Product Review

A Year in Our Test Kitchen

This volume represents the best of the best from America’s most famous test kitchen. Every year, our editors and cooks develop nearly 1,000 recipes for our magazines, books, and public television show. The Best of America’s Test Kitchen contains our absolute favorite recipes from the past year. Come share our successes (and learn about some interesting failures) in this book packed with step-by-step photographs, opinionated equipment and ingredient recommendations, and common-sense information that will make you a better cook. Following are just a few things we learned in our test kitchen this year.

A "PUDDING" MIXTURE MAKES THE MOISTEST CAKE. For a layer cake that’s extra-chocolaty and super-moist, add a homemade pudding mix (unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, and sugar cooked with a little water) to the batter.

YES, YOU CAN BUY A DECENT inexpensive STEAK. Our expert tasters sampled 12 inexpensive supermarket cuts and found two that can rival any fancy steak.

GELATIN IS THE SECRET TO GREAT MEAT LOAF. Forget about buying three kinds of ground meat. You can use only beef—and get tender results—by adding a pinch of gelatin.

Sometimes the Cheaper Pan Is The Best Option. Our equipment testers set out to compile a list of must-have pots and pans for any kitchen and in the process learned that the high-priced brands are not always the best.

You’ll find many other equipment tests throughout the book, on everything from hand blenders and deep fryers to vegetable peelers and meat pounders.

For the best chicken ever, poke holes in the skin (so fat can escape) and rub the bird with cornstarch. The result is an extra-crisp coating that’s almost crunchy.