The Boston Globe : The Taste Kitchen
The best of the dark, bar none
Dark chocolate is all the rage. So much so that supermarkets are putting out their own house labels, Trader Joe’s packages a brand, and companies like Hershey’s are in on the act. We decided to taste. Twelve students in a gastronomy class at Boston University had the enviable (and somewhat messy) task of tasting 11 …
Read moreA side dish served with matzo and memories
‘I had hoped to be greeted by the taste of schmaltz,’’ announces one in the group, using the Yiddish word for rendered chicken fat. Her octogenarian husband arrives with his mother’s well-worn wooden bowl and single-blade chopper. When he was a boy, he says, “Every Sunday my job was to chop the liver. My father …
Read moreLove at First Bite? Not Exactly.
Whole-wheat spaghetti may be better for you, but will it go over well at home? Maybe with sauce. By Debra Samuels Globe Correspondent / February 9, 2011
Whole-wheat bread entered the mainstream long ago. Now brown rice has displaced white in many bowls, and whole-wheat pasta has become nightly fare in many households — even in Italy.
A classic, any way you slice it
When it comes to pound cake, traditional flavors count By Debra Samuels, Globe Correspondent | July 14, 2010 There are few better accompaniments to fresh berries than a slice of pound cake, that perfectly balanced classic originally made with one pound butter, one pound sugar, and one pound flour. Now the formulas vary, but it’s …
Read moreWhich is the better butter?
March 10, 2010 Few things taste better than crusty bread spread with butter. Real butter. Many families have banned bread and butter from their tables, but restaurants are serving premium butters again, rather than presenting little dishes of olive oil. We tasted seven brands of unsalted butter, first just the butter, then some of it …
Read moreNavigating a veritable sea of tuna salads
February 3, 2010 For many people, tuna salad is the ultimate lunch, spread between hearty slices of toast, tucked inside a sub roll, or scooped onto shredded lettuce. It’s filling and deliciously old-fashioned. Eight people tasted prepared tuna salads from the deli departments of four supermarkets and one delicatessen. Of the five sampled, only Barry’s …
Read moreSqueeze in some lemon sorbet
By Debra Samuels, Globe Correspondent September 9, 2009 Lemon sorbet is a refreshing dessert any time of year. At the end of summer, when local fruits are in the markets, pair them with a cool scoop of lemony ice and add a crisp cookie. We sat down to taste six brands of lemon sorbet and …
Read moreThe word on rotisserie bird
The aromas from five rotisserie chickens, purchased just before the tasters arrived, were so enticing that the group of six sat at the table, forks at the ready, and let out a collective “Mmm.” All of the birds had come out of their ovens between 4 and 5 p.m., timed perfectly for shoppers on their …
Read moreBowled Over
TASTE KITCHEN: TOASTED O’S CEREAL Bowled over By Debra Samuels Globe Correspondent / January 7, 2009 In a supermarket, the breakfast cereal aisle is a football field-long corridor. Some of have morphed into many other brands. Recently, nine members of a food and nutrition-oriented 4-H club, ranging in age from 6 to 17, tasted five …
Read moreJELLY BEANS
Don’t put all of these chewy, colorful sweets in one basket The Easter bunny would have a very heavy basket if he filled it with all the brands of jelly beans out there. We tested beans from companies such as Life Savers, Starburst, and Jolly Rancher that tasted like their other-time-of-the-year products, and shockingly bright …
Read moreBento:Build a Better Lunch
Debra Samuels, bestselling author, food writer and cooking instructor, wants to give the American lunchbox a makeover. In the chapter on “bento,” the traditional Japanese lunch box, in her upcoming book, My Japanese Table, Debra encourages the use of color, texture and taste to create healthier and more visually appealing meals.
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