Best of 2021: Our Most Popular Articles This Year
Our goal at Epicurious isn't just to publish recipes—though we do spend a lot of our time in the kitchen. We're also here to share cooking knowledge, helping readers more deeply understand cooking techniques, ingredients, and the context of every food we eat. Some of our best articles dive into the history surrounding an essential food; others dig into the science of the meal that's on your plate. In this list, you'll find all of our most popular articles from the past year, including a feature on the surprising behavior of baking soda, one on the best path to crispy waffles, and another that reveals the ingredient you need to make blueberries taste, well, blueberrier. We hope you'll pull up a chair and catch up on any stories you missed.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton1/29How Baking Soda Really Works
You probably know baking soda as the stuff that gives your cakes, cookies, and quick breads their lofty rise. But the chemistry of this common pantry ingredient means it can do much more—helping to tame acidity in tomato soup and speed up the softening process of dried beans. Epi contributor Mari Uyehara looks deeper at what that orange box can do.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Pearl Jones2/29Break Up With Your Toaster, Pan-Fry Your Bread Instead
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne3/29Nanaimo Bars, the Essential No-Bake Canadian Christmas Treat
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton4/29This Crispy, Melty, Fresh, and Spicy Sandwich Is the G.O.A.T.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou6/29Learn the Small Cake Equation and Make Every Cake a 6-Inch Cake
7/29The Epicurious Interactive Cocktail Cabinet
Not sure what to drink tonight? Find your new signature cocktail by clicking on up to three ingredients in this interactive liquor cabinet. Have a bottle of gin and a lemon? Some whiskey and sweet vermouth? We have cocktail recipes for that and every other combination—all you have to do is click, then scroll down, to find them.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich8/29When It Comes to Curd, Lemons Are Just the Beginning
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell10/29Your Grilled Cheese Sandwich Needs Chakalaka
Photo & Prop Styling by Joseph De Leo11/297 Kitchen Tools You Don't Need (and What You Should Use Instead)
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell13/29The Best Rice Cookers of 2021: Tested & Reviewed
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou. Cast iron pan courtesy of Field Company.14/29How to Roast a Chicken in As Little As 18 Minutes
