Why would you use one cocoa powder over the other? How do you choose a replacer for egg? Sometimes, you learn the most about an ingredient when you compare it with another one. It forces you to think about what’s important and what makes it work. That’s what we do in all these posts, whether it’s butter, cocoa powder or tomatoes.
If you want to learn more about how ingredients change when you use them check out our posts on using ingredients. If you prefer a deeper dive in specific ingredients, we have a category for that too!
Previous step: all these ingredients started out at a farm!
Vanilla is one of the most widely used flavors globally. Cakes, cookies, ice cream – I have yet to come across an ice cream shop that doesn’t sell vanilla ice cream – often contain it. Natural vanilla starts out as…
Have you ever wondered why some potatoes brown easily upon frying or baking, while others remain a pale yellow? Good news: you can influence this browning process yourself. According to theory, at least… Of course, we put this to the…
It’s not the most common baking ingredient, but it shows up here and there. You might have come across it if you’re into baking cookies or cakes of a Northern European origin. Or, if you’re looking for gluten-free alternatives. It’s…
In the Netherlands, sour cream and creme fraîche often share a shelf in the supermarket. They’re packaged in very similar packaging and even look and taste alike to some extent. But recipes can be very specific about using just one…
Grilled corn on the cob, cornbread, popcorn, corn tortillas, none of these would exist if there had been no corn. But did you know that they all rely on slightly different types of corn? There are a lot more corn…
Have you ever bought a seemingly beautiful piece of meat for dinner, only to find out it turned out completely dry in your stew, or chewy when grilled? Is so, you’re not alone, choosing the right piece of meat for…
Have you ever substituted a black lentil with a green one? And did you also end up with mushy lentils that were supposed to go into a salad but seem more at home in a soup? In other words, did…
They stand right next to each other in the supermarket aisle. On the one side, beautiful plump, brown raisins. On the other, seemingly the same raisins, but of a yellow, some say golden colour. When buying them you can’t help…
If you have your own sourdough starter, kept alive by carefully feeding it on a regular basis, you are growing your own micro organisms. Micro organisms are all around us, in the air and on most surfaces. In most cases…
We eat our freshly baked bread with a spread of butter (or margarine). Use lard (or shortening) in a pie crust. Can’t make a decent paratha or chapati without a good dollop of ghee. Yet they’re all fats and even…
For years, if not decades, meringues, whether Italian, French or Swiss, relied heavily on eggs to make that light and airy texture. If you didn’t eat eggs, meringues were out of the question. Egg whites are just such a unique…
If you’ve ever switched butter brands, and most of us probably have, you’ve probably noticed that one butter isn’t necessarily the same as another. Your new butter might be paler or yellower, harder or softer, more or less flavorful. So,…