Inside the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - The Good Housekeeping Institute tests thousands of products a year so you know where to spend your money.
They also test out thousands of recipes, so whether you're making dinner for your family or hosting a party, you're not wasting your money or your time.
I spent some time in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen and did some delicious tasting. The day I visited they were making everything bagels from scratch.
Susan Westmoreland, Food Director at Good Housekeeping, describes the kitchen as the heart and soul of the Institute. She says there's so much activity, tasting, and creativity, but there's also a science to it, as they're working on precise recipes their readers can reproduce.
That means every single recipe is triple-tested to be sure it'll work when you try it at home.
Westmoreland says that by the time a recipe goes into the magazine, people will be able to make it whether they have a gas or electric stove, an All Clad pan or a pan they bought in the supermarket in a hurry. She says they do a lot of due diligence, testing recipes with multiple variables to be absolutely sure they'll work.
If you think you can't cook like the pros here, you're wrong. They use the same appliances and cookware you have at home. Westmoreland says the Test Kitchen is filled with consumer appliances. They don't have any professional equipment except for a grill they use for grilling out of season.
The goal in the Test Kitchen is to make your time in your own kitchen more productive. Westmoreland loves a relatively new section in the magazine called 'Easy Weeknights.' That provides recipes for readers who only have 20 minutes of active cooking time each night.
Associate Food Editor Sherry Rujikarn's everything bagels were for another new column called 'From Scratch' that shows readers what they can do with homemade pizza dough.
Sherry made pizza, of course, but also tested out cinnamon rolls, and bagels, because we are in New York after all.
This month's magazine shows readers how to make caramel sauce from scratch, then turn it into candies, dessert, and even chicken wings. Westmoreland says the column gives you a base recipe, then shows you three things you can do with it, and a couple more flavor variations you can add.
Whether it's a tricked-out holiday feast, a fresh spin on comfort food, or a New Year's bagel bar, if it's whipped up in the Test Kitchen, chances are it's delicious.
And by the time it makes the magazine it'll be perfect.