Boiling Water

Q: What is the difference between blanching and parboiling?A: There's very small difference really. Blanching refers to the process of quickly dipping an item into boiling water and then quickly chilling it by then plunging it into ice water. It's a method used to make skins easier to remove, to reduce strong odors or to set the color of vegetables. Parboiling includes the quick boiling part, but not the chilling part. Parboiling is usually used to precook an item which will then be cooked another way such as braising, grilling or stir-frying.

MOSCOW -- Summer in Moscow: the season to crowd into flower-filled parks and public squares to soak up every minute of cherished daylight, under the gaze of statues of Russian poets and generals. The season to reveal the pale skin of arms, legs and - when men unbutton their shirts - bellies long hidden under winter clothes. Also, the season to take ice-cold showers. Not, mind you, by choice. Moscow is about two-thirds of the way through its hot water shut-off, an annual annoyance that leaves millions of Russians without the modern convenience of a hot shower for weeks at a time.

To peel fresh tomatoes, first remove the core, using a paring knife.Make an X-shaped cut on the bottom, opposite the stem end.Using a wire basket or slotted metal spoon, lower tomatoes into boiling water to cover for 15 seconds.Remove, drain and immerse in ice water for 5 to 10 seconds.Use a paring knife to pull off skins.-- "Cole's Cooking A to Z"

WHETHER YOU are rich or poor, young or old, wired or wireless, your trash stinks. It is part of the cycle of life. After expiration comes redolent decomposition, especially in August. Anyone caught downwind of a fragrant sanitation truck recognizes this aroma as part of a Maryland summer. Proust had cookies to link him to memories of his past, we have the bouquet of spent crabs and other leavings from the summer table. Part of our civic duty, our contribution to the commonwealth, is to donate waste, sometimes twice a week, to the municipal scrap heap.

An easy way to bag dinnerI had good luck using Reynolds Hot Bags, the new heavy-duty foil bags, for this recipe.Southwestern Chicken and Corn Dinner1 tablespoon flour9 skinless, bone-in chicken pieces4 teaspoons Mexican seasoning3 ears corn, cut in pieces2 bell peppers, cubed1 onion, cut in eighthsPut ingredients in foil bag. Close tightly and grill, covered, for 30 minutes.It's good and easy, and there's almost no cleanup. The only negative: You don't get much smoky flavor when you use a foil bag.Boiling water to the rescueNow that it's strawberry season, here's an old-fashioned remedy for berry stains on tablecloths, napkins or clothing that works amazingly well.

I love your articles. and I hope you can answer my question. How do you prep zucchini to freeze it? Don't tell me that you are already tired of eating zucchini for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I'll bet you haven't even made a dent in your zucchini stockpile. Well, lucky for you and your family, zucchini is easy to freeze. First, choose very fresh, young zucchini that are at peak ripeness. Then wash them well in cold water to remove any dirt or bacteria. To get them ready to freeze, cut the ends off and slice the zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds.

THERE IS MORE THAN one way to skin bell peppers. You can dunk them in boiling water. You can roast them over a charcoal fire. You can bake them in the oven. Or you can attack them with a vegetable peeler.All these methods of loosening the outer skin require some work. Back-sliders may be tempted to skip the peeling stage, and drop the peppers in a food processor to let the machine do all the work.This would be easy but wrong. And like so many easy-but-wrong solutions to life's problems, I tried it. I am here to tell you that if you don't peel your peppers, the paste that you make out of them will be bitter.

The Year of the Monkey, 4690 in the Chinese lunar calendar, begins this Tuesday. People call it the Spring Festival, a time when houses are swept clean, debts paid, quarrels forgotten, ancestors honored, feasts prepared and the kitchen god propitiated with a sweet offering so he will give a good report of the family when he visits heaven.Meals are especially varied in Taiwan, where the food reflects the Asian island's population -- a cross-section of every province on the Chinese mainland.

Q: I love little pearl onions. The fresh white and red varieties look so tempting, but how do I peel them without spendinghours?A: The best way to remove the skins from all those tiny onions is to dip them first, very briefly, into a pot of boiling water. While the water is heating, score an X through the root portion of each onion. Drop them into the water for 30 seconds and then drain. The skins will pop off when you give the onion a squeeze, then cut off the root end. Cook as desired.Q: At the end of the summer I have an abundance of corn on the cob that I would like to freeze.

Want to start an instant culinary debate? Just mention lentils to chefs of different ethnic backgrounds. Lentils, nutritious and inexpensive little disk-shaped legumes with a somewhat neutral taste, are the basis of a vast array of international dishes. From Turkey to India, France to California -- lentils have top billing in soups, salads, loaves, patties and pilafs. The possibilities seem endless.Lentilmania is nothing new. In fact, many food historians trace its culinary roots back 8,000 years to the Middle East.

I love your articles. and I hope you can answer my question. How do you prep zucchini to freeze it? Don't tell me that you are already tired of eating zucchini for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I'll bet you haven't even made a dent in your zucchini stockpile. Well, lucky for you and your family, zucchini is easy to freeze. First, choose very fresh, young zucchini that are at peak ripeness. Then wash them well in cold water to remove any dirt or bacteria. To get them ready to freeze, cut the ends off and slice the zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds.

You're the envy of your family and friends. You're the highlight of the bake sales, the toast of the parties, a whiz in the kitchen. Or perhaps not. Maybe you're the kind who lives on microwavable foods, can't make a hard-boiled egg and wouldn't know a garlic press from a lemon zester. Perhaps your offering at the company potluck is always the plastic spoons and forks. No matter who you are, a cooking class might be the perfect ingredient to a more fulfilled you in the kitchen. Whether you want to improve your techniques, experiment with exotic new recipes or simply learn the basics, there's a cooking class for you. A Cook's Table, a Baltimore gourmet retail store, offers year-round classes ranging from beginning cooking to classes on fondue and Thai recipes.

What could possibly be involved in simply hard-cooking a couple of innocent eggs? Well, should they be started in tap water or boiling water? How long should they cook? How can you prevent that yucky green on the surface of the yolk? How can you cook them so that they will peel smoothly and not leave you with pitiful, pitted whites? How can you get the yolk in the center and not off to one side? Oh, dear! There's more to this simple egg than meets the eye. Egg experts use the term hard-cook instead of hard-boil to indicate that eggs should not be boiled.

To peel fresh tomatoes, first remove the core, using a paring knife.Make an X-shaped cut on the bottom, opposite the stem end.Using a wire basket or slotted metal spoon, lower tomatoes into boiling water to cover for 15 seconds.Remove, drain and immerse in ice water for 5 to 10 seconds.Use a paring knife to pull off skins.-- "Cole's Cooking A to Z"

An easy way to bag dinnerI had good luck using Reynolds Hot Bags, the new heavy-duty foil bags, for this recipe.Southwestern Chicken and Corn Dinner1 tablespoon flour9 skinless, bone-in chicken pieces4 teaspoons Mexican seasoning3 ears corn, cut in pieces2 bell peppers, cubed1 onion, cut in eighthsPut ingredients in foil bag. Close tightly and grill, covered, for 30 minutes.It's good and easy, and there's almost no cleanup. The only negative: You don't get much smoky flavor when you use a foil bag.Boiling water to the rescueNow that it's strawberry season, here's an old-fashioned remedy for berry stains on tablecloths, napkins or clothing that works amazingly well.

THERE IS MORE THAN one way to skin bell peppers. You can dunk them in boiling water. You can roast them over a charcoal fire. You can bake them in the oven. Or you can attack them with a vegetable peeler.All these methods of loosening the outer skin require some work. Back-sliders may be tempted to skip the peeling stage, and drop the peppers in a food processor to let the machine do all the work.This would be easy but wrong. And like so many easy-but-wrong solutions to life's problems, I tried it. I am here to tell you that if you don't peel your peppers, the paste that you make out of them will be bitter.

What could possibly be involved in simply hard-cooking a couple of innocent eggs? Well, should they be started in tap water or boiling water? How long should they cook? How can you prevent that yucky green on the surface of the yolk? How can you cook them so that they will peel smoothly and not leave you with pitiful, pitted whites? How can you get the yolk in the center and not off to one side? Oh, dear! There's more to this simple egg than meets the eye. Egg experts use the term hard-cook instead of hard-boil to indicate that eggs should not be boiled.

MOSCOW -- Summer in Moscow: the season to crowd into flower-filled parks and public squares to soak up every minute of cherished daylight, under the gaze of statues of Russian poets and generals. The season to reveal the pale skin of arms, legs and - when men unbutton their shirts - bellies long hidden under winter clothes. Also, the season to take ice-cold showers. Not, mind you, by choice. Moscow is about two-thirds of the way through its hot water shut-off, an annual annoyance that leaves millions of Russians without the modern convenience of a hot shower for weeks at a time.

Home brewers are a cult-ish crew.They have a high priest, Charlie Papazian of Boulder, Colo., the guru of home-brew.They have a manifesto, Papazian's "The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing."Their common enemy is bacteria. Their quest is brewing perfection.And, of course, they have a motto: "Relax. Don't worry. Have a home-brew."Home brewers are beer connoisseurs who live to mix concoctions of hops, malted barley and yeast."It's pretty easy to brew good beer. It's very difficult to brew very good beer," said Larry Wilt, president of the Cross Street Irregulars, a group of home brewers that meets once a month at Sisson's brew pub in Federal Hill.

To fulfill a Jewish tradition that dates to Biblical times, Leon and Judy Malnik pose a question for the '90s: What do you do with a microwave that has cooked both milk and meat?The rabbi's answer: Get rid of it.As the Malniks go through the elaborate process of making their 6-year-old Clarksville kitchen kosher for the first time, that seems to be the answer to many questions.The everyday dishes? Gone.The oyster plates? Not kosher -- and neither are shellfish.Even the clay and porcelain bowls bought over the years have become little more than an expensive collection of candy dishes and flower pots.