No cook - not even the professional - knows all the answers to all the questions about food and its preparation.
Cooking-school teacher and author Perla Meyers doesn't either, but after being peppered with questions from students for more than 30 years, she compiled hundreds of responses in How To Peel a Peach and 1,001 Other Things Every Good Cook Needs To Know (Wiley, $29.95).
Here's one on mushroom top tip: "What can I do with mushroom stems?" Put them in soups and stock for added flavour, she says, but make sure to use them within a few days."
It's not a tip that will increase consumer usage – but not a bad one all the same.