How To Sharpen Your Kitchen Knives Any cook knows that a sharp knife is the workhorse of the kitchen -- without one you can't really do anything. If you've ever watched Top Chef, you'll remember an episode in Season 8 where the contestants weren't allowed to cook with knives for a Quickfire Challenge. It was practically impossible. Even with the best knife on the market, it's no good unless it's sharp. But not everyone sharpens their knives regularly -- or even at all. Electric sharpeners are probably the worst tool for sharpening a knife -- they strip too much metal from the knife, destroying the blade. Start by soaking the stone (see one in the video below) for about 10 to 20 minutes in water, which will help lubricate the knife as you sharpen. WATCH: How To Sharpen Your Knives, Step-By-Step Most people confuse a honing steel with a sharpener. WATCH: How To Hone The Edge Of A Knife Video no longer available We're sorry, but the video you are trying to watch is no longer available. Do you sharpen your own knives?
free range eggs | The Truth About Your Eggs Eggs are quite possibly the world's perfect protein source. The six grams of protein in each egg has the highest biological value—a measure of how well it supports your body's protein needs—of any food, including beef. The yolks contain vitamin B12, deficiencies of which can cause attention, mood, and thinking problems. Depending on where you're getting your eggs, though, you could be getting a lot more of stuff you don’t want. First you'll get some arsenic, added to feed to promote growth in hens but linked to various forms of cancer in people, and an extra dose of antibiotics, also used to promote growth but linked to antibiotic resistance and even obesity in people. Then add a heaping helping of salmonella. You wouldn't know that based on what's starting to appear on egg cartons. Here's how to make sense of the different egg labels: Cage-Free Can You Trust It? Like this? Free-Range or Free-Roaming Can You Trust It? Learn More: Avoid Supermarket Traps! Organic Can You Trust It? Natural
Craig Claiborne Set the Standard for Restaurant Reviews Paul Hosefros/The New York Times A 1973 Bastille Day celebration at Craig Claiborne’s home in East Hampton, L.I. Jacques Pépin is third from the left. The author of these judgments was Craig Claiborne, the newspaper’s food editor. And that is just what happened, first in what were called the women’s pages (“Food Fashions Family Furnishings”), and then, after 1976, in the Weekend section; by that time, the column was not a listing but a review of one or two restaurants. Some American writers had nibbled at the idea of professional restaurant criticism before this, including Claiborne, who had written one-off reviews of major new restaurants for The Times. As the current caretaker of the house that Claiborne built, I lack objectivity on this subject. None of this was obvious in Claiborne’s early directories, which were so compressed that there wasn’t room for much writing. Over time, this rather drab creature evolved its characteristic plumage.
Atlanta Food Truck Park temporarily closed due to permit issues UPDATE: The park has reopened. The AJC has the story. Last fall, the Atlanta food community won an important battle in the struggle to make our city a more business friendly environment for food trucks and mobile vendors. Kwanza Hall’s Food Truck Ordinance, passed with a 15-0 vote last September, significantly relaxed a few key vending regulations that had previously made successfully operating a food truck in Atlanta nearly impossible. However, eight months later, we are seeing that putting those new policies into practice still has its share of road blocks. Last Thursday, the Atlanta Police Department License and Permits unit arrived at the Atlanta Food Truck Park and began shutting down trucks left and right. For the most part, news about the closing has been limited to references of “permitting issues,” without much detail as to what that means. To be perfectly clear, none of the permits in question have anything to do with food-safety violations. The issue?
Health: What are nightshade foods? Preserving Cabrini-Green's images In the sharp sun of an April afternoon, Nate Lanthrum walks through the remains of Cabrini-Green giving away what he has taken. He looks out of place, a white guy carrying a $1,500 Nikon D700 camera, but the residents are used to him by now and greet... Blackhawks thrilled to have Brent Seabrook back Starting with Game 6 Sunday, Brent Seabrook's timeout will be over and the defenseman will be back on the ice — so long as he promises to play nice. The Blackhawks have done pretty well in Seabrook's absence, winning all three games the NHL... NFL draft preview: Defensive ends As the NFL draft nears — it takes place May 8-10 — we're taking an 11-day, position-by-position look at what's out there and what the Bears need. In May 1974, Tribune delivered 2 Watergate bombshells Obama denounces racist comments reportedly made by NBA owner Cubs can't take advantage of Brewers' injuries Northwestern women win at Wrigley Blackhawks thrilled to have Brent Seabrook back
California salmon start their comeback The 2012 California salmon season opened last weekend, and the initial reports are good and could be getting even better. That's great news for lovers of local salmon, who have pretty much had to do without commercially caught fish since 2008. There was a limited catch last year, but this year the catch looks to be big enough that there shouldn't be any trouble finding fish. This season's catch should total almost 3 million pounds, according to the California Salmon Council, an industry group. Last year, the haul was less than 1 million pounds. That seemed like a lot then, but only because the fishery had been completely closed in 2008 and 2009, and the 2010 catch was only about 250,000 pounds. Those bad years had been the result of several factors, including water diversions from the rivers that produce the salmon, and ocean conditions that reduced the amount of krill -- similar to baby shrimp -- the salmon feed on. Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen --Russ Parsons
Bubble has not burst on craft beer market - All We Can Eat Craft beer sales grew by 15 percent in 2011. (Jason E. Kaplan) “The world almost seems flipped on its side — a revolution has happened,” reported Benj Steinman, president of the trade publication Beer Marketer’s Insights, in assessing the state of craft brewing. Steinman was addressing a crowd at the 2012 Craft Brewers Conference that unfolded May 2-5 amidst the gentle sea breezes and swaying palms of San Diego. Under the circumstances, keynote speaker Steve Hindy, former AP Middle East correspondent and co-founder of the Brooklyn Brewery, could be forgiven a little boasting. The disturbing news was that, according to Gatza, there are currently 1,119 additional breweries in the planning stage. Disturbing? There is fear within the industry that there might be a bubble about to burst, that the burgeoning number of new brands could push distribution channels to the breaking point. But those worries didn’t spoil the party. The conference drew a record 4,500 attendees.
Thomas Jefferson's Vegetable Garden: A Thing Of Beauty And Science : The Salt : NPR#more#more#more Hide caption Thomas Jefferson's garden at Monticello was uniquely American because it served as a kind of Ellis Island for garden vegetables around the world. Leonard Phillips/Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello Hide caption After Jefferson left the presidency, he planted a retirement garden at Monticello that is 300 yards long and supported by a stone wall 12 feet high in places. It looks out over the rolling Virginia Piedmont. Hide caption Asparagus was a prime part of Jefferson's garden and received "uncommon attention," according to Hatch. When you listen to All Things Considered host Melissa Block's story about Thomas Jefferson's garden, you'll hear how he cared about putting peas on the table and sharing seeds with his friends. Somehow, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the nation's third president found spare time to meticulously document his many trials and errors, growing over 300 varieties of more than 90 different plants. Graham Smith