FoodCraftLab

Cranberry sauce is one of the easiest, most foolproof sauces to make. You just throw a bunch of cranberries in a saucepan, cover it with some sugar, orange zest and, if you want to kick it up an extra notch, add some cinnamon or ginger. Let it simmer until the cranberries pop and then some, and you’re mostly done.

• Fruit-forwardness, bright acidity and a little residual sweetness for a well-rounded flavor.
• Crisp and refreshing on a hot day.
• Intense enough to thrill, but subtle enough to session, or drink all day. I want people to come back for more like when you just can’t stop drinking that beaujolais you opened on that hot summer day.
• Consistent, convenient cold dispensed throughout the day. Bonus: dispensed amongst the same taps as the alcoholic drinks so it doesn’t play second fiddle.

Few foods are as familiar as pickles. That crunch when you bite into them, bracing yourself before your senses get doused with a bright acid, savory and herbaceous cucumber tidal wave. it’s unforgettable and infinitely satisfying. What is it that makes pickles so irresistible and how do you achieve it?

In the world of vegan protein it can often be difficult to find a food option that is easy to make, offers exceptional flavor and texture and is minimally processed. You can usually pick two of these options. And you can almost forget about finger food that fits this category. Try making tofu cubes, tempeh chunks or seitan strips appeal as hors d'oeuvres at a large party and you’ll see what I mean. “What is this stuff?” Yuba knots are particularly interesting because they have the ability to be assembled into a freeform food while having a mixture of stringy, meaty and puff pastry characteristics, which keeps them from feeling too foreign.

Fermenting foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, hot sauce, miso, yogurt and even spontaneous fermented beer is a great, rewarding hobby. What could possibly go wrong? One day you might wake up, look around the room and see multiple vats of ferments bubbling away in various parts of your home. For a second, you'll wonder how this came to be. Maybe your girlfriend or roommate will just come clean with you and flat out ask "why there are so many things fermenting around the house?" and "I wanted to have people over tonight but I don't know if I can because the house smells kind of funny". Nice. It's all your fault. Your're now that creepy person with all the jars. It's kind of like being the cat lady.

Every major metropolitan city has its famous food item that begs to be enjoyed in an almost infinite amount of circumstances. San Francisco has its Mission burritos, Chicago has deep dish pizza, Philadelphia has cheesesteak. One of my favorite things about living in New York City is enjoying the simplicity of a bagel with vegan cream cheese. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting ready to go out and in need of a quick meal, you’re on your way home from the bar and need something to snack on, or it’s a Sunday afternoon and you’re just too lazy to do any cooking. A bagel and cream cheese always delivers.

This Gracious Vegan Gravy recipe uses almost every trick in the book to develop rich, complex, savory flavors for a result that's sure to impress and surprise even the most diehard carnivores. First, both flour and nutritional yeast flakes are toasted, bringing out their nuttiness. Onions are then caramelized with mushrooms, breaking out layers and layers of savoriness. Miso and garlic are added later to add another dimension and tie it all together. Then the whole mixture is simmered so the flour gelatinizes and thickens the mixture. It's finished with pepper and a dash of white wine vinegar. A perfect way to top off a vegetarian feast centerpiece like Stuffed Seitan.

This liqueur is a great way to preserve the essence of strawberries so they can be enjoyed year-round in new and tasty ways. The perfect amount of orange zest unifies the tartness of rhubarb with the strawberries in this sweet liqueur which can be drizzled on vanilla ice cream, baked into cakes, pies or just enjoyed on its own. It's like strawberry rhubarb pie in a glass. Swirl it into an icy glass of soda water for a refreshing summer treat.

Psst! Want to have one of the best liqueurs ever? You can make it yourself! Warning: you won't be able to look at those other fake fruit essence vodkas the same again. It will scar you for life in this way but it's worth it. This Ruby Red Grapefruit Liqueur recipe is like a Greyhound that's been reduced into a liqueur. Like a greyhound, the subtle sweet, acid and bitter flavor profile plays seductively and mysteriously well with alcohol. When my friend and I made this drink, closely related to limoncello, we were so taken aback by it's drinkability that we were stunned no one had brought something like it to market. But who needs to now that you can make it? A shot of this liqueur mixed into a glass of ice cold soda water takes the heat right out of a hot summer day.

This Pear Liqueur recipe is refreshingly smooth and tastes similar to Eau De Vie or Lillet. It's even better in many ways because it's ridiculously easy to make and is extremely affordable. Use the sweetest organic pears you can get your hands on for best results. If your pears are very intensely sweet, like the ones from my back yard, you can skip the sugar. If you're going for store bought pears or moderately sweet pears, consider adding some sugar to enhance the pear flavor and tie it in with the vodka. I find it frustrating that the window of time of pear ripeness is so small. Once minute they're sweet like candy, the next minute they're mealy and heading for the compost bin. This liqueur is the best way I know of to capture their flavor when it's at its peak and preserve it almost indefinitely.

Every summer I savor sweet succulent peaches which is my favorite fruit. I often wonder how I could possibly preserve their bright, fresh flavors so I can enjoy them all year round. I've figured it out and the secret is this Peach Liqueur recipe. You can enjoy it in front of the fire on a cold winter night or on a hot summer afternoon mixed with some ice cold soda water. It's like biting into a fresh peach which is great either way.

Popular in Italy, Limoncello is a lemon liqueur that's made by mixing lemon zest and sugar with a clean, distilled alcohol. It's amazing by itself, mixed with soda water, or drizzled over vegan vanilla ice cream. Unlike the traditional drink, this limoncello recipe is a little less sweet and syrupy and a little higher in alcohol and lemon flavor. I designed this Limoncello this way because I find traditional Italian Limoncellos to be too cloyingly sweet and syrupy to drink neat which is the way I prefer to drink liqueurs. This Limoncello is always a hit when it's brewed in larger batches, bottled into smaller bottles and given to friends at holiday gatherings.

The great thing about this Ginger Liqueur recipe is that you can justify drinking it to warm you up during the dead of winter or to refresh you in that dreaded summer heat. This tastes similar to Limoncello but it's got the zing of ginger which compliments really well with a high quality, clean tasting vodka. Enjoy it by itself, mixed with soda water or drizzled over vegan ice cream.

During the holidays of my youth I used to look forward to various animal-based table centerpieces that symbolized the crowning achievement of the feast. This high-protein, savory focal point would involve hours of anticipation, planning and boast a supporting role from several more simple, rustic freshly prepared vegetable dishes. As I became older and came to prefer a vegan diet, holiday meals consisted of me either avoiding the animal-based centerpiece or finding myself lucky enough to be in a situation where all of the dishes consisted of the rustic, vegetable-based fare. 

I still miss the excitement and curiosity that goes along with a savory centerpiece: How tender will it be when I slice into it? What succulent surprises will I find? Oh and the aromas wafting thorugh the house! I wanted to bring this excitement to vegan holiday feasts when I set out to create Seitan Roulade. 

Seitan Roulade consists of a sheet of wheat gluten covered with a panko mushroom stuffing that's been simmered in a red wine balsamic reduction. It's then wrapped into a roll, glazed with Apricot Glaze and sprigs of thyme are placed on top before the roulade is tied with twine. The roulade is then baked in a dutch oven, sliced, served and drizzled with a gravy such as Gracious Gravy. This is a similar centerpiece to Stuffed Seitan but is a little more involved because it involves glaze, and the use of a dutch oven. The dutch oven helps the roulade retain it's shape, stay moist and become infused with aroma from the thyme sprigs.

It was just an innocent little food craving that started my foray into the depths of vegan food in the late nineties. I had no idea what I was doing back then (and arguably don't even now) but one thing I have definitely noticed is how my sense of taste seems to have matured considerably. As you cook, bake and, most importantly, pay attention how food affects your senses, your sense of taste will improve too. This article will show you how our sense of taste works and teach you the tricks to improving how you taste food so you can become a better foodcrafter.