#flavor-pairings

#flavor-pairings

It's been called the greatest sandwich in the world. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato, the BLT, melds freshness with fat, crunch with softness, and saltiness with sweetness and umami, creating a flavor and texture combination that's hard to beat. The exact origins are lost to history, because the sandwich's simple ingredients were common, but people have been enjoying it for well over a century.

When we think of a pickle, 99% of the time we conjure an image of a brined cucumber. But the technique of pickling is a dark horse in the kitchen, a method to bring new flavors and textures into otherwise one-note foods. Fruits can pop with sweet and sour complexity, overlooked vegetables can transform into crunchy snack heroes and proteins can take on another level of umami-packed flavor. Pickling isn't just preservation - it's creativity in a jar.

Melted ice cream brings rich flavors and a thick, creamy texture, making it a game-changing cocktail ingredient. It'll add sweetness and body to everything from boozy milkshakes to reimagined classics. Here's a simple rule of thumb to get you started: Whenever a cocktail recipe calls for heavy cream, try swapping in some melted ice cream instead. After all, melted vanilla ice cream is basically a crème anglaise - a combination of heavy cream, vanilla, and egg yolks.