Hearing the words, “Your ice cream reminds me of when we ate ice cream at my mother’s funeral” would wipe the smile from most cooks’ faces. But for Nashville ice cream maker Lokelani Alabanza, this reaction from a customer was the ultimate compliment. Alabanza is a storyteller who mines Black history and cooking for inspiration, translating her discoveries into the language of sugar and ice, and triggering such profound emotions is the whole point.
The American Ingredient Dorie Greenspan Brought to Paris for 13 Years
In 1998, baking guru Dorie Greenspan was working with famed French pastry chef Pierre Hermé on his first cookbook to be published in English, Desserts by Pierre Hermé. Among the oh-so-French lemony crepes and pear-chocolate tarts, Hermé penned a recipe…
In 1998, baking guru Dorie Greenspan was working with famed French pastry chef Pierre Hermé on his first cookbook to be published in English, Desserts by Pierre Hermé. Among the oh-so-French lemony crepes and pear-chocolate tarts, Hermé penned a recipe for a chewy, streusel-topped almond cake with cherries and mousse featuring a tangy, decidedly American ingredient: cream cheese. He called it “Philadelphia almond cake,” because—for most French people to this day—cream cheese is synonymous with the well-known Kraft brand name.
“He knew about American cream cheese having traveled here, so he wanted to make something with it for the book,” Greenspan recalls to me in a recent interview.
21 Stories About the Strongest Women We Know
Today is International Woman’s Day, and the food industry, like most others, is rife with various -isms that can make it especially difficult for women to succeed. As a female-founded media company, we’re committed to covering the stories of women who’…
Today is International Woman’s Day, and the food industry, like most others, is rife with various -isms that can make it especially difficult for women to succeed. As a female-founded media company, we’re committed to covering the stories of women who’ve succeeded in the culinary world, past and present.
For some of these women, history has been unkind to their memory—only now is the world rediscovering what they gave us. Others are highly visible, with names you’ve probably heard, yet their stories, too, are more textured than often recounted. In the coming years, we’ll continue working to tell these stories. There are still so many waiting to be heard. But here are some.
The Brilliant Life of B. Smith, Culinary Icon & Entrepreneur
Earlier this week the trailblazing B. Smith, lifestyle entrepreneur, restaurant owner, TV personality, and former model died after a yearlong struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
The news of her departure arrived via Facebook, where her husband, Dan Gas…
Earlier this week the trailblazing B. Smith, lifestyle entrepreneur, restaurant owner, TV personality, and former model died after a yearlong struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
The news of her departure arrived via Facebook, where her husband, Dan Gasby, announced to her fans and friends her passing. “Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.'s dazzling and unforgettable smile,” he wrote. Her full name was Barbara Elaine Smith.
How Frieda Caplan, the ‘Kiwi Queen’ of California, Changed the Way We Eat
Take this recipe for minced beef and bean sprouts. Or perhaps this one, which pairs shiitake mushrooms with silky braised eggplants. Consider, even, this sweet and simple loaf speckled with slices of zippy kiwi.
These recipes owe their popularity larg…
Take this recipe for minced beef and bean sprouts. Or perhaps this one, which pairs shiitake mushrooms with silky braised eggplants. Consider, even, this sweet and simple loaf speckled with slices of zippy kiwi.
These recipes owe their popularity largely to the pioneering work of Frieda Caplan, a dynamite saleswoman, who rose to the top of the produce business with her company, Frieda’s Specialty Produce. Her life's work would change the way we eat forever.
She Invented Banana Ketchup & Saved Thousands of Lives. Why Have We Never Heard of Her?
I’ve seen the look on my friends’ faces when the words banana ketchup are uttered. Confusion, maybe even disgust. How can two things with such different flavor profiles exist in one product? Despite its seeming incongruity, banana ketchup is a pantry s…
I’ve seen the look on my friends’ faces when the words banana ketchup are uttered. Confusion, maybe even disgust. How can two things with such different flavor profiles exist in one product? Despite its seeming incongruity, banana ketchup is a pantry staple that rings nostalgic to many Filipinos all over the world.
Magdalo V. Francisco, Sr. is credited with mass-producing banana ketchup in 1942, thus making it a fixture in the Filipino household. To this day it’s used as a condiment that accompanies many popular dishes such as tortang talong (an eggplant omelet), fried chicken, Filipino spaghetti (pasta with banana ketchup and sliced hot dogs), as well as a sauce for hamburgers.