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Your Thanksgiving pie will thank you.
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Ann Taylor Pittman
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The 80s Has Come for the Cheese Aisle
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.With the unfortunate resurgence of early 00’s low-rise jeans, I know I can’t be the only one to notice another staple is very much in its retro era: cheese. Yes, you read correctly. Much like crop-tops, platform shoes, and flare jeans, cheese, of all things, is playing with the trends of the 90’s all the way back to the ‘30s — and having fun, clearly.
Scanning the aisles of your local grocery store (or TikTok or your favorite bar’s cocktail menu), you’ll find a veritable Eras Tour of cheeses on display: kitschy baked bries harkening to brassy, neon 80’s Bunco night; Depression-era limburger cheese spread upon crusty brown bread; or a 70’s-style fondue pot of Gruyère, complete with cubed bread and sliced apples (shag carpet not included).
TikTok is, as you might expect, the key reason for resuscitating many of these cheesy traditions of yore. When in doubt, if you see a bare spot on the shelf, it’s likely due to a newly-viral TikTok trend. Most recently, the party has been happening at none other than the cottage cheese section. So much so that cottage cheese makers in Wisconsin are even expanding their operations, banking on the viral popularity of the trend to last long after the buzz dies down, says Josie Krogh, the digital editor for Culture, a magazine that focuses on the (literal) culture of cheese and the people who craft it.
You likely lived through the Great Cottage Cheese Awakening of 2023, where TikTokers like Justine Doiron (aka @Justine_Snacks) popularized “cheese bowls”. At its core, this particular dish is a beautiful thing, really, bringing less likely-to-be-a-star cheeses, like ricotta and cottage cheese, to the main stage by putting cheese in general at the center of a meal (the dream). In place of a separately cooked protein, Doiron adds a generous spoonful or two of said cheeses to a bowl before loading up on fun toppings, like sauteed vegetables, crusty bread for dipping, and herbs and spice blends, like za’atar.
The glow-up of other cheeses is not insubstantial, either, as it’s resulting in a boom of retro recipes and restaurant dishes highlighting rich, gooey, more luxurious cheeses that the dark ages of the fat-free 90s nearly made extinct.
What is old can be new again and absolutely should be, because there’s plenty of correcting to do when it comes to reviving the popularity of cheeses, such as nutty alpine cheeses like Gruyère and Comté, entry-point blue cheeses like Cambozola, and even more infamously funky cheeses like Limburger.
Limburger, a stinky turn of the century cheese made seemingly the butt of too many jokes in TV shows across the 20th century (maligned in a song by the B-52s and a sketch from Monty Python, amongst many others), is now staging its major comeback, says Krogh. “People are either discovering for the first time or rediscovering foods that they had written off as gross without necessarily trying them or understanding them,” she says, adding that this discovery is similar to cottage cheese’s comeback.
Nostalgia (and cheese) are deliciously stabilizing in times where something consistently good can be just what you need on the menu. “I feel like overall we’re all kind of looking for comfort and you find comfort in nostalgia because everything feels so chaotic and scary right now,” says Sohla El-Waylly, chef and author of the new cookbook, Start Here. “So it’s kind of nice to have the cheeseboards your mom or your grandmother put out, like something that feels like it’s from the 70’s, a time that maybe you know in retrospect feels simpler even though it wasn’t.”
In a sea of new-this new-that, we might just earnestly crave reinvention — whether it be in the form of clothes, design, or yes, cheese. Much like you might restyle the shoulder-padded sequin shift dress of your mom’s 80’s heyday, the sweet nostalgia of these cheese trends are just as, if not more, delicious to savor.
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Mackenzie Filson
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Before & After: Bold Black Cabinets Give a Modern Edge to a “Dated ‘80s” Kitchen
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“I’m regularly pinching myself when I see this total dream kitchen in my own home.”
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Cullen Ormond
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Ina Garten’s 14 Best Hosting Tips of All Time
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10. Master mess-free muffins.
Before you host, your life may feel like a never-ending to-do list. The last thing you want is to repeat a step you previously completed. Avoid any redos in the kitchen by planning ahead with these mess-free muffins. The secret to success is simple: Grease every inch of your muffin pan — including the top. This hack avoids broken or damaged muffins and makes transferring them from pan to plate easy.
11. Decorate desserts effortlessly.
Ina shared her hacks for mess-free muffins, but what about mess-free cakes? Consider it handled — or at least, with this trick, you’ll have it covered. Before decorating cakes on your cake stand, Ina recommends placing parchment or wax paper on the stand and cutting it into small triangles. As you work around the cake, you’ll see the tiny triangles sticking out; seamlessly pull them out when finished. You’ll have a mess-free cake stand that rivals one from the pros. (This video shows how to do this step-by-step around the 18-minute mark.)
12. Indulge in boozy beverages (and treats!).
Love alcohol and dessert? Ina is no exception. That’s why, this holiday season, mix the two to create one delicious dessert. Ina’s three-ingredient boozy limoncello desserts earn an automatic green check in our book; they’re easy to make and delicious. Part lemon-flavored alcohol, part ice cream, topped off with garnish and voilà! It’s the elevated ice cream float that’s too decadent to miss.
13. Perfectly plate portions.
Ina provides another simple hack that will have you whipping up restaurant-style cakes (or muffins) in seconds. Before plating your slice of cake, spread just a couple of spoonfuls of fruit jam in a circle on a small plate (using the back of the spoon), then lay the slice of cake on its side and garnish with a few fresh berries. It’s the tiny details that will make a world of difference.
14. Serve in style.
Sure, Ina will assemble her table to her liking, but when grabbing food, she leaves that up to her guests. She lets them grab as much or as little as they need, and the way she does so is by planning ahead with the proper serving platters, particularly this one. This Le Creuset oval platter is dense enough to block moisture absorption to prevent cracking, crazing, and ripping, and the nearly nonstick glazed interior easily releases food for a quick cleanup. Plus, it looks so stylish when laid on a table, ready to dive deep into!
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Brittany Romano
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If You Buy One Thing at Sam’s Club This Month, Let It Be This Shockingly Good $20 Dupe for a Holiday Favorite
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.If your holiday soundtrack involves the sounds of bottles popping and glasses clinking, you’ve come to the right post. Sparkling wine is practically the official drink of New Year’s Eve (if not the entire month of December) — and yes that includes low– and non-alcoholic varieties as well. Those Wednesday morning meetings aren’t going to run themselves … yet.
While many of us would love nothing more than to toast the season with fancy bubbly from now through the ball drop, that’s not exactly the most economical (or realistic!) way to spend our hard-earned dollars. Enter: Sam’s Club.
On a recent trip to The Club — via a Real-Housewives-esque party bus — I learned a lot about its Member’s Mark Champagne Didier Dumond Brut (aka the warehouse’s store-brand bottle of bubbly). The team, according to the Sam’s Club IG, “partnered with a family of winemakers with over 100 years of experience, and did multiple tastings” before landing on the bubbly in this bottle, which launched in October 2021.
If you’re thinking hey, that bottle looks familiar, then you’d be correct. The Champagne bottle is strikingly similar to a name-brand favorite, from the gold-foiled wrapping down to the yellow-orange label.
There is one very big distinction: the price tag. At the time I visited, the Member’s Mark Champagne was $19.98, compared to $59.48 for the name-brand bottle. That’s roughly a third of the price.
Of course, that discount means nothing if the Champagne itself is anything less than stellar. So I did what almost any grocery editor with a store credit courtesy of Sam’s Club would do; I grabbed a bottle of each and headed for checkout. The following week I brought both to our office Friendsgiving and asked coworkers to take part in a blind tasting comparing the two. What happened next was pleasantly surprising.
After chilling both bottles in the same fridge for the same amount of time, I popped them open and poured the Champagne into a mix of unmarked flutes and coupes. Several people leapt at the chance to drink free Champagne — the best kind. (Where were many of you when canned pumpkin came around?!)
Tasters took one glass from each group and sampled them one after the other. In addition to asking tasters to describe each of the Champagnes, and what they liked (or didn’t) about them, they had to guess which was the Sam’s Club brand and which was the $$$ bottle. It wasn’t long before the glasses were empty and the results were in.
Nearly half of the tasters thought the Member’s Mark Champagne Didier Dumond Brut was actually the more expensive bottle. “I was convinced I could tell the difference between the two Champagne options,” says Cullen, our Home Associate Editor, “but I was SO wrong.” She thinks “both Champagnes have an elevated taste,” and even ended up mixing the two together. (She wasn’t the only one either.)
Even the tasters who correctly matched the Champagnes to their bottles were impressed with the budget-friendly alt: “I really do like them both!,” says Camey. “I’d definitely bring the less expensive one to an event if I know people aren’t wine snobs.”
While Tom, a former bartender and our current Studio Producer/margarita-ologist, feels the pricier pick is “a bit more complex” with “a familiar taste of toast that can come with high-end Champagnes,” he also likes that Sam’s is “simple and light.” Adding, “I would happily buy either.”
Buy: Sam’s Club Member’s Mark Champagne Didier Dumond Brut, $19.98 for 750 mL
Have you tried Sam’s Club’s store-brand Champagne? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Mara Weinraub
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I’ve Used This 6-Quart Lodge Dutch Oven for Years and It’s My Favorite Piece of Cookware That I Own
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.When I first got into cooking, I thought having — and knowing how to use — a Dutch oven was the pinnacle of home-chefdom. I always wanted to get one when I was in college but never pulled the trigger, mostly because I couldn’t justify taking money out of the Cheap Beer Fund to shell out for an uber-pricey Le Creuset or Staub model. It wasn’t until well after I graduated that I found the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. At first, I thought its low price point meant it wasn’t as good as the Le Creusets and Staubs of the world, but after some cursory research, I realized that Lodge was just as much of a heritage brand, and their high-quality, made-in-the-USA construction would last a lifetime. So, I snagged the 6-quart model and never looked back.
Three years later (besides my trusty nonstick frying pan), my Dutch oven is the most-used piece of cookware in my kitchen arsenal. It’s also my favorite piece of cookware — and not just because it looks gorgeous on my stovetop, where it lives 24/7. I love it because it’s so versatile: I use it for soups, stock, stew, baking bread, braises, searing proteins, making sauce, and much more. If I were stuck on a desert island with one piece of cookware for the rest of my life, it would be this $80 kitchen workhorse. Let’s dig into why.
Design Features That Stand Out
This Dutch oven is available in 24 striking hues with a stainless-steel lid knob, so you can match it to any and all kitchen aesthetics. (Mine usually lives on my stove when not in use, because I think it’s so cool-looking.) One of my favorite aspects about the design is that the walls of the Dutch oven are super high, which is perfect for braises, deep frying, and soups, since you’ll reduce splatter and have more room on your stovetop for making side dishes at the same time. The heat retention and even heating are seriously high-quality, too, and you can safely bring this straight to the table, since it doubles as its own serving tray and stays warm for a long time.
I’ve used this Dutch oven for pretty much everything it’s advertised as being capable of — and much more. I’ve made soups, stews, bread, cakes (not very good ones, but still), and more braised dishes than I can count. I’ve also used it to deep fry wings, make stock, and much more. I’m a total evangelist for this piece of cooking equipment, and actually try to convince my friends and family to make what I think is the best $80 investment out there when it comes to outfitting your kitchen. Honestly, if you just have a Dutch oven, you can pretty much cook anything and everything you could think of — though breaking it out every time you want to fry an egg might be a hassle. Plus, since it’s so affordable (as Dutch ovens go) I’ve put this thing through the ringer. I’ve dropped the lid from about 12 inches, I’m never gentle about plopping it on the stovetop, and I’ve even accidentally left an entire circular lasagna inside of it — unrefrigerated — for 10 days while I was on vacation in Ireland. (When I came home, I scraped it out and cleaned it with virtually no hassle.) If you asked me if there’s one piece of cookware that I wholeheartedly stand behind, it’s the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven.
Like most cast-iron cookware, it’s pretty heavy (about 15 pounds), so if you don’t feel comfortable handling that amount of weight, this might not be for you. And, while the outside of mine looks as good as the day I got it, there’s been some staining along the inside rim and on the bottom, but a) things like Bar Keeper’s Friend should get the stains out, b) it doesn’t impact cooking, and c) I’ve never actually tried to get the stains out, so it might just be user error.
Should YOU Buy the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Why You Should Trust Us
The Commerce Team at The Kitchn has one mission: to help you make smart and informed purchases. We know how hard online shopping can be — it’s literally our job! From trying to decipher confusing marketing lingo to sorting through scores of fake paid reviews in search of some truth, online shopping can be overwhelming. We’re dedicated to doing the hard work for you by reviewing these products firsthand and delivering all the information you need, both good and bad.
Our team is made up of a group of writers and editors who have years of experience in the home, kitchen, and parenting consumer product space, and who put hundreds of items to the test every year to determine which ones get our stamp of approval. We bring these products into our personal spaces, testing them for weeks and even months at a time to see how well they live up to their claims and if they are really worth your time and money. At the end of the day, we’re consumers too, so we’ll always provide you with all the information we’d want — and then some.
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Ian Burke
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Amazon Launched Thousands of Black Friday Deals — Here Are the 20 Best Ones to Snag ASAP
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Recently, Amazon announced its Black Friday sale dates, giving us a glimpse of the deals we could look forward to later this month. Those markdowns are finally here, and among them, you’ll find hundreds of shop-worthy kitchen and home tech products. Many of these sought-after brands are notoriously pricey, so whether you’re after a robot vacuum that takes the hassle out of cleaning your floors or bakeware from luxe brands, now’s the time to snag them. Plus, if you have yet to complete your holiday shopping, our top picks below all make great gifts for loved ones. Below, you’ll find Apple products, cast iron cookware, top-of-the-line countertop appliances, and more. In short, the sale leaves nothing to be desired. There’s no telling how long inventory will last, so you’ll want to stock up before your coveted picks are gone. So have a look below, add items to your cart, and save big on your next great home buys.
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Nikol Slatinska
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12 Online Delivery Services That’ll Bring Meat Right to Your Door
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Great news for meat lovers! If you’re struggling to find your favorite meats at the local grocery store, worry not — we’ve compiled a list of fantastic options from butchers, farmers, and other meat suppliers that ship nationwide. Whether you’re in the mood for classic choices like minced beef and chicken breast or want to explore specialty cuts, seasoned meats, or convenient pre-cooked options, these websites have a variety to suit your preferences.
Many of these brands also prioritize sustainability, offering high-quality, ethically sourced meats at affordable prices. What’s more, several provide competitive shipping rates, and some even offer free shipping, ensuring you can replenish your monthly meat stash without straining your budget. Enjoy quality meats while supporting responsible and affordable options for your kitchen!
Snake River Farms is another fantastic option for sourcing high-quality meat, and their team also values sustainability and ensures the animals are treated well. Right now, you can get a special discount on select meats — plus free shipping on orders $249 and over — using code BFSHIP.
Did we miss out on your favorite online meat store? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll keep updating the list!
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Sholeen Damarwala
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Made In’s Epic Black Friday Sale Includes the Popular Carbon Steel Skillet That’s Always Selling Out
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Sarah M. VazquezSarah writes about all things shopping for Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, and Cubby helping you find the best deals and the best products for you and your home. A Brooklyn-born Jersey Girl, she loves a good playlist, a good bagel, and her family (but not necessarily in that order).
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Sarah M. Vazquez
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These Two Pantry Items Took My At-Home Movie Nights to the Next Level
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Well, the cold weather is finally here, and instead of bar hopping and lounging in the park, these days, it’s pretty tempting to plop down on the couch, put on some Netflix, and have a cozy movie night at home. (Plus, there’s nothing quite like the rush of canceling plans — IYKYK.) However, in my house, when we do movie nights, we do them the right way. I’m talking about a big dinner, beers, mood lighting, snacks, and — of course — hot chocolate and popcorn. After all, getting to loaf around in sweatpants, pause the movie whenever you want, and indulge in a variety of snacks are what makes viewing from the comfort of the couch so much superior to heading to the theater, IMO. And recently, my girlfriend and I have been enjoying two delicious pantry items on movie nights that have taken our at-home movie nights to the next level: the Hot Cocoa Bundle and Jalapeño Ranch Popcorn Seasoning from Savory Spice.
What Are the Hot Cocoa Bundle and Jalapeño Ranch Popcorn Seasoning?
If you’re looking to make the ultimate cup of hot chocolate this winter, look no further than the Hot Cocoa Bundle. It comes with everything you need — except a festive mug — including Dutch Cocoa Powder, Cinnamon Sugar, and Peppermint Vanilla Bean Sugar. Just add hot milk or water to the cocoa powder in a ratio of your choosing, and sprinkle some sugar in your drink (or you can line the rim of your mug!) and you’re good to go. To enjoy the Jalapeño Ranch Popcorn Seasoning, just make a bowl of popcorn like you normally would, season it to your liking, and give the bowl a solid toss. That way, you don’t have to rely on pre-seasoned popcorn to get the exact level of flavor you’re looking for.
Why I Love the Hot Cocoa Bundle and Jalapeño Ranch Popcorn Seasoning
Look, while I love Swiss Miss, Dutch Cocoa Powder is such a step up, and it really blows your average grocery store hot chocolate out of the water. And, as someone who doesn’t love sweets, it takes a lot for me to come around to chocolate-based products, but during the colder months of the year, I can’t seem to get enough. As for the popcorn seasoning, I mean, who doesn’t love all things ranch? You can definitely enjoy this on your popcorn — which I highly recommend — but you can also top off plenty of other snacks with the seasoning, including fries and side dishes. Plus, you can add the jalapeño ranch powder to sour cream to make a delicious party dip. And, though they don’t come in a bundle, buying both is a great way to ensure that your movie nights (or your loved ones’ movie nights) are perfect every time.
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Ian Burke
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We Tested the 8 Best Egg Substitutes for Baking and Found a Clear Winner
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So, What Is the Best Egg Substitute?
After testing several different methods, we found that both carbonated water and a mix of water, oil, and baking powder were the best egg substitutes. These two methods both delivered decent results during testing and created baked goods that were airy and fluffy in texture.
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Julissa Roberts
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Baking Cookies This Holiday Season? You’ll Want This Festive, Limited-Edition Tupperware Set That’s on Sale and Bound to Sell Out
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.The holiday season is already here, and stand mixers everywhere are about to go into overdrive whipping up cookies to bring to family gatherings, Christmas parties, and cookie swaps. And, while you could opt to keep them in an inexpensive foil tray or on a pretty plate covered with plastic wrap, why not go for something more festive? Namely, Tupperware’s Holiday Canister Get It All Collection. Currently on sale for $44 (normally $56), this set of four containers helps keep baked treats fresh and is also perfect for gifting homemade cookies to your favorite people.
The three-piece set includes a 2-cup green container with a snowflake pattern and red lid, a 4-cup green container with a Christmas tree pattern and red lid, and a 6-cup green container with an ornament pattern and red lid. While the cookie canister ($26) and the 3-piece canisters ($30) can be purchased individually, you can save a few bucks by bundling up and buying the Get It All Collection.
These limited-edition, retro-looking canisters are the ideal storage solution for keeping cookies tasting fresh-out-of-the-oven, and whether you plan to keep the collection for yourself or use the pieces for gifting treats to friends and family, they’ll add a decorative touch to any table.
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Mark Marino
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Vegetable Choppers Are Having a Moment — Here Are 7 Favorites That’ll Make Meal Prep a Breeze
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Caught up in the day-to-day grind, it can be tough to make the time for meal prepping. Sure, meal prep sounds good in theory, but (at least for me!) when the day winds down, my couch calls my name. That’s where vegetable slicers step in, and if you haven’t scrolled past them on TikTok, trust me, they’re the secret ingredient to making meal prep way more enjoyable. These handy tools are not just about saving time — they also turn the whole prepping process into a laid-back, no-stress experience. Imagine breezing through slicing, chopping, and dicing veggies with zero sweat (and no onion-induced watery eyes!). You can bid farewell to the old-school way of chopping with a knife and cutting board — or save that for the weekend, when you have time — and say hello to a smoother, more enjoyable weeknight cooking experience. Ready to explore the world of top-notch vegetable slicers? Let’s dive in and discover the game-changing convenience they bring to your kitchen.
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Haley Lyndes
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How to Deep-Fry the Most Delicious Turkey You’ll Ever Make — Without Burning Down Your House
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Meghan SplawnMeghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn’s Skills content. She’s a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown’s culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn’t I Just Feed You.
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Meghan Splawn
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The Sheet Pan that Amazon Shoppers Are Obsessed With
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
What’s a great sheet pan, though? Well, say hello to the bestselling sheet pan on all of Amazon: the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Big Sheet. It’s sturdy, is guaranteed to never rust or warp, and also boasts superior heat conductivity (so you don’t have to worry about pesky hot spots). Oh, and we almost forgot, it’s only $16!
What is the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Big Sheet?
Made from pure aluminum, the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Big Sheet is designed to last a lifetime. Aside from its durable, never-rust never-warp design, it’s also larger than the average sheet pan, holding more food than a standard sheet, allowing everything to bake and brown evenly. This workhorse also just so happens to be the go-to sheet pan of Angela Davis, the blogging extraordinaire behind The Kitchenista Diaries. We chatted with her recently and she confessed, “I love my heavy-duty sheet pan. Don’t just use a regular cookie sheet — there’s a big difference in the way they perform.”
What Amazon Shoppers Are Saying
Normally $28, you can save 44 percent on this baking sheet right now and nab it for just $16. So whether it’s for your next sheet pan dinner for a batch of your famous chocolate chip cookies, we think you’re going to love this sheet pan. After all, 8,000+ shoppers can’t be wrong, right?
Do you have baking sheets that you love? We want to hear all about them! Tell us about your favorite finds in the comments below.
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Lauren Masur
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We Tested (and Rated) Three Flavors of Banza’s Chickpea-Based Protein Waffles — Here’s How They Stacked Up
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Welcome to The Test Kitchn, where we put some of our — and your! — favorite products to the test, so you can make more informed (and delicious) grocery shopping decisions. We know life can get pretty hectic, which is why we’re trying out different products on your behalf. (Kind of like our sister site Apartment Therapy’s Personal Shopper!) Looking for more great deals, food news, and product reviews? Be sure to sign up for our Cook/Shop newsletter for the latest sales and must-have kitchen finds.
What We Tested: In this inaugural installment of The Test Kitchn, we’re taking a look at the three new protein waffles from editor-loved pantry brand Banza. Banza makes chickpea- and bean-based products including mac ‘n’ cheese, pizzas, pasta, rice, and, most recently, protein waffles. They’re on a mission to get more people in the States to eat chickpeas and beans, since they’re “Good for your health [and] good for the planet’s health.” You’ve probably seen boxes of Banza’s gluten-free chickpea pasta in supermarket aisles, but they’re constantly expanding with new shapes and products, which is why we’re always excited whenever there’s a launch.
This week, we have Ian Burke, senior commerce editor for The Kitchn (me); Quinn Fish, cleaning and organizing editor; April Song, co-op partner manager; and Chanel Fetaz, director of product design and UX. I signed up to test these waffles since I’m a huge fan of anything packed with extra protein, while April already liked Banza’s protein pasta. Chanel was curious to try something that “sounded unique yet familiar,” and Quinn loves chickpeas and waffles, but hadn’t had waffles since she was a kid. “I’m also always looking for ways to add more protein to my diet (sans meat),” she explained.
Banza Protein Waffle Variety Pack: These gluten-free protein waffles have 10 grams of protein per serving (which is two waffles), and contain egg but are free from all other major allergens. They’re also vegetarian (but not vegan) and you can cook them in a toaster, oven, pan, or air fryer. The variety pack comes with a box of each flavor — Homestyle, Blueberry, and Chocolate Chip — however, it’s important to note that all the waffles are available separately, too.
How We Tested: We fired these bad boys up per package instructions in our office kitchen’s toaster oven — and only managed to blow a fuse twice because our outlets are fussy — and tested them all plain and with a little maple syrup. Since we wanted to make sure we got to taste the actual waffles, we skipped any more complicated toppings that might have masked the waffles’ flavors. We also didn’t give them any slack just because they’re made with chickpeas — in other words, we judged them just like any other frozen waffles and didn’t hold back.
Homestyle Protein Waffles
The Homestyle Protein Waffles were our combined favorite by far, which we gave an almost perfect rating. These were easy to eat and tasted the most like the frozen waffles we grew up eating, and were pleasantly crispy on the outside and soft in the center. They’re a little darker than the neon-yellow frozen waffles you might be used to but tasted just as good. (Chanel even thought she picked up a hint of coconut with these!)
Blueberry Protein Waffles
Next up were the Blueberry Protein Waffles, which were our least favorite. The blueberry flavor didn’t exactly come through in spades here — in fact, April felt that she couldn’t even taste blueberries at all. Our combined rating was two stars, mostly because we felt there wasn’t enough blueberry flavor. However, they were similar to the Homestyle waffles, so if plain is what you’re looking for, these might be for you.
Chocolate Chip Protein Waffles:
Last up were the Chocolate Chip Protein Waffles, which were our second favorite of the three. While these weren’t the most chocolatey waffles we’ve ever had, the flavor came through a lot more than the Blueberry ones, and even for someone like myself who doesn’t like chocolate (I know, I know: How could anyone not like chocolate?), I found them pretty tasty and not overly sweet. Plus, with the addition of some syrup and chocolate chips from a bag, a stack of these could make a pretty solid — and protein-packed — dessert-for-breakfast situation.
Good to Know: These took a touch longer in the toaster oven than the package instructions suggested, but that probably has to do more with individual ovens than anything else. Our advice? Err on the side of under-toasting them while you dial your time and temperature in, because you can always toss them back in to finish crisping — but you can’t unburn a charred waffle.
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Ian Burke
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The Double-Duty OXO Tool That’ll Guarantee Perfect Baked Goods Every Time
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Baking can provoke a rollercoaster of emotions. After all, creating a delicious pastry from scratch isn’t all rainbows and sprinkles. The truth is that baking is all about precise measurements. If you’ve ever found yourself elbow-deep in your kitchen drawers or flipping through flour-dusted books to decode unit conversions and ingredient swaps, you know what I’m talking about — real kitchen drama. But there’s a solution to this culinary stress that will make a big difference: a food-safe mat that’s essentially a baking cheat code. No more hunting for measurements! The OXO Silicone Pastry Mat has unit conversions, helpful ingredient swap tips, and a built-in ruler border. Imagine baking sweet treats while being able to embrace the simplicity of the process? This mat will make baking your new favorite hobby (if not already). A piece of cake, if you will.
What Is the OXO Silicone Pastry Mat?
This silicone pastry mat protects countertops from spills and provides key information for baking. The non-slip, food-safe silicone stays in place and is nonstick, so food slides right off it. From diameter outlines to unit conversions, and even helpful tips for ingredient substitutes and a border that acts as a ruler, there’s no need to get any screens or books dirty looking up the information you need while baking. The mat even has guidelines to help you roll dough to the perfect size for pies and personal pizzas. It’s a must-have buddy for baking — and the best part is you can throw it in the dishwasher for easy cleanup.
What OXO Reviewers Are Saying
Priced at $24.99, the OXO Silicone Pastry Baking Mat is a dual-purpose kitchen essential that protects countertops and serves as a convenient baking cheat sheet! It’s made from non-slip, food-safe silicone that releases food smoothly thanks to its nonstick surface. With helpful features like dough diameter outlines and unit conversions, this mat simplifies baking at an affordable price.
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Haley Lyndes
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