Fresh

Question: How does the fresh air damper feature of a thermostat work? I have a thermostat in my home with a fresh air feature that brings in air from the outside based on the outside temperature. How does it determine what temperature to use when opening the fresh air damper? How long does it stay open? How does the fresh air damper differential setting affect the fresh air damper function? The manual that came with the thermostat was of little to no help on this. Nope, didn't steal it. I bought a new home that came with it. Just trying to figure out how it works.

Answer: It's commonly called an economizer. When the temperature outside is cooler than the set point of the thermostat it will open the damper to assist your AC unit and save energy. It's most commonly used in commercial operations that require air conditioning inside even when it's 50° or below outside. Just because you bought a thermostat with that feature doesn't mean your system is designed for it. Or did you actually take the thermostat from work?

Question: Fresh water for human consumption is considered finite resource. Are we finding alternatives to feed our need? Fresh water for human consumption is considered finite resource as it takes only 1.1% of 71% water on earth. Rest is ice, snow, and saltwater. But, aren't they finding ways to convert saltwater to fresh water for human consumption?

Answer: FSU has done a study on a proposed way to desalinate water. The process only uses about as much heat as produced from your houses air conditioner. The only drawback is the 30 ft high PVC piping that is necessary to create the vacuum conditions to drive the reaction. Saudi Arabia has huge plants that use a variety of desalinization methods (the most prominent there is reverse osmosis which forces saltwater through membranes that will not easily allow the larger salt particles to pass through). There are other methods including boiling, electrolysis and others. If you would like more information, please follow the links below. I am the President of McKeon Engineering & Associates, LLC http://www.mckeonengineering.com ...please visit our site as well. If you would like to see more engineering problems, please visit http://www.engineertrades.com which is a forum for engineers to prepare for the Professional Engineering (PE) exam.

Question: Does fresh turkey take longer then store bought to cook and how long should I cook the fresh turkey? I'm making fresh turkey from the poultry shop for the first time,does it have to stay in the oven longer then a store bought turkey?

Answer: No. Every year we get a fresh turkey from the farm, and the cooking time is the same. Just follow the instructions by how much the turkey weighs and cooking time, and everything should be fine.

Question: How long to fresh herbs last? How should they be stored to best preserve their flavor? I have all of these wonderful recipes that call for fresh herbs...but i'd hate to buy spendy little bundles of them, only use a tiny bit, and then the rest go to waste. How long do fresh herbs last anyway? How can i keep them fresh for as long as possible?

Answer: I am a former chef and agree with "H-mans" way, I also put mine in a ziplok bags, just make sure for fragile herbs like basil and cilantro to use dry paper towels the moisture will turn them black. If you keep them in the crisper/veg keeper, they can last a few weeks, the only thing I find works like the first person added is parsley. As for growing your own, that is fine if your first have a sunny and large window sill, not a cold area and gets the late day sun. I start my seedlings up here in Canada in early March in seedling trays then in moss pots and transplant them in May. You can do the same thing indoors but make sure to expect alot and using them sometimes is alot harder than you think, buy them during the winter and grow them in the summer.

Question: How much fresh celery would equal to 1 tablespoon of celery seed? How much fresh celery would equal to 1 tablespoon of celery seed? Instead of putting in celery seed I want to add fresh celery.. I am making zucchini relish.

Answer: Since your using the celery in a relish, it really should be the seed, otherwise I think your going to alter the taste of your relish.

Question: How much fresh spinach is need in order to to end up with 1-1/4 cup of blanched spinach? I am making a spinach quiche with fresh spinach and the recipe calls for 1-1/4 cup of blanched spinach. I know fresh spinach shrinks down quite a bit but not sure how much I should buy in order to get 1-1/4 cups of blanched spinach. Thanks! Eagle Eye: Thanks - heading to the store now!!

Answer: get 4 bags of the fresh spinach and steam them . even if you have a little left you can eat them up or put them in an omelet.

Question: How long is fresh basil pesto good for? How long is fresh basil pesto good for? I have way too much fresh basil and I made a huge batch of pesto. How long will this be good for in the refrigerator? Can I freeze it? Or?

Answer: Fill an ice cube tray with it. Freeze and then pop the cubes in a zip lock bag. Store in the freezer. When making pesto pasta, nuke two cubes per serving and mix with pasta, add a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of pine nuts for texture. Pass the Parmesan.

Question: How long will fresh strawberries last in a cake? I am going to fill a cake with whipped cream and fresh chopped strawberries mixed with sugar. The problem is, I am going to ice the cake with fondant, and it needs a couple of days to set. If I keep the cake refrigerated, can I use the fresh berries AND the fondant? Or will it have to be one or the other?

Answer: In the refrigerator fresh berries will last a couple of days so you should be ok. The worst that can happen is they get a little soft. They cannot make you sick in that period of time because they cannot support the growth of pathogens. You have nothing to worry about. Eventually they will mold but not in a couple of days. PhD Food Chemistry and Nutrition

Question: Can I use fresh instead of dried cherries in cookie recipe? I have a tree loaded with sour cherries so I want to put them to use. I am not a pie person. But I found a chewy chocolate cookie recipe that calls for 2/3 cup dried tart cherries. Can I subsutuite it with fresh ? If not does anyone have a recipe that uses fresh sour cherries and is not a pie recipe.

Answer: no the moisture in the fruit will make the cookies to wet and they will not cook well

Question: Who has added fresh strawberries to their cake mix? I want to add fresh strawberries to my cake for the mix but also add fresh ones to the top and sides. I've been reading around that some peoples have comes out soggy/mushy. I know to dust with flour before I add. Any other tips?

Answer: This is very tricky. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law had a heck of a time coming up with the right ratio of liquid when adding strawberries to the cake mix for an anniversary cake! I think they made about 4 before it turned out right! To my mind, I would be careful to cut the liquid by 1/3 and see what the batter looks like. Yes, definitely dust with flour lightly, and I believe that if you add halved or whole small strawberries, you will run less risk of it coming out over-mushy in pockets of your finished cake. Also, be sure NOT to sugar them before you add them to the mix, as the mix is sweet enough, and the sugar breaks down the fruit to make it liquid... Good luck! I hope you have success!!

Question: Staying fresh and smelling good? What are some of the best ways to keep your vagina smelling great? I know that douching works but was told you can strip your lining. And of course we ALL know soap and water cleanses you. But how do you keep the inside fresh? With using Norforms suppositories which may cause infection? I usually take a bath and put a cup of vinegar in it? Any other suggestions?

Answer: I believe there are some products made just for cleaning the vagina area that will make it fresher. Like some are made by Massengill, the same people who make the douche

Question: What fresh herbs would go well with a chicken and lemon soup? I am making a variation of avgolemono (Greek lemon soup,) and I am sort of new to cooking with fresh herbs. Does anyone know of one, or a combination that would go well with this soup, but not overpower it?

Answer: oregano chervil rosemary those are a few suggestions but you should realy try some different herbs and see if you like them.

Question: What is the difference between frozen turkey and fresh? Is there really a difference in health reasoning? The labels show that fresh turkey has less calories than a frozen. This holiday season we are watching our waistline, and I was going to get the fresh turkey, but my mother asked if there was a difference between the frozen and fresh. Frozen had about 30-40 more calories than fresh, and just a bit more fat. Anyone know why? They were the same brand, Jennio turkey breasts.

Answer: a frozen turkey has been placed in a freezer for a certain amount of time and a fresh one has not. seriously though, when food is frozen is cooks different and usually tastes different.

Question: How fresh of a cut do you have to have to contract hiv, hepatitis b, and hepatitis c? How fresh of a cut do you have to have to contract hiv, hepatitis b, and hepatitis c? How long does it take for a cut to heal where these diseases can not be transmitted? What about small cuts on your fingers and hands? Also, what about small cuts around your finger nails? I am confused about these scenarios. I think the cut has to be back to normal skin to be okay. Thank you and God Bless!

Answer: well technically any break in the skin will enable those viruses to pass through. In general HIV is almost never transmitted that way. I would just wear gloves if you are worried until you are fully healed. Keep in mind you have to get their blood/body fluids on your hands and they have to be at an extremely high viral load in order to infect you that way

Question: How do I keep my vegetables fresh in my fridge? Hey, so I buy like bagged and fresh vegetables to eat and make in my recipies, how do I have them stay fresh without them turing brown or like rotting? My fruit has no problem, what are someways I can keep them still fresh ands uch?

Answer: Make sure that the date of package is today's date and not some date that was in the past. Also, I am assuming that the fridge will have 3 drawers. If that is the case please use the first drawer for deli products, although it isn't very kosher. Then use the other two drawers for the veggies and please keep in mind when is the expiration date and try to eat the items that not so old first and then eat the ones that are new.

Question: How to get a fresh start in life? I ve been dragged down by one of my good friends and i can't take the way i am living. Always worrying that their mad at me. I want a fresh start for senior year but I don't know how to get the fresh start i need. I also want to make myself a better person and not get pushed around anymore.

Answer: Try your best to never be dragged into a lifestyle you don't want to be in. Good friends will respect your decisions and still want to be near you, because u r a fun and happy person to be around. You probably have more friends than u know. Being a senior is sometimes very hard, I remember all I did was party because I had done all the credits and stuff already to graduate. The party stuff was a big mistake for me. Try to join a few clubs and enter into some event stuff. Believe it or not it can be fun and you meet new people that u may have thought were not your type of people. Good Luck! By the way sometimes a little prayer can help.