J. Kenji López-Alt's Profile

Why Anything Slow Cookers Can Do, Others Can Do Better

@ocean

Those links are auto generated. I've written slow cooker articles in the past mainly because people are really interested in them and like I said here, depending on situation, for some people slow cookers really are the best option. But both the chili and the meatballs (both of which were my recipes actually) come out better if cooked in a Dutch oven. For the meatblass we know this as a tested fact. With the pork I haven't tried side by side but it would be an amazing anomaly if it were the exception to the general rule.

Why Anything Slow Cookers Can Do, Others Can Do Better

@BostonAdam

Yup, as I noted the data is not very detailed. I do think that the fact that ovens are used so much more often would more than balance that out though.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

Ah that's an error. IT should be picked after cooking in step 2. I'll update, sorry about that!

Ask The Food Lab: Do I Need to Use Kosher Salt?

@Double_J

We posted this because the video embedded at the top is brand new. The rest of the content has been updated a little bit but is largely the same. We have recently started producing a lot more video, some new content, some based on existing content. In the latter case, we embed it in the existing post and bring it back to the front for a day so that folks will see that there's something new to enjoy. Hope that explains it!

The Food Lab: Punch Up Sous Vide Leg of Lamb With Briny Black Olives

@jhc

1/2 cup heavy cream brought to a simmer, stir in crumbled blue cheese (we used to use Fourme D'Ambert, but I've done it with Stilton, Roquefort, and Point Reyes Blue no prob) until creamy. About 6 ounces or so.

30-Minute Pressure Cooker Split Pea and Ham Soup

@all

I tested both electric and stovetop (Kuhn Rikon) for this. With the volume of peas here there's not a big risk of clogging but we added a disclaimer and some safety tips just in case.

@creamy cheese

Once your cooker is at pressure, you should back down on the heat until it is at equilibrium (the tiniest bit of steam coming out. Sounds like you left t at overpressure during the whole cook. That's not how you'd typically use a pressure cooker! Low got medium low once it's at pressure is all it takes.

@shabby mccoolerson

Acid will actually make green colors more dull!

Pressure Cooker Red Sauce: All-Day Flavor on a Weeknight Schedule

@Asa

Probably not a great idea.

The Food Lab: For the Best Broccoli Cheese Soup, Divide and Conquer

@pjstock

Comment before reading the whole article or recipe? There's a couple choice words for that too.

The stems are used in the soup. Read the article. Or the recipe.

Classic Split Pea and Ham Soup, With and Without a Pressure Cooker

@Jeohist

Ah, like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQK3T2VM0q8

Classic Split Pea and Ham Soup, With and Without a Pressure Cooker

@Jeohist

What's a "proper" pea soup? The dish I know is super, super, super simple and is essentially the non-pressure cooker version linked above. Ham, split peas, a couple aromatics, water or stock. The quality of the ham and stock obviously matter.

The Food Lab: Sous Vide Leg of Lamb With Mint, Cumin, and Mustard

@willburpan

The center of the meat should be no different whether cooked sous vide or in the oven. Heat gets to it via slow diffusion through the meat either way.

The outside can be a little different though, which can definitely affect your perception of texture and flavor.

The Right Way to Use a Meat Thermometer

@manhat

Nope. A piece of meat is not a water balloon! Poke away.

A Fully Loaded Guide to the Ultimate Baked Potato

@loco4taco

Coincidence. If you think we have the capacity to plan, test, photograph, write, edit, and publish an article in a week, you greatly overestimate us!

We typically plan articles at least a few months in advance, though sometimes a little longer or a little shorter.

Sous Vide Rack of Lamb

@nasochkas and @stevebaker

There is a time range because within that range you will get pretty much indistinguishable results. Lamb cooked at 130 for an hour comes out nearly identical to lamb cooked for four hours that way. Just give it at least an hour and take it out when you're ready to eat. That's one of the great things about sous vide.

@sarahbullseye

It does burn but that flavor is not necessarily undesirable in situations like this.

Knife Skills: The Best Ways to Peel and Dice Tomatoes

@Blindman121

Nope, ice water for green vegetables if you want them to be the brightest green possible! Daniel tested this a while back: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/are-the-rules-of-big-pot-blanching-true.html

@alele

yes, and often you do, But in some cases (like, say, soup and sauce), the seeds can be distracting texturally. You can blend or use a fine food mill if you'd prefer, as mentioned in the article.

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

@marcuchik

Ah. I didn't realize that Italian American food is not "real"!

For the Best Spinach Manicotti, Skip the Manicotti (and Maybe the Spinach, Too)

@Checkboard

Not a myth! Ice water works even better.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/are-the-rules-of-big-pot-blanching-true.html

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

@RWeaver
I find egg roll wrapper to be a little less resilient than actual pasta but a nice easy shortcut.

You will always get a mushier end results from assembling ahead of time, I'm afraid. Still delicious, just softer.

@marcuchik

You mean crepes-styl manicotti like this one? They are both manicotti, just different styles.

For the Best Spinach Manicotti, Skip the Manicotti (and Maybe the Spinach, Too)

@Maker's Mark & The Drunky Bunch

Oh man, that's good. I was trying to think o a good line to rhyme with rocket and came up blank.

I also had "Me eyes go all googly when I eats aroogly" which gets his language idiosyncrasies in but doesn't get the "Imma beat you up when I eat vegetables" message.

Shakshuka: A Template for Breakfast, Dinner, and Every Meal in Between

@freebert

Yes, if your cast iron pan is not seasoned well enough, you can use stainless steel or enamel or even non-stick if you'd like!

Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce For Korean Fried Chicken

@powermd

I use Kikkoman for most cooking. If I specifically intend for a different type of soy sauce, I'll say "dark" or "sweet" with a reference to what that is in the headnote. But if it's just "soy sauce," then it's the light, supermarket-grade stuff.

The Better, Faster Way to Freeze and Defrost Your Foods

@elenaran

That works just fine. I like the convenience of the aluminum method. It's basically just as convenient as pulling something out of the fridge and throwing it on the counter, but works much faster.

@Weezel

I haven't. I mean, I reuse bags, but only if they didn't have raw meat in them. I don't really know if it's truly safe, but I do it anyway!

@Cau Cau Boy

For semi-solids and liquids it's pretty easy to do without. For solids, definitely easier with water to get the excess air out.

The Best Salad Spinner

This is frustrating precisely because I spend a good number of my waking, working hours specifically fighting to ensure that ad sales and money never ever enter the equation when it comes to editorial content on Serious Eats. Finding creative ways to produce great, non-biased content on a site that is supported by advertising is a challenge, but it's one that as long as I'm at Serious Eats, I will never stop and never give in on. Our words and opinions are not for sale, period.

This is not an advertorial. We never, ever allow advertisers to dictate editorial content on the site. There is no amount of money that will get me or any of our writers to recommend a product that is not thoroughly tested. Never have, never will. I work for the readers, not for the advertisers. Anything that is advertising is clearly labeled as such, and you will never see a staff writer or editor's by-line on a piece of advertising. It's a firm line in the sand and I will quit my job before I ever see that happen. Believe me, there are people who would absolutely love it if I and other editors and writers were willing to play ball, but that's not the case.

Normally in our reviews we will list multiple recommendations because we understand that not everyone works the same and that some products might be better for certain types of cooks than others. We'll list options and explain what type of person might like one or another. This salad spinner review happened to be one of the rare cases where one product was so superior to the other products we tested that we could not think of a situation in which any of the competitors could best it. So we recommended one. In case you're wondering, yes, we tested every single model that people have mentioned in the comments here. The Zyliss simply works better. (By the way, for all of our reviews, it's a very safe bet that if you own "Very Popular Model Product X", it was one of the ones tested.)

We explain how we do our testing, we explain why we pick our winners. What we don't do is badmouth the losers. This has been our model for the last several years.

You may say that omitting this information is tantamount to letting an advertiser affect our content. I'd love to be able to name names. In fact, email me privately and I'm happy to share. It's a stupid game we have to play, but reality is that running a website, buying salad spinners, paying a writer to test them and write about them, all of this stuff takes money, and that money comes from advertisers. We will never take money to recommend products we don't like, but the biggest concession we're willing to make is not actively badmouthing products we don't like. We'll simply omit them from our recommendations. I like to think that our readers are smart enough to be able to understand reality and read between the lines (hint: when we describe something as "the third pump-action spinner I tested—which had a big button instead of a lever—also locked in the down position," it's a pretty safe bet that we're talking about the one super-popular salad spinner with a big button that locks in the down position with 1,000 more Amazon reviews and more 5-star reviews that also costs $4 less.

In the end, I'm not even sure I understand the logic. Whether we include other models by name or not, it's really just a question of whether you trust our methodology and our integrity. If you choose to trust us (and our history says you should), then you trust us. If you don't, then how does it make any difference whether we list 1 winner and say nothing about 7 losers, or we list 1 winner and say bad things about 7 losers specifically?

You can choose to trust our reviews or not. You are also free to compare our reviews to Amazon reviews to help you make your decision. You can also pay a subscription to Cook's Illustrated or Consumer Reports and use their reviews. You are free to think I'm lying out of my butt, though I'd like to think that my record would at least make you seriously question the sanity of anyone who thinks that. If you look at our history I think you'll find that every product we've recommended has been a solid choice and we continue to stand by them. Take it or leave it.

@NorthernExposure

The sous vide articles you are referring to are not written for Anova. They are written for serious eats and would be published regardless. Anova buys syndication rights to use the content on their apps. This was a partnership that was undertaken with the idea that our readership would be able to really benefit out of it. The device was the best we'd tried to date, and had the best app. As a resource for sous vide recipes, being able to get our content directly to users is a win for us. Now that there are new devices on the market, we may well change that in the future (I'm currently testing the Joule, or instance). That choice will have nothing to do with money.

Also, regarding some specifics in your comment, there is zero mention of Anova in the actual article other than the disclaimer (which is mandated by law, not choice, though I'd always opt for full disclosure of any even potentially biasing partnserhips) at the top of the article. Zero.

There are paragraphs that are similar or identical in the tuna, halibut, and salmon articles because the information is literally identical no matter which of those three fish you're working with. I could paraphrase myself, I suppose, or come up with brand new words or link back and forth, but all of those things would be a) more work for me and b) less useful to the readers. Lose lose, so why would I do it?

TL;DR, and I'm going to set aside my general no-cursing policy for a moment, but this is important to me: I could give two shits about business and money. I have never in my life made a decision based on its monetary consequences and I sure wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if money were my concern. Serious Eats succeeds because I think we do good work and have a team of seriously smart, talented, hard working people. Shitting on that by claiming impropriety is really saddening to me, but it won't stop me from continuing to fight to maintain that level of integrity so long as I'm around.

Step Aside, McRib Sandwich: The Food Lab's Ribby McRibface Just Stole Your Glory

@thesteveroller

This is by far the exception rather than the rule. Of the most recent 16 recipes we've published, 12 have an active time of less than 30 minutes, and 15 are under an hour. This is the only one that's longer, and it's in the 99.44th percentile of longest recipes I've written (that's an exact figure, not hyperbole!).

If you're interested in fast cooking, check out our collection of quick recipes. They all take 30 minutes or less. No fuss.

Step Aside, McRib Sandwich: The Food Lab's Ribby McRibface Just Stole Your Glory

@st3vie

True. Though it wasn't rolled out nationally and promoted until '81, the "official" launch.

@Kaiwan Chear

It would work well, though it'd be fattier than baby back. Not necessarily a bad thing.

@knici

Country-style ribs are not really ribs either. They're some amount of rib meat with random bits of loin as well. They are an inconsistent cut and typically come out dryer with a very different texture than actual ribs, which are consistent.

@PommeDG

Some people enjoy the process of cooking as much as the end result. There's also hopefully a few lessons in here that you can glean even if you don't want to make the final recipe.