Make mayo; hold the eggs

  David Leite of indexed blog Leite's Culinaria  is making mayonnaise, but without one major ingredient: eggs. The mayonnaise is made with milk instead, and although it may sound strange, he assures us it is a delicious base for a variety of dips and sauces. Leite discovered this unusual condiment when he was traveling in Portugal a few years back. The "ghostly… read more

Double trouble

Baking bread is both simple and complex. The ingredients for a basic loaf are the simple part, as you need only flour, water, yeast, and salt. The complexity arises in the treatment of these basic building blocks. One of the first obstacles a beginning baker faces is determining if the risen dough is properly proofed, or ready for the next recipe… read more

Dried chiles add depth and nuance

Many of us keep whole spices in our pantry because we prefer the vibrant flavor of freshly ground spices like peppercorns or cumin seed over the sometimes flat flavors of the pre-ground varieties. Yet when the recipe calls for chile powder, we still reach for the pre-ground version because we are overwhelmed by the dozens of varieties of dried chiles available to… read more

Lose the myth, keep the lore

Adding salt to beans makes them tough. You must use a double boiler to melt chocolate. Searing meat seals in the juices. Kitchen myths like these live on far after science renders them inaccurate. While these myths should be debunked, we shouldn't forget the history that created them, says Bee Wilson of The Telegraph. Ms. Wilson explores myths debunked in… read more

How to cook a frozen steak

Conventional wisdom says to cook a steak that has been frozen, you must first thaw it. However, conventional wisdom is wrong, according to America's Test Kitchen (reported by Food Republic). The Test Kitchen found that steaks cooked directly from the freezer had a smaller gray band, which indicates overcooked meat, than thawed steaks. What's more, the frozen steaks lost less… read more

Hot kitchen, cool pastry

Why is it that the peak season for juicy, delicious fruits coincides with the worst conditions for pie crust? All of those ripe, luscious berries, peaches, and apricots are just begging to be sandwiched between flaky, tender crusts, but a hot kitchen can wreak havoc on your pastry dough. What's a baker to do? Follow the tips from indexed blog… read more

Improve your cooking skills with EYB’s new feature

We've created a new feature that gives you access to 594 (and counting!) online how-to demonstrations, including how to carve a duck, how to make homemade ricotta, how to make marshmallow fluff, and how to prepare and cook artichokes. Select tutorials from cookbooks are indexed as well.  And even better, 127 of the tutorials have  videos. To browse all of the how-to links, go… read more
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