Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2021 från Popular Science

Beginner The Fiskars Summit 8-inch Chef Knife sports a molded handle that ensures your thumb and forefinger “pinch” the blade for precise slicing. The molded grip provides superior leverage—crucial for cutting large vegetables like squash. Intermediate A stamped stainless-steel blade makes the Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife lighter than big-ticket forged implements. The rustproof metal has a high carbon content, so its razorlike edge remains keen and rarely needs sharpening. Advanced Wusthof’s 8-inch Classic Ikon Chef’s Knife has a full-length tang—the portion of the blade within the handle—for excellent balance and durability. Laser-guided honing creates a fine edge, but the tool will require periodic swipes across a whetstone to maintain it.…

MORE AMERICANS are trying weed than ever before. A 2021 Gallup poll found that 49 percent of US adults said they had imbibed—a 9-point jump over 2015, and more than double those who’d copped to partaking in the 1970s. Helping them along is a menu of infused treats expanding in lockstep with legalization: broad-spectrum extra-virgin olive oil, sugar-dusted gumdrops, hand-poured chocolates, sparkling “social tonics,” and so-called adaptogenic teas—stirred with a straw of bud-infused raw honey, of course. It’s not just the foods that are delicious. Cannabis flowers themselves can boast aromas of lemon icing, pine needles, grape soda, or even, in a favorite of seasoned stoners, gasoline. These widely varying scents largely come courtesy of terpenes. The volatile hydrocarbon chains show up all over the plant kingdom, and experts have identified…

BORED BY the uniform tastes born of modern industrialized farming, food historians, small-farm growers, and curious gourmands are resurrecting forgotten eats—once-famous crops ready for a second act. Their efforts represent a clarion call to embrace bites with flavors as rich as their backstories. Here are a few long-gone bites making delicious comebacks. COCKE’S PROLIFIC WHITE DENT CORN Cocke’s Prolific white dent corn scarcely resembles the sweet yellow cobs that line produce aisles and markets. The grain gets its name from the shape of its kernels: shrunken, with a dimple at the top. The taste, according to culinary historian David S. Shields, is singular. “Very good,” he says, with a “flinty wholesomeness”—especially when used to whip up grits or spoonbread. “So light, so buttery, so quick to disappear.” Its story begins in…

THERE’S NO SHAME in eating leftover pizza straight from the fridge, but the best way to enjoy that yummy triangle is to warm it. Over time, moisture from the sauce and fat from the cheese seep into the crust, creating something connoisseurs call the gum line—a gooey layer that resembles raw dough. Cooking a cold slice restores some of the chewy, melty goodness of a fresh pie. That is, if you use the right approach. Zapping that za in the microwave will create greasy rubber. Instead, place a nonstick skillet over a medium-low burner and add your snack for two minutes. Then sprinkle no more than a teaspoon of water at the edge of the pan, cover, and keep it over low for another 60 seconds. Bellissimo! The combination of…

MOST PEOPLE know sourdough bread requires a yeasty, living starter—a bacteria-fueled compound that you need to keep alive and thriving for at least five days before baking with it. But what folks may not know is that you can cheat the process by using store-bought yogurt. This time- and labor-saving solution works because the key to a good sourdough is a healthy supply of living microorganisms feasting on sugars within the mix. These minuscule life-forms—which are also present in fermented milk—produce not only the carbon dioxide that helps the loaf rise but also the tangy acids that give the bread its namesake flavor. You’re most likely to see these bacteria on yogurt labels as S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus, though those are just two of the many types of lactobacillales, a…

THERE’S A REASON oranges grow in Florida and maple trees flourish in Vermont, not vice versa. Every delicious morsel on your plate comes from a locale perfectly suited to producing it. But the climate crisis is scrambling these sensitive environments. Extreme weather, rising temperatures, and withering drought threaten harvests and make many foods harder and costlier to cultivate. These charts show how the next century of planetary warming will change six of our dietary staples.  Proximity to a wildfire can contaminate vineyards with “smoke taint” and give grapes a campfire taste, ruining an entire harvest. This emerging problem could become devastating as blazes encroach on the vino-producing regions of California and Australia. The average cow munches 24 pounds of grass daily, but drought will dessicate the Southwest. Ranchers may have…

For perfect pancakes The BK Black Carbon Steel Skillet offers the same consistent heating, nonstick properties, and durability as cast iron. But at just 2 mm thick, it’s light enough for flippin’ flapjacks. For scrambled eggs Fluffy eggs demand constant movement. The anodized aluminum in Calphalon’s Premier Space Saving Fry Pan can withstand vigorous contact with whisks and spatulas. For flaky fish Mauviel’s Copper M’150 B Fry Pan has a 1.5 mm copper base that ensures precise heat control, making it easy to dial back the temp if you’re about to scorch delicate seafood. For buttery mussels All-Clad’s D3 Stainless 3-Ply Bonded Cookware comes to temp in a hurry, but its surface won’t break down under the acidic ingredients shellfish love, like tomatoes and wine. For smash burgers At a…

Whiskey Free Spirits’ Spirit of Bourbon mixes the distilled essences of white oak and juniper berries, then colors the beverage with fruit and vegetable juices. The toasted, woody flavor is perfect for an old fashioned. Tequila Sweet blue agave, Mexican limes, and guava come together in Ritual’s Zero Proof Tequila Alternative. It’s just the thing for an authentic mock margarita. The smoky finish even complements the salt on the glass. Flavored vodka Allspice, oak, cardamom, and the aromatic bark cascarilla give Seedlip’s Spice 94 a sharp yet pleasant bite, while grapefruit and lemon provide a bright finish. Try it with tonic or mix it with ginger ale for a punchy highball. Triple sec Dhōs Orange combines the distillates of navel and Curaçao oranges with a bit of tangerine to create…

A MICROWAVE OVEN is great for warming leftovers or making popcorn, but that electromagnetic box can do so much more. You wouldn’t want to cook a holiday feast in one, but time-strapped gourmets will appreciate these efficiency-boosting tricks. 1 / JUICIER CITRUS Zap whole fruit for 20 seconds before squeezing it. The heat softens the fibrous membranes and cells holding the juice, releasing more tangy goodness. 2 / NO-CRY ONIONS Nuke each bulb for 45 seconds before slicing it. Warming it breaks down the sulfur derivatives that irritate your eyeballs, minimizing the sobbing so you can focus on dinner. 3 / DRIED HERBS Place four or five sprigs of your favorite aromatic between two paper towels and blast on high for two minutes. If they aren’t fully desiccated, hit them…

A PLATE of fried chicken or a sundae can evoke feelings of comfort and delight. Honing your ability to detect and identify smells and flavors, which are closely intertwined, can boost those emotions. These simple tricks from sommeliers and coffee roasters also improve sensory skills dulled by allergens or illness, making every meal more enjoyable. Olfactory stimuli account for as much as 80 percent of what you experience while eating, so focus on training your nose. Take time every day to bask in the odors around you, then describe them in a journal. Writing about the experience turns it into a memory you can draw on to understand and appreciate how things smell and taste. Expand that catalog of smells with essential oils like lavender. Close your eyes, take short…

  HUMANS ARE BORN with a love of sugar, but everything else is an acquired taste. As a result, your dietary preferences are largely the product of what you’ve been exposed to. Still, there are some seemingly universal principles of deliciousness: A balance of contrasting flavors makes for yummier food, and ingredients that share similar aromatic undertones can create more subtle, interesting notes—aroma is, after all, responsible for most of what we call flavor. Guiding concepts like these explain why some dishes pop and others flop. Chefs use them to create exquisite meals, but the same rules can elevate even a humble hamburger patty to a thing of beauty. Balancing tastes in a dish makes it shine. Umami from the burger patty offers a counterpoint to the saltiness of its…

MODERN CANDY AISLES contain a seemingly endless variety of classic and limited-edition flavor combinations to tempt your taste buds. Alongside fan-favorite concoctions (chocolate and peanut butter! cookies and cream!), sweets companies are shelling out off-the-wall offerings at a clip that feels like the result of a corporate sugar rush. Trend forecasters and market researchers tip off these bigwig confectioners with ideas for delectable new treats. But making a product is more complicated than just throwing some chili oil or BBQ seasoning into the production line. Turning those delicious daydreams into sugary realities falls to food scientists like Daniele Bwamba. A candy researcher at The Hershey Company in Pennsylvania, the shop that supplies some 45 percent of the nation’s chocolate, she experiments with tastes and colors to craft new varieties, including…

CONSIDER THE MUSHROOM. Whether it’s a squat button or a broad portobello, many people would rather skip a meal than chow down on spongy fungi. Others may like ’shrooms just fine, but recoil at the slippery innards of a fresh tomato. What these foods share is that a hater’s dislike is rooted in texture. “What I noticed and also learned by talking to chefs is that most complaints about food are about texture,” says Ole Mouritsen, a professor of gastrophysics at the University of Copenhagen. People may grumble that a dish has too little or too much salt, he notes, but that’s generally where discussions of taste end. It’s more typical for diners to bemoan that a piece of meat isn’t as tender as they’d hoped, or that their fries…

TOO MUCH of one ingredient can turn a dish into a catastrophe. You can bring flavors back into balance by adding more of something else—water, broth, carrots, potatoes, or whatever a recipe calls for. But for a little more finesse, focus your attack. TOO SPICY Capsaicin is the chemical that burns your mouth when you eat hot peppers. But it is weak—for example, casein, a milk protein, can surround the compound and wash it away. Dodge a brutal shot of spice by adding dairy. Acid, sugar, or nut butter will work too. TOO SWEET Glazed chicken shouldn’t taste like it’s been dipped in caramel. Just as sweetness can knock back spice, a bit of a kick, like a few drops of your favorite hot sauce, can save you here. Just…

IF YOU WANT to experience the joy of a ripe tomato or fresh peach year-round, try canning. It isn’t difficult, but it does require scrupulous care because produce can carry Clostridium botulinum, a potentially deadly bacteria that’s odorless, colorless, and flavorless in liquid. To avoid introducing it to your bounty, follow a reliable recipe—the US Department of Agriculture offers them for everything from apples to zucchini—and these steps for sanitizing and sealing your jars. Time: 1.5 hours, plus 12–24 hours’ wait time Cost: Approximately $100 Difficulty: Moderate Materials: Mason jars with bands Stockpot with lid Canning rack Jar lifter Spatula STEP 1 Place clean jars on the rack in your pot and submerge them in water. Boil for 10 minutes, adding 60 seconds for each 1,000-foot increase in elevation. STEP…

PUTTING ASIDE snacks best served frigid—ice cream, anyone?—fresh food generally beats stuff from the icebox. Still, with surges in megastores, online shopping, and specialized diets, we’re downing more frozen shrimp, pizzas, meals, and ingredients than ever. In 2020, US freezer aisle sales grew 20 percent, and forecasters predict more momentum over the next five years. Despite our appetite for Tater Tots, extreme cold takes its toll: Ice creates crystals that rupture cell walls, leaking nutrients and flavor and ruining texture. The slower the chill sets in, the larger the crystals and the worse the outcome. Such was the case before the 1920s, when biologist Clarence Birdseye (yes, the same as Birds Eye) offered up a technique inspired by the Inuit of Labrador. On an expedition, he had seen fish freeze solid…