Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2022 i Cook's Illustrated

I’ve never had a sip of chilled white wine on Thanksgiving. That’s not to say I haven’t been given the opportunity. It’s the same every year: A loving family member pours me a glass and sets it down by my cutting board. Hours later I look up from the stove and take my first taste—and it’s a balmy 78 degrees. I guess it’s just as well—who needs wine when you regularly miss the cheese plate entirely? Being the head cook on Thanksgiving is thrilling and rewarding work, but for better or worse, it can also remove you from the action. (It’s great when you want to dodge the annual political roundtable, but a bummer when you miss your nephews’ handstand competition.) For this issue we leaned hard into the promise…

There are a few criteria any starring component in a stew should meet. Inherent savoriness. The ability to build fond, those rich-tasting browned bits that develop on the pot’s interior surface when food is seared, forming a flavor foundation. And a balance of tenderness and resilience so that the simmering food turns pleasantly supple without losing structural integrity. Mushrooms check all those boxes and offer so much range among fresh and dried varieties. Meaty portobellos and king oysters are unmatched in their substance, while dried varieties such as porcini and shiitake harbor some of the food world’s strongest umami potential. Together, they’re a powerful team that I wanted to leverage in one of the all-time most luxurious winter braises: bourguignon, the eponymous stew of Burgundy, France. I cut 2½ pounds…

I had logged on to a video call to talk to Najmieh Batmanglij about the iconic Persian dish javaher polo—to get her tips for cooking the rice that forms its base and to learn which nuts and fruits she uses to garnish it—but I soon found that she had more in store for me than a standard interview. Midway through our call, the cookbook author and culinary legend stood up, walked to her kitchen, and tied on a bright green apron. Our discussion transformed into a full-fledged cooking demonstration. I watched, captivated, as Batmanglij expertly scooped fluffy rice onto a silver platter and then scattered a rainbow of slivered almonds; vibrant green pistachios; candied orange peel; and tiny, tart zereshk (barberries) across the white canvas. As the dish took shape, Batmanglij’s…

There’s so much flavor potential tucked away in brussels sprouts. The buds’ tightly packed leaves have an abundance of an enzyme called myrosinase and sulfur-rich compounds called glucosinolates. When the leaves are cut, their damaged cells release the two chemicals, which transforms the glucosinolates into the crucifer’s distinctly pungent, bitter, mustardy compounds called isothiocyanates. Depending on how you cut and cook brussels sprouts, their pungency can be dialed up or down or even coaxed into nuttier, sweeter, deeper, and darker savoriness. Here’s everything you need to know to get the best out of brussels sprouts plus some of our favorite recipes that show off their full potential. THREE TIPS FOR CONTROLLING FLAVOR MORE CUTTING = MORE PUNGENCY: The more the sprouts’ cells are damaged, the more isothiocyanates are produced, and…

Infrared Thermometers Infrared thermometers measure the surface temperature of an object quickly and can do so from relatively far away out making contact with the object itself. They’re great for taking the temperatures of outdoor pizza ovens, scanning your refrigerator or freezer for warm spots, or checking several areas of your griddle or flat-top grill to see if it’s preheated evenly. More generally, they’re with-good for measuring the surface temperature of any vessel you may use for cooking and baking, helping you find the temperature at which your skillet sears steak best, your griddle makes the perfect pancakes, or your bread oven or baking stone gives your bread the most well-blistered crust. These temperatures will be specific to your cookware, and they may not always be exactly accurate—your thermometer might…

A Struggle-Free Way to Drain Fat When recipes instruct to drain off fat after browning meat, Barbara Manchester of North Falmouth, Mass., sometimes struggles to lift the heavy pan and aim the hot oil into a receptacle without spilling the pan’s contents. Her clever solution? Using a turkey baster to carefully transfer the fat into a container. She can usually drain all the excess fat with just a few squeezes. Keep Your Composter Clean Claudia Shedd of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, collects compost in a countertop container but found that she was always left with a layer of messy, smelly food waste stuck at the bottom. Now, she lines the container with newspaper before dropping in any scraps—the newspaper keeps the bottom of the container clean, and it can be thrown…

It’s the noodles in japchae that everyone talks about: their glassy, sepia-tinged translucency; their jaunty springiness; and their ability to soak up all the salty-sweet, toasty dressing yet still retain so much good chew. But it’s the vegetables that started it all and that make japchae such a stunner. “‘Jap’ means ‘diverse, variety,’ and ‘chae’ means ‘vegetables,’” said Maangchi, the celebrated Korean-born cookbook author and chef. On a phone call from her home in New York City, she explained that in the 17th century, Yi Chung, a chef of King Gwanghaegun, impressed him by serving an eye-catching dish of dozens of colorful vegetables at a palace banquet. “Japchae is kind of a perfect dish.”—Maangchi, cookbook author and chef His polychromatic display, an edible representation of the traditional Korean color palette…

The bustling food streets of Old Lahore are the gastronomic heart of Pakistan. Locals and tourists stroll from stall to stall, delighting in the joys of taka tak (minced spiced offal sizzled in butter), icy metal cups of buttermilk lassi, deep-fried river fish, nankhatai (ghee shortbread cookies), and more. But to my old friend Shayma Saadat, the internationally published Pakistani-Afghan author of the blog Spice Spoon, the main attraction of these inner-city areas, aside from their “beautiful Mughal architecture and mosques,” is the fresh and fiery chicken karahi, named for the deep, curved vessel with ring-shaped handles it is cooked in. At outdoor tables “they will bring you chicken karahi—in the karahi—and then they bring warm naan from the tandoor,” she said when we recently caught up on a video…

I believe in the power of fresh bread. When I sit down to dinner at the end of a long day, there’s nothing I find more comforting than a warm roll alongside my supper—the puff of yeasty steam that rises as the delicately crisp crust is broken open; the way a swipe of butter melts and sinks into the feathery crumb. It’s small and simple yet such a luxury. But let’s be real: The last thing I’m likely to do when I can finally take a breather is drag out the mixer to make a batch of yeasted dough. This got me thinking about brown-and-serve rolls. The basic concept is that you mix up a batch of dough, let it proof, shape it into rolls, and let them rise. Then you…

The first caviar was made centuries ago, in what is now Russia and Iran, from the eggs of an ancient family of bony fish called sturgeon that were caught in the Caspian Sea. But the United States has its own history with this storied delicacy; eight species of sturgeon are native to the United States. In fact, for a brief period during the 19th century, the United States was actually the world’s leading producer of caviar, with such a plentiful supply that, as historian Richard Adams Carey has noted, it was once served like peanuts at New York City bars. Caviar and roe continue to be produced across the country, from North Carolina to Oklahoma to California, and they come in a spectrum of prices. To learn more, we tasted…

What’s the Best Vegan Egg Wash? A skim of conventional egg wash (typically one whole egg mixed with a little milk or water) brushed on before baking boosts the flavor and visual appeal of all kinds of baked goods. In a classic wash, the egg’s proteins and sugars trigger Maillard browning and the creation of hundreds of new flavor compounds, while its fat lends glossy shine. But what’s the best alternative for vegan recipes? I rounded up eight plant-based products—unsweetened soy, oat, and almond milks; vegan mayonnaise, butter, and egg; aquafaba (chickpea canning liquid); and refined coconut oil. Most of the products contained protein, fat, and sugars (including the milks, which have naturally occurring sugars despite being unsweetened). For my test, I brushed the products onto scones, rolls, and pie…