Are “Double-Stuf” Oreos really double?

August 22, 2013 by
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Not being noted as a great math scholar, as a child we often asked "why is math important?" Well, here's one answer for any parent that hears that question. Are you being duped when you buy a package of "Double Stuf" oreos thinking you get twice the filling you would in a normal Oreo? If you think this isn't important,… read more

It’s official – Do not marinade food until after it’s finished grilling

August 21, 2013 by
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If we accept the New York Times as an authoritative source, their lead food article today, Flavor Is Only Skin Deep:  Welcome to the Post-Marinade Era of Grilling serves as an obtituary for the concept of marinading food to be grilled. John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger, two experts who have written numerous cookbooks together on meat and grilling,  have bitten the… read more

An homage to pigs

August 20, 2013 by
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After all the food fads, crazes, fashions, and just plain absurdities, it's nice every now and then to consider those things that are always steady and true. And that's why this article from the Guardian, Pigs: a very British obsession, is worthy of note.  Besides their very obvious culinary uses - it is now fashionable to boast of being able… read more

Mark Bittman’s surprisingly positive view on industrial tomatoes arouses debate

August 19, 2013 by
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In his NY Times column, The Opinionator, Mark Bittman recently wrote of a visit he took to California to scope out why industrial canned tomatoes can taste better than even the "heirloom" tomatoes he buys at the grocery store. His article, Not All Industrial Food is Evil, starts out with no pretense that he isn't skeptical: "So, fearing the worst… read more

Keeping guacamole fresh w.o. pits, plastic wrap, or more lime juice

August 18, 2013 by
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The Kitchn recently appears to have solved one of those very annoying kitchen issues - how to keep guacamole from turning grey. In The Best Way to Keep Guacamole Green, they reveal that: "All you do is cover the guacamole with a thin layer of water.  OK, you say, this sounds weird - maybe even gross. Water on the guacamole? But water… read more

Me and my cookbooks – August 2013

August 16, 2013 by
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At a time when the press relentlessly insists that no one is interested in cooking at home anymore, there is great joy in realizing that there are many others ( EYB members) who enjoy the creativity and pleasure of sharing good food. So we wanted to celebrate our members by regularly publishing vignettes about members and their cookbooks. If you'd… read more

Honoring Julia Child’s birthday

August 15, 2013 by
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Today, Julia Child would have been 101 years old. So we thought we'd pause from all those weighty issues we normally discuss and take a moment to appreciate the grande dame of cooking. And what better way to do so than actually watch her at work? So if any of you have a moment, here's one of our favorite videos… read more

The dirt about “superfoods”

August 14, 2013 by
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We're on a bit of a nomenclature binge, discussing the definition of the word "pizza" yesterday, noting the now legal definition of "gluten-free" last week,  and today taking a look at the word "superfood."  This is a word that's been used quite a lot recently and ostensibly means a food that is packed with nutrients, vitamins, or other beneficial attributes,… read more

Is it a pizza or isn’t it?

August 13, 2013 by
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We know it's August and in much of the world there's not a lot of heavy mental lifting going on. so we wanted to nudge the brain cells a little with this crucial question, posed by the kitchn, "When Is a Pizza Not a Pizza?" Does it have to have a traditional crust? A traditional crust with sauce? A traditional… read more

The link between food and rituals

August 12, 2013 by
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The New York Times has a fascinating article called Rituals Make Our Food More Flavorful  that provides incentive to mull over how we eat, as opposed to what we eat. Studies published in Psychological Science found that "rituals appeared capable of enhancing the enjoyment not just of treats like chocolate or lemonade but even baby carrots." Examples of rituals include… read more

Is food writing sexist?

August 9, 2013 by
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Here's something to mull over on the weekend: Is food writing sexist? Frankly, we had never thought about this question, but  L.V. Anderson over at Slate has a decisivie article called Hey Food Writers, Stop Comparing Food to Women in which she maintains that it is indeed sexist and has to stop. Anderson started on this track by noticing an Alan… read more

Great prosciutto doesn’t have to come from Italy

August 8, 2013 by
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Having posted yesterday about lab-grown hamburgers, we wanted to bring the discussion around full circle, and this New York Times article about a small Iowa farm producing prosciutto that rivals that from Parma does the trick. In Some Prosciutto Fans Turn to Iowa, they ask the question: "Would people buy prosciutto from a guy named Herb from Iowa?" The answer… read more

Unveiling laboratory-grown hamburgers

August 7, 2013 by
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The biggest news this week is the unveiling and testing of the first laboratory-grown hamburger - you can read all the details in NPR's Long Awaited Lab-Grown Burger Is Unveiled in London. In a nutshell Google cofounder Sergei Brin donated $300,000 to fund the growth of a hamburger from a few stem cells extracted from a cow's shoulder muscle. After… read more

Finally, “Gluten Free” is now legally defined

August 6, 2013 by
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Whether you need to shop for a gluten-intolerant diet or not, it's impossible to avoid seeing that label in grocery stores - it's become omnipresent. However,  many people may not have realized that, until now, there have been no official requirements to back up a "gluten-free" label. Congress asked the FDA nine years ago to define the concept and gave… read more

Faking great balsamic vinegar

August 5, 2013 by
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It's hard to keep a good tip down on the internet. Here's a quick tip from Food52 - A Trick for Faking Fancy Balsamic, which, in turn, was adapted from  Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich. "Simmer two parts inexpensive balsamic vinegar with one part honey until the mixture is thickened and reduced by about half. Let cool." You can… read more

How to use up past-its-prime fruit

August 4, 2013 by
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  To solve an obviously rotten problem, here's the Kitchn's take on 10 Top Ways to Use Up Overripe Fruit: Quick Bread Jam Crumble, Cobbler, or Pie Smoothie Sauce for Pancakes or Sandaes Meat Sauce Salad Dressing Juice Fruit Leather Popsicles They offer several recipes suggestions for many of these ideas, but we wanted to see if the EYB library… read more

What makes a good cookbook app

August 2, 2013 by
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Yesterday, we wrote about the success of the cookbook Jerusalem - success partically driven by social media. Since we were discussing the effects of technology on cookbooks, we decided to delve into a related area, and share this article from App Storm on what makes a good cookbook app. In The Future of Cookbook Apps on iPad, Jessica O'Toole first… read more

Why ‘Jerusalem’ is becoming the Harry Potter of the cookbook world

August 1, 2013 by
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There are thousands, of cookbooks published every year. Many are never noticed, some become popular with a select group, and some actually make the best-seller list for awhile. But every now and then, one incites feverish excitement. According to The New York Times article, 'Jerusalem' Has All the Right Ingredients,  Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi's recent cookbook Jerusalem is reaching those… read more

Are these the 9 best global food magazines?

July 31, 2013 by
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Everybody loves lists - if, for nothing else, than to disagree with them. So we wanted to present The Daily Meal's Ten Best Magazines From Around the World as a topic of discussion (the list is, actually, only of 9 magazines). Of course, many might argue that internet recipes are eliminating the need for food magazines (Gourmet blamed the internet… read more

Safe ways to defrost food

July 30, 2013 by
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When it's hot out, the chances of food spoilage increase. So we thought a short primer on safe ways to defrost food would not go amiss. Most people understand that defrosting food in the refrigerator, which usually takes at least overnight but keeps the food at a safe temperature, is the best way to proceed. And we hope that most… read more

Finally – a realistic way to determine what’s good for you to eat

July 29, 2013 by
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Because the amount of nutritional information out there is humongous, often contradictory, and may or may not have any scientific validity, we've tended not to post much on the issue. However, it is a body of knowledge that anyone who likes to eat should try to stay on top of - or at least try to be rational about. To… read more

Steak Misconceptions

July 28, 2013 by
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One of the biggest misconceptions about steaks (and other proteins) is that you need to sear them to seal the juices in. It's now pretty widely accepted that that is not true - searing makes little difference to the juiciness of a steak; it does, however, improve the flavor through the Maillard Reaction. But other misconceptions about grilling or searing… read more

Ice myths that aren’t true

July 26, 2013 by
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It was very hot recently in our part of the world, so we spent more than the usual time breaking out the ice trays. With ice at the forefront of our kitchen, an article at SeriousEats by their food science columnist, Kevin Liu, hit the proverbial spot. In 5 Myths About Ice, Debunked, he explains why the following 5 preconceptions… read more

Learning from Raghavan Iyer

July 24, 2013 by
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  Raghavan Iyer won widespread acclaim with his third book, 660 Curries, Plus Biryanis, Breads, Pilafs, Raitas, and More, rated as a "a must-have for lovers of Indian cuisine." He's back with a new book that is designed to help anyone, regardless of skill level or location, master the flavors of Indian cuisine. In Indian Cooking Unfolded: A Master Class… read more

Cookbook giveaway – Indian Cooking Unfolded

July 24, 2013 by
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Here at EYB we're all for encouraging our members to indulge their passion for cookbooks. To that end, we've created a program to give our members a chance to win a copy of new, exciting cookbooks that have just been published. To see all the contests, just look in the right-hand category column on any blog page and click on… read more
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