The USDA’s shorthand definition of a preservative is any substance that slows or stops the deterioration of food. The sugar we add to make jam to keep fruit from rotting is a preservative. So is the salt we use to cure ham. We’ve employed preservatives like sugar and salt for millennia.
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First things first. What’s a grain? The foods we call grains are the seeds of certain members of the grass family. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, corn, sorghum, and millet are all grains. Each grain has three main components: (A) The endosperm: the starchy part that would feed a baby plant if the seed were […]
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For centuries, coarse, whole grain flours were the everyday norm for bread and porridge. White flours were a once-in-a-while treat for only the most special cakes or breads, reserved for the highest of holidays. As refined white flours became more readily available in the 20th century, Big Ag marketing departments promoted them by running a […]
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Here’s a general rule about good food that can help us all: the longer you keep food intact, the better the flavor will be.
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The first English written reference to toast appears in 14th century cookbooks. Back then, after grilling your bread over the fire, you didn’t slather on butter or jam. Instead, toast was served soaked in ale or hot wine and spices. (They called this dish sops, which turned into our words soup and supper—a light evening […]
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1. Butter tastes better You can’t tell just from looking at a cookie or a piece of cake whether it’s been baked with butter or shortening. The bottom line on baked goods’ flavor is that butter tastes better. It’s also about ten times more costly, so many bakeries make the choice to use less expensive […]
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Excerpted from the new Zingerman’s Bakehouse Book In order to open Zingerman’s Bakehouse, we had to be able to bake great Jewish Rye Bread for Zingerman’s Delicatessen, which was our first (and at the beginning our only) customer. It’s not possible to have a superb Reuben sandwich without authentic Jewish rye bread. We wanted our […]
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It’s not as traditional as pumpkin pie, or as familiar as apple pie, but I’m going to go ahead and say it: pecan pie is the ideal Thanksgiving dessert. It has deep American roots. It has warm, caramel, nutty flavor. And while it’s fancy enough for a holiday spread, it’s also homey enough to serve […]
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One day, several thousand years ago, the very first would-be farmer was out looking at some wild grains, and she had an idea: what if, instead of eating the healthiest, most robust plants, she carefully harvested them, collected the seeds, and used them to grow healthy plants again next year? The idea worked, and for […]
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A few decades ago, hummingbird cake was the brainchild of a Jamaican marketing exec. Today it’s a beloved American classic, used to celebrate everything from holidays to Tuesdays. It’s the Southern belle of fruitcakes: sweet, a bit sassy, pretty, popular with everyone from brides to grannies.
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