How Recipes Make It into Family Circle Magazine
Test Kitchen Sneak Peek
May 15, 2012 at 11:30 am
by Jennifer Moncayo
Executive food editor Julie Miltenberger grilling in the test kitchen
Test Kitchen Sneak Peek gives you a behind the scenes look at what our food editors are cooking in the Family Circle test kitchen, plus expert tips from our food editors.
Have you ever wondered how a recipe makes it into the glossy pages of Family Circle? I did. It turns out every recipe is cooked several times and “tested” to make sure every detail is correct before it makes it in. At minimum, every recipe featured in Family Circle is “triple-tested,” says executive food editor Julie Miltenberger.
To give you a better idea, here’s how it works: A food editor develops a recipe from scratch, cooks it, and when they’re satisfied they turn in a completed recipe to the food team. Then, a different food editor will test the recipe (on their own) to make sure what one person did makes sense and works. They check to make sure the directions are easy to follow, check cooking times, temperatures, ingredients, seasoning, nutritional info—basically everything! They take notes and give any suggestions to improve the recipe. The food editors will test the recipe until it is perfect. Finally, the food is cooked again for the photo shoot for inclusion in the magazine!
So who eats all the finished food after it’s tested? The food editors, of course! After each cooking session, the food team gathers in the kitchen and tastes everything to make sure it’s spot on. The team asks questions like: Does it need more salt, less salt, is it undercooked or overcooked, explains Miltenberger. It’s all part of the testing process.
Office secret: Sometimes after the tastings, there are leftovers. And fortunately for us, they share it with the rest of the Family Circle staff! Quite a perk!
Julie Miltenberger working on grilling recipes
Check back regularly to find out what’s going on in the Family Circle test kitchen!
What do you want to know about the Family Circle test kitchen? Post your questions below in the comments and we will ask the food editors!
Jennifer Moncayo is a web assistant at FamilyCircle.com.
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