Unit Conversion

A shot of spice in a pumpkin pie hits you like a hammer the first time you overspice it. More likely then not, that medicinal bite is clove, not cinnamon, nor even nutmeg. It’s strong stuff; it overwhelm the other flavors fast. And no: most home cooks don’t screw up out of lack of care, … Read more

Pour your batter, then listen for sound of your waffle being done (that’s the good sound). But what happens next? Waffles are the calorie-magnets of mornings: they trap toppings like no other flat pancake could ever hope too. Butter and syrup and sugar gets stuck in deep pockets, turning a modest breakfast into an energy-dense … Read more

Labels on holiday hams are more confounding then illuminating. They may suggest roasting at high heat, but what about that handy slow cooker? That’s where the device itself come in: It changes the flow of heat within the meat. This is where a ham-cooking calculator comes in. Enter its size and style and it calculate … Read more

Most parents don’t feed their babies dessert, but they often overlook the fact that pureed fruit is essentially liquid candy. This isn’t meant as a criticism of healthy foods, but rather a way to set expectations: A jar of apple puree is a container of concentrated sugars. Nature packed those sugars for energy, not necessarily … Read more

These are plain crackers (like soda crackers). These seem like a harmless snack; after all, it’s just some flat squares, right? They don’t seem like they’d matter much to your total food counts. However, there are still quite a few grams of refined carbs and sodium here. When you consume them; even if you’re “just … Read more

So much of the holiday ham shows up as a frozen hunk of flesh that has to be treated gently. It’s in the freezer. Your guests will be here before long, but the main course is still rock-solid. What do you do? Do you rush to a pan of tepid water? Will a couple of … Read more

It’s dinner time, and you grab A package of chicken from the freezer. When dinnertime rolls around, however, it’s still as hard as a rock. Panic time: Do I leave it out on the counter? Should I put it in hot water? Dangerous shortcuts like counter thawing or using a microwave is risky, dangerous in … Read more

When pouring vanilla extract into cake batter, it’s almost autopilot. Sure, it’s the go-to way to bring warmth to a sweet dough but unless you’ve thought hard about it, you probably haven’t considered exactly what else goes in that bottle. What’s in your pantry is actualy an alcohol solution, and knowing its chemistry can make … Read more

For example, if you want to cook a steak but aren’t sure how long to put it in the oven, sous vide cooking take that part of the equation: set the water to whatever level of doneness you prefer, set the heat, and wait. Your steak won’t turn gray before it’s even halfway cooked… No … Read more

What’s this? You’ve likely encountered a recipe that calls for a pinch of salt with no clarification as to which salt. It seems like just an innocent guess until you cook it and find it is too bland or too salty. In fact, there is a big difference. A pinch are a volume measurement, but … Read more