The Kitchn Archive: Oct 2018

The days are getting shorter and the news is getting bleaker each day, but the arrival of November also brings with it a bright spot: The Great British Baking Show is coming back to Netflix, with all its soggy-bottom joy and saucy-puds cheer. Okay, not all of it: There is still no Mary Berry, Sue Perkins, or Mel Giedroyc, but Paul Hollywood holds his own among the new hosts.

Yes, it's edible.

Imagine you’ve woken up in your dream home: you move your freshly laundered sheets to the side, and in your new silken pajamas, you go to the bathroom to freshen up: brushing your teeth, washing your face, and putting your face on for the day.

Last month I discovered that you shouldn’t eat bread that has even a little bit of mold on it. Pretty devastating, right? All mold has a part that you can see, and also a microscopic part that you can’t see. Science Insider explains this horror with a great analogy of mushrooms growing in a forest. The part any human can see, the caps that grow above ground, are actually joined by an underground network of microscopic roots called hyphae.

Even though it’s been nearly six months since Parts Unknown host Anthony Bourdain died in his hotel room in France, his fans are still having trouble coming to terms with his passing. CNN decided to air the final season of Parts Unknown, perhaps to give fans some closure, though it was incomplete —Bourdain had not yet added his voice-over to many of the episodes. The final episode of the show, which will take place on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, is set to air on November 11.

I’m usually a fan of food mash-ups, but I think this one might have gone too far. On Thursday, October 18, Food Insider released a video about a “trendy” food item that has become a Philadelphia phenomenon called the “Philly Taco.” The concept is simple: While in Philadelphia, PA, travel to South Street and grab yourself a Philly cheesesteak from Jim’s Steaks.

“No MSG added!” reads almost every package of quick ramen in grocery aisles in the United States. The trepidation associated with the chemical called MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is ingrained in Americans’ consciousness — a fear that the flavor enhancer is the cause of health issues like headaches (maybe), breathing issues (only, maybe, in those allergic to it), obesity in giant doses (in rats).

Netflix has been slowly working its way into the hearts of food-lovers, starting with Chef’s Table and moving most recently to Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat. With the release of the trailer for their next big show, The Final Table, they show a desire to move into the cooking competition arena (beyond Nailed It!, of course).

When Apple released its latest slew of new emojis earlier this week, food folks were excited to see lobster, mango, leafy greens, salt, moon cake, and cupcakes made the cut, as well as the all-important bagel. “But wait,” said almost everyone. “That bagel is naked!

Alton Brown’s cult-favorite cooking show Good Eats is getting a makeover for the Cooking Channel. There won’t be “new” episodes of the show (yet), but some of your favorite episodes of the defunct series are getting “remixed” — which basically means new updated scenes. This is great news for anyone who has been missing Brown’s sharp sense of humor and ingenious cooking hacks in recent years, but what if you don’t have cable?

Avocados, a seemingly innocuous creamy green fruit, have been the subject of a startling amount of controversy over the past several years. Avocados have been blamed for driving millennials to the brink of financial ruin, then became a health hazard with the proliferation of “avocado hand” injuries (caused by sloppy attempts to remove the pit with a chef’s knife).

Millennials: do we have any shame? At this fragile point in United States history, our generation has been destroying the fabric of this country, industry by industry. One example is real estate: sales have been declining ever since millennials became adults and remained unmarried, diamond-less, and baby-free. It’s completely our fault, too: never mind all that research on predatory loans, insurance denials, and being exploited at work.

In this week’s episode of Parts Unknown, Anthony Bourdain visits the tropical farms, bustling cities, and trademark heavenly beaches in Indonesia, which Bourdain says is the world’s 5th largest country. (It actually is the 4th largest by population.) The episode touches on the flavors of Indonesia, of course, but it also speaks volumes on the cyclical nature of life and death.

Here’s a tip for nailing your next job interview: Cook spaghetti and meatballs for the person that’s hiring you. Okay, maybe don’t do that, BUT it might delight you to know that this unconventional strategy is partially how Lady Gaga won over Bradley Cooper and led to her leading role in A Star Is Born, currently in theaters nationwide.