Follow By Email: When Did Peanut Butter Get So Cool?

When Did Peanut Butter Get So Cool?

By: MATT RODBARD

This week we launched our latest column, Rabbit Hole, from frequent TASTE contributor Jordan Michelman—he of the all-knowing coffee media company Sprudge and various writings about cooking with fresh wasabi, Calabrian chiles, and the vegan ice cream explosion. Jordan has a real passion for the topics he writes about—his 2019 deep dive into the world of retail mineral water won him a well-deserved James Beard Foundation Award, and he's now my go-to text when I'm deciding between Borjomi and some low-TDS Swedish glacier water. (This has actually never happened, but I'm hoping for the day.) Jordan is the perfect writer to dive into a food category worth poking around, and his first installment of Rabbit Hole is a deep look at peanut butter and how new-wave nut butters are eschewing the basic creamy versus crunchy dialogue. It's more lemon coconut cashew versus pistachio crunch these days.

"Food trends are never identical, but they often rhyme," he writes. "Nut butter's move away from commodity status—and toward something more thoughtful, mindfully sourced, and delicious—sounds awfully similar to narratives in the worlds of ice cream, coffee, tea, spices, chocolate, craft beer, and so many others that I'll be covering in this column." We have a long list of ideas, and we hope to run a Rabbit Hole column each month or so. Until then, check out one of the many recommendations Jordan makes at the end of his story. I'm going for the Fijian caramelized ginger and sea salt almond butter.

READ:

Mexican culinary scholar Diana Kennedy died earlier this week at the age of 99, and the news had us revisiting Shane Mitchell's TASTE story from 2019 that saw the author (and polarizing food world figure) handing off her cookbook collection forever. It's a must-read.
Another must-read is journalist Bill Esparza's own memories of Kennedy.
In Korea, the home kitchen revolves around a set of three ancient fermented sauces called jangs. One woman is using science to uphold traditions. Mari Uyehara, at home with a modern jang master.
Chicago is America's hot dog capital, and Eric Kim, writing in the New York Times, gives the dog that has been "dragged through the garden" some fine justice.
Way, way before there was "California cuisine," there was the original California cuisine—a fusion of Spanish, Mexican, and native foods.
Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, is home to a deeply rooted Afghan restaurant scene—one that is now threatened by ongoing tension between bordering countries. Read Maryam Jillani's colorful report from 2018.
Prime Roots founder Kimberlie Le thinks the future of vegan food tastes a lot like bologna.
The Kitchn figured out the best way to shred all of that summer squash.
Reviving the veggie burger (with more veggies).
Boss Barista Ashley Rodriguez has some personal thoughts about grinding, dosing, and legendary LA cafe G&B Coffee. Such sharp coffee commentary from a friend of TASTE! Def subscribe to her Substack.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants list is food media's rich, out-of-touch uncle.
Christina Tosi's world spins around cakes and cereal milk.
At its peak, J.Crew might have been the most important menswear retailer in America. Then it went bankrupt and tasked downtown New York designer Brendon Babenzien with bringing it back.
For creators, community (through highly personalized in-app experiences) is the new follower count.

COOK:

The reality is that sometimes the stone fruit you bought at the farmers' market just isn't . . . great. But you shouldn't stress, because all those too-firm peaches, plums, and nectarines add crisp, structured sweetness to salads and slaws. Because unripe stone fruit was made to slaw.
It's grainier than flour, crispier than bread crumbs. One of semolina's underrated uses is as a crust for fried vegetables and meats.
The beauty in Israel's ugly stuffed vegetables.
Have you ever wondered how strong a cocktail is? Epicurious created a handy ABV calculator to find out.
It's strawberry sandwich season. The cult-favorite conbini snack, made with Japanese milk bread, is a low-effort, high-reward dessert.
Turn the sundae on its head, literally.
Christian Reynoso, writing for the NYT, has a good recipe for juicy tomatoes with parmesan-olive bread crumbs.

WATCH, STREAM, LISTEN:

This week we welcome Adam Roberts on the TASTE Podcast. You may know Adam from his pioneering food blog Amateur Gourmet, or from his stint doing videos for the Food Network, which he talks about candidly in this episode (spoiler: it didn't go so well). This is a can't-miss episode.
We also spoke with Pop Up Grocer founder Emily Schildt to talk about the company's big ideas, even bigger plans, and some of the products she's most excited about selling.
And if you aren't subscribing to the TASTE Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon, hit that button now.
I was on the Splendid Table's One Recipe podcast talking about my one recipe — but more like my mom's recipe for Technically-Not-Barbecue Oven Ribs.
There's a new Books Are Magic store coming to Brooklyn Heights this fall! This is one of our favorite independent booksellers, and we hosted many of the early TASTE Podcast episodes at their Smith Street location. We can't wait to see store number two in action.
One of our fave Korean mukbangers, Tzuyang, takes on spicy pork donkatsu.
The Big Picture does a 1987 movie draft guest starring Quentin Tarantino. Where does Robocop and Little Shop of Horrors land?
The NTS guide to Texas Rap: 1994 to 1998.

FOLLOW THE EDITORS OF TASTE

Follow along with our cooking (and let us know about your cooking) on Instagram. You can follow us at @taste and see what the editors are up to at @mattrodbard, @elorasharon, and @alizarae.

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