Confectioners’ sugar is an essential for frostings and icings. The fine crystal size keeps butter creams smooth and can provide an attractive snowy dusting on doughnuts, cookies, cakes, and other pastries. However, all is not lost if you find yourself out of this fine-textured icing sugar. There are several confectioners’ …
Cream of tartar and baking powder have a lot in common. You should have them both on hand if you bake pastries regularly. While these two ingredients share some of the same properties, there are some significant differences between them and how they are used. Read on to see how …
Garlic and ginger show up together in quite a few Asian recipes, which may lead those who are unfamiliar with these seasonings to confuse them or to believe that they are related. Garlic and ginger are known for bringing assertive, complex flavors to food and are widely available all over …
Panch phoran (a.k.a. panch puran) is a Bengali spice blend that is sometimes referred to as Indian five-spice. You will need it for a variety of dishes, such as shukto and other favorites from Eastern India and Bangladesh. It may not be easy to find this spice blend in a …
Turbinado sugar is a versatile sugar that is also sold as Sugar in the Raw. It is often the best choice if you want to make something with caramel notes that are not as strong as those from brown sugar. Turbinado sugar is useful but may not be easy to …
Truffle salt is a convenient and affordable way to get the flavor of truffles into a dish while also adding salt. Pasta and steaks, in particular, pair well with the earthy flavor. While it is easy to use and effective, it may not always be readily available. It can also …
Za’atar is a seasoning blend from the Middle East that has been around for centuries and which includes oregano and marjoram along with sumac. Those are just the main ingredients; other ingredients can vary based on where you are in the region. You might see mint and savory in some …
The word curry comes from the Tamil word kari, which means spiced sauce. It refers to dishes with a spicy gravy, which are common in Southern Indian cuisine. Curry powders are helpful for Non-Indian cooks who may not have a lot of experience working with Indian spices. They provide the …