Gluten Free

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Meat, Snack

Beef Jerky

Drying is one of the oldest and most common forms of food preservation. Canning technology is less than 200 years old, and freezing is even more recent (less than 100 years old for households), but drying technology is simple and affordable for nearly any one in the world, which is why jerky can be found around the globe.

Dairy Free, Dinner, Fall, Gluten Free, Side, Snack, Veggies, Winter

Black Pepper Fennel Pickle

My sister once called fennel a snooty vegetable and I have, ever since, been on a crusade to defend its good name. In this recipe the floral bulbs spend ample time in a bath of vinegar and pepper until they are suffused with a bracing flavor. Put this out on the table while you fix cocktails for your guests, it's the perfect accompaniment for a cold drink.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Fall, Side, Snack, Veggies, Winter

Cranberry Pickled Cauliflower

Hunting for an easy appetizer to serve over the holiday season? Look no further! This cauliflower emerges from its bath painted in crimson and scented with rosemary. It's the perfect nibble to put on the table while you're puttering away in the kitchen and your guests are mingling.

Dairy Free, Dinner, Fall, Gluten Free, Meat, Winter

Jamaican Stew Chicken

Walk into any Jerk shop in Crown Heights and you'll be overwhelmed with savory scents. Now, you might have opened that door planning to purchase the namesake dish, but let me point your nose in another direction. See that sultry, bubbling, brown tray? That's stew chicken, and I think you should give it a try. Brewed from the devilish flavors that make the Caribbean so intoxicating (lime, allspice, sugar), it is the sort of thing you never knew you needed in the depths of winter.

Dairy Free, Dinner, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Side, Veggies, Winter, Video

Home & Family: Squash vs. Gourd

It's decorative gourd season, that time of year when we clutter our counters with inedible (but extremely good looking) produce. But do you know the difference between a squash and a gourd? Have you ever considered where they come from?

Dessert, Dairy Free, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Snack, Side, Winter

Caramel Corn

Though I am a popcorn fanatic, caramel corn was not in my rotation until last year. Salty, sweet, and crunchy, this snack satisfies me in a dangerous way. I have to remove the bowl from my side after a few handfuls, otherwise I risk falling into the abyss of total consumption. And trust me, though it seems wise at the time, finishing the entire batch of caramel corn in one sitting is not pretty.

Dairy Free, Dessert, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Snack, Spring, Summer, Video, Winter

Home & Family: Bubble Gum History

Bubble gum is practically a national treasure by now, it is so closely associated with American culture that we cannot think of high school without images of bubble-popping teens flanking the hallways. But, as with many treats, chewing gum has international roots. Check out the lesson!

Dessert, Dinner Party Theater, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Read, Snack

Bubble Gum Breakdown

Is there any other food so closely associated with teenage rebelliousness? Imagine a hallway full of gum-smacking adolescents, three or four walking toward you unaware of your presence. You quake in your oxford loafers while they pass. But while gum may be culturally connoted with the under-18 crowd, it has a long history of supplying adults with something sweet to keep their mouths occupied during long work days.

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Dessert, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Snack, Video, Winter

Home & Family: Maple Syrup

As the weather takes a turn into cooler temperatures I find myself longing for maple syrup. I want to imbue its flavor into everything I bake, be it savory or sweet. Well, if you're wondering where that sweet sap comes from and how we get it, look no further!

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Dessert, Fall, Gluten Free, Snack

Maple Butter

Looking for a new treat to spread on your morning toast? Want a wicked spoonful to stir into your cup of coffee? What if I told you there was a way to make maple syrup so thick that it wouldn't run off your waffles and pancakes? Well friends, the wait is over. With little more than some basic chemistry knowledge you'll be able to work magic in the kitchen with a bottle of maple syrup. Get ready, because this is your new addiction.

Home & Family, Gluten Free, Video

Home & Family: Rice Varieties

Baffled by the variety of rices available to you at the grocery store these days? Check out this lesson on the anatomy and biology of rice, then learn which kind is best suited for the specific meal you're cooking!

Dairy Free, Dessert, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Snack, Spring, Summer, Video

Home & Family: Dry Ice Soft Serve

Though you may think of soft serve as something purely to be purchased at a carnival or ballpark, think again! Using dry ice in the kitchen really pays off here, a little science goes a long way when it comes to ice cream.

Dairy Free, Dessert, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Snack, Spring, Summer

Chocolate Coconut Soft Serve

Want the secret to a killer party trick? Buy a pound of dry ice and make your guests instant soft serve ice cream after dinner, then toss your hair over your shoulder and say, "Oh, this? It's nothing." Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and reaches dangerously low temperatures (-109 degrees!), which is perfect for making icy desserts. 

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Drink, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Spring, Summer, Video

Home & Family: Electrolyte Refuel

Looking to refuel after a grueling workout? Learn the science behind electrolytes and get a better understanding of what your body needs when you've been sweating.

Dairy Free, Dessert, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Side, Snack, Spring, Summer, Winter

Rock Candy

I'm a sucker for candy, particularly candy of the sucking variety. Though to be honest, when I'm presented with a stick of rock candy I am much more likely to crunch its crystals to smithereens than delicately decay them with saliva. There is something so terribly pleasing about the obliteration of sugar between teeth. 

Home & Family, Read, Dessert, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

Rock candy Crystallization

Rock candy, so popularly associated with garishly colored sticks and strings, makes its first appearance in world culinography in 9th century Iran. It seems even at such an early time in human history we had already learned to grow sugar crystals. And why would we be growing sugar crystals? Keep reading!

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Drink, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Snack, Spring, Summer, Winter

Homemade Gatorade

Hitting the gym and getting sweaty? When you're finished with a workout your body needs a boost of minerals in addition to a healthy dose of H2O. Shake up this quick drink and bid adieu to bottled sports drinks. You've got the ingredients on hand already, electrolytes full steam ahead!

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Drink, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Read, Snack, Spring, Summer, Winter

Electrolyte Science

We see so many popular athletes advertising Gatorade and other sports drinks that we assume they’re the best option for electrolyte replenishment after a hard workout. But the truth is, as with many packaged goods, that we can do far better with a few ingredients from our pantries!

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Dessert, Dinner, Drink, Gluten Free, Fall, Home & Family, Spring, Summer, Video, Winter

Home & Family: Fermented Coffee

Microbes are the oldest life form on this planet. They can be found in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and indeed inside our own bodies. Check out how food-hackers are changing the flavor of coffee with these tiny organisms!

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Dinner, Fall, Gluten Free, Home & Family, Read, Side, Spring, Veggies, Summer, Winter

CapsaiScience

Chili Peppers are not unique to one country or culture. Evidence of their cultivation dates back to 4,000 BC. But the love of hot foods is exclusive to humans. The rest of the animals on this planet either lack the neurological receptors to register hot food or they avoid peppers altogether, lumping them in with other poisonous plants. Why do we love them so much then?!