Nifty Tips from the Los Angeles Times Food Section

I have been a fan of the Los Angeles Times Food section ever since I was in college in the 1980s. Back then, I was majoring in history and whenever I got tired of reading primary documents and writing essays at the university library, I would take a break and roam over to the newspaper section to grab the LA Times. I loved reading their food section back then. Funnily enough, Ruth Reichl was the editor at that time.

When I moved to Seattle nearly seventeen years ago, I hunted down the paper at Bulldog News and repeatedly went out of my way to purchase the paper weekly.  This always involved carting infants down to the city's University District, but it was worth it.  Now with the online edition, I can simply click their website and enjoy the content right at home.

This morning I clicked onto the food section and enjoyed this sensible little tip for grating cheese! Yes, it can be a hassle grating cheese on a grater because the cheese leaves a residue that needs to be scrubbed off. Noelle Carter suggests spraying the grater or the rasp with a little vegetable oil before grating. Aha! That would work! Noelle also tells readers to spray their knives before chopping sticky items such as dates. Yes, that's a winner of a tip, too. I often spray my kitchen shears with a little oil right before I need to "chop" dates...the oil easily prevents the dates from sticking together. It simplifies and streamlines the operation.

If you aren't familiar with the LA Times food section, I suggest you check it out. The food sections at local newspapers around the country are rapidly dying or becoming extremely weak. In my opinion, many of them are becoming ridiculously narrow and biased in their content.

I am pleased to tell you that the LA Times food section is substantial and seems to be holding its own. They maintain a test kitchen and still test their recipes again and again. They interact with their readers. They hunt down and research stories featuring original content. They seem to see as much value in those quirky culinary tips as they do in tested recipes, trendy ideas, and classic ingredients. I guess there is a reason why I started reading this food section more than twenty five years ago!

--Melissa A. Trainer