The Boston Globe : The Taste Kitchen
Looking for a pearl among small tomatoes
By Debra Samuels | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MARCH 05, 2013 There are hundreds of varieties of tomatoes, fruits that are native to the New World. Though we associate many tomato dishes with European cuisines, the bright red rounds were brought to Europe after the Spanish explorers found them in the Americas. A dispute over pricing …
Read moreTasters evaluate 7 brands of canned light tuna
Whether tuna is raw in sushi and sashimi, grilled as a steak, or scooped from a can, the fish is awash in controversy. Overfishing, mercury levels, and dolphins caught in nets meant for tuna account for this. Where once a tuna sandwich for lunch was a routine event, we no longer eat canned tuna …
Read more6 Alternatives to the p in pb&j
Since peanut butter, long America’s favorite lunchbox spread, has been banned from many schools because of allergies, alternatives have stepped in to fill the void.
Read moreA taste test of whole wheat bread loaves
We sat down with seven brands of 100 percent whole wheat bread, ranging from the artisanal looking Nashoba Brook, squared-off dense Iggy’s, to airy Wonder Bread. It was hard to think of these as the same species, yet they are all entirely whole wheat.
Read moreThe 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 …
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Bento: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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