Joe Ray
Food & Travel / Words & Photos
Published Work
WIRED—December 12, 2018
Review: Tovala Steam Oven With Tovala IQ
I get a little flush of excitement every time I receive a box of kitchen gear that I’ve called in to test. They are always items I’m curious about and ones that have the potential to change the market or, …
WIRED—November 18, 2018
My Favorite Cookbooks of 2018
In this zinger of a year, food’s role in our lives felt like it shifted every day. Cooking at home became more of an oasis than ever, a meal with friends somehow more important. Some nights, though, punting and ordering …
RECENT ARTICLES
WIRED—November 17, 2018
The Pie of the Future Is Baked With Freeze-Dried Ingredients
High-end chefs spend a lot of time figuring out how to get foods to taste their best. Are they seasoned correctly? Is there a balance between fat and acidity that makes you want more? Is there a way they could …
WIRED—November 14, 2018
Review: AmazonBasics Microwave
Moments after plugging in Amazon’s new Alexa-connected microwave I was about to review, the first thing I noticed was the word that popped up on its screen: FAIL. It hadn’t—it had just jumped the gun a bit in the connection …
WIRED—November 4, 2018
Review: Cuisinart Extra-Large Rotisserie Fryer and Steamer
Deep-fried turkey is an exciting Thanksgiving menu sub-genre, bringing new flavors—and risk!—to the traditional holiday feast. To fry a turkey in the now-classic way, you hook a propane tank to a large, stand-alone burner, heat a giant vat of oil …
WIRED—October 23, 2018
The Mad Science of Fermentation’s Funky Flavors
More people across the US are making their own kimchi and sauerkraut, brewing kombucha in their kitchens, and working fermentation into their everyday cooking. In the recently published book The Noma Guide to Fermentation, from the famous Copenhagen restaurant, chef …
WIRED—October 23, 2018
Get Yourself the Right Cookware to Maximize a Small Space
Renting a tiny room in Nob Hill for too many dollars a month? From a brand-new pressure cooker that might be better than your Instant Pot, to a pan set that stacks without becoming an annoying, wobbly tower, to a …
WIRED—October 23, 2018
Brew a Perfect Pot of Coffee With Bodum Mocca’s Beam Heater
Making coffee is a science, so brew it in something that looks like it’s on loan from a chem lab. Siphons—also called vacuum pots—traditionally use butane heat sources. Bodum’s Mocca instead uses the red-hot glow of a 430-watt halogen Beam …
WIRED—October 19, 2018
Review: The Noma Guide To Fermentation
Occasionally, when shredding cabbage to make sauerkraut, I wonder, of all vegetables, why this one? Don’t get me wrong—little makes me happier than a late-night snack of beer, cheddar, crackers, and kraut, but the popularity of the lowly cabbage for …
WIRED—October 13, 2018
Review: Hestan Smart Induction Cooktop
The first thing I did with the new stovetop in front of me was the simplest and the most important. I set the burner to a temperature, set of pound of butter in a pan and walked away for 20 …
WIRED—August 18, 2018
Review: PK360 Grill & Smoker—A Solidly Built Grill/Smoker Combo With Excellent Temperature Control
It may have arrived at my home in a box delivered by FedEx, but from the moment I saw it, I wondered if the grill I was testing hadn’t been shipped directly from the set of some 1960s sci-fi television …
WIRED—August 13, 2018
Review: GE Smart Countertop Microwave With Scan-to-Cook Technology
The first thing that struck me about the mass-market microwave that connects to the internet is how peculiar the machine’s diet is.
The GE Smart Countertop Microwave with Scan-to-Cook Technology is, despite the mouthful of a name, fairly unassuming to …
WIRED—July 26, 2018
Presto Nomad Review: It looks like a cooler, but it’s a slow cooker that’s made to travel.
In 2005, my friend Mike bought an old and unreliable Infiniti G20 sedan in England for the equivalent of $750, did some emergency repairs, then drove it across Europe and down to Senegal. That was a long time ago, and …
WIRED—July 21, 2018
Review: Instant Pot Max—This Powerful Instant Pot Can Get Dinner To The Table Faster, In Theory.
Electric pressure cookers hit it big in American home kitchens a few years back because, along with the perceived lower risk of dinner on the ceiling, they cook food fast. Something like beef stew, which takes all day in a …
WIRED—July 6, 2018
Five Pieces of Primo Meal-Prep Gear for the Campsite Gourmet
From a Dutch oven made in Holland to a two-cup espresso maker, to a stainless steel growler, here’s some choice equipment for cooking like a pro in the wild. Toss the packets of dehydrated soup and make a real meal …
WIRED—June 28, 2018
Kilner Fermentation Set Review: This cheap and easy-to-use kit is what you need to start fermenting
Fermenting makes for incredible food, but for beginners, finding the right equipment is tricky. Kilner’s new fermentation set changes that equation.
WIRED—June 10, 2018
Review: Meater—This Wireless Thermometer Pings Your Phone When The Rib Eye Has Reached Perfection
If it was up to me, my ideal grill would be one that could capably cook low and slow and and also be able to turn on the jets for a hard, fast sear. There’d be a nice-sized table next …
WIRED—May 18, 2018
Essay: You Need A New Kitchen Knife
If you do a bit of kitchen knife research, you will soon discover a recurring theme, as well as some odd advice. The recurring theme is that the three key knives everyone must own are a chef’s knife, a paring …
WIRED—May 10, 2018
Essay: Are Air Fryers Worth It?
I called in one of Philips new XXL models, which is both large and a good representative of the best of the industry’s offerings.
It arrived in the morning and, lacking other options in my fridge and pantry, I made …
WIRED—April 17, 2018
Essay: A Young Chicago Chef Pursues Wood-Fired Perfection
The James Beard Awards are often referred to as the “Oscars of the food world,” and while Chicago chef Erling Wu-Bower has been nominated for three of them, he’s lost all three.
“I’m like Susan Lucci!” he jokes, referring to …
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