Cook's Country February/March 2023

THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES snapshot of Kelly Song, the newest test cook to join Cook’s Country, reminds me of my early experiences in a professional test kitchen and the things I learned there that made me a much better, more efficient, and creative cook. I was in my early twenties and had never seen anything like the Los Angeles Times’ test kitchen. The space was essentially a large, rectangular-shaped home kitchen outfitted with island workstations and high-end appliances, including double ovens, two cooktops, and a separate refrigerator and freezer on one end. At the other end, double doors opened into a dimly lit studio where food-photography magic was made. A large window offered tourists a seat at our kitchen table. Inside of the Times’ test kitchen, Donna Deane, a professional home economist,…

THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES snapshot of Kelly Song, the newest test cook to join Cook’s Country, reminds me of my early experiences in a professional test kitchen and the things I learned there that made me a much better, more efficient, and creative cook. I was in my early twenties and had never seen anything like the Los Angeles Times’ test kitchen. The space was essentially a large, rectangular-shaped home kitchen outfitted with island workstations and high-end appliances, including double ovens, two cooktops, and a separate refrigerator and freezer on one end. At the other end, double doors opened into a dimly lit studio where food-photography magic was made. A large window offered tourists a seat at our kitchen table. Inside of the Times’ test kitchen, Donna Deane, a professional home economist, prepared several…

America’s Test Kitchen has been teaching home cooks how to be successful in the kitchen since 1993. Our mission is to empower and inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen. Millions watch our two shows on public television; read our two flagship magazines (Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated); and rely on our books, websites, videos, podcasts, and educational products for children. America’s Test Kitchen is located in a state-of-the-art Boston facility with 15,000 square feet of test kitchen and studio space. Learn more at AmericasTestKitchen.com. FIND THE ROOSTER! We’ve hidden a tiny version of the rooster above in a photo in the pages of this issue. Tell us where the rooster is hiding, and we’ll enter you in a random drawing. The first correct entry drawn will win a…

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE SNAPPY, SHINY, AND SMOOTH So many of our favorite Valentine’s Day treats are dipped in melted chocolate (think chocolate-dipped strawberries). But if you’ve ever melted a bar of chocolate to use as a coating, you might have been disappointed in the results. Melted chocolate must be properly tempered in order to develop its characteristic snap, shine, and smooth mouthfeel once it hardens. Tempering is a process of very precise heating, cooling, and reheating chocolate in such a way that its molecular structure is reworked to create chocolate that is shiny and snappy. If the tempering is not done correctly, the resulting chocolate can be soft, mushy, grainy, gray, and/or mottled. We temper chocolate by melting most of it and then adding the rest and stirring until…

America’s Test Kitchen has been teaching home cooks how to be successful in the kitchen since 1993. Our mission is to empower and inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen. Millions watch our two shows on public television; read our two flagship magazines (Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated); and rely on our books, websites, videos, podcasts, and educational products for children. America’s Test Kitchen is located in a state-of-the-art Boston facility with 15,000 square feet of test kitchen and studio space. Learn more at AmericasTestKitchen.com. FIND THE ROOSTER! We’ve hidden a tiny version of the rooster above in a photo in the pages of this issue. Tell us where the rooster is hiding, and we’ll enter you in a random drawing. The first correct entry drawn will win a one-year multisite…

When pouring broth or milk from a Tetra Pak, most people tend to pour with the spout side down, which can be messy as the liquid glugs out. If you hold the spout side up, the liquid level doesn’t come all the way up to the height of the narrow hole, leaving a little air space above the liquid flowing out of the hole. This allows air to rush in at the same time as the liquid pours out, preventing the airflow from being interrupted and the liquid from glugging. Our science editor explained that when the liquid comes out of a container, an equal amount of air gets pulled into the container filling the abandoned space. If the container’s opening is wider than the liquid stream—as with a drinking…