An accidental invention: the history of the Popsicle

Popsicles define summertime for many US children. The brightly-colored, fruit-flavored frozen treats are the perfect foil to a hot, sticky summer afternoon. Popsicles are adored by children but did you know that they were also invented by one? NPR's The Salt tells the story of how an 11-year-old accidentally created the frozen treat over 100 years ago. In 1905, Frank… read more

Why you should try rye

Until recently, rye whiskey was thought of as an old-fashioned spirit imbibed by the likes of a gumshoe detective in a paperback mystery. That is changing, however, due to a US-led rye whiskey revival. According to The Telegraph, a "resurgence in artisanal distilling and aging in America has led to a rye renaissance. Old brands have been revived, new brands born, and the… read more

Scientists think they’ve discovered a sixth taste

For centuries, people described food in terms of four basic tastes: sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. More recently a Japanese chemist discovered a fifth taste, umami, which is triggered by glutamates. Now scientists say they have found a sixth basic taste, and they believe it could profoundly change the way we eat. This new basic taste doesn't get a fancy new name… read more

The Great British Bake Off returns

It might be hard to believe, but the Great British Bake Off returns on 1 August for another season. The show has spawned several new stars and at least 20 cookbooks, some by contestants and some from hosts Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. The Guardian caught up with the show's presenters, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, to discuss the show… read more

Noma popup slated for Australia

The chef of the number one restaurant in the world is taking his show on the road once again again. René Redzepi is packing up everything, include his entire 60-person staff, and will open a popup version of Noma in Sydney for 10 weeks beginning in January. Redzepi notes that the weather was at least one factor in choosing the location for the popup, as… read more

Weights and measures

More and more home bakers are using scales to improve their baking. Precision is important to achieving consistent results, but it can be a pain to convert volume measures into ounces or grams. A few conversion charts are tucked away on manufacturer or baking websites, but the folks at King Arthur Flour have an extraordinarily comprehensive list on their website.… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

At Eat Your Books we want to bring you the best recipes - our dedicated team searches out and finds online recipes excerpted from newly indexed cookbooks and magazines. New recipes from the best blogs are indexed daily and members index their favorite online recipes using the Bookmarklet all the time. Below you'll find this week's recommendations from the EYB team.… read more

Publisher Penguin pulls the plug on its Australian cookbook imprint

Penguin Random House's Lantern imprint has published top selling cookbooks from a veritable Who's Who of Australian food writers and chefs from David Thompson to Kylie Kwong. Despite the success of books like Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion, Penguin announced that it is shutting down the Lantern cookbook division in 2016. Lantern was created by Julie Gibbs, its publishing director,… read more

Attention budding cookbook authors

If you are a cookbook lover, chances are you have considered writing your own cookbook. Maybe your friends suggested it or you came up with an idea for a spectacular layout while struggling to cook from a poorly designed book. But even though many of us have likely toyed with the idea, we have shrugged it off because it requires… read more

Deliciously easy homemade Chinese food

Sisters Amy and Julie Zhang have been entertaining and educating their thousands of followers on YouTube with their recipes for deliciously easy homemade Chinese food. Calling themselves The Dumpling Sisters, the duo are engaging and charismatic cooks who have also referred to themselves as the 'young, Asian, and (much) less hairy Hairy Bikers'. Following up on their online success, the… read more

Cookbook giveaway – The Dumpling Sisters Cookbook

London-based sisters Amy and Julie Zhang are YouTube stars, high-achieving young women (Amy has a PhD in science and Julie has a masters in psychology and criminology), and share a passion for cooking. This energy shines through in the recently released The Dumpling Sisters Cookbook: Over 100 Favourite Recipes from a Chinese Family Kitchen. Read our interview with Amy and Julie… read more

July 2015 Cookbook Roundup

Every month Jane and Fiona wade through hundreds of cookbooks, selecting and reviewing all the best new releases of U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand cookbooks. The only thing left for you to do is to add them to your Bookshelf. USA This month's offerings are a bit sparse, but several intriguing tomes compensate for the low volume.… read more

Eat your way around the world with one cookbook

Mina Holland is the editor of Guardian Cook and a food and drink writer. Travelling and living (and eating) abroad inspired her to write about what and why people eat as they do around the globe. You can follow her on Twitter @minaholland. Mina has graciously shared an excerpt from her recent cookbook, The World on a Plate (previously published… read more

Cookbook giveaway – The World on a Plate

Eat your way around the world without leaving your home in a mouthwatering cultural history with The World on a Plate, the new cookbook from Mina Holland. (The book was previously published as The Edible Atlas in the UK. Read an excerpt from The World on a Plate, plus get a recipe from the book!) The cookbook has received great… read more

Who doesn’t love a cookbook sale?

Have you been thinking about buying a cookbook but haven't followed through with your order yet? If so, this might make you take the plunge: The Book Depository is currently offering up to 33% off several bestselling food and drink books. There are plenty of titles available, including Pitt Cue Co. the Cookbook, Jane Grigson's Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery,… read more

Cookbook store profile – Read It and Eat

This is the latest installment of the EYB feature highlighting independent cookbook stores. We hope you will discover (or get reacquainted with) a store near your home - or plan a new target destination when you travel. We keep an ongoing list of cookbook stores but we'd love to learn about more - especially those treasured by our members. So please… read more

Get more out of your waffle iron

You might have a waffle iron languishing in the back of your cupboard that you dig out  a few times a year to make waffles. But it doesn't have to be hidden away in between those Sunday brunches: there are gobs of recipes that make excellent use of the waffle iron. It's not that surprising if you think about it;… read more

The interesting cultural history of vanilla

  When something is bland, it's often dismissed as being "plain vanilla." But as NPR Food shows us, the history behind vanilla is anything but boring. They explore the origins of vanilla bean cultivation and its traditional uses. Vanilla comes from the Totonac Indians in what's now Mexico. In addition to using them for medicine, the Totonac used the beans… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Did you know adding online recipes to your EYB Bookshelf is a really great way to build your personal recipe collection? You can now do this even if you have a free membership! Try it out now and see how easy it is. Browse the recipes below, choose one that appeals, click on the link, and add it to your… read more

Me and my cookbooks – Sarah Hodge

We're pleased to present another installment of the "Me and my cookbooks" series. Many EYB members have told us they enjoy meeting members and special guests through this feature. We'd love to introduce more people, so if you'd like to be featured, just email us at info@eatyourbooks.com. EYB Member Sarah Hodge boasts an impressive cookbook collection. Even more impressive is the… read more

How does yogurt culture get made?

Many EYB Members likely enjoy making homemade yogurt. Most start with commercial yogurt culture, either from store-bought yogurt or from packets of starter purchased from a cheese making supplier. But where do those companies get their culture? NPR Food has the answer.  If you're a home yogurt enthusiast, you already know that sometimes just using a bit of the previous… read more

Marshmallows move to fine dining

Many people equate marshmallows with their youth and happy memories of campfires, s'mores, or crispy rice squares. That nostalgia has prompted several chefs to incorporate marshmallows into their fine dining menus, says Fortune magazine. Marshmallows can be found not only in desserts but also in vegetables, main dishes, and cocktails. Besides nostalgia, chefs find that marshmallows add texture and flavor… read more

Celebrate Bastille Day by eating like the French

Food, drinks, and fireworks in July aren't limited to the United States. Ten days after America's Independence Day, the French also have their own red, white and blue holiday. Called Bastille Day by English speakers, the day is known to the French as "La Fête Nationale," and it celebrates the anniversary of the liberation of France marked by the storming… read more

The ultimate kitchen swap

Last week, 37 of the world's top chefs did something a little bit crazy: they all switched restaurants for one day. Sponsored by S. Pellegrino, the Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle featured top chefs ranging from Noma's René Redzepi to McCrady's Sean Brock, who "not only cooked in an entirely new restaurant (and in some cases an entirely new country), but...also lived in their host… read more

Tips for making the best ice cream

Heat waves have been punishing residents in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere recently. Eating a bowl of cold ice cream is a delicious way to cope with the hot weather, and indexed blog Food 52 is at the ready with 15 tips for making great ice cream that they've gleaned from cookbooks. The first tip, from Big Gay Ice… read more
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