The Food Section: Appetizers

Mató: Yo, That's Fresh!

Mató, a fresh cheese from Catalonia, may resemble ricotta, but it's something else entirely. Writes Janet Fletcher: "Inside the little tub was a soft, milky, slightly granular but spreadable cheese that I could only describe in terms of what it was not. It wasn't tangy like yogurt, or curdy like cottage cheese. It was thick, bland and sweet, like milk with the water removed."

In Praise of Chianina

Chef Cesare Casella sings the praises of Chianina beef, one of the oldest breeds of cattle, and discusses how it differs from the more common Angus Prime.

Gordon Ramsay Gets Cannibalistic

Your daily Ramsay: When a "Hell's Kitchen" contestant accidentally cut off the tip of his thumb, Ramsey -- ever the locavore -- ate the nearby digit in the finished dish. "Oh God -- finger pancetta," said Ramsay. "It tastes weird."

Fables of Fugu

The Japanese industry controlling fugu, the legendary poisonous fish considered to be a delicacy, is seeking to squelch farmed fugu that is poison-free. See also:  New York magazine's Adam Platt journeys to Japan to taste the real thing, sperm sac and all.

Pining for Prunes

In the Los Angeles Times, author and blogger David Lebovitz sings the praises of French prunes that taste so good they're even better than chocolate. Earlier: How to convert a prunophobe.

Relishing Rhubarb

Rhubarb shines in sweet desserts as well as savory entrees. It's not just for pie anymore.

Appreciating Umami

Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl talks with Leonard Lopate about glutamates and umami, "the fifth flavor."

Sweet and Smoked

Bacon has broken the breakfast boundary and is now popping up in sweets, from maple bacon lollipops to candied bacon ice cream.

Sake Lees

Chef Wylie Dufresne expounds upon the distinctive flavor of sake lees, the rice mash left over when sake is made.

Octopus 101

In the New York Times, Harold McGee offers alternative techniques for cooking octopus (brining and simmering or slow-roasted in a dry pan), and Mark Bittman shows how to turn the "slimy dreadlocks" into a Galician-style dish of octopus and potatoes.

Cheese Triumph

The European court of justice has ruled that only the hard, crumbly cheese made near the Italian city of Parma can rightly be called Parmesan. The decision is a blow to German cheese producers who argued that Parmesan was a generic term and not uniquely Italian.

Shiso Shines

Shiso is more than just a pretty garnish for sushi, it's an herb that's brimming with hints of cinnamon, basil, anise, and citrus.

Oysters Explained

A primer on oysters, from sorting out different varieties to how to properly eat the bivalves.

All Ears

The longstanding debate over the origins of pasta all’amatriciana (is it from Amatrice or from Rome?) may never be settled, but whatever the recipe, guanciale, cured pig's jowl, is the essential ingredient. See also: You too can make your own guanciale.

Next Big Thing: Nori

Attracted by its thin, crisp texture and umami flavor, chefs are experimenting with nori as an ingredient beyond the confines of the maki roll.

Christmas Lights for Your Plate

Fresh red currants bring vibrant color and flavor to the holiday table.

All About Brown Butter

The San Francisco Chronicle sings the praises of brown butter in both sweet and savory dishes.

The Great Garlic Debate

NPR reports on a debate raging in Italy over the use of garlic in cooking. At the center of the storm is Rome's La Trattoria restaurant, whose chef, Filippo La Mantia, has eliminated garlic in favor of citrus and herbs.

Inventing Aroma

Truffle oil's trademark aroma and flavor typically comes not from truffles, but from a chemical compound called 2,4-dithiapentane. In the New York Times, chef Daniel Patterson considers why chefs are "helping to perpetuate the fraud."

The "King of Fruit"

NPR reports on the impending arrival of Indian mangoes in the U.S., which have been banned here since the mid-1980s. Last year, Madhur Jaffrey wrote in the New York Times about what to expect: "What America will be getting is the King of Fruit, Indian masterpieces that are burnished like jewels, oozing sweet, complex flavors acquired after two millenniums of painstaking grafting."

Green Almonds

'tis the season for green almonds, harvested before their shells have hardened ("nuts interrupted"). New York magazine suggests dipping them in olive oil and chili-salt for a seasonal snack.

Ugly, but Delicious

Chinese pi dan ("skin-eggs" or "thousand-year-old eggs") are best enjoyed while blindfolded.

Eggs Illustrated

New York magazine offers an anatomical guide to eggs. Tip: the more prominent the chalazae (those strands attached to the yolk), the fresher the egg.

Ingredient: Abalone

Ingredient: Abalone raised on eco-friendly farms is newly popular on Bay Area menus. Plus: A shucking how-to.

Neck is the New Cheek

Ingredient: Offal alert: neck is the new cheek.

Cauliflower: V.V. Hot

Ingredient: Cauliflower is the new hotness according to the Los Angeles Times.

Cabbage: Superfood

Ingredient: The superfood that is cabbage.

Reading Olives

Ingredient: What does the way in which olives are prepared say about the chefs who serve them?

Fats for Pies

Ingredient: Which type of fat -- shortening, trans fat-free shortening, butter, or animal fat -- produces the best pie crust?

Heirloom Rice

Ingredient: Kalijira is an heirloom long grain rice from Bangladesh that's recently become available on these shores.

Fatter Pigs?

Ingredient: Peter Kaminsky, author of Pig Perfect:Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them, talks pork on Michael Ruhlman's blog, where he praises Ibericos and pans Berkshires, since they're leaner than other breeds.  Apparently, he prefers fat pigs as opposed to lean ones.

Umami King

Ingredient: Choptalk reports mushrooms are the king of umami, also referred to as the savory "fifth taste."

Rice and Soba Beers

Ingredient: As red rice and soba ales seep into the mainstream, rice is transcending its lowly rep as a beer filler and becoming an in-demand ingredient. Both Per Se and Momofuku Noodle Bar pour brands such as Hitachino Red Rice Ale, while sales of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's signature soba ale sales nearly doubled this year.

Magic miso

Ingredient: Magic miso: A guide to Japanese soybean pastes and how to use them.

Mushroom Melee

Ingredient: Violent battles are breaking out over mushroom picking in the forests of southwest France.

Naked Chef Won't Cook Genitals

Ingredient: Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver likes offal just fine, but he draws the line at cooking genitals (that would be "the balls and the general genital area," to be precise).

French Honey

Ingredient: Catch the buzz on French honey.

Ingredient: Sage

Ingredient: Sage is as at home in Southwestern cuisine as it is in Italian cooking.

Ingredient: Eggplants

Ingredient: History of and recipes for that "big and mysterious" member of the vegetable kingdom: the eggplant.

Marmite Uproar

Ingredient: Marmite die-hards resist new squeeze-bottle packaging: "No, Marmite people want the stiff lid, the tiny tub, the breadcrumbs secreted in the murky, pungent depths. They do not want to be able to finish the jar of Marmite. They do not, in short, want change."

Spinach Update

Ingredient: Spinach questions and answers, crime, alternatives, lawsuits, and layoffs.

Figalicious

Ingredient: Los Angeles Times staff writer Russ Parsons finds his inner Barry White and gets downright sexy with a fig: "The skin is nearly human in its tenderness. And the pulp within is as luscious as some exotic cross between fruit jam and honey. You don't so much bite into a fig as engage it in a long, sweet kiss."

Ethical Eating

Ingredient: In the Observer Food Monthly, author Joanna Blythman devises the most ethical meal on earth.

Reviving the Musk Strawberry

Ingredient: Reviving Fragaria moschata, the musk strawberry, favorite of FDR and Jane Austen. Via bt.

Watermelon, Sweet and Savory

Ingredient: Watermelon is more than just a refreshing and and sweet summer dessert, it can also be an ingredient in savory dishes -- paired with contrasting flavors like prosciutto or goat cheese.

Watermelon, Sweet and Savory

Ingredient: Watermelon is more than just a refreshing and and sweet summer dessert, it can also be an ingredient in savory dishes -- paired with contrasting flavors like prosciutto or goat cheese.

New Honeys Are a Hit for Chefs

Ingredient: Chefs are finding inspiration in a new wave of single-flower honeys (like Hawaiian kiawe honey or Tasmanian leatherwood honey) that vary widely in color and flavor.

Flavors of the Monent: Yuzu and Huckleberry

Ingredient: Bay area chefs are going gaga for yuzu and huckleberries. In the San Francisco Chronicle, writer Janet Fletcher explores their appeal.

Piment d'Espelette

Ingredient: The Piment d'Espelette, a small red chili which originated in the Americas, has prospered for more than four centuries in the Pays Basque near the Spanish border in south-west France.

Beets: Rasputin of Root Vegetables

Ingredient: "Beets may be ugly, their wispy taproot resembling the tip of a witch's nose, but they are the Rasputin of root vegetables -- incredibly hearty and nearly impossible to kill in the cooking process."

Of Ramps and Fiddleheads

Ingredient: Cooks go crazy for the seasonal vegetables of early spring, but do they measure up? "Ramps and fiddleheads are like promising dates that end up making your ex look terrific."

I Hate Cilantro

Ingredient: Cilantro haters band together online in herbal defiance. Via bb.

Pacific Halibut

Ingredient: Russ Parsons sings the praises of Pacific halibut. Huge, flat, and ugly (but ecologically correct), the fish "is sweet with a warm, herbal bottom note almost like bay."

On Courgettes

Ingredient: All about courgettes, aka zucchini.

Eggs

Ingredient: Eggs, from deep-fried to twice-cooked.

Smitten with Mutton

Ingredient: R.W. Apple, Jr., is smitten with mutton.

Ingredient: Sichuan Peppercorn

Ingredient: Ideas for cooking with Sichuan peppercorns, now that they are no longer banned in the United States.

Carrot Museum

Ingredient: Carrot history, poetry, art, tattoos, and more are on display at the World Carrot Museum.

All About Mustard

Ingredient: All about mustard.

Stocking Up: Noodles

Ingredient: What to stock in your pantry for making Japanese noodle dishes.

Black Sesame Seeds

Ingredient: For pastry chefs, black sesame seeds are the new black, "appearing in tuiles and macarons, ice creams and eclairs, cakes and panna cottas and doughnuts."

Kumquats

Ingredient: "The size and shape of a large olive, the kumquat is like an orange in reverse, with a sweet skin and tart pulp. So you don't have to peel the kumquat; you simply eat the entire fruit. Thus its brilliance."

Eggs

Ingredient: Everything egg -- from cooking ingredient to design inspiration.

Bones

Ingredient: In praise of bones.

Cheese Candy

Ingredient: Prima Donna maturo, an aged Dutch cow's milk cheese, "smells like butterscotch candy and tastes not unlike a salted caramel."

Prunes Are the New Black

Ingredient: Prunes are totally the new black. On the heels of this, now comes another prune story from NPR. Writer Gabriella Gershenson shares her secret desire for dried plums and a recipe for Far Breton, a traditional French prune and currant flan.

Pomegranate Sensation

Ingredient: The Observer Food Monthly looks at the ascendance of the pomegranate and the woman responsible for creating a $50 million juice sensation.

Broccoli Rabe Secrets

Ingredient: "Secrets of broccoli rabe."

On Cinnamon

Ingredient: At Waitrose Food Illustrated, cinnamon lore, history, and recipes, from roast pumpkin to spiced oatmeal cookies.

New Blues

Ingredient: Tasting and cooking with the new crop of American farmstead blue cheeses.

Unlovable Rutabagas

Ingredient: Despite its detractors, the "unlovable rutabaga" is resurgent in restaurant kitchens. "You must erase your childhood memories," says chef Patrick O'Connell. "Rutabagas are fabulous."

Mango Facts and Myths

Ingredient: Mango facts and myths.

Couscous

Ingredient: In the Los Angeles Times, Charles Perry on the glories of couscous, "one of the world's most extraordinary foods, more delicate than any gnocchi, light as a snowdrift. It's also terribly misunderstood."

In Search of Dijon

Ingredient: Writer Kevin Gould recounts a journey to Beaune, France, in search of Fallot, "the last remaining authentic Burgundian mustard maker."

Parsons on Corn

Ingredient: Russ Parsons on corn and cooking techniques to "recapture its true flavor": "Despite what you may have been told, one color of corn is not necessarily sweeter or 'cornier' than the other."

In Praise of Soba

Ingredient: In praise of soba.

Shrimp

Ingredient: In the Washington Post, Monica Bhide shares shrimp recipes and stories from across the Asian continent -- from China to Korea, India, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

Tomato Time

Ingredient: Fifteen ways to prepare summer tomatoes.

Parsley

Ingredient: Parsley.

Poor Man's Porcini

Ingredient: King oyster mushrooms, the "poor man's porcini."

Green Guide

Ingredient: A guide to Asian greens.

Cool Cukes

Ingredient: Cooling off with cucumbers.

Summer Peas

Ingredient: Fresh summer peas.

Baby Artichokes

Ingredient: Baby artichokes, grilled or braised with garlic and mint.

Star Anise

Ingredient: All about star anise, plus recipes for adding its distinct flavor to duck, salmon, and cherries.

Avocado

Ingredient: Avocado prepared four different ways, from soup to gelato.

Fresh Peas

Ingredient: In praise of fresh English shelling peas, including four different ways of preparing them.

Almonds

Ingredient: In the Los Angeles Times, Regina Schrambling on almonds, from fuzzy green-hulled spring varieties to their more mature brethren.

Tapioca

Ingredient: In the New York Times Magazine, Amanda Hesser on tapioca.

Salt

Ingredient: In praise of salt, from Halen Môn to sel gris.

Better Butter

Ingredient: As mentioned in the New York Times, this rich butter from Italian producer Montanari & Gruzza is churned from the cream remaining after milk is skimmed off to make Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Lemon Grass

Ingredient: Lemon grass.

Butter

Ingredient: In praise of butter.

Strawberry Perfection?

Ingredient: In pursuit of the perfect strawberry.

Garlic Taste Test

Ingredient: Compare and Contrast: Blogger Frost Street conducts a taste test of garlic, from pink to smoked.

Myoga

Ingredient: Myoga, wild Japanese ginger.

Porridge Party!

Ingredient: Hot cereal is v.v. hot! The San Francisco Chronicle, New York Daily News, and the New York Times weigh in on the soft stuff.

The $41,000 Truffle

Ingredient: The $41,000 truffle.

Turkey Cutlets

Ingredient: Fried, sautéed, or grilled, turkey cutlets, the other other white meat, make for a flavorful and inexpensive substitute for veal.

FDA and Olive Oil

Ingredient: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces that it will allow manufacturers to claim the health benefits of products containing olive oil.

Hibiscus

Ingredient: Hibiscus.

Watermelon Love

Ingredient: Watermelon love. Via cp.

In Search of Wild Cèpes

Ingredient: In the south of France, a search for wild cèpes.

There's Carbon Monoxide in My Tuna

Ingredient: That bright red tuna behind the counter might not be as fresh as you think, particularly if it has been sprayed down with carbon monoxide.

Big Mushroom

Ingredient: Spanning 86 acres, Swiss scientists have discovered what may be Europe's largest mushroom. Via bb.

Apple Guide

Ingredient: An illustrated guide to sixteen apple varieties, from Braeburn to Spygold.

Saffron

Ingredient: Saffron.

Homemade Masa

Ingredient: Turning corn into masa, for making tortillas and gorditas.

Japanese Essence

Ingredient: Japanese essence, in a bottle.

The Peanut

Ingredient: "The almond is a more elegant nut. The macadamia is a more exotic and pricier nut. But no nut is more lovable to Americans than the peanut."

Fowl Philosophy

Ingredient: Fowl philosophy from chef Josiah Citrin, creator of haute rotisserie chicken ($84 per bird) at Los Angeles restaurant Mélisse.