Frozen entrées and other frozen microwaveable food products always instruct us to “Cook thoroughly to an internal temperature of 165°F as measured by a food thermometer.” To most people, this instruction feels unintuitive if not absurd on its face. The meal is said to be “fully cooked,” and has spent weeks frozen at zero degrees. … Read more
Most home cooks assume that “from scratch” is always the gold standard, but when it comes to pumpkin pie, the opposite is almost always true. Attempting to roast and puree a fresh pumpkin in a domestic kitchen usually produces a watery and stringy custard that fails to set properly. While food media often treats canned … Read more
If there is one thing that is consistent on the internet, it’s that people hate “paying for water.” Few things inspire as much quiet resentment as opening a can of beans and pouring half the contents down the kitchen sink. This is the same consumer grievance that constantly crops up in other other products. Shoppers … Read more
A handheld food smoker, often called a smoking gun, promises real wood-smoke flavor on a kitchen countertop without the heat, physical space, or hours required by an outdoor barbecue pit. With a pinch of wood sawdust in a miniature burn chamber and a battery-powered fan pushing smoke a rubber hose, it seems like an effortless … Read more
A common misconception about bread molding may be the biggest food science fallacy on the internet. The question, and the fear and outrage that accompanies it, is driven by repeated instances of viral online experiments in which someone buys several loaves of store-bought sandwich bread, sets slices out on a kitchen counter or leaves a … Read more
Since the late 1970s, Betty Crocker has been printing the words “Pudding in the Mix” on some of its cake mix boxes. The marketing suggests that in the dry ingredients package is a secret payload of prepared pudding or even a dedicated packet of pudding mix that will make your cake super moist. But, of … Read more