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Q: Can you use all-purpose flour in place of cake and pastry flour and what is the difference? Also, if you use regular butter in place of salt-free, what is the difference?

A: Cake flour and all-purpose flour are not interchangeable when it comes to baking. They have different protein contents and give very different end results.

As far as salted/unsalted butter: You CAN use salted if you wish, just omit any extra salt called for in the recipe. However, I always advocate using ingredients in their simplest, purest form. If you get that one stick of butter that got a little extra dose of salt, you could end up with unpleasant results.

If you don't use unsalted butter all that often, it can be kept in the freezer, sealed airtight, for up to six months.

Q: Is there anything that the juice in can vegetables can be used for except throwing out? --Christine G.

A: You can save the juice and use it for cooking rice, to make sauces, or all manner of other uses. I've known some folks who even enjoy drinking it. If you're going to use it for cooking, I strongly recommend purchasing the "salt-free" canned varieties, as the juice can be almost like brine in some brands.

Q: I would like to know what can be used, if anything, to keep collards from smelling so while cooking. --Willie L.

A: Ah, the smell of cooking collards ... likely to make your dinner guests suspect you've got a plumbing malfunction of some sort. As far as I'm aware, there's no way to completely neutralize the aroma, but you can ameliorate it a bit by adding parsley to the cooking water. Fresh flat-leaf parsley works the best, but don't add too much or you'll affect your end product. I'd recommend no more than a tablespoon chopped.

However, take heart in the knowledge that there are very few cooked vegetables that taste better than a mess of greens cooked with a bit of salt pork. I could live on them happily.

Q: I've noticed recently that "panko" bread crumbs are called for in recipes. I tried one with that as an ingredient and couldn't find them in my local grocery store so I tried to substitute regular seasoned bread crumbs out of a container (not enough time to make my own). They didn't work. Can you shed some light are what "panko" bread crumbs are and where to get them?

A: "Crumbs" is actually an inaccurate term to apply to panko, as they're more in the form of flakes than anything else. While they are creeping slowly into some grocery stores, your best bet for finding them is your local Asian grocer. They'll be with the rice flours and other baking needs, usually.

They provide a much crisper crust than regular bread crumbs, and make a great topping for casseroles!

What type of pots and pans should be used for smooth top/radiant ranges? --Robin

A: The only cautions I've seen regarding the new smooth-top ranges are concerning cast-iron cookware, but several readers who have smooth-top rigs wrote in after my initial commentary on the subject to say that the only problem comes if you move the pots around while they're in contact with the range surface. Apparently, it is possible to scratch and scar the glass surface.

Q: I'm getting frustrated! Everytime I buy a skillet with a supposedly "durable enough to use metal utensils without scratching" non-stick surface, it gets scratched, even though I only rarely use metal utensils. What am I doing wrong? Help! --Marie H.

A: Short and sweet: the mistake you are making is in believing the advertising. In my cooking career, I've owned just about every type of nonstick cookware known to man, and while some have stood up longer than others, they've all eventually succumbed to the nicks, scratches and dings.

I'm going to take a wild guess that most of you out there end up using metal utensils on your nonstick pans because of heat-resistance issues. Well, Le Creuset has a new line of silicone spatulas and utensils that are heat-resistant up to 800° Fahrenheit. I've got one of the large spatulas, and thus far it has stood up to every test.

Got a question for Ask The Cook? A quandary? A poser, even? Drop me a line and we'll find the answers together!