Category Archives: Tips & Tricks

Orange Peel Cleaner

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I don’t think about cleaning products very much. I mean, who does? I did my fair share of rebelling against my parents in my day, but I’m fairly certain that when it came time to set up my own apartment, I just went out and bought the same products I grew up with. No thought required. When they are empty, I replace them.

I like to think of myself as an environmentally conscientious person, but clearly, when it comes to cleaning products, I’m fairly oblivious. I know the products I am using most likely (OK, definitely) contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment, but I don’t think about it. I also know there are environmentally friendly alternatives out there, but when it comes time to purchase my refill I notice they are more expensive. I tell myself that I will purchase eco-friendly brands when I have more money (in much the same way that I avoid the organic foods aisle when buying fruits and vegetables). I tell myself that the products are probably less effective, or that my contribution won’t really make a difference.

Then two things happened at around the same time:
1) I noticed my dog licking my hand after using lemon-scented cleaner (cue light-bulb moment of, “those chemicals are all over the surfaces in my house and my dog licks everything. Those chemicals go down my drain and into the water. If I don’t want my dog ingesting those chemicals, why would I want other animals to ingest them?”)
2) I saw a post somewhere in internet land for homemade orange-peel cleaner. I thought to myself, “I eat oranges, I have vinegar…why not?”

How to Make Orange-Peel Cleaner

1. Fill a sealable container half-way with white vinegar.
2. Whenever you eat an orange, add the peel to the container. Make sure the outside of the orange is clean, and you are only using the peel (no pulp!), and cut it into wedges.
3. Continue adding peels to the vinegar, ensuring that they are fully submerged. Let the oranges sit in the vinegar 3-4 weeks after the last peels have been added. You can also mix it up and use other citrus fruits like lemons and limes.

4. After 3-4 weeks, strain the orange peels out over a bowl. You’ll notice two things: it smells delicious (not like vinegar at all), and it will be quite oily. This is a good thing. The orange-oil actually breaks down other oils, and this is what makes it such an effective cleaner (does anyone else remember their dad having orange cleaner in the garage?)

5. Once you have your orange-vinegar mixture, dilute it half and half with water and put it in a spray bottle. Voila! You now have a completely non-toxic, effective, and best of all FREE all-purpose household cleaner, oh, and second best of all, it smells AMAZING!

* I re-read the first paragraph and decided it might make my parents come across as earth-haters. No chance of that, my mom was the one who banned pre-packaged lunch products (no fruit roll-ups for me), shunned tin-foil, and taught me to wash and re-use zip-lock bags until they fall apart.

Kitchen Essentials (Continued)

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If my gluten-free cooking and baking experiments have taught me anything, it is the importance of a kitchen scale. I don’t have one, but I used one the other day at work, and if I wasn’t already convinced, I certainly am now.

You see, usually a measurement of flour is reasonably accurate using volume measurements. All purpose flour is all purpose flour. In gluten-free baking, one all purpose flour could be entirely different from another. There might not be any common ingredients, and the density will definitely be different. I have yet to come across a gluten-free recipe that didn’t require some amount of tweaking, either more liquid or more flour.

I have a feeling that measuring by weight will eliminate this problem.

And so, adding to my ever growing wishlist of kitchen essentials is, a digital kitchen scale.

Gluten: What is it? Where is it? How do I avoid it?

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OK, so most of us know that gluten is found in wheat products. This is true, but of course, it’s not the whole story.

Basically, gluten is a protein. It is formed by the combination of glutelin and gliadin, which are found in wheat and other related grains like barley and rye.

More and more people have been choosing to follow a gluten-free diet, as celiac disease, wheat allergy, and wheat intolerance are on the rise (it is estimated that 6% of the population suffers from some form of gluten intolerance). For some celiac sufferers even the most minimal gluten consumption could result in hospitalization.

Unfortunately, avoiding gluten isn’t quite as simple as cutting out wheat, barely and rye, which isn’t simple at all if you love rye bread as much as I do!

Because it is a thickening agent, gluten is included in many things like gravies, salad dressings, even some ketchup. Flour also prevents things from sticking together, so even things like packaged grated cheese might have wheat flour.

Bad Foods

Wheat – Flour, Bread, Cereal, Couscous, Spelt, Wheat Bran, Bulgur, etc.
Rye
Barley – Malt, Malt Vinegar (and any product that is made with malt vinegar, like some pickles, and apparently in Canada Worcestershire sauce)
Beer
Twizzlers
Smarties
Soy Sauce
Curry Powder – I looked at my label and my brand does not contain gluten, but apparently some do.
Mustard Powder
Blue Cheese – Some do, some don’t. Blue cheese is often made with lab-produced mold, instead of the original bread  mold.
Traditional Tabbouleh – I make mine without the wheat anyway…
Baking Powder – Check your label

*Clearly my list is not extensive, but I’m going with common sense here. If it is some sort of processed food with a list of ingredients the length of my arm…well I’m just going to assume it has gluten. I don’t usually eat those things anyway. In fact….I avoid those aisles at the grocery store. I am just trying to list things that I found surprising, or that seem like pretty basic “foods” to begin with.

As always, suggestions and corrections are appreciated!

Good Foods * Mostly just copied from www.free-from.com *

Cereals & Grains - rice, millet, maize, quinoa, tapioca, sago, buckwheat, teff and sorghum

Meat, Fish & Eggs – All good :)

Dairy – Gets the go ahead (for now). Just watch out for the grated cheese! Of course…read labels..who knows what’s lurking in your yogurt?

Flours – rice, corn, potato, maize, gram, soya, chickpea, sorghum, tapioca and chestnut flours are all OK

Fruits & Veggies – all naturally gluten-free

Fats – Butter, Oil & Lard are OK (gluten-wise), but check spreads.

Alcohol – Liquor, Wine & Cider are OK as are some Beers that specially made gluten-free (check here for a list)

Other – Nuts, seeds, and dried fruits are OK (check coatings though), spreads & preserves, spices & seasonings (check ready-made mixes though).

*Always read labels just in case*

 

Alright…off to buy some xanthan gum…

Baking Substitutions

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This will be a work in progress (hopefully forever), but here’s what I’ve got so far!

Eggs

Due to allergies and vegan diets, egg substitutions are actually quite common. I usually just run out of things, but whatever your reason these ideas will work for you!

While there are many possibilities, taking into consideration the function of the egg in the recipe will really help you make the right choice. In some recipes eggs are used to moisten and “glue” your recipe together (like cookies), while in others the eggs function as a leavening agent (like cakes).

Check out this post on the science behind the baking for more help figuring out what exactly your ingredient is doing to your recipe.,

Soft Tofu – 1/4 cup whipped tofu for each egg. Best for dense cakes, cookies, breads and brownies. Also the best substitute for “egg” based dishes such as quiche.

Flaxseed Powder – 1tsp flaxseed powder mixed with 1.4 cup water for each egg. Slightly nutty flavour, heavier and denser.

Buttermilk, Yogurt – If egg is used as a leavening agent, replace liquid with equal amount of buttermilk or yogurt. Best for cookies and bars.

Pureed Fruits – 1/4 cup for each egg. Best for cakes, breads and brownies. Need to increase leavening agent slightly and bake slightly longer.

Vinegar & Baking Soda – 1tsp baking soda and 1tbsp vinegar (if your egg is being used as a leavening agent). Best for cakes and cupcakes.

Commercial Egg Replacer – Products such as EnerG, follow instructions on the package. Works for all baked goods.

Oil, Water & Baking Soda –  2 tbsp water mixed with 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of baking powder.

Binding Agents – In savory recipes, if the egg is being used to bind things together you can substitute tomato paste, mashed potato, breadcrumbs, rolled oats, cornmeal, whole wheat flour…etc.

Agar Powder – For a replacement for just the egg white, mix 1 tbsp plain agar powder (available from health food stores/Chinese stores etc) with 1 tbsp water.

Butter

Once again, we have to ask “what is the butter doing?”. In many recipes, you have to cream butter to create air bubbles. Leavening agents such as baking soda and powder cannot make their own bubbles, but they will make the bubbles in the butter bigger, which causes rising.

If this is the case you can substitute shortening or margarine because of the similar consistency. You can usually also substitute oil if you also separate the eggs and beat the yolks with sugar and fold the egg whites in separately (of course this solution wont work if you are subbing eggs out as well!).

 

 

Science of Baking

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My attempt at summarizing the basics behind your favorite recipes.

Flour

Flours contain proteins (like glutenin and gliaden which, when water is added, bond to form gluten) which provide the structure for your baked goods. The higher the protein content of your flour the more rigid your structure. Cake and pastry flours have lower protein contents for a finer crumb, while bread flour has a higher protein content (and therefor more gluten) which will provide more structure and chewiness (great for breads and pizza dough).

Leavening Agents

Yeast feeds on sugars (from the starch of the flour) and as a bi-product it releases carbon dioxide. These bubbles of air cause the bread to rise.
Baking soda reacts with acids — citrus juice, buttermilk, molasses, honey, and chocolate are all acidic — to produce carbon dioxide, which in turn puffs the batter. Baking soda reacts as soon as it touches liquid, so it is important to make the batter right away.
Baking Powder reacts when it touches the liquid, and then again when it reacts to the heat of the oven.

Baking powder and soda will only make bubble that are already there larger. This is where whipping your butter, sugar and eggs together is really important. Make sure to use butter that is not too hard and not too liquid, or the bubbles will not form.

*Careful* If you add too much leavening agents your bubbles will all form together and your cake (or muffin…etc) will fall!

One teaspoon of baking powder (or just a quarter-teaspoon of baking soda) is enough to leaven one cup of flour.

Eggs

Egg whites work as leavening agents because the proteins puff up when heated. They also force moisture out.

Egg yolks, on the other hand, add moisture to baked goods (sounds like a perfect combo to me!)

Eggs also hind bind things together, as well as adding colour and flavour.

* Make sure to bring eggs to room temperature before mixing. Cold eggs will not combine correctly with butter and sugar.

Fats

Fats in butter and oil coat the proteins in flour to prevent them from bonding with water to form gluten. Oil coats these proteins better which makes your baking moister which is perfect for muffins.

Sugars and Milks 

Sugar obviously sweetens your baking, but it also keeps things moist and tender. Proteins in bread bond with sugar which prevents gluten from forming.

 

For more info (and likely a more “scientific” explanation) check out  How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science. This is no cake walk (I couldn’t resist), it’s basically a textbook about baking, but is definitely on my wishlist!