Library of taste

About storage, sugar, drying and table habits. Each article has sources - you can read more.

Library of taste

• Chickpeas and nakhud: how to prepare for pilaf, salad and hummus

  In our catalog, chickpeas are listed under the name “nakhud”. Dry grains require preparation: they cannot be used in the same way as ready-made chickpeas from a can. Deciding ahead of time whether you're making a fluffy pilaf, a salad, or a smooth hummus will make it easier to choose the right texture and time it in the kitchen.

• Freeze-dried strawberries: how to choose and use in desserts

  Crispy pieces for decoration, berry crumbles for yogurt or powder for cream - freeze-dried strawberries have several culinary roles. A successful purchase begins with the question of what result you want: retaining noticeable pieces or distributing the berry flavor throughout the dessert. The form of the product and the method of addition depend on this.

• Navat for tea: what is it made from and how to choose the format

  Large sugar crystals and tea with navat solve different problems. We figure out what to buy for a separate serving, how to read the ingredients and adjust the sweetness without relying on the color of the pieces.

• Black and white sesame: which one to choose for your dish

  For sesame, not only color is important. Compare the presence of the shell, roasting and the desired form: whole seeds for sprinkling, grinding for sauce or paste. Then it’s easier to choose a purchase for a specific dish.

• Dried fruit color: what does it say about sulfites

  Bright dried apricots and dark raisins may differ in preprocessing, raw materials and drying conditions. You cannot determine the composition based on color alone or choose a safe product if you are sensitive to additives.

• Dried fruits, syrup and candied fruits: how to distinguish

  Sweetness can come from the fruit itself or from added sugar. Both things are important for a recipe: the composition of the product and what texture it will give after cooking.

• Caliber, halves and core output

  Halves for decoration, crumbs for filling: choose the shape of the nut and calculate how much peeled kernel is needed for the dish.

• Packaging and Humidity: How to Maintain Crisp

  An open package changes storage conditions. Even a well-dried product can regain moisture, and nuts additionally need protection from oxygen and foreign odors.

• When do nuts need a refrigerator and freezer?

  Cold helps preserve the flavor of nuts, especially shelled, roasted and chopped nuts. Airtight containers and portion sizes are also important: low temperature alone is not enough.

• Dried fruits after opening: storage and signs of spoilage

  Softness does not always mean excess moisture, and the word “dried” does not make the product last forever. For a home stock, storage conditions and changes in condition are more important than the conditional general period for all fruits.

• When to soak dried fruits and how to keep their shape

  For the filling you need softness, for the cake you need pieces that hold their shape. We select the preparation of dried fruits for the recipe.

• Roasting and drying nuts: different tasks

  Drying prepares the crop for storage, while roasting changes the aroma, color and crunch. The same nut can go through both stages, but the processing conditions are not interchangeable.

• When to skin nuts

  Light cream, filling or crunchy topping: when to peel and why almonds and hazelnuts are peeled differently.

• Nut crumbs, flour and paste: choose the grind

  Coarse crumbs, fine flour or paste - select the grind for sprinkling, dough and cream.

• How to Substitute Nuts and Dried Fruits While Maintaining the Texture

  Instead of raisins - dried apricots, instead of almonds - another nut. Let's look at how to preserve the texture of the dish and take into account the moisture of the new additive.

• Dried fruits in baking: from slicing to kneading

  To ensure that the pieces retain their shape and are evenly distributed in the dough, preparation, free moisture and the timing of addition are important. For raisins, there are a few simple, proven techniques.

• Nuts and dried fruits for the holiday: purchasing and serving

  Count the ingredients for each dish and shared plate, then add extra. This way, the baking ingredients won’t end up as a tea treat.

• Granola and dry mixes: small batches for home

  When to combine cereals, nuts and soft dried fruits so that homemade granola retains the desired texture.

• What traveled along the Silk Roads with silk?

  Apricot pits and nutshells help archaeologists trace trade links between valleys, mountain settlements and distant cuisines.

• Date palm: a tree around which an oasis is built

  Date cultivation involves water, weaving and family knowledge. Let's figure out what place the palm tree occupies in the life of the oasis.

• Walnut forests of Kyrgyzstan: harvest among the trees

  In the south of Kyrgyzstan, nuts are collected in the forests. The harvest here is connected with the life of villages and the rules of joint use of forest areas.

• Macadamia: from the Australian forest to Hawaii and back

  How the Australian tree got into Hawaiian gardens and why the history of its cultivation continued on both sides of the ocean.

• Cashew: one tree, two very different products

  The familiar curved kernel, the juicy “apple” and the complex processing of the shell are three sides of the cashew story.

• Pecan: how grafting changed the fate of a nut orchard

  The story of the pecan explains how grafting helps produce trees with desirable crop traits.

• Peanuts and Carver: A Story of Explorer, Teacher, and Culture

  How research, farmer education, and new uses of the crop came together in Carver's work with peanuts.

• Cranberry: why berries are collected from the surface of the water

  Floating red berries show one way of harvesting cranberries. Learn the role water plays and how crops work.

• How the Chinese fruit got the name "kiwi"

  The journey of seeds, the work of nurseries and a new name for sale abroad: how a Chinese fruit became kiwi.

• Nauryz: one holiday, different holiday tables

  Kazakh Nauryz-Kozhe and Uzbek Kholvaytar show how differently they prepare a common meal for the spring holiday.

• Pilaf: a craft passed on at a communal table

  Selection of products, work as a cook and learning at a common table - the culture of pilaf in UNESCO descriptions from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

• Chinese tea: how a leaf becomes a craft

  The taste of tea begins with the collection and processing of the leaves. The history of Chinese tea is about the work of masters and the transfer of their skills.

• Invitation to tea: cup, sweets and hospitality

  How tea is prepared and served in Azerbaijan and Turkey: from a glass glass to homemade jam and conversation at the table.

• Christmas pudding: dried fruit, trade and homemade ingenuity

  British fruit pudding explores home cooking, long-distance trade and holiday recipes in times of food shortages.