I know, cool dry place, and it depends on your climate, etc. But what is your experience?

A lot of good cooking is in technique. What's something that you discovered or was told that really changed something meaningful for you? For me, I had struggled a lot to make omelettes. They always wound up becoming scrambled eggs because I sucked at flipping them over to cook on the other side (I like my eggs cooked pretty well so this was important to me.) Finally, watching someone else make an omelette, I noticed they didn't flip it. They put a lid on the pan, turned the heat down, and let the top cook that way. I tried it myself and now I make almost perfect omelettes every time. Have you had anything like this happen to you? If so, what was it?

RIP to the best yum-yum sauce recipe I have found, https://japanese-steakhouse-white-sauce.com/home/ (working wayback machine link). In its honor I'm posting the recipe here, along with my family's modifications.

OG recipe:

• Mayonnaise (Hellman's), 1-1/4 cup
• Water, 1/4 cup
• Tomato paste, 1 teaspoon
• Melted butter, 1 tablespoon
• Garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon
• Sugar, 1 teaspoon
• Paprika, 1/4 teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper, dash

You can just mix everything together in this version, no particular order. The author stresses that it won't taste right if you use a different brand of mayo. He says it makes it taste too strongly of mayo. He particularly cautions the use of low fat or reduced calorie mayo, and the substitution of ketchup for the tomato paste. Once mixed the sauce should be refrigerated immediately and allowed to chill overnight for best results. Best within 7-10 days.

OG "from scratch":

• Soybean oil, 3/4 cup
• Egg, 1
• Dry mustard powder, 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
• Sugar, 2 teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper, dash
• White vinegar, 1-1/2 tablespoons
• Cayenne pepper, dash (duplicate line is reflective of his recipe. It's unclear if this is a typo or he adds it twice in different stages, although the written instructions don't indicate that.)
• Tomato paste, 1-1/2 teaspoons
• Melted butter, 1 tablespoon
• Garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon
• Paprika, 1/4 teaspoon
• Water, 1/4 cup

Copypasta instructions: 

Set up blender. Put 1/4 cup (only) of the oil along with the egg, vinegar, mustard powder, salt, cayenne and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in the blender and place the lid on the blender. Turn it on and let everything mix well for about 5-10 seconds. Turn off the blender.

Open the pouring hole in the blender lid or take off the small removable center piece. Turn the blender back on, and very slowly drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup oil through the hole into the mixture while it is blending. It should take 30 seconds or so – if not, you are pouring too fast!

*** If you add the oil too fast, it will not emulsify (come together) properly, and will not be the consistency of mayo – it will be more like white oil and you will need to throw it away! ***

Once the mixture has emulsified, turn off the blender. Empty the contents into a mixing bowl. Using a fork or a whisk, mix in the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar along with the tomato paste, melted butter, garlic powder and paprika. Mix throughly until the sauce is smooth. If it is too thick, add some of the water (up to 1/4 cup) to get it to the desired consistency. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Bring to room temperature before serving.

And finally, my family's take! Our changes deepen the flavor a bit and increase the kick. Note that this recipe is based on a double portion. YMMV trying to make more or less, I've found that the proportions don't always scale properly. We typically use Duke's mayo, just because it's what we keep in the fridge. I suggest starting with 2 cups of mayo and the water, mixing, and slowly adding mayo until you reach your preferred consistency. We tend to make it pretty thick because we mix it into white rice.

• mayo, 2 - 2.5 cups
• water, 1/2 cup
• tomato paste, 3 tsp
• melted butter, 2 tbs
• garlic powder, 1.25 tsp
• sugar, 2 tsp
• paprika, 1.5 tsp
• cayenne, .5 tsp
• OPTIONAL mirin or rice wine vinegar to taste
  • vinegar adds tang
  • mirin adds smoothness

As per the title, what is a food that crunches/is hard to bite, but is also savory and sour?

I couldn't find anything (except Lemons!) matching this criteria, but it's an interesting combination of tastes.

Edit: Thanks for the answers! I'm gonna try out some new foods

Looking for some inspiration, my wife's out of town this week babysitting he grandmother with dementia, so she's been eating a lot of very bland, old-white-lady-palate-approved meals (her grandmother once described some jarred vodka sauce as being "too spicy")

We're both pretty adventurous eaters and spice-lovers, and I know it's driving her mad by now, so I figured I'd welcome her home in a couple days with a dinner full of all the biggest flavor bombs I can find

Help me light her taste buds on fire, decimated my spice cabinet, and make my toilet tremble in fear of what is to come.

I was frustrated earlier trying to figure out what to cook for dinner for a few picky eaters, so I typed:

chicken
no strawberry
no gravy
no olives
rice
noodles
spices
onion
garlic

into Goblin Tools. The recipe it came back with is delicious. I cooked it and got no complaints from anyone, which impressed me so I figured I'd share it. I added 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala to the spice mixture but other than that I cooked it exactly how it says to in the recipe.

The recipe (exactly as returned):

Dish Name: Spiced Chicken and Rice Pilaf

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 500 g (1 lb) chicken, cut into pieces
• 250 g (1 1/4 cups) rice
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 750 ml (3 cups) chicken broth or water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

Instructions: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned on all sides. Stir in the cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Add the rice and stir to coat. Pour in the chicken broth or water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked and has absorbed the liquid. Fluff with a fork before serving. Enjoy your Spiced Chicken and Rice Pilaf!

For dietary purposes, I’ve been told to start including probiotic rich food in my diet and I figure since people in my house already like yogurt that’s the best way to go. But I absolutely hate the texture of yogurt. How can I change it and still enjoy the health benefits? I don’t love smoothies, but I’ll make one occasionally with yogurt. But I’d prefer to have some variety with this. Adding granola is alright, and definitely helps but even still I find myself just grossed out after two spoonfuls. Is there anything I can do? Is freezing it and turning it into something like frozen yogurt going to kill the cultures? It’s sad, because this is the only food I absolutely cannot seem to find a way to enjoy!

I put some asparagus in vinegar with garlic, red pepper flakes, and pickling spice a couple weeks ago. I just cracked it open, and they're fantastic!

I also started a batch of sauerkraut today with garlic and caraway seeds in a brine. Gonna keep an eye on it and hope it comes out alright. I like that it's a live fermentation, and will hopefully be full of good probiotics.

What's your favorite thing to pickle, and in what?