Ingredients Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-21-2022

Are you passionate about making food? Do you like to see how things are made? Are you interested in becoming a master meat artisan in your home kitchen? Or are you just a serious lover of charcuterie but want to stick to eating it as best as you can? If so, then this Cheat Sheet is for you. Following, are some quick tips that will help set you up for success, whether you’re making the meats or simply eating them!

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-27-2021

Tasting honey is not the same as eating honey. Tasting honey is as much an art as it is a science. Trained honey sensory experts objectively evaluate honey using a method that assesses visual, olfactory, gustatory, and texture experiences. The method and skills required are similar to how a wine sommelier would taste and evaluate wines. Having the right tools for honey tasting is not only helpful, but it also adds to your enjoyment of a tasting session.

Article / Updated 09-27-2021

One of the most endearing qualities about artisan cheesemakers is their desire to watch you taste their handcrafted products so that they can see your eyes light up. Festivals (and frequently, farmers’ markets) are the best way to make this connection between producer and consumer. Cheese festivals are held all over the world, but here are ten great, public cheese festivals. Visit Culture Magazine's the word on cheese to find a listing of cheesy gatherings worldwide. The Festival of Cheese, American Cheese Society: The big wheel of U.S. cheese festivals, the ACS Annual Conference boasts educational seminars for cheesemakers and aficionados alike. You can choose tasting or pairing seminars, or spend an afternoon making cheese with an expert. Throughout is a rigorous competition featuring over 1,500 cheese entries in more than 100 categories. On the final evening the event opens to the public for a fee; every single entry is portioned and plated so you can dive in for a sample, making for a stunning display of dairy decadence. This festival takes place in August, and its location changes annually. California Artisan Cheese Festival: What better place for a cheese festival than wine country? The California Artisan Cheese Festival happens every March in Petaluma (about 40 minutes north of San Francisco). Sign up early to get in on local creamery tours, cheese-centric dinners, and educational seminars. Vermont Cheesemaker’s Festival: Vermont is America’s top cheesemaking state per capita, which makes this festival the ideal place for caseophiles to mingle with cheesemakers. Held each July at historic Shelburne Farms on the shores of Lake Champlain, festival highlights include regional food and wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, seminars, and a whole lot of cheese. Think of this as the cheesemaker’s cheese festival. Oregon Cheese Festival: This beloved local festival features dozens of cheese-, beer-, and winemakers. General admission is minimal, the sampling is free, and the makers sell their products at great prices. The festival is held at Rogue Creamery in Southern Oregon and has a farmers’ market vibe. Events include a “Meet the Cheesemakers” dinner (held the night before), seminars, and tastings, including chocolate and cider. Great British Cheese Festival: The United Kingdom loves its cheese, as “Britain’s Biggest Cheese Market” can attest. Over 400 cheeses made from cow, goat, sheep, and water buffalo milk are accompanied by artisan wine, beer, cider, and perry (a fermented beverage made from pears), and the people who produce them. The event is held in late September, and locations vary. Bra Cheese Festival: The most nostalgic and romantic of cheese festivals, the biennial Bra Cheese Festival attracts cheese lovers and professionals from all over the world. Held every other September outside of Turin in Piedmont, Italy, the events include a Cheese Market; a wine bar featuring DIY cheese plates; a pizza piazza; and workshops, special dinners, and tastings. With a massive array of artisanal cheeses, including ones rarely found outside of their villages of origin and 700 wines, this is a truly special event worth the plane ticket. Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival: The great cheese state of Wisconsin holds one heck of a cheese festival. On the first weekend of June, cheese fans descend upon the town of Little Chute. This family-friendly event offers three days of music, a parade, tastings, cheese carving demonstrations, cheesecake contests, cheese curd-eating contests, and a carnival (stay off the rides if you’ve been competing for the cheese curd-eating title). The Great Canadian Cheese Festival: Canada has quietly been producing phenomenal artisan cheeses for decades, and now this festival calls attention to that fact. First held in 2010, this June celebration is held in Prince Edward County, Ontario, an up-and-coming culinary destination and Canada’s newest wine region. Events include cheese tasting seminars, cheese tours (sign up early; they sell out weeks ahead), and a celebrity chef gala featuring pairings with Ontario wine and craft beer. Seattle Cheese Festival: Every May, Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market becomes a Pacific Northwest and imported cheese fest, with stalls set up along the cobbled streets. The event is free and draws cheese-loving crowds ready to sample and purchase their favorites. The festival also conducts ongoing seminars (advanced sign-up required) and chef demonstrations. The event is held rain or shine . . . and this being Seattle, be prepared for the former. Don’t worry; the views of Elliot Bay and Puget Sound are still stunning when wet. Amish Country Cheese Festival: This Illinois festival takes place on Labor Day weekend and offers more than just cheese. Expect traditional Amish foods and handicrafts, a farm shop, a parade, a tractor pull, and the International Cheese Curling Championships (as in the Olympic event, only using a four-pound cheese “stone”). Because the family that throws cheese together. . . .

Article / Updated 06-28-2021

You have only two choices when you harvest crops from your vegetable garden: Eat the veggies right away, or store them to use later. Specific vegetables need different storage conditions to maintain their freshness, such as: Cool and dry: Ideally, temperatures should be between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 15.5 degrees Celsius), with 60-percent relative humidity—conditions you usually find in a well-ventilated basement. Cold and dry: Temperatures should be between 32 and 40°F (0 to 4.5°C), with 65-percent humidity. You can achieve these conditions in most home refrigerators or in a cold basement or garage. Cool and moist: Temperatures should be between 50 and 60°F (10 to 15.5°C) with 90-percent humidity. You can store vegetables in a cool kitchen or basement in perforated plastic bags. Cold and moist: Your storage area should be 32 to 40°F (0 to 4.5°C), with 95-percent humidity. You can create these conditions by placing your veggies in perforated bags (vegetables in bags without ventilation are likely to degrade faster) and storing the bags in a fridge. You also can create cold and moist conditions in a root cellar. An unheated basement works well as a root cellar. However, these days, most homes have heaters or furnaces in the basement, which make the conditions too warm for storing vegetables. But if you don’t have a heater, or if you can section off a portion of your basement and keep temperatures just above freezing, you can store vegetables like root crops and even cabbage for long periods of time. Make sure your vegetables are well ventilated in the root cellar; you can store onions, potatoes, and other root crops in mesh bags. Shoot for a humidity level that’s as high as you can get. To increase humidity, spread moist wood shavings or sawdust on the floor but keep the vegetables elevated on wooden boxes. In the following table, I provide specifics on how to store your vegetables so that after you pick them, you quickly know what to do with them (that is, if you don’t eat them right away). The table also includes information on whether you can freeze, dry, or can vegetables, topics that I cover later in this chapter. Storing Fresh Vegetables Vegetable How to Store Expected Storage Life Comments Asparagus Cold and moist Two weeks Store upright. Freeze, dry, or can. Beans, snap Cool and moist One week Pods will scar below 40°F (4.5°C). Freeze after blanching. Can. Beets Cold and moist Five months Store without tops. Freeze, dry, or can. Broccoli Cold and moist Two weeks Freeze or dry. Brussels sprouts Cold and moist One month Freeze or dry. Cabbage Cold and moist Five months Freeze or dry. Carrots Cold and moist Three weeks Store without tops. Freeze, dry, or can. Cauliflower Cold and moist Three weeks Freeze or dry. Corn Cold and moist Five days Freeze, dry, or can. Cucumbers Cool and moist One to two weeks Will scar if stored below 40°F (4.5°C). Can be stored in a cool kitchen in a perforated bag. Don’t store with apples or tomatoes. Can. Eggplant Cool and moist One week Prolonged storage below 50°F (10°C) causes scarring. Freeze or dry. Kohlrabi Cold and moist Two months Store without tops. Freeze. Lettuce and other greens Cold and moist One week Freeze greens such as spinach and Swiss chard. Muskmelons Cold and moist One week Freeze. Onions Cold and dry Four months Cure (let dry) at room temperatures for 2 to 4 weeks before storing. Keep green onions cool and moist for 1 to 4 months. Freeze, dry, or can. Parsnips Cold and moist Three weeks Will sweeten after 2 weeks at 32°F (0°C). Freeze. Peanuts Cool and dry Four months Pull pods after plant has dried for several weeks. Store dried in bags. Peas Cold and moist One week Freeze, dry, or can. Peppers Cool and moist Two weeks Will scar if stored below 45°F (7°C). Freeze, dry, or can. Potatoes Cold and moist Six months Keep out of light. Cure at 50 to 60°F (10 to 15.5°C) for 14 days before storage. Freeze, dry, or can. Pumpkins Cool and dry Two to five months Very sensitive to temperatures below 45°F (7°C). Freeze, dry, or can. Radishes Cold and moist One month Store without tops. Freeze or dry. Rutabagas Cold and moist Four months Freeze. Spinach Cold and moist Ten days Freeze. Squash, summer Cool and moist One week Don’t store in refrigerator for more than 4 days. Freeze, dry, or can. Squash, winter Cool and dry Two to six months Freeze, dry, or can. Sweet potatoes Cool and moist Four months Cure in the sun. Freeze, dry, or can. Tomatoes Cool and moist Five days Loses flavor if stored below 55°F (13°C). Don’t refrigerate. Freeze, dry, or can. Turnips Cold and moist Two to four months Freeze. Watermelons Cool and moist Two weeks Will decay if stored below 50°F (10°C). Can the juice or rind. If you want to store vegetables, make sure you harvest them at their peak ripeness. Also avoid bruising the produce, because bruises hasten rotting. The storage times in the table are only estimates; they can vary widely depending on conditions. Store only the highest quality vegetables for long periods of time; vegetables that are damaged or scarred are likely to rot and spoil everything nearby. If you live in an area where the ground freezes in the winter, you can actually leave some root crops—including carrots, leeks, rutabagas, and turnips — in the ground and harvest all winter long. After a good, hard frost, but before the ground freezes, cover your vegetable bed with a foot or more of dry hay. Cover the hay with heavy plastic (4 to 6 millimeters) and secure the edges with rocks, bricks, or heavy boards. The plastic keeps rain and snow from trickling down through the hay and rotting your vegetables, and it also keeps the soil from freezing solid. You can harvest periodically through winter, but be careful to re-cover the opening after each harvest.

Step by Step / Updated 04-21-2017

Fresh vegetables are quick and easy to freeze. And if you blanch your vegetables before freezing them, they retain their fresh qualities after you freeze them. Follow these steps for freezing vegetables:

Article / Updated 04-21-2017

If you get to know your quality cheeses, eating it can be a wonderful change of pace. Add some good cheese to your pantry for parties, snacking, and pairing with wine. When buying cheese, remember that there’s a big difference between aged cheese and old cheese. Old cheese looks fatigued and discolored, may have a cracked rind, and signs of overdryness. Here’s a look at some of the more common types of gourmet cheeses available on the market today. Credit: Corbis-Digital Stock Brie: This soft, creamy cheese is generally mild tasting. Camembert: A creamy cheese not unlike Brie. When ripe, it oozes luxuriously. (Really! In the world of cheese, oozing is a good thing.) Cheddar: The flavor of this semifirm cheese ranges from rich and nutty to extremely sharp. Fontina Val d’Aosta: Italian cow’s milk cheese, semifirm, subtle, nutty, and rich. Goat cheese (chèvre in France): Goat cheese ranges from mild and tart when young to sharp and crumbly when aged. Gorgonzola: Gorgonzola is rich and creamy, yet pleasantly pungent. Creamier than Roquefort. Gruyère: Sort of a more gutsy version of Swiss cheese. Faint nuttiness. The classic fondue cheese. Mascarpone: An Italian cow’s milk cheese that has the consistency of clotted cream. Monterey Jack: A California cow’s milk cheese in the cheddar family that’s semisoft, smooth, and very mild when young, and sharper when aged. Mozzarella: Familiar to all from pizza and lasagna fame. It’s also great in salads or layered with sliced tomatoes and basil. Pecorino Romano (or Romano): A sheep’s milk Italian cheese, Pecorino Romano is soft and mild when young, with a touch of tartness. Quite tart when older, mostly grated over pasta. Roquefort: Made from ewe’s milk and aged in the famous caves of Roquefort, France. Roquefort is among the most intense of all blue-veined cheeses. Has a creamy texture at its best.

Article / Updated 03-21-2017

If you're a decent beekeeper, there's a good chance that you'll be able to harvest 40 or more pounds of honey from each of your hives. That's a lot of honey. Unless you eat a whole lot of toast, you may want to consider other ways to use your copious crop. Honey is not only wholesome, delicious, sweet, and fat-free, but it's also incredibly versatile. You'll find uses for honey in a myriad of recipes that call for a touch of sweetness. You can use honey in appetizers, baked goods, main dishes, and desserts. Here are some tips for cooking with honey: Because of its high fructose content, honey has a higher sweetening power than sugar. This means you can use less honey than sugar to achieve the desired sweetness. To substitute honey for sugar in recipes, start by substituting up to half of the sugar called for. With a little experimentation, honey can replace all the sugar in some recipes. If you are measuring honey by weight, 1 cup of honey will weigh 12 ounces. For easy cleanup when measuring honey, coat the measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray or vegetable oil before adding the honey. The honey will slide right out. In baking, honey helps baked goods stay fresh and moist longer. It also gives any baked creation a warm, golden color. When substituting honey for sugar in baked goods, follow these guidelines: Reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for each cup of honey used. Reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees to prevent overbrowning.

Article / Updated 03-20-2017

There is never a wrong way to eat honey. It pairs perfectly with every food group, and sometimes it is best enjoyed simply off the spoon. You will find that some food pairings will quickly become your favorites. Honey served with cheese is a timeless classic. This favorite pairing can be traced back to a Roman gourmand named Marcus Gavius Apicius (first century AD). Begin with foods that have flavors and textures you enjoy. Try fresh pears, figs, or walnuts with bread or crackers. Now choose a few varietal honeys or your own harvest, and drizzle over the pairing. Look for combinations that complement or contrast with the honey. Sometimes they blend in your mouth to create an entirely new tasting experience. When one overpowers the other or cancels out another flavor, you have a clash in your mouth. A creamy goat cheese complements a buttery and fruity honey. A rich, dark honey contrasts nicely with a stinky bleu cheese. Serve honey with bread and crackers and sides like fresh or dried fruits, nuts, and vegetables to add color and texture. The choices are endless, and you'll have fun serving up your favorites at your next gathering.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Getting peppers ready for cooking involves coring and seeding them. You can both core and seed a bell pepper in the same procedure.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Air-drying herbs is easy and the perfect solution for saving your fresh herbs. Herbs that you dry yourself often have a superior taste to the dried herbs you can buy in the store.