Potato starch offers the taste neutrality you want in a veggie burger

Q: Can I use cornstarch or flour in place of the potato starch in a veggie burger, or do I just need to buy some potato starch? If so, how can I use the remainder? Sauce thickener in place of cornstarch?

A: Both can act as a binder, but the cornstarch might introduce a bit of flavour that’s not intended here. Potato starch offers neutrality. On the flip side, if you do buy a bag it’ll keep for a long time.

Q: Some recipes call for brushing yeast dough with egg white before baking, while others call for egg yolk mixed with a little water. And I’m sure I’ve seen recipes that call for whole egg mixed with a bit of water. What’s the difference in terms of results?

A: Egg white is nice and sticky, so if you’re adding seeds to a bread top, they’ll stay where you put them. Egg yolk alone is very yellow. I like to use it on savoury pie crusts. A whole egg is somewhere between, colourwise, just slightly golden. By the way, none of these options, alone, will change the texture of the top, but adding a little sugar to your wash will add some crunch.

In my kitchen where way too much baking goes on, unless I’m adding seeds, I egg wash with whatever I have left in a bowl. If the recipe calls for two eggs, beaten, after adding the eggs, I set the bowl aside in which I’ve beaten the eggs and later scrape every last bit to make a wash. If I have to separate eggs, I’ll use whatever is leftover, the yolk or the white, add a splash of water and brush on the surface. I’m way too frugal; I hate to use up an egg just to wash the surface.

Q: Why do some recipes call for three teaspoons when it could just as easily ask for one tablespoon? Is there something I’m missing?

A: When the recipe breaks down the use of, say, one teaspoon’s worth and then the other two, it might help you keep track of what’s been used in the directions.

Or maybe some folks don’t realize that three teaspoons equal one tablespoon?

Q: Is there a way to keep berries from sinking to the bottom of a cake?

A: Ah, gravity! Stella Parks, a.k.a. Brave Tart, had a post on Serious Eats the other year about how she thinks the tossing berries in flour strategy is a fallacy. Instead she suggested that you put some plain batter in the bottom of your muffin cup/pan first as a cushion. Then fold the berries into the rest of the batter and proceed.

Q: I do not like avocado and I want to make fish tacos. Is there anything I can use for the sauce aside from avocado or mayo based sauce?

A: Fruit salsa!

Q: My kids have reflux and we try to do a lot of fermented foods as we’ve heard it improves gut flora. Do you have any favourite foods that are fermented or contain fermented ingredients that do not take too long to make?

A: Homemade yogurt! It takes time to ferment, but it takes little effort on your part. The best part (other than the gut flora) is that you can make batches of it, and then have yogurt for the entire week.