Learning to eat gluten-free can be an alarming challenge, at the beginning. What can I eat? Do I need to throw out all my pots and pans? Will I ever eat bread again? If you're just learning to eat gluten-free, though, I hope you are so lucky as to have the sensible Elizabeth Barbone as your guide. Her new book is a calming and wonderfully reassuring place to begin your gluten-free journey. More

Our post earlier this week on bigger, yet tasteless, strawberries really struck a chord. Here's one more reason to think about switching our shopping habits: organic fruits and vegetables just taste better. It's not opinion; it's science. Just ask food scientist Harold McGee. More

Over the past couple years we have reviewed 5 ice cream makers that each get the job done with panache. We looked at the pros and cons, and an array of makers at different price points. Here's a look back at each one of these ice cream makers. More

Q: I recently took a trip to India and brought tons of spices back home. I stumbled across something that I thought was saffron, but when I got home, it did not smell like real saffron. How do I tell the difference between real and synthetic saffron? Could there be geographical variations?

Sent by Isabella More

Bet you can't eat just one! Plunk a bowl of cherries down on the coffee table and they'll be gone by dinner time, guaranteed. Cherries are still a super-seasonal fruit that you can really only find in that small window between late-spring and high-summer. What are you making with cherries this year? More

Even after visiting Seattle for years, Pike Place Market is still one of my first stops when I get into town. I'm convinced that you can find anything there if you look hard enough: dried mushrooms for risotto tonight, that weird spice no one else has heard of, a cookie to revive your weary soul. It's a magical place. In this new book of recipes, tips, and stories, Jess Thomson has perfectly captured both this magic and the very spirit of Pike Place Market. What's your story of Pike Place Market? More

Is there anything better than the smell of a fresh ice cream cone? I always thought you needed a fancy press and shaping tools. Turns out all you need is a baking sheet and a $3 prop from the crafts store! More

Item: Cuisinart ICE-100 Ice Cream and Gelato Maker
Price: $299
Overall Impression: An easy and reliable way to make consistently good ice cream at home.

I love making ice cream, but after being spoiled by a glorious industrial ice cream maker I got to play with at the Culinary Institute of America and scarred by a series of misadventures with a "rock salt and ice bucket" model, I was skeptical that I'd ever be able to make it to my satisfaction at home. A compressor model sounded like the ideal solution, so I was curious to try the latest one from Cuisinart, the ICE-100. More

If you're fond of English floral prints (the most charming ones, mind you), seasonal and simple recipes such as gooseberry yogurt and strawberry pancakes, and above all, of Miss Dahl's sunny looks and writing, then you'll be fond indeed of her newest book, a comfortable and moreishly colorful book of personal home cooking. More

Butterscotch sauce will always and forever reign king of the ice cream toppings in my world. And rich butterscotch-flavored blondies? I'm all over that. Don't even get me started on pudding. Do you love butterscotch, too? More