What a bunch of baloney
Bologna in the US is often derided as low quality "mystery meat" and looked down upon by food lovers. However, the origins of this meat date back centuries and its close relative and likely inspiration, mortadella, is…
2026
Food news antipasto
We are starting off the week on a sad note, as we learned that Boston chef and food stylist Elle Simone Scott passed away last week at the age of 49. Scott served as a host and a food stylist for America's Test Kitchen.…
New life for old spices
"If your spice is more than six months old, you should replace it with new" is common advice, but it is not practical for most people. Throwing out spices is an expensive proposition, and with food prices in an…
Strangest food stories of 2025
Since the new year is just over a week old, let's take one more look back at 2025, this time with an eye for the weird. The Standard recently published a recounting of six strange food stories in the UK. As with nearly…
More 2026 food predictions
Several days ago we published McCormick's prediction for flavor of the year, black currant, but NPR's Neda Ulaby reports that chefs and food business insiders think that additional foods and flavors are poised to be big…
Celebrating National Bean Day
Serendipity stepped into my kitchen today as I accidentally celebrated National Bean Day. I was alerted to this food "holiday" by my coworker who loves beans. As luck would have it, I had soaked chickpeas overnight to…
Food news antipasto
Visiting family (or having family visit) during the holidays can be both rewarding and stressful. Having people stay at your house means dealing with their likes, dislikes, and quirks. Usually by the time they leave…
ATK poised to buy Food52
Last week, Food52 filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, seeking to reorganize the company's assets and liabilities in an effort to avoid going out of business. America's Test Kitchen has entered into an agreement to…
Jacques Pépin's advice to young chefs
It is difficult to overstate the amount of influence that Jacques Pépin has had on American cooking. From his work at Howard Johnson in the 1960s to his fabulous PBS shows to his numerous cookbooks to his more recent…