QUESTION
I'm trying my best to put my family on a low fat diet. How do I brown stew meat without using a lot of oil?ANSWER - Start by wiping the surface of the meat dry. Moist meat won't brown properly no matter what amount of oil you use. Next, take a clean brown paper bag and put in some flour and the seasonings of your choice. Add a few pieces of meat at a time, and shake. As you remove the meat from the bag, shake each piece to remove any excess.
Then sear the meat quickly. The oil in your pan should be as hot as possible - but not so hot that it smokes. Brown only a few pieces at a time, so as not to lower the temperature of the oil too much. The faster you sear the meat, the less oil it absorbs. The flour allows for a minimal but even coating, yielding a brown crust that enhances stew. After the pieces of meat are browned, put them on a plate lined with paper towel to drain off extra fat.
QUESTION - I've been told that dried fruits are a good source of iron, but why should they be better in this regard than the same fruit in fresh form?
ANSWER - They're not. Presence or lack of moisture in a fruit doesn't alter the iron content at all. However, because dried fruits are smaller, people tend to eat more at one sitting than they do of fresh fruits, and it's on this basis that they're rated high in iron.
For example, it's unlikely that you would eat more than two fresh apricots at a given time, leaving you with less than half a milligram of iron. On the other hand, you could easily consume two or three times that amount of dried apricots at one sitting. Ten dried halves would give you almost 10 percent of the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance for iron.
QUESTION - I'm a fan of seafood, including raw seafood. Is it safe to eat raw fish if it's been frozen first? Is it safe to eat raw shellfish?
ANSWER - The danger with raw seafood involves the possibility of contracting a parasitic infection. To reduce the risk, eat uncooked fish only if you're positive that it's been caught recently and handled hygienically. If this fish is then frozen to zero degrees Fahrenheit and held for 24 hours before being served, the parasites will be destroyed.
Make sure that clams, oysters and mussels have been harvested in waters monitored for safety. Even then there is a slight amount of risk, so people whose livers aren't functioning properly are advised to stay away from raw shellfish.
QUESTION - No matter how warm my gloves and boots, my hands and feet always feel cold in chilly weather. A friend told me that taking B vitamins in large doses would help warm me. Should I try it?
ANSWER - You'd be wasting your money. The rumor - and it is only that - that B vitamins will shield you from the cold may stem from the fact that cold temperatures are a form of environmental stress, and many so-called "stress-formula" vitamins contain large doses of vitamin C and B vitamins. Even though these megadoses of vitamins have never been shown to reduce the effects of stress, either mental or physical, in some topsy-turvy way they may have come to be associated with protection against cold. But there is no scientific evidence to support this.
Another possible explanation for the claim relates to a form of the B vitamin niacin, called nicotinic acid. Taking nicotinic acid in large amounts causes dilation of blood vessels and temporary flushing. However, the effect isbrief and won't do you any real good on a cold winter's day. Another drawback is that even though niacin is sometimes used in large doses to help reduce elevated serum cholesterol, it does have the potential for harmful side effects and should be used only under a doctor's supervision. So do not overdose yourself in a vain attempt to keep warm.
QUESTION - Why is it recommended that you not whip eggs in a plastic bowl? And why must the eggs be at room temperature?
ANSWER - Even when plastic bowls seem to be thoroughly clean, minute traces of oil may cling to them. Even the smallest amount of oil can interfere with the foaming of egg white and reduce the volume of foam produced.
Eggs should be brought to room temperature before whipping because they're too viscous when cold. At room temperature, the volume of foam will be greater and the texture finer. If you're in a hurry, warm up a cold egg by placing it, in its shell, in a bowl of warm water for several minutes.
When separating the yolk form the white, if the yolk is accidentally broken it's virtually impossible to remove all of it from the white. You'd be better off putting it aside for another use and starting fresh with a new egg.
1992, Washington Post Writers Group