Browned butter is pretty much what it sounds like: butter that has been cooked until it is brown. The slightly more formal name for this is “beurre noisette,” or hazelnut butter - a double reference to the light brown color of the cooked butter and the lovely nutty flavor that it acquires during the cooking process.

If you’ve ever cooked with butter, using it to grease a frying pan before cooking eggs, for instance, you probably know that it is very easy to burn butter. The milk solids in butter have a low smoking point compared to pure fat, which means that while oil and shortening can take very high heats and be stable, butter cannot. But their ability to take the heat also precludes them from being able to achieve the browning that butter can. The browning of beurre noisette is a result of the milk solids in the butter cooking, toasting, and taking on a deep flavor and brown color. It doesn’t take long to go from brown to black (beurre noir), so stand by the stove while you’re cooking.

To make browned butter, simply melt some butter (I prefer unsalted for this) in a small saucepan on the stove. Continue cooking it on medium-high heat until the butter boils and begins to brown. Don’t worry if your butter bubbles or foams; just keep cooking it. When the butter begins to brown, you will see specks of darker brown develop at the bottom of the pan. Stir these up and cook until the butter has a nice and even dark honey color. Remove from heat and transfer to another container to cool.

Browned butter can be used in baking in place of regular melted butter and is a great way to finish off a simple vegetable or pasta dish and really kick up the other flavors.

I’m incredibly lucky to live in California, a state that not only produces fantastic produce, but does so year-round. As a result, you might think that I don’t pay too much attention to what is in season and what isn’t simply because so much is available. But I do. Despite the availability of decent strawberries in December, for instance, nothing beats fresh fruits and veggies that are picked at the peak of their natural season and because I want my baked goods to turn out as tasty as possible, I keep track. Fruits feature much more commonly in the breads and other things I make, so I’ve put together a little reference guide for what fruits are in season this spring. Keep an eye out - you don’t want to miss the peak of the season for any of these.

Now: Apricots, Cherries, Citrus (Grapefruits, Kumquats, Lemons, Navel Oranges, Tangelos/Tangerines), Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries

Some now, more later in the season: Asian Pears, Honeydew Melons, Mango, Nectarines, Plums, Watermelon

Spring Fruit Recipe Ideas:

• Strawberry Whole Wheat Pancakes
• Bailey’s Raspberries
• Rhubarb and Ginger Loaf Cake
• Balsamic Strawberries
• Sour Cream Lemon Shortbread Bars
• Black Cherry Sour Cream Muffins

Can you describe the flavor of an egg? I’m not entirely sure that I can. Chicken meat is the same way: you can’t exactly describe it, but you know it when you taste it because it is such a familiar flavor. There are many different types and qualities of chickens and, if you eat meat on a regular basis, you’re probably well aware that not all chicken meat is created equal. The same thing goes for eggs. The average supermarket egg is a conventional one, but it’s getting easier than ever before to find organic/free range eggs,  farm fresh eggs and low-saturated fat eggs, as well. Is one better than another?

Cook’s Illustrated conducted a little taste test of their own, pitting organic/free range eggs,  farm fresh eggs (less than 1 week old) and low-saturated fat eggs (Eggland’s best) against conventional eggs in a side by side, sunny side up taste test. They found that farm fresh eggs were the best of the bunch, with dark orange yolks, small whites and a rich flavor. Organic eggs, low cholesterol eggs and “standard” supermarket eggs - in that order - followed.

The flavors of eggs don’t generally come through in your average cake or cookie recipe, so your choice of egg won’t ultimately make that much difference in anything that doesn’t feature egg as a standout ingredient. If you want to give farm-fresh eggs a try, however, you can typically find them at farmers markets and at some specialty grocers that deal directly with small, local suppliers.

I love all of my cookbooks and use them often. But these days, more often than ever before, I’m looking for recipes (or recipe inspiration) online, too. Cookbooks are easy to take into the kitchen. Computers - even laptops - are somewhat less so. The problem is not gaining access to the recipe, but handling the book/laptop while you’re trying to handle various ingredients and the risk of spills and splatters. I know that I’m not alone when I say that I don’t like to take these risks any more than I have to. As a result, I’ve resorted to jotting recipes down on various post-it notes, index cards and spare sheets of paper so that I can keep the recipe I’m using in front of me without putting my cookbooks or computer in jeopardy.

It’s not the best system, perhaps, but it works out reasonably well and does allow me to take notes as I work.

There is a new product in development that could make this sort of kitchen problem a thing of the past: The Kitchen Sync. The Kitchen Sync looks a bit like a cookbook in shape. It is a small, flexible, washable screen with a dock that charges it and holds it upright. You can download recipes from your computer right onto the Sync and take the screen with you into the kitchen, where you can work right from the recipe (and follow links to buy necessary products and see tips online) without worry about damaging the gadget with slippery, sticky or otherwise messy foods.

The designer of the Kitchen Sync is Noah Balmer and the design is still in the concept stage at the moment, though it is receiving well-deserved attention in the design community at the moment. We’ll have to wait and keep our fingers crossed that it goes into production. I don’t want to wait too long before I get to try out this little gadget in my own kitchen.

There are plenty of recipes out there that call for only egg whites or only egg yolks. Angel food cake springs to mind as the most obvious example, since it calls for 10-12 egg whites only, but you can end up with a few leftover after making something as simple as an egg white omelette.

Storing egg whites and egg yolks is simple, though the two egg parts do require different storage methods. Egg whites can be kept covered in the fridge for a few days, but when you have a lot the best thing to do is freeze them. Pour each egg white into one cube of an ice tray and freeze. Transfer to a bag and all you need to do is defrost them at room temperature when they’re called for. Egg yolks don’t freeze too well and can dry out after a day in the fridge alone. The best way to store them is by mixing them with a bit of water first (you can probably keep the yolks whole in the water if you are careful and simply remove them whole when ready to use), before putting them into a covered container in the fridge. They’ll keep for 2-3 days this way.

As an additional note, I sometimes find that I want to store whole eggs. When I make blown Easter eggs, for instance, I usually cook some and store others whole. When doing it this way, I like to mix the yolk and the white together and place in in a covered, refrigerated container. I’ve seen people freeze whole eggs, but I honestly always use them in a day or two and find that they are unaffected by that time in the fridge.

Agave syrup - also known as agave nectar - is one of those things that was relegated to obscurity in less-trafficked natural foods markets for years, but has recently encountered a substantial upsurge in popularity. The result of this is a much more high profile position in the grocery story, though not everyone has experience with it yet. The syrup is made from agave plants (including, but not limited to, the tequila variety of the plant), which are juiced and filtered so that the resulting liquid is thick and honey-colored. It’s becoming a very popular sugar alternative because not only is it very sweet, but because it has a very low glycemic index. Essentially, this means that it won’t cause your blood sugar to spike like some other high-sugar or high-carbohydrate foods. As far as I know, there aren’t any other natural sweeteners with a GI lower than agave syrup. It still has the same number of calories as sugar, though (15 per tsp).

The consistency of agave syrup is somewhere between maple syrup and honey: syrupy, but thin enough that it is very easy to pour. It tastes similar to honey in terms of sweetness and might even be a little bit sweeter. It lacks that signature taste of honey, however, so I would describe it as having a slightly cleaner flavor - albeit one with a lot more character than, say, a plain sugar syrup. The bottle pictured here is the Partida Tequila Agave Nectar that I mentioned in my margarita post a couple of days ago.

Agave syrup can certainly be used in baking, but it cannot be substituted directly for sugar. One problem is that it is sweeter than sugar. Another is that it is a liquid, so it changes the proportions of the recipe. Try starting with a recipe that calls for honey and substitute agave. It will act much the same way, contributing to browning and helping to keep the baked good moist a day or two after baking. If you like your results, go ahead and experiment with other recipes and substituting part of the sugars.