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The Flavor Files

Food tastes better when you understand why it works. Science-backed recipes, flavor principles, and kitchen insights — every week. I host Flavor Forward on America's Test Kitchen and In The Test Kitchen on Netflix.

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The Flavor Files: From Seattle to London, With a Little Vinegar

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader I'm writing this after a whirlwind week on the road with Fundamentals of Flavor, and I wanted to begin with a thank-you. Seattle was wonderful! We had a full house at Book Larder, where...
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The Flavor Files: A Sweet Gift That Became a Recipe

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader This week's email is a little early because I'm traveling for the book. Sometimes a recipe begins with a kind gesture you never forget. The last time I was at Book Larder in Seattle, a...
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The Flavor Files: The week I didn’t quite expect

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader Today is an exciting day because I’m back home in L.A., and this evening I’ll be talking with my friend and Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison about Fundamentals of Flavor...
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Nik holding a copy of Fundamentals of Flavor at Strand Book Store

The Flavor Files: Fundamentals of Flavor is finally here! 🎉

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader It's pub day! There's no need to wait. Fundamentals of Flavor is now OUT IN THE WORLD -- online, in bookstores, and every place a book sold. Quite likely your doorbell will ring today...
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Baby Nik with puppy on chair smiling

The Flavor Files: I’ve got a slightly strange favor to ask

The Flavor Brief Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Friends, I’ve got a slightly strange favor to ask you today. Fundamentals of Flavor comes out on September 22, which means that in just a week, you’ll be able to walk into a bookstore, pick up a copy, take it home, and cook with it in your kitchen. You’ll actually...
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San Francisco Garlic Noodles with Nik and Lan Lam on Flavor Forward

The Flavor Files: Garlic Noodles, a Starred Review, and My Book Tour Is Here

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader When I lived in Oakland, one of the most iconic dishes that every resident of the San Francisco Bay Area would have quite likely tried was the Garlic Noodles by Helene An of Thanh Long...
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Miso Toast
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The Flavor Files (Plus): Small Things, Big Chaos

The Flavor Brief INSIDEFUNDAMENTALS OF FLAVOR Letter SixA Special Sweet Treat Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hi Reader The next couple of weeks are going to be chaotic. There are signs that I am losing my mind,a little but not fully. It completely slipped my mind that next Monday is a holiday and we have a long...
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White plate of grilled nectarine bulgur salad with feta and fresh mint, mortar and pestle in the background

The Flavor Files: 21 Days Until Fundamentals of Flavor

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader We’re exactly 21 days away from the publication of Fundamentals of Flavor. How do I feel? I’m excited, but honestly, I’m also terrified. You would think that by a fourth book I’d be...
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Fruit Basket

The Flavor Files: Who Gets to Write a Universal Cookbook?

The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters This newsletter may contain some affiliate links. I only recommend things I personally use and enjoy—if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hello Reader Accidents can sometimes be fortuitous. Earlier this week, I replied to a friend's message after they sent me an Instagram reel of finger limes. The video was from a store in L.A. called...
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