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What is pectin?
Pectin is a naturally-occurring thickening agent that is most often used by adding it to jams, jellies and similar products to help them gel and thicken. Pectin creates a thick, clear set when it...
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How to scrape a vanilla bean
Vanilla extract is the most popular way to add vanilla flavoring to anything that you are baking or cooking. It is easy to use and less expensive than using whole vanilla beans. Vanilla bean seeds...
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What is ricotta cheese?
Ricotta cheese is a fresh cheese with creamy, fine textured curds that is very commonly used in many types of recipes, from savory pasta dishes to decadent cheesecakes. The name “ricotta” translates...
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How to store vanilla beans
Vanilla beans are one of the most amazing ingredients a baker can have in the kitchen, perfect for adding a wonderfully floral vanilla flavor to anything from ice cream to pound cake. Vanilla beans...
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Foodie New Year’s Resolutions 2013
January 1st is a good time to make new plans, set some goals and look ahead to the rest of the year. Of course, you could make resolutions any day, but it helps a little bit to use a firm date to get...
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Cook’s Country rates Processed Egg Whites
Meringue-topped pies and angel food cakes need a lot of egg whites. It can be tempting to reach for a carton of prepackaged egg whites in the grocery store when you know you are going to need a lot,...
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How to use edible seeds in baking
Edible seeds – such as chia and flax seeds – are becoming more and more common, with the potential health benefits of adding them to your diet touted loudly by their packaging. But although they are...
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What are quick cooking oats?
Quick cooking oats are an ingredient that I like to use a lot in baking, and they frequently show up in my recipes for oatmeal cookies and cakes. Quick cooking oats are rolled oats that have been...
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How “Smart” is Your Kitchen?
When I was starting to cook back in high school, I had a handful of cookbooks and a few recipe cards from my mom and my grandparents where they had jotted down some family favorites. The cookbooks...
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How to measure melted butter
Butter can be used in many different forms in a recipe. Cold butter is usually cut into flour for pastry or biscuits. Softened butter is usually creamed with sugar for cookies and cakes. Melted butter...
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How to Grill Fruit
When you are grilling on a warm summer night, one of the easiest dessert options is to throw some fruit on the grill. Grilling fruit intensifies its sweetness, just as roasting it in the oven can, as...
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Culinary Showcase at the New School of Cooking
The New School of Cooking is a small culinary school located in Culver City, Los Angeles, a part of town that is known to be a hotbed of great chef, excellent restaurants and a big foodie community....
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What is Ghee?
Ghee is a term for clarified butter that is often used in Indian and Southeast Asian cooking. As “clarified butter” rather than “ghee”, it is widely used in French and other European cuisines. Both...
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Delicious End-of-Summer Tomato Recipes
While many of us are still enjoying some hot, sunny weather this month, kids are going back to school and the summer season is coming to an end. This means that some of the bounty of summer will soon...
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Baking Bites & Spam on San Diego Living
Last week, I served as the judge at the San Diego County Fair for the Great American Spam Championship. This cooking contest is a huge national event that is held at 26 different state and county...
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What is malted milk powder?
Malt is cereal grain that has been dried, sprouted, dried a second time and then toasted in an oven. Any grain can be malted, including wheat, oats and rice, however barley malt is the most common...
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