Choosing Soup Ladles

On September 28, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn ToolsLeave a comment

I’ve put quite a bit of thought into recipes for a wide range of soups, but I didn’t think much about the tool I use to serve those soups until I tested 15 soup ladles for The Spruce Eats. It turns out that how comfortably and cleanly you scoop soup from a pot and pour it into a bowl depends mostly on the ladle shape, size, and material. The latter can be especially important if you have nonstick cookware. Size might be the key consideration if you make soup in a small saucepan or giant stockpot. And shape and other features can be crucial if you’re skimming fat, drizzling gravy, or pouring into an oversized mug or wide, flat bowl.

By testing so many ladles, I developed all sorts of opinions and ideal uses for various ladle shapes, sizes, and materials. I also made a lot of soups, many of which will be lunch and dinner staples now that cool weather is becoming the norm.
Learn about choosing and using soup ladles

Kitchen Favorites: Immersion Blender

On September 26, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools1 Comment

The tools I use in my tiny kitchen have to be more than functional: they have to earn their storage space by being small, powerful, multipurpose—or better yet, all three. In my latest piece for The Spruce Eats, I explain my love of one of my well-used kitchen gadgets, a Breville Control Grip immersion blender.

Since I became hooked on this immersion blender, I’ve retired my upright blender and rehomed my KitchenAid, both of which took up too much space. For a while, I didn’t even own a food processor, instead pushing my immersion blender to—and frankly beyond—its limits. It’s the tool I reach for when making fruit butter for canning, sorbet for freezing, fruit leather for dehydrating, or just simply soup for dinner.
Learn about choosing and using an immersion blender

Choosing Ice Cube Trays

On September 2, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Topic1 Comment

When The Spruce Eats asked me to test some top-selling ice cube trays, I had no hesitation saying “yes.” Besides using trays to freeze water into cubes, I rely on them for freezing a range of homemade sauces, syrups, pesto, and other recipes I make from homegrown produce and use in small servings throughout the year.

The website recently published my testing results and photos. I froze and used a lot of ice cubes for this project and even took several of the trays to a Twice as Tasty cocktail workshop for a wider range of feedback. Some of these trays have been in regular use all summer for far more than ice.
Learn choosing and using ice cube trays

Twice as Tasty Turns 5

On June 3, 2021June 2, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Canning, Cookbook, Event, Fermenting, Workshops9 Comments

It’s been 5 years since I began the Twice as Tasty blog, and what a journey it has been. What started as a fun hobby creating a series of recipes read by a handful of friends has led to a shift in my writing and editing business—and it’s growing every day.

Thanks for being part of the adventure. The more you read, the more I research ideas, share new recipes and techniques, and write on the blog and for other publications.
Read more about what’s new with Twice as Tasty

Flavorful Reductions

On May 27, 2021May 27, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Cooking a quick sauce or glaze in the same pan as your main ingredient soaks up concentrated flavor. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
As I wrap up my month of cookware testing, I’ve been stretching the limits of nonstick pans by using some of my favorite flavor-building techniques: browning, reducing, and glazing. Stainless steel and cast iron are the more typical materials for these techniques, because some of the point is to suck up the caramelized bits that stick to the pan—those bits that nonstick surfaces are designed to eliminate. But there’s a difference between burned-on food and fond, the caramelized particles left after browning. Even a good nonstick pan generates some of these intensely flavored bits.

It made sense to me to test these techniques in nonstick pans, since I never create them using the standard base ingredient: browned meat. By cooking a quick sauce or glaze in the same pan as your main ingredient, you can soak up that concentrated flavor—whether you started with meat, shrimp, mushrooms, or root vegetables. It really is all about the flavor.
Learn to make flavorful reductions and Mushroom Pan Sauce

Cooking Grains

On May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using2 Comments

Most grains want a fun, flavorful addition, whether it’s stirred in or piled on top. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Eggs may be the ideal test food for skillets, but grains put saucepans through their paces. Starchy foods like rice, oats, pearly barley, and pasta always tend to get sticky, but everything from type of pot to temperature to water-to-grain ratio can also make them stick or even burn onto the cooking pot. This can leave you not just with a gummy meal but also with a gummy mess to clean up.

So as I’m testing cookware this month, I’m cooking lots of grains. All of them want a fun, flavorful addition, whether it’s stirred in or piled on top, like this week’s new recipe.
Learn about cooking grains and Curried Sweet Potato and Mango

Cooking Eggs

On May 13, 2021March 14, 2022 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using3 Comments

To put it simply: Testing cookware by cooking eggs is fun. Get cooked egg recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I have to admit that I’m one of those people who holds onto cookware way too long. After pots are scratched, warped, and showing their age by letting even the simplest foods adhere to their surface, I continue to use them. Replacing cookware, especially a high-quality set, is expensive. So I’ve been excited to set out on a quest for the perfect cookware.

Eggs in many forms are ideal test recipes. They can be delicate yet prone to burning or sticking. They cook quickly, so they’re speedy, easy meals. This time of year, the chickens are laying prolifically. Most egg dishes don’t require a recipe, and many styles can be created just by cracking a fresh egg into a hot pan. But some call for a bit of technique, including endless variations on omelets.
Learn to make A Three-Egg Omelet and other cooked eggs

Quest for the Perfect Cookware

On May 6, 2021July 7, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Certain recipes can reveal the true nature of the pans in your cookware set. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
I’m on a cookware kick with The Spruce Eats. After spending a couple of months researching and testing pressure canners and canning supplies, I’ve moved on to everyday cookware. My focus has been entirely selfish: stackable cookware that fits into the one cabinet in my kitchen or packs neatly for our sailing adventures.

The results of my research into the best stackable cookware are up on The Spruce Eats. This month, I’m personally testing and reviewing several of my favorite sets. Those reviews will focus on the features and function of each set, which gives me the perfect opportunity to share some of the meals I’ll be testing here on Twice as Tasty.
Read more about cookware-revealing recipes