Last year, my friends and family received tins filled with some of my best holiday cookies along with their Christmas gifts.  I lovingly wrapped each variety of cookie in cellophane treat bags before placing them in the tin.  When the mailman came to pick the packages up, I crossed my fingers that the cookies would arrive in one piece, just as tasty as they were on the day I baked them.

This year, I don’t have cookie tins, but I do have plenty of hard plastic containers and cardboard bakery boxes.  Last week, I attempted to find the best way to store my cookies so that they arrived at my loved ones’ doorsteps fresh and delicious.

Cookie Storage Trials:

I tested these storage methods with botheggnog sugar cookies and chocolate fire cookies.  Two cookies of each variety were stored back-to-back for 5 days in the following conditions:

1.  In a cellophane treat bag

2.  In a bakery box lined with tissue paper

3.  Wrapped in plastic wrap, then placed in a bakery box lined with tissue paper

4.  Wrapped in parchment paper, then placed in a bakery box lined with tissue paper

5.  In an airtight plastic container

The Results:

Eggnog Sugar Cookies:

The cookies wrapped in plastic wrap and those in the airtight plastic container stayed the softest, though the cellophane treat bags came in at a close second.  The cookies that were left unwrapped or in parchment paper in the bakery box were crisp and lost some of their flavor, but were still edible.

Chocolate Fire Cookies:

Again, the plastic wrap, plastic container and cellophane treat bags helped the cookies keep their texture and flavor.  However, the cookies that were in parchment paper or unwrapped in the bakery box were incredibly dry and crumbly, almost to the point of inedibility.

Summary:

Airtight wrappings (cellophane, plastic wrap, plastic containers) are best for preserving the texture and flavor of cookies.  Avoid wrapping in parchment paper or leaving cookies unwrapped in a bakery box, unless you are planning to personally deliver the cookies within a day or two, or the cookies will be dry, crumbly and less flavorful.  (The effect may be more pronounced in some types of cookies than others.)

Other cookie packaging tips:

When shipping cookies in plastic containers, pack the treats as tightly as you can without crushing them.  The less they can move around in the container, the less they will break from bumping against each other!

If you are mailing treats in cellophane treat bags, make sure that they are cushioned REALLY well in the box you’re shipping in so they don’t break.

If you are mailing cookies in bakery boxes, pack the box as tightly as possible without crushing the cookies, and fill in any empty space with crumpled tissue paper or parchment paper.  And because these boxes have soft sides, they also need to be cushioned really well in the shipping box.

Keep like cookies with like.  Do not wrap peppermint flavored cookies and peanut butter cookies in the same treat bag or bundle of plastic wrap, unless you want them to arrive tasting of minty peanut butter (Yuck!).  Similarly, don’t wrap a soft and a hard cookie together, or the soft cookie will become crisper and the hard cookie softer during storage/shipping.

At the Harvest Fest a few weeks ago, I met the baked potato of my dreams: crisp, dark skin and buttery and fluffy on the inside. All they needed was a bit of butter or sour cream. I’ve never had a potato so delicious, and thus set out on a quest to replicate them at home. I tested three varieties of potatoes (Russet, Yukon Gold and red) and baked them each in three different ways.

My Baked Potato Protocol:

Knowing that potatoes need steam vents, I poked each potato 7 or 8 times with a fork.
Knowing that a bit of oil is needed to promote the Maillard browning reaction (which makes the skin brown and tasty) and a crispy skin, I brushed each subject with canola oil.
I baked all potatoes in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the outside felt crispy and potato was tender when squeezed.


The Potato Trials:

I wrapped one of each variety in foil.
I sprinkled one of each variety with sea salt.
I left one of each variety au naturel, pricked and oiled, and directly in the oven.

The Results:

FOIL-WRAPPED: In every instance, the foil-wrapped potatoes had almost soggy skins. Their insides were dense rather than fluffy. Obviously, as the potatoes cooked, their moisture turned to steam and softened the skin. Not the ideal baked potato.

UNWRAPPED:
Russet: The skin was browned and crispy, but the flesh inside was airy and fluffy.
Red Potato: The thin skin was slightly tough and browned, but not crispy. The insides were more dense than fluffy.
Yukon Gold: The thin skin was slightly tough and browned, but not crispy. The insides were more dense than fluffy.

SALTED v UNSALTED:
Russet: The skin was slightly chewier than the unsalted, but the difference was hardly noticeable.
Red Potato: The salt did not affect the inside of any of the potatoes tested. Its sole benefit was a slightly tastier crust.
Yukon Gold: The salt did not affect the inside of any of the potatoes tested. Its sole benefit was a slightly tastier crust.

BEST OVERALL

Russet potatoes definitely made for the best baked potatoes. The skins were crispy and browned, while the inside was light and fluffy. Of the three varieties, after all, the Russet contains the most dry starch. These starches separate and pull away from each other during cooking, creating tiny air pockets, aka fluffliness.

In contrast, the starch cells of red and Yukon Gold potatoes stick together during cooking, giving the potatoes a more solid texture.

(BONUS EXPERIMENT):

I suspected that I could get an even better baked potato, so I tried baking a Russet potato for 70 minutes at both 400F and 425F. For ultimate skin crispiness, 425F is the way to go!

Print

Potato Trials

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Yield: 1 potato

The perfect baked potato should have a dark and crispy skin with a fluffy interior. You can add any number of toppings, but a little fresh butter is all you really need.

Ingredients

1 Russet potato

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Instructions

Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of an oven and preheat the oven to 425F. Stab the potato all over with a fork. Seven pokes should be plenty.

Brush the potato with canola oil to lightly coat it. You may not need all of the oil. Sprinkle the potato on all sides with the salt.

Place the potato directly on the top rack and bake for 60-75 minutes. The potato is done when the skin is crispy but the insides feel tender when you gently squeeze the potato.

Make Ahead and Storage

If you bake more than 4 potatoes at a time, you may need to increase the cooking time by 10-15 minutes per extra 2 potatoes.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

1.4

http://www.savvyeat.com/how-to-make-the-perfect-baked-potato/

Copyrighted by Julie Grice and Savvy Eats

Last week, Lauren asked about the best way to store nuts and seeds. I’ve long suspected that I’m not storing my almonds, peanuts and walnuts properly (remember, I store them in glass jars on a shelf in my kitchen), but reasoned that I go through them quickly enough that it doesn’t matter. Which is…kind of true.

What’s right:

Nuts should be stored in air-tight containers that also block out moisture to keep the oils in the nuts from going rancid. Mason jars achieve this!

Nuts can very easily absorb odors from the surroundings, so they need to be stored in non-permeable containers. Plastic bags would not be good, but glass Mason jars certainly fit the bill.

What’s kind of right and kind of wrong:

The oils in nuts will go rancid more quickly if they are exposed to too much heat. Ideally, they should be refrigerated or frozen. At the least, you should try to keep them somewhere that is less than 70F. So while my jars of nuts are probably fine on the shelf for most of the year, they should probably be refrigerated during the hottest months of summer.

This one doesn’t seem to make a huge difference if you only keep a small quantity of nuts on hand. At room temperature, the nuts will be good for two to four months. Refrigerated or frozen, they’ll be good for a year or more. I think I definitely go through my stock in fewer than 8-16 weeks!

What’s wrong:

In addition to exposure to moisture and heat, too much light can also cause nuts to go bad. Nuts should be stored in a cool, dry and dark place. Sadly, my Mason jars don’t fulfill this need.

To sum it all up:

Store your nuts and seeds in air-tight, non-permeable containers such as glass jars. Keep the jars in a cool and dark place. Room temperature is fine if you plan to use the nuts within 2-4 months. If you’d like them to keep longer, refrigerate or freeze the jars.

Finally, I read many reports that unsalted nuts last longer than salted. However, I can’t seem to find a scientific study that backs this up or explains why it is the case. And it is driving me nuts (pun intended).

What food do you want to know how to store?

Previous “How to Store Food” posts:

• How to store muffins and quick breads

• How to store yeast breads

• How to store potatoes

For more food science posts, check out my Brain Food 101 page!

It is the season of greens, root vegetables and winter squash. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a great deal on potatoes at the Farmers’ Market or grocery store in the coming weeks. Mature potatoes (the kind you find in the fall) are well-known for their long shelf lives, making them ideal to keep on hand for soups, casseroles and baked potatoes.

In keeping with my “how to store XX food” trend, let’s discuss the best way to store potatoes.

Store potatoes

In the dark. Sunlight causes potatoes to take on a greenish color. Green potatoes not only taste bitter, but can also be toxic. So keep them in the dark, and cut off any green parts before you cook!

In a cool pantry, entryway, basement or garage. Ideally, potatoes should be kept between 45 and 50F. Refrigerator temperatures are usually lower than this, and these cooler temperatures make the starch break down into sugars. But if they are stored in too warm of an area (like room temperature), the potatoes will more quickly sprout and decay. So choose an area of your home that is cooler or less insulated to store your potatoes.

Unwashed. A thin layer of dirt actually helps protect the potatoes from bruising and therefore from decay.

In a humid but well-ventilated area. A humid environment will keep the potatoes from drying out and shrinking. Ventilation will allow the potatoes to “breath” and slow down decay. Studies at the University of Idaho have shown that plastic produce bags with holes in the sides are a great cheap and easy option. The bags allow just enough fresh air in while still preventing the potatoes from drying out. Do not use airtight containers.

Away from onions. Both potatoes and onions release gases in storage that causes the other to go bad.

What food do you want to know how to store?

Previous “How to Store Food” posts:

• How to store muffins and quick breads

• How to store yeast breads

For more food science posts, check out my Brain Food 101 page!

I love having a local bakery within walking distance. We pick up a fresh loaf of bread at the Ithaca Bakery at least once a week. We especially love their sourdough sandwich bread, which is funny because I always thought I didn’t like sourdough. Usually, we come home with a sourdough or whole wheat oatmeal sandwich loaf, but sometimes we mix it up (or they are completely out of sandwich bread) and bring home a French round or marble artisan loaf.

I don’t want to think about the number of times we’ve gone to use the last few slices, only to find them speckled with green and white mold. Sometimes, even a full 1/3 of the loaf ends up in the trash. That’s the one downside of buying fresh bread without preservatives… it just doesn’t last that long!

Let’s look at the different ways you can store your bread. I should note that this applies to yeast/sandwich breads. If you want information on storing your favorite quick breads or muffins, check out my “how to store muffins” post instead.

Refrigerating

Dan is {or used to be} a proponent of storing the bread in the refrigerator to make it last longer. While that does indeed slow down the growth of mold, it also increases the rate at which the bread stales.

To understand why this is, you need to understand what it means to say that bread “went stale.” Basically, when bread comes out of the oven, its starch molecules very slowly start to clump and crystallize, driving moisture to the outer crust of the bread. The bread loses its fluffy texture and becomes dry and hard.

Crystallized starch molecules = water pushed out = stale bread

When you refrigerate bread, you actually speed up the staling process. Refrigeration temperatures are the temperatures at which starch crystallizes the fastest, so you’re really sacrificing the texture of your bread.

Note: If you plan on toasting your bread when you use it, refrigerating it is probably fine. Heating the bread above 140F actually reverses much of the staling.

Freezing

If you freeze your bread, you completely halt the starch crystallization process. When you defrost your bread, the slices will still have that spongy crumb texture that you expect from bread.

Just be sure to wrap it tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap before freezing, and unwrap it before defrosting. Otherwise, the water from the melting ice crystals will get trapped on the surface of the bread, leaving you with soggy slices. Ew.

Plastic Bag, Room Temperature

This is where we used to go wrong in our bread storage. Our bread comes in a plastic bakery bag, and we would leave the uneaten pieces in there.

But as you may recall from the refrigeration section above, water gets pushed towards the crust of the bread as the bread stales. The bags are impervious to moisture, so the water has no way to evaporate. Instead, the water collects on the surface of the bread, providing perfect conditions for mold growth. Again, ew.

Paper Bag, Room Temperature

This is probably the best storage option for the first few days. Unlike plastic, paper allows the bread to “breath,” so the moisture can escape instead of providing mold breeding grounds. And, staling happens at a much slower rate at room temperature than it does at refrigeration temperature.

My suggestion, in summary?

For the first few days, store your bread in a paper bag. I’ve found that it stores better if I buy it uncut and slice it myself, but that is up to you! If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat it all before it goes stale, slice and freeze the bread, tightly wrapped in plastic. You’ll have no mold and no further staling! Just remember to think ahead and let it defrost {unwrapped!} for a few hours before you want to use it {though you can heat it up in the toaster in a pinch}.

For more food science posts, check out my Brain Food 101 page!

A few thoughts on mayo:

1. I used to hate mayonnaise. And then I liked it. And now I’m kind of ‘meh’ on it. (Store-bought mayo, that is).

2. Miracle Whip does not = mayonnaise. And I like that they have a commercial that admits that. And that said commercial also shows that some people love it and some people hate it. Seriously, how many companies will show people who think their product is gross on their ads?

3. I have officially confirmed that homemade mayonnaise is significantly better than store-bought mayonnaise.Or Miracle Whip.

4. Good news! Mayonnaise is not nearly as difficult to make as I expected. And I have tips for you to make it easier.

This is my Friday gift to you. Make some mayonnaise this weekend, and then make a chicken or tuna salad. Or spread it on a sandwich. Or something.

Mayonnaise tips:

1. Here’s the thing about mayonnaise. It is mainly a mixture of oil, eggs and lemon juice. And lemon juice and oil don’t really like to blend together…just like a vinaigrette that quickly separates after you shake it up.

The egg is an emulsifier, so it helps bring the oil and lemon juice together and prevents them from separating. It also makes for a smoother and creamier mayonnaise. In other words, egg = the key ingredient to bring the mayo together.

2. Mustard is also an emulsifier, so it not only adds flavor, but keeps the oil from separating out from the mayonnaise.

3. Typically, you want to use around 3/4 – 1 cup of oil per egg yolk, or 1 – 1 1/4 cup per whole egg. If you use much more than that, you’ll end up with a liquidy mess that is more like a vinaigrette or dressing than mayonnaise.

4. If you bring all the ingredients to room temperature before you begin making your mayonnaise, everything will come together much more easily.

5. You must add the oil slowly. If you add it too quickly or all at once, it won’t all emulsify into the mayonnaise, leaving you with a thick layer of oil on top of some egg yolk-lemon juice mixture. Eww.

6. You can make the mayonnaise by hand, without a blender or food processor, but know that it will be more difficult and take a lot more time. You’ve been warned!

Basil Mayonnaise

Think you don’t like mayo? Try this. I may never go back to store-bought mayo again…this is so much better! Adapted from The Joy of Cooking.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: none
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 large egg
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 packed cup basil, minced

In a blender or food processor, blend the egg, mustard, salt, sugar, chili powder and 1/4 cup of the olive oil until completely mixed.

With the blender or processor running on high, slowly add 1/2 cup of the olive oil. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, turn the blender/processor back on, and slowly add the lemon juice. Mix until blended, stopping to scrape down the sides. Continue processing and slowly stream in the last of the olive oil and blend until creamy and thick.

Transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl or storage container and fold in the mayonnaise.

To store, cover and refrigerate for up to three days.

For more Brain Food 101 post, click here!

And if there are any subjects you’d like me to explore, please let me know!

A few weeks ago, Kelly sent me an email asking,

“Why is it that when you put freshly baked muffins in an airtight container they get soft and almost mushy/sticky??”

As baked goods begin to stale, the moisture within them migrates to the surface. There’s really no way to keep this from happening, short of loading the muffins with preservatives. Which would defeat much of the purpose of baking from scratch.

If the migrating water has no place to evaporate or absorb, it will remain on the outer crust. Any coarse sugar on top will be dissolved, making the muffin even softer.

This is the main problem with simply placing the muffins in an airtight container. It traps the moisture in, making the muffin tops get soft and sticky.

But you don’t just want to know why it happens, do you? You want to know how to store your muffins so that they don’t dry out or get “mushy.”

I set up six storage systems with two mini muffins each, all from the same batch:

And observed the changes over the course of two days.

	After 24 hours	After 48 hours
Uncovered	Hard and dry, coarse sugar still visible on top	Hard and dry, coarse sugar still visible on top
On wire rack with dish towel	Retained much of texture and flavor, the second best out of all options	Slightly dry, coarse sugar still visible on top
Wrapped in plastic wrap	Soft top, slightly dry body	Mushy and sticky top, moist throughout
In an airtight container	Soft top, slightly dry body	Slightly mushy top, but body kept texture
In an airtight container with paper towels below the muffins	Soft top, slightly drier than plastic wrap or container with no paper towels	Slightly mushy top, but body kept texture
In an airtight container with paper towels above and below the muffins	Paper towels have absorbed some moisture, retained texture and flavor the best out of all options	Paper towels have absorbed a lot of moisture, coarse sugar not visible on top, but much of texture and flavor has been retained

Conclusion:

If you’re only trying to hold the muffins until breakfast the next morning, simply cover the muffins on a cooling rack with a clean, dry dish towel. Your muffins will still be full of flavor and moisture (but not too much moisture) the next morning, and the raw sugar sprinkles will still be pretty and crystalline.

If you’re traveling or storing the muffins for any longer than one day, line the bottom of a plastic container with paper towels. Line up your muffins, then top with another layer of paper towels before sealing with the lid. The paper towels will absorb the extra moisture, and your muffins will retain most of their texture and flavor.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve developed a bit of a love for homemade soft pretzels.

Problem is, they’re best fresh out of the oven.

Which means we either need to eat four pretzels within hours of baking, or deal with the more-chewy-inside-and-less-crispy-outside-day-old pretzels. And while I’d gladly eat four pretzels in a matter of hours, my waistline isn’t going to thank me for that.

So I set out to find the best way to freeze them. Which naturally called for another experiment!

The Set-Up:

I froze four (4) soft pretzels, all made from the same batch of dough and each in their own individual Ziploc bag. I used my homemade soft pretzel recipe.

Pretzel 1 was the raw, unboiled pretzel.

Pretzel 2 was baked for 5 minutes at 450F and completely cooled before freezing.

Pretzel 3 was baked for 10 minutes at 450F and completely cooled before freezing.

Pretzel 4 was baked completely (according to the recipe) and cooled before freezing.

I pulled them all out of the freezer today to bake.

Reheating:

To reheat the pretzels, I preheated our toaster oven to 450F. I know that in the future, when I want to bake up just one or two pretzels, I’m not going to want to heat up the whole oven…so toaster oven it is!

Each pretzel was baked on the cooking sheet that came with our toaster oven.

Pretzel 1 was baked at 450F for 15 minutes.

Pretzel 2 was baked for 10 minutes at 450F.

Pretzel 3 was baked for 5 minutes at 450F.

Pretzel 4 was baked for 5 minutes at 450F.

Results:

I originally planned to boil Pretzel 1 before I put it in the toaster oven. However, after seeing how smushed the pretzel was when I pulled it out of the freezer, I realized that freezing raw dough would not be the winning method, so I didn’t take the time to do the boiling.

Pretzel 1 was cooked all the way through and started to brown, but on the inside? It was more like a roll than a pretzel. Plus, the smashed shape just isn’t attractive, and there are spots on the surface where a crust didn’t form.

Pretzel 2 looked good when it came out of the toaster oven. Brown and crackled, just like it should be. But upon closer inspection, I realized that it was still very raw on the inside.

  

Pretzel 3 also looked good after baking. Just as brown and crackled as Pretzel 2, and mostly cooked through. The problem? It was still completely frozen in the center at its thickest point.

  

Pretzel 4 not only looked good on the outside, but cooked all the way through. I also noticed that it seemed to hold the salt the best.

The Verdict:

The winner? Pretzel 4, hands down. This kind of surprises me, as I expected the pretzels to be a lot like bread which does best when cooked about 80% of the way before freezing. But I guess pretzels are different enough that this doesn’t apply here!

So the next time you want to freeze some of your pretzels for future enjoyment, try this:

Follow the recipe as it is written. Allow to cool completely, then move them to airtight containers in the freezer.

When you’re ready to enjoy yet another soft pretzel, bake them at 450F for 5 minutes. Voila!

Previous soft pretzel posts, in case you missed them:

• Handmade soft pretzels
• Cinnamon sugar soft pretzels
• Brain Food 101: Why You Need to Boil Your Pretzels in Baking Soda

Welcome to Day 2 of Soft Pretzel Week! Thanks for all your post suggestions…I’ll be adding a step-by-step tutorial on making pretzels, along with a few more pretzel recipes, a savory dip and a sweet dip to this week’s line-up.

But first, some Brain Food for you all.

When I posted my traditional homemade pretzels, quite a few people asked me why I boiled the pretzels in baking soda + water before baking them. Was it really worth the extra time and effort, they asked?

My answer: a resounding YES. Definitely worth it!

I mean, just look at the differences:

The pretzel in the front wasn’t boiled in baking soda. See how flat and sadly pale it is?

This one was boiled before baking. Look how beautiful the dark crust is, complete with “crackling” on the surface!

The reasoning for this is really two-fold.

First, the boiling. Dropping each pretzel into boiling water for about 30 seconds makes the interior of the pretzel quickly “puff” and begins the crust formation. If you don’t boil, you’ll lose out on the chewiness you’d expect from a pretzel…and that would just be sad, now wouldn’t it?

The other reason it is worth it? The baking soda.

The baking soda is what gives the pretzels their brown and shiny crust and their distinctive flavor.

Remember the acid-base scale from back in your chemistry classes?

Well, water alone is typically pretty neutral. But when you add baking soda? It moves way over to the alkaline or basic side of the scale.

And when this happens, the browning reactions that makes a soft pretzel a soft pretzel can happen more rapidly.

So yes, you can skip the “boiling in water + baking soda” step. But beware: if you do, you’ll lose out on the texture, flavor and appearance of the pretzel. So it won’t really be a soft pretzel.

Boiled on the left, unboiled on the right.

Alternatively, you can dip the pretzels in lye before baking them. But that requires rubber gloves and safety goggles, so…. I choose baking soda.

Previous soft pretzel posts, in case you missed them:

• Handmade soft pretzels
• Cinnamon sugar soft pretzels

Have any suggestions for future Brain Food posts or themed weeks? I’d love your input here or at my Facebook page!

Materials:

Method:

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Results:

Conclusion:

     

This post is a part of Hot Chocolate Week. In case you missed the other posts in the series…

• Chai-Infused Marshmallows
• The Difference Between Hot Cocoa and Hot Chocolate
• How to Make the Perfect Hot Chocolate
• Salted Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate