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Reference

15 guides

Technique guides, ratio tables, and kitchen reference.

WTF

Win the fridge

Win the fridge is the practice of using every scrap of food before it goes to waste: the idea behind the recipes tagged with it across this cookbook.

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bases

Base recipes for weeknight cooking

Many people like to prepare entire meals for the week or month, or to make a large meal on the weekend and use it for leftovers. Preparing foods in bulk can save money and time, but the problem with preparing a single meal for an entire …

Read5m
bakingflour

Flour protein content comparison

Protein content affects gluten development and final texture. Bread flour (typically 14 g/100 g; Canadian bread flours run 13–14.5%) is the reference point for most yeasted bread recipes. Higher-protein flours build more structure; …

Read1m
safetytemperature +1

Food safety: time and temperature

Food safety is a combination of temperature and time. The familiar “safe” numbers (74°C for poultry, 71°C for ground meat) are the temperatures where bacteria die almost instantly. Below them, the same kill happens if the meat holds that …

Read8m
video

Food video filming techniques

A catalog of directorial and editorial methods drawn from Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson, mapped to practical food video production. Each technique includes the cinematic source, food application, a concrete example, and production cost …

Read16m
glossary

Glossary

Definitions for terms, brands, and shorthand used across this cookbook. Any dotted-underline word in a recipe or essay links here.

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dressingsresearch

Greek dressing research

This is a survey of techniques and sample recipes, not a recipe; it’s what led to Greek Islands’ creamy Greek dressing. The samples are kept as found, so their ratios don’t all agree.

Read4m
sproutsgrowing

Growing sprouts

I love sprouts in sandwiches, in soups, and stir-fry. I usually buy them, but in the summer I’ll occasionally grow them myself.

Read2m
cheese-sauceratios

Sodium citrate ratios

Sodium citrate lets almost any cheese melt smoothly without splitting, from a firm sliceable cheese to a thin soup. The texture comes down to one ratio: liquid as a percentage of the cheese’s weight. Adapted from a Reddit r/AskCulinary …

Read2m
bakingbread +1

Soft sandwich bun (research notes)

Recipe research notes for a soft sandwich bun. Adapted from Serious Eats (Cemita rolls) and Food Wishes (hamburger buns). See also Chef John’s hamburger buns.

Read2m

Test kitchen

Some recipes here are still being tested. They’re good to cook, but they haven’t become keepers yet. This is why they’re published anyway, and which ones are in the test kitchen now.

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