Do bay leaves deter cockroaches and other insects?

Do bay leaves deter insects? G. Holyrood

On the PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals website there is a page called "Be Kind to Cockroaches". It suggests that instead of killing them, one should scatter bay leaves in the kitchen cupboards. I did this, using bay leaves freshly plucked from the bay tree – itself pillaged by possums. I checked the scattered leaves a month or so later to find cockroaches piled about like backpackers. Insects are attracted to food. Some arrive in the food in the form of eggs. Keep food in airtight containers and keep the kitchen clean. Surface spray works but who wants to put food and poison in the same place? Since we put bay leaves in the cupboard we have noticed fewer meal moths – those little grubs in cereals that hatch into little moths.

Why do cherries taste different at different times of the year? X. Webster

There was a cherry orchard behind our old farm and we used to sneak in under the fence like Peter Rabbit and gorge ourselves on scrumped fruit. I would like to publicly apologise now to (name redacted on legal advice) for all those years of theft. When ripe, cherries last on the tree for just a few days and then that's it. The Australian cherry season is actually waves of ripe fruit coming in from around 80 varieties, each with a subtle difference. Look out for the lovely sweet but balanced pale Rainier variety. Later in summer, sour cherries come into the markets. These are perfect for bottling and storing in brandy.

Is it safe to use frozen prawn heads to make a stock to freeze? A. Maher.

My friends in Far North Queensland loved prawns and when preparing them would save all the heads and keep them in the freezer. I assumed they were great cooks and were saving them to make stock later on. "Nah!" came the reply when I asked. "We freeze 'em and throw 'em in the bin on bin night so they don't stink the place out." You can defrost food, cook it and then freeze again. Keep your prawn heads and shells in the freezer. Cook 500g in 1.5 litres of water to which you can add a clove or two of garlic, a few bay leaves and a few peppercorns. Keep it simple. Simmer for 20 minutes, skimming off any solids on top. Cool a little, strain, decant. Use or freeze again. Try making a paella or soupy Spanish rice and seafood dish with this. Delicious.

Is there an advantage in creaming the butter and sugar when making Christmas cakes as opposed to "all in together" recipes? S. Robb

For the past 20 years or so my sister in law has baked the Christmas cake. She lives in Los Angeles now and they don't celebrate Christmas there. It's too fattening. They have Happy Holidays instead, which is Christmas stripped of any offensive religion and only the shopping frenzy left. I do miss her cakes. As discussed before, creaming butter and sugar dissolves the sugar and slightly leavens the cake but overbeating can lead to a batter that won't suspend the fruit. So some recipes are developed to have an all-in-together method that uses melted butter. The trick with Christmas cakes isto keep the fruit plump and intact. This means that no matter at which stage the fruit is added,one has to be gentle with the dried fruit so as to not break the skins, which leads to an overly moist and dense cake without any succulent fruity morsels.

Letters

Recently we discussed why Thai green curry sauce splits when defrosted as the ice disrupts the fat and liquid emulsion in coconut milk. Chef J. Jones responded, "It could be helpful to know that by adding a dash of cream or coconut cream or coconut milk to the dish when gently reheating, the sauce should come back together and be more palatable and appealing to look at. Add a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon and some fresh coriander to freshen it up." Also on this B. Dalziel wrote, "Just being a pedant, you defrost a freezer, you thaw food."

If you have a vexing query email brainfood@richardcornish.com.au. Twitter: @Foodcornish