Does it matter which side of aluminum foil goes where?

January 31, 2026 by
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Aluminum foil gets a workout in our house, from covering and lining pans to zhushing up cake boards. For the cake boards, it is obvious that the shiny goes on the outside, but when you are using it in the oven or on the grill, does it matter which side goes where? The short answer is, not really. You might… read more

Is cooking an art or a craft?

January 30, 2026 by
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When does something move from being a finely honed craft into a work of art? That's the question being asked in Denmark, after its culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt announced a new initiative to classify gastronomy as a fine art. If this goes forward, it would be the first time a country has made such a move. The initiative is still… read more

Best of the Best 2025

January 30, 2026 by
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We have assembled 358 lists from around the world to create our 17th annual Best of the Best. The top book of 2025 is Good Things by Samin Nosrat. No other book came close to the votes this book collected. As well as the top 10 books of the year plus seven runners up, we have charts showing the votes… read more

How is your cooking goal challenge going?

January 30, 2026 by
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Like many EYB members, I have vowed that this year I will cook more new recipes from my cookbooks. The new 2026 Cooking Goal on the CookShelf app is helping a lot for tracking my progress. Though I haven't cooked as much as I'd like this month as I'm moving house next week and packing is taking up all my… read more

Chefs share their favorite condiments

January 29, 2026 by
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My refrigerator doors are stuffed full of sauces and condiments. Although I have my favorites, I am always on the lookout for new things to try, which is why I had to check out the article from The New York Times Style Magazine on which spice blends and condiments chefs always keep on hand (gift link). Now I am going… read more

Best Selling Books of 2025

January 29, 2026 by
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Last month our friends at cookbook stores around the world gave us their picks for their favorite books of 2025 which we then included in our Best of the Best of 2025. Now we asked them for their top sellers of 2025 (published in any year). It would be interesting to compare these charts to non-specialist store/online retailer book sales but it is… read more

January 2026 New Cookbook Review

January 28, 2026 by
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One month nearly passed of this new year! My 2026 Cookbook Preview Post is growing every day with great titles to covet. The preview post will be updated with additions and revisions as the months go by and I have a load of new books to add after this month's cookbook review. Don’t forget that you can create a wishlist and share it with… read more

Healthy Rituals with Kombucha on Tap (and a Giveaway!)

January 28, 2026 by
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As we move into a season of lighter meals, cleaner routines, and more mindful choices, what we’re drinking matters just as much as what we’re cooking. For many, kombucha fits perfectly: refreshing, complex, and a satisfying alternative to sugary soft drinks or alcohol. But instead of bottles, imagine kombucha brewed fresh at home and poured straight from the tap. You… read more

Learning how to cook again

January 27, 2026 by
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Cooking columnist Yewande Komolafe has been writing recipes for The New York Times since 2018. Her impressive career spans 20 years, working in restaurants and test kitchens, developing recipes, and writing cookbooks. Two years ago that career and her very life was in jeopardy as Yewanade lay comatose in a hospital bed after a severe episode related to sickle cell… read more

Passport to Flavor – Cookbook Giveaway and Quick Bites

January 27, 2026 by
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Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Passport to Flavor: 100 Global Dishes You Can Make Anywhere by Abby Cheshire. Join social media sensation Chef Abby Cheshire on a culinary adventure on the high seas, in this internationally inspired, travel-infused cookbook with over 100 recipes from fourteen incredible locations around the world. No matter your location… read more

Food news antipasto

January 25, 2026 by
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Shortly after Prue Leith shared the news that she was leaving the Great British Bake Off after nearly a decade, rumors began to swirl that Nigella Lawson was in talks to be Dame Leith's replacement. This has not been officially confirmed by Channel 4, but they have not denied the rumors. Fingers crossed that this is true! Sauternes custard with… read more

January 2026 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

January 25, 2026 by
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Each month we allow posting in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club from any cookbook, magazine or blog and most months we also offer one featured cookbook. We hope that sharing our favorite recipes will help our Members discover new cookbooks and recipes to try. Also please see our February 2026 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary which is now organized by location and… read more

James Beard Award Restaurant and Chef semifinalists

January 22, 2026 by
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Yesterday the James Beard Foundation released its 2026 semifinalists for its Restaurant and Chefs Awards. The Awards celebrate excellence with national awards such as Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Baker, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Pastry Chef, Outstanding Restaurateur, Outstanding Bar, and Emerging Chef, plus regional categories for Best Chef.  Several chefs nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur or Outstanding Chef have written cookbooks: Stuart… read more

Prue Leith is leaving GBBO

January 21, 2026 by
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Dame Prue Leith announced today that she is leaving the Great British Bake Off. You can read her announcement below, where she said she feels "very lucky to have been a part of [the GBBO]." She took over after Mary Berry left the program, taking on hosting duties in 2017 and continuing to co-host with Paul Hollywood since that time.… read more

Chocolat by Aleksandra Crapanzano – Cookbook Giveaway

January 21, 2026 by
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Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Chocolat - Parisian Desserts and Other Delights by Aleksandra Crapanzano From the bestselling, James Beard Award–winning food writer and author of Gâteau (review) comes a beautiful book that celebrates the French love affair with chocolate, featuring over 100 elegant recipes. This new book has all the charm of Gâteau with gorgeous illustrations and… read more

Cookbook storage ideas

January 20, 2026 by
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It's a conundrum all cookbook lovers face eventually - the best location for storing cookbooks is not always the most attractive or most convenient. So what should you do? Tasting Table looked at the problem and came up with fourteen different ways to display cookbooks. They titled their post as "innovative" ways to show off your cookbook collection, but I… read more

Food news antipasto

January 19, 2026 by
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Several highly acclaimed US chefs are launching new restaurants in 2026. Brian Lockwood, formerly of NYC's Eleven Madison Park and a consultant for FX's The Bear, is opening Gingie in Chicago, which will feature a casual menu with refined technique, writes Kate Kassin. Kwame Onwuachi, whose Caribbean restaurants in New York and DC have earned him high praise, is heading… read more

Are French fries actually French?

January 17, 2026 by
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In the US we call them French fries, but there has been a long debate on whether frites originated in France or in Belgium. The latter country has laid claim to the invention of the deep fried deliciousness, but Belgian historian Pierre Leclercq says that the claim is not true. He posits that French fries originated on the streets of… read more

Sales have lost their luster

January 16, 2026 by
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I will probably sound like a curmudgeon saying this, but I remember when sales were really sales ("back in MY day" etc. and so forth). Pre-internet, people frequently paid full price for an item because if you really wanted something, it was risky to wait until a sale came along because you would risk not finding it. Also, it was… read more

Gourmet Magazine is back – sort of

January 15, 2026 by
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Gourmet Magazine was once the premiere food publication, a shining star owned by a storied company, Condé Nast. Then, in 2009, when the world was experiencing a deep recession and had started the inexorable shift to an online experience, Gourmet was abruptly shuttered. The decision to end the magazine shocked the food world, including its editor Ruth Reichl, who wrote… read more

February 2026 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary

January 14, 2026 by
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As our members know, each month we offer several cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. There are other fun cookbook clubs around world and we’d like to highlight those for those members who might want to cook or bake something other than our choices.  I will update this post as clubs make their additional choices. Something that has… read more

What a bunch of baloney

January 13, 2026 by
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Bologna in the US is often derided as low quality "mystery meat" and looked down upon by food lovers. However, the origins of this meat date back centuries and its close relative and likely inspiration, mortadella, is highly regarded. The Daily Meal brings us this fact plus many more in a deep dive into this humble food. The Dagwood from… read more

Food news antipasto

January 11, 2026 by
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We are starting off the week on a sad note, as we learned that Boston chef and food stylist Elle Simone Scott passed away last week at the age of 49. Scott served as a host and a food stylist for America's Test Kitchen. ATK's Jack Bishop offered praise for Scott in a note, saying that among her contributions to… read more

New life for old spices

January 10, 2026 by
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"If your spice is more than six months old, you should replace it with new" is common advice, but it is not practical for most people. Throwing out spices is an expensive proposition, and with food prices in an unrelenting upward trend, it can stretch an already tight budget. While it's true that spices will lose potency over time, there… read more

Strangest food stories of 2025

January 8, 2026 by
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Since the new year is just over a week old, let's take one more look back at 2025, this time with an eye for the weird. The Standard recently published a recounting of six strange food stories in the UK. As with nearly everything in these turbulent and fast-moving times, 2025 was filled with...interesting moments. Japanese fruit sandos from Simply… read more
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