Meal Prep · Guides

Kitchen guides

Plain answers to questions that come up while you shop and cook, with sources. Recipes link here only where a guide matters for that recipe.

Things to Check on FoodsReading the Nutrition Facts label, added sugars, sodium, allergen statements, dates, recalls, storage times and temperatures, and a few rules for babies.The Nutrition Facts label · Added sugars · Sodium · The allergen statement · Dates on packages · Recalls … Ceylon vs. Cassia CinnamonThe two main kinds of cinnamon, how to tell them apart, which one U.S. stores sell, and what coumarin is and how much is too much.Two kinds of cinnamon · What coumarin is · How much is too much · What this means for your family Kitchen Differences That MatterSalt, leaveners, butter, ground beef, chicken cuts, flour, beans, rice, herbs, stock and broth, cream, and date labels: the differences that change how a recipe turns out.Table salt vs. kosher salt vs. sea salt · Baking soda vs. baking powder · Salted vs. unsalted butter · Ground beef: 80/20, 85/15, 90/10 and up · Chicken breasts vs. thighs · All-purpose vs. bread flour (and friends) … Cooking Fats ComparedSeed oils, olive and avocado oil, butter, ghee, tallow, lard and coconut oil: how each is made, what it is made of, how hot it can go, how to store it, and what the official guidance and the public debate say.At a glance · What smoke point means · How each one is made · What they are made of · What the Dietary Guidelines say · The seed oil debate … Food Safety BasicsSafe minimum internal temperatures from USDA, plus clean, separate, cook and chill: the habits the recipes here rely on.Safe minimum internal temperatures · Clean, separate, cook, chill · For meal prep and lunchboxes

These guides share widely accepted facts from U.S. government, university and other reliable sources, listed on each page. They aren’t medical advice; for a health condition or a child’s diet, ask your doctor.