Are we no longer beer drinkers?

September 9, 2013 by
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In August, The Atlantic ran two indepth articles exploring beer-drinking - and the (sad?) possibility that, at least in the U.S., we're no longer choosing beer as our preferred beverage. In the first article, Why Are American Drinkers Turning Against Beer?  they produce some sobering statistics: " "Just 20 years ago, it was America's most popular alcoholic beverage by far.… read more

Is chia really worth the cost?

September 6, 2013 by
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We're not sure how many people remember the rather infamous Chia Pets of the 1980's - little terracotta animals that miraculously spouted fur after a few weeks of watering. But for those of us who do remember, the explosive popularity of chia seeds as a healthy food item will always have a touch of whimsy. But there's another factor about… read more

Visual proof that most fad diets are just plain nuts

September 5, 2013 by
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In an excellent demonstration of why seeing is believing, NPR's the Salt took a visual look at fashionable diets - photographing their ingredients. And it's obvious that most of then are just plain nuts or, as they title their article, Fad Diets Will Seem Even Crazier After You've Seen This. We've reprinted two of the diet photos below along with… read more

Following raisins down the history trail

September 4, 2013 by
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We recently came across a PDF online of a 1932 SunMaid raisin cookbook - and couldn't help but be intrigued - this was even before our time! Raisins were apparently pretty exotic back then - in fact, while we think of them as merely dried grapes, in the book they're described as "Thermo-Jell'd, "  which makes each raisin into a… read more

The most common cooking mistakes

September 3, 2013 by
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We admit it - we love lists. But we do try to stick to lists that make us think.  So we couldn't resist this one from Cooking Light: The Most Common Cooking Mistakes. They list 57 common mistakes; here are the 10 we think are the most common (some are slightly reworded to make them more understandable), and cause the… read more

24 kitchen tips that are really worth knowing

August 30, 2013 by
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Over at Serious Eats, Kenji Alt - their Chief Creative Officer who writes The Food Lab column - has posted 24 Essential Kitchen Tricks and Tips. We were once colleagues at Cook's Illustrated, and, having watched Kenji in action, it's not surprising that all of these are well-worth knowing and merit a look. Here are two that were new to… read more

The great chicken debate – to rinse or not to rinse

August 29, 2013 by
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Recently, NPR reported on a controversy regarding why rinsing a chicken ahead of cooking is inadvisable.  In Julia Child Was Wrong: Don't Wash Your Raw Chicken, Folks, they point out that not only does rinsing raw chicken not make it safer, but it's actually more dangerous: "because washing increases the chances that you'll spread the foodborne pathogens that are almost… read more

Are “Double-Stuf” Oreos really double?

August 22, 2013 by
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Not being noted as a great math scholar, as a child we often asked "why is math important?" Well, here's one answer for any parent that hears that question. Are you being duped when you buy a package of "Double Stuf" oreos thinking you get twice the filling you would in a normal Oreo? If you think this isn't important,… read more

It’s official – Do not marinade food until after it’s finished grilling

August 21, 2013 by
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If we accept the New York Times as an authoritative source, their lead food article today, Flavor Is Only Skin Deep:  Welcome to the Post-Marinade Era of Grilling serves as an obtituary for the concept of marinading food to be grilled. John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger, two experts who have written numerous cookbooks together on meat and grilling,  have bitten the… read more

An homage to pigs

August 20, 2013 by
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After all the food fads, crazes, fashions, and just plain absurdities, it's nice every now and then to consider those things that are always steady and true. And that's why this article from the Guardian, Pigs: a very British obsession, is worthy of note.  Besides their very obvious culinary uses - it is now fashionable to boast of being able… read more

Keeping guacamole fresh w.o. pits, plastic wrap, or more lime juice

August 18, 2013 by
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The Kitchn recently appears to have solved one of those very annoying kitchen issues - how to keep guacamole from turning grey. In The Best Way to Keep Guacamole Green, they reveal that: "All you do is cover the guacamole with a thin layer of water.  OK, you say, this sounds weird - maybe even gross. Water on the guacamole? But water… read more

The dirt about “superfoods”

August 14, 2013 by
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We're on a bit of a nomenclature binge, discussing the definition of the word "pizza" yesterday, noting the now legal definition of "gluten-free" last week,  and today taking a look at the word "superfood."  This is a word that's been used quite a lot recently and ostensibly means a food that is packed with nutrients, vitamins, or other beneficial attributes,… read more

Is it a pizza or isn’t it?

August 13, 2013 by
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We know it's August and in much of the world there's not a lot of heavy mental lifting going on. so we wanted to nudge the brain cells a little with this crucial question, posed by the kitchn, "When Is a Pizza Not a Pizza?" Does it have to have a traditional crust? A traditional crust with sauce? A traditional… read more

Great prosciutto doesn’t have to come from Italy

August 8, 2013 by
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Having posted yesterday about lab-grown hamburgers, we wanted to bring the discussion around full circle, and this New York Times article about a small Iowa farm producing prosciutto that rivals that from Parma does the trick. In Some Prosciutto Fans Turn to Iowa, they ask the question: "Would people buy prosciutto from a guy named Herb from Iowa?" The answer… read more

Faking great balsamic vinegar

August 5, 2013 by
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It's hard to keep a good tip down on the internet. Here's a quick tip from Food52 - A Trick for Faking Fancy Balsamic, which, in turn, was adapted from  Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich. "Simmer two parts inexpensive balsamic vinegar with one part honey until the mixture is thickened and reduced by about half. Let cool." You can… read more

How to use up past-its-prime fruit

August 4, 2013 by
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  To solve an obviously rotten problem, here's the Kitchn's take on 10 Top Ways to Use Up Overripe Fruit: Quick Bread Jam Crumble, Cobbler, or Pie Smoothie Sauce for Pancakes or Sandaes Meat Sauce Salad Dressing Juice Fruit Leather Popsicles They offer several recipes suggestions for many of these ideas, but we wanted to see if the EYB library… read more

Safe ways to defrost food

July 30, 2013 by
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When it's hot out, the chances of food spoilage increase. So we thought a short primer on safe ways to defrost food would not go amiss. Most people understand that defrosting food in the refrigerator, which usually takes at least overnight but keeps the food at a safe temperature, is the best way to proceed. And we hope that most… read more

Steak Misconceptions

July 28, 2013 by
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One of the biggest misconceptions about steaks (and other proteins) is that you need to sear them to seal the juices in. It's now pretty widely accepted that that is not true - searing makes little difference to the juiciness of a steak; it does, however, improve the flavor through the Maillard Reaction. But other misconceptions about grilling or searing… read more

Ice myths that aren’t true

July 26, 2013 by
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It was very hot recently in our part of the world, so we spent more than the usual time breaking out the ice trays. With ice at the forefront of our kitchen, an article at SeriousEats by their food science columnist, Kevin Liu, hit the proverbial spot. In 5 Myths About Ice, Debunked, he explains why the following 5 preconceptions… read more

Just what is Za’atar?

July 21, 2013 by
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Recently, we were at a farmer's market and noticed that a vendor was selling homemade Mozzarella flavored with Za'atar. And it dawned on us that we were seeing that ingredient more and more, so we were inspired to do a little research. It turns out that Za'atar has a double personality. It is a name used for an herb in… read more

New cooking ideas to use up herbs

July 18, 2013 by
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We've all had the problem of a) buying a bundle of fresh herbs when only a small amount is needed, or b) growing a pot of herbs and having to deal with a surplus. While drying and preserving them is always a good idea, we also like the idea of meeting the culinary challenge this problem poses. And, to help,… read more

Mislabeled fish fillets can fool chefs, along with consumers

July 17, 2013 by
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Susie has an interesting blog today describing two trends in fish cookbooks (check out Coastal features.) So it seemed appropriate to call attention to this NPR features on fish fillets, "How Well Do You Know Your Fish Fillets? Even Chefs Can Be Fooled." They point to a study by Oceana: "Oceana, a conservation group, has been beating the drum about… read more

Introducing herb crystals

July 16, 2013 by
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The recent Fancy Food Show apparently had a number of interesting items, discussions of some of them have been popping up on blogs recently. We thought one of the most interesting were herb crystals. According to  Regina Schrambling at Epicurious, they're quite tasty. And she recommends several ways to use them, "I could imagine them dusted over shortbread, for instance,… read more

Efficiently blind-baking pie shells without weights

July 15, 2013 by
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There's an excellent video on Bake, by a King Arthur Flour's baker, on efficiently blind-baking a pie shell without weights or shrinkage. When blind baking pie shells (essentially baking an empty pie shell so it either gets a head start or is totally baked before ingredients are added) there can be a tradeoff between a cumbersome technique (adding beans or… read more

Food quiz: Can you tell if these foods are fruits or vegetables?

July 11, 2013 by
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The British press is doing a lot to entertain themselves waiting for the Royal baby, and a good example is this test from the Telegraph, Do you know your fruit from your vegetables?  Hint: This is based on a scientific definition rather than a culinary one. Go there now if you want to take the test without help. For those… read more
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