World’s largest chocolate plant shuts down after salmonella discovery

Chocolate lovers, brace yourselves: Barry Callebaut just shut down its chocolate plant in Brussels - billed as the world's largest - after it discovered salmonella in a batch of chocolates on Monday. The suspected contamination was in the lecithin used as an emulsifier. Since lecithin is used in almost every type of chocolate made at the plant, the entire operation… read more

Panna cotta is having a moment

Once found almost exclusively on Italian restaurant menus, panna cotta seems to be bursting out everywhere, says Bon Appetit's Genevieve Yam. She feels we are currently "living in panna cotta’s golden age—one where all sorts of restaurants are spinning the dessert into their own form." What's not to love? Panna cotta is infinitely variable, with opportunities to infuse loads of… read more

Ayla – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our worldwide giveaway to win one of two copies of Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and Himalayas by Santosh Shah. Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and Himalayas by Santosh Shah explores and experiments with the spices and flavors of Nepal with a range of recipes, perfect for both the beginner and experienced… read more

You never forget your first real taste

strawberries in a colander
When I was growing up, I rarely ate any strawberries or even anything strawberry-flavored. My mother detested strawberries, so they didn't make an appearance in our house very often. Generally speaking, I was fine with that because supermarket strawberries - the only kind I had access to in my tiny town - are, frankly, terrible. Fast forward 20-odd years and… read more

Food news antipasto

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for our readers, we failed to report on a limited-edition popsicle flavor that was available earlier this week in Canada. The flavor was certainly not run-of-the mill: the condiment company French's created ketchup-flavored ice pops and distributed them at three different Canadian locations from 22-24 June. If any of our readers was able to snag one,… read more

June 2022 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we offer at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This month we have been cooking from: Cookbooks: I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To): Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes by Ali Slagle – online recipes – or – any recipe from Emiko Davies – cookbooks or online recipes.Baking: Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries by Kristina Cho… read more

June 2022 New Cookbook Review

June's cookbook review is a little sparse as almost half of the titles slated for June publication were pushed to later in the year or 2023. I am keeping the 2022 preview post updated. If you would like to order any of these titles (or preorder/order any other books or items) using our affiliate links below or BUY BOOK button on the book details… read more

Breakfast of champions

As soon as my eyelids pop open in the morning, I am thinking about food - namely, what I will eat for breakfast. Something sweet usually appears on the menu such as toast with homemade jam, pancakes or waffles, or if I can find a good one, a cheese Danish. Of course, according to most of the pundits and researchers… read more

This week: When good cookbooks do bad things; EYBD Previews of upcoming releases; recipes; and more

I have been buried - figuratively and almost literally - in managing the indexing of books and magazines along with my regular duties. I am loving the new work. I tell you this to explain a little about why things got so bad. Read on. For this roundup, instead of some well-thought-out words on a particular recipe or cuisine -… read more

UK Guild of Food Writers Awards announces 2022 winners

In May we shared a list of nominees for the UK Guild of Food Writers 2022 Awards - the 25th anniversary of these prestigious honors - and following last evening's ceremony held at London's Royal Institution, we now know the winners in each category. The evening's honorees included Dan Saladino, who received two awards for Eating to Extinction: The World’s… read more

Dandy ways to use a common weed

Dandelions are the bane of most gardeners' existence. The plants are deep rooted and difficult to control without resorting to herbicides (and even then it can be a struggle). Every spring they dot my yard, and I dutifully dig out as many as I can (after the bees have had their first feedings). Instead of throwing them away, however, this… read more

Ice cream has gone to the dogs

Move over, puppuccino, there's a new game in town. The market for doggie treats that echo human ones is exploding, and the latest entrant is ice cream made specifically for your pampered pooch. Last year Ben & Jerry's debuted a doggie ice cream, and Aldi UK recently announced it is two varieties (apple and vanilla). Salty Paws, which originated in… read more

Food news antipasto

Today is Juneteenth (although it will be officially celebrated tomorrow), which commemorates the day of June 19, 1865, where in the aftermath of the bloody U.S. Civil War, slaves were declared free under the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. Author Nicole A. Taylor recently released the first major cookbook dedicated to the holiday, Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black… read more

Cookbook authors don’t have it easy

Even though cookbook sales surged during the first year of the pandemic and were growing at a crisp pace even before then, cookbook authors still face many challenges. At Tasting Table, Jill Barth runs down the obstacles that would-be authors will encounter as they look for that gold mine of a publishing deal. Cookbooks may be selling like hotcakes, but… read more

This week: Sainsbury’s Magazine and Fork Over Knives; recipes; cookbook previews and giveaways

We are on the cusp of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere - which usually means a bit of a slow down on cookbook releases. But work has not slowed down for us at Eat Your Books. Gathering fall/autumn books to begin indexing; working on indexing two more magazines for our Members - the first one Sainsbury's Magazine and the… read more

Ice cream’s cool history

a single scoop of chocolate ice cream sits inside a waffle cone. The background is a blank white canvas so the cone stands out.
With the temperature in my area hovering around triple digit mark, eating only cold foods sounds like a splendid plan. Ice cream ranks near the top of the list of enjoyable cold foods - nothing beats a waffle cone heaped with scoops whatever flavor calls out to me that day. The origin story of ice cream, like many foods, is… read more

Cinnamon and Salt by Emiko Davies – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Cinnamon and Salt: Ciccheti in Venice: Small Bites From The Lagoon City by Emiko Davies. Emiko Davies is one of my favorite cookbook authors. Her style of cooking and writing provides comfort and as always with her books they take you to whichever region Emiko is focusing on (mostly… read more

Exploring the softer side of celery

Most of us experience celery as a garnish to wings or a Bloody Mary, or perhaps as an afternoon snack loaded with peanut butter or squeeze cheese. But this fibrous vegetable offers a lot more than crunch (and strings in your teeth), explains Michael Harlan Turkell. He provides ideas for showcasing the rich and earthy flavors that cooked celery offers.… read more

July Great Big Cookbook Club Summary

As our members know, each month we offer several cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. There are other fun cookbook clubs around the interwebs and we’d like to highlight those for those members who might want to cook or bake something other than our choices.  We want to get this information out to you so you can prepare… read more

The Miller’s Daughter Quick Bites & Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of The Miller's Daughter: Unusual Flours & Heritage Grains: Stories and Recipes from Hayden Flour Mills by Emma Zimmerman. The Miller’s Daughter: Unusual Flours & Heritage Grains: Stories and Recipes from Hayden Flour Mills by Emma Zimmerman is a cookbook of 80 recipes along with a beautiful narrative that celebrates community, agriculture,… read more

Food news antipasto

Jane and I have returned home following a whirlwind weekend in Chicago, where we attended the James Beard Media Awards ceremony. Today the JBF announces the winners of its Restaurant and Chef Awards and yesterday they honored recipients of the 2022 Leadership Awards. I was a little star struck when the elevator doors opened and standing right in front of… read more

James Beard Cookbook Award winners

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of its 2022 Cookbook Awards tonight in a ceremony held in Chicago which Jane and Darcie attended (Jenny had to cancel at the last minute and is here working on this post that Darcie set up for her). EYB is proud to say that Jenny was selected to be on the James Beard… read more

This week: James Beard Awards weekend in Chicago; recipes; EYBD Previews and more

As you are reading this week's roundup, Jane, Darcie and I are headed to Chicago for the James Beard Media Awards ceremony on Saturday night at Columbia College Chicago. We are looking forward to some great food, seeing familiar and new faces, and lots of cookbook love. We'll be tweeting results live and doing our usual awards post. (Update: Friday… read more

Favorite road foods

Jane, Jenny, and I will be attending the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Awards ceremony this Saturday in Chicago. This will be my first major trip in two years, and I am looking forward to it - not only because I will be seeing two of my favorite people and attending the JBF ceremony, but because I will be able to… read more

The fascinating career of Freida DeKnight

Freida DeKnight holds the distinction of being the first food editor at Ebony Magazine, but the journey that brought DeKnight from Topeka, Kansas to this prestigious career is a fantastic story in itself. You can learn about it, and about DeKnight's influence on cooking that extends to this day, in a short podcast by The Sporkful. The episode is the… read more
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