How-Tos

Our how-tos bring you everything you need to know to get in the kitchen and cook, from fundamental techniques to the whys and hows behind our recipes.
Blended avocado smoothie inside a blender container
Hate Cleaning Your Blender? This Simple Method Requires Zero Scrubbing
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The Frozen Summer Treat You're Probably Not Making at Home—but Should Be
An image with BBQ chicken, cauliflower, garlic scapes, a grill, and a "no mosquitos" sign
How to Keep Mosquitos Away From Your Food
A bowl filled with diced watermelon pieces
Stop Serving Soggy Watermelon—This Genius Trick Will Save Your Cookout
Cooked chicken pieces in a skillet, ready for a recipe or serving
The Lazy Cook's Secret to Juicy Chicken With Crispy Skin
A graphic of a line of ants carrying chips
We Asked Pest Experts How to Really Get Rid of Kitchen Ants—Here’s What They Said
Graphic on how to boil potatoes
My Method of Boiling Potatoes Turned My Potato-Skeptic Wife Into a Lifelong Spud Lover
Overhead view of salad with breadcrumbs
This Small Change to a Classic Salad Ingredient Has Become a Favorite of Chefs
Side view of latke
This One-Ingredient Latke Hack Is the Product of My Utter Laziness
Side view of cutting a potato in chunks
Grandma's Rustic Potato Cutting Trick Is the Secret to the Best Soups and Stews
Table wine
A Cheat Sheet to Buying Great Inexpensive French Wines, According to 4 Wine Pros
Collage of yeasted pumpkin bread
Make This One Simple Ingredient Swap to Upgrade Sandwiches, French Toast, and More This Fall
meatballs
The Simple Trick for the Juiciest Meatballs With Deeply Flavorful Sauce
Close-up of a bag of macerated apples
Your Apples Pie Will Be Better This Year If You Destroy Your Apples Before Baking Them
Graphic of baking soda and diced onions
Want to Brown Onions Twice as Fast? Reach for This Pantry Staple
Smashing meat in a cast-iron skillet with a potato masher.
Revolutionize Weeknight Meals With This Kitchen Utensil
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4 Tips for Buying the Freshest Beer, According to Beer Experts
salted cucumbers
You’ve Been Using Cucumbers Wrong—This Chef Trick Keeps Them Crisp
Seasoning a pork shoulder with kosher salt.
5 Ways You Should Be Using Salt (but Probably Aren't)
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Should You Really Only Cook With Wine You'd Drink? We Tested 15+ Types to Find Out
A plate with a mixed greens salad fork placed beside red leaves and herbs visible
The Simple Pantry Fix That Makes Every Salad Taste Better
A bowl of cheesy corn garnished with diced vegetables served alongside a cob of corn pickle slices and barbecue items
Stop Tossing Your Corn Cobs—You're Wasting Liquid Gold
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How to Get Perfect Grill Marks Every Time
Garlic cloves in oil in a glass container
How to Store Garlic Confit Safely (and Make It Last Longer)
Pizza on a pizza steel
The Best Way to Reheat Leftover Pizza, According to This Pro Baker
6 Game-Changing Prep Tips That Will Instantly Improve Your Cooking
Blueberry experiments lined up on a counter.
How to Store Blueberries So They Last Longer
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The Secret to Creamy, Scoopable Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Machine
Frozen corn graphic
How to Freeze Corn
Blueberries and pitted cherries scattered on a white surface
Don’t Let Your Summer Fruit Turn to Mush—7 Tips to Freeze It the Right Way
Graphic of fruit flies surrounding a bowl of fruit.
How to Prevent and Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Peeled peaches on a cutting board.
I Peeled Crates of Peaches as a Pastry Cook—This Is the Fastest, Easiest Way
Herb s in a bag being drizzled with olive oil next to a cutting board with a bunch of herbs and a knife.
How to Freeze Your Fresh Herbs
Comparison of six cucumbers showing different storage treatments labeled as control washed cold washed hot hot with vinegar cold with vinegar and vodka
You’re Probably Storing Cucumbers Wrong—Here’s What Actually Works
Sliced watermelon sitting on a wooden cutting board.
9 Expert Tips for Picking the Perfect Watermelon
Chicken breasts cooking on a grill with tongs holding one piece
This 5-Minute Trick Guarantees Crispy Crusts and Killer Grill Marks
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How to Add Chile Flavor Without Too Much Heat
A pot of tomato sauce with a wooden spoon lifting some sauce
The #1 Way People Ruin Tomato Sauce—and How to Fix It
Overhead view of dishwasher
How to Load a Dishwasher
Slices of cooked steak arranged on a wooden surface
This Major Rule About Cooking Meat Turns out to Be Wrong
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How to Slice Chives
Orzo pasta salad with vegetables and chickpeas
Most Pasta Salad Is Bad—Here's How to Make It Great
Peeling a tomato with a knife.
How to Peel Tomatoes
Scrambled eggs served on a white plate with a blue trim
Here's How to Crack the Code on Restaurant-Quality Scrambled Eggs
Overhead view of melons
How to Pick a Perfectly Ripe Melon
Cooked potato and halloumi gratin with herbs viewed from above
This Underused Kitchen Tool Will Save You From Summer Cooking Hell
Dipping breaded pickles into heated oil in dutch oven with slotted spoon
You're Probably Throwing Away Frying Oil Way Too Soon
Sheet Tray of corn
How to Cook Corn (All Our Favorite Methods)
Slices of zucchini and eggplant grilling on a barbecue with metal tongs
You've Been Grilling Zucchini Wrong (but It's Not Your Fault)
nem lui platter with a bowl of warm water alongside
How to Make a Vietnamese Rice Paper Roll Platter
A hand holding a clear squareshaped ice cube over a reflective surface
There's a Reason Bar Ice Looks Better Than Yours (And You Can Fix It)
Closeup of a bowl of pesto being mixed with a wooden pestle
You're Making Pesto Wrong—Try This for a Creamier, Greener Sauce
Two steaks in a cast iron pan
Seasoning Isn't Enough—This Is the Secret to Cast Iron Success
Side view of two eggs
Should You Pasteurize Eggs at Home? A Serious Eats Investigation.
Side view of caesar pasta
This Is the Most Overlooked Step in Every Recipe—and It Takes 5 Seconds
A plate of shrimp cocktail.
For Plump and Snappy Shrimp, Reach for Baking Soda and Salt
Lemon vinaigrette in a small bowl next to a plate of greens.
Stop Tossing Sad, Barely Dressed Salads—This Simple Vinaigrette Trick Changes Everything
Overhead shot of bowl of oysters with mignonette and lemon wedges
How to Shop for Seafood Sustainably