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remove the
string on
this side.
Q: What’s the secret to cooking snow peas?
In restaurants they’re not stringy like the ones
I cook at home. Lynn Everett, Tulsa
A: You just need to trim the snow peas before you cook
them. Although the whole pod is edible, the string that
runs along the edge is tough. To remove it, cut off the
stem end with a paring knife, then pull the attached
string down the straight side of the pea—it should come
off in one piece. Also, try to use your snow peas within
a few days of purchase. Once they’re harvested, the
natural sugars rapidly convert into starches,
so the peas taste less sweet.

Q: I love using Q: On an episode of All-Star Academy, Andrew Zimmern told one of
vanilla beans, his cooks to use the top third of the oven. Why is that?
but how do I store Martha Tonges, Naugatuck, CT
them so they A: Heat rises, so the top of the oven is generally the hottest part, where foods
don’t get hard? brown and caramelize quickly. Use the upper rack for high-moisture foods that
Marti Carrabine, need a browned surface, like casseroles and meat. Assuming the heat source
Surprise, AZ is on the bottom, the lower rack is better for foods that need a browned base,
A: Keep whole such as pizza, bread or fruit pie. Use the middle rack as a default: It lets
vanilla beans in an air circulate around the food for even cooking.
airtight container or
resealable plastic
bag in a cool dark
place. If sealed
properly, they
should last up to a Q: How do you avoid
year. (Even if they cross-contamination when
get a bit stiff, they’re you’re using a sponge that’s
usable.) Just don’t been in contact with raw meat?
store vanilla beans Jennie Brouillette (@jenniebrouillette)
in the fridge or via Instagram
freezer; the moisture A: You should wash a dirty sponge just
can cause mold to like you wash your dishes: Use hot soapy
grow. After you’ve water, then rinse well. To give sponges a PEAS: ISTOCKPHOTO. VANILLA BEANS AND SPONGES: GETTY IMAGES.
scraped out the deep clean, put them in the dishwasher
seeds, you can stick for a full wash and dry cycle, or wet
the empty pod in a the sponge and microwave it for one
jar of sugar to give minute. According to the USDA, either
the sugar a subtle deep-cleaning method will kill more
vanilla flavor. than 99 percent of bacteria.

186 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ● SEPTEMBER 2016