CookShelfWhen most of us think of ketchup, we envision the tomato-vinegar-sugar sauce that is often served alongside burgers and fries. However, as explained at Gastro Obscura, ketchup is actually a catch-all category rather…
Well, it seems that we learned nothing during the Covid-19 pandemic, as hoarding has again reared its ugly, selfish head. Trader Joe's and Costco recently imposed limits on how many cartons of eggs that shoppers can buy…
In response to Darcie's post about finding a culinary ride-or-die, I felt compelled to share my story from the other side of the kitchen counter. My husband Jim loves my cooking, but he comes with an encyclopedia of…
My spouse and I have been together for nearly three decades. When we first got together, neither of us could cook well. I was just starting to become interested in making meals from scratch after growing up on a diet of…
Cacio e pepe can be a tricky dish to master. Do it right, and you are rewarded with a silky sauce for your pasta. Do it wrong, and you end up with clumps of rubbery cheese swimming in oil instead. There are many recipes…
The Bocuse d'Or culinary competition was held last week, and this year France claimed the title, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The French team was led by 28-year-old Paul Marcon, whose father Regis won the prestigious…
The freezer may be the most undersung appliance. They have become so ubiquitous that it is difficult to imagine not having one, but they only became available just a few generations ago for most people. While most of us…
Until fairly recently, I took pasta shapes for granted. I never thought about when, why, or how different shapes came about, to me they just always were. That is silly, of course, because everything has an origin story,…
We have assembled 353 lists from around the world to create our 16th annual Best of the Best. The top book of 2024 is Ottolenghi Comfort. This probably is not a big surprise to members who have been following our Best…
Last month our friends at cookbook stores around the world gave us their picks for their favorite books of 2024 which we then included in our Best of the Best of 2024. Now we asked them for their top sellers of 2024…
Today marks the beginning of a very special time for the Chinese and several other cultures, as it is the beginning of the lunar new year. This holiday, celebrated by 20% of the world’s population, is honored…
Several days ago I posted the photo below on social media, saying that while medieval European peasants may have had more free time than modern people, they didn't have access to fresh mangoes in the dead of winter so…
