Restaurants turn to cookies for dessert

September 30, 2017 by
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  When you think of restaurant desserts, images of carefully composed quenelles of whipped cream placed beside a gorgeous slice of cake may come to mind. Some restaurants are turning their attention toward something a little more humble: cookies. Pastry chefs are giving cookies a makeover, introducing new flavors and making other tweaks, and placing them on their dessert menus.… read more

Why are we so drawn to black-colored food?

September 27, 2017 by
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Remember when Burger King caused a sensation a few years ago with its black-as-night hamburger bun? Even before that took the world by storm, we were awash in black-hued foods that popped up in our Instagram and Facebook feeds. Why do we flock to dishes that are so unnaturally dark-colored? Ligaya Mishan explores the concept in a delightful article in… read more

The history of your favorite apple varieties

September 24, 2017 by
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  In the United States, apple season has begun. Crisp, fresh fall apples have started to hit market shelves, and the variety that you can find is staggering, especially at farmers' markets and boutique grocery stores. If you live anywhere near an apple growing area, you will be able to pick and choose depending on what you want to do… read more

Recreating historical recipes

September 23, 2017 by
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  If you have ever leafed through an old cookbook, you've probably run across some recipes that sounded, well, less than appetizing. Antique books might have recipes for meats that you wouldn't consider eating, and mid-century tomes feature many questionable ingredients encased in gelatin and called a "salad." You probably wouldn't think twice about making such dishes, but at Duke… read more

What’s the difference between parchment paper and wax paper?

September 20, 2017 by
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  Enthusiastic bakers know (and love) baking parchment and wax paper, but novice bakers might not understand the difference between the two. While you can use them both for some applications, they aren't always interchangeable says Julie Thomson, Taste Senior Editor at HuffPost.  They may look quite similar, but the processes used in creating them are vastly different. Parchment paper… read more

A weighty situation

September 18, 2017 by
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  Over the last several years, there has been a subtle but important shift in baking books in the USA. No, it isn't a move to beautiful, moody overhead photography (although that has also been trending), it's about the use of weights in baking books. Cookbook author and food writer Christine Burns Rudalevige explains the reasons for this change. The… read more

The case for using tweezers in the kitchen

September 16, 2017 by
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  Most cooks have at least one pair of tongs in the kitchen, and if you do a lot of cooking or grillings, you may have several. It's not a secret that many chefs abhor tongs (David Chang blasted tongs in The New Yorker and Australian chef Greg Malouf banned them from his kitchen). But what else would you use for… read more

How cooking has changed since the 1980s

September 15, 2017 by
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In keeping with Jenny's Friday Flashback theme, today we are going to step into the time machine and head back thirty-odd years, courtesy of food writer John Kessler. Writing for Tasting Table, he reminisces about his early days as a culinary student and novice chef in the mid-1980s.  For those of us who had front-row seats to the experience, the… read more

Take the pasta shapes quiz

September 14, 2017 by
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  The Italians may not have invented pasta (there's debate on whether it originated in China or Italy), but there's no doubt that they have perfected it. According to the Encyclopedia of Pasta, Italians have created over 1,300 different shapes of pasta. If you are passionate about pasta, you may want to take the quiz offered by indexed magazine Saveur… read more

Recovering from baking mistakes

September 12, 2017 by
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Last weekend I made desserts for the wedding reception. The bride (the daughter of one of my best friends) wanted a dessert bar but allowed me free rein in what I made, which turned out to be a blessing. I had the entire spread planned out when I hit a snag. Disaster struck as I was turning out a spice… read more

How to use dairy in cocktails

September 10, 2017 by
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  The first time I experienced dairy in a cocktail was at the marvelous Velvet Tango Room in Cleveland, in 2008. The cocktail renaissance was hitting full stride, although I was just beginning my journey into the world of mixed drinks. I ordered a Ramos gin fizz, not sure what to expect from what seemed like an odd combination of… read more

What is the difference between panko and breadcrumbs?

September 7, 2017 by
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  Most cooks have likely used breadcrumbs in a variety of recipes as a binder, coating, or thickening agent. In the past several years, panko breadcrumbs have become the preferred choice to get the ultimate crunch on fried or baked items. Chances are you didn't give this humble ingredient too much thought, although as with many seemingly ordinary products, there… read more

A new documentary on Michelin’s stars

September 6, 2017 by
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Achieving a Michelin star rating is a dream for many a young chef. Few get to achieve one, let alone two or three, but those who do often change the food world. A new documentary by Rasmus Dinesen explores the phenomenon of how a tire company came to be so powerful in the world of food. You can view a trailer… read more

What’s the difference between stock, broth, and consommé?

September 5, 2017 by
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  Many of us use the terms stock and broth interchangeably, although there are differences between the two. Throw consommé into the mix, and you have a recipe for confusion. Let's start with the differences between stock and broth. Sam Benson Smith explains how the two are different.  Smith explains that the difference "ultimately comes down to ingredients; chicken broth… read more

In a pickle

September 3, 2017 by
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  The fermentation trend shows no signs of slowing down. If you have been hesitant to jump on the bandwagon for making fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles because you think it will take too much time or that you will need special canning equipment, you should reconsider. There are plenty of recipes that take little time and require… read more

The best way to dry herbs, according to Alton Brown

September 1, 2017 by
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  Dried herbs like oregano, marjoram, and rosemary are staples in the repertoire of many home cooks. Most people purchase the herbs already dried, but it isn't difficult to do it at home, says Alton Brown. He provides a foolproof technique that ensures the herbs retain their green hues.  Blanching the herbs is the key to keeping them from turning… read more

Verrines are perfect for entertaining

August 30, 2017 by
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  I read cookbooks like novels, visit food websites on a daily basis, and obsessively think about my upcoming cooking and baking projects. Despite devoting much of my time to food, I frequently encounter dishes and ingredients that I have not heard of before. That happened today when I spied an article on the Fine Cooking website titled Verrines: Splendor… read more

Amazon to lower prices at Whole Foods

August 27, 2017 by
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  Earlier this year we reported on Amazon's bid to purchase high-end food retailer Whole Foods. The deal is set to close on August 28, and Amazon has announced that it will immediately slash prices on many of Whole Foods' products. In addition, Amazon Prime members will get special prices and perks. Amazon promises that these price cuts will not come… read more

There’s more to vinegar than you might think

August 26, 2017 by
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Most of us have at least one type of vinegar in our pantry, and probably more. We tend to take it for granted, but there are many facets to this pantry staple, explains Harry Rosenblum, author of Vinegar Revival: Artisanal Recipes for Brightening Dishes and Drinks with Homemade Vinegars.  Rosenblum became fascinated with fermentation at a young age, and has been making… read more

Hand harvesting of salt makes a comeback in France

August 24, 2017 by
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  Ever since I read the fascinating tome Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky, I have a new appreciation for one of the world's oldest seasonings. You will find several varieties of salt in my cupboards, from basic granulated to kosher to sea salt from the Antarctic (courtesy of a friend). NPR recently examined how the demand for sea… read more

Foods to commemorate the eclipse

August 21, 2017 by
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Millions of people in the United States donned special sunglasses today to view the solar eclipse. This was the first time totality occurred over most of the continental US since 1932, and thousands of folks traveled for hundreds of miles in search of optimal viewing conditions, with photographic equipment and family members in tow. While many viewers experienced the eerie… read more

Spice support: pandan leaf

August 20, 2017 by
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  When Yvonne Ruperti moved to Singapore, she noticed that there were a lot of green foods - things that non-natives would not expect to be green, like cakes, buns, and bread. At first she assumed they were flavored and colored with green tea, but she soon learned that pandan leaf contributed the bright green hues and delicate floral flavor. … read more

More female chefs mean a change in kitchen culture

August 18, 2017 by
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  Twenty years ago, it was rare to find a restaurant kitchen helmed by a female chef. Pioneers like Judy Rodgers and Alice Waters paved the way for change, and in recent years the number of female-run kitchens has increased dramatically, up by more than 50 percent in the last ten years. Tamar Adler (writing for Vogue) takes a look… read more

Is it time to bring back the bread machine?

August 16, 2017 by
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  The Instant Pot may be today's "must-have" small appliance, but 20 years ago that title belonged to the bread machine. In the early 1990s, they consumed copious amounts of precious counter space, providing users a "set and forget" tool for fresh bread. After the turn of the century, their popularity waned and most were relegated to the trash bin… read more

The story of food in photography

August 12, 2017 by
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In the Instagram age, where everyone's screens are saturated with lush, colorful, and precisely arranged images of food and drink, we have to be reminded that for most of human existence, people did not have photographs of food to entice them to eat or guide them to cook. From photography's earliest days to the present, however, food and photography have… read more
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