The Kitchn Archive: Dec 2016

It’s an exciting thing for a passionate cook to discover a new ingredient. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, a new fruit or fat comes our way. Or maybe a new way of understanding a familiar ingredient is uncovered. Here are eight of those ingredients that either woke up our senses or taught us something new in 2016. Could we write this roundup without mentioning aquafaba, the craziest egg substitute that changed vegans’ lives forever? No!

Bubbly makes everything better: a night becomes an evening, and lunch becomes a rendezvous; a gathering is a celebration, and an intimate dinner for two becomes a pronouncement of intention. Bubbly is, in all its forms (Prosecco, Cava and Champagne), magical in its ability to enliven and uplift every occasion — but never quite as much as when the bubbly is Champagne.

Latkes get all the attention this time of year — as they should, latkes are awesome — but another Hanukkah treat has been gaining in popularity stateside in recent years. Put your hands together for the jelly doughnut. What the two have in common symbolically is also the ingredient that makes both so delicious: oil.

Whether it’s the hot oil or the cleanup, there’s certainly some work involved with frying at home, but if the freshest yeasted doughnuts are what you’re after, then making them at home — even if you only do it once a year — is worth the effort. To make frying doughnuts an experience you want to repeat, there are a few key mistakes to avoid. Here’s what you need to steer clear of for success.