The pursuit of the perfect boiled egg

In a quest for perfection, people can fall down some interesting rabbit holes. They will go to lengths that makes the average person scratch their head in puzzlement. This is true of nearly any human endeavor, and perhaps especially so for cooking. There are bakers who weigh the most minute quantities of ingredients in tenths of a gram, espresso connoisseurs… read more

Food news antipasto

five glass bowls containing scoops of sorbet. Some have two or three scoops of varying shades of pink and purple.
Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay opened the doors earlier this week on his "most ambitious project yet" in the tallest building in the City of London. The chef has launched two restaurants, a bar and a cookery school at 22 Bishopsgate on February 3. Netflix is producing a documentary series about the project that follows Ramsay in the run up to… read more

Ketchup is a category, not a sauce

a single bottle of ketchup with wire bail lid on a pure white background
When most of us think of ketchup, we envision the tomato-vinegar-sugar sauce that is often served alongside burgers and fries. However, as explained at Gastro Obscura, ketchup is actually a catch-all category rather than a single sauce. It has a long and interesting history that spans the globe and includes all manner of ingredients including fruits, vegetables, fungi. What most… read more

Retailers limit egg purchases to combat hoarding

carton of eggs
Well, it seems that we learned nothing during the Covid-19 pandemic, as hoarding has again reared its ugly, selfish head. Trader Joe's and Costco recently imposed limits on how many cartons of eggs that shoppers can buy at one time. This action came after viral videos showed people piling huge quantities of eggs into their carts. It wasn't clear if… read more

Culinary ride-or-die – or have them take an Uber

In response to Darcie's post about finding a culinary ride-or-die, I felt compelled to share my story from the other side of the kitchen counter. My husband Jim loves my cooking, but he comes with an encyclopedia of dietary preferences. When a friend invited us for dinner and thoughtfully asked about food restrictions, I simply replied, "No bell peppers for… read more

Finding a culinary ride-or-die

My spouse and I have been together for nearly three decades. When we first got together, neither of us could cook well. I was just starting to become interested in making meals from scratch after growing up on a diet of mainly boxed and canned foods, and my spouse mainly went along for the ride. Since then I have been… read more

Is this the perfect way to make cacio e pepe?

Cacio e pepe can be a tricky dish to master. Do it right, and you are rewarded with a silky sauce for your pasta. Do it wrong, and you end up with clumps of rubbery cheese swimming in oil instead. There are many recipes that claim to be foolproof, but even those are prone to failure. However, scientists recently set… read more

Food news antipasto

strawberries in a colander
The Bocuse d'Or culinary competition was held last week, and this year France claimed the title, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The French team was led by 28-year-old Paul Marcon, whose father Regis won the prestigious competition in 1995. The UK team finished in fifth place while the US team ranked seventh in the competition, which is held every other… read more

Tips on making your freezer work for you

The freezer may be the most undersung appliance. They have become so ubiquitous that it is difficult to imagine not having one, but they only became available just a few generations ago for most people. While most of us use the freezer as a place to chuck ready made items like frozen pizza or to make and store ice cubes,… read more

How did iconic pasta shapes get created?

Until fairly recently, I took pasta shapes for granted. I never thought about when, why, or how different shapes came about, to me they just always were. That is silly, of course, because everything has an origin story, regardless of whether it has been lost to history. The good news is that for many iconic shapes, their origin stories are… read more

Best of the Best 2024

We have assembled 353 lists from around the world to create our 16th annual Best of the Best. The top book of 2024 is Ottolenghi Comfort. This probably is not a big surprise to members who have been following our Best of the Best for years - almost every year Ottolenghi has had a new cookbook published, it has been… read more

Best Selling Books of 2024

Last month our friends at cookbook stores around the world gave us their picks for their favorite books of 2024 which we then included in our Best of the Best of 2024. Now we asked them for their top sellers of 2024 (published in any year). It would be interesting to compare these charts to non-specialist store/online retailer book sales but it is… read more

Cookbook Deals

I will update this post when time permits – new additions are always at the top of each bulleted list below. If no update is available, be sure to check the publisher links and "cookbook deals" links under each region as they are updated periodically. If you spot a deal that isn't in the links below (publishers and or separate entries)… read more

Traditional foods to celebrate the Lunar New Year

Today marks the beginning of a very special time for the Chinese and several other cultures, as it is the beginning of the lunar new year. This holiday, celebrated by 20% of the world’s population, is honored differently in various countries, but food features prominently in all celebrations. For the Chinese new year, 2025 ushers in the Year of the… read more

A deep dive into everything mango

Several days ago I posted the photo below on social media, saying that while medieval European peasants may have had more free time than modern people, they didn't have access to fresh mangoes in the dead of winter so I'll call it equal. Growing up in the middle of North America (very near the geological center, in fact), I suffered… read more

January 2025 New Cookbook Review

Welcome to a new year of exciting books! This January, as usual, the focus is on healthy eating and the books released reflect that. Our 2025 Cookbook Preview Post is continually updated. Don’t forget that you can create a wishlist and share it with your loved ones. In case you missed it, in a recent weekly roundup, I shared a few highlights of this… read more

JoyFull – Cookbook Review & Giveaway

Joyfull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly isn't just another cookbook - it's a New York Times Bestseller that brings together Radhi Devlukia-Shetty's unique expertise as a dietitian, nutritionist, and Ayurvedic practitioner. Along with hosting the podcast "A Really Good Cry" and co-founding Juni Tea with her husband Jay Shetty (the global bestselling author and host of "On Purpose"), Radhi… read more

Food news antipasto

The Super Bowl is coming up in a couple of weeks, and fans are preparing their A-game for snacks. There is a new product coming out that might be making an appearance at select Super Bowl parties, as General Mills announced a unique mashup between Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and Totinos Pizza Rolls. This puzzling snack (is it made for… read more

And the winner is: 7-Eleven?

The internet-based market research firm YouGov recently held a popularity contest for the most popular grocery store in the US. The company holding the top spot is 7-Eleven, which came as a surprise to me because I don't think of 7-Eleven as a grocery store per se. However, after I thought about it a little more, I believe this makes… read more

It’s not too late to celebrate National Pie Day

Today is National Pie Day and although the day is touted as a ‘national’ event in the US, people from around the world have joined in the celebration of all things pie. Apparently, there are two National Pie Days - December 1 and January 23 - plus the unofficial day of March 14 (pi). I'm someone who believes that pie >… read more

Heritage Cookies of the Mediterranean World – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our worldwide giveaway to win one of five e-book versions of Heritage Cookies of the Mediterranean World by Scott and Kate Pavelle. Kate and Scott Pavelle are the couple behind the website Heritage Cookies and the author of two cookbooks. Heritage Cookies of the Old and New World and Heritage Cookies of the Mediterranean World. Kate is a fiction writer… read more

James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Semifinalists

Today the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards. This list includes categories in national awards such as Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Baker, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Pastry Chef, Outstanding Restaurateur, and Rising Star Chef of the Year, plus regional categories for chefs. 2025 marks a milestone for the Foundation: the 35th anniversary of the James Beard… read more

Feasts of Good Fortune Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Feasts of Good Fortune: 75 Recipes for a Year of Chinese American Celebrations, from Lunar New Year to Mid-Autumn Festival and Beyond by Hsiao-Ching Chou and Meilee Chou Riddle. The authors have a few events planned to celebrate this book. Hsiao-Ching Chou is the author of Chinese Soul Food:… read more

January 2025 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we previously offered at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This summer we cooked our favorite recipe from any cookbook, magazine, blog or online option and had a huge increase in participation and after a poll in the group we have decided to allow posting from all cookbooks and to offer one featured cookbook.… read more

Charles Phan has died at age 62

Today we learned the unfortunate news that Charles Phan, renowned chef and author of Vietnamese Home Cooking and The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food, has passed away at the age of 62. Reports emerged over the weekend indicating that the talented chef had been admitted to the hospital. His family has since confirmed that he suffered cardiac arrest. Phan was… read more
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