Over 25 years of quick tips
Cook's Illustrated Magazine has been helping people understand the whys of cooking since 1993. Ever since the publication first appeared, a column called "Quick Tips" has been showcasing readers' tips for the ultimate…
Cooking Tips
How to pick the perfect melting cheese
While most recipes in the EYB Library that call for cheese specify a particular variety, sometimes you will come across one that tells you to use your favorite "melting cheese". You might wonder which cheese is best…
First pancake problems
Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite meals, and if I'm making it then chances are good that pancakes will appear on the menu. Both decadent and comforting, pancakes make any day feel like a special occasion. I…
Something fishy going on
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…
Is it really necessary to preheat the oven?
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…
Cookie Time - recipes and holiday baking tips
This is the year! Mark my words. 2019 will be the year that I will make dozens of cookies for the holidays just like I did when we lived back in New York. To fulfill my prophecy, I am compiling a checklist of helpful…
Cooking Tips Holidays & Celebrations
The ultimate Thanksgiving recipe finder
About this time each year I come across several posts for a food site's new and/or improved holiday recipe finder. Each is organized a little differently, but the premise is the same: use your preferences, whether…
Spice support: curry leaves
The first time I encountered curry leaves as an ingredient in a recipe, I wondered how they were different than the curry powder that I purchased at a spice store. I assumed that curry leaves must be one of the…
The difference between shallots and onions
At first glance, a shallot seems like a slimmer, smaller version of its cousin the onion, but they have different flavor profiles and are not equal substitutes for another. As Palisa Anderson writes in The Guardian,…
Learn the difference between seltzer, club soda, and sparkling mineral water
What is fizzy, non-alcoholic, and can be found in any manner of drinks and foods? If you answered any of the three items listed above, you are correct. Despite their similarities, each of them has its own best use, and…
Break free from black pepper
I've always been a big fan of black pepper - it's warmth and earthiness are comforting to me. Perhaps I like it so much because almost everything I ate as a kid was liberally sprinkled with this spice. Strange as I…
The whey you like it
If you have ever made homemade cheese - whether fresh cheese like ricotta or a firm cheese like cheddar - you have probably been faced with the dilemma of what to do with the whey that remains after straining the curds.…