All hail king garlic

April 22, 2015 by
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Most cooks today wouldn't want to be caught without garlic in their pantry. But for decades, the "stinking rose" was persona non grata, at least in much of the UK. The Guardian looks at the changes that restored garlic's place among the pantheon of flavorings in British kitchens. For a time in the Victorian era when French food was seen… read more

The ice cream sandwich grows up

April 10, 2015 by
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Ice cream sandwiches are for kids, right? Not according to several innovative chefs, who have elevated the simple treat with high-end ingredients. While the "food gentrification" trend has been building for several years, the latest twists on this perennial childhood favorite push the envelope in tastes and textures. An American invention that dates back over a century, the ice cream… read more

The history of gnocchi

April 4, 2015 by
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Like many foods, gnocchi has several different regions that lay claim to inventing it. While we may not understand exactly where it originated, we do know that various forms of gnocchi have existed for centuries, says Emiko Davies of indexed magazine Saveur. The popular potato version didn't exist until about the seventeenth century,  when Spanish explorers brought the tubers back from South America. Gnocchi… read more

Spring green

March 28, 2015 by
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Spring is here in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means green is popping up all over. It's the perfect time to to add salsa verde to the menu. The beauty of salsa verde is that you can use a myriad of greens to make the sauce, says The L.A. Times. Over the centuries, "salsa verde has been many things to… read more

Cool beans

March 26, 2015 by
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Dried beans are a staple crop for much of the world's population. Increasingly hot growing conditions over the last several years have negatively affected crop yields in many bean-growing regions, but researchers believe they may have a solution to the problem. New varieties of beans that can withstand hotter temperatures are on their way to farmers around the world. While you… read more

Quiche by any other name

March 15, 2015 by
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  Maybe it was the book Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, or maybe it was the healthy eating movement, but whatever the reason, quiche fell out of favor over the last decade or two. Indexed magazine Bon Appetit thinks that despite too many "passed mini-quiches that were always cold and tasted like bitter mushrooms," quiche deserves to be rescued. It… read more

The fruit, the whole fruit, and nothing but the fruit

March 12, 2015 by
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Citrus brightens up many savory and sweet recipes. Usually the recipes call for the zest or the juice (sometimes both), and cooks are instructed to scrupulously avoid the bitter white pith. But using the whole fruit can be a revelation, says Sam Worley of Epicurious (via Yahoo! Food). When properly prepared, whole oranges, lemons and limes can add complex bittersweet… read more

The Southern pantry is both exotic and familiar

March 7, 2015 by
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As we reported in the IACP cookbook award announcement, US Southern cooking is riding a wave of popularity, as Heritage by Sean Brock has been nominated for several IACP awards, and three of the four books in the American category feature Southern cooking (Heritage, Down South and The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook). The Southern pantry includes many unusual ingredients. If… read more

Versatile Madeira makes a comeback

March 6, 2015 by
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Madeira is working its way back into the limelight. Once wildly popular on both sides of the Atlantic, it fell out of favor. However, The Wall Street Journal reports that sales of the Portugese wine have been steadily increasing. According to the Madeira Wine Institute, US sales of the wine "have jumped from $1.23 million to $2.13 million over the last four… read more

Grains of tomorrow

February 27, 2015 by
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The popularity of whole grains continues to grow, and once exotic quinoa and farro have become quite mainstream. Food & Wine magazine highlights three grains that are poised to ride the next wave of popularity.  "I've always felt like I've been a little bit ahead of my time with my interest in health food," says chef Aimee Oxley of Philadelphia's Talula's… read more

Warm up with hearty soups

February 21, 2015 by
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Spring might be right around the corner, but for most of the Northern Hemisphere it seems like it may never arrive. Frigid temperatures, mountains of snow, and harsh winds have dampened spirits and chilled us to the bone. If there is any upside to this weather it's that it is a perfect excuse to make hearty, warming soups. Bloggers and… read more

Red velvet on the rise

February 14, 2015 by
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There's no doubt that on Valentine's Day plenty of red velvet cake will find its way onto dessert plates. The cake, which originated in the Southern US, achieved its peak popularity during the cupcake craze a few years back. But recent signs point to its possible comeback on dessert menus, according to Restaurant Hospitality. Red Velvet Oreos recently hit store… read more

Chocolate is at home in every course of your Valentine’s Day meal

February 9, 2015 by
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Chocolate may be found in nearly every holiday or celebration, but it's perhaps most closely associated with Valentine's Day. Since one can never have enough chocolate, we'll show you how to incorporate it into every course of a Valentine's Day chocolate-themed meal. Let's start with a cocktail. The Golden kiss from Observer Food Monthly Magazine sounds like the perfect way to start a… read more

Brisket’s popularity makes prices rise

February 7, 2015 by
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  Brisket used to be a Texas roadside barbecue and Jewish deli staple. Brisket and corned beef were the foods of working men, and the relatively low price reflected its standing in the world of beef cuts. Recently, however, brisket has been appearing on more and more fine-dining restaurant menus and in fast food joints, and this popularity has driven… read more

Enduring classic desserts

February 3, 2015 by
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Fads come and go, but classics endure. Much like the little black dress never goes out of style, some desserts withstand the test of time and can almost always be found on restaurant menus. Eater takes a look at enduring American desserts as part of their broader look at classic foods. All of the foods featured in this retrospective have… read more

And ode to sweetened condensed milk

January 30, 2015 by
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Oh how we love thee, sweetened condensed milk. HuffPost Taste has counted the ways and arrived at 30 great uses for sweetened condensed milk. The decadent, über-sweet confection can be found in the cuisines of many cultures, and is an essential ingredient in drinks like Vietnamese iced coffee and desserts like key lime pie, tres leches cake, and magic bars… read more

The many faces of sugar

January 26, 2015 by
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If you have any vintage recipe books, you probably will find only one or two kinds of sugar specified in the ingredients list of recipes. That is no longer the case today, as the types of sugar available to consumers has greatly expanded. Epicurious explains the many types of sugar available today in their ultimate guide to buying and using the… read more

Choosing the right yeast

January 22, 2015 by
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Baking can be intimidating, especially when it comes to making foods with yeast. There are many different types of yeast available, and baking disaster stories abound concerning dense, misshapen loaves or out-of-control dough monsters. But yeast baking doesn't have to be scary, says Susan Reid, Publications Manager at King Arthur Flour. In an interview with Epicurious, Reid dispels common yeast baking… read more

Around the world in 193 meals

January 20, 2015 by
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Talk about traveling the world via food. A husband-and-wife team blogging under the name United Noshes, is making one meal from each member state in the United Nations, alphabetically, as a series of dinner parties. That's 193 meals, featuring widely varying ingredients from diverse cuisines. Jesse Friedman and his wife, Laura Hadden, began this culinary journey three years ago "as a way… read more

Ginger beer’s popularity soars

January 11, 2015 by
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The new year has barely started, but beverage trends already are taking shape, and one beverage is exploding on drink menus everywhere: ginger beer. It's popping up in classic and contemporary cocktails, and in drinks without alcohol too. The quintessential ginger beer cocktail is the Moscow mule, a combination of vodka, ginger beer and lime juice that's enjoying a rise… read more

Pick a pizza

January 10, 2015 by
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Italian immigrants to the United States brought their foods with them, including various styles of pizza. To say that pizza became popular is an understatement: it is now a $30 billion dollar industry worldwide, and the styles of pizza available are as varied as the people who eat them. Since there are at least 21 different regional pizza styles in… read more

Stock vs. broth

January 9, 2015 by
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Stock is a fundamental culinary building block. While it's been around for ages, there's been renewed interest in stock and its close relative broth, partly due to the Paleo trend, which relies on something called "bone broth" as a cornerstone of the diet. Julie Moskin of The New York Times reports on the explosion of bone broth drinks available at restaurants, including some… read more

Veganuary is back

January 4, 2015 by
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You may have seen the term "Veganuary" popping up in your news feeds recently. The name was coined in 2013 by Matthew Glover and Jane Land, who wanted to highlight the terrible condition of many farmed animals as well as the impact that meat-eating has on people's health and the environment. They chose January because of the natural focus people… read more

Citrus brightens dreary winter days

December 29, 2014 by
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Winter's doldrums can settle in after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Lucky for us the bright and vibrant flavors of citrus start arriving to give us a much-needed jolt of sunny color to our wintry meals. Different citrus varieties come into season at different times, and Food Republic has a handy citrus guide to know when to expect… read more

Cold hands, hot chocolate

December 23, 2014 by
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Whether you prefer to call it hot chocolate or hot cocoa, few things satisfy the soul on a cold December day as a steaming hot mug full of creamy, chocolately goodness. It's the perfect beverage for family gatherings and holiday parties, as it can be tweaked to suit almost any preference. You can keep it traditional or mix it up with tahini… read more
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