Something fishy going on

February 3, 2020 by
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You may have read an article or two of late that discusses fish fraud - it seems that a frighteningly large percentage of the fish you see on display in supermarkets is mislabeled. This makes cooking with fish a dicey proposition, especially so if your recipe calls for a specific variety with which you are not familiar. Finding a reputable… read more

Food news antipasto

February 2, 2020 by
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The Unicode Consortium, the group that approves all new emojis, has announced eight new food emojis set for release in March in Unicode Version 13.0. The new symbols are blueberries, an olive, a green bell pepper, flatbread, tamale, a Swiss fondue pot, teapot, and bubble tea. Not making the cut again this year: white wine. Sorry, Chardonnay lovers. Don't expect… read more

Over 8,000 video recipes in the EYB Library

February 1, 2020 by
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Video recipes are a growing trend in food media. Some people use them as a tutorial while others watch for entertainment. The videos can take the form of a mini-episode of a cooking show or focus on specific techniques or methods. Sometimes it’s easier to make something if you can watch how it’s done, as in the braiding technique for… read more

Valentine’s Day treats

January 31, 2020 by
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Every Valentine's Day, I get a box of chocolates from my sweetie, and I make him a special treat. It's nothing fancy, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Since I love to cook and bake, we eat a variety of foods from cuisines around the world. While my partner enjoys this bounty, there are some foods that he recalls… read more

2020 Art of Eating Prize long list announced

January 30, 2020 by
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The Art of Eating magazine first appeared in 1986 in the form of an eight-page black-and-white newsletter written by Edward Behr. After three decades in print, it transformed into a digital-only, advertising-free magazine with subscribers and contributors around the world. The magazine is about the best food and wine – what it is, how it is produced, and where to find it… read more

Changes for The Piglet cookbook competition

January 29, 2020 by
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After ten years of running The Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks, Food52's sometimes controversial cookbook competition, the site announced yesterday that they were making changes to the contest's format. In past years, the contest has pitted cookbooks head-to-head in a bracket style competition (think of college basketball's NCAA Sweet Sixteen competition). The photo below represents half of the competitors of last… read more

Is it really necessary to preheat the oven?

January 28, 2020 by
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Whether you are baking a cake, making a stew, or roasting vegetables, almost every recipe you find will begin with a simple instruction: preheat the oven to xxx degrees. But is this step really necessary? That's the question recently tackled by The Guardian's Kitchen Aide column. Some would argue that it is a waste of time and energy, but the… read more

More cookbooks, but less cooking

January 27, 2020 by
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It is always fun to stumble upon a good interview about cookbooks, and today I hit the jackpot. It's a conversation between food historian Kyle Cherek and radio host Bonnie North, and it covers everything from the first cookbook published in the U.S. to the latest trends of celebrity chef books. Cookbooks serve as cultural markers of the times, says… read more

Food news antipasto

January 26, 2020 by
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When you think of noodles, your line of thought might head straight to Italy, but you would be overlooking an even older noodle culture. Asian cuisine has featured noodles for centuries, and they can be made from more than just wheat and rice. Serious Eats has put together a comprehensive guide for choosing, storing, and cooking various types of Asian… read more

The meaning behind lunar New Year’s foods

January 25, 2020 by
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Today marks the beginning of a very special time for the Chinese and several other cultures, as it is the beginning of the lunar new year. This holiday, celebrated by 20% of the world's population, is honored differently in various countries, but food features prominently in all celebrations. Each of the foods traditionally eaten during this holiday has a meaning… read more

Picky eaters are born, not bred

January 25, 2020 by
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J J Goode has co-written several books in the EYB Library, including Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand (with Andy Ricker) and A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals from the Garden (with April Bloomfield). Since he was a consummate food lover, Goode had visions of raising children who shared his broad… read more

Celebrate National Pie Day

January 23, 2020 by
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Well, I missed it - again. Today was National Pie Day, celebrated in several countries, and I forgot about it. That is because I believe the logical choice for the day is March 14, a dual pi(e) celebration. (Nerds unite!) I once wrote a persuasive argument that pie is better than cake, and I think that it still holds true… read more

The breath of the wok

January 22, 2020 by
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Wok cooking aficionados extol the virtues of the versatile cookware with a fervor matched only by perhaps the most dedicated cast iron enthusiasts. The wok's unique shape holds the key to how it can perform so well on different types of food. It's more than just the slope of the sides, however, as a recent San Francisco Chronicle article explains.… read more

Which country has the best food?

January 22, 2020 by
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In a world that lives for lists, it is inevitable that the question of which country has the best food will be asked. It's certain to be a point of national pride for some, and there are arguments to be made for any number of countries to be at the top. The question was recently posed at the rating site… read more

Where ‘a la mode’ originated

January 20, 2020 by
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French terminology has fallen by the wayside in all but a handful of restaurants in the US, with the exception of one term: à la mode, meaning served with ice cream. While it is ubiquitous now, the term used to mean something else entirely and was part of a broader 'a la' trend, as Gastro Obscura explains. A term that… read more

Food news antipasto

January 19, 2020 by
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In this age of viral videos and other social media posts, a recipe can take on a life of its own. Sometimes it happens with stunning speed but other times it can build more slowly, like a snowball rolling down a shallow hill. That's what happened with a soup recipe that Helen Rosner published in 2016. It has only recently… read more

In-depth cooking projects for that extra day off

January 18, 2020 by
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In the US, Monday is a national holiday celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For many of us that means a three-day weekend, and with most of the US facing blustery weather, it also creates the perfect atmosphere for an in-depth or complicated cooking or baking project. For those who are undecided about how they… read more

The case for long dessert menus

January 17, 2020 by
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The offerings of most restaurant dessert menus - if there is even one to begin with - are not the stuff of dreams. Most eateries do not put much time or thought into curating an offering of sweets to end the meal. Perhaps this is due to cost concerns, as having a pastry chef along with dedicated refrigerator or preparation… read more

Cookbook authors on the books they keep returning to

January 16, 2020 by
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What is better than finding out which cookbook an author thinks is indispensible? Learning the same from a half-dozen authors. Over at The New York Times, they've assembled a sort of cookbook author relay race, in which one recently published author recommends his or her favorite title from the past year or so, then passes on the honor to that… read more

The allure of celebrity mom cookbooks

January 15, 2020 by
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Go to the cookbook section in almost any bookstore and you will see a slew of cookbooks written by a celebrity actor, singer, or perhaps both. These women are not professionally trained chefs or, in some cases, even accomplished cooks. Yet these cookbooks fly off of store shelves - Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Kitchen was one of the top selling books… read more

Taking it to the limit

January 14, 2020 by
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The Splendid Table's Francis Lam once flew to a city just to eat at a specific restaurant, and felt that was going far - figuratively and literally - in pursuit of food. Inspired by his own obsession, Lam decided to ask others how far they would go for food-related items. The results are fascinating. Lam interviews photographer Melanie Dunea, who… read more

Love your lemons

January 13, 2020 by
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Currently in my local supermarket, oranges are less than $1 USD per pound and Meyer lemons have finally made their annual appearance, meaning that peak citrus season is here. Seeing mile-high displays of bright and enticing lemons, grapefruit, and oranges remains one of the best parts of what can be a dreary time here in the northland. However, this bounty… read more

Food news antipasto

January 12, 2020 by
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If there is one theme for this week it's cheese. If you believe that fromage is fabulous, you might be interested in visiting a new cheese-themed hotel suite. Brought to us by the UK chain restaurant Café Rouge, the suite will be all cheese, all the time: cheese wallpaper, artwork, bedding, and even cheese-themed games will be on display in the… read more

Highly divisive foods

January 11, 2020 by
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Cilantro, Marmite, black licorice, and olives - what do these items share in common? They are all foods that people either love or hate, with almost no one on the fence about them. If you look at various lists of divisive foods, most of the same one rise to the top; for example, a list from Reader's Digest contains significant… read more

The woman saving a rich history of cheese

January 10, 2020 by
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With all of the chaos and sad news in the world today, it's worth seeking out uplifting stories. One that recently caught my attention profiles a woman who is working diligently to save artisanal cheeses in her home country of Georgia. Ana Mikadze-Chikvaidze, the chairwoman of the Georgian Cheese Makers’ Association, has devoted the bulk of her career to discovering… read more
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