For most of its history, cheese has been a local affair. Farmers would bring their milk to a village creamery that could convert that milk into cheese and other dairy products. Cheese has always been the long term storage solution for extra milk—especially before the era of refrigerators. The creameries would produce the same type […]
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Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory has been crafting delicious confections for fifteen years with a focus on traditional American candy. Each sweet treat takes days to make, and has remarkably full flavor. Here are two factors that make Zingerman’s candy different than your average grocery store find. 1. Made by hand, not by machines Instead of massive […]
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I love bread. I eat toast for breakfast at least four times a week. So I’m always excited to discover a new bakery offering beautiful, artisan loaves. Most of the time, though, I’m disappointed.
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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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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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If you want really flavorful pasta, the first step is to start with really flavorful wheat. That’s exactly what Filippo Drago is doing in western Sicily. He’s working to put Tumminia wheat—and the pasta he makes from it—on the global culinary map.
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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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The story of rugelach, the most popular Jewish pastry in America, dates back several hundred years to a Viennese cookie called kipfel (incidentally, also the ancestor of Hungary’s kifli). “Kipfel” means crescent, the cookie’s shape; “rugelach” probably comes from the Yiddish word rog, or corner—so rugelach is “little corners.” Throughout history, as Jews moved they […]
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