Bakers who tackle French recipes get stumped by the sugars, which don’t necessarily correspond to the sugars available elsewhere. All supermarkets in France carry white granulated sugar and there’s often unrefined sugars, such as cassonade, which grocers stock and are widely-available. In America and elsewhere, bakers often have to do a bit of hunting around to find the corresponding sugar. French brown sugars are quite…
Every year I spend an inordinate amount of my time poaching fruit. It’s usually because I’m powerless to resist all the pears in baskets at my market, and buy far more than I need. Yes, much of my sweet bounty finds its way into sorbets, cakes, ice creams, and jams. But one of my favorite ways to keep those pears around a little longer is…
Stop the Insanity! Michael Ruhlman pointed out the absurdity of sugar becoming the new “ok food”, as reported by the New York Times. The interesting thing about getting older is that you see how foods go out of fashion, then invariably come back. In my life, I’ve been through warnings about sugar, margarine vs butter, salt, white flour, fat, trans fats, tropical fats, chocolate, eggs,…
I’m not sure if there’s a French term that’s the equivalent of “phone tag.” I’m pretty sure there isn’t one for “internet tag”, but I can say with relative certainty that there isn’t one in English. At least I think there isn’t. I’d met Frédéric Chambeau’s father about five years ago and he graciously invited me to visit their laboratoire in Paris, but hadn’t heard…
A subject, and and ingredient, comes up frequently when talking about baking and candy making. And that’s about using corn syrup in recipes. I use it judiciously when it will make a discernible difference in a recipe. For those of you who are regular readers of the site and my books, you’ll notice almost all of the time, I rarely use pre-packaged or convenience foods in my…
People who write cookbooks about baking often try to avoid publishing recipes that call for candy thermometers. I’m not sure why, since you just stick it in the pot, and wait for the temperature to reach the desired degree. What could be easier? The other bonus is with your thermometer, you can make homemade candy, such as marshmallows or billowy topping for S’mores Ice Cream…
I recently got hooked on Le Grand Perdant 2. Unlike French cinema, which has a way of importing the best of America, French television has a way of importing the worst of America. Which often means reality shows. I have little patience for watching women named Bambi and Jennie compete for husbands named Tristan and Chad, but at least this one has a positive spin….
Making caramel is easy! You’re simply melting sugar and cooking it until it darkens to just the right color. And that’s it. simple, right? Yes, it is, although some have told me they are afraid to make caramel so I thought I’d offer some tips, advice, photos, and encouragement, to make your own caramel. For additional information, you may also wish to read Ten Tips…
Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream If you think making caramel is difficult, it isn’t. In fact, when you made your toast this morning, half-asleep, you caramelized something! Enjoying a cup of coffee made from freshly roasted beans, baking a cake or a batch of oatmeal cookies, grilling tofu, and chugging a beer are some of the other benefits we gain from caramelization. I’ll be doing…
Join me on my Spring 2026 book tour for my latest book, The Great Book of Chocolate
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