#flavor-pairings

#flavor-pairings

In our collective minds, pepperoni has only ever been a pizza topping. For so long now, it's been infinitely tethered to molten cheese, blistered crust, and greasy fingers, so much so that we forget there are still many creative ways to use pepperoni beyond pizza. At times, it even shows up in dishes you least expect. At 7 in the morning, amidst the repetitive spin of cooking up yet another omelet, this American salami is the surprising twist that makes breakfast a whole lot better.

Sure, the extravagant chocolate shavings, toasted marshmallows, and candy pieces found in souped-up hot chocolate does make for a pretty good cup of cocoa, but the drink is best when you elevate the base ingredients. Using the right kind of cocoa powder, opting for milk over water - and the type of milk you choose - can produce a stellar outcome. For your next batch of hot chocolate, use condensed milk for the richest results.

If throwing out leftovers is your pet peeve, repurposing them always feels triumphant. So if you have made a little too much tea, you don't have to pour it down the drain in defeat. It turns out that there are many ways to use extra brewed tea, and one such way is to incorporate it into your next mason jar of overnight oats.

It's been called the greatest sandwich in the world. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato, the BLT, melds freshness with fat, crunch with softness, and saltiness with sweetness and umami, creating a flavor and texture combination that's hard to beat. The exact origins are lost to history, because the sandwich's simple ingredients were common, but people have been enjoying it for well over a century.

When we think of a pickle, 99% of the time we conjure an image of a brined cucumber. But the technique of pickling is a dark horse in the kitchen, a method to bring new flavors and textures into otherwise one-note foods. Fruits can pop with sweet and sour complexity, overlooked vegetables can transform into crunchy snack heroes and proteins can take on another level of umami-packed flavor. Pickling isn't just preservation - it's creativity in a jar.

Melted ice cream brings rich flavors and a thick, creamy texture, making it a game-changing cocktail ingredient. It'll add sweetness and body to everything from boozy milkshakes to reimagined classics. Here's a simple rule of thumb to get you started: Whenever a cocktail recipe calls for heavy cream, try swapping in some melted ice cream instead. After all, melted vanilla ice cream is basically a crème anglaise - a combination of heavy cream, vanilla, and egg yolks.