Reader Amber asks:
I noticed from the caramel corn pictures that the baking soda really seems to react with the caramel. But looking at the recipe I can’t find the thing that the soda is reacting with. Doesn’t baking soda need some sort of acid to make bubbles?
That’s very true, Amber. Baking soda does need acid [...]
The more you eat, the more you want. It’s been the Cracker Jack slogan since 1895 and it’s still true. There’s a little bit of candy-making process to this never-fail treat, but it’s painless if you can lay your hands on a thermometer. First, we make the popcorn. Throw a few kernels in a 3-4 [...]
What we have here is more like Cracker Jack than regular caramel corn, which is the way we roll in the Pastry household. Leave the peanuts out of you prefer, but be sure to add an extra teaspoon of salt to compensate.
1 ounce (2 tablespoon) vegetable oil
3.75 ounces (1/2 cup) popcorn kernels
5 ounces (1cup) [...]
It occurred to me that this would be the perfect recipe for a week devoted to the subject of salt. These tantalizingly salty chocolate cookies are a type of sablé (“sandy”) cookie originally created by Pierre Hermé. The recipe was translated to English by Dorie Greenspan, and appeared in her book Paris Sweets. There, Greenspan [...]
I know, I know, it’s not normal for most of us in this day and age to leave dairy products sitting out at room temperature. Most of our kitchen devices are designed to prevent spoilage, which — let’s face it — is pretty much what fermentation is. It’s therefore not surprising that so many [...]
Let’s just get this out of the way from the get-go — don’t let the title fool you. This here is American soda bread. It has raisins. It has caraway seeds. It has butter, eggs and even some sugar. It stales quickly, but not nearly as quickly as the authentic stuff (almost entirely comprised of [...]