How much time will it take to deep-fry a turkey?

It depends on the size of the turkey. Plan for 3 to 5 minutes per pound. Be sure the turkey is completely thawed and the oil has reached 350 degrees before you start. Use a meat thermometer to decide when the bird is done. The meat in the center of the thigh must reach 180 degrees to be safely cooked.

Why do some recipes specify unsalted butter?

It used to be that salt was used to retard spoilage, and unsalted butter was considered the freshest and best quality. Now it is mainly used to control the flavor. Since the amount of salt in butter varies from brand to brand, it could make a big difference in a very mild recipe, such as a butter cookie. It won't ruin the recipe, but using salted butter could affect the flavor.

Can I substitute potato flour for the same amount of wheat flour in a loaf of bread?

No, that won't work at all. Potato flour is mostly starch; wheat flour has a significant amount of protein. You can substitute potato flour for cornstarch, but bread made with potato flour will be heavy and hard.

I have green beans that my mother canned in 1999. Are they safe to use?

If she processed them for 20 minutes, at 10 pounds of pressure, they should be safe. They will probably be soft and maybe getting dark, but that is a loss of quality, not safety.

When I make nut rolls from my mother's recipe, they always turn out so tough. Why?

It sounds like you are kneading the dough too long. The long kneading will toughen the protein in the flour.

Does sweet tea need to be refrigerated?

Yes. If you could see the stuff that grows in unsweetened tea, you would understand that adding sugar just gives them more food to grow faster. Keep it cold.

What can I do to stop my quick grits from exploding in the microwave?

Heat just the water until it is steaming, add the grits, stir it well, then return it to the oven to finish the cooking process. They explode because the air in the mixture is heating very rapidly. Heating the water first, then stirring, releases the air more gradually.

Mary A. Keith, a nutrition and health agent at the Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension Service, can be reached at (813) 744-5519, Ext. 136, or

Mary A. Keith, a nutrition and health agent at the Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension Service, can be reached at (813) 744-5519, Ext. 136, or makeith@mail.ifas.ufl.edu .

LB: WHAT'S NEW

It's just what the belly craves for Thanksgiving: a refreshing bottle of turkey-and-gravy soda.

Sounds yummy, doesn't it?

Seattle-based Jones Soda Co. - which brought you WhoopAss energy drink, blue bubble gum and even canned-ham and fish-taco drinks - began test marketing its poultry-inspired beverage in Washington and Michigan this month. Just in time for the holiday, it's the niche bottler's latest stab at carving out a piece of the multibillion-dollar soft-drink and sports-beverage market.

``We can't compete with Coke and Pepsi. We have to be original. Turkey and gravy is original,'' said Peter van Stolk, the company's founder.

While conceding the idea is silly, van Stolk said the product will show that Jones Soda is a fun company willing to take a risk to grab attention.

But will customers gobble up a soda that has the color and consistency of watered-down gravy minus the floating giblets and globs of turkey fat? The noncarbonated drink has a faint meaty, peppery smell that falls short of teasing the taste buds like a turkey roasting in Grandma's oven. The taste? Hard to describe. It has a salty, sweet, lingering bite.

It took Jones' food scientists about 30 tries before everyone settled on the final product. The result, van Stolk said, is free of fat and carbohydrates.

``Some people say I should do a corned beef on rye with mustard, but there's too much protein in that.''

The Seattle Times

This story can be found at: http://tampatrib.com/Features/MGASNGTIGND.html