Anyone who’s ever visited the Food Network’s kitchens knows just how immaculate they are: all gleaming, crumbless surfaces and floors you could eat off of. And yet in even the most spotless of kitchens, there is always something better left uningested. The overwhelming majority of these somethings cannot be seen without the aid of aRead more »

My mother, who was blessed with a green thumb, has always loved to garden and grow plants and herbs of all kinds. As a child, I always remember her saving the pits of almost anything, sticking some toothpicks in them and placing them in water to see if they would root. This season she triedRead more »

This is spectacularly soothing, and probably useful if you have a sorority initiation or a Van Halen tour to prepare for… And no, I have no idea what a discodip is either, though a quick google seems to suggest it’s the Dutch term for the opposite of hagelslag. [via] Rupa Bhattacharya, Culinary Writer

But we made him take a picture with us anyway: Dave Mechlowicz, Culinary Purchasing Manager

For years, I’ve listened to all of my older relatives rave about my long-deceased great grandmother Rose’s graham cracker cake. I never had the opportunity to taste it, as she passed away while my mother was pregnant with me, but everyone loved how pudding-like, dense, and delicious the cake was. Rose never shared her secretRead more »

As noted by the sharp media critics over at EatMeDaily, the real star of the culture storm that is Julie & Julia turns out to be a book. Check the numbers: Since the film’s opening, Julia Child’s seminal Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 has been Amazon’s overall number 1 (now 2) bestseller.Read more »

Now is a great time to start thinking about saving seeds for next season, which will make next year’s crop an even bigger bargain. It’s also one of the smartest ways to encourage an increasingly healthy and abundant garden year after year, since seeds you save from this season are naturally engineered toward your distinctRead more »

The French Culinary Institute (my culinary alma mater, though I do have to admit it was not nearly this cool when I was there) has a fascinating two-part article up on their site today about the Japanese Ike Jime method of killing fish, and its effect on fish’s neurobiology (and thus taste and texture). It’sRead more »

is why I live in fear of messing up at work — wouldn’t you, if this were your boss? Danielle LaRosa, Assistant Culinary Producer

England mourns Benson, the 50-lb celebrity carp found dead recently under suspicious circumstances: Salient quotes far too plentiful to excerpt, but a taste: “I had quite a rapport with the fish, and when she was caught, I used to talk to her, tell her to go make one more angler happy and look after herselfRead more »