Ingredients

You’ll never waste time hunched over the trash again.

We can’t pick a favorite.

I guarantee it’s already in your spice cabinet.

Salt is one of the key ingredients in the pickling process, but does it matter which salt you use? Can you just use the salt that’s already in your pantry? Some recipes call for something called “pickling salt” — what makes pickling salt special? Here’s what you need to know. Pickling salt — sometimes called canning salt or preserving salt — is pure granulated salt (sodium chloride).

They’re both great — but they're not the same.

There's so much more than the basic slice.

Spoiler, they're not bread.

All it takes is two ingredients that you already have.

You'll never make egg salad the same way again.

We break down these two little green hot peppers.

It’s pure perfection.

They're more than just cheese dip.

It’s 100x better than store-bought.

It’s a little thing that makes a huge difference.

An egg-cellent explainer.

You’ll never cook ground beef without it again.

We break down the differences and which cheese to use when.

Skip the food coloring and drugstore kits — and do this instead.

Why pay for pre-cut?

When summer grilling season approaches, it’s fun to explore all sorts of tasty cuts of meat. Though grilled hot dogs and grilled burgers will always be great go-tos, pork ribs are always a treat. Low and slow cooked pork ribs are great for a backyard BBQ, especially when served with fun sides like bacon BBQ baked beans and classic potato salad.Let’s take a look at the two most commonly sold types of ribs: baby back ribs and St. Louis-style spareribs.

Here's a hint: There's no corn in it.

Never make a subpar pizza at home again.

Choosing the right cut can make or break the dish.

It's easier than you might think and takes almost no time.

They stay crunchy-fresh for over two weeks.

No soggy crusts here!

Add these two ingredients and you'll never look back.

Relief for jalapeño hands is right in your pantry.

Plus, we've got perfect recipes to get started.

Brown sugar is the sticky, fragrant sweetener that adds moisture and flavor to so many of our favorite baked goods, from chocolate chip cookies to banana bread. But if you find yourself staring into an empty box, don’t fret — you’ve likely got everything you need to make brown sugar from scratch. So whether you need a cup or a pound, or light or dark, you’re just two ingredients away from it. Here’s how to make brown sugar at home.

This two-step method won, hands-down.

An easy, step-by-step guide.

You’ll never boil it again.

The best way to peel pearl onions is also the easiest and the fastest.

Juicy and tender.

Tough cuts of meat, like chuck roast, brisket, hanger steak, and flank steak, aren’t just cheaper than their leaner counterparts — when cooked just right, they deliver even more flavor. But oftentimes, you need to prep the meat for the best results! From a long, slow cook to the power of a brine, here are six ways to get the job done. Pounding softens and tenderizes meat, making it easier to cut and eat.

Grab some milk — things are about to heat up.

We're never going back.

So rich! So chocolatey! So fun!

And when to use it.

How can you tell if something is done if you can’t take a peek inside while it’s actually cooking? When it comes to bread, there are actually a few ways to make sure your lovely loaf is perfectly baked, every time! To see if your bread is done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of the loaf. (If you go at an angle and through the side or bottom, you can minimize the visual evidence!) Most breads are finished baking at about 190°.

Adding a touch of melted chocolate to cookies, strawberries, pretzels, or marshmallows is an easy to way to elevate your favorite sweet (or salty) treat. While you can melt chocolate in a double boiler on the stovetop or over direct heat in a saucepan, the quickest and, in my opinion, easiest way is to melt chocolate in the microwave. If you need chocolate for dipping holiday cookies, coating truffles, or adorning berries, this is a foolproof method for melting chocolate in the microwave.

The hefty price tag, explained.

I always check nutrition labels when I’m at the grocery store and use them to help pick the best option among the variety of pre-packaged foods I purchase. I check sugar, salt, and fat contents, but to me all those numbers (measured in grams) are an abstract relative. What does a gram of sugar—or salt, or fat—really look like?

Spaghetti squash is a perennial favorite here at Kitchn. We love its versatility — this squash is good for so much more than faux spaghetti noodles. But whether you’re planning to make spaghetti squash chicken Parm or broccoli and cheese spaghetti squash casserole, you have to prep it first. Cutting a spaghetti squash the right way isn’t hard, as long as you have the right tools and technique.

It’s time to drop the three-part setup.

You’ve probably read in recipes and heard again and again that you should slice steak and other cuts of meat against grain. But what exactly is “the grain,” and why is it so important to slice against it? Oh, and how do you even know what it looks like?The grain refers to the direction that the muscle fibers are aligned, and it is important to cut against it so that your meat is easier to chew.

It's probably hiding in your pantry!

Nope, it’s not in the baking aisle.

There are three main types of potatoes to choose from at the store: starchy, waxy, and those in between (which are referred to as “all-purpose”). The trick is knowing which potato works best in which circumstance. Consider this a user’s guide to the all the different types of potatoes you can think of. We break down which potato is best for baking, boiling, roasting, and more.Starchy potatoes are great for baking, frying, and mashing.

Are you doing it wrong?

You don’t need an excuse to treat yourself, but the holiday season is definitely a great opportunity for special meals. Enter: the prime rib. Although this cut of beef, also called standing rib roast, is available at most butcher shops and even some grocery stores, for many of us it remains an order-out or once-a-year indulgence.

You'll want to make sure to get it right.

A lot of the methods were great, but only one rated a 10/10.

Don't deal with messy bacon packaging — try this instead.

Baking is one place where you don’t have a lot of wiggle room. Read a recipe wrong or try an ingredient substitution, and the results can become very unpredictable. So when a recipe says to “whip to firm peaks,” you know we want to get it right! Here’s a visual guide to help us out. The stages of “peaks” is the same for beating egg whites or making whipped cream. In this guide, we’re using whipped cream.

Prime rib is the undisputed king when it comes to a large cut of beef. I remember going to the steakhouse with my family on prime rib night for special occasions and celebrations, savoring every bite of a slice of rosy, juicy meat with some tasty jus. Prime rib isn’t something you can only eat at restaurants, though.

Even the most well-seasoned cooks have experienced the dread of the turkey still being frozen or half frozen on Thanksgiving morning. Maybe you decided to host last minute, or your fridge was so packed with holiday meal prep, that big bird in your fridge just did not thaw. Don’t panic — whether you’re 24 hours out from roasting the turkey or your family is arrive later in the afternoon, you’ve got options.

When is the turkey done? What temperature should it be? These are important questions, and we have the answers you need so you can cook a safe and delicious turkey in the oven. First thing’s first: When the turkey’s internal temperature registers a steady 165°F in the thigh, the meat is done.It’s an important number to remember because, when it comes to Thanksgiving food, a lovely roast turkey is usually the centerpiece of the holiday spread.

Every year, we look forward to the pure post-Thanksgiving joy that is turkey leftovers. But did you know there’s a right way to reheat turkey? Here, we’ll cover the best way to reheat your leftover turkey to keep it as moist and delicious as possible. And if “best” translates to “fastest” for you, we have some guidelines for microwaving those leftovers, too. As a rule of thumb, leftovers should be heated the same way that they were cooked.