Ingredient Guides

Take a deep dive into ingredients, from commonplace produce to lesser-known condiments, with tips on how to procure, use, and store each one.

A wheel of brie cheese with a slice cut and slightly pulled away to show the creamy interior.

10 Tips for Storing and Serving Cheese

three bags of coffee sitting on a black countertop

How to Buy Coffee Online

Overhead view of all the essential ingredients needed in a pantry to cook a range of Nigerian dishes. Ingredients range from spices to roots to tinned food and fresh spices, organized in a neat grid

How to Stock a Nigerian Store

Overhead view of a plate of labneh with zatar pita chips surrounded by a grocery store container of labneh, a bowl of zatar, and a plate of pita chips

All About Labaneh

Deeply browned braised swordfish steaks on a platter with a rich tomato, caper, olive sauce.

Agghiotta di Pesce Spada (Sicilian Braised Swordfish With Tomatoes and Olives)

Bowl of potato starch noodles in sesame dressing on a countertop

The Many Possibilities of Potato Starch

Overhead of a whole rabbit broken down into parts on a baking sheet.

How to Break Down a Rabbit

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A Guide to Pepper: The World’s Most Popular Spice

Bags of different types of flour against a purple background.

Types of Flour: A Guide

Roman-style spaghetti alla carrettiera, with tomatoes, tuna, porcini mushrooms, and more, piled on a plate and sprinkled with fresh parsley

Essential Pantry Staples for Better Pasta

overhead shot of an array of tinned fish, or conservas, on a wooden table with bread and olives.

A Guide to Canned Fish and Seafood from Spain and Portugal

Closeup of freshly harvested green and purple olives in sunlight

A Beginner's Guide to Olives: 14 Varieties Worth Seeking Out

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How to Cut an Airline Chicken Breast

Spice Hunting: New Things To Do with Mint

The Joy and Economics of Cooking Pizza At Home

Meet the Umami Bomb of Dessert: Malted Milk Powder

California Common

How to Buy Fresh Beer and Why it Matters

Spice Hunting: Turbinado Sugar

Spice Hunting: Aji Amarillo

Fuchsia Dunlop on Sichuan Cooking's Essential Ingredients

Noosa Yoghurt: Australian-Style Yogurt Gets In On The Game

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The Secrets Behind Making Incredible Matcha

Cajun Spice Blend: Store-Bought or Homemade?

5 Spices You Need to Start Cooking More Indian Food

Tea Time: All About Matcha

Spice Hunting: The Lure of Forgotten Spices

The Best Baguette You Can Make at Home

Close-up of njahi (Kenyan Black Beans)

The Njahi Wars: Behind Kenya's Controversial Black Bean

The Serious Eats Guide to Beans

Can I Substitute Dried Beans for Canned?

Should I Salt My Bean-Cooking Water?

So You Like Flavor? Don't Soak Your Black Beans!

A pot filled with dry beans, a carrot, a garlic clove, onion, and a sprig of fresh sage.

Transform Any Pot of Beans With Flavor-Packed Aromatics and Herbs

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The Best Supermarket Black Bean Burgers

A Hill of Beans, and How I Cooked Them

Ask a Sommelier: What to Drink With Chili

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How to Cook Wagyu Beef at Home

Two dry-aged steaks cooking in a cast iron skillet.

How to Dry Age Beef

10 Tips for Better Burgers | The Food Lab

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Sous Vide Steak Guide | The Food Lab

A large cowboy steak grilling on a charcoal barbecue.

7 Myths About Cooking Steak That Need to Go Away

Cooked ribeye cap, also called spinalis dorsi or calotte.

Meet the Ribeye Cap, the Tastiest Cut on the Cow

The Best Inexpensive Steak for the Grill, Part 1: Hanger Steak

What Are the Best Cuts of Beef for Stew?

Salting Ground Beef | The Burger Lab

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Dry-Brining Is the Best Way to Brine Meat, Poultry, and More

A sliced prime rib on a wooden carving board

13 Rules For Perfect Prime Rib | The Food Lab

Four Expensive Steak Cuts to Know

Can I Dry Age Beef At Home? | The Food Lab

How to Trim a Whole Beef Tenderloin for Roasting

The Best Inexpensive Steak For The Grill Part 4: Flap Meat (Sirloin Tip)

Rethinking Prime Beef: Why "Choice" May Be Your Best Bet

Slicing Meat Against the Grain | The Food Lab

Pastrami Versus Corned Beef: A Guide to the Jewish Deli

A whole cooked prime rib roast resting on a cutting board.

How to Buy and Cook Prime Rib | The Food Lab

A peanut butter sous vide steak searing in a cast iron skillet.

We Cooked Steaks Coated in Peanut Butter Sous Vide So You Don't Have To

Sliced skirt steak tacos with tomatoes and cilantro on a plate

How to Grill Skirt Steak

Food Lab Video Shoot-VMW_9859

The Food Lab Video Series: Steak Lies

Stew Science: What's the Best Way to Brown Beef?

The Right Way to Use a Meat Thermometer

A pastrami sandwich from Katz's Deli in New York.

How Katz's Deli Makes Their Perfect Pastrami

Assorted boxes of frozen hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

The Best Frozen Burgers | Taste Test

Knife Skills: How to Cut a Whole Beef Strip Loin Into Steaks

Mastering the Art of Burger Blending with Eight Cuts of Beef | The Food Lab