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By MARY A. KEITH

Tribune correspondent

Published: May 6, 2008

Updated: 05/06/2008 05:11 pm

Today's pork chops are so lean that I have trouble cooking them. I know they need to be cooked thoroughly to be safe to eat. But then they aren't tender and juicy. Is there a trick for making pork chops both safe and tender?

Lean meat gets tough when it gets too hot or is overcooked. And you can't tell whether the meat is done by its color. Use a digital thermometer to keep from overcooking. The chop should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Digital thermometers will work better than dial thermometers for pork chops. You only need to insert the beveled tip of a digital thermometer to get an accurate reading.

What can I do to keep my lemon pie from oozing liquid into the pan? I use boxed filling mix that is cooked. A day later, the pie's filling is floating on top of a puddle of syrup.

This is probably happening because the filling is cooked at too high a temperature. When milk protein in the filling gets too hot, it will contract and squeeze out liquid.

Use medium heat or make the filling in a double boiler.

Why are black olives sold in cans and green olives in glass jars?

Everything I can find about this indicates that black and green olives don't have to be packed in either cans or glass jars. Both types are sold either way.

Stuffed green olives are often packed in glass to display the colorful contents. Black olives aren't as eye-catching, which means the less breakable cans are fine.

My Surinam cherry tree produces small, red, pumpkin-shaped cherries that are delicious. How many calories and grams of carbohydrates do they have? Are they OK for diabetics?

Half a cup of Surinam cherries contains 8 to 12 grams of carbohydrates and 45 to 50 calories. They should be fine for your diet plan.

The newspaper had a recipe for a cake baked on top of flan in a bundt pan. The directions called for gluten-free cake mix. Can I use a regular cake mix or make batter from scratch and bake the cake according to the recipe?

I looked at the recipe and the gluten-free cake mix ingredients. Nothing indicates the recipe wouldn't work with either a regular cake mix or homemade cake batter. Go ahead and bake!

Why do my pecan pies always sink in the center? They look done, but then the center collapses. How do I prevent this?

It sounds like your pies might not be completely done in the center. Reduce the temperature to 275 degrees, and bake the pie for an hour. Then let it cool completely to allow the filling to set before you cut the pie. If you want to serve it warm, reheat just before serving.

How safe is frozen tilapia from China or Southeast Asia? It's more affordable.

It's hard to say how safe any one type of fish is, based on the brand or where it comes from. Food inspectors don't sample every item in every shipment of imported food, although they will increase sampling of potentially unsafe products.

Fish is good for you, so don't quit eating it. But eat a variety. Even if a single type has problems, you won't be eating it exclusively. Some choices are canned tuna, mackerel and salmon and frozen catfish. Also, always cook fish properly.

Is there any benefit to eating grapefruit segments instead of drinking the juice?

With most kinds of fruit, you'll get more nutrients from eating the whole fruit than from drinking only the juice. Grapefruit is no exception. Fiber in grapefruit pulp is beneficial, and often some minerals and vitamins are lost when grapefruit is squeezed for juice. But juice is still better than no fruit at all.

Mary A. Keith, a nutrition and health agent at Hillsborough County Extension, can be reached at (813) 744-5519 or mkeith@ufl.edu.

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