Food news antipasto

July 27, 2025 by
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Goodbye grocery stores? The San Francisco Chronicle reports on how grocery shopping habits have changed store design (gift link), and how the shift in shopping may be the death knell for large, suburban supermarkets. With more people switching to online shopping, some stores have seen traffic dry up while others are turning into what might best be called shopper's warehouses.… read more

How seedless watermelons took over the grocery store

July 26, 2025 by
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When was the last time you saw watermelons with seeds in your local grocery store? You might find some at a farmer's market, but almost every supermarket will only have seedless fruit. Since the 1990s, seedless varieties have surged in popularity, and over 90% of watermelons shipped from farms are now the seedless type. Eater's Amy McCarthy explores the reasons… read more

New CookShelf Substack, featuring Rose Levy Beranbaum as the first guest author!

July 24, 2025 by
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In connection with the upcoming launch of the CookShelf app – which is in the final stages of beta-testing – Katie is launching a free Substack newsletter. This will complement the EYB blog, featuring cookbook recommendations from authors and recipe writers, and providing ingredient-focused roundups and cook-throughs of select cookbook recipes. We hope that this will provide another layer of… read more

How much is your cookbook collection worth?

July 23, 2025 by
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As a rule, cookbook collectors are not in it for the money. Most of us love to cook (and/or bake), appreciate the advice and inspiration that cookbooks provide, and enjoy learning about different cultures through the lens of food and cooking. We generally do not measure the value of the book by dollars and cents, but that does not mean… read more

Costco’s ‘Holy Grail’ item

July 22, 2025 by
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In a recent thread on the Costco Reddit forum, one Redditor asked a simple question that garnered a flurry of responses. The question was "What is your holy grail Costco item?" The most upvoted response was not the rotisserie chicken, the tequila, or even the iconic $1.50 hot dog. What people really love, it turns out, are big bags of… read more

Food news antipasto

July 20, 2025 by
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If you are the sort of person who likes to look at a dessert menu before you even order your main course, we have two articles you might want to peruse. First up is a growing trend in dessert-only restaurants. These places offer inventive menus that often include dessert and wine pairings. Says pastry chef Will Goldfarb, “There’s this appetite… read more

Baking Nation newspaper debuts

July 19, 2025 by
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We might be losing Cook's Country, but a new print publication has just launched that could ease the pain. The Kindness Company, has just released its first issue of what it bills as a "baking newspaper," titled Baking Nation. The first issue is billed as a "true collector’s piece for baking lovers everywhere!" It sounds like there are additional items… read more

Lost tool lament

July 18, 2025 by
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Back in 2021 I wrote about my favorite kitchen tools and noted that one of them was an inexpensive loop-type melon baller. A few years earlier, I wrote about not-quite-desert-island tools and a squeeze-to-open tea infuser made the list. Both of those beloved objects bit the proverbial dust a couple of months ago. While it was easy to find a… read more

New cookbook publishing imprint from HarperCollins

July 17, 2025 by
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Proof that cookbooks continue to outperform other publishing genres, Harper Influence, an imprint of HarperCollins, announced a new cookbook imprint earlier this week. Named Bite Books, the imprint is partnering with Studio Ramsay Global, Gordon Ramsay's television production company. This marks a further expansion of Bite, the food brand and entertainment platform that is a collaboration of Studio Ramsay Global… read more

An ode to orange blossom water

July 15, 2025 by
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Rose water and lavender are polarizing ingredients, called out by people who think they make a food or drink taste too much like soap. Far less polarizing is another floral flavor often used in Middle Eastern cuisine: orange blossom water. Serious Eats' Laila Ibrahim recently posted a love letter to this heady ingredient, extolling its virtues in a variety of… read more

Food news antipasto

July 13, 2025 by
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Are you getting the recommended daily amount of vegetables? If not, you might want to order dessert. No, that is not an error - more and more restaurants are adding vegetables, along with other savory elements, to their desserts. Eater's Bettina Makalintal tells us more about this intriguing restaurant trend. Earlier this week we learned the sad news that America's… read more

Celebrate Bastille Day with French food

July 12, 2025 by
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Spectacular firework displays in July aren’t limited to the United States. Ten days after America’s Independence Day, the French also have their own red, white and blue holiday. Called Bastille Day by English speakers, the day is known to the French as “La Fête Nationale,” and it celebrates the anniversary of the liberation of France marked by the storming of… read more

Fair food fever

July 10, 2025 by
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State fairs in the US are filled with agricultural exhibits, carnival rides, crafts, concerts, and, of course, food. Oodles and oodles of food, with plenty of items "on a stick" for convenience as you squeeze your way through the crowds. I know people who will map our their state fair excursion to make sure they can enjoy all of their… read more

When bad people use good recipes

July 9, 2025 by
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Nagi Maehashi, the woman behind the popular blog RecipeTin Eats, spent countless hours perfecting the Beef Wellington recipe published in her first cookbook, Dinner. The recipe has recently gone viral, but not for a good reason. Convicted murdered Erin Patterson allegedly used Nagi's recipe when she prepared the dinner at which she poisoned four of her in-laws, killing three of… read more

Your Nutella is safe with me

July 8, 2025 by
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Closeup of a jar of chocolate hazelnut spread with two slices of artisan bread out of focus to the left.
Classic food pairings like apple and cinnamon, peanut butter and jelly, or tomato and basil work together for many reasons. Complex chemical compounds play off each other and cultural factors can also play a role in how we perceive certain combinations of flavors. For most people these couplings seem natural and elevate the separate components to exceed what each offer… read more

Food news antipasto

July 6, 2025 by
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The strawberries and cream sandwich from Marks & Spencer has taken England by storm. People who enjoy this dainty treat, inspired by the Japanese "sando" may be dismayed to learn that it could soon be subject to the 20% VAT on desserts. According to VAT expert Simon Knivett: “If the bread is sweetened and the product is held in the… read more

Getting to the heart of it

July 6, 2025 by
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After I learned a few years ago that Italian amaretti are traditionally made with apricot kernels, I thought it would be fun to make them someday. Recently I bought apricots and decided that someday was now. After using the fruit in a cake, I stashed the pits in a mason jar until I had enough time to tackle the project.… read more

The history of barbecue

July 4, 2025 by
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This weekend, grills across the US will be blazing with a multitude of meats, vegetables, and fish set atop the racks. Some will enjoy quickly cooked items like hot dogs and hamburgers, but in many households (mine included), low and slow barbecuing will take place. The roots of barbecue date back centuries, and its modern day incarnation owes a lot… read more

Can the can continue?

July 2, 2025 by
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Del Monte Foods, one of the largest canned fruit and vegetable processors in the world, filed for bankruptcy earlier this week. The filing aims to stabilize the company with interim financing until a sale of the company can go forward. In addition to the canned goods carrying the 139-year-old company's iconic logo, Del Monte owns the Contadina tomato brand, College… read more

Any way you slice it

July 1, 2025 by
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A reader comment to a recent article in The Guardian asked why bread slices have gotten thicker over the years. The same reader lamented that you cannot find thin sliced bread in the supermarket any more, and that by making the slices thicker, food companies were contributing to obesity issues. While I do not know if bread has actually gotten… read more

Food news antipasto

June 29, 2025 by
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Jane and I spent the weekend at the American Library Association annual conference in Philadelphia, promoting our Library memberships. Highlights of the trip included seeing several EYB Members who stopped by to say hello, wonderful cocktails at Almanac, and a meal with two absolutely delightful authors Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, who had a demonstration on the What’s Cooking stage at the… read more

Tea innovations

June 27, 2025 by
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Forget pumpkin spice lattes, the latest thing in beverages is pumpkin spice tea. That, and along with other trends, is driving an uptick in the popularity of tea, especially in the US, which has not always been tea-friendly. (We got a little salty about it back in 1776 and never got over it.) But now Americans are embracing tea, and… read more

World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025

June 25, 2025 by
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On Monday, the World's 50 Best announced the top 50 restaurants in the world for 2025 at an event in Turin, Italy on Monday evening. Maido in Lima, Peru was named No. 1, the second time a restaurant from this city landed in the top position (Central won in 2023). Spain’s Asador Etxebarri became the bridesmaid again at No. 2… read more

Grocery store trickery

June 24, 2025 by
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One of the grocery stores in my city vexes me to no end by its constant rearranging of products. As soon as I get used to learning where to find the items that I regularly buy, everything moves to a new location. This shuffling of items is probably not just due to changing inventory, but rather a deliberate attempt to… read more

Food news antipasto

June 22, 2025 by
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We covered the James Beard Media Awards over the weekend, but there were more honors given on Monday, when the JBF announced the winners of its Restaurant and Chef Awards, representing the best food and drink in the US. Fine dining establishments took home many of the honors, but there were plenty of casual restaurants in the mix. Take a… read more
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