FOOD TIP OF THE DAY: Check Your Spices For Freshness

Here’s some sage advice: Every January, toss out all of your old herbs and spices and start the year with fresh ones. After jars are opened, ground spices and dried herbs lose their potency—that’s why those jumbo jars are rarely a bargain. Buy only what you use regularly. If you rarely use mace, e.g., wait…
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FOOD TIP OF THE DAY: Go Nuts For Fresh Nutmeg

Whole nutmeg: Once you try it freshly-grated, you’ll never go back to pre-grated.   Just as freshly-ground pepper bears no resemblance to the bland, pre-ground powder, freshly-ground nutmeg is a vibrant spice that perks up sweet and savory dishes alike. We use it to flavor apples and other seasonal fruits (pies, compotes, sautéed sliced fruit),…
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TRENDS: Umami, The Fifth Taste

The weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal devoted a lot of space to an article called “A New Taste Sensation,” umami. However, this was news two years ago when Anna Kasabian and David Kasabian wrote their seminal book on the topic, The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami. It was the talk of gastronomy circles,…
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PRODUCT WATCH: SaltWorks Artisan Salts Now Kosher

Saltworks, a leader in bringing fine artisan salts to the U.S., announces that its house line, Artisan Sea Salts is now certified kosher by the Orthodox Union (except for the smoked sea salt, which is awaiting certification). The non-smoked varieties include Alaea (fine and coarse), Cyprus Flaked Salt, Fleur de Sel, Flor de Sal, Flower…
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REVIEW: Best Gourmet Food Stocking Stuffers

Whether you’re stuffing many stockings, need teacher gifts, are playing Secret Santa or are going to lots of parties, our Stocking Stuffer gift list has something for everyone. Most of our recommended goodies cost less than $6.00, and the most expensive is $12.95. So…what can you give those good little [gourmet] boys and girls? –…
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