Sarah 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).
Sarah M. Vazquez
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Number 13 is “pure sunshine to the square inch.”
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Mackenzie Filson
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With spring cleaning underway, sometimes all you need to feel refreshed in your space is replacing a few of those old items with some new and improved pieces. Whether it’s some new storage containers, a sleek wooden candle, or adding a new appliance to your collection that will make cooking simpler, a few upgrades may give you that inspiration you need in the kitchen. And let’s face it, we all need some extra motivation every once in a while.
Target always has some great home decor and kitchenware finds with inexpensive price tags, especially at their Bullseye Playground (formerly known as the Target Dollar Spot). The section, typically found at the front of the store, features curated seasonal products for under $5.
Fans of the store have taken to social media to share their favorite finds, including Instagram account @targetiseverything, who just shared some new products to add to your kitchen stash. However, we’re particularly intrigued by the newest measuring cups, retailing in both clear and pink. With their unique shape that’s wider on the bottom and narrower on the top, the cups feature a rim that is reminiscent of a mason jar, making the design a special addition to your kitchenware.
Users were excited to see if they could find the cup for themselves and were raving about the new release. “I need that measuring cup In my life,” wrote one commenter.
Unfortunately, as with all Bullseye Playground items, they are unavailable online so you’ll have to head over to your local Target to find them. However, if you do see them and are thinking of adding them to your cart, you may want to do that soon — these will be gone before you know it.
Emma Taubenfeld
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It went from “impersonal” to “welcoming.”
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Cullen Ormond
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Adding a few new pieces to your kitchen is an easy way to give your space a refresh without bringing in the professionals. And a budget retailer like Five Below allows us to do that in a way that is both inexpensive and on trend. With spring on the horizon, the retailer has been rolling out the warm weather decor that people just can’t seem to get enough of. If you loved the Glass Sipper Mugs, but are looking for something a tad more festive, an Instagram account found an adorable, yet functional, item that may be just what you’re looking for.
User @doingitondimes spotted three new glass cups featuring fruit designs like strawberries, cherries, and peaches. Each glass features a handle for your convenience, a silicone cover to protect your beverage from any outside grime, and a topper for the glass straw.
The cups are retailing for $5 each, but since the product isn’t available online, the actual dimensions are unclear. However, we believe it’s similar to the other Room to Room Glass Mug. Commenters were loving the find, so we imagine these will sell out quickly, and as with all seasonal products, they may not restock. So, if you are unable to find these at your local Five Below or they have already sold out, Amazon is selling a similar Strawberry Clear Glass Mug for at a slightly higher price point of $15.
Ideal for iced tea or coffee, juice, or lemonade, you’ll be sipping in style throughout the spring and summer — and for years to come. Also, if you have children, they will surely get a kick out of the adorable patterns. Plus, with both the silicone cover and the straw topper, you can prevent any accidental spills. However, the topper is small and can be pulled off which can be a choking hazard, so if you use this for your little ones, just make sure to keep an eye on them.
Buy: Clear Glass Mug with Lid and Straw, 15 Oz, $15
Emma Taubenfeld
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Many recipes, particularly if you’re baking, call for softened butter. While the debate of keeping butter in the refrigerator or out on the counter lives on, for those of us that feel more comfortable storing it in a cold place, the sticks tend to harden from the chilly temperature. I’m personally guilty of tossing butter into the microwave for a few seconds to soften it, but this tends to fully melt the butter. According to a new post by Instagram account @milkandcardamon, there’s an alternative that will soften your butter, without liquifying it entirely.
“Pro tip: Do NOT microwave butter to soften it for a recipe that calls for softened or room temperature butter,” writes the user in the post’s caption. “The microwave will melt your butter rather than soften it, and that affects how the cake will turn out!”
To soften the refrigerated butter, the Instagrammer pours boiling water into a tall glass and allows it to sit for five minutes. They then dump out the water and place the heated glass over the stick of butter and allow it to sit for an additional five minutes. The butter will soften to perfection without melting.
“Remember, you can’t cream sugar with melted butter,” the creator continues. “Creaming butter and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy is a basic step in a lot of baking recipes and it’s essential for a good bake. When sugar is beaten with softened butter, it provides aeration, leavening, volume, a tender texture (if you’ve made greasy dense cakes — melted butter could be why), flavor, and so much more! Melted butter will dissolve the sugar which will change the entire recipe and how it’ll look and turn out.”
Commenters were loving the tip and we can see why. If you need softened butter in a pinch, you may want to give this a try.
Emma Taubenfeld
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Take your weeknight meals up a notch.
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Morgan Pryor
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Whether or not you live in a major metropolitan area, buying your lunch every day can get pricey. For me, packing my lunch when I’m in the office is a more affordable — and often more nutritious — alternative to spending $50 at Taco Bell picking up a salad in downtown Manhattan. However, to make this work, I’ve gone through a slew of meal prep container options, from cheap-o “reusable” meal prep containers (read: You will never, ever get the stains out of these) to super high-quality ceramic and metal containers which I still use to this day. However, the latter two can be pricey, and while it’s a worthwhile investment, sets of expensive meal prep containers might not be a priority in many folks’ budgets. That’s why, when I heard that editor-favorite home and organization brand Yamazaki Home dropped affordable and stylish bento boxes, I had to give them a try. Lo and behold, these lightweight, easy-to-pack bentos are my new favorite meal prep gadgets.
These chic yet practical bento boxes (available in rectangular and square versions) are meal prep superheroes — besides being sleek, freezable, microwavable, and dishwasher-safe, these easy-to-clean containers have vacuum-sealing valves with a silicone lining to prevent spills, lock in freshness, and keep your lunch or leftovers in tip-top shape. You can use them to pack your daily work or school meals or grab a bunch of them to bring some order to your current refrigerator leftover situation. They also feature removable dividers to keep your food separated, which you can move within the bento boxes to create space for whatever you’re packing.
Since I pack my lunch when I’m in the office — buying lunch in SoHo every day isn’t easy on the wallet — I’m always on the hunt for lightweight, easy-to-pack meal prep containers that won’t leak. I’ve found a bunch of high-quality options on the market, and the Yamazaki Vacuum-Sealing Bento Boxes are among the best in the game, in my opinion. The vacuum-sealing function is unique and effective, and I don’t worry about the bentos opening up in my lunchbox when I’m commuting.
Personally, I use the square bento as a snack/side dish container and the rectangular bento as a box to hold my main. Each box is great on its own, but snagging both gives you the perfect size for say, a cup of rice, some chicken, and a side of veggies. (Or you could just pack them both full of Thin Mints and call it a day.)
Ian Burke
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In the depths of winter, few things are better than a massive, comforting bowl of soup for dinner. The huge variety of canned soups gives me so many options, but I always feel like there’s a certain amount of stretching or embellishing I need to do to make even the heartiest of soups feel like a full meal.
I’ll often add some leftover rice, a stray carrot, a wilting zucchini, random beans, frozen corn, or that last handful of baby spinach to give the bowl a little more oomph. The one ingredient that always does the trick, though — pushing a can from cozy starter to satisfying entrée — is Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast.
True to the bag’s promise, Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast is skinless, boneless chicken breasts that come fully cooked and trimmed. Basically, they’re all prepped and ready for you to reheat. The white meat chicken, while tender, is less silky, and more firm than dark meat, so it stands up particularly well to being warmed up in soup (more on that below).
The chicken is also neutral tasting, which makes it go well with nearly everything. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s flavorless — far from it. The meat is very lightly seasoned, with an unmistakable chicken-y flavor from being cooked in its own stock, broth, and fat. It doesn’t ever overshadow other ingredients; it simply registers as, “Oh, there’s chicken. Nice.”
The quality is also pretty consistent. No woody chicken breasts or spongy bites, which is not something I can say for other products and certain store-bought rotisserie chickens. While there are sometimes veins or errant bits of fat in the coarsely chopped cubes, the pieces are big enough for you to pick them out if you want (as I do).
I keep the diced chicken as is for heftier bites, or thaw them in the microwave just enough to cut into smaller pieces, which I’ll do from time to time depending on the soup. You can microwave the pieces all the way or, as I do, throw them directly in the pot with the soup, bringing it all to boil at the same time. Because they’re already fully cooked, I don’t worry about them toughening up like I would with poaching chicken or undercooking as I would if they were raw.
As the chicken warms directly in the pot, it’ll absorb the flavor of the soup (I recommend using a slow simmer to bring the soup to full heat). You can also bring it all to a rolling boil quickly if you want the roastiness of the chicken to stand out more.
I love adding this pre-cooked chicken to creamy soups, like chunky chipotle chicken corn chowder, because it turns the canned soup into something in between a sauce and a stew. This also works for creamy chicken and rice soup, which I can pour on a bed of steamed broccoli for a casserole shortcut.
It works great in medium-bodied soups, too. Supplemented Thai-style chicken and rice soup and hearty gumbo go on leftover rice to transform the two cheap, easy items into a big-bowl meal. It also complements vegetable-based soups, like garden vegetable, and adds protein to broccoli cheese soup. It breaks up the soft monotony of processed meatballs in Italian wedding soup or contrasts against the gentle give of beans in minestrone.
Finally, and most obviously, it adds nutrition and satisfaction to classic chicken noodle, chicken rice, and chicken and stars. Try adding some diced chicken to wonton, matzo ball, ramen, and egg drop soup, or whatever canned soup you like best. The opportunities are as bottomless as I can only wish my bowls were.
Buy: Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast, $8.97 for 22 ounces at Walmart
What frozen shortcut are you loving right now? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Su-Jit Lin
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Target has been slowly but surely revealing their spring home finds, and they have truly outdone themselves. Shoppers have been raving over the beloved Bunny Paw Marshmallows and the adorable Easter Serving Tray, but now, according to Instagram account @targetiseverything, some new kitchenware has entered the market that may just turn into staples you can use all year round. If you’re in need of some new plates, these new finds have you covered.
One of our personal favorites is the Stoneware Floral Salad Plate and the Stoneware Floral Serving Platter for $4 and $15, respectively. Adorned with stunning flower designs around the rim, the white plate will look beautiful among any spread. Plus, they’re both dishwasher and microwave safe making for easy cleanup, reheating, and preparation. While these are perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, or any springtime meal, the design is simple, yet elegant, so you can certainly use these all year round.
Next, the Instagram account found these stunning Stoneware Dinner Plates in both blue and pink, each retailing for $4. The pastel coloring makes these a subtly alluring addition to your hosting table, ideal for an appetizer, main course, or even dessert. The scalloped rim also adds a unique design element that will elevate your kitchenware collection — and definitely get you a ton of compliments.
The user also showed off the Figural Bunny Serving Platter for $20 that will make the cutest base for your spring charcuterie board. Top with your favorite cheeses and meats or go for a springtime candy board full of chocolates, sour gummies, and pink-frosted cookies.
Lastly, the Instagram account found a sleek Bunny Salad Plate with a classic springtime image featuring a rabbit with some flowers. Both adults and children will get a kick out of these so you may want to grab a few so all your guests can get in on the fun.
With so many different plates to choose from, you can mix and match, but everything will still remain cohesive. You’ll want to head over to Target to grab a few before they’re gone.
Buy: 8″ Stoneware Floral Salad Plate, $4
Emma Taubenfeld
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If you can’t wait to start your fruit and vegetable garden for the season, World Market’s new strawberry-themed collection has your name written all over it. The Strawberry Figural Kitchenware Collection recently launched online with prices starting at $8.99 and everything is so cute.
In the meantime, the cutest of the bunch by far is the $9 strawberry mug because there’s just no limit to the number of mugs in our collection. World Market’s strawberry mug holds 17 ounces (that’s a lot of coffee!), and the hardy stoneware can stand up to the dishwasher and microwave, too. According to one happy shopper, the mug is “So beautiful and well made! I love anything strawberry and this gave me happiness in a cup 🍓😍.”
If the World Market strawberry mugs are out of stock by the time you’re ready to check out, Amazon has a similar mug for a few dollars more. The price difference might be worth the quick shipping and convenience for such an adorable addition to your mug collection.
We also can’t get enough of the strawberry-shaped measuring cups. They’re almost too cute to even use, and at just $17 for a set, they’re not too bad on the wallet either. They come in four different measurements (1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup) and each one has a little stem-shaped handle for convenience. The durable stoneware makes them safe for the dishwasher and microwave just like the mug, though we usually skip the former because a quick rinse is just easier. Best of all, the measuring cups nestle neatly within each other for storage — though we highly doubt you’ll want to hide them in your cabinets.
No matter which strawberry-themed accessory you grab though, be sure to do it quickly — a few of the items are already sold out, and we totally get why! To quote a happy shopper who got their hands on the whole collection: “I love the entire Hand Painted Strawberry Figural Collection. The colors are strong and vibrant, the material easy care, and the figural designs are beautiful. I have purchased the entire set.”
Buy: World Market Hand Painted Strawberry Figural Ceramic Mug, $8.99; A.F.N.A.L. Store Strawberry Ceramic Mug, $17.99; World Market Hand Painted Ceramic Strawberry Figural Measuring Cups, $16.99
Jada Wong
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Costco warehouses are full of fantastic products for amazing deals on bulk items including groceries, household essentials, and even clothing. However, some larger items like furniture and big appliances may not necessarily be found in physical stores as they are online, making it a challenge to know exactly what you’re buying when you’re buying it. Luckily, according to recent news, the giant is about to open a showroom solely dedicated to furniture and appliances — a concept we can certainly get behind.
Once a Toy R Us in Anchorage, Alaska, Costco is planning to open the doors to this new type of warehouse. Pending permits, according to Christine Lasley, a Costco director of real estate and development as reported in Anchorage Daily News, the showroom doesn’t have an official launch date just yet.
Lasley also told the publication that they are doing this to meet the needs of its members so people can see exactly what they’re going to buy. This is also intended to serve businesses who may need to purchase items in bulk.
Some long-time loyal members may also recall the brand testing a concept similar to this one in Kirkland, Washington, close to their Issaquah, Washington, headquarters. However, that location shut its doors in 2009.
A thread on Reddit has members speculating about the concept and attribute it to Alaska’s remoteness and its limited access to big ticket items. Others are excited to see if the idea will be successful and hope to see it expand to larger markets. While the future is unknown, if the showroom prospers, this could be a huge Costco game-changer, and we can only hope it will expand to the lower 48 — and Hawaii.
Emma Taubenfeld
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However, one of the downsides of Trader Joe’s is that products come and go faster than you may be able to drive to your local store. On the bright side, some fan-favorite items tend to make an exciting comeback from time to time. The most recent to land on the shelves once again are the French Chocolate Crepe Wafer Cookies for $2.99 per box, as spotted by Instagram account @traderjoestalia.
Rolled thin crispy wafers are dunked in a rich and creamy milk chocolate for a delicious cookie. Plus, these cookies are made from a supplier in France and they are smaller than you may think, with a serving size of six pieces for 150 calories. Unfortunately, they do contain milk and wheat so they are not suitable for our gluten-free and dairy-free friends.
There is even a Reddit thread dedicated to the treat with updates on when these come around. (They have disappeared and reappeared a handful of times over the past few years.)
“I may or may not have bought 4 boxes of these today,” wrote one Reddit user. “I really like these delicate things but it’s hard not to inhale the whole box,” wrote another commenter.
Another user also noted that sometimes these appear at Costco so you may be able to snag them there as well if you can’t find them at Trader Joe’s. A Trader Joe’s employee did indeed note that these usually disappear quickly so if you’re thinking of stocking up, now would be the time to do it.
Emma Taubenfeld
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Shoppers just can’t seem to get enough of the Stanley Quencher Tumbler. The 40-ounce reusable steel cup is insulated, keeping your drink of choice cold for hours, and has become somewhat of a statement piece with its abundance of colors, designs, and limited-edition drops. Some brands are even trying to mimic the tumbler’s success by crafting their own dupes of the viral product. While I can’t try to explain the trend, I’m here for an environmentally-friendly product that encourages people to drink more water!
But as with all reusable water bottles, it’s crucial to keep them clean — which is apparently harder than it sounds. Some TikTok creators (like @skysayingthings and @jenn_rupp) have taken to the app to share videos of the mold and mildew that has been collecting and hiding in their tumbler, despite cleaning out the bottle frequently. There was even a viral story of a young girl who caught a months-long “mystery illness” from mold growing in a similar-style water bottle. So, what gives? And why do these water bottles get so nasty?
I spoke with Becky Rapinchuk, cleaning expert, author, and founder of Clean Mama, and Melissa Maker, cleaning expert and founder of Clean My Space, to learn the best way to clean the cup, how often, and which household items will serve you best when cleaning.
“The best way to clean a Stanley is to clean it after each use,” explains Rapinchuk. “Make sure it’s not sitting under a car seat, in a bag, or backpack. If you’re washing it after each use, it’s not as likely to grow mildew.” The cleaning pros recommend following these steps when cleaning out your Stanley tumbler to avoid any bacteria build-up or chance of illness:
If you follow all of these steps every time you clean your Stanley tumbler (which should be at least once a week), odds are good you’ll avoid mildew, black mold, and any illness associated with what’s growing inside the lid components. You can’t beat the pure convenience of having a tumbler as exceptional as a Stanley, but while it’s important to stay hydrated, it’s just as crucial to keep your cup clean — for your own safety.
Emma Taubenfeld
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It “feels fancy and festive with minimal effort.”
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Lizzy Briskin
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Add 1 pound fresh or shelf-stable potato gnocchi (breaking the gnocchi apart if needed). Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is reduced slightly and thickened and the gnocchi is tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the Parmesan and spinach and stir until the cheese melts and the spinach wilts. Nestle the chicken into the gnocchi mixture (leave any accumulated juices on the plate). Garnish with the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme leaves and more black pepper, and serve with lemon wedges, if using.
Patty Catalano
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“When I design a kitchen, I like to coordinate the backsplash stone with the countertop — either keeping it the exact same or entirely different for contrast,” says Kristina Philips, founder of her namesake interior design firm in Ridgewood, New Jersey. In a recent kitchen she designed, she first chose a quartzite with plenty of movement for the island and a solid gray Pietra del Cardosa granite for the countertops, leading her to a calacatta marble subway tile in a herringbone pattern for the backsplash.” The result was balanced, encouraging the eye to dance around the space.
If you prefer a seamless, modern aesthetic, Philips recommends book-matching the edges — especially with a piece that has a lot of movement, to avoid it looking disjointed.
Quincy Bulin
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The competition for America’s favorite condiment remains contentious. For a lot of people — say, roughly 145 million Americans (or nearly half of the country!) — store-bought ranch dressing is way up at the top of that list. A few of them even work at The Kitchn. “I think ranch is the ultimate condiment,” says Cullen, our home associate editor. “It’s my desert island sauce.”
For those days we’d just rather not whisk together a quick ranch dressing, but still want some of that creamy, tangy, herby stuff for our salads, homemade pizza, wings, a veggie spread, you name it, store-bought is fine! But which store-bought bottle should you reach for on your next grocery run? The shelves are practically overflowing with options in both the fridge and pantry sections, after all.
Cullen and seven other absolute ranch stans were stoked to find the answer (although they were slightly less thrilled after discovering the sheer volume of entrants.)
For the purposes of this taste we focused on classic ranch dressing across three categories — refrigerated, shelf-stable, and vegan — and skipped the specialty flavors or variations. We sourced mostly name-brand dressings and from select store brands that are widely available throughout the country. Each one was priced between $3 and $8 per bottle (the bottles did vary in size slightly). To round out the list of contenders, we looked at old taste tests, recent sales data, and new launches.
After powering our way through a staggering 14 different ranch dressings, these are the bottles we’d recommend you *add to cart.*
The people at Marzetti are really onto something with this bottle. Out of the 14 ranch dressings we tasted, this one earned the highest score. (Five people also ranked it in their top three.) Tasters are drawn to the contrast between the “bright-white” dressing and the speckled spices and herbs. As Ola, our culinary assistant, says so brilliantly: “It’s giving ranch, baby!”
Buttermilk is second on the list of overwhelmingly simple ingredients (sandwiched right between soybean oil and distilled vinegar and egg yolk), and the likely reason why Marzetti Classic Ranch Dressing has a richness others lack and a noticeably creamy texture. “The flavors blend together nicely,” adds Ola. Other dressings in the group taste either too sweet, too tangy, or decidedly not ranch. Samantha, our social media manager and self-proclaimed ranch-lover, goes so far as to say, “This is the perfect ranch taste.”
In what many would deem a total upset, Kraft outperformed the OG ranch by one (!) point. On the whole, the shelf-stable ranch dressings are thicker and more “globby,” which is a very technical term from Brian, our director of people operations. Buttermilk appears a little later on Kraft’s list of ingredients, which also features more preservatives than its refrigerated friends (to protect freshness).
Still, it’s rich and creamy with a bright tang and the most classic ranch flavor. Brian also raves about the “well-balanced” herby flavor, as does Katie, our director of recruiting, who is also a fan of its “nice garlic flavor.” Although some found the tang a little too tangy, calling it “acidic.” While it doesn’t quite hit “queen” status for Samantha, she calls it a “good solid ranch,” which is still high praise. Two people even ranked Kraft Classic Ranch Salad Dressing as their overall fave.
As we mentioned, the competition in this category was tight. Like Kraft, two people ranked Hidden Valley Ranch Topping & Dressing as their number-one pick. Quinn, our lifestyle editor, even called it out by name, writing “Hidden Valley Vibes!” on her score sheet.
Many other tasters note the “quintessential ranch smell” and classic flavor, which is buttermilk-forward with lots of (pleasant) tang. Although some did find the “vinegary bite” a little overwhelming. It’s also super creamy. So creamy, in fact, Ola recommends using this in an equally iconic Cobb salad recipe.
This category was undeniably NOT close. Follow Your Heart runs away with the trophy, besting the other contenders by double digits. We mixed the vegan ranches amongst the two other categories, and this one outperformed nearly all the fridge and pantry options. (In our experience, that is not always the case!)
Follow Your Heart Vegan Ranch Dressing is made with Vegenaise, the brand’s egg-free mayo and a mix of apple cider vinegar, oils (olive, flaxseed, hemp seed), lemon juice, seasonings, and spices. It “smells really aromatic,” says Samantha and “the texture is quite nice,” adds Ola, although one found it a little gritty. While it’s not as thick as others in the taste test, it’s also “not too runny,” says Katie. Tasters like the balance between sweet and tangy, and a few even note a buttermilk-y flavor (although more herbs wouldn’t hurt). “It tastes like a more complex version of the standard stuff,” says Mara, our senior groceries editor
We held a blind taste test with 14 different bottles of ranch dressing across three categories — refrigerated, shelf-stable, and vegan — and recruited eight absolute ranch stans who work at The Kitchn (so you know they’re qualified) to participate in an epic afternoon of tasting.
Each ranch dressing was poured into small white or gray ceramic bowls by Maya, our studio assistant, and placed in larger ceramic bowls filled with ice to preserve freshness and obscure the refrigerated dressings from the shelf-stable and vegan ones. Each one was also assigned a letter to conceal the brands’ identities. Tasters were instructed to sample the dressings in random order, to avoid giving any one dressing preferential placement over the others. We also had baby carrots and water on hand for palate cleansing.
Tasters rated each of the ranch dressings on a scale of one to five (1 = No, thanks; 2 = Meh; 3 = Pretty good; 4 = Really like; 5 = Yes, Please!) across four criteria — look, smell, texture, and flavor — and included any specific observations, tasting notes, and general opinions worth mentioning. They were also asked to answer, arguably, the most important question of all: Would you buy this ranch dressing?
This was a blind taste test, which means tasters had no knowledge of the brands being evaluated ahead of or at the time of the tasting. It was held over one day and tasters were instructed to sample the ranch dressing in random order (to stave off palate fatigue and not give any one bar an unfair advantage). The group of tasters included a mix of food professionals and some very enthusiastic ranch dressing fans who work at The Kitchn. All participated in the taste test voluntarily, and we thank them for being so generous with their time and feedback.
Speaking of, each taster filled out a score sheet (without discussion or influence) ranking the ranch dressing across several criteria (listed above). The results were also tabulated without any visibility into the brands. Only after the numbers were finalized, did we reveal which brands corresponded to the winners.
Did your favorite ranch dressing make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Mara Weinraub
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Having good food storage containers for meal prep is critical for keeping your meals fresh and protecting them from outside grime. Not to mention, containers that are easily stackable will keep your fridge as organized and clutter-free as possible. So, if you need any justification to adding some more vessels to your collection, hopefully this does the trick.
Fortunately, Aldi is selling Crofton’s 12-Piece Glass Bowl Set with snapping lids that are both sleek in design and durable and functional. Each set includes six bowls of varying sizes with six matching lids. The snapping lids create a seal with airtight silicone gaskets that are leak-resistant, so you won’t have to worry about a mess after throwing these in your bag. Plus, the set even comes with a dry erase marker so you can label your containers.
Spotted in the store by Instagrammer @ohheyaldi, these containers, part of this week’s Aldi Finds drop, are sure to have shoppers running to the store.
Opting for glass containers is a more environmentally-friendly option to their plastic counterparts. They are easier to recycle when the time comes, and they also don’t absorb food odors quite like plastic does.
According to a Reddit thread, those who have tried the containers love them and admire how well they have held up over time.
“I love mine,” wrote one commenter. “I’ve had them for several years and they’re holding up fine. I do put both the bowls and the lids in the dishwasher, but if you want the lids to keep their shape and last longer you may want to hand wash them. I use the bowls in the microwave but not the lids. I have not tried freezing anything in them. I have even dropped them a few times and they haven’t broken or chipped.”
If you’re already sold, you can pick a set up in red or gray at your local Aldi for $14.99.
Emma Taubenfeld
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Cucumbers that turn slimy after just a few days in the fridge is an annoying and all-too-common problem. We’re often shopping before we know exactly what we want to make, and come lunchtime, when we finally want to use that forgotten little green veg, it can feel devastating when what’s staring back at you from the crisper drawer is sad and soggy. Which is what led us to test nine (!) different methods for storing cucumbers.
Spoiler: Exactly how you store your cucumber makes a huge difference. Luckily, we found the best way to keep them fresh for more than two weeks. Let’s dive into the details of this game-changing technique.
This tried-and-tested storage idea involves wrapping each cucumber individually in a paper towel, sealing them in a zip-top bag, and placing them on a fridge shelf. It’s simple, effective, and received a perfect 10/10 rating in our tests.
We tested four types of cucumbers: a traditional thick-skinned cucumber, an English cucumber, a Persian cucumber, and a pickling cucumber.
After eight days, there was some condensation forming inside the bag, but the cucumbers were in good condition. Fast forward to day 15 and a couple of cucumbers, specifically the traditional and pickling varieties, showed signs of soft spots at their ends. Surprisingly, the English and Persian cucumbers were still holding strong and remained crisp. By day 16, the traditional and pickling cucumbers had reached their limit, with soft spots and slimy texture. Yet the English and Persian cucumbers defied the odds and maintained their freshness for an impressive 19 days total!
So what’s the secret behind this method? It all comes down to moisture management. The paper towels act as moisture absorbers, preventing the cucumbers from becoming overly damp and slimy. Meanwhile, the sealed zip-top bag provides an extra layer of protection against moisture loss, prolonging the cucumbers’ shelf life significantly.
By wrapping your cucumbers in paper towels, sealing them in a zip-top bag, and storing them on a shelf in the fridge, you’ll enjoy crisp, fresh cucumbers for days on end.
Jan Valdez
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