thing is that I love to test most of the pet theories I hear about. Yet I never tested this one. I’m thinking/wondering why, and I guess it’s because I actually like the smell of garlic and (especially) ginger on my fingers.

The other ones I will let linger are rosemary and thyme. If I’m powdering one or the other or both by grinding with my fingers, I don’t wash it off. Unless I’m planning to mess with my contact lenses. Then all oil scents (edit and chili oils!) have to be scrupulously scrubbed off - I wear re-usable lenses.

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113

I am public facing for work, so odors are an actual thing.

Amd whether its potatoes, fish, or garlic, i wash my hands after handling food. Zero exceptions for any reason. There are plenty of scented lotions (including ones with plant oils) to carry subtle scent

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117

I use instant onion soup in my Polish chop suey. My head hangs in shame.

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118

I hear you. I work with kids aged 4-19 all day. They notice everything. Every-frickin-thing! I heat with wood, so my clothes often smell of smoke. Kids will ask if I smoke. I say, “you bet, especially pork shoulders and ribs!”

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119

I grate it all, pack it all in a small jar and fill the jar with a dry sherry. It keeps in the fridge forever (plus the gingered sherry can be used in a stir-fry.) OR grate it all, and put some in a small freezer bag or container so there’s no air and freeze that way as well.

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120

Strange. I don’t know if I do some kind of magic when chopping, slicing, or crushing garlic, but I rarely have that issue. It’s never occurred to me to use latex gloves for this.

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121


Oh, yes, I wash them. My comments was in the context of using the “stainless steel soap bar” or other method to try to remove odors (like garlic) that soap alone often may not tackle well.

But I did indeed misspeak when I said “don’t wash” the rosemary or thyme, though. I should have said I don’t go to extra effort. Sorry.

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123

Always unless I need slices or extremely fine paste (then Microplane). I don’t understand Bourdain’s snobbery on this count.

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124

Ditto. And I use garlic in most of the things I cook

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