Do you have Instant Pot fever?

July 21, 2016 by
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  If my friends are any indication, thousands of people took advantage of the steep discount on the Instant Pot multi-function cooker during Amazon Prime Day a couple of weeks ago. It seems like everywhere I turn, I discover an Instant Pot devotee. While electric pressure cookers have been around for nearly 30 years, recent advances in programming have turned… read more

Skipping a step

July 20, 2016 by
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  Recipe instructions run the gamut from sparse to confusing to insanely detailed. But no matter how specific the instructions, there are seven steps that Tommy Werner at Epicurious always skips. These instructions either waste time or actually do more harm than good. Washing chicken falls into the latter camp. While it may remove bacteria from the skin, it can… read more

Soda science

July 19, 2016 by
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  When you inspect almost any cookie recipe other than shortbread, you'll probably find baking soda in the ingredient list. Most people generally understand how baking soda works to make cakes rise, but why do cookies need this pantry staple since they don't really rise that much? Stella Parks at indexed blog Serious Eats has the scoop and explains the multi-faceted role of… read more

Test your breakfast “Eat-Q”

July 11, 2016 by
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  Gobs of quizzes on every subject imaginable pop up in my news feed on a daily basis. I am not usually tempted by many of them - that is, unless they involve food. Then I might take a peek. When the source of the quiz is the James Beard Foundation, of course I will click away. The JBF has just posted a… read more

Why some people hate cilantro

July 7, 2016 by
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  Cilantro is one food that sharply divides people. A small portion of eaters despise the herb, claiming that it tastes like soap and ruins any dish that it touches, while others enjoy the bright herbal flavor it adds to food. In the past couple of years, scientists have made considerable process in understanding why some people can't stand cilantro. The answer is apparently in… read more

How summertime can make you a better cook

July 4, 2016 by
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  Ah, summertime. We tend to spend a lot more time outside soaking in the sun, and the kitchen can be a real hot zone. Both of these can lead to challenges in our meal planning and cooking endeavors., which can actually be a good thing, says indexed blog The Kitchn. They give us five examples of how summer can… read more

Tips for grilling to make your cookout fantastic

July 3, 2016 by
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  Much of the US will spend the better part of tomorrow outside, and the bulk of people doing so will likely be grilling. If your grill plans needs a little help, we've assembled several tips to make sure your cookout is as good as can be. First up is a tip from Epicurious on the best ways to quickly… read more

Punch up your next gathering

July 1, 2016 by
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  Do you have a punch bowl gathering dust in the back of your cupboard? Perhaps you only trot it out during the holidays, but you might find some new uses for it as punches enjoy a mini-revival among mixologists. The Wall Street Journal examines the renewed interest in punch as a go-to party beverage. Instead of spending precious time… read more

Do these dining alternatives spell doom for restaurants?

June 26, 2016 by
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  Technology startups like Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb have disrupted the traditional taxi and hotel business models, and in some areas are proving to be stiff competition. Now several startups that operate in major cities around the world are aiming to do the same thing in the restaurant industry. Killian Fox at The Guardian reports on five different dining apps,… read more

Chefs use microorganisms for extra flavor and nutrition

June 24, 2016 by
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Fermented foods are not a new discovery; cooks have been using microorganisms like yeast and bacteria to make tasty food and beverages for millenia. But recently interest in using beneficial bacteria to transform food's flavor and nutrition has hit new highs, as NPR's The Salt reports. We've long known that fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut can be delicious, and now scientists are finally… read more

Test your French food knowledge

June 23, 2016 by
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Are you a Francophile? Do you love French food? Think you know a lot about French cuisine? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes', you might want to take the Epicurious quiz designed to test your knowledge of French food. The quiz contains several multiple choice questions that range from information that anyone with a passing knowledge of French food… read more

Food idiosyncrasies are both personal and cultural

June 22, 2016 by
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  There are basically two kinds of eaters in this world: those who eat each item of food separately and those who combine items together with abandon. Amy Fleming of The Guardian explores these disparate personalities in a recent article that explains some of the psychology between the two camps. Of course there are gray areas, but you likely relate… read more

German classics finding new audiences

June 20, 2016 by
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  If you are wondering what's next after the rise in Nordic cuisine the past few years, the answer may lie just to the south of Scandinavia. Classic German dishes like spätzle , sauerkraut, and schnitzel are finding their way onto menus in some surprising places, says Nation's Restaurant News. These classics are being presented in both traditional and non-traditional… read more

Uzbekistan’s fabulous flatbreads

June 17, 2016 by
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  Travel writer and photographer Eric Hansen has spent over 25 years documenting his travels through Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Nepal and Southeast Asia. Last year he visited Uzbekistan, and wrote a fascinating, in-depth article on the country's fabled flatbreads in AramcoWorld magazine, accompanied by several beautiful photographs. Uzbek flatbreads, called "non", are similar to others of the region. The… read more

Boston launches The Readable Feast this weekend

June 16, 2016 by
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  Boston-area EYB Members, you may want to rearrange your weekend schedule for the inaugural edition of The Readable Feast, an annual culinary book festival celebrating and supporting New England's writers, cookbook authors, editors and chefs. The Readable Feast will be held this Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18, at the Boston Public Market, Boston's indoor, a year-round marketplace… read more

Where did you favorite foods originate?

June 13, 2016 by
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  The globalization of our food supply is not a new concept. Some of us may recall from grade school science class that the tomatoes prevalent in Italian dishes and the potatoes frequently associated with the Irish originated thousands of miles from those countries, in South America. Now a new study shows the extent of this trend, reporting that over… read more

When margaritas attack

June 11, 2016 by
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  Ah, summertime. What could be better than sipping margaritas by the pool, enjoying a Southside on the deck, or imbibing a non-alcoholic Cherry-lime cooler in the garden? But these carefree moments could prove painful, because all of these refreshing summer drinks and others that contain lime juice can leave you with a nasty burn if you're not careful. Apparently… read more

Of cakes and copyrights

June 10, 2016 by
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You may remember an interesting cookbook from a few years ago, Modern Art Desserts, that featured art-inspired cakes from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) by baker Caitlin Freeman of the Blue Bottle Café, housed in the museum. Freeman's café lost the contract with SFMOMA following its renovations in 2013. But the art-inspired cakes have remained, much to… read more

Tips on using mint in cocktails

June 9, 2016 by
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  Few cocktails conjure summer like refreshing mint juleps and mojitos. Both drinks prominently feature mint, which adds a bright note and brings the liquor-heavy cocktails into balance. Properly using mint in cocktails is both an art and science, according to Hendricks Gin ambassador Charlotte Voisey and Chicago barman Peter Vestinos, who shared their best tips for making the most of mint… read more

Not-quite-desert-island kitchen tools

June 7, 2016 by
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Chefs, food writers, and other culinary authorities often make lists of must-have tools that should be in everyone's kitchen. Usually indispensable tools like chef's knives, spatulas, mixing bowls and other workhorse items are featured on these lists. There are, however, tools that might not make the "desert island" status of these inventories yet are still cherished pieces that we would… read more

The search for a better supermarket tomato

June 6, 2016 by
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  Few tastes rival that of a garden-fresh tomato: its sweet, juicy flesh bursts with intense flavor. By comparison, run-of-the-mill supermarket tomatoes are almost always a bitter disappointment. Their bright color belies the insipid flavor and cardboard-like texture that lies within. But in the last several years, growers have been searching for ways to improve the taste of supermarket tomatoes,… read more

Food to your ears

June 4, 2016 by
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  From shows dedicated to recipes, ingredients and how-tos, to others exploring the science, history, and fun in eating, there is an exciting world of food-related podcasts. Our friends at Cookstr produce a fantastic weekly podcast featuring a delightful mix of cooking tips from several highly-regarded cookbook authors such as Pati Jinich and Abigail Johnson Dodge. The program also features… read more

Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

May 30, 2016 by
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  We've all been taught that eating breakfast is vitally important to our health, to aid in weight loss, and to be able to stay focused in the morning. It's often touted as being "the most important meal of the day." But Aaron Carroll of The New York Times says the old adage is essentially a lie perpetrated by the… read more

When the chef takes your favorite item off the menu

May 29, 2016 by
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  It never fails. You head to your favorite restaurant, anticipating your favorite dish which you've been craving for days, only to scan the new menu with increasing dismay. It turns out that your favorite item is no longer available. Now what? According to The Wall Street Journal, it may not hurt to ask if the chef can make it… read more

The hottest thing in chicken

May 23, 2016 by
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A new fried chicken craze is sweeping across the US. Originating in Tennessee, Nashville hot chicken is spreading like wildfire. It's already spawned a new restaurant chain that plans to spread from Ohio to Florida. Nashville hot chicken has a backstory as spicy as its taste. Back in the 1930s, Nashville was home to a handsome man named Thornton Prince who… read more
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