Intrepid food writer Yasmin Khan dives into the mysteries of Palestinian cooking. Plus we rediscover authentic Austrian goulash; Jonathan Townsend cooks amazing 18th century American recipes in period clothing and kitchens; we share three tricks for using dull knives; and Dr. Aaron Carroll asks, "Are we really dehydrated?”

Questions in this Episode

“When I make a strawberry cake, the recipe always calls to use a paddle attachment. I used someone else’s mixer who only had a whisk attachment and for some reason the cake came out much better. It was much less dense and lighter crumb. Why was this?”

“I was preparing a root vegetable gratin. It contained whole milk, heavy cream, cheese, and butter that separated into clear liquid and milk solids when we served the gratin. I'm wondering how to prevent this separation from happening?”

“I spoke to you recently about my problem with blueberry smoothies—when I would make them, they would gel. I tried Sara’s suggestion and wanted to report back on the results.”

“I work in food service and we are trying to transition to a more sustainable seafood menu. We met with local fishermen and they proposed selling us dogfish, among other under-utilized species. We tried serving dogfish in the past, but customers said that the ammonia flavor was unappetizing. Do you have any suggestions for how to neutralize a flavor like ammonia in this type of fish?”

“I found a recipe that calls for carob molasses. Can I substitute with regular molasses?”

This episode is brought to you by Ferguson.