Bon Apptit Picks the 50 Best Food Products: Baking, Condiments, and More!

Remember back in August when we told you that Bon Apptit would be launching its Seal of Approval in the December 2012 issue? That time has come. BA assures its readers that "whenever you spy the BA seal, you can be sure that [their] staff has tasted, vetted, and kicked the tires on every aspect of that product, including value, so you can feel confident that you're getting your money's worth and that it will make your cooking (and baking, and grilling) better." Curious to see what made the list?

First of all, how did Bon Apptit get its winners? According to BA's blog, every blind taste test was subjected to five questions:

• Plain and simple, does this product make a recipe more delicious?
• Is it decisively better than its competitors?
• Does it deliver consistent, high-quality performance?
• Does it offer bang for the buck?
• Will it stand the test of time and trends?

A few stand-outs in each category:

Baking Winners

Flour: King Arthur
Chocolate: Scharffen Berger
Puff Pastry: Dufour

Condiments Winners

Olive Oil: Lucini Premium Select Extra Virgin
Chili Sauce: Tuong Ot Sriracha
Dijon Mustard: Maille

Pantry

Dried Beans: Rancho Gordo
Tomato Paste: Hunt's
Coconut Milk: Goya

Dairy

Yogurt: Fage Yogurt 2%

See the Full List: Bon Apptit's Seal of Approval

Related: Bon Apptit Launches "Seal of Approval"

(Image: Bon Apptit)

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Home Baked by Hanne Risgaard New Cookbook

A lot of cookbooks pass through my kitchen, each with their own specialness and things that make them lovable. But every so often, there is one cookbook that stops me in my tracks. That's what Home Baked did to me. This book of Nordic breads is something completely different and totally intriguing. Heavy rye breads crusted with seeds, ring-shaped loaves bursting with dried fruits, crispy coarse-grained flatbreads for piling with cured fish and herbs can you blame me for carrying this book from kitchen to couch to bedside table like a new favorite toy?

Quick Facts

Who wrote it: Hanne Risgaard

Who published it: Chelsea Green Publishing

Number of recipes: 75

Recipes for right now: Pumpkin Seed Bread with Buttermilk, Pear and Sourdough Bread, Celebration Buns, Swedish Baguettes, Honey Bread, Cappuccino Cakes, Rosemary Bread, Apricot Bread

Other highlights: I've been really getting into rye breads lately, and this book has them in spades not to mention breads with spelt flour, barley flour, and wheat flour. There are so many intriguing combinations here! Breads with lavender, rolls turned green with stinging nettles, sourdoughs enriched with buttermilk. These flavors speak to a Nordic culinary tradition that is completely foreign to me, which of course makes me all the more eager to get into the kitchen and make them myself.

The recipes in this book fit right in that cozy middle ground of challenging-yet-achievable. It's not a book I would recommend for someone who has never picked up a package of yeast, but neither are the recipes so technical that a home baker might feel intimidated. If you are an enthusiastic, curious baker, you will love this book.

One thing you should know is that the recipes in this book are given entirely in grams, so be sure to have a scale handy when you make them.

Who would enjoy this book? Bakers of all kinds, cooks interested in Nordic cuisine

Find the book at your local library, independent bookstore, or Amazon: Home Baked: Nordic Recipes and Techniques for Organic Bread and Pastry by Hanne Risgaard

Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.

(Images: Emma Christensen)

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What Can I Make With White Chocolate Chips? Good Questions

Q: I was so excited to see that Trader Joe's carried white chocolate chips without hydrogenated oil that I bought 3 bags but now I realize I should probably use them up before they go bad. What can I make besides cookies, white chocolate drizzle, or white chocolate buttercream?

Sent by Megan

Editor: Megan, this post has some ideas for using white chocolate:

What Are Some Good Ways to Use White Chocolate?

Readers, do you have any recipes or ideas for using white chocolate chips?

Next question?

Related: Like Nutella? Try BraveTart's White Chocolate-Pistachio Gianduja

(Image: bonchan/Shutterstock)

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Smart Tip: A Quick Way to Save Over-Softened Butter America's Test Kitchen

If you use your microwave to quickly soften butter for baking, you know that the difference between "perfectly soft" and "melty mess" is a matter of seconds. But before you grab a fresh stick to start over, check out America's Test Kitchen's great tip for reviving overly soft butter all it takes is a couple minutes and a few ice cubes.

To save partially melted butter, place it in a bowl with a few ice cubes and stir. In less than a minute, the butter will quickly cool and solidify to the soft texture you are looking for. Simply remove the ice cubes and proceed with the recipe. (The small amount of water that has melted into the butter won't affect the finished product.)

Keep in mind this method won't work with completely melted butter, so if you are looking at a puddle at the bottom of the bowl, it's best to save that butter for another use and start again with a fresh stick.

Do you have any tips or tricks for saving overly soft butter?

Related: What Is the Best Way To: Soften Butter?

(Image: nastiakru/Shutterstock)

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The Great Orange Taters: Sweet Potatoes Ingredient Spotlight

Sweet potatoes defy logic: how can something so sweet and so creamy still qualify as a healthy vegetable? All I can say is thank goodness! On these cold and dreary winter days, a scoop of bright-orange sweet potatoes on my plate makes a welcome and cheery addition to dinner. How have you been eating sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to cook. I usually peel off the thin skin, slice them into chunks, and toss them with olive oil before roasting them in a 450F oven.Sweet potatoes can also be roasted whole (like regular potatoes), boiled, steamed, or yes, deep-fryed. The potatoes are done when they're soft all the way through.

Cooked sweet potatoes are great on their own as a side dish, perhaps drizzled with a little butter and sprinkled with herbs. I make a big batch and then add them to frittatas, pastas, soups, salads, pizza, and casseroles all week long. A container of roasted sweet potatoes never goes to waste in my fridge.

When buying them, look for tubers that look plump; avoid any that have withered tips or shrunken spots along the length. They are best stored in a dark, cool place at room temperature (or slightly below), and will keep for several weeks. The skin is edible, but can have a rough texture so I usually peel it off before cooking.

Sweet Potato Recipes to Try:

Sweet Potato, Ricotta, and Arugula Flatbread
Roasted Sweet Potato Wraps with Caramelized Onions and Pesto
Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage and Eggs
Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili
Sweet Potato Souffle with a Twist

What are your favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes?

Related: Good Question: Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

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Resourcefulness Weekend Meditation

It's been raining heavily here for several days now, and while it's not impossible to walk to a near by store for provisions, I'm not so inclined to venture out into the cold, wet lashings and lake-sized puddles. This has given me the opportunity to dig a little deeper into my pantry and see what I can create from what's at hand. This has also necessitated a slightly different approach to meal time. Instead of asking my usual question what do I want?, I begin by asking what do I have?

This has lead me to thinking about resourcefulness, a quality I much admire. A resourceful person, in my mind, can make a decent if not delicious meal from a few turnips, a scrap of onion and tin can. They never hesitate to extend a impromptu dinner invitation, knowing that whatever they have on hand can be worked with. They're the people you want around when the earthquake/hurricane/tornado/flood hits, or on a camping trip or visit to a remote cabin. Whatever the circumstances, a resourceful person can make it work.

I've been thinking, then, of what qualities help a person to become resourceful. Fearlessness comes to mind. Or more particularly, a willingness to to not give into fear and uncertainty. Resourceful people are also a bit impatient. They do not wait for the perfect situation to be handed to them; they plunge in and create the perfect situation, or the best situation possible given the circumstances. They have a bit of daring, a dash of confidence that keeps them from hesitating and holding back. And finally, they admire utility and are therefore practical. They understand the importance of acquiring a few basic skills. And of course, they always carry a pocketknife (except maybe on an airplane).

These are also excellent qualities in a cook: boldness, creativity, a dash of confidence (or recklessness), all grounded in basic skills and utility. As a resourceful person in training, I strive for these qualities but I also hedge my bets by stocking my pantry full of things I know I can easily transform into a meal. Cans of tomatoes, white beans, and chickpeas; boxes of pasta and bags of rice; storage onions and fresh garlic; a few pots of herbs on the front stoop (or windowsill.) A few good oils, a few good vinegars; frozen peas and nuts in the freezer; a couple of serviceable bottles of wine stashed on their sides in the lower cupboard.

I still hesitate with that spontaneous invitation and can worry too much about making an impression. But I'm working on it. I like this notion of switching my focus away from my wants and onto what's already here. I have found over and over again that when I do this, there is no sense of sacrifice, and I never go wanting. This, then, is the secret that's not a secret, the home territory of resourcefulness and a peaceful heart: what is needed is always right at hand. What we want is here.

Related: Weekend Meditation: Confidence

(Image: Dana Velden)

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Delicious Edible Gift Ideas, Hot Drinks for a Cold, Homemade Condiments, Herb-Infused Honey, and Tips for Better Cocoa Most Popular Posts Published November 25 - December 1

Welcome to Saturday, friends. Here's a look at our most popular posts from the past week, including recipes for homemade energy bars, condiments (great hostess gifts!), cranberry mostarda, and herb-infused honey, along with a look at the five best hot drinks for a cold and our favorite foodie subscriptions. Enjoy!

15. How To Make Herb-Infused Honey
14. How To Make and Gift Cranberry Mostarda for the Holidays
13. Any Tips for Making Better Hot Cocoa?
12. Healthy Gifts for Busy Friends: 6 Recipes for Homemade Energy Bars
11. Holiday Travel: 10 Delicious, Portable Snack Recipes
10. 10 Homemade Condiments That Make Great Hostess Gifts

9. 5 Hot Drinks to Soothe a Cold

8. The Gift That Keeps on Giving: 5 Foodie Subscriptions

7. Recipe: One Bowl Mung Bean Meal

6. Kitchen Before & After: A Bedroom Becomes a New Kitchen for $6,000

5. Glenn and Paula's Farmhouse Kitchen

4. Hot and Spicy Comfort Food: 10 Curry Recipes for Cold Nights

3. How To Make Soft, Chewy Caramel Candies

2. How To Make Easy Chocolate Fudge

1. 15 Delicious Gifts From Your Kitchen

Previous Hot Posts: Thanksgiving Prep Tools, Mini Breakfasts, Cookie Dough Dip, Bake Sale Best Sellers, and Budget Holiday Baking Tips

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