Science proves you eat with your eyes first

 A well-known adage among chefs and food lovers is, “You eat with your eyes first.” This truism has scientific backing, the most recent of which is a brain study conducted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, scientists discovered that food images appear to trigger a specific set of neurons. This is similar to earlier findings that certain areas of the brain are associated… read more

Is it PSL season already?

In much the same way as the holiday shopping season keeps getting enlarged - at some stores, Christmas decorations go up before the Halloween candy is sold out - food seasons seem to be expanding as well. What I call “pumpkin spice creep” contributes to the flavor appearing ever earlier in the year (as well as being added to an… read more

2023 Cookbook Preview Listing

Right before each September, I begin cataloging the following year’s cookbook releases. I do this for several reasons: 1) so our members know what is waiting down the pipeline and 2) it makes the monthly new cookbook reviews a little easier for me as I keep the original post updated when changes occur. This year I have organized the monthly… read more

Food news antipasto

If you tried to mail order any Bob's Red Mill products in the last couple of weeks, you already know that the company has ceased its online ordering operation. According to a spokesperson, “Due to our excellent distribution network and the wide availability of Bob’s Red Mill products in stores and online, Bob’s Red Mill will no longer sell our… read more

The big chill

Conventional wisdom posits that there are some foods meant to be eaten hot, some foods that should be served chilled, and other foods that are best at room temperature. However, it can pay to throw out the rulebook and mix it up a little, for example chilling foods that you might not think would benefit from a stay in the… read more

Making the most of tomato season

I just received an email from a local market announcing that it's peak tomato season. Farmers’ market stands and home gardens alike are brimming with tomatoes in all sizes and colors. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to find ways to use all of this delicious harvest without turning to the same recipes over and over again - I love BLTs… read more

August 2022 New Cookbook Review

Once again there has been changes on the release dates of many cookbooks. I have updated our Library records but it's like trying to keep track of hundreds of moving targets. Recently, I shared my fall/autumn preview Part I for the baking titles and Part II for non-baking titles - great titles await us. If you would like to order any of… read more

Andrea Nguyen discusses the cookbook business

Adam Roberts, one of the first breakout food bloggers, launched a new podcast earlier this year called The Amateur Gourmet Podcast (named after his blog and taking a bit of a turn from his previous podcast called Lunch Therapy). Several episodes feature the topic Eat Your Books Members love best: cookbooks, including the most recent episode, in which Roberts interviews… read more

August 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: Throwback month – free to cover anything we have covered in 2022. Please be sure to share book title in your posts for easier approval. For past EYB Cookbook Club summaries, #EYBCookbookClub will pull up an archive of our club’s… read more

An ode to ‘the recipe’

Recipes are the raison d'etre of Eat Your Books; the entire website revolves around the subject. We have indexed over 2.3 million recipes, from the simple to the wildly extravagant, recipes that have appeared in cookbooks and websites and magazines the world over. Through the years in which I have been writing for EYB, I have read thousands and thousands… read more

Food news antipasto

This is cause for celebration - Le Creuset is having another Factory to Table Sale, with discounts of up to 40% off. The sale features everything from Dutch ovens to grill pans to tagines to nonstick skillets to dinnerware and more. Even better: they are offering free shipping on all orders, with no minimum purchase required. Be sure to check… read more

Must-have appliances according to kitchen experts

The number of kitchen appliances available to consumers these days is staggering. From Instant Pots to air fryers to steam ovens to convertible refrigerators, appliances large and small can fulfill your cooking needs as well as your kitchen fantasies. Opinions vary on which appliances are the most useful, so Australian Gourmet Traveller recently polled several experts - chefs, kitchen stylists… read more

Sometimes it’s the little things

Maybe it began when I received a miniature whisk ornament as a holiday gift one year, or perhaps it started even with the Matchbox cars I played with as a child, but whatever the impetus, I've long had a fascination for all things Lilliputian. The comments on our recent post that featured the teensy-weensy measuring spoons reminded me that not… read more

This week: GBBO news; free app with lifestyle programming to launch soon; recipes; previews and more

Great American Media will be launching a new free app, Great American Community, on September 26th, 2022. The app will introduce viewers to 15 original short-form series, each headlined by well-known lifestyle experts and TV stars. The 15 exclusive shows will feature “fresh advice and inspirational stories from each host,” including fan-favorite actors Danica McKellar, Cameron Mathison, Trevor Donovan, Jill… read more

September 2022 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 Spanish Home Kitchen – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of The Spanish Home Kitchen: Simple, Seasonal Recipes and Memories from My Home by José Pizarro. The Spanish Home Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from my Home by José Pizarro is the Spanish chef's latest offering. José grew up in central-western Spain, in the tiny village of Talaván. His family had been farmers… read more

Is there such a thing as too much garlic?

Are you one of those people who, if they read 'two cloves of garlic' on an ingredient list, instinctively puts in four - or more - cloves? Or are you more restrained in your use of 'the stinking rose'? Wherever you fall on the garlic use spectrum, Eater's Bettina Makalintal has just penned a thoughtful piece that attempts to explain why… read more

Persiana Everyday: Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/CA giveaway to win one of three copies of Persiana Everyday: All New Recipes from the Best Selling Author of Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour. Sabrina Ghayour is known for her strikingly vibrant dishes that are not only impressive to serve but each dish is packed with flavor. Each of her books has a special place on my bookshelf.… read more

‘Meal Prep King’ author loses publisher after online rant

Penguin UK recently dropped John Clark, the self-proclaimed 'Meal Prep King', from its roster following the author's misogynistic rants during a live stream on Twitter. Clark rose to fame with his partner Charlotte Deniz, after they began sharing their diet and meal prep planning on TikTok and Instagram. The duo amassed over 1.5 million followers on TikTok and about 400,000… read more

Food news antipasto

Bravo TV's Top Chef is shaking things up a little, heading to London to celebrate its 20th season. The program will feature a cast of international all-stars focusing on winners and finalists from previous seasons.  All of this season's contestants have appeared on one of the many different Top Chef iterations that have aired around the globe.  In the northern parts… read more

Ya gotta keep ’em separated

Properly storing fruits and vegetables can make them last longer, and knowing which of them can be stored together and which should be kept apart is crucial to this task. A big part of this conundrum has to do with ethylene gas, which helps some fruits and vegetables ripen. Conventional wisdom holds that foods are generally considered either 'ethylene producers'… read more

This week: Bake from Scratch on demand classes; James Beard broadcast; EYBD Previews; recipes and more

We are entering the busiest time of the year with all the fall/autumn cookbooks on the roster to be indexed and reviewed - see links to Previews below; I have already started working on the 2023 preview listing of cookbooks; we are adding new magazines to our Library for our members - Waitrose Weekend and just starting The Pioneer Woman… read more

Cookbook collector extraordinaire Janice Bluestein Longone has died at age 89

Janice Bluestein Longone, an antiquarian bookseller whose collection served as "an unparalleled repository of culinary history," died on August 3 in Michigan at the age of 89. Longone's collection of cookbooks, menus, and culinary ephemera was housed at the University of Michigan's Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. A few years ago we wrote about one of Longone's most treasured pieces, the… read more

Why you are seeing increased restaurant prices

empty wineglasses on a tray
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when lockdowns were the order of the day, cooking at home had lost its luster, and takeout just wasn't cutting it anymore, most of us would have given our eyeteeth to be able to sit down in a restaurant and be treated to a proper dining experience, cost be damned. Well, today the… read more

Green Kitchen: Quick + Slow Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Green Kitchen: Quick + Slow: 100 Joyful Vegetarian Recipes to Make Busy Weekdays Easy and Long Weekends Fantastic by Luise Vindahl and David Frenkiel. Last month, we finished indexing the Green Kitchen Stories blog. Adding this blog to your bookshelf provides you with 374 additional recipes. The couple behind… read more
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