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Summer 2023

Food Science

Corn dogs, fries, slushy and funnel cake
Winter 2022

Three cheers for fair food

Of course, the best place to get fair food is the fair itself.

But you can also make your own at home, putting your deep-frying, powdered sugar-dusting skills to the test with recipes for everything from corn dogs to funnel cakes.

Here’s a round-up of recipes to try if you can’t wait for next year’s fair fare.

Make your own fair food at home

The Spokesman-Review recipe-tested a couple of recipes for corn dogs Recommended: the Iowa State Corn Dogs recipe).

Make your own ketchup, mustard, and mayo to go with your corn dogs (Spokesman-Review)

» More …

Spring 2022

The cheesemaker

“When I get introduced to people for the first time and I tell them I make Cougar Gold cheese, they don’t believe me,” says Sarah Beale, head cheesemaker at WSU Creamery. “It’s kind of fun. Especially locally, everyone knows Cougar Gold.”

Beale has managed WSU’s day-to-day cheese-making operations for three years. One of the most difficult parts of the job: training and scheduling the approximately 40 student employees.

“Scheduling is crazy,” Beale says. “If we’re doing a double-batch day, a cheesemaker and pasteurizer need to be here by 3:45 a.m. on Mondays and 4:45 a.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The rest come in … » More …

Mango cabbage slaw
Fall 2021

Cabbage recipes and links

Cabbage isn’t the most glamorous ingredient. Here are some recipes to help change that perception.

Read more about cabbage.

 

Mango Cabbage Slaw

by WSU executive chef Jamie Callison, from the 2013 cookbook The Crimson Spoon

 

Mango cabbage slawPhoto detail by E.J. Armstrong

 

2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced mango
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons pickled ginger liquid
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1½ teaspoons lime juice
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Coffee making equipment
Spring 2021

Brewing the perfect cup of coffee

Coffee is both simple—just ground beans and hot water—and complex, with hundreds of volatile compounds that give each roast its unique flavor. Really good coffee is something special, even sublime. And, with so many of us spending more time at home during the persisting novel coronavirus pandemic, a cup of hot, delicious coffee seems especially comforting.

When preparing your favorite style of coffee, here are several points to consider.

The cup—Size and shape do matter. Big wide-rimmed mugs hold a lot, but also cool coffee quickly. Porcelain and ceramic surfaces influence the temperature and taste of the coffee. Both are neutral so you … » More …

Jar of jelly
Spring 2021

Food preservation and the pandemic

Stephanie Smith is a statewide consumer food safety specialist at Washington State University. She performs food safety research, writes a monthly food safety column in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, and provides technical support and training for WSU’s food safety specialists in more than thirty counties statewide. She also provides technical expertise and training to retail food businesses and workers, and very small food processors and growers.

How has the pandemic impacted WSU’s county-based food specialists?

The county offices have been mostly shut down because of the pandemic. They’re still returning calls and emails, trying to do what they can. In general, there … » More …

Roast lamb with mint
Spring 2021

Colleen Taugher cooks lamb

Her go-to preparation features hand-ground anchovy-herb paste.

But don’t worry: the anchovies don’t come across as tasting fishy. They simply add a salty, savory flavor that beautifully blends with the distinctive-tasting lamb meat.

Colleen Taugher, co-owner of the 85-acre Mellifera Farm in Troy, Idaho, and recently retired director for global research and engagement in the Office of International Programs at Washington State University Pullman, typically makes the paste with rosemary.

That’s how she prepared it when she served her farm-raised Iceland lamb to a delegation of 18 student journalists from Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. They were visiting WSU in summer 2019 … » More …