Some food companies are hitting their labs to try to torque up flavorings to appeal to the country’s expanding palates, and, of course, boost sales of snacks, drinks and even main courses. Arugula and ancho-chile sauce now appear at restaurants like Chili’s where there was once only iceberg lettuce and mayonnaise. PepsiCo Inc.’s Frito-Lay brand [...]
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The smell of freshly baked bread wafts through Hannah’s Bretzel, a downtown Chicago restaurant where the ovens are lined with rows of pretzel bread loaves that are sold on their own and used to make sandwiches filled with hams, cheeses and other gourmet ingredients. “It’s just soft and salty,” says customer Stephanie Klein, who ordered [...]
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Freshly ground toasted sesame seeds are a customary condiment in Japanese cuisine; they add a burst of nutty flavor to ramen, sushi and more. But those plastic grinders located next to the soy sauce at restaurants deserve a place on your dinner table, too. Just like peppercorns, sesame seeds are best when freshly ground, which [...]
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“There is tremendous opportunity for fries, comparable to coffee a few years ago,” said Chuck Hamburg, foodservice consultant with Creative Hospitality Associates and a professor of hospitality management at Roosevelt University in Chicago. “Fries used to be all the same, but since restaurants started to go upscale and hand-cut the potatoes, leave the skins on [...]
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More traditional macaroons were on the menu at Adour, the restaurant at Washington, D.C.’s St. Regis Hotel. Macaroons have become so popular there that the hotel sells them in boxes for guests to take home, and chef Fabrice Bendano has started offering macaroon-making classes in the restaurant kitchen. They regularly sell out. “Macaroons are the [...]
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It is true that many people think of guacamole when they hear “avocado.” And there must be more than a thousand reasons to love guacamole. Fast and easy to make, and so fun to eat, it screams out fiesta with each bite. My favorite way to make guacamole is to mix diced avocado with chopped [...]
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With the exception of vodka, which is flavorless unless specifically flavored, most spirits contribute more than flavor. There are flavor compounds that are soluble by alcohol but not by water or heat alone. The alcohol can liberate these flavors and even create new flavors by creating new chemical bonds. Therefore, I’m generally opposed to substituting [...]
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