There are three things I learned when putting together this piece, which highlights our 52 all-time most popular articles. First, this list is an amazing reflection of the breadth of interests, knowledge, and tastes our team has explored over the years. Second, for every great, insightful article on this list (they’re all bangers), there are equally passionate and thoughtful responses from our community in the comments section. Third, Crockpots will never not be popular. Of course, it's this triumvirate (the team, community members, and Crockpots) that allows Food52 to be the special place that it is.
52. 5 Common Homemade Ice Cream Issues (& How to Fix Them)
If you’re going to take on the challenge of making ice cream at home, you should come away with something delicious. Thanks to this article by Stef Ferari, you always will.
51. The Built-In Oven Feature You're Not Using Yet
A potential boon for fans of “gorgeously caramelized vegetables.”
50. 15 Things You Should Never, Ever Put in the Dishwasher
There are many things in your kitchen—like a blender—that will last much longer if you avoid putting them in the dishwasher.
49. 9 Best Molasses Substitutes When Your Jar Is Empty
Let’s say you’re out of molasses, but you want to make these bran muffins. Thanks to this article from Emma Laperruque, you’ll be okay.
48. The Absolute Best Way to Cook Chicken Breasts, According To 28 Tests
Get ready to see a lot of Ella Quittner’s column, Absolute Best Test, on this list. If you haven’t read it, the concept is simple: Ella tests various techniques for making a single, basic dish and then reports back on which are the best. Here, she tests the chicken breast. Methods evaluated include: braising, microwaving, broiling, poaching, sous vide, and slow-cooking.
47. How to Store Potatoes So They Last for Months (Yes, Months)
Learn why storage location and air flow are key to maximizing the shelf life of your potatoes.
46. How to Brine Meat—& Why You Should Bother
Ditch dry meat, and learn to brine. This explainer from Catherine Lamb will break down wet and dry brining while showing you how to implement the technique into daily, weeknight cooking.
45. Kitchen Rescue: How to Fix 10 Common Pie Problems
This piece includes solutions for several pie problems, whether you’re dealing with a too-crumbly dough or a pale, underbaked crust.
44. This 4-Ingredient Apple Cake Is As Easy As It Gets
An excerpt: “Of all the apple cakes on our site, the most popular one comes by way of our Genius column, and an unknown person named Teddie. Who is Teddie?”
43. Food52's 10 Best Recipes of the Decade
Back in 2019, we commemorated Food52’s 10th birthday by collecting what were—at the time—our 10 most popular recipes, ever. If you take a look at the 52 Most Popular Recipes article we published last week, you’ll notice that there’s been some change at the top.
42. The Signature Noodle Dish In ‘Parasite’ Tells A Complicated Class Story
Writer Sara Coughlin explains the significance of this noodle dish: “In Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award–winning hit for Best Picture, culture and class tensions bubble up between ram-don noodles.”
41. The Best Coffee Filter Substitutes for When You’ve Run Out
According to author Caroline Lange, “You can make coffee—even pretty good coffee—without a filter.” This article teaches you how.
40. Why Haven’t We Been Storing Canned Food Like This All Along?
Camryn Rabideau offers 12 storage techniques to ensure that cans don’t crowd your cupboards.
39. How to Make Natural Food Coloring From Ingredients in Your Kitchen
Anyone who has ever tea-stained the pages of a book report in hopes of transforming printer paper into a “historical artifact” should understand the importance of DIY food coloring.
38. 5 of the Best Pie Crust Recipes for a Flakier, Better-Tasting Slice
In this Absolute Best Test, Ella investigates which pie crust additive reigns supreme. The contenders: shortening, vodka, sour cream, all-butter, and a combination of butter and vinegar.
37. The Ingredient That's About to Change the Way You Bake
Sugar doesn’t melt. Also, caramel is a chemical enigma. These are just two of the many things I learned from this fascinating article by Stella Parks.
36. A Smarter Way to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
After reading this piece, I’d like to rebrand author Tom Hirschfeld as the Jason Bourne of fruit fly extermination.
35. The Reason Your Pies, Cakes & Chickens are Baking Unevenly
According to Sarah Jampel, you can precisely identify your oven’s hot spots using just a loaf of sliced, white bread.
34. The Trick to Better Coffee Cake Is Simple—Obvious, Even
Streusel, the sweet crumble topping is the best part of coffee cake—and that’s exactly why author Posie Brien knows the breakfast treat is better if there is simply more of it.
33. 60 Impossibly Easy, Slightly Lazy, 100% Reliable Summer Dinner Recipes
This roundup proves that you don’t need to sacrifice hours of your summer nights to make dishes like panzanella, fish tacos, and chimichurri skirt steak.
32. A 2-Ingredient Marinade for Never-Dry Chicken Breasts
The secret to moist chicken breasts is….Greek yogurt?
31. The Genius Chopped Salad Everyone’s (Still) Talking About
“It started making waves in 2006 when Nancy Silverton put it on the menu at Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles,” writes Kristen Miglore in this 2019 Genius column. “Thirteen years later, Food52 community members are still writing to me to tell me how genius it is.”
30. The Best Cornstarch Substitutes for Cooking & Baking
Learn how all-purpose flour, rice flour, arrowroot powder, potato starch, and tapioca starch can be used in place of cornstarch.
29. Make Your Scrambled Eggs Creamier—Without Adding a Thing
According to chef and cookbook author Tyler Kord, the creamiest scrambled eggs start in the blender.
28. The Best Things to Buy at H Mart, America's Favorite Korean Grocery Store
Former Food52 editor and current New York Times columnist Eric Kim highlights 20 of his favorites from the beloved Korean grocery store H-Mart. Some of his selections: Korean ice cream, bones for broth, and frozen dumplings.
27. This Genius Trick Will Change How You Fry Eggs
Thanks to this Genius hack, you can fry an egg without butter, oil, or bacon fat—all you need is cream.
26. How to Steam Vegetables Without a Steamer
If you have a steamer, keep scrolling. Okay, now that it’s just us non-steamer-owners: Can you believe people spend money on those things?
25. The Best Way to Store Celery Might Surprise You
Learn how aluminum foil can help extend your celery’s shelf life.
24. 22 Recipes to Use Up Your Leftover Heavy Cream
Don’t throw away that nearly empty carton of heavy cream—you’ll need it for green goddess dressing, chicken tikka masala, whole roasted cauliflower, and much more.
23. 55 Crockpot Recipes to Set & Forget
Keep this all-encompassing Crockpot roundup on file when temperatures begin to dip. This collection contains two of my personal favorites: beef stroganoff and Greek lentil soup.
22. The Best Butter for Baking Comes from...Trader Joe's
We decided which of the following butter brands was best for baking: Land O’Lakes, Trader Joe’s, 365, Breakstone’s, or Cabot.
21. Genius, 5-Ingredient Fried Chicken—Without the Frying
This Genius, oven-fried chicken recipe comes from Judy Hesser, creator of many of our most popular recipes and mother of Food52 co-founder, Amanda Hesser.
20. Make Genius, Creamy, Scoopable Frozen Yogurt in 3 Ingredients (& 20 Minutes) Flat
An excerpt: “As it turns out, making tart, sweet, creamy, soul-rebirthing-on-a-hot-day frozen yogurt at home is literally as simple as sticking yogurt in an ice cream maker, along with a little salt and a little more sugar.”
19. What to Dip in Cheese Fondue? Everything (but Especially These 13 Things)
If you’re in America and you want a crash course on fondue, you could do one of two things: Spend a gazillion dollars at your nearest Melting Pot, or read this delightful, informative, free article.
18. 16 Ina Garten Recipes to Channel Your Inner Barefoot Contessa
Ina's recipes are some of the best and most foolproof you'll find on the internet (or in one of her many cookbooks).
17. 47 Best Instant Pot Recipes for Slow-Cooked Flavor, Fast
Today I learned that it is possible to make ricotta cheese, cheesecake, short ribs, risotto, and bone broth in an Instant Pot—wild, but cool.
16. 9 Types of Indoor Fruit Trees You Can Grow in Your Living Room
Described by the author as “a primer on fruit trees that you can grow indoors, and how much light and water each needs to thrive.”
15. The 5 Best Substitutes for Evaporated Milk
You forgot evaporated milk but don’t want to head back out to the store—it’s fine, so long as you have milk, half and half, or powdered milk on hand.
14. The Right Way to Store Onions
Give your onions the home they deserve.
13. How To Preserve Your Sourdough Starter for Months—Sans Freezer
You won’t need a freezer, but if you’re gone for more than three days this article recommends hiring a “starter sitter” if you’re planning on being gone for more than three days.
12. A 'Why Didn't I Think of That?' Way to Peel Potatoes
If you’re into cooking hacks, this potato peeling breakthrough will knock your skin off.
11. How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs Perfectly, Every Single Time
Learn “the absolute cleanest, most pain-free way to peel a hard boiled egg, no blowing or wooden cane required.”
10. 16 Kitchen Storage Ideas You'll Wish You'd Known Sooner
After reading the article and all 105 of its comments, I feel like this response from community member Dave best sums it up: “Looks Great! You've got one helluva' bigger kitchen than I do for all that nice storage. Please send money so that my kitchen might be this wonderful!”
9. The Absolute Best Way to Fry an Egg, According to 42 Tests
The Ella Quittner accolades continue. This time, she identifies the premier egg-frying technique by looking at two factors: cooking fats (like oil, butter, etc.) and pan types (non-stick, stainless steel, cast iron, etc.).
8. How to Make Cannabutter, According to an Expert on Edibles
Edibles expert Vanessa Lavorato offers a complete crash course on all things cannabutter, from necessary equipment and weed prep to recipe recommendations.
7. 30 Yotam Ottolenghi Recipes Big On Flavor, Low on Effort
A collection of delicious, convenient recipes from the Israeli-born, James Beard Award-winning chef, Yotam Ottolenghi.
6. The Absolute Best Way to Cook a Hot Dog, According to So Many Tests
Hot dog season is here. Should you be microwaving, boiling, grilling, or roasting them?
5. How to Use One Cake Pan For Any Baking Recipe
This article makes the math easy.
4. How to Make Cold Brew Coffee—No Equipment Needed
A great, useful article with a slightly misleading headline: You will need to own cheesecloth or a French press to make cold brew as instructed.
3. The 5 French Mother Sauces Every Cook Should Know
In this culinary crash course, learn how to make the sauces integral to dishes like macaroni and cheese, croque madame, and eggs Benedict.
2. 34 Smart Substitutes for Worcestershire Sauce
If you’re out of Worcestershire, there’s likely an adequate replacement lurking somewhere in your kitchen.
1. The Absolute Best Way to Cook Bacon, According to So Many Tests
Our most popular article of all time is this bacon-focused Absolute Best Test from Ella Quittner, which has accrued nearly 600 comments since its December 2020 publication. If you want better bacon, read it, save it, and keep it on you forever.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.