A pear is ripe when the neck, the narrow part just below the stem, gives slightly under gentle thumb pressure, even if the wide body still feels firm. Pears ripen from the inside out, so waiting until the whole fruit is soft usually means the center has turned mealy. Firm pears need about 4 to 10 days at room temperature, depending on the variety.
Cooking Times
Substitutes
Kitchen Tools
Yes, if you bake. A cup of flour can weigh 120 to 160 grams depending on how you fill it, and a scale removes that guesswork. For most cooking, cups are fine.
Both are safe for raw chicken if cleaned right. Plastic goes in the dishwasher; wood is fine if scrubbed in hot soapy water, dried well, and kept smooth.
If you can buy only one kitchen knife, get an 8-inch chef's knife in stainless steel. It slices, dices, minces and smashes almost everything you cook.
Techniques
Measurements & ConversionsA cup of granulated sugar weighs about 198 grams, packed brown sugar about 213 grams and unsifted powdered sugar about 113 grams, per King Arthur Baking.
Picking Produce
Choose garlic and onions that feel firm and heavy, with tight, dry, papery skin and dry necks. Skip soft spots, mold, green sprouts and bulbs that smell sour.
Good quality shrimp are firm, translucent and nearly odorless, frozen hard with no frost, and list only shrimp (no STPP) as the ingredient, plus origin.
Quick Bites
Food Storage
