For many, the rice cooker is the most essential “one-job” appliance in the kitchen. While certain orange-clad internet personalities have made a career out of shaming anyone who dares to cook rice in a standard pot, the history of the automated rice cooker is actually a fascinating tale of mid-century industrial engineering and a unique … Read more
I want to talk about three things. I want to talk about grits; Southern grits! I want to talk about food bloggers. And I want to talk about the language of food. Perhaps surprisingly, I don’t consider myself a food blogger. But I share something in common with them. We both share our personal identity … Read more
In many American Italian chain restaurants, you’ll immediately find a bowl of seasoned olive oil—often called ‘Italian butter’—placed on the table for dipping your complimentary bread. It’s a delicious ritual that many assume is a staple of life in Italy. But if you try to find this same practice in a traditional trattoria in Rome … Read more
In a restaurant setting, banquette is a word for a padded bench with a cushioned seat and back. This style of seating is used in “banquette seating,” which is often confused with booth seating. In fact, some restaurant owners may call the padded benches in their booth seating banquettes. However, banquette refers to a continuous … Read more
With the current frenzy around banning food additives, and particularly banning artificial colors, I thought I’d recount a little story about the impact of food additives on someone’s life. The story involves artificial food colors or “dyes.” A 4-year old boy named Trenton started pre-K. He started having nightmares and public meltdowns. His mother couldn’t … Read more
Sometimes, you’ll hear a chef describing the taste of a food as “vegetal.” For instance, I recently came across a chef claiming that green bell peppers were “vegetal” while red bell peppers are sweet and slightly spicy. How does this differentiate the two? Well, the truth is, it doesn’t. Red bell peppers could also be … Read more