Reacts with acidic foods - (not usable for tomatoes, rhubarb)
Resists warping
Replace when damaged - risk of aluminum being absorbed into food
Withstands temperatures up to 580 degrees F
Use a Silicone mat to ensure safe use of aluminum pan
Are aluminum baking pans safe to use?
Aluminum baking pans are safe to use. When you use an aluminum baking pan, you could consume up to 1-2 mg of aluminum. This is a safe amount to consume. The WHO estimates 50 mg/day is acceptable for adults.
If aluminum pans become damaged with scratches or pits, this can cause more aluminum to leach out into your food. The longer your food comes in contact with the aluminum surface, the more aluminum will be absorbed into the food.
You can always use a silicone baking mat as a barrier between your baking pan and your food that you are cooking.
Avoid baking acidic foods on aluminum baking pans. Acidic foods like tomatoes and rhubarb can have a reaction to aluminum and cause the pan to break down, leaching more aluminum into your food.
Aluminum is the best metal at conducting heat over other baking sheets like stainless steel. They resist warping, and are extremely sturdy and durable. Aluminum baking pans conduct heat evenly throughout the pan. Aluminum is a light colored baking sheet; it doesn’t absorb heat like other metals, such as stainless steel. With a lighter colored pan, you can bake your food for a shorter amount of time than if you used a stainless steel pan. Aluminum baking sheets are used in high grade commercial bakeries around the globe.
How do you clean aluminum baking sheets?
To clean your aluminum baking sheets, soak them with soap and water and wash with a cloth until clean. Allow the pan to air dry completely before storage. Do not wash aluminum baking sheets in the dishwasher as this can cause them to oxidize and break down.
Heavy duty – will not split, even with thick mixtures
Surface prevents slipping and folding over. Maintains its upright shape
Fits both tips and couplers
Dispenser for easy access
45 degree angle – ideal for piping decorations
Sizes = 12’’, 18’’, 21’’
Disposable bags, no risk of contamination with washing reusable bags
How do you choose the size of a piping bag?
Select your piping bag based on how large your recipe is. There are 12″-21″ piping bag sizes.
Usually for icing a dozen cupcakes you can go with the 12″ bags.
For macarons, you should be using a 21″ sized piping bag. This gives lots of room for twisting the bag and control with your fingers to pipe the macarons effectively.
How do you fill a piping bag without making a mess?
Get a tall, wide glass and set it out with plenty of room around it.
Place the piping tip into the bag.
Twist the end of the tip and a few inches of bag and tuck it into the glass. This is to make sure the mixture does not go to the end of the tip yet.
Fold the edges of the bag over the glass.
Fill the piping bag.
Twist the piping bag to seal it closed.
Take the piping bag out of the glass and hold it sideways.
Cut the piping bag roughly in the middle of the metal tip so that the tips edges have no bag around it.
Pipe the first bit of batter out to get any air out.
Pipe your mixture.
Should frosting be cold before piping?
Frosting should be room temperature when piping. This will make it more malleable and able to be manipulated easier than if it was cold.
How do you get air bubbles out of a piping bag?
run your fingers up the sides of the bag where the air bubbles are
twist the bag until almost closed
run your fingers up the sides again to remove the air bubbles
pipe the first couple centimetres of your mixture onto a plate to make sure all the air bubbles have been removed
How do you seal a piping bag?
Twist the top of the piping bag to seal the piping bag.
Can you use a piping bag with store bought frosting
Yes. You can use a piping bag with store bought frosting. Store bought frosting is usually quite dense and thick, so pick a piping bag that is strong and durable enough that won’t break.
rough exterior for easy gripping and piping – no-slip material
smooth inner surface for icing to glide out of
environmentally friendly
use warm or cold mixtures in them
They are not dishwasher safe. You have to clean them by hand, which can be quite time consuming.
What can you use instead of a piping bag
Instead of a piping bag, you can use a resealable plastic bag for piping. Cut the tip of the bag small-large hole depending on how thick you want your icing to come out. Sometimes resealable bags are more difficult to keep closed and the icing can spill out the top of them.
How do you use a piping bag with a ziplock bag
Place ziplock bag at an angle in a glass.
Fold the edges of the bag over the glass
Fill the ziplock bag with your mixture to pipe.
Close the ziplock bag, make sure to try to get all of the air out of it.
Take the bag out of the glass and hold it horizontally.
Cut the tip small – large depending on how thick you want the icing to come out.
The batter is very thick, and there is a ton of batter. You don’t want to over-mix the batter when you are placing it into the bag.
Placing the macaron batter into the bag only once will give it the best chance of turning out. You don’t want to be refilling the bag as this may cause the macarons not to turn out from over-mixing.
How to Pipe Macarons
Get a tall, wide glass and set it out with plenty of room around it.
Place a 1/2″ piping tip into the bag.
Twist the end of the tip and a few inches of bag and tuck it into the glass. This is to make sure the mixture does not go to the end of the tip yet.
Fold the edges of the bag over the glass.
Fill the piping bag with macaron batter.
Twist the piping bag to seal it closed.
Take the piping bag out of the glass and hold it sideways.
Cut the piping bag roughly in the middle of the metal tip so that the tips edges have no bag around it.
Pipe the first bit of batter out to get any air out.
Pipe the macarons onto a 1.5″ template. Pipe the macarons by holding the top of the bag and squeezing the batter with your fingers that are holding the seal at the top of the bag. Pipe holding the bag straight up. When you’re wanting to move on to the next macaron, make a U to smear the tip on the top of the macaron. This will create less peaks and valleys for you to bang out later. Leave a few inches before piping the next macaron. Add any sprinkles or cookie crumbs. Then, let them sit for 30 min before baking.
Place flour, baking powder/baking soda, salt, sugar into your recipe. Mix well.
Add butter/shortening.
Cut the butter using your pastry blender. When you cut the butter move your wrist to make a ¼ turn at the end to mix it into your flour.
Cut your butter with your pastry blender until the butter looks about ½ cm pieces aka coarse crumbs. The butter will all be covered in your flour mixture.
what coarse crumbs looks like after using a pastry blender
How do you cut butter in a recipe?
Make sure your butter is cold, right out of the refrigerator.
Cut your butter into your flour mixture by pressing your pastry blender into the butter, cutting right through to the bottom of the butter. If it’s too hard, just try cutting smaller pieces off of the top until it’s a bit easier to work with.
Once it’s a bit more worked in, cut your pastry blender into your flour with a ¼ turn at the end to completely mix it into your flour mixture.
Cut all of the butter with your pastry blender until your butter is in small pieces ~½ cm.
How do you clean a pastry blender?
Rinse the pastry blender with a bit of water, or soak in some soap and water. Once the majority of your butter/flour is off of the pastry blender, place it on the top rack of your dishwasher to fully clean it.
Is a pastry blender necessary?
Yes. Using a pastry blender is one of the hand tools recommended for making pastry. Making pastry is already difficult enough, especially without the right tools.
Coconut ice cream is just about as rich and creamy as regular ice cream. Usually regular ice cream is made by tempering egg yolks, heavy cream and half and half.
Coconut milk ice cream doesn’t require any of that. It’s just as tasty and rich, with much less work.
When making coconut milk ice cream, you can pretty much add any extra flavoring you like:
lavender buds (cooking with coconut milk, then strain afterwards. Add food coloring if desired)
earl grey tea (steep for 3-4 min)
rose petals (cooking with coconut milk, then strain afterwards. Add food coloring if desired)
basil (cooking with coconut milk, then blend in a food processor afterwards. Add food coloring if desired)
espresso (add coffee into the coconut cream mixture when heating + 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extra when cooling to room temperature)
vanilla (add vanilla extract into the coconut cream mixture when it’s cooling at room temperature, before refrigerating)
raspberry/blackberry (add berries at the end, when the ice cream mixture is churning in the ice cream maker, or blend berries with coconut cream in a food processor)
chocolate (add 1/4 cup cocoa powder per 1 coconut milk can + 1/4 cup sugar/honey + 1 tsp vanilla extract)
caramel (add caramel when it’s churning to marble the caramel throughout the ice cream)
mint chocolate chip (2 tsp peppermint extract + 1/2 cup honey + 1 tsp vanilla extract [when cooling], add 3 ounces of shaved [use a potato peeler] dark chocolate when it’s churning the ice cream)
Does coconut milk taste coconuty
When you’re adding flavors to it – no. The flavor you’re adding to it will overpower the coconut taste. If you’re not adding any flavors, yes it will taste like coconut. But it’s a fairly neutral flavor that will not be too strong of a flavor
Is coconut milk ice cream dairy free
yes and it’s vegan!
What type of coconut milk should I use for ice cream
Use full fat coconut milk so it’s rich and creamy texture and smoothness comes through
What types of sweetener can you use with coconut milk ice cream
honey
sugar
maple syrup
How to make coconut ice cream
Freeze ice cream bowl for minimum 24 hours
Measure out your coconut milk (usually 1 or 2 cans) and add it to your medium saucepan over low-medium heat.
Add sugar/sweetner to your coconut milk.
Add tea/lavender/herbs/coffee to mixture. Cook on medium heat until mixture coats the back of a spoon (8-10 min).
Remove from heat. Add extracts once your mixture has started to cool down.
Add berries and puree with food processor (be careful not to keep it closed in due to the steam).
Chill the mixture for minimum 6 hours.
Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker for 15-20 min. (Add berries/caramel towards the end of the churning process)
Freeze mixture for 3-12 hours before serving in an airtight container.
Thaw for 10 min at room temperature before serving.
No need to worry about pouring hot pasta water into the sink. It will not burn the surface or change it in any way. The color will hold up and the surface left unchanged.
Heat resistant up to 536° F
What are silgranit sinks made of
They are made with acrylic, pigments (color), and granite.
How to clean a blanco silgranit sink
Use a little baking soda and water with a cloth and wipe clean
When cleaning your sink, usually just rinsing it down with water will do the trick.
Baking soda and water is only for more of a deep cleaning routine.
We purchased anAnthracite Blanco silgranit sink for our kitchen renovation. We’ve had our Blanco black granite sink for over a year already and we absolutely love it.
Our sink is in pristine condition, and still does not have a single scratch or dent in it even after a year of use.
Blanco silgranit sinks are the best choice for your new kitchen if you’re looking for more or a variety of colors and styles. Blanco silgranit sinks are budget friendly, and will last you the life of your kitchen.
Why choose a Kraus Granite sink
Kraus granite sinks are one of the top of the line sinks on the market. If you want a luxurious sink handcrafted in Italy for your new kitchen, a Kraus granite sink is the way to go.
It comes with a lifetime warranty so you can be sure of it’s strength, and resilience over the lifetime of your kitchen.
UV protection to keep the color strong after being subjected to sunlight
resists stains and scratches
absorbs sound- making it much more quiet
holds up to extreme temperature changes
Kraus granite sinks have a higher heat resistance temperature than Blanco Silgranit.
Heat resistant up to 650° F
What are Kraus granite sinks made of
granite and ceramic nanoparticles
Some of the Kraus granite sinks have a ledge on the outside ring of the sink. The ledge holds a custom cutting board for your prepping needs! This saves you some of your precious counter space.
The drain is positioned in a way that completely drains the sink dry. Their sinks are made of a non-porous material which makes them easy to wipe clean!
Kraus granite sinks are the top of the line sinks when it comes to reliability and strength for your new kitchen. Although, there aren’t as many different sinks to choose from or as many colors as Blanco.
However, Kraus withstands higher heat temperatures than Blanco Silgranit sinks. Kraus has taken functionality to heart with its added cutting board capabilities to most of their granite sinks.
Depending on your needs for your new kitchen, if you can find a size and color of sink you like, Kraus is the best way to go. If you’re looking for a different color and more of a variety with styles, you’re best to go with Blanco.
I started making caramel for an Almond Roca recipe years ago. But, it never quite came out how I wanted it to. It was delicious, but it was just too soft. The consistency wasn’t quite right.
This year, I decided I was going to try out using my new candy thermometer for my caramel sauce to make my almond roca recipe. Maybe they would actually turn out!
I asked my husband to purchase the best candy thermometer for caramel for me.
When I went to use it, I realized that the bulb didn’t go all the way to the bottom of the pot. But of course, you don’t actually want the bulb to be touching the bottom of the pan. This can cause the bulb to shatter.
So the OXO thermometer he got me, sits a few centimeters above the pot using the adjustable clip.
When I was making my caramel sauce the bulb was above the level of liquid in the sauce pan so I wasn’t sure how it was going to work.
I started mixing my ingredients, and then I realized that I could just stir the pot and push the caramel sauce over the bulb so I could get an accurate measurement of the temperature.
Therefore, even though it’s large, it’s the best candy thermometer for small batches.
When I was done making my caramel sauce I watched the Mercury come to an even 300 degrees Farenheight and I poured the caramel sauce into the baking pan. I added the chopped up almonds to it, and then I spread the melted chocolate over the caramel and sprinkled the rest of the chopped almonds to the topping and let it cool.
Finally, I had made the most incredible Almond Roca. I had no idea that I really needed a candy thermometer to make the Almond Roca that I’ve been dreaming about for years. I always purchased my almond roca at local Christmas markets because it’s my absolute favourite!! Now, I can officially make as much as I want to at home!
I’m an avid baker, and I have tried making macarons, but they never turned out the way I had seen them in pastry shops.
When I took a class making macarons in Vancouver they showed me that when making the sugar sauce for the Italian meringue, it needs to be an even 115 degree Celsius.
I decided to try out the candy thermometer again. I always had issues making macarons in the past, but I was using the French style recipe. By using the Italian style recipe, the meringue is much more stable so it’s easier to get them to turn out how you like.
I started making the sugar sauce and I watched the Mercury climb up to an even 115 degrees Celsius. I poured the sugar sauce down the side of the metal mixing bowl with my egg whites. I folded the meringue into the almond mixture and finished off making my macarons, patiently waiting to see how they would turn out. I wondered if this was really going to make the difference between them actually turning out. I put them in the oven and baked them for 12 minutes.
I pulled them out of the oven when they were finished, and there it was, my first batch of perfect macarons. I was so proud. I was so grateful to have my new candy thermometer.
This candy thermometer has been so easy to use, it handles high temperatures up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
It has stages on the thermometer of hard-crack, giving you an idea of how hard you want your candy to be.
I prefer this candy thermometer over a digital one because there is no battery to change, no risk of the display becoming black at high temperatures, and I find it just as easy to read the temperature.
When we were reading up about candy thermometers I thought for sure a digital thermometer would be the easiest.
I started reading up on the CDN digital candy thermometer
You can easily program it to an exact degree. It will alarm at specific points during the key temperature stages when making candy.
It’s approximately 8 1/4″ tall, much smaller than the OXO Candy Thermometer.
However, most people who have used this thermometer find that it doesn’t last very long. Some people have said that it only lasted them 3-30 uses, and then it just stops working. The screen will go black when it’s used at high temperatures. The clip for the gauge can break off and then you have to hold the thermometer by hand to take the temperature of your candy.
It doesn’t seem like digital thermometers have come very far in terms of longevity, or durability.
The tried and true older style thermometers are a better bet for your candy making needs long term. They are easy to clean, simple to use, and give accurate readings.
Bread maker pizza pretzels are lathered in pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, and then baked in the oven until the cheese begins to bubble.
Bread machines can do much more than just bake loaves of bread.
You can use you bread machine to make pretzel bread dough, and then top your pretzels how you like them.
If you’re making regular pretzels, give them an egg wash with a bit of salt before baking them.
For our bread machine pretzel bread we’ll be making pizza pretzels.
Pizza pretzels are topped with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yum! You can also add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to the top of them as well if desired.
The key to making a delicious pizza pretzel is making sure to completely cover the pretzel in pizza sauce.
Cover the pizza pretzel right until the very edges of the pretzel, even let some of the sauce seep on to the parchment paper lined pan.
The pizza sauce helps retain the moisture of the pretzel, ensuring they are tasty, and not dry.
How to use your bread maker to make pizza pretzel dough. Bake your pizza pretzels in the oven with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Active Time15 minutesmins
Bread Maker Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Course: Snack
Keyword: pretzel
Yield: 8Pretzels
Equipment
bread maker
Oven
Materials
2cupsbread flour
1 1/2tspactive dry yeast
1/4tspsalt
1/2tspsugar
7/8cupwater
Topping
1/3cuppizza sauce
1/2cupmozzarella cheesegrated
Instructions
Pour water into bread pan.
Place flour into bread pan covering all the water.
Add salt and sugar to bread pan.
Make a well in the center of the flour and put yeast into the well.
Select dough setting on bread machine.
Once dough is finished, preheat oven to 450˚F.
Separate dough into 8 even pieces.
Roll each dough into a long rope shape ~6” long.
Twist each dough into a knot shape. Place knots onto a baking sheet.
Brush each knot with pizza sauce. Cover the entire knot in pizza sauce, bringing the sauce right down to the bottom of each knot. If you don’t fully cover the knot this will result in a dry pizza pretzel.
Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese onto each knot.
Bake at 450˚F for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Blanco Silgranit sinks are known for being sleek, stylish, and classy. Your kitchen sink is going to be one of the drawing points in your new kitchen.
You want to be sure you’re picking our a quality sink that is going to last you for years to come.
So how do they measure up?
The Blanco Silgranit sink has a non-porous surface which is anti-bacterial. Food will not be absorbed into the material and begin to smell. You can leave dishes to sit in the sink safely and do them at your leisure without worrying about if you’re damaging your sink.
The surface of the sink prevents pots and pans from clanging. You can be assured that this sink won’t be too loud from dropping things in the sink.
Do Blanco sinks chip
Blanco sinks are durable and can withstand having sharp objects dropped in them. They resist chipping, but it can happen over time.
Do Blanco Silgranit sinks stain
The Blanco Silgranit sink is resistant to stains.
Do Blanco sinks scratch
The Blanco Silgranit sink is resistant to scratches.
Blanco Silgranit Sink Colors
Blanco offers a diverse array of colors for granite sinks when compared to other top sink brands.
Café
White
Truffle
Metallic gray
Concrete gray
Biscuit
Cinder
Anthracite
When we were renovating our kitchen we went through a lot of research and took the time to figure out which brands are the most durable, and which ones are going to last us a long time.
Our cabinets and counter-tops gave our kitchen a modern look to it. There’s a luxurious feel to it when you walk in the room. The sink we selected had to match this. Therefore, we wanted to go with a higher quality sink.
One thing I noticed when I came across in my research was that some sinks can crack when high temperature foods are poured into the sink like pouring hot water after making pasta.
The Blanco Silgranit sink is heat resistant up to 536° F.
After visiting a few different stores and feeling the quality of each granite sink I could see that Blanco was the best choice for us.
It took me by surprise how beautiful and modern the sink looked in person.
Types of Blanco Silgranit Sinks
Blancohas a huge selection of different types of sinks:
farmhouse
sinks with drainboards built in
cascading divide in the sink
long sinks for your custom kitchen needs
laundry room sinks
low divide sinks
round sinks
smaller sinks for a petite kitchen
double bowl sinks
bar sinks
We decided on the Blanco Silgranit single bowl kitchen sink in Anthracite.
I love the look of the single bowl sinks that are undermounted. The sink and counter-top have clean lines which looks more aesthetically pleasing on the eye. Not only that, I can clean the counter and push all the food scraps into the sink when cleaning up after a meal making it easy to clean the counter.
How deep is the Blanco Silgranit sink?
Bowl depth: 8 5⁄8”
Since the bowl is so much deeper than I was used to, I didn’t realize how many dishes I was going to be able to soak in the sink.
I can soak some dishes while I’m washing other ones at the same time! This makes clean up much quicker than I anticipated.
We haven’t had a dishwasher in about 5 weeks so this was a game-changer for me!!
Another benefit to having such a deep sink…. You can place a few dirty dishes in the sink to be cleaned later and you don’t see them. I can be at my stove cooking away and I don’t see any dishes in my sink, making me feel more calm and relaxed since they are out of sight and out of mind.
One of my favourite things to do in my spare time is making baked goods. I decided to try my hand at making macarons after taking a class locally to see how I would do at making them.
After I was done making macarons about 4 hours later I was cleaning the baking pan and I put it right into the sink. What shocked me is the whole pan fit into the sink and I still had room for other dishes as well. I was able to clean the pan and rinse it off so easily that it seems like doing dishes takes a lot less time for me now.
I never thought that getting a new sink would allow me to do dishes in less time but here we are.
When I drained the sink for the first time I noticed was that it drains the sink completely dry. There isn’t a pool of water waiting at the bottom of the sink. It self cleans by draining itself dry so you can leave the sink perfectly clean when you’re finished with it.
With having new pipe under our sink, it can be drained in about 8 seconds depending on how deep you fill it.
When you do your kitchen renovation you want everything to be perfect, you want everything to go well, and you want to know that you made the right choice.
One thing I know for sure, is I know I made the right choice picking the Blanco Silgranit sink. It fits so well into our modern kitchen and I can’t imagine picking another one.
It’s just perfect for our life.
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