Taste Test – FoodWatcher

My Family Tried All 7 ‘Stranger Things’ Ice Creams—These Are the Best & Worst Flavors

For all of its suspense and campy horror, Stranger Things, at its core, is really just a nostalgic, guilty pleasure. My (very young) Gen Z kids binge it for the gang of children keeping Hawkins, Ind. safe from a Cold War experiment gone deeply wrong, a…

For all of its suspense and campy horror, Stranger Things, at its core, is really just a nostalgic, guilty pleasure. My (very young) Gen Z kids binge it for the gang of children keeping Hawkins, Ind. safe from a Cold War experiment gone deeply wrong, and I watch it for the pre-iPhone, Goonies-like shenanigans—and Winona, of course.

Now, the surreal show has found its footing in the real world, in the form of an ice cream line named after the Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor in Season 3. The Netflix-owned brand is only sold through Walmart, though, so this may be a limiting factor.

The Best Sparkling Water Brands (Trust Us, We Tried Them All)

This summer, I asked Amanda Sims if she wanted something at the grocery store: “San Pellegrino,” she specified: “Not Perrier.”

I found her predilection to be quirky until I realized that loyalty to sparkling water beverages runs far deeper than just a…

This summer, I asked Amanda Sims if she wanted something at the grocery store: "San Pellegrino," she specified: "Not Perrier."

I found her predilection to be quirky until I realized that loyalty to sparkling water beverages runs far deeper than just a fizzy way for staying hydrated.

The Best Butter for Baking Comes From a Surprising Place

Our test kitchen goes through pounds and pounds (and pounds) of butter every week. Maybe it’s for sautéeing kale, mashing potatoes, or scrambling eggs. But, most often, it’s for baking.

I don’t need to tell you that unsalted butter is the default for …

Our test kitchen goes through pounds and pounds (and pounds) of butter every week. Maybe it’s for sautéeing kale, mashing potatoes, or scrambling eggs. But, most often, it’s for baking.

I don’t need to tell you that unsalted butter is the default for baked goods, from chocolate chip cookies to pound cakes to pie crusts. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in your baked goods (especially since the salt content in salted butter varies, so it’s hard to know exactly how much you’re adding). The more nitty-gritty—and less talked about—distinction is American-style versus European-style.

How I Enjoyed Eating When I Lost My Sense of Smell & Taste

When I caught the coronavirus in December 2020, I was fortunate to experience only mild symptoms (which I combated with bed rest, Tylenol, and plenty of fluids). Unfortunately, by day eight, my sense of smell and taste went from normal to nothing—in a matter of hours. What was initially an inconvenience swiftly became a powerful experience that now influences the way I live and work.

I am a food stylist: On a daily basis, I source groceries, prepare recipes, and arrange food on set for magazines, websites, cookbooks, and advertising. Thankfully, the food’s appearance on camera tends to be more important than taste in this profession, but my palate is still important to my work.

We Tried 17 Dark Chocolate Brands to Find Our Snack Soulmate

Director of Content Brinda Ayer and I share a filing cabinet, which is to say, we share snacks: crackers, halva, popcorn, and, most importantly, dark chocolate. There are few things—coffee included—more reliable to pull me out of a 2 p.m. slump.

So, i…

So, in the name of ~~selfishness~~ research, we decided that a taste test was in order: Whenever we’re in need of a restock, which brands of dark chocolate bars should we seek out? I went to five supermarkets and bought every dark chocolate I could find in the 70 percent to 85 percent cacao range, which totaled at 17 brands. Chunky mix-ins, like nuts and dried fruit, were a disqualifier, but salt was okay if the brand insisted upon it.

The Absolute Best Ways to Cook a Chicken Breast, According to 28 Tests

In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She’s seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall, tasted enough stuffing for 10 Thanksgivings, and mashed so many potatoes she may ne…

In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall, tasted enough stuffing for 10 Thanksgivings, and mashed so many potatoes she may never mash one again. Today, she tackles the chicken breast.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts have a weird rap.