If you’ve ever reached for a recipe and paused at the choice between fleur de sel vs. kosher salt, you’ve hit one of the most common crossroads in the kitchen. While they are both technically salt, they serve very different purposes in your cooking. ⚡ Quick Verdict: Which one do you need? In practical terms, … Read more
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
There are two primary types of bacon: Bacon cut from the belly and from the back. What we call Canadian bacon here in the States is cut from the lean pork loin, just below the fat-back portion. This bacon made from the loin is more like ham than bacon. The type of bacon we primarily … Read more
Most of us buy our carrots with the green tops removed. Carrots with the greens still intact are not as widely available as carrots with the greens removed. However, you may sometimes find them available. Are carrot greens edible? Yes! They are perfectly edible. Carrot greens are eaten in many countries, but not in the … Read more
How many times have you put a bay leaf into a stew or soup and wondered what the heck it was doing? Can you even taste it? What’s the purpose? You can detect the flavor that most herbs add to food. You know the flavor of mint, oregano, basil, rosemary, sage, or thyme. Or, at … Read more
Most home cooks assume that “from scratch” is the culinary gold standard, but when it comes to pumpkin pie, the opposite is often true. If you try to bake a pie using a standard orange Jack-O’-Lantern (a “field pumpkin”), you are headed for disaster. These pumpkins are bred for carving, not eating, and their flesh … Read more