{"id":42272,"date":"2024-06-17T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=42272"},"modified":"2024-06-10T13:17:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T20:17:48","slug":"strange-foods-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/strange-foods-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Strange Foods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Once a week we\u2019ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because\u00a0the possibilities they inspire are new.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The magazine for cooking nerds<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cook\u2019s Illustrated<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technical aspects of cooking are usually overlooked. Kitchen gear is addressed by most publications, if at all, when it is fancy and untried. This paper magazine, however, tests equipment, gadgets, and recipes \u2014 new and old \u2014 in a relentless quest for the best kitchen stuff. Cook\u2019s Illustrated<\/em> is at liberty to be honest in their recommendations because they have no ads \u2014 no one to please but avid readers. The tests are amazingly thorough, and astoundingly informative. They examine everything from basic ingredients (sea salt, bread flour, olive oil) to high-end equipment (what is the best mixer?), as well as state-of-the-art in standard instruments like garlic presses, frying pans, oven thermometers, etc. I find their comparison methods to be more realistic and far more useful than Consumer Reports<\/em>; and, of course, they evaluate far more items than CR ever would. They also obsessively taste-test popular recipes in hundreds of variations, and research the mysteries behind each ingredient. I learn tons each issue \u2014 about foodstuffs, about cooking, and about eating. Best of all, these folks make it very clear when a new tool or technique is not worth the trouble, and how you could manage with an old version. Unlike most magazines, back issues don\u2019t age. You can also get online versions. And recently they\u2019ve launched video and TV episodes. Their \u201cBest of\u201d compilations are well-used in our kitchens. \u2014 KK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What other people eat<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Strange Foods<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People (collectively) will eat anything. But one mans\u2019 meat is another man\u2019s ugh. This color-rich volume features the strangest (to us) foods served in the world. It highlights two global trends: a hunger for increasingly exotic foods, and the worrisome increase in hunting bush meat from endangered and rare animals \u2013 at crisis levels in parts of Africa and Asia. Nonetheless, the full variety of things-humans-eat, in all their strangeness, are captured in fine photography and readable history here. The author also provides sources and recipes for farm-raised exotic foods and meats. This guy, at least, has tried everything. \u2014 KK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n