Food news antipasto

Fans of the UK’s Borough Market will like this tidbit – it’s been a while since the Market Life magazine was last published. The magazine stalled at issue #49, so very close to a milestone publication. This week, the Market finally announced the release of issue #50. To mark this accomplishment, they have assembled a special bumper edition, which includes a look back at almost 10 years of the Market’s award-winning magazine.

It’s August, which for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere means fresh tomatoes from the garden or farmers’ market. After long months with only pale hothouse versions available, we can finally relish meaty, juicy, tomato-y tomatoes. In order to tell which tomatoes at the market or in your garden are at the peak of ripeness, head over to Leite’s Culinaria, which provides a guide on how to tell if a tomato is perfectly ripe. Another useful tomato resource is a guide to conversions and equivalents. You’ll find a handy chart letting you know how many ounces a typical small tomato weighs, and how to convert cups measurements to whole tomatoes so you know how many to cut up for your recipe.

For Sydney (Aus) cook Fofi Gourlas, food is all about love of family and community. Her new book Artichokes and Village Greens: Treasured Vegetarian Recipes from a Greek Mother’s Kitchen, honors her mother’s home-style Greek cooking. The book features recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Good Food Australia brings us a review of the book along with four treasured vegetarian recipes from its pages.

Cutting onions can be a real drag, especially if the onion is especially aromatic and you end up looking like you just watched a heart-wrenching movie. Recently a TikTok onion dicing hack using a meat tenderizer has been making the rounds, promising an easy (and tear-free) way to cut onions. Taste of Home’s Hannah Twietmeyer tried the hack for us, but she doesn’t recommend it. Her onion ended up being smashed into oblivion.

Here’s a hack that does work – it keeps meat fresher longer and makes it tastier. It comes to us via Food & Wine, and is based on what chefs often do in their kitchens: salting in advance, aka dry brining. The trick is to salt the meat as soon as you bring it home from the butcher or market, and to store it uncovered in your refrigerator. This allows the salt to penetrate throughout the meat, adding flavor while inhibiting bacterial growth. It’s a win-win.