Great home cooking isn’t about starting from scratch every night—it’s about having go-to building blocks you can count on, and remixing them into something new and exciting. At the Culinary Institute of America, we teach foundational recipes that can be endlessly adapted once you’ve mastered the basics. We’re sharing four […]
Cooking is all about using heat to transform raw ingredients into something delicious and safe to eat. Heat moves into food in three main ways: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction happens when heat moves through direct contact. Imagine a chicken breast sizzling in a hot pan—the heat travels from the […]
As kids, while fantasizing about growing up, we did not anticipate how much of our time would be devoted to figuring out what to have for dinner. Though some of us were probably certain that the grown-up versions of ourselves would eat mac and cheese every night, it hasn’t quite […]
Recipes, full of data, are simple enough on the surface. What are you making, what are the ingredients, and how is it prepared? When you learn to read a recipe like a chef, however, you’ll realize that in a few extra moments, you can save yourself time, do more efficient […]
Great food and wine go hand in hand, but when the-things-to-know-about-wine are seemingly infinite, it can be difficult (and intimidating!) to choose a wine. In this series, we’ll explore the fundamentals of wine, from grape varietals to tasting, so that you can tackle a wine list with confidence. Up first […]
It’s grilling season, and this year, we want more out of our grill than just burgers and hot dogs. Of course, Texas is the smoking capital of the world (maybe self-appointed, but it still counts), and so we know all about low and slow briskets and beef ribs. But did […]
Taking care of your pans will help them last longer and cook better, no matter what type you prefer. Nonstick pans are the most delicate and best saved for jobs like cooking eggs or crêpes. Wash them gently without harsh scrubbers, and avoid using metal utensils that can scratch the […]
If you are a homemade ice cream maker, you already know that a great base is all you need to make just about any flavor. But part of the fun of making things yourself is experimenting with new recipes and flavors, which can sometimes lead to disappointing results. Of course, […]
You can cook a lot of food in more than 70 years, and here at The Culinary Institute of America, we’ve created some tasty dishes, if we do say so ourselves. Whether they were imagined right here on our campus or inspired by some of our favorite old-world classics, there […]
The chemistry of cooking can be complex (and boring for some of us!), but the unexpected truth is that most techniques come down to one or two essential and simple steps. Are there tiny details that can make something marginally better (or marginally worse)? Yes, there are hundreds of miniscule […]
In most regions, zucchini and other tender-skinned summer squash, like yellow squash and cute little pattypans, reach their peak in late June and early July. When that time comes, especially if they are growing in your garden, they seem to multiply faster than you can eat them. In addition to […]