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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Garlic Powder vs Garlic Salt: The 3:1 Conversion, and Who Controls the Salt
garlic

Garlic Powder vs Garlic Salt: The 3:1 Conversion, and Who Controls the Salt

One jar is a seasoning. The other is mostly salt with seasoning in it. The...
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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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Out of Cinnamon: Allspice, Nutmeg, Cardamom and Pumpkin Pie Spice, With Ratios
baking

Out of Cinnamon: Allspice, Nutmeg, Cardamom and Pumpkin Pie Spice, With Ratios

Four jars that can cover for cinnamon, the amounts that actually work, and the dishes...
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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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The First Ten Spices, Ranked by How Often You'll Actually Open Them
beginner cooking

The First Ten Spices, Ranked by How Often You'll Actually Open Them

A small rack used constantly tastes better than a large one used occasionally. Here's the...
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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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