May/June 2024

Cook's Illustrated

Your go-to source for foolproof recipes that work.

Cook's Illustrated2 min read
Cook’s Illustrated
Editor in Chief Dan Souza Editorial Director Amanda Agee Deputy Editor Rebecca Hays Executive Food Editor Keith Dresser Managing Editor Elizabeth Bomze Deputy Food Editor Andrea Geary Senior Editors Steve Dunn, Lan Lam, Annie Petito Senior Content Ed
Cook's Illustrated3 min read
Just Add Water
When I do live cooking demonstrations, I like to bring a volunteer on stage to carry out a particular experiment. I present the person with two small pots of hot liquid, one containing vegetable oil and the other water. Both liquids are being held at
Cook's Illustrated3 min read
Quick Tips
After cleaning up too many spills when pouring rice from a small bag into a dry measuring cup, Molly Layman of Kingston, Mass., changed her ways. Now she places the measuring cup in the cooking vessel and pours the rice into it. Any rice that overflo
Cook's Illustrated6 min read
It’s Always Time for Arroz con Pollo
“I can close my eyes and transport myself [to] when I was little. A beautiful life growing up in Peru,” Claudia Berroa mused as she recalled the “big, delicious food” of her childhood in Lima. During a video call, Berroa, who is the ninth of 10 child
Cook's Illustrated6 min read
Mastering the Art of Kol Böreği
Every morning, the aroma of freshly baked pastry wafts down the wandering old town streets of Gaziantep, Turkey. When I attended cooking school in the city, I’d often follow my nose straight to the source: a shop where coils of golden, flaky kol böre
Cook's Illustrated4 min read
Grilled Flank Steak Smarts
What’s more elusive than a well-seared steak with a rosy interior? A well-seared thin steak with a rosy interior. Even when the meat’s surface is dry and the heat is cranked—prime conditions for browning—it’s a race against time to develop a rich cru
Cook's Illustrated4 min read
Baja’s Shrimp and Vegetable Tacos
Tacos gobernador, or “governor’s tacos,” are food fit for a VIP. The recipe was born about 30 years ago, when Francisco Labastida Ochoa, the governor of the Mexican state Sinaloa, paid a visit to Mazatlán’s Los Arcos restaurant. The restaurant’s chef
Cook's Illustrated6 min read
The Soul of Japanese Cooking
As steam began to rise from my pot, I plucked the glistening strands of kombu from the hot water and set them aside. I pulled the pot from the heat, added a handful of katsuobushi to the water, and watched the translucent fish flakes slowly sink bene
Cook's Illustrated5 min read
The Cool Comfort of Sesame Noodles
Every twirl of liang mian manages to be both refreshing and hearty. The cold, lightly chewy noodles coated in a dark, earthy majiang (sesame paste) sauce are edged with satisfying sweetness, heat, and tang. In China and Taiwan, the chilled, glossy st
Cook's Illustrated5 min read
Swirl Your Scramble
I’m not a cook (or a consumer) who’s easily enticed by trendy dishes, particularly those showered in Instagram fame. But I think Australian cooks, who have a real knack for elevating ordinary breakfast staples, tapped into something special with fold
Cook's Illustrated3 min read
The Beauty of Braised Bok Choy
So many greens are all leaf and no stem, but bok choy levels the ratio. At least 50 percent of each oblong head features thick, bright white ribs (“bok choy” is Cantonese for “white vegetable”) that stretch skyward and unfurl into a collar of jade-gr
Cook's Illustrated5 min read
The Accessible Luxury of Tinned Fish
Some foods are practical and pantryfriendly, and some make you feel like you’re treating yourself to a refined delicacy, but it’s the rare food that can do both. Enter tinned fish. Invented in the early 1800s as a protein source for Napoleon’s armies
Cook's Illustrated8 min read
The Fruit-Lover’s Cream Cake
This is the story of two cakes that have long been beloved in East Asian baking traditions—and how I merged those traditions into an airy, downy-soft, cream- and fruit-festooned marvel that’s perfect for any celebration. The first is one many will im
Cook's Illustrated4 min read
No-Commitment Refrigerator Preserves
Refrigerator jams and jellies are gateway preserves: quick, easy, attractive ways to bottle up peak-season produce at its best. The formulas are basic (fruit, sugar, lemon juice); the batches are typically small, so there’s no need to invest in bushe
Cook's Illustrated5 min read
Why We Love Gyuto
The gyuto (pronounced “GYEW-toh”) is best described as the Japanese version of a Western-style chef’s knife. It was developed in the 1870s, during the Meiji Restoration. Japan had recently ended its policy of isolationism and had opened its borders t
Cook's Illustrated6 min read
The Best Whole Canned Tomatoes
With a few cans of tomatoes in your pantry, you’re always ready to cook. Sweet-tart, plump, and juicy, they’re the basis for many soups, stews, and sauces. The most versatile canned tomatoes are whole: You can chop, crush, or puree them, by hand or i
Cook's Illustrated7 min read
Ingredient Notes
For all its extraordinary umami, dashi (page 6) requires only water and two ingredients: kombu, or dried kelp, and katsuobushi, also known as bonito flakes. Here are a few tips for purchasing and storing these products so you can make this type of h
Cook's Illustrated6 min read
Kitchen Notes
If you’re peeling a potato and see green under the skin, keep peeling until there’s no more green. While the tint itself isn’t a problem, the color indicates the presence of a toxin on the potato flesh. Here’s what’s going on: When a potato is expose
Cook's Illustrated5 min read
Equipment Corner
The ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE is our favorite instant-read digital thermometer. Its backlit display, durable construction, and quick and accurate temperature readings make it a reliable choice for any cooking project. ThermoWorks also sells the Therm
Cook's Illustrated1 min read
Edible Weeds
“What is a weed?” Ralph Waldo Emerson once mused in a lecture. “A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Indeed, many plants that creep up through sidewalks and appear uninvited in gardens have remarkable culinary uses. BLACK LOCUST BLOSS

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