Kitchen perils demand a first aid kit

May 10, 2024 by
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Most chefs have scars that tell of kitchen mishaps: burns, cuts, and abrasions are a job hazard. Home cooks face these same perils and most of us also have physical reminders of injuries that occurred at the cutting board, cooktop, or oven. When I was in college, I worked at a pizza place and for the longest time I had… read more

Taste Canada Awards longlist released

May 8, 2024 by
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Now in its 27th year, Taste Canada / Saveurs du Canada has announced the longlist of 73 cookbooks vying for its coveted culinary writing awards. The Awards are presented to outstanding Canadian cookbooks in both English and French languages. The shortlist will be announced online on June 12, 2024 and the winners will be announced in autumn of this year (for reference,… read more

UK Guild of Food Writers announces 2024 shortlist

May 7, 2024 by
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The UK Guild of Food Writers announced the shortlist for its annual Awards in food writing and broadcasting. The winners will be revealed at a ceremony at the Royal Institution in London on Wednesday, 12 June. The awards highlight emerging voices as well as the industry's best-known food writers and broadcasters. Without further ado, the First Book Award nominees include:… read more

Food news antipasto

May 6, 2024 by
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Are you brand loyal or do you seek out bargains with off-brand items? If the latter, you might want to check out Walmart's latest foray into upscale store-label products. The brand is named Bettergoods and is targeted at younger shoppers who want chef-quality items at affordable prices. Walmart hopes to roll out 300 items by autumn including "frozen foods, dairy… read more

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

May 4, 2024 by
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Everyone appreciates a reason to celebrate, especially when the festivities involve great food. This is evident in the widespread celebration of Cinco de Mayo far outside the borders of Mexico. It’s likely that many people who celebrate this day may not fully comprehend the history behind it: it is not, as many people believe, Mexico’s Independence Day, which is September… read more

How important is the recipe’s photo?

May 2, 2024 by
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These days it's rare to find a cookbook that isn't filled with dozens (if not hundreds) of gorgeous, perfectly-styled photographs that accompany the recipes. Not only do these photos make one's mouth water, they also provide valuable context for the recipe. I've frequently used an accompanying photo to clear up confusion on how a dish is to be assembled or… read more

How well do you know eggs?

May 1, 2024 by
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carton of eggs
Eggs are a staple food in nearly every cuisine, nearly indispensable in both cooking and baking. Although chicken eggs are the most commonly eaten kind today, throughout human history eggs from other birds were more popular. Plus our ancestors were eating eggs over 300,000 years ago! I learned these facts and more in Great British Chefs' comprehensive guide to eggs.… read more

James Beard Foundation 2024 Media Award Nominees

April 30, 2024 by
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The James Beard Foundation has announced the nominees for its 2024 Media Awards, which includes cookbooks. The Book Awards are open to cookbooks and other non-fiction food or beverage-related books that were published in the United States in 2023. In a press release, Erica Skolnik, Chair of the James Beard Foundation’s Book Awards program, said "Food is more than sustenance—it's also… read more

Food news antipasto

April 28, 2024 by
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Are you Team Hydrox or Team Oreo? If you are the former, here is some news from Leaf Brands, maker of the chocolate sandwich cookie: it is planning an antitrust lawsuit against Mondelēz, the parent company of Oreo. Leaf Brands accuses the Oreo manufacturer of intimidating retailers and telling workers in stores to "hide, misplace or move Hydrox to less… read more

How to use beer in the kitchen

April 27, 2024 by
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Have you ever hosted a gathering and found yourself with leftover cans or bottles of beer that you don't plan on drinking? Instead of letting in languish in your refrigerator (it doesn't keep forever), Food & Wine's Merlyn Miller offers a bevy of ideas on how you can use it in your cooking and baking. The first suggestion is to… read more

Can copycat recipes be trusted?

April 26, 2024 by
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There are many foods I enjoy out or that are commercially made that I would love to recreate at home, either because I don't live near a store or restaurant that offers the item, or because the restaurant or food no longer exists. Over the years, I've tried copycat recipes for things ranging from Oreos to Krispy Kreme doughnuts to… read more

Essential cookbooks

April 24, 2024 by
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What makes a cookbook essential? Is it one that covers broad swaths of territory, like Joy of Cooking, or one that keenly focuses on a smaller subject like Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables? Maybe it's a cookbook that changes the way an entire country cooks, like Mastering the Art of French Cooking did. Perhaps this whole line of… read more

What Padma Lakshmi’s been up to since leaving Top Chef

April 23, 2024 by
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As Top Chef began season 21, long-time host Padma Lakshmi was nowhere to be seen. She had announced her departure from the show last year, noting that she planned to spend more time on her show Taste the Nation and other projects she had in the works. If you follow her on Instagram, you have probably seen a lot of… read more

Food news antipasto

April 21, 2024 by
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A group of people who are squatting in an unoccupied London building formerly occupied by a Gordon Ramsey restaurant have announced that they will remain in place despite a court order telling them to leave. The squatters, who identified themselves as the Anarchist Association London Branch, locked themselves in the York & Albany hotel and gastropub, situated just outside Regent's… read more

Rayner’s take on the latest food craze

April 19, 2024 by
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Last month I wrote about the latest TikTok food craze, the crookie, which a lot of you (understandably) didn't think looked very appetizing. The Guardian's food critic, Jay Rayner, gives us his take on this craze and the others that preceded it, noting that this type of super-hyped food has a long history. In the 17th century, fresh garden peas… read more

Is preheating the oven necessary?

April 17, 2024 by
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oven dial
Almost every baking recipe begins with the words "Preheat the oven to NNN degrees," but is it really necessary to go through that step? Wouldn't it be more energy efficient to just put your food items in while the oven is heating? The answers to those questions depend on what you are making, says cookbook author Alice Zaslavsky. She explains… read more

It’s rhubarb season already?!

April 16, 2024 by
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My rhubarb plants are nearly ready to harvest, marking the earliest maturation since we moved to this location in late 2008. Glancing back at the posts about rhubarb's return as a harbinger of spring, the date when the post appeared has moved backward several weeks since 2014 when I started writing for the EYB blog. That year, the rhubarb post… read more

Food news antipasto

April 14, 2024 by
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Following a storm of negative social media posts, Momofuku has said that it won't enforce the trademark for 'chili crunch' or 'chile crunch'. “Over the past week, we have heard the feedback from our community and now understand that the term ‘chili crunch’ carries broader meaning for many,” the company said in a statement. Small business owners who had been… read more

The life-changing magic of…nothing

April 13, 2024 by
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Hyperbole in advertising and news reporting is almost as old as print itself, so it should not be surprising that hyperbole is common on the internet. The extent of it is breathtaking, however, as seemingly every other article or post touts "the life-changing magic" of a given technique, product, or method. Given the slant of my news feeds, most of… read more

Who wins in this kitchen appliance showdown?

April 12, 2024 by
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One of the best ways to start an argument is to make a claim that X is better than Y. It doesn't really matter what X or Y is, just stating that one is superior to another will set off passionate debate that often devolves into insults. This scenario popped into my head when I saw an article at Eater… read more

Let them eat snake

April 10, 2024 by
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We've heard a lot of buzz about how bugs might be the next big thing in environmentally-friendly protein and now we're apparently moving up the food chain to snakes. An article in Salon reports that some scientists believe snake could be a good solution for sustainable protein. These researchers claim that commercial snake farming (in particular pythons) could provide a… read more

Fortnum & Mason Food Awards shortlist announced

April 9, 2024 by
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Fortnum & Mason has long been a resource for English cookery, providing quality ingredients to generations of cooks since its founding in 1707. The company’s annual food and drink awards celebrate the best publications and broadcasts in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The shortlist for the 2024 award dropped earlier today, and it includes a broad variety of subjects:… read more

Food news antipasto

April 7, 2024 by
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Condiments like chili crisp and chili crunch are having a moment right now. They add spiciness and texture to foods like dumplings, noodles, eggs, and even desserts. The ingredients are similar from brand to brand, with many calling their product chili crunch, but one brand wants to put an end to that. Momofuku, founded by David Chang, has issued cease-and-desist… read more

Are most cookbooks bad? One blogger thinks so

April 6, 2024 by
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I stumbled upon a post by Tim Mazurek at his blog Lottie & Doof in which he makes some bold assertions about cookbooks. Mazurek thinks that most cookbooks published today are bad, stating that "the reality is that most cookbooks are not very good and very few people actually read them or cook from them, especially industry experts." He feels… read more

‘Shake’ and ‘quake’ foods

April 5, 2024 by
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Early this morning a mild earthquake startled NYC-area residents. While this level of quake wouldn't cause a Californian to bat an eyelash, it is much less common to occur on the East Coast so it caught people's attention. Where I live has about the lowest possibility of earthquakes in the continental U.S., so if one were to strike here everyone… read more
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