What is non-extra virgin olive oil, and when should I use it?
Most of us assume that extra virgin olive oil, or sometimes EVOO in recipe shorthand, is the good stuff. After all,…
Burning Questions
Burning Questions is The Takeout's column that satiates your food and drink curiosities.
How can you tell if blue cheese has gone bad?
Recently we published a story on whether or not you can still use ground beef that has turned brown (TL;DR: Probably,…
Is it ever okay to put ice in your wine?
No, it is not.
If my ground beef has turned brown, should I put it down?
As a Carol Brady-aspiring mom, I hardly ever leave the grocery store without at least a pound of lean ground beef…
How to judge a bottle of wine by its label
It happens so often—you’re on the way to a party and stop at the wine store, only to be flummoxed by the endless rows…
What's bologna? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Bologna gets a bad rap. Critics call it mystery meat, saying it’s full of leftover meat bits that you’d never want to…
What should be your go-to butter: salted or unsalted?
I think it was when Martha Stewart reached her pre-prison heyday that I started purchasing unsalted butter exclusively.…
Why do we give an apple to the teacher?
As far as anybody can tell, the origin of American schoolchildren giving an apple to the teacher cannot be traced to…
Why do we eat raw fish and beef, but not raw chicken?
Our staff discussions at The Takeout go to weird places sometimes. It doesn’t matter how the topic of eating raw…
What’s the best way to keep herbs fresh?
If you’re lucky enough to have the space and green thumb required to keep herb plants growing from spring to fall,…
What’s the best oil for different sauté needs?
Wander into any high-end gourmet store, or even a normal grocery store, and you can feel immediately overwhelmed by the…
How can you tell meat doneness without a thermometer?
You can purchase a meat thermometer for just a few dollars at the dollar store, or for a three-figure version from…
How much healthier is white-meat chicken than dark-meat?
Despite being less flavorful than pretty much any other type of poultry, boneless-skinless chicken breast has come to…
How low do USDA grades of beef go?
Prime, choice, and select are the USDA beef grades you’ve probably seen at your local supermarket. Beef that meets…
Should you ever wash sharp knives in the dishwasher?
I once had a roommate who put everything in the dishwasher, which led to the breakage of two of my fancy wine glasses.…
How do you stop the scourge of freezer-burned ice cream?
Last week, I had a rough day—money stuff, work stuff, house stuff, health stuff—and so I turned, as one does, to my…
What’s the difference between baking soda and baking powder?
For a floundering baker like myself, it’s not like my larder is stocked with every possible baking accessory and…
Do hot beverages actually cool you down?
I prefer my coffee hot versus iced, even in the summer. Inevitably, this means whichever friend I’m with at the…
How do you correct over-salted food?
Sure, kitchen mishaps are legion, but some of them are solvable. Sauce too thin? Whisk in some flour. Meat underdone?…
