An ingredients-first approach frees you from the limitations of a recipe. After all, who wants another to-do list?
Learning how ingredients work, how to prep them, and how to release their flavors results in faster and more intuitive cooking. Ultimately, this means dinner on your table faster.
Combine techniques with ingredients so you can improvise tasty dishes in less time.
What are onions? Learn how to prep, cook, and store onions with tips on substituting onions and pairing onions with different cooking techniques.
Learn how to prep, cook, and store garlic with tips on substituting garlic and how to avoid burning it when stir frying.
Learn the difference between dark vs. light soy sauce. What types of dishes uses which? When do you use both dark and light soy sauce?
Most homemade chai recipes instruct you to crush your spices. Others recommend toasting. Does crushing or toasting your spices make your masala chai taste better? Is it worth the extra effort?
Are tea bags lower quality than loose-leaf tea? Ever wondered if you should switch to loose-leaf tea? Learn whether loose-leaf tea or bagged tea is right for you.
Many people believe that tea merchant Thomas Sullivan accidentally invented the tea bag when he sent his customers tea samples in silk pouches. However, Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren were brewing an invention in a Milwaukee kitchen seven years before Thomas sent out his first pouch.
In 1901, Roberta and Mary applied for a patent on a “Tea-Leaf Holder”. The woven cotton bag was “folded over upon itself” and stitched together to hold tea leaves inside. The tea pouch allowed the drinker to filter tea leaves and prepare only the desired amount of tea to avoid waste.
A century later, the tea bag has taken off. In the UK, 96% of tea consumed is bagged. But the U.S. prefers ready-to-drink tea (iced tea makes up 85% of tea consumption) and “Chinese consumers prefer fresh tea in loose formats,” according to Mintel, a global market research firm.
Let’s learn the difference between loose-leaf tea and tea bags to help you figure out which one is right for you.