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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 Brief: I learned two things this weekend

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. Hi Reader, I learned two things over the holiday weekend. First, Ojai is absolutely worth the hour-and-a-half drive from Los Angeles. We escaped for a few days, slowed down, ate well, and came home...

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. The Flavor Brief THE MAKINGS OF FUNDAMENTALS OF FLAVOR I Why This Book Took Six Years Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader One of the questions I get asked most about Fundamentals of Flavor is why it took six years to write. The short version is that curiosity doesn't stay contained. I'd ask why browning deepens...

Smoked Meat

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. Hi Reader It's the Independence Day holiday weekend here, which means a lot of potato salad, backyard grills, and the kind of low-and-slow cooking that fills the whole neighborhood with smoke. [Get...

Nik Sharma holding Fundamentals of Flavor, his new cookbook on the science of better cooking.

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. Hi Reader Last week, Flavor Forward was nominated for a James Beard Media Award, and I sat in that room hoping — not for myself, but for every person at America's Test Kitchen who gave so much to...

Black rice coconut milk pudding topped with toasted coconut and lime zest, served in a gray bowl on a wooden surface.

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. The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader It's officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere, though if you live in Southern California, summer has been quietly auditioning since April. June here comes with its own plot twist: June...

Whole roasted branzino with golden potatoes and curry mayonnaise on a white serving plate

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. The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader A few weeks ago, I was eating a Taiwanese pineapple cake with a cup of tea when I noticed something I always notice but rarely think about. The pastry disappeared quickly. The pineapple...

Tomato Vinaigrette

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. The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader I can see why so many people become obsessed with K-dramas. Earlier this week, on my flight to Boston to go film a new episode of Flavor Forward, I started watching Bon Appétit, Your...

Food on Table

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. The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader May has a way of rushing past before you've had a chance to enjoy it, but this one left some wonderful things in its wake. I had my first Alphonso mango of the season (worth every bit of...

A cross-section of pineapple ginger ras el hanout loaf cake showing a golden crumb studded with crystallized fruit, photographed against a dark blue background.

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. The Flavor Files + Go deeper into food, technique, and the recipes that reward it Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader Welcome to the June edition of The Flavor Files+, my premium content newsletter. We're going deep on baking and flour, plus I've got a Pineapple Ginger Ras El Hanout Cake recipe that's equal parts...

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. The Flavor Brief A weekly letter about food, science, and why things taste the way they do Read Past Newsletters Hi Reader I got sick this week — nothing dramatic, but enough to force a long weekend of actual rest, which, honestly, I didn't hate. I started in the garden. I admired my California poppies that...