History of the BLT

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

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

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

Pasta et Al Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Pasta et Al: The Many Shapes Of A Family Tradition by Alec Morris. Pasta et Al: The Many Shapes Of A Family Tradition by Alec Morris is a gorgeous book filled with inspirational recipes and photographs to level up your pasta game. The author was taught how to cook fresh… read more

Food news antipasto

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

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

NOON by Meike Peters, recipes, EYBD Previews and more

This week saw the publication of several great cookbooks including Meike Peters' Noon: Simple Recipes for Scrumptious Midday Meals and More. Meike has a few events scheduled to celebrate her latest title. It has been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but that was before Meike tackled lunch. In Noon, you will find 115 scrumptious… read more

TikTok food trends can have real economic impact

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 2023 New Cookbook Review

August starts up our busiest time for cookbook releases so be prepared to start adding titles to your wishlists. Soon I will be preparing the 2024 Cookbook Preview which I usually post in September, but until then the 2023 Cookbook Preview Listing is being kept up-to-date weekly. In May we announced that we have connected the EYB database to ckbk’s library of… read more

Hotpot Queen – Review & Giveaway

When Hotpot Queen contacted me about trying their products, I said yes! Lately, I am all about kits that make cooking just a little easier. Be sure to enter our giveaway below to win a HotPot Queen Pantry Gift Box open to US Members only. Sichuan hot pot soup base (川式清油火锅底料) What is Hot Pot? Hot pot is a flavorful… read more

Jamila Robinson to head Bon Appétit and Epicurious

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

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

Malta – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Malta: Mediterranean Recipes From the Islands by Simon Bajada. Malta: Mediterranean Recipes From the Islands is a richly photographed cookbook which takes you to the captivating archipelago between Sicily and the North African coast, with 70 recipes showcasing the country's vibrant Mediterranean cuisine. Many empires have influenced the Maltese kitchen over… read more

In the bag: how packaged salad took over the supermarket

If you time-traveled back to the 1970s and told the average supermarket shopper that 50 years hence there would be entire supermarket aisles devoted to bagged salad greens and kits, and that twenty percent of all vegetable sales would be spent on salads, you would probably be met with skepticism. At that time you would have been hard pressed to… read more

Arepa Cookbook Giveaway & Quick Bites

Enter our US/CA/UK giveaway to win one of two copies of Arepa: Classic & Contemporary Recipes for Venezuela's Daily Bread by Irena Stein. The author has an event scheduled and it is shared on our Calendar. Arepa: Classic & contemporary recipes for Venezuela’s daily bread by Irena Stein shares over 50 recipes celebrating Venezuela’s irresistible and most popular street food: the… read more

The celebrity endorsement

As I was scrolling through Twitter today, an advertisement featuring chef Gordon Ramsay appeared in my feed. Ramsey was extolling the virtues of Triscuit crackers, something the chef has been doing since February, according to AdWeek. The advertising campaign "features Ramsay as his authentic and unfiltered self and celebrates the wholesome but crunchy things in life that are full of… read more

Angel hair pasta is back

I was puzzled when I saw the tweet from Eater stating that angel hair pasta was making a comeback. "Had it ever really left?" I wondered. As I discovered, this is only because I live with an angel hair fanatic: every time I ask what pasta he would like to accompany the sauce I plan to make, the answer is… read more

August 2023 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we offer at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This month we cooked from our favorite titles, blogs and online recipe sources. For past EYB Cookbook Club summaries, #EYBCookbookClub will pull up an archive of our club’s activities. Please note our announcement document shared in the club shares all our options (including those in the past). You will… read more

The rise of the orange yolk

When I was growing up I had the luxury of eating only farm fresh eggs because my grandmother raised chickens. Of course, when you're a child you do not recognize the luxuries you have; I wanted to get the pure white eggs from the supermarket that didn't have pieces of straw and dirt (and worse) on them. Now I would… read more
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