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Q: Is it possible to cook merigues in a microwave/convection oven? -Dina, Mumbai, India

A: Hi Dina. The BBC's food site has complete instructions for microwave meringues. As for making meringues in a convection oven, Beatrice Ojakangas, author of Cooking with Convection: Everything You Need to Know to Get the Most from Your Convection Oven recommends setting the oven very low, so that they dry out slowly. If your oven’s air currents are too strong, the meringues can lose their shape. -CF

Q: I recently visited France with my husband and we decided to go wine tasting. We discovered a great vineyard, which is apparently very famous, called Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. I thought I'd pass on the info for other wine and champagne lovers. -Sara L.

A: Hi Sara. Thanks for the tip! CF readers might also want to check out the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Visits webpage, which includes information on tours of their “ancient Gallo-Roman chalk cellars” in Reims, France. TripAdvisor.com contributors also highly recommend VCP’s tours, though they advise calling ahead for reservations to avoid disappointment because tour groups are very limited in size. -CF

Hi. I read Zack's problem regarding baking with whole grains, and I would like to give him some suggestions as I do baking with whole grains myself. Adding whole grains, wheat germ, cracked wheat, flax meal and oats in large amounts will DILUTE the gluten in your dough. This is the reason that your bread deflates once it cools. Using half the amount of such whole grains may not work unless you use a very high protein flour (something from 11.4-11.6 %), which you can get from King Arthur Flour. Whole grains do not have GLUTEN and to replace your flour with these ingredients will automatically have an effect in the texture and the rising of the dough—that's why baking companies use gluten in powder form to correct this. I suggest that you use a maximum of 40% cracked wheat or whole wheat etc., then add the rest as a filling or topping to avoid diluting the dough's gluten. Mix your dough without the whole grains first, develop the gluten, then add the whole grains last. If possible, fold in the rest of the whole grains to create a softer crumb. Log on to http://breadmaking.
googlepages.com for more tips. Good luck from the Philippines! -Sher, Philippines

Thanks for this, Sher! Another good source for baking with whole grains is King Arthur Flour’s newest book, King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains. -CF

Q: How can you tell whether a fresh pear, or other fruit, is going to be O.K. inside?  We buy fabulous-looking pears from good produce markets, with a nice blush on them, a pleasing aroma, no marks from worm-entry, and firm enough, but not too much. Too often they turn out to be brown and inedible inside, or of a cotton-wood consistency, with no pleasing crunch.  So disappointing and such a waste of money! -Shirley, Berkeley, CA

A: Hi Shirley. At one time or another, most of us have had that sense of produce letdown you so aptly describe. Since the rules for choosing and ripening fruit depend on the type of fruit, let’s just take a look at pears for now. According to the Pear Bureau, unlike other fruit, pears ripen best off the tree, so they’re shipped to your local store unripe. They ripen at home, after you buy them. They don’t change much in color as they ripen, so you don’t have the visual cues that you might have with some other fruit. So how do you know when a pear is ready to eat? The Pear Bureau suggests gently pressing the top end, right around the stem. If it gives to gentle pressure, it should be ready. At the risk of irking produce personnel, try this in the store before purchasing your pears. If there’s any softness, don’t buy!

The Pear Bureau website is loaded with information about buying, storing, cooking and eating pears, and you can get similar information on other commodities by visiting their websites.CF’s Commodity Groups links page is a good place to start. Best of luck with future fruit purchases! -CF

Q: I am a pizza-lover from the 50's, when pizza smelled like old tennis shoes. It was from the cheese! I have tried for many years to duplicate it, but can't. I've even tried using imported mozzarella. You either loved it or hated it. Can someone help me with this? What kind of cheese gave it that distinctive smell? -Donna, Roseville, MI

A: Hi Donna. Thanks for your question. A brief look at the history of pizza-making in the United States reveals that standard 50s-era pizza recipes called for ordinary, American-style mozzarella, just as they do today. For background on pizza history, check out AmericanHeritage.com’s article American Pie  or What’s Cooking America’s History & Legends of Pizza. We also found Evelyne Slomon’s article on Pizza Today's site, Celebrating a Century, very illuminating.

Q: Can I make chocolate truffles without butter? I am trying to make low calorie truffles and want to know if there is a substitute for butter or if it be eliminated and still taste good. -TS, Houston, TX

A: Hi Paula. The answer is "yes". Instead of using butter or cream, customary bases for chocolate truffles, you can use light cream cheese (see recipe) or Sweet 'N Low Chocolate Frosting Mix, available from Amazon.

If you love chocolate but want to cut calories, you might want to get The Diabetic Chocolate Cookbook, by Jane Finsand. With it, you can enjoy the health benefits of chocolate without the calories—even if you aren't diabetic! -CF

Q: Hello. I am looking for a good source of culinary dried lavender and culinary dried lemon myrtle. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much. -Dan, Chicago, IL

A: Hi Dan. Spicing up your life with lavender and lemon myrtle is a great idea! They’ll definitely add exotic and delicious elements to many dishes. The best per ounce price we’ve found for culinary lavender is at Amazon’s Gourmet Store. While you're there, check out the rest of JR Mushroom & Specialties’ interesting line, including cinnamon oil, lime extract, black truffle tapenade, and of course, mushrooms—especially porcini and chanterelles. As for lemon myrtle, our friend Nirmala of Nirmala’s Spices is the only person we know who sells it in culinary form, and it’s available from Amazon as well. Having these flavorful herbs will definitely inspire some flavorful experimentation, but if you want expert guidance, The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley is your best bet. -CF

Q: Hello! I have been thinking of opening a small coffee shop in our local area where I can make a flavored coffee. The problem is it's very hard to find a cream dispenser in our local market. May I ask where I might find a culinary shop that sells a not-so-expensive cream dispenser? (I am in the Philippines and most likely the nearest city I can go to is Manila.) -Maureen, Philippines

A: Hi, Maureen. We found that Server Products, a U.S. company, offers such a dispenser, including export voltage units, but of course it may cost more to get one from the U.S. than if you could purchase it locally. Prefix Engineering, a manufacturer of stainless steel kitchen equipment in Manila, makes such things as exhaust hoods, rice cookers, and bain maries, so we suggest that you see if they might know where you could get what you need. Call Ernesto Pilapil of Prefix Engineering at 632-6711762. Good luck in your search, and we wish you great success! -CF

Q: I have a 48" Wolf Range (6 burner and charbroiler). I have used the charbroiler a few times, but it is impossible to clean. Anyone have any ideas? I would be a happy cooker. I'm glad it has a cover plate, but I would love to have it shiny again. Thanks. -Linda, Santa Margarita, CA

A: Hi, Linda. According to our local restaurant supply store, this is a problem others have also encountered with "older" Wolf ranges (though they didn't say how old). Their suggestion was to burn off the deposits by turning on the overhead vent, heating the charbroiler for about 45 minutes to an hour, and then brushing it thoroughly with a steel brush. (Just as with a gas barbecue grill.) They also recommended a commercial carbon grease remover, but they suggested that you check with a local restaurant supplier or your Wolf retailer to see what strength or brand you might need for the metal composition of your specific grill. One brand sold in our area is “Takeo.” (It is also sold online at ChefsFirst.com.) Similar products are available from ProfessionalChef.com. Good luck! -CF

Q: After many attempts, I desperately need help with baking issues. For medical reasons, I bake at home. But I have been having problems with the dough rising and then shrinking. I knead coarsely ground whole grains with a KitchenAid stand mixer. Then I let it rise for about an hour and half. After I press and roll the dough to remove air, I let it rise again for another hour and half. But, as soon as I bake, it shrinks and becomes dense.

I am very frustrated. If there is any help out there on how to get it right, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for the opportunity to post my question on this forum. -Zack, Oakland, CA

A: Hi, Zack. We've experienced this ourselves, but found some good advice on the Food Network site.They suggest using half whole wheat flour and half regular flour, or increasing the baking powder or the yeast and rising times. Hope this helps you lighten up! -CF

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