Cooking Guides

Jar Size, Honestly: How Fast You Actually Cook Through a Spice
buying guide

Jar Size, Honestly: How Fast You Actually Cook Through a Spice

Bulk is cheaper per gram and worthless per gram you never use. Here's how to...
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Ground Ginger vs Fresh vs Crystallized: The Ratio Both Ways, and When Dried Wins
baking

Ground Ginger vs Fresh vs Crystallized: The Ratio Both Ways, and When Dried Wins

They share a name and almost nothing else. Here's how to trade one for another...
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Garlic Powder vs Fresh Garlic: The Ratio, and the Dishes Where It Doesn't Work
dry rubs

Garlic Powder vs Fresh Garlic: The Ratio, and the Dishes Where It Doesn't Work

An eighth of a teaspoon per clove is the number. Knowing when that number is...
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Acid Without Water: Sumac for Lemon Juice and Zest, and What the Ratio Costs You
acidity

Acid Without Water: Sumac for Lemon Juice and Zest, and What the Ratio Costs You

A tablespoon of lemon juice is mostly water. Here's where that water wrecks the dish,...
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Out of Thyme: What to Use Instead, and the Exact Ratio for Each
conversions

Out of Thyme: What to Use Instead, and the Exact Ratio for Each

Marjoram is the closest. Oregano works if you back off. And the mixes all drag...
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Turmeric vs Curry Powder: One Root, One Blend, and When Swapping Breaks the Dish
curry powder

Turmeric vs Curry Powder: One Root, One Blend, and When Swapping Breaks the Dish

They're both yellow. That is roughly where the similarity ends.
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Seasoning Roasted Vegetables: What Goes In Before the Oven, and What Waits
roasting

Seasoning Roasted Vegetables: What Goes In Before the Oven, and What Waits

Most sheet-pan seasoning fails for one of two reasons: something burned that should have gone...
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Sumac: The Dry Acid to Reach For Where Lemon Would Go
acidity

Sumac: The Dry Acid to Reach For Where Lemon Would Go

Tart, fruity, faintly tannic, and — critically — dry. Here is how much to use...
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Blooming Spices in Fat: The Temperature Window, and Why It Beats Stirring Them Into Liquid
cooking fats

Blooming Spices in Fat: The Temperature Window, and Why It Beats Stirring Them Into Liquid

Hot fat pulls flavour out of ground spices that water never reaches. Here is the...
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Mexican vs Mediterranean Oregano: Two Different Plants, Two Different Jobs
herbs

Mexican vs Mediterranean Oregano: Two Different Plants, Two Different Jobs

They share a name and almost nothing else. One is a mint relative built for...
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Where to Keep Spices, How Long They Actually Last, and How to Tell When They're Done
pantry

Where to Keep Spices, How Long They Actually Last, and How to Tell When They're Done

Four things degrade a spice jar, and three of them are sitting right above your...
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Ground vs Whole: What Keeps, What Fades, What Isn't Worth Grinding
grinding

Ground vs Whole: What Keeps, What Fades, What Isn't Worth Grinding

Grinding is a trade: you get aroma now and lose it fast. Here's where that...
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