Cooking tips aren’t just for foodies. We all eat every day (unless you’re a robot), and better cooking means healthier food, more delicious meals, and possibly even saving some cash. here were our best food hacks and tips from 2015.
The Best Meal Kit Services: Blue Apron vs. Hello Fresh vs. Plated
Meal subscription services like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, and Plated deliver fresh ingredients to your door each week, saving you the time and hassle of meal planning and grocery shopping. But are they worth it? Here’s a look at how these services work and compare to each other.
Simplify Your Diet with Alton Brown’s Four Lists Method
The key to a successful diet is finding something you’ll actually stick to. If you haven’t found that yet, Alton Brown’s four list approach may help.
Hang These Graphics on Your Fridge to Never Waste Food Again
Every year, people waste tons of food—a serious and saddening issue. If you sometimes throw out food because they’ve spoiled, these printables can help.
The Least Unhealthy Items at Seven Popular Fast Food Joints
Fast food is hardly health food, but when you’re on the road or it’s late at night, sometimes it’s your only option. These are the menu options to look for that will fill you up without filling you out.
Five Useful Cooking Techniques No One Teaches You
Most of us learn to cook through trial and error, the Food Network, or being forced to feed ourselves when no one else will do it. So naturally, no one’s born knowing how to sauté chicken, or blanch vegetables. Here are some basic (but useful) cooking techniques chefs use every day, but the rest of us rarely pick up.
15 Surprising Things You Can Make in a Rice Cooker
Despite its name, the rice cooker is not a single-minded kitchen unitasker. Sure, it is the easiest way to make perfect rice, but it’s also a convenient way to cook a wide variety of foods. Here are a few examples that might just convince you to invest in a rice cooker or use yours more often.
Don’t Buy Expensive Knife Sets: These Four Knives Are All You Need
It can be tempting to buy a knife block, or buy a set for a friend who’s into cooking as a housewarming gift. Don’t do it. The money you spend on a knife set packed with subpar knives could be used to buy fewer excellent knives that will last a lifetime. Here’s why you should steer clear, and what you—or your aspiring chef friend—should own instead.
Make Perfect, Effortless Rice with Alton Brown’s Pour-Over Method
It’s not easy to make perfectly consistent rice on the stove—sometimes the pot of rice comes out too mushy, burnt, or crunchy. That’s why you might want to adopt Alton Brown’s method of rice cooking.
Quickly Peel a Hard-Boiled Egg by Shaking It in a Glass of Water
Peeling hard-boiled eggs can be nightmare if you don’t cook them right or try to pick off the shell piece by tiny piece. A quick shake in a partially water-filled glass can do the deed cleanly in a matter of seconds.
10 Tricks for a Perfect Summer Cookout in Three Minutes
Summer is in full swing, which means it’s time to head outside for some fun in the sun. And you know what that means: hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, and more.
Tip Tester: What’s the Best Way to Marinate Inexpensive Steak?
Glorious as they are, ribeye, porterhouse, and filet steaks aren’t everyday foods for most of us. If you’re looking to get your fill of beef without spending a fortune, it’s worth getting behind some of the less popular, but still-delicious steaks out there. We took a look at a few different marinating techniques so you can make the most of your cut.
Six Healthy Snacks You Can Eat While Gaming
Pizza rolls, potato chips, and Hot Pockets washed down with Mountain Dew may silence that grumbling stomach, but these foods probably don’t do you any favors for your waistline (or your brain, for that matter). Instead, trade in the typical gamer grub with these healthier-but-still-delicious snack swaps.
Why You Shouldn’t Buy Organic Based on the “Dirty Dozen” List
Switching to organic apples because they top the “Dirty Dozen” list of produce with the most pesticides? You may want to reconsider. It turns out the “Dirty” foods are fairly clean, and organic foods aren’t free of pesticides anyway.
Pick the Carton with the Freshest Eggs by Looking for This Number
The freshest eggs have the best flavor and will last longer. Here’s an insider tip on picking the freshest carton of eggs at the grocery store: look at the three-digit code printed on the carton, not the sell-by date.
The US Is Finally Dropping Its Outdated Guideline Against Cholesterol
You don’t need to limit cholesterol in your diet. We’ve said it here before, but now the people who make the dietary guidelines for the US are saying it too.
How to Navigate a Farmer’s Market Like a Seasoned Veteran
The easiest way to eat local is to shop at a farmer’s market. By doing so, you’re supporting local farmers and getting involved with your community. It’s also often the best deal if you’re shopping for one.
How to Properly Freeze Fruit for Longer-Lasting Freshness
There’s little better than ripe fresh fruit eaten out of hand, but when that’s not possible, do the next best thing: freeze your fruit. It’s easy to do, economical, and a no-brainer way to extend the life of anything sweet and fresh that’s sitting on your counter.
Diced, Chopped, Minced, & More: A Visual Guide to Six Basic Knife Cuts
If you’ve ever wondered about the difference is between “chopped”, “diced”, “minced”, and other cuts in a recipe, you aren’t alone. Knife cuts can be so confusing that we’ve compiled a visual guide to some of the most common.
Forget Red Delicious: Here Are the Apples You Should Use in Everything
At first blush, apples might seem pretty boring (that’s the fruit that got mankind expelled from paradise?) but a perfectly crisp, sweet and tart apple, fresh from the tree, is a beautiful thing—but each variety has its strengths and uses.
12 Vague Supermarket Food Labels, Explained
Grocery stores are littered with ambiguous food labels like “artisan,” “fresh,” and “humanely raised.” Some of these terms can be misleading by design, but they aren’t all totally devoid of meaning. Here are some of the most confusing terms you’ll find in the supermarket, and what they really mean.
How to Pass Off Store-Bought Food as Your Own
From now until January 2nd, you’ll be invited to many parties of the house, cocktail, and dinner variety. If you love to cook, making and bringing something won’t be a problem, but if you have the baking skills of a young Cher Horowitz, you may need to lie. By “lie” I mean “buy some food you did not make and pretend you did.” This isn’t honest, or righteous, or even very easy, but it can be done.