Tips & Tricks

According to The Wall Street Journal, the makers of canning jars say their sales are up 30% this year. They also report a project director for The National Center for Home Food Preservation (a program funded by the U.S. government) saying…

Tomatoes are one of the most-used and most versatile ingredients in the kitchen, making everything from the humble pizza to the most elaborate and scrumptious sauce. However, few people really even know what a decent tomato tastes like,…

Is it possible to be a budget gourmet? As the economy in many parts of the world spirals downward, this is a question more and more gourmands are asking. The answer is "yes," if you spend time instead of money, and use a little creative…

Mussels are a classic gourmet food, but one many amateur chefs are afraid of. There’s really nothing to fear, however. Mussels are easy to cook if you know a few easy tricks. So follow these few, simple steps and you, too, can cook a…

When used correctly, vinegar is an important ingredient that never overpowers food, but only enhances it. Essentially, vinegar is little more than alcoholic fluid that’s been given extra air exposure. This exposure is what gives vinegar…

Greens, the leafy part of a wide variety of vegetables, including collards, spinach, beet leaves, kohlrabi leaves, and sorrel – are not only delicious, they are extremely healthy, too. Packed with vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, fiber, and…

When summertime grilling comes to mind, most people think of tossing hamburgers, hot dogs and maybe corn on the cob on the barbecue. But almost any vegetable grills up well, making it easier to create a healthy, delicious meal any day.…

There is only one food that never spoils; Honey. Unlike sugar, honey contains calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, B6, niacin, thiamin and several amino acids. Honey also stores better than sugar, enhances…

As aspiring cooks explore the world of gourmet food, one of the terms they’re certain to run across is bouquet garni (boh-kay gar-nee). At its simplest, a bouquet garni is a bunch of herbs tied together and used to flavor the liquid of…

Yeast is an essential baking ingredient, but far too many home bakers are afraid of it. Is the yeast active? Will it make the dough rise, many bakers wonder. It’s true that one or two generations back, yeast was a tricky thing to handle.…