The trouble with so-called “ancient grains” is that though they recently have tickled the fancy of restaurant chefs, they remain way under the home cook’s radar. It’s an experience thing. Or lack of. Most of us aren’t even sure how to cook amaranth, quinoa and spelt, never-mind know how to serve them. Which is tooRead more »

Rule No. 1 about spicy ingredients: You don’t need to love spicy foods to love what spicy ingredients can do for the foods you do love. That’s because foods such as chili peppers and hot sauces can do way more than simply add mouth-searing heat. Adding just a touch will heighten the other flavors ofRead more »

There’s really no way around it: Kumquats are an odd little fruit. Visually, they resemble diminutive oranges, but they technically aren’t citrus. And unlike oranges, it’s the thin skin that is sweet, while the flesh is sour. You probably won’t find bushels of them at the grocer, but most stores will have a few pintsRead more »

Plenty of people have a tough time taking pumpkin seeds seriously. Fair enough. Americans unfamiliar with (or lacking a taste for) Hispanic foods generally only encounter them in the glop you scrape out of jack-o’-lanterns. But roasted, hulled pumpkin seeds (properly known as pepitas) are a delicious, nutty backbone of many Mexican dishes and wellRead more »

Are you about over bacon yet? Neither am I. In fact, our national obsession with cured pig has only made me all the more eager to explore lesser-known –- but equally delicious -– pork parts. And there are plenty to choose from. One of the most widely available, yet often overlooked, is pancetta, a closeRead more »

It’s time to move mint beyond juleps and mojitos. Because in the U.S., mint has struggled to land on the dinner table. We tend to associate it with sweets (after all, it does pair nicely with chocolate) and breath mints. But elsewhere in the world, especially North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, mint isRead more »

Five years can make a world of difference for an almond. That’s about how long it took for Spain’s addictively good marcona almond to go from obscure gourmet goodie to a Trader Joe’s staple with serious culinary cred. Why do you care? Because marconas are not your average almond. These wide, teardrop-shaped treats are theRead more »

A jam would seem an unlikely ingredient to be overlooked. After all, legions of parents rely on the many offerings of the grocer’s PB&J aisle to maintain peace with the lunch-box crowd. Except that when you peer past the usual suspects — strawberry, raspberry, grape, apricot — you find some seriously wonderful hidden jam gemsRead more »

Fermented bean paste? Doesn’t exactly scream party in your mouth. And yet we happily slurp it in that salty, savory soup doled out every time we sit down for sushi. That’s because miso really is a flavor bomb worth knowing. So let’s start there. Miso is a broad term for pastes made from fermented cookedRead more »

Pop quiz time! How do you make “petit four” plural? When making pesto, do you add “pine nuts” or “pinenuts”? And which is correct: bok choy, bok choi, pak choi or pak choy? These are the questions I tend to spend too much time geeking out over. But then, as food editor for the world’sRead more »