Should you buy salt- or oil-packed anchovies?

May 26, 2013 by
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With the discovery of umami, and the further discovery that anchovies are packed with this flavor component, anchovies have expanded their food reach way beyond pizza. As their ability to impart umami doesn't depend on quantity, and as anchovies dissolve easily which masks their flavor, it's easy to add succulence without a fish taste. Which brings us to our question… read more

Everything you needed to know about the world’s best-selling cookie

May 24, 2013 by
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It's probably not too surprising that Oreos are the world's best-selling cookie. After all, people have been known to rate possible friends, even marital candidates, based on whether they ate the cookie as a sandwich, or twisted off the top and licked the inside. Or whether they prefer their Oreo dunked or undunked. So here's a few facts on Oreos… read more

Mark Bittman explains why, despite his new book, he’s not a vegan

May 23, 2013 by
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Recently Mark Bittman published a new cookbook, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health...for Good. Many people focused on the "Vegan" part of the title and not the "Before 6:00." Essentially Bittman is publishing an eating plan where he eats Vegan for all his meals but one - dinner. So the obvious question is: Why not… read more

Nutella Day arises from the dead

May 22, 2013 by
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While many food-related controversies don't require much comment, we couldn't pass on the opportunity to enjoy a minor triumph of reason, rationality, and taste. For those of you who have been spending your time on more important things (family, jobs, etc.) and aren't aware of the Nutella Day controversy, here it is in a nutshell. Sara Rosso is a passionate… read more

The difference between grilling and barbecue

May 21, 2013 by
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At least in the northern hemisphere, it's now officially grilling/barbecue season - and we understand that it's actually never not grilling season down under. So we thought a brief primer on the difference between barbecue and grilling, courtesy of this video at Southern Cooking, might be helpful to all our members. So what is the difference? It's simple: Barbecue is… read more

Answers to 4 farmers’ market questions that are always asked – and shouldn’t be

May 20, 2013 by
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Forrest Pritchard is a farmer who just published a well-reviewed book, Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm (his is an eighth-generation farm) - you can read Michael Ruhlman on the book here. But Pritchard also publishes an interesting blog at his farm's website, Smith Meadows. One of those blogs we thought would… read more

5 truly good online cooking videos

May 19, 2013 by
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  Adam Roberts, over at the Amateur Gourmet, recently provided an antidote to Food TV. He gives links to five past food shows, now available online, that really defined good food television - they actually give you tips and advice on how to cook. In no particular order, they are (with our comments): Molto Mario, with Mario Batali (probably the… read more

How to build and roll the perfect burrito

May 17, 2013 by
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Burritos are delectable - but can be a sloppy mess. But this 4-minute video from The Daily Meal takes you by the hand and shows you how to build the perfect burrito - one that doesn't get soggy or fall apart. There are several keys: The order of ingredients is truly important - beans, rice, shredded cheese, meat/vegetable, salsa, guacamole,… read more

Kale has now been annointed as veggie-chic

May 16, 2013 by
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Since we doubt that anyone is unaware that kale has been soaring in popularity (stand aside, tomatoes) we haven't tackled it as a blog item -  it seems to be almost passé. But sometimes events overtake the best of intentions, and the event that overtook us was the final, canonical blessing on kale by the New York Times who just… read more

Remembering the great food commercials

May 15, 2013 by
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The Daily Meal has a wonderful list today for all of you of a certain age who might have spent a fair time in front of a television set (we plead guilty) in the U.S. It's a list of The 11 Most Iconic Food Commercials of All Time, plus links to the actual commercial on You Tube. As they say, "They're… read more

What to do when a fondness for cookbooks approaches addiction status

May 14, 2013 by
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The Kitchn has an article that may strongly resound with our members - 6 Ways to Manage Your Cookbook Addiction. Their description of what defines a cookbook addict may strike a chord with some of our members: "Perhaps it's because while you have more cookbooks then you will ever be able to cook recipes from, you cannot stop yourself from adding… read more

The Brits discover cake clubs

May 13, 2013 by
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NPR's The Salt recently revealed that the British have developed quite a passion for baking. In Why Britain Has Gone Mad About Baking, they announced "In the last year alone, some 9 million Britons have taken up baking, according to market research firm Mintel. Indeed, the home-baking market grew a whopping 84 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to Mintel. Increases… read more

The Munchie Award winners

May 12, 2013 by
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We were remiss earlier that we didn't acknowledge the winners of the Munchie Awards. As explained by Braiser, which published the results, these awards were created by Andrew Zimmern (most famous for his show, Bizarre Foods). "Zimmern and a panel of 26 experts (chefs, journalists, and media personalities alike) compile a list of nominees in each culinary category which are… read more

Woo-hoo! We now have over 100,000 online recipes

May 10, 2013 by
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Today, we're going to take a break in our regularly scheduled blog to pat ourselves on the back. Just this week, we've reached a monumental milestone - we now have over 100,000 online recipes!  Of those, almost 10,000 were added by our members  using the Bookmarklet feature (thank you, thank you); over 10,000 are from cookbooks; and 33,000 are from… read more

Four good reasons to eat chocolate

May 9, 2013 by
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Discussing chocolate is always appropriate, but never more so than approaching Mother's Day. So here's a shout out to The Daily Meal's article, Truth Behind 4 Chocolate Myths. By busting these myths, they produce even more reasons than you may already have for eating chocolate. Check out the article for the full details, here is a synopsis: "Myth #1: Chocolate… read more

All hail Hummus – the new King of the Snacks

May 8, 2013 by
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No less an authority than the Wall Street Journal has chosen to crown hummus as the new king of the snacks. In their online article, Hummus is Conquering America, they discuss how the growing demand for hummus is encouraging farmers to trade transplanting tobacco for chickpeas. Apparently the chickpea harvest has been concentrated in the Northwest, which creates a diversity of climate… read more

Mark Bittman identifies “the Big Mac of desserts”

May 7, 2013 by
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Mother's Day is approaching, and what mother wouldn't want the ultimate chocolate dessert - the "Big Mac of Dessert?" Mark Bittman has bestowed this title on Jean-Georges Vongerichten's molten chocolate cake - the original lava cake that has spawned so many offspring. But Vongertichten produces over 1,000/day, so if you want to go to the master, this is the one… read more

Presenting recipes as infographics could entice new cooks

May 6, 2013 by
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It's fun to both acknowledge and applaud novel approaches to old methods, and a new cookbook coming out in October does just that. Rather than writing out the recipe, this cookbook, (Picture Cook: A Graphic Cookbook by Katie Shelly),  presents the recipes as infographics - line drawings that show the recipe being made. The idea behind this approach is explained… read more

Rick Bayless and controversy over “authentic” Mexican food

May 5, 2013 by
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It's Cinco de Mayo, which is actually almost more of an American holiday than a Mexican one. It technically celebrates a battle than occurred in the Mexican province of Puebla, but became a holiday that Mexican-Americans encouraged to signify pride in their heritage. And just as with Cinco de Mayo, the concept of what is "authentic" Mexican food, vs. Mexican-American… read more

The Food Network is losing popularity

May 3, 2013 by
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The N.Y. Post published today some news that we thought our members would find interesting. According to recent ratings, the "Food Network shed 17 percent of its audience during the 12 months through April 30.  The average primetime show on the cable channel, which features such series as "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," slipped to 1.06 million." Also interesting, by contrast… read more

Beyonce and the $900 titanium straw

May 2, 2013 by
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It's well-known that touring artists often have very specific requirements for food, etc. in their touring contracts. And it's kind of fun to read them, if for nothing more than realizing what a fantasy world must be like. So when the Daily Meal published Beyonce's touring contract requirements, we paused to look them over. Essentially, as far as food goes,… read more

Why eat the hottest pepper in the world?

May 1, 2013 by
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Recently Slate posed a question that has puzzled us for a long time. In Eating Fire, they ask: "Why do people feel compelled to put the world's spiciest chili peppers in their mouths?" Indeed, in recent years, there has been a contest to develop the hottest pepper in the world. In 2012, the new  scorpion pepper edged out the ghost… read more

The cookie chosen by both Jacques Torres & Dorie Greenspan

April 30, 2013 by
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We don't usually bring attention to cooking contests - there are far too many of them - but the winner of the recent Fonseca contest caught our attention. First, the contest was rather unique - design a cookie that would go well with Port - and the judges (Jacques Torres and Dorie Greenspan) are no slouches. Then the cookie itself is really… read more

Is the Paleo Diet more than just nostalgia for the (very far) past?

April 29, 2013 by
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Most people interested in food-related matters are certainly aware by now of the Paleo Diet - but may not really understand it. This article from Epicurious, Scrutinizing the Paleo Diet,  presents a fair analysis of the pros and cons. It's actually a review of a new book,  Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live… read more

The rebirth of 1970’s kitchen gadgets

April 28, 2013 by
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According the The Guardian, 1970s kitchen gadgets are making a comeback. And we must say, when they started listing the gadgets, we had to agree they're right. Among the ones they list are: Sodastream -  Jamie Oliver's recent tribute (along with Lorraine Pascale's), created an 85% sales increase for this gadget which allows you to easily add carbonation and flavors to… read more
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