Serious Eats

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezWhile drinks poured over ice, like an Old Fashioned, work best in short, squat rocks glasses that you can wrap your whole hand around (this warms the drink and helps with dilution), "up drinks" or those served sans ice (like martinis) are a different story....

Serious Eats / Chloe JeongOn the heels of Prime Day this past summer, Amazon announced that it's hosting another two-day sale, featuring some of the biggest discounts of the year, on October 11th and 12th. The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale will include excellent kitchen sales, some great home...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezA perfectly prepared cocktail is a thing of beauty. Whether you enjoy a crystal clear martini or a crisp daiquiri, the best cocktails are balanced, complex, and visually appealing.One of the most crucial steps when preparing the ideal cocktail is straining. Straining a...

Serious Eats / Maureen CelestineCooking jollof rice, a seasoned, tomatoey rice dish, is a rite of passage for many West Africans. For many years, my own jollof game was shaky because I had confused its ubiquity with easiness. I had assumed it was easy to make simply because I had eaten it often, at...

Serious Eats / Eric KingFor folks looking to reduce their waste in the kitchen (and beyond!) switching to reusable food storage bags is a convenient and eco-friendly solution. They can help cut down on discarded single-use plastic bags for storing leftovers, packing lunches, prepping produce and...

Serious Eats / Irvin LinGenerally, we don’t recommend knife blocks. They eat up counter space. And all those slots don’t often match up with knives you actually own. Instead, when it comes to knife storage, we suggest a cork-lined knife holder or magnetic knife strip. Let’s focus on the later:...

Serious Eats / Maureen CelestineIn my personal top-five list of Nigerian rice dishes, fried rice―a light-yellow hued rice dish strewn with vegetables―is vying for the top spot with white rice, jollof rice, coconut rice, and Ofada (a sweet fermented rice). Like jollof rice, this popular dish is...

Serious Eats / Grace KellyLadles are an essential, no-frills kitchen utensil that deserve some attention. No, they don’t have the eye-catching appeal of a fancy knife or the dexterity of kitchen tongs, but a good ladle makes slinging liquidy dishes—soups, stews, chilis, broths—effortless. We tested...

Serious Eats / Chloe JeongWhenever people ask me to recommend a gift for a coffee drinker (as someone who’s worked in the specialty coffee industry for 16 years), I ask: how much tinkering does this person like to do? For some, the allure of coffee is spending the afternoon adjusting their espresso...

Serious Eats / Maureen CelestineDodo (no, not the bird) is a simple preparation of sweet, ripe plantains that’s well-loved across Nigeria. You’ll find it sliced and deep-fried as a snack, enjoyed as the main event alongside stews, sauces, fried yams, and sweet potatoes (another popular street...

Serious Eats / Stacy K. AllenWe last tested pizza ovens in 2017, when Kenji evaluated a dozen of them in his backyard (imagine the space that took up). But, since then, a whole bunch of our favorites have been discontinued. Most notably, Uuni rebranded as Ooni and phased out the Ooni 3 (which was...

Serious Eats / Jesse RaubWhen I used to train baristas as my full-time job, I traveled a lot. Some months I would fly off to three different cities, and every morning, even when I was going straight to an espresso training, I made sure I packed my trusty handheld grinder and a pourover rig so I...

Serious Eats / Mai KakishWarak dawali (literally: grape leaves), as Palestinians call both forms of this dish, may be one of our most common meals, yet it is also one of our most festive. No celebratory table is complete without a pot of stuffed grape leaves, often lined at the bottom with lamb...

Serious Eats / Maureen CelestineNigerian stock is the backbone of my Nigerian kitchen, an essential component of classics like jollof rice, fried rice, stew, Nigerian chicken curry, and chicken and meat pies, as well as more contemporary recipes and a host of other things. It is typically seasoned...

Serious Eats / Grace KellyTo say that choosing a knife is personal is an understatement; for many chefs (as well as home cooks and Serious Eats editors) a knife is one of their most-used kitchen tools, and the “perfect” knife often comes down to a matter of personal preference. That’s why, when...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezThere’s nothing like aromatics to amp up a cocktail. And a muddler is an essential tool for breaking down ingredients directly in the shaker or mixing or serving glass. “If you are making mojitos, smashes, caipirinhas, and variations of those cocktails, then you would...

Serious Eats / Mai KakishZa’atar is one of the most used and loved Arab ingredients in the West, and yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. Translations abound from “thyme” to “spice blend,” and mixes include all kinds of different ingredients, some calling for a mishmash of store-bought...

Serious Eats / Maureen CelestineChristmas is the perfect time for fragrant, crunchy chin chin, a small, sweet crunchy fried Nigerian snack that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, from chunky cubes to straight noodles to thin flakes. While eaten year round, Christmas time is prime chin chin...

Serious Eats / Irvin LinWe’ve told folks before that half sheet pans (along with cooling racks) are the unsung heroes of the kitchen; they can be used to not only bake cookies, but also to roast vegetables, make sheet pan meals, dry brine chicken and turkey, rest meat, and so much more. We even use...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezA silicone spatula is something every home cook should own. While some may think of it as a baking utensil (and it certainly is!) a flexible spatula is really an everyday kitchen tool. It's handy for lots of tasks, including scrambling (and flipping, if...

Serious Eats / Will DickeyYou’re probably familiar with the idea that 90% of taste is smell. When it comes to wine, things like acidity and residual sugar are perceived by the tongue, but all of the subtle flavors—like hints of clove or ripe fruit—are recognized by the nose. That’s why these notes...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezGrowing up in Ohio, I never had the good fortune to try a boli―a large Mexican ice pop encased in a clear plastic bag—when I was a kid. For me, cold treats came in a pint at the grocery store or from a Dairy Queen. But for my partner, who is Mexican, Dairy Queen and...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezWhen it gets to be that hot and sticky time of year, there’s nothing quite like bolis―ice pops that can be found all over Mexico in a variety of flavors. These sweet-tart, jewel-toned bolis de Jamaica (hibiscus) are intensely refreshing, with a fruity, floral flavor that...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezWhen I was a kid, my mom would reminisce about her childhood in a tiny farming town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. One of the memories she'd tell me about year after year, especially in the summer when the tomatoes we would get in 1980s Brooklyn were good but not...

Serious Eats / Summer Brons RylanderWhen the doorbell rang one April afternoon and 14 kilos (31 pounds) of assorted flours were delivered to our small apartment, my husband politely asked what I was doing.“Nothing!” I chirped, having spent the last several weeks wrist-deep in bread dough. Everyone...

Serious Eats / Mai KakishCelebrating With StuffingOne of the most celebratory dishes in Arab culture is a whole lamb stuffed with rice and meat. It both signals respect to the guest and marks a momentous occasion because of the cost and labor associated with preparing it. In fact, most stuffed...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezPalak paneer is something I grew up eating. I'm from a Punjabi family, so my mother regularly made it at home. But palak paneer was also a fixture of celebratory meals and occasions, and we'd serve it whenever family members or cousins came to visit—it's...

Serious Eats / Madeline MuzziIf you love noodles as much as we do (and we’re willing to bet you do) you need a colander to drain them. Lightweight, fine mesh strainers are useful for plenty of tasks, but for heavy batches of pasta or huge bushels of greens, a large, free-standing or over-the-sink...

Serious Eats / Maureen CelestineMeat pies, or beef hand pies―flaky pastries filled with a curry-spiced mixture of ground beef, onions, potatoes, and carrots―are common at home and as street snacks in Nigeria. Growing up in Warri, located on the southern coast of Nigeria, my family would buy them...

Jamelle Bouie // Serious EatsFor once, I thought I would try a cereal that wasn’t actually trying to kill me.Which is why I picked up a box of peanut butter-flavored “Plentifull” cereal, the latest product from General Mills. This is supposed to be a legitimate breakfast cereal for adults, and the...

Serious Eats / Eric KingWe'd argue a fine-mesh strainer is an essential tool for any home cook or baker. The tightly woven stainless steel basket is great for sifting flour or cocoa powder, making silky smooth sauces like pastry cream, perfecting poached eggs, dusting desserts with powdered...

Serious Eats / Jesse RaubFor coffee experts, using a scale is not just a suggestion: it’s a requirement. Like baking ingredients, coffee is a tricky one to nail down by volume. Different coffees have varying levels of density due to farming conditions and variety of coffee trees, meaning that...

Serious Eats / Grace KellyHere at Serious Eats we love outdoor cooking—when the weather is nice, you can bet we'll be out there priming our fuel lines and scrubbing our grill grates. But live-fire cooking? I always thought I’d leave that to the Francis Mallmann’s of the world (he’s a renowned...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezChayote is known as Buddha’s palm in China, a nod to its shape. Much like in its native Mexico, chayote is usually eaten cooked in China, but when served raw, it has a delightful crunch that recalls jicama, with a mild, fruity sweetness somewhere between an apple and a...

Serious Eats / Taylor MurrayIf you're into sous vide cooking or want to extend the shelf-life of ingredients or ensure the ground beef you bought (but aren't looking to use quite yet) doesn't get freezer burn, a vacuum sealer is a worthwhile investment. In short, vacuum sealers keep...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezEggplant is one of the most popular vegetables used in cold Chinese dishes known as liangcai (涼菜). Its gentle sweetness and soft texture works very well with a variety of flavors, from garlic and bright herbs to nutty sesame pastes. This version presents the eggplant...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezThis combination of spinach and peanuts is most commonly found in Dongbei, Northeastern China, where both ingredients grow plentifully in the summer.Importantly, this recipe demonstrates how Chinese salads almost always feature cooked and not raw vegetables (one of the...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezThere's a dizzying array of sesame noodle recipes, from American-Chinese takeout-style sesame noodles thickened with peanut butter and the deeply nutty and brilliantly spiced Taiwanese noodles found in local 7-Elevens to spicy Sichuan dandan noodles and soupier...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezThere’s a pretty well-known, "magical" vinaigrette ratio out there in Western cooking: one part acid to three parts oil. For most salads, this is the perfect starting point for a balanced vinaigrette, where the richness of oil just matches the brightness of the...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezThe best mangoes are meaty, soft like butter, and so luscious that the juice drips down your wrists when you bite into one. Their flesh is tender and perfectly chewy, making the next bite more coveted than the last. And while these are the best kinds of mangoes, I would...

Serious Eats / Ashley RodriguezThe coffee pod revolution might seem like a recent phenomenon: in 2005, a mere 1% of US homes had a single-cup coffee machine; by 2020, four out of every 10 homes had a single-cup brewer—most of them pod brewers, those easy-to-use coffee machines that seem to work...

Serious Eats / Riddley Gemperlein-SchirmI grew up with an outdoor composter: a re-purposed large blue bin located beside our barn. And when I moved into my first ever, non-apartment place last year, I wanted a composter. (As we noted in our countertop compost bin review, food waste takes up the...

Serious Eats / Jesse RaubBelieve it or not, brewing one cup of coffee at a time is controversial amongst coffee professionals. “If the brewing method isn’t tailored to handle that amount of coffee, you don’t get quite the bed depth that you need and channeling is going to be a potential issue,”...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezSarson ka saag is the ultimate comfort food, and it recalls for me the bitterly cold winter months of northern India. Growing up in a Punjabi family, this was a dish that was often made for special occasions, like weddings that took place during the winter, but it was...

Serious Eats / Mai KakishEven at the risk of sounding like the father from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I will start by explaining the etymology of the word maqlubeh or maqlubah (both spellings are accurate and simply indicate different Arab accents). Its root is the Arabic verb meaning “to flip” and...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezPaneer can be prepared a number of ways: simmering in a stew, fried until crispy, or grilled like a kebab. I turn to the last method for this recipe, pairing grilled paneer with a mixed green salad for a light but satisfying summer meal.Much like halloumi, paneer is a...

Serious Eats / Mai KakishCucumbers made their way westward to the Arab world from India sometime in the Middle Ages. Tomatoes then traveled eastward from the New World to Europe and Asia in the 16th century, and did not really enter Arab cuisine until the late 18th century. Yet today, so many...

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezPaneer is one of my favorite sources of protein. It can be used in a variety of ways, and it's very easy to make yourself. While it's often described as a cottage cheese, paneer is a firm, fresh cheese that has a texture more akin to feta than anything else....

Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezOne of my biggest goals as a recipe developer is to control, or at least account for, as many variables as I can to ensure as consistent a result as possible for everyone who follows my recipes. You can imagine, then, my temptation when tackling the French classic known...

Serious Eats / Grace KellyMy water bottle and I are inseparable. I stick it in my car cup holder when I run errands, bring it to the gym, and tote it around in my purse. That all being said, I have some high standards: I want a smooth sipper that won’t splash or leak; the top should be easy to open...