The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook Read Online Free

with a small amount of cold or room-temperature liquid to form a slurry, or paste, before being stirred into a hot mixture. Keep in a cool spot, tightly sealed, and use within a year.

    CREAM OF TARTAR This powder is tartaric acid derived from fermented grapes. It increases the stability and volume of whipped egg whites in meringues or angel food cake. It is also used to give some candy and frostings a creamier consistency. Cream of tartar will keep for a year or longer in a cool spot.

    FLOUR Different flours have different amounts of protein, which will affect the way each behaves in a recipe: The protein in flour forms an elastic network that helps contain the gases that make doughs and batters rise as they bake. It is only necessary to sift flour if a recipe specifically calls for it, but you may want to run a whisk through it before measuring to break up any clumps. Store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to a year; choose containers with wide mouths for easy scooping.

    all-purpose flour is made from a blend of high-protein hard wheat and low-protein soft wheat; use it to make piecrusts, cookies, pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. Look for the unbleached variety.

    bread flour, with its high protein content, is appropriate for making yeast breads and popovers.

    cake, or pastry, flour is a fine-textured, low-protein flour best used for cakes, pastries, and quick breads, where a tender crumb is desired. Most recipes call for cake flour that is not self-rising (meaning baking powder and salt have been added), so be sure to check the label before buying.

    wheat flour: Unlike white flour, wheat flour contains the bran and germ of the wheat berry. It has higher fiber, nutritional, and fat content than white flour. Many recipes call for a combination of white and wheat flour for improved flavor and texture, as using all wheat flour can give very chewy results.

    GELATIN There are two forms of gelatin: granulated, which is easiest to find, and sheet (or leaf), available at gourmet and baking supply shops. Granulated gelatin must always be softened first by soaking in cold water for several minutes; sheet gelatin must be soaked a bit longer, but it is preferred by many professional bakers for the creamier texture it develops. Four sheets of gelatin equals one package of powdered. Check for expiration dates on packets of powdered gelatin; sheet gelatin will keep for about ten months at room temperature. Besides making jelled desserts, gelatin can be used to stabilize mousses, whipped creams, and dessert sauces.

    MOLASSES Molasses is made from the juice extracted from cane sugar during the refining process; the juice is boiled, then sugar crystals are removed from the resulting liquid, leaving behind the thick syrup that is molasses. Light molasses is made by boiling the juice once; for dark molasses, it’s boiled twice. The light version has a subtle sweetness and is most often used for pancakes and waffles. Dark molasses, which is less sweet and has a deeper taste, is preferred for baking. Both light and dark are sold in two forms: sulfured (which has been processed with sulfur as a preservative and is sweeter and thicker) and unsulfured, often preferred for its sharper, more pronounced taste. If a recipe calls for unsulfured molasses, you can use sulfured, but the outcome might be slightly different; adding a bit less sugar might help balance the flavor. Blackstrap molasses, created by boiling sugarcane juice three times, is very dense and bitter tasting and should not be substituted for other types of molasses. Stored in a cool, dark place, molasses will keep for up to a year.

    SUGAR Besides sweetness, sugar adds tenderness to doughs, stability to meringues, and a golden-brown hue to the surface of almost any baked good. Humidity can make sugars lumpy, so keep them in well-sealed containers in a cool, dry spot. Double-wrap brown sugars to keep them moist.

    brown sugar, a combination of granulated sugar and