Why Don’t We Eat the Green Tops of Carrots?

Most of us buy our carrots in bags 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 … Read more

Are Bay Leaves Useless In Cooking?

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

Is Libby’s Canned Pumpkin Puree as Good As Fresh?

There is a big orange pumpkin sitting in my kitchen right now that nobody carved. I just purchased a can of Libby’s Pumpkin Puree to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I can’t cook with the monstrous orange Jack-O-Lantern to be as those “field” pumpkins we get for carving are terrible to eat. Though they are … Read more

Not all Apples Turn Brown Quickly When Cut

apple varieties that don't turn brown quickly when cut, cortland, empire, golden russet, paula red

Many fruits and vegetables turn brown when cut or otherwise damaged. Among these are apples, potatoes, pears, bananas, avocados, peaches, eggplants, apricots, and mushrooms (not a fruit or vegeatable). This process, which you can read more about here and here is called enzymatic browning. It occurs due to reactions between oxygen in the air and … Read more

Is It Bad to Use Cooking Wine in Recipes?

It is claimed that the idea of “cooking wine” came about during the Middle Ages when the wines that would normally be drunk at the table were salted so that the cooks would not drink them. This way, wine could be used in the food without a bunch of drunk cooks running around the kitchen. … Read more

What’s the Difference Between Molasses, Treacle, and Golden Syrup?

Light treacle or golden syrup

There seems to be a lot of debate about the difference between molasses, treacle and a product called “golden syrup.” Apparently, this debate is not new but has been going on since the 1800’s. Nobody today seems to really know the difference, but many claim there is one. Today, treacle seems to be a generic … Read more