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Brussels Sprouts Cooking Time: How to KeepThem Crisp

Brussels sprouts are a very healthy winter vegetable. Here you can find out what you should consider when preparing Brussels sprouts and find suitable recipe ideas.

Brussels sprouts are a classic winter vegetable: they are in season from October to February and provide us with valuable nutrients during the cold season. Brussels sprouts are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

To ensure that the vitamins and minerals are retained during preparation and that the Brussels sprouts remain crisp, you should observe the following instructions.

Cook Brussels sprouts: This is the ideal cooking time

How long Brussels sprouts should cook depends on its size. If the florets are rather large, the cooking time is about fifteen minutes. If they are small, you shouldn’t cook the sprouts for more than 10 minutes.

To keep the Brussels sprouts from overcooking and becoming crunchy, you should follow these steps:

Before cooking, remove any eaten leaves and wash the Brussels sprouts florets thoroughly in cold water. In another article you will find tips for cleaning Brussels sprouts.
Then bring plenty of salted water to the boil in a saucepan and then add the Brussels sprouts. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the florets simmer in the salted water for 10-15 minutes. Periodically check with a fork to see if the cabbage is done. As soon as the tines sink relatively easily into the rosette without falling apart, it’s done.
Then pour the Brussels sprouts into a sieve and briefly rinse them under cold water. So its green color is preserved.

Steam Brussels sprouts

Another preparation method that is gentle on the Brussels sprouts is steaming. How to do it:

Before cooking, remove any eaten leaves and wash the Brussels sprouts florets thoroughly in cold water.
Put water in as wide a pot as possible. The water should only be deep enough for you to put a steamer basket in without it leaking through the holes. Alternatively, you can also hang a large sieve in the pot.
Place the Brussels sprouts in the steamer basket or colander and let the water boil. Then immediately turn the heat down to medium-low and let the Brussels sprouts steam for 10 minutes.
Finally, quench it with cold water to give it its light green color.

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Cooking Tips

Frying Tofu: This is How it Gets Сrispy

Frying tofu doesn’t have to be difficult: With a few extra steps during the preparation, you can create crispy, golden-brown tofu cubes with lots of flavor in the pan or in the wok.

Sometimes tofu doesn’t want to get crispy enough in the pan or doesn’t absorb enough flavor. With a few simple tricks during the preparation, you will no longer have this problem in the future and your fried tofu will be nice and crispy.

Frying tofu: How to prepare it

So that tofu also tastes good when fried, you should first prepare it:

Press the tofu dry: the less moisture it contains, the crispier the tofu can be fried. Before you continue to use it, it is therefore important to first remove the liquid from it. You can simply place the tofu block between several layers of cotton towels and weigh it down with a thick book or another object. Then leave it there for about ten to fifteen minutes. The weight forces most of the liquid out.
Marinating the tofu: Because tofu doesn’t have a strong taste of its own, you can season it in a variety of ways. If you marinate the tofu for a few hours before cooking, it will absorb the flavors best. You can prepare the marinade according to your taste, for example with soy sauce, ginger, garlic or chili.
Toss the tofu in cornstarch: when it is marinated, you can fry the tofu. Cut it into oblong slices or cubes. Before the tofu pieces go into the pan, it is best to turn them in some cornstarch. You can use potato, wheat or corn starch for this. The starch draws out the remaining liquid from the tofu before it is fried, making it even crispier.

This is how you can fry tofu crispy

The right pan: To fry tofu, it is best to use a high-quality cast iron pan or a non-stick pan. This will prevent the pieces of tofu from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Of course, you can also prepare the tofu in the wok, especially for Asian recipes.
The right temperature: To make it as crispy as possible, you should sear the tofu. To do this, set your stove to high, heat some oil in a pan and add the tofu. A few minutes is enough for it to turn golden brown and crispy. Don’t forget to turn the tofu regularly while frying so that it can brown evenly and doesn’t stick or burn.
The right oil: You can be generous with the oil if you want to fry tofu crispy. Note, however, that not all cooking oils are suitable for frying at high heat: Olive oil, for example, is ruled out here because it has a comparatively low smoke point. Instead, use unflavored sunflower oil to fry your tofu — or, if you like, sesame oil or coconut oil. They also give the tofu an interesting flavor.
Once you have finished frying the tofu, you can use it, for example, for vegetable pans, as a soup ingredient or as a special addition to salads. Or you simply eat it with a delicious dip.

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Food

Harvesting Walnuts: This is How You Collect Them For The Winter

You can harvest walnuts in autumn and stock them up for the whole winter. But harvesting alone is not enough. We’ll tell you what to look out for.

Harvesting walnuts – when does that work?

Walnuts are healthy and delicious. In addition, they can be stored well and for a long time. What could be more obvious than stocking up for the winter in autumn? If you have the opportunity, you should use it.

Walnuts ripen in the fall. They can be harvested from mid-September to the end of October. Strictly speaking, the term “harvest walnuts” is not so apt. Because you shouldn’t harvest walnuts from the tree. Rather, you wait until they fall from the tree on their own and collect them. This way you can be sure that they are really ripe.

Harvesting walnuts – this is the best way to do it

When walnuts grow on the tree, they have another, softer shell in addition to the hard, woody shell. This shell is initially green. When the walnuts are ripe and fall from the tree, the green shell bursts open. Later it turns black.

Especially in damp grass, the outer shell can quickly start to mold. Therefore, you should collect the nuts as regularly as possible. Preferably daily. It is best to sort out walnuts that are moldy or infested by caterpillars immediately.

Clean and dry walnuts

After collecting, you need to clean and dry the healthy walnuts. Remove the green outer shell by hand. You can also use a brush to remove any residue that gets stuck.

Drying the cleaned walnuts is not difficult. To do this, place them in boxes or baskets in a single layer if possible. It is best to turn them once a day or mix them vigorously. It is important that the walnuts dry as quickly as possible. Otherwise you run the risk of the walnuts starting to get moldy. An airy place with 20 to 25 degrees is best. If you dry the nuts outside, you should put them inside in the evening. Otherwise they will get wet again during the night.

The walnuts are dried enough when they lose about 50 percent of their weight. This is of course a bit difficult to control. The drying time is about three to six weeks.

Storing walnuts

After the walnuts have dried, you can store them for several months. Make sure that they are stored as dry and airy as possible. High humidity can lead to mold. It is best to hang the nuts in bags or nets.

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Food

Too Much Salt: Signs And How to Avoid Salty Foods

Too much salt in the body can cause lasting damage to various organs. Here you can find out exactly how the spice affects our organism and how you can avoid consuming too much salt.

When do you start talking about too much salt?

Salt used to be considered an expensive luxury product that was only accessible to the social elite. Today it is part of the basic equipment of every kitchen. Hardly any dish can do without the former “white gold”. Salt is absolutely essential for survival: it supplies us with the electrolytes sodium and chloride.

These help our body in particular to regulate the fluid balance. Adults should therefore consume around six grams of salt per day, according to the Society for Nutrition. However, due to ready meals, fast food, chips and other snacks, we often consume too much salt.

According to the adult women consume about 8.4 grams of table salt per day. For men, the value is even 10 grams. This is clearly higher than the recommended daily amount.

Too much salt: health consequences

Too much salt in the blood causes more water to accumulate in the bloodstream. As a result, the volume of fluid increases and blood pressure increases. If blood pressure is elevated over the long term, this has a harmful effect on other organs. In particular, the heart, the coronary arteries, other blood vessels, the brain and the kidneys are affected.

cardiac insufficiency and cardiac arrhythmia
Heart attack
stroke
chronic kidney failure
kidney failure
deteriorated visual performance.

Too much salt is not only harmful to people who already suffer from high blood pressure. Elevated salt consumption is a key risk factor for serious organ damage in all population groups.

Too much salt: first signs

Since each person reacts differently to salt, it is not possible to give general indications of excessive salt consumption. High blood pressure is the only sure sign. Other symptoms can also occur, such as:

fatigue
difficulty concentrating
Tremble
seizures
edema

In order not to let it get that far in the first place, however, you should already take preventive measures to avoid too much salt in your food.

Too much salt: How to avoid the white gold

To reduce your salt consumption, you should gradually wean yourself off the popular spice. Our taste buds have often adapted so much to foods that are too salty that low-salt foods quickly seem bland to us. Therefore, you should give yourself enough time to slowly reduce your cravings for salt. This increases the likelihood that you will stay on the ball in the long term.

As a first step, you should first start cooking more at home and thus avoid ready meals. Make sure to add salt sparingly and to taste from time to time.

Try to avoid highly processed foods as much as possible. You can see how high the salt content is on packaged foods.

Eat enough unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables. In general, a mostly plant-based diet will help you avoid excess salt by avoiding meat, fish, and dairy.

If low-salt dishes still seem too bland to you, you can refine your dishes with fresh herbs or spices.

You can prepare bread, rolls, crackers & Co. yourself at home and significantly reduce the salt content.

If you don’t want to do without animal foods completely, you should use low-salt representatives of this category. Types of cheese with a little less salt are, for example, mozzarella, Emmental or cream cheese. Mortadella and liver sausage are among the low-salt types of sausage, but in contrast to other foods they still contain a relatively large amount of salt.

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Cooking Tips

Gel Test: How it Works

Jam, marmalade or jelly: however you prepare your sweet spread, it’s always worth testing to see if it sets. You can find out why this is the case and how a gelling test works in this article.

Why is a gel test worthwhile?

You make an effort with your homemade jam, it tastes good, but it’s just too runny. Now you have several jars of liquid jam, which is not really suitable as a spread. This can be avoided with a gelling test – because as long as the jam is still warm, you can always make it gel later and give it a firmer consistency.

How does a gel test work?

The right time to test the jelly is when you have just made the jam and it is still hot. All you need for the rehearsal is a spoon and a small plate.

Put some jam on the plate.
Wait a minute or two and check if the mass has thickened and is no longer running.
If you are satisfied with the consistency of the jam, you can now fill it into jars.
Tip: The rehearsal works best if you chill the plate beforehand. For example, you can put it in the fridge before cooking the jam. If you are in a hurry, you can also put it in the freezer for a short time.

What to do if the gelling test didn’t work?

If the drop has not solidified, the gel test was unsuccessful. This could mean, for example, you didn’t use enough jam sugar or you added too much water to the fruit.

But that doesn’t mean your upstroke is lost. It is best to try cooking the jam for a few more minutes first. If the jam still remains too runny, you can save it by stirring in a packet of citric acid. The acid causes the mass to harden. Important: the jam must still be hot. You should then use another gelling test to check whether the jam now has the right consistency.

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Food

Parsnip or Parsley Root: How to Tell Them Apart

Parsnip and parsley root look confusingly similar. We’ll show you how to tell the two types of vegetables apart.

Parsnip and parsley root: these are the differences

Parsnip and parsley root are two types of root vegetables that are best known as fall and winter vegetables. So you can get the two tubers in Germany from October to February from regional cultivation. They are very similar in shape and color: both are white to beige in color and get narrower towards the end.

However, you can easily distinguish between the two roots by a few basic characteristics:
Parsnip and parsley root are two types of root vegetables that are best known as fall and winter vegetables. So you can get the two tubers in Germany from October to February from regional cultivation. They are very similar in shape and color: both are white to beige in color and get narrower towards the end.

How to use parsley root and parsnips

You can use parsnips and parsley roots in a similar way in the kitchen. Both bulbs are suitable as individual side dishes or as an ingredient for soups, stews and vegetable pans. You can also eat them raw and use them grated for salads, for example.

However, you should note that parsley roots taste much spicier – so only use them in moderation. Parsnips, on the other hand, are a good basic ingredient thanks to their mild aroma and are also suitable, for example, as a puree or baby food or as an ingredient for casseroles and gratins. If you slice them and bake them in the oven, you can also make healthy oven fries from the root vegetables.

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Cooking Tips

Yeast Dough in The Fridge: This is How You Can Let it Rise and Store it There

You can let the yeast dough rise and store in the fridge overnight. This reduces the effort for fresh rolls or yeast buns in the morning. Here we show you what you should consider.

Many recipes with yeast dough state: the ingredients should not come cold out of the refrigerator, the yeast should be dissolved in lukewarm liquid and the dough must rise in a warm place. These clues are there because yeast is a leavening agent and consists of yeast fungi. These yeasts die off when the yeast is processed too hot and do not become active when it is too cold.

But the last aspect is not entirely correct. Yeast fungi also work in the cold, but much more slowly. Some recipes take advantage of this and let yeast dough rise in the fridge rather than in the heat. This has many advantages that you can take advantage of when baking with yeast.

Leaving yeast dough in the fridge has advantages

If you let the yeast dough rise in the fridge, you benefit from a number of advantages:

You can prepare the yeast dough the night before, let it rise in the fridge overnight and use the risen dough straight away in the morning. So you can look forward to fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls, rolls and more for breakfast. Doing it yourself is particularly worthwhile for pastries, as you can do without many of the additives. You can find out more about this in the article: This is why many people can no longer tolerate bread.
If you have made more yeast dough than you can handle at once, you can store the rest in the fridge for up to a day and don’t have to throw it away. Alternatively, you can also freeze it. It lasts like this for several months.
In addition, you only need half the yeast for refrigerator yeast dough.
The refrigerator dough is prepared with cold liquid. This avoids the risk of your yeast dying from water that is too hot.
Yeast dough from the refrigerator is often looser later. Because he has enough time to rise. Pastries made from frozen and thawed yeast dough are in no way inferior to fresh yeast pastries. The taste does not change when stored in the cold.

Yeast dough in the fridge: you have to pay attention to this

You can let yeast dough rise in the fridge overnight and store it there for up to a day. Pay attention to the following:

Prepare the yeast dough with cold liquid so that it doesn’t puff up too much.
You don’t need a pre-dough and you shouldn’t let the yeast dough rise in a warm place first.
Immediately after kneading, dust the yeast dough all over with flour and put it in a reusable and sealable bag or tin. This should be large enough for the yeast dough to spread out.
Now put the yeast dough in the fridge and let it rise overnight. The ideal duration for this is 12 to 18 hours. You can use the dough first thing in the morning or keep it in the fridge. However, it should not be left in the fridge for more than 24 hours, otherwise it could ferment.

Tips for the yeast dough in the fridge

You can form the yeast dough into balls, snails or braids before you even leave it. If you have formed small balls or pastries, you can store them in a bag that you blow open after filling. This creates more space in it and the yeast pieces do not hit the bag and deform when they rise.
Alternatively, place the yeast pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on a floured board. Pay attention to the distance between the individual pieces of dough. You then slide the baking sheet or board into a large bag, which you seal and put in the fridge.
The bag or tin should always be closed tightly so that the dough does not dry out.
After rising: The yeast dough has risen well in the fridge overnight. If you want to bake it now, shape it as you like (if you haven’t already done so) and let the shaped pieces of dough rise again at room temperature for 20 minutes. This makes the pastry particularly fluffy.

Freezing yeast dough: What you have to consider

If you don’t want to use your yeast dough immediately after rising, you can store it longer. To do this, you put it in the freezer. There it stays at minus 18 degrees Celsius for up to six months. You can store yeast dough in the freezer as follows:

Shape the dough into a ball or patty before freezing. Then flour the dough.
Place the dough in freezer bowls or freezer bags and place in the freezer.
If you want to bake the dough later, let it thaw thoroughly beforehand.
After thawing, you can process it like conventional yeast dough. So he has to rise first. Give the yeast dough enough time to do this. Defrosted yeast dough takes about twice as long to rise as fresh dough.
Once the dough has risen, you can process it like conventional dough.

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Aquafaba: This is How Vegan Egg Whites Work

Aquafaba is a great vegan alternative to egg whites. The production is very simple and quick. We’ll show you how to make the vegan egg whites yourself.

What actually is aquafaba?

Aquafaba is the liquid that forms when you cook chickpeas or beans. You may also know it as bean or chickpea water. In vegan cuisine, aquafaba acts as a substitute for egg whites or egg whites.

Important: Only use the cooking water from the chickpeas. The water from the soak contains large amounts of phytic acid and should therefore not be used for aquafaba.

The liquid acts as a leavening agent and emulsifier. Emulsifiers combine substances that do not naturally mix. This effect is especially necessary when making cakes, otherwise you will find it difficult to make dough. You also need emulsifiers for potato pancakes or similar dishes. They hold the ingredients together and act like glue. So you can also use aquafaba to make savory vegan dishes.

However, aquafaba is probably most popular as a substitute for beaten egg whites. For example, you can use aquafaba to make meringues or mousse au chocolat.

Making aquafaba: Here’s how

You don’t need many ingredients to make aquafaba:

100ml chickpea water (after boiling or from the can)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1/2 tsp locust bean gum

Now all you have to do is mix all the ingredients together and whip them up with the whisk or hand mixer. You can now use the foam that is created like egg whites. You can use the remaining chickpeas, for example to make hummus yourself.

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Food

Soy: This is How Healthy The Meat Alternative is

Soy is a healthy legume found in many plant-based substitutes. Here you can find out more about their nutritional values, characteristics and possible uses.

How useful is soy? ingredients and nutritional value

Soy is best known as a plant source of protein. It is about 35 percent protein. Unlike many other plant foods, soy has a complete amino acid profile, in particular, it contains all the amino acids required by the human body.
The fat content of soy is about 18 percent and is mostly made up of unsaturated fatty acids. They play an important role in many bodily functions, including hormone production, brain function, and cell division. They also have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system.
With only about six percent carbs, soy is one of the low carb foods.
100 grams of legumes contain about 329 kilocalories.
Healthy soy also has a lot to offer when it comes to micronutrients: it contains significant amounts of magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and some B vitamins, among others.

Soy: This is how you use the healthy legume

In this country, soy plays an important role, especially in the context of a vegan or vegetarian diet. In the form of tofu, among other things, it is the main ingredient in many meat alternatives. This applies, for example, to plant-based burger patties, schnitzel, steaks, nuggets or cold cuts. Soy milk and soy yoghurt are also common milk alternatives.

But you can also buy the pure soybeans in Asian or health food stores and well-stocked grocery stores. You can usually get them in frozen form. When buying, pay attention to organic quality. In this way you ensure that the healthy soybeans are not genetically modified and are not contaminated with synthetic chemical pesticides.

Also, try to buy soy as locally as possible. You get soy products from German or at least European (e.g. French or Italian) cultivation.

If the beans are still in the pod, you can simply cook them in boiling water according to the package instructions and then sprinkle with a little salt and serve as finger food.

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Lifestyle

Washing Sensitive Clothing by Hand – This is How it Works

Almost every household has a washing machine, but delicate items of clothing are often unsuitable for this. What now? Do you go to the dry cleaners or do you prefer to wash by hand?

What temperature for handwashing?

Hand washing is not as complicated as you might think at first glance. And you don’t need a tumble dryer to get your favorite pieces back in shape. It doesn’t matter whether it’s your favorite jacket or an evening dress, the first thing you should do with all items of clothing is the label beforehand washing them. Because even if you don’t put your clothes in the machine, temperature specifications may have to be observed. These help you to ensure that your best piece does not shrink and that you do not bring your favorite classics out of shape by washing them incorrectly. You can easily determine the temperature with a bathtub thermometer.

The right detergent for sensitive clothing

It is best to use a washbowl or a corresponding basin, where you fill in enough water at the required temperature. Then add the detergent according to the recommended dosage. But be careful: you have to make sure that the detergent is suitable. A mild detergent is the best choice for many sensitive items of clothing. On the other hand, if the item is made of wool, you should use a wool detergent. If you need to remove stains first, you can treat them with cold water or a suitable stain remover. Please also note our tips for removing make-up stains with the effective gall soap.

Hand wash instructions

Once you have found the right temperature and detergent for your hand wash, you can begin. To do this, choose a bucket suitable for the laundry or wash larger items by hand in the bathtub. You should proceed as follows so that everything works perfectly:

Step 1: Soak

You now put the garment completely into the soapy water and move it back and forth a little. Be careful not to twirl, rub, or scrub, as this will distort the delicate fabric fibers. Now wait about 30 minutes and let your clothes soak. If stains are still visible afterward, add more warm water and extend the time. Here, too, make sure that you do not exceed the maximum temperature on the washing label.

Step 2: Rinse

The next step is to drain the soapy water or empty the tub. Now fill it with cold, fresh water and gently squeeze out the garment inside. Repeat this process until no more foam comes out of the fabric. The water must remain completely clear before the next step, as soap residue can cause discoloration.

Step 3: Express

After the cold water runs clear, empty the tub again and squeeze the liquid out of the fabric. Please make sure that you do not rub, twirl or even wring, as this will damage the fabric. Spread a dry towel on the floor and place your garment on it. Now you can carefully pull it back into shape. Now roll up the towel along with your clothing to draw even more moisture out of the fabric. And you’re done with the hand wash. In addition, read our guide to removing stubborn stains with lawn bleach.

Hand wash to dry properly

After you have largely removed the excess water with the towel, you can start drying the clothes. Layout a wide, dry towel on the drying rack or a table and spread out the washed clothes on it. Now you let it dry until there is no more liquid in the tissue. Make sure to turn every 2-4 hours so the garment dries evenly.

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