Break out the good china: what you serve your food on matters

October 3, 2023 by
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When I start thinking about what to make for lunch or dinner, only rarely do I consider the dinnerware on which we will be eating the food. Our everyday plates are Fiesta Tableware in six different colors that we mix and match with abandon. Pairing a color with a particular food isn't something I contemplate unless I'm really into getting… read more

Food news antipasto

October 2, 2023 by
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Restaurant aficionados often turn up their noses at chain restaurants, and there are many reasons why a food lover might not like them: they can be noisy, the food is often bland, and the overall dining experience will never knock your socks off. But as Grace Dent explains, sometimes a chain restaurant is just the place to go, especially if… read more

IACP Cookbook Award winners

September 29, 2023 by
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The International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the winners of its 2023 Cookbook Awards (along with other food media and writing awards) this evening at its 2023 Summit held in rain-soaked Brooklyn, NY. In addition to this year's winners, the IACP inducted three cookbooks into its Culinary Classics, which is a like a Hall of Fame for cookbooks. IACP also… read more

Coming soon to a recipe near you: shrinkflation

September 29, 2023 by
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A recent article in The Guardian explained how Galaxy chocolate bars are now 10% smaller but priced the same as before, a strategy pundits have dubbed "shrinkflation" because in the end the result is the same as raising prices: less purchasing power for the consumer. The article reminded me of an issue that came up with a recipe I was… read more

Thinking inside the box

September 26, 2023 by
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As I cracked open a box of organic, low-sodium broth earlier today I recalled Michael Ruhlman saying that one should never use canned or boxed chicken broth, that homemade was the only way to go, and that even water would be better than commercial broth. Despite his admonition, I glugged the box straight into the sausage and potato soup with… read more

Food news antipasto

September 24, 2023 by
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Gordon Ramsay plans to open 14 restaurants in Thailand after signing a deal with Tanachira Group, the lifestyle company behind jewelry brand Pandora. It is part of an international expansion push for the chef’s group, which runs 37 UK restaurants and 35 additional eateries worldwide. Granola for fellow "granolas" from Food52 If you describe someone as being very "granola", most people… read more

Inside the Le Creuset Factory to Table sale

September 23, 2023 by
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As promised, I am reporting on the Le Creuset Factory to Table (FTT) sale held in Minneapolis this weekend. The event sold out so fast that I was unable to get the coveted VIP tickets for Thursday evening that included an opportunity to buy a 'mystery box' of items for $50. I was relegated to a regular admittance ticket that… read more

Olive oil prices surge to all time highs amid drought

September 20, 2023 by
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Prepare yourself for sticker shock when buying your next bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Due to drastically reduced yields, olive oil supplies are rapidly being depleted, leading to dramatic price hikes. Spain, the world's largest olive oil producer, saw record high temperatures (the third hottest summer on record) coupled with an intense drought. In turn, this diminished the olive… read more

GBBO returns on 26 September, names contestants

September 19, 2023 by
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The Great British Bake Off has announced the contestants for the upcoming season of the show, which premieres at 8:00 p.m. on 26 September in the UK. The contestants, as always, are a fascinating slice of the population, ranging from deli manager Amos to database administrator Dana to science teacher Matty. It's fun to imagine what kind of bakes each… read more

Food news antipasto

September 17, 2023 by
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Food critic Jay Rayner had the honor of interviewing Madhur Jaffrey for the September issues of Observer Food Monthly. On the eve of the 40th anniversary edition of her book Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery, the 90-year-old author talks about how she became "an accidental cook" due to acute homesickness when she was in London studying drama. An acclaimed actress, Jaffrey started… read more

The foods of Rosh Hashanah

September 15, 2023 by
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Rosh Hashanah, meaning "head of the year" in Hebrew, is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. The holiday includes several food-related customs including eating apples dipped in honey, as well as eating other symbolic foods such as pomegranates, dates, string beans, beets, pumpkins, leeks, and fish heads. Each of these symbolizes a wish or blessing for prosperity and health in the… read more

History of the BLT

September 14, 2023 by
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I'm not alone in searching for the background of a particular dish; historians and food writers have been doing this for ages. Chef Farideh Sadeghin likewise enjoys digging into food history, in this case the history of the BLT sandwich. As a huge fan of BLTs myself (but only when I can get my hands on fresh garden tomatoes), this… read more

Tracing a recipe’s path

September 14, 2023 by
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In the small North Dakota farming community where I grew up, most residents belong to a group known as "Germans from Russia" (GFR), which describes a "a unique group of Germans who lived in Russia after the 1760s and began their immigration onto the Great Plains in the 1870s" according to The Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. My ancestors fit this description,… read more

Sometimes you have to stray to remember how good you have it

September 12, 2023 by
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Because I was having issues with my internet service today I needed to test response times and decided to use some recipe search engines to gauge how well the ISP's fix was working (yes, I know I could do an Oookla speed test but where's the fun in that?). After navigating several websites, I was reminded of just how good… read more

Food news antipasto

September 11, 2023 by
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Even though I love to cook and bake, sometimes nothing will satisfy a craving like junk food: cheese puffs with an orange coating that resembles no real cheese but is so good I'll lick it off my fingers , a too-sweet cake with a best-by date that is months into the future, or cookies with an ingredient list of things… read more

Le Creuset supercollectors – and Gen Z loves LC too

September 9, 2023 by
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Jenny and I have written about our fondness for Le Creuset and its ever expanding range of gorgeous colors, designs, and shapes. Both of us have collected many pieces over the years, and while Jenny's collection puts mine to shame, both of us look like rank amateurs when compared to the Le Creuset "supercollectors" profiled in a recent article in… read more

TikTok food trends can have real economic impact

September 7, 2023 by
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Whether you love or hate trending TikTok food videos, they are more than just something entertaining to watch. In the aggregate, they can actually drive food producers to change their production, says Marketplace's Stephanie Hughes. This is especially true of "center of the plate" proteins (which usually means meat), but it can affect other products as well. But with every… read more

Guild of Food Writers announces 2023 winners

September 6, 2023 by
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The Guild of Food Writers announced the winners of its prestigious awards at a banquet this evening at the Royal Institution’s world-famous theater. The Guild awards recognize emerging talent as well as the best-known food writers and broadcasters in the UK. The 16 categories range from books and podcasts to recipe and restaurant writing. There was a new category this… read more

GBBO gets the message

September 5, 2023 by
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After a few years of poorly conceived country-based theme weeks, the producers of the Great British Bake Off have finally seen the light. They have eliminated these types of themes and are returning to the basics that made the program an international success. The show's producer, Kieran Smith, acknowledged the missteps in an interview with The Guardian. “We didn’t want… read more

Food news antipasto

September 4, 2023 by
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First up this week is a delightful interview with Jürgen Krauss, a semifinalist in the 2021 Great British Bake Off. Krauss discusses how his childhood in Germany's Black Forest region influences his baking, and why he doesn't hold a grudge against GBBO for his shocking exit from the program, which spurred over 100 to make complaints to the UK's communications regulator.… read more

Raw milk is back in the spotlight

September 2, 2023 by
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Raw milk is getting a lot of attention again due to a plethora of TikTok videos and endorsements by celebrities touting the alleged health benefits of drinking the unpasteurized dairy product. Tom Parker-Bowles recently wrote that raw milk has endured “no pasteurisation, homogenisation or standardisation, meaning it still contains the full complement of vitamins, minerals and natural digestive enzymes, as… read more

Stop telling me how to get rid of the garlic smell on my hands

August 31, 2023 by
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Frequently a post saying something like "this is the best method to remove the garlic smell from your hands" will pop up in my news feed. I never click on those posts. Not only do I not want to remove the odor, I would be open to a perfume that smells like garlic when it is thrown into hot butter.… read more

It’s pumpkin spice season, but it doesn’t feel like it

August 30, 2023 by
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Starbucks released its seasonal drinks, including the famed Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL), on August 24. While the flavors scream autumn, the weather does not in most people living in the US. Part of this discrepancy stems from the fact that Starbucks has pushed up the release date since the PSL debuted 20 years ago in October, 2003. As the years… read more

Jamila Robinson to head Bon Appétit and Epicurious

August 28, 2023 by
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The Philadelphia Inquirer's assistant managing editor for food and culture, Jamila Robinson, has been tapped to lead Condé Nast magazine Bon Appétit and its companion website Epicurious, the newspaper announced earlier today. Robinson has been with the Inquirer since 2020, first as its food editor and then as an assistant managing editor. She will be replacing veteran book editor Dawn… read more

Food news antipasto

August 27, 2023 by
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First up this week is a fun little quiz to test your knowledge of pantry staples. It starts off pretty easy by asking what are the ingredients in pesto, but it gets more difficult after that. There were some foods I hadn't encountered, although because it's multiple choice most answers become clear even if you don't have a jar of… read more
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