General

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hi Patty – We are not familiar with Epicurean cutting boards. Since you brought it to our attention, I took a look at their website, and they seem like a really cool company with an interesting backstory. Thank you for bringing them to our attention. Please check back and let us know how you like yours.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Ewan – I'm attaching an article from our March/April 2021 magazine explaining why we use kosher salt for savory cooking. It also shows a graphic with a comparison of different salts. Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 1.03.36 PM.png

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Bob – Unfortunately we do not give guidance on surface temperatures as we assume home cooks do not have laser thermometers to measure this and stovetops can vary in power. Generally we develop our recipes on gas cooktops, but they also are tested on induction. We typically accept that any setting, be it "medium" or "medium-high" on any type of cooktop will have an acceptable variance for our recipes to work properly. The best advice we can give is to get to know your cooktop; if the burners run on the hot side, drop the setting down when following recipes. In fact, when we cook our recipes on our particular brand of induction cooktops, we find we need to jump up one setting to more closely match the corresponding heat setting of a gas range. For instance, the settings on our induction burners range from 1 to 9; medium heat should be at level 5, but we raise it to 6 as we've found that setting to be compatible with a "medium" setting on a average-sized gas burner. We also find that electric cooktops, be it coil or glass, run a little hotter than induction. The type of pan used can also vary in terms of surface temperature. If you are cooking in carbon steel, or using a wok, those conduct heat much higher and faster than regular stainless steel or non-stick pans, so adjust accordingly.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Jennae – We are sorry that the Toasted Oat and Maple Scone recipe has not met your expectations. I discussed your questions with the developer of this recipe, here are her thoughts and suggestions: • she said that these scones do have a wetter batter than a typical scone and that they do tend to spread a bit. They will not be as firm and dry as a Starbucks kind of scone. What you described is ok and expected for this recipe. • she is wondering if you used real buttermilk, powdered buttermilk or a buttermilk substitute (milk + lemon juice). She said that real buttermilk is thick and rich and will hold the batter together whereas powdered butter or the substitute would be very watery and contribute a looser batter • As far as the sweetness of the scones, she said you could reduce the amount of maple syrup that is mixed with the buttermilk Please let us know how they turn out if you make these again.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Alexander– We have not developed a recipe at Milk Street but I did find one in a book in our office library. It is from the 2019 edition of the "Joy of Cooking" on page 644. It uses a brioche recipe (page 603) and pearl sugar. Perhaps you can find the book at your local library.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Dan, The recipes for a given issue of the magazine should be available on the website by the time the magazine is shipped to readers. Which recipe are you looking for?

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Margot – We are so pleased that you enjoy our shows! Thank you very much. What a thoughtful gift to give your team members. Dishes that freeze well and can be easily reheated are: pureed soups, long-cooked stews, hearty pasta sauces and meatballs. Divide into portions for freezing. Pasta sauce can be frozen in 2 cup portions, thawed and reheated and tossed with 1 pound of cooked pasta. Happy holidays! The Milk Street Team

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Melanie – There should be instructions on the container of your concentrated broth for reconstituting it with water. At Milk Street, we sometimes use a concentrated broth when developing soup recipes. We dissolve 1 teaspoon of the concentrate into 8 ounces of boiling water to get 1 cup of broth. You use that ratio and multiply it according to the amount of broth called for in a recipe. For example, a recipe that calls for 1 quart of chicken broth would require 4 teaspoons of concentrate dissolved into 4 cups boiling water. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Jan, We have not made this with canned tomatoes but have seen other recipes for this stew that do. I'd suggest using one 15-ounce can of chopped tomatoes. Let us know how it turns out!

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hello Joanne – Sticky oil bottles and dripping caps are common occurrences in kitchens! Cooking oil can degrade plastics with prolonged exposure and some oils are more aggressive than others. We recommend that you clean the caps fully each time you refill your oil bottles to get rid of any oil that may have built up.