Natural Flavors Search Results

News: The Fantastical, Flavorful Fiddlehead Fern

Fiddlehead ferns look like something from Alice in Wonderland, or something that you might see when you close your eyes while listening to Pink Floyd and enjoying some herbal refreshment. What they don't look like is a tasty vegetable that's perfect for any spring or summer dish. Yet that is exactly what these bizarre spirals are. What Are They?

How To: Heat Up Your Grilling with Wood Planks

At its core, grilling is the simplest form of cooking. You create extreme heat, you put a piece of food on top of the heat, and then you sit back and watch the magic happen. Yet despite the inherent simplicity in grilling, there are a million ways to make it more complex, more unique, and, yes, even more flavorful.

How To: Make Flavored Sugar Cubes for Coffee, Tea, & Cocktails

One lump or two? That was the age-old question with sugar cubes, which used to be a staple of any tea salon or dignified household this side of Downton Abbey. These days sugar isn't really used in cubes much except in bars and restaurants, and that's a shame. Cubes are a lot less messy than granulated sugar, and you can measure the exact amount you put in your drink no matter what.

News: The Many Wonders of Black Garlic

Garlic: almost every cuisine in the world considers it a staple, and for good reason. Its pungent flavor gives depth and character to food. Dishes made without it seem bland and forgettable. And on top of all that, it's been studied for its potential anti-cancer properties (and don't forget: it's been mythologized for warding off vampires).

Ingredients 101: Selecting, Cleaning, & Storing Fresh Mushrooms

Eating vegetarian isn't just for vegetarians. There are plenty of reasons, health and economics-wise, to consider forgoing the meat for a meal or three. Rather than get deep into the world of fake meat (although there's many a tasty alternative to be found there, to be sure), you should consider getting to know your humble-seeming fungal friend: the mushroom. Thanks to their hearty flavor, cooks tend to treat mushrooms like meat, albeit one with its own unique characteristics. Mushrooms are e...

Ingredients 101: Toasting Nuts Is a Necessary Evil & Here's Why

People tend to skip toasting nuts in recipes or before adding them to salads because it seems time-consuming and the margin for error is high. However, skipping this step is a big mistake. Why? Because when you skip toasting your nuts (go ahead, you can laugh, we're all doing it), you sacrifice flavor and texture. And not just a little flavor, but a lot. Alton Brown recommends wok-frying peanuts before making your own nut butter for this very reason.

How To: Get Rid of Spiders Naturally

Spiders are common pests that typically prefer to live outdoors. However, insects and warmth will eventually attract them into our houses. They like to spin their webs in corners, crevices and unused areas of your house. Most species are harmless and even act as a natural repellent for getting rid of other insects. However, in some cases, spiders can be very dangerous. Whichever the case may be, they are scary and people are always looking for natural ways to get rid of them.

How To: Make 24-Hour Sangria in 5 Minutes or Less

The best sangria I ever had in my life was made by a Spanish friend for my birthday party. The ingredients included a giant box of Franzia red, one bottle of Bombay Sapphire Blue, one cup of sugar, a liter of 7-Up, and some cinnamon sticks. She put everything but the 7-Up in a giant zinc bucket from Home Depot and insisted that it had to sit overnight so the flavors could blend (and so the Franzia wouldn't taste so, well, Franzia-ish).

How To: Turn a Pint of Ice Cream into a Freakin' Loaf of Sweet Bread

Cooking may be an art, but baking is a science. It requires precise measurements since the outcome is based on chemical reactions. Using too much or too little of one ingredient can be the difference between perfect, crunchy-yet-chewy cookies and the dreaded "one big cookie." That's why frozen cookie dough and pre-made bread and cake mixes are so popular. They're easy to throw together, and pretty much guarantee success every time. But what if you're feeling so lazy that you don't even want t...

How To: Do flawless, streak-free makeup for photos

Even if you're a pro at doing makeup for school and for special events, doing makeup for photos is a whole other ballpark. Whether you're taking photographs with flash or with soft studio lighting, how the camera lens sees your face is very different from how the naked eye sees your face.

How To: Create Katy Perry's nude makeup look from "Teenage Dream"

Could Katy Perry look any hotter in her new music video for "Teenage Dream"? In the song, Perry sings about how the guy of her dreams thinks she's pretty without any makeup on, and as such she wears minimal makeup in the video. Just some simple neutral shadow and glossy pink lips are all she sports in every scene of the video, shot in her hometown of Santa Barbara.

How To: Make colored bath salts at home

In this video, we learn how to make colored bath salts at home. First, gather some rock salt in your home and place it into a large mixing bowl. You can also use Epsom salt if you prefer. Next, grab some natural essential oils in any smells that you prefer. Add a few drops into your salt, then mix together. You can also place the salt into a plastic bag, then place in a few drops of food color and scent, then shake it until it's completely colored and scented. Pour this into a jar and layer t...

How To: Get rid of acne for back to school time

Justin Bieber has just become the newest Proactiv spokesperson, showing that no matter how many people are looking at you (he performs for crowds of thousands), you never want acne on your face. While you may head back to your classes with fewer people paying attention to your face, pimples can still be quite the pain in the ass.

How To: Measure your petticoat size for a sari

In this tutorial, we learn how to measure your petticoat size for a sari. First, measure around the waist with a measuring tape. This will be a simple measurement of your natural waistline. Next, you will need to measure the length of the petticoat. Measure from the waist down to the ankle. After this, measure out the hip area. The hip is roughly 9" lower than your waist is. After this, you will have all the measurements you need to make the petticoat the right size for your sari. Use your fa...

How To: Fix your iPhone 4's antenna problem with a bumper case

The iPhone 4 shipped with a poorly designed antenna that can be disabled simply by holding the phone in the manner that most people hold phones. To make matters worse, when asked about it, Steve Jobs responded like the snooty prick that he is, saying that people should just change the extremely natural way in which they have always held phones just to accommodate the iPhone. If you don't want to do that, this video is here to help. It demonstrates how putting a large bumper case on the iPhone...

How To: Shape, groom, and enhance your eyebrows

We're all for natural beauty, and we think you look great with or without makeup, but there's one thing we are a stickler about: eyebrows. There's no girl out there with the perfect set: they're either perfectly shaped but too sparse, thick enough but evocative of Groucho Marx, or too light for anyone to see.

How To: Make a fire starter out of recycled candles

Cut an old sheet of news paper at about five inches in width. Roll it down to create a thick stick of newspaper. Get a roll of string that is specifically made of cotton or use a natural fiber string. Tie the string around your roll of newspaper to make sure it stays together or that it will not unroll. Submerge the rolled newspaper/s on a pot of hot and melted old candles. Let it sit for at least a minute or more as needed. Remove the rolled newspaper/s from the pot and let them dry out for ...