Most people we know select three cheeses for a cheese plate and add a crusty loaf of bread.

The more ambitious add some nuts and fresh or dried fruits.

We get a bit more elaborate (see our list of cheese garnishes).

Years ago, on a trip to Italy, we were inspired by mostarda di frutta, a sweet-and-hot fruit and mustard condiment. Now, it’s our go-to condiment with Italian cheeses.

Think of mostarda as a mustardy fruit chutney. It’s lovely to look at: Whole small fruits or larger pieces of fruit are beautifully suspended in a clear syrup.

Initially, mostarda was a condiment served with bollito misto, a plate of mixed boiled meats that’s a specialty of northern Italian cuisine (the boiled ingredients vary by region, and an elaborate version can include seven kinds of meat, seven vegetables and seven condiments—consider it for a special dinner party).

Over the last few decades, mostarda has become a popular cheese condiment as well.

And as with any recipe, each region of Italy has its own mostarda variation; you can find many of them online. Fruit is the main ingredient—apples, cherries, figs, pears, quince or a mixture of whatever is plentiful in the region. Raisins, nuts and other ingredients can be added to create the condiment of your dreams (try some cardamom pods, for example—not traditionally Italian, but very exciting).

In addition to serving mostarda with cheese—as a side or drizzled over a slice, tome or other shape—you can serve it:

Cook it, then husk it. Photo by Zeeshan
Qureshi | SXC

Why has it taken us decades to discover the ease of microwaving ears of corn? There’s nothing to do but put the ears on the rotating plate. The husks enable the corn to steam in its own moisture.

To start, we rinse the ears of corn and place a paper towel on the plate of the microwave—but only because we’re obsessively neat. It isn’t essential.

The time it takes to microwave the corn depends on the number of ears. We’ve seen some huge time ranges for microwaving corn. While microwave ovens differ, our midsize Sharp Carousel cooks two ears in two minutes. Try adding 30 seconds for each additional ear and adjust as necessary for your oven. Don’t pack the microwave with corn; cook it in two or more batches if you’re making a lot.

Husking The Cooked Corn

While the tendency is to husk the corn the minute the microwave beeps, the husks can be a bit too hot to the touch. You can wear a clean pair of Playtex kitchen gloves, or you can also wait a few minutes until the husks are comfortable to hold. Then, use both hands to pull down opposite sides of the husk. The husk will come off in one good yank, along with most of the corn silk.

Remove the remaining few strands of corn silk, and the corn is ready to serve.

While Americans tend to proceed to the buttering stage, fresh-picked corn has such exquisite natural sweetness that it requires no seasoning at all (a nice savings of calories and cholesterol).

However, after the corn is a day or more off the stalk, the sugars will convert to bland starch. That’s when butter, salt and pepper are needed. For no-calorie seasoning, do what the Mexicans do and add a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of chili powder.

Another tip: You can use raw corn kernels in salads, salsa and as garnish. Remove the husks and silk, and shave the kernels from the husk with a sharp knife.

Until the invention of the pepper mill† in 1842, peppercorns were freshly ground with a mortar and pestle.

Pepper begins to lose flavor as soon as it’s ground. Pepper gets its spicy heat from piperine, a chemical compound that’s found in both the outer fruit and in the seed (the peppercorn).

Once the pepper is ground, the piperine is exposed to the air and begins to evaporate. That’s why commercially ground pepper is a bland product.

And that’s why today’s tip is: Always use whole peppercorns, and grind the pepper as you need it. If you don’t have a pepper mill, get one. Here’s a good, basic pepper mill that’s battery operated, so you don’t have to twist it to grind the pepper.

[1] Chilled cucumber soup. A little garnish turns it into food art (photo © Love And Lemons).

[2] Still on the vine, in a home garden with a wooden support for the heavy fruit—yes, cucumbers are a fruit (photo © Bernard Hermant | Unsplash).

We love elegant, chilled cucumber soup.

Unfortunately, the provider of our video recipes has closed down, leaving us with this tempting idea, but no video recipe on this page.

So instead, we present two options:

Here’s the commentary from the video recipe that went poof!

Cucumber soup is refreshing and low in calories—we use nonfat Greek yogurt instead of the whole milk yogurt and sour cream used in the video recipe. And it’s less costly to make than gazpacho.

Texture. Cucumber soup is customizable in texture, from chunky to smoothie-like (you can drink the latter from a glass or cup).

While the video host uses an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender or food processor for a finer texture.

Seasonings. Cucumber soup is receptive to a broad variety of favorite seasonings. While garlic, dill, and mint are traditional, you can change the recipe by adding basil, celery seed, curry powder, minced jalapeño, minced onion, shallot, tarragon, thyme, and/or sage.

Serving. Serve the chilled soup in plastic cups for parties—either with a spoon or as a puréed, drinkable version.

We’ll be serving cucumber soup as part of our Labor Day menu. Try it!

World Cucumber Day is June 14th.
 
 
> The history of cucumbers.
 
 
> The different types of cucumbers.
 
 
> More ways to use cucumbers.

Need to refill the salt shaker but can’t find the funnel?

Pouring directly from the box of salt can create a mess. Instead, use an envelope—preferably one of the smaller return envelopes that arrive in the mail.

1. Fill the envelope with the approximate amount of salt that you need. Seal the envelope.

2. Cut off one corner to create a funnel. If you need additional salt, just cut the top off the envelope and add more.

3. When the shaker is filled, place the “funnel” opening in the carton of salt to return any leftovers.

Why didn’t we mention filling the pepper shaker as well? You’ll find out in tomorrow’s Tip Of The Day.

Which Shaker Gets The Salt?

Traditionally, the multiple-hole shaker is for salt and the single-hole shaker is for pepper. The original reasoning is that people want more salt than pepper. But if you find that pepper flows better from the multiple-hole top, feel free to switch.

Before there were shakers, salt and pepper were served in small ceramic dishes (crystal dishes for the wealthy) called salt cellars. In the kitchen, a wood salt box* was used. Some have two compartments in order to hold both salt and pepper.

The word “cellar” doesn’t refer to the basement in this case. It evolved around 1434 from the Anglo-Norman word saler, based on the Old French salier (salt box) and the Latin salarium. Salarium is a great word. There’s more about it below, under Food Trivia.

Back to the salt cellars: People would simply take a pinch of salt from the dish. But shakers evolved as a more sanitary option.

The gentry used elegant crystal salt cellars (we still have our great-grandmother’s). Presumably, they all washed their hands before coming to the table and pinching the salt and pepper.

FOOD TRIVIA

For most of the history of the world, salt was a scarce commodity and very costly. Few countries had discovered underground salt deposits, and only those with seacoasts could evaporate salt from seawater.

Yet, as it is today, salt was very important for culinary, medicinal and industrial purposes. People even used it as currency:

 
A brief history of salt.

One of our favorite books is Salt, A World History, by Mark Kurlansky. It’s a page-turner.
*Lidded salt boxes are back in style, and are now made in split versions to hold both salt and pepper. In addition to the two-section wood salt box, here’s a handsome black marble salt box.