Many cookbooks and other sources recommend substituting black pepper for Szechuan peppercorns. Although this will deliver some pungency to the mixture, the flavor is not a very close match at all. Despite both spices being referred to as “pepper,” Szechuan peppercorns and black peppercorns are not related and have distinctly different flavors. Black Peppercorns Black … Read more
You’d probably never eat bear liver. You may be grossed out by the idea of liver at all. But, should you find yourself with nothing to eat but the liver of a bear, should you be worried? According to internet rumors, eating bear liver is deadly toxic! Like many such rumors, there is a grain … Read more
Are you convinced that pizza tastes better when you buy it by the slice? For some reason, when we buy our pizza one slice at a time, many of us enjoy it more. If we buy the same pizza as a whole pie, it’s not as enjoyable. How can the same pizza taste different? Why … Read more
Sometimes I come across something on Reddit that makes me stop everything and say, “Hey, why haven’t I written about that?” Around a month ago, a Reddit user in the Cooking subreddit brought up something that bugs the heck out of me. It’s the “thaw overnight in the refrigerator” lie! If you’ve ever placed a … Read more
The potato is the third most widely consumed food in the world after rice and wheat. The significance of its role in the world’s food supply cannot be overstated. First cultivated in the Andes Mountains of South America, this vital plant has long presented a mystery to botanists. Where did it come from? The plants … Read more
Usually, when you buy fresh potatoes they seem clean. At other times, you may notice a small amount of visible dirt on the surface of the potato. Potatoes grow as a root under the soil, so they certainly are not clean when harvested. This variability in cleanliness makes people wonder whether commercial potatoes are washed … Read more