The farmers’ markets are filled with the first signs of spring. Pungent ramps, tightly curled fiddlehead ferns and plump morel mushrooms should now be available. Having eagerly awaited something fresh besides kale all winter, these ingredients are greedily scooped up by all the greenmarket shoppers I know. Unfortunately, the prices reflect the short-growing season and…
According to Modernist Cuisine at Home, sodium citrate is the key to “silky smooth” mac and cheese. And there is no substitution. The cookbook claims you can find it in the kosher aisle of grocery stores. Not true. And not even in NYC where kosher sections abound. Frustrated after searching in dozens of stores, I…
Almost every child (and my younger self included) has tasted play-doh. The question is why. The smell is off-putting, though certainly unique. Its consistency is absurd – crumbly yet soft – like cold mashed potatoes. But I don’t recall it tasting buttery in any way. Its vibrant color, on the other hand, makes it appealing…
As someone who develops my own recipes, often getting ideas from tweaking and testing a bunch of others, I’ve noticed that the instructions can vary greatly. When I experiment with the concepts in Modernist Cuisine, the focus is on precision of cooking temperatures and measurements. But there’s frequently a choice of cooking options, from oils…
After the snow melted, two inches of green sprouted from amidst the wood chips. The first signs of daffodils appeared in Central Park. A sure sign that warmer weather was on the way. Sadly, the farmer’s market wasn’t yet at full capacity and continued to sell only kale. But the grocery store offered a more…
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