When you walk through the produce section, you see Russets, Yukon Golds, Red potatoes, and Fingerlings. Most people assume these are all entirely different plants. In reality, they are the exact same botanical species (Solanum tuberosum). They’re merely different cultivars of the plant; specific varieties that humans have selectively bred over centuries for different starch … Read more
If you read recent headlines from pop-food media, you might think the golden arches are collapsing. Articles with titles like “The Biggest Burger Chain In The US Isn’t Worth The Price, According To Customers“ and “Many Loyal McDonald’s Customers Are Done“ paint a picture of a mass exodus. They claim that lower-income customers are abandoning … Read more
Walk down the produce aisle of almost any modern grocery store, and you will find plump, ubiquitous blackberries year-round. They grow wild in millions of American backyards and are a staple of summer baking. Yet, if you walk over to the beverage aisle looking for a simple bottle of blackberry juice, you’ll find it is … Read more
If you look at the landscape of 18th-century transatlantic trade, there were few imported goods that signaled wealth, continental refinement, and absolute luxury quite like Italian pasta. Long before it was a pantry staple, pasta, specifically macaroni exported from Naples, was the culinary gold standard of the era. It was an exotic, highly sought-after ingredient … Read more
The quintessential cream cheese in America is Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It has been the absolute leader among such products for over a century. But, there are many different types of fresh, soft cheeses, and among the most revered is Italian mascarpone. What is the actual difference between Philadelphia cream cheese and traditional mascarpone? Are they … Read more
Stop in the barbecue and sauces section of any American grocery store, and you’ll find small dark bottle of “liquid smoke.” For decades, a persistent debate has surrounded this highly potent flavoring: Is it a genuine culinary ingredient, or is it a vial of artificial, synthetic lab chemicals engineered to mimic the taste of a … Read more
If you take a handful of dried kernels from a standard cob of sweet corn and toss them into a hot pan, you won’t get a fluffy bowl of popcorn. You’ll get scorched, soft corn kernels. This obvious fact leads to one of the most common culinary questions on the internet: Why can’t you pop … Read more