Refrigerator jams and jellies are gateway preserves: quick, easy, attractive ways to bottle up peak-season produce at its best. The formulas are basic (fruit, sugar, lemon juice); the batches are typically small, so there’s no need to invest in bushe

Some foods are practical and pantryfriendly, and some make you feel like you’re treating yourself to a refined delicacy, but it’s the rare food that can do both. Enter tinned fish. Invented in the early 1800s as a protein source for Napoleon’s armies

If you’re peeling a potato and see green under the skin, keep peeling until there’s no more green. While the tint itself isn’t a problem, the color indicates the presence of a toxin on the potato flesh. Here’s what’s going on: When a potato is expose

Every twirl of liang mian manages to be both refreshing and hearty. The cold, lightly chewy noodles coated in a dark, earthy majiang (sesame paste) sauce are edged with satisfying sweetness, heat, and tang. In China and Taiwan, the chilled, glossy st

The gyuto (pronounced “GYEW-toh”) is best described as the Japanese version of a Western-style chef’s knife. It was developed in the 1870s, during the Meiji Restoration. Japan had recently ended its policy of isolationism and had opened its borders t

The ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE is our favorite instant-read digital thermometer. Its backlit display, durable construction, and quick and accurate temperature readings make it a reliable choice for any cooking project. ThermoWorks also sells the Therm

As steam began to rise from my pot, I plucked the glistening strands of kombu from the hot water and set them aside. I pulled the pot from the heat, added a handful of katsuobushi to the water, and watched the translucent fish flakes slowly sink bene

For all its extraordinary umami, dashi (page 6) requires only water and two ingredients: kombu, or dried kelp, and katsuobushi, also known as bonito flakes. Here are a few tips for purchasing and storing these products so you can make this type of h

So many greens are all leaf and no stem, but bok choy levels the ratio. At least 50 percent of each oblong head features thick, bright white ribs (“bok choy” is Cantonese for “white vegetable”) that stretch skyward and unfurl into a collar of jade-gr

This is the story of two cakes that have long been beloved in East Asian baking traditions—and how I merged those traditions into an airy, downy-soft, cream- and fruit-festooned marvel that’s perfect for any celebration. The first is one many will im

I’m not a cook (or a consumer) who’s easily enticed by trendy dishes, particularly those showered in Instagram fame. But I think Australian cooks, who have a real knack for elevating ordinary breakfast staples, tapped into something special with fold

“I can close my eyes and transport myself [to] when I was little. A beautiful life growing up in Peru,” Claudia Berroa mused as she recalled the “big, delicious food” of her childhood in Lima. During a video call, Berroa, who is the ninth of 10 child

“What is a weed?” Ralph Waldo Emerson once mused in a lecture. “A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Indeed, many plants that creep up through sidewalks and appear uninvited in gardens have remarkable culinary uses. BLACK LOCUST BLOSS

What’s more elusive than a well-seared steak with a rosy interior? A well-seared thin steak with a rosy interior. Even when the meat’s surface is dry and the heat is cranked—prime conditions for browning—it’s a race against time to develop a rich cru

Every morning, the aroma of freshly baked pastry wafts down the wandering old town streets of Gaziantep, Turkey. When I attended cooking school in the city, I’d often follow my nose straight to the source: a shop where coils of golden, flaky kol böre

After cleaning up too many spills when pouring rice from a small bag into a dry measuring cup, Molly Layman of Kingston, Mass., changed her ways. Now she places the measuring cup in the cooking vessel and pours the rice into it. Any rice that overflo

Tacos gobernador, or “governor’s tacos,” are food fit for a VIP. The recipe was born about 30 years ago, when Francisco Labastida Ochoa, the governor of the Mexican state Sinaloa, paid a visit to Mazatlán’s Los Arcos restaurant. The restaurant’s chef

With a few cans of tomatoes in your pantry, you’re always ready to cook. Sweet-tart, plump, and juicy, they’re the basis for many soups, stews, and sauces. The most versatile canned tomatoes are whole: You can chop, crush, or puree them, by hand or i

As a kid, I had a reputation at restaurants for grabbing one of those foil-wrapped butter packets, opening it like a present, and eating it straight in two bites. My parents didn’t love this behavior, but I sure did. At the time, I couldn’t imagine a

Savoy cabbage (named for France’s Savoy region) is a mild member of the Brassica genus composed of slightly elastic dark to light green, lacy leaves. Savoy is a relatively dry cabbage—it is about 88 percent water, while red and green cabbages are abo

You might think that after cooking with salt for thousands of years, we wouldn’t have much left to learn. We’ve made simple-pleasure revelations, such as how sprinkling salt on a tomato makes it taste exponentially more like itself, and life-changing

In 2020, my former colleague Andrew Janjigian delighted carnivores with his cold‑start searing technique: Place a pair of rib eyes in a dry, unheated skillet; set it over high heat; and flip the steaks regularly as they sizzle in their own fat. The m

As their name suggests, multipurpose spray cleaners (also labeled “all-purpose” or “multi-surface” cleaning sprays) are intended to be versatile. They’re designed to work on a variety of surfaces in your home, from kitchen counters to stovetops to ba

The varied cuisines of the Indian subcontinent boast an impressive array of glamorous flatbreads—pillowy naans, layered and flaky parathas, and crisp-edged dosas, to name a few—but it’s always been wholesome, everyday rotis (also known as chapatis) t

Hoisin sauce (haixianjiang) was one of the first Chinese pantry staples to make a foray into mainstream American cooking. It’s fruity, tangy, and savory with a hint of spice. Its name means “seafood sauce” in Chinese, but today’s hoisin sauce doesn’t

Gloriously creamy, cheesy, and tomatillo-bright, enchiladas suizas are easy to love. The Mexico City specialty, whose name nods to the dairy-rich culture of Switzerland, features delicately seasoned shreds of chicken tidily rolled into subtly savory

You’ve probably never had carabaccia. Neither had I until recently, nor have most Italians even though Tuscan cooks have been making it since at least as far back as the 15th century. The understated red onion soup is a point of pride in and around C

PRICE: $6.86 for 9.4 oz ($0.92 per oz) COMMENTS: This “bright and tangy” sauce struck “the right balance of sweet and savory” and reminded some tasters of “roasted fruit.” It was “thick” and “the slightest bit grainy” when sampled plain but whisked e