Joe Ray
Food & Travel / Words & Photos
Published Work
ARCHIVE OF THE YEAR 2017
WIRED—December 28, 2017
Essay: Meal Kits Have a Packaging Problem
Recently, someone asked me if I thought people were cooking at home less frequently than they used to. I bristled at the query, probably because I was worried that it might be true. Wasn’t everyone out there watching cooking shows …
WIRED—December 17, 2017
The Season’s Best Cookbooks: 6 Picks for Your WIRED Kitchen
The cookbooks that resonate this year are the ones that get real. Whether encouraging you to use some kitchen smarts, or employing a brute-force meat-shredding method that relies on a sledgehammer, this season’s best cookbooks emphasize technique, authenticity, and the …
Wired—November 7, 2017
Modernist Bread Slices Into the Science of the Loaf
Out this week, Modernist Bread is the five-volume follow up to Myhrvold’s five-volume Modernist Cuisine. This new collection lays out in encyclopedic fashion what, in the authors’ minds, is the best way to make everything from white sandwich bread to pretzels to vollkornbrot. It is the deepest of deep dives.
Wired—October 28, 2017
The December Dripper - Pour Over Coffee With A Twist
Up to now, pour over coffee brewers were at the mercy of the dripper design, particularly the size of the holes at its base which govern the flow of liquid through the dripper, and thus, how much time the grounds are exposed to the hot water. It’s an important variable: too much contact produces flavors you don’t want from overextraction. Too little contact and not only do you have weak, thin-flavored coffee, but you’re also wasting beans.
Enter the December Dripper ($60), which, by increasing the number of moving parts in a typical dripper from zero to one, allows you to control the flow instead of forcing you go to with it.
Wired—October 18, 2017
Review: Breville Precision Brewer
The latest drip machine from Breville offers many ways to tinker with the variables that go into brewing your morning cup.
WIRED—October 14, 2017
Knead To Know: The Secrets of Gluten, Revealed
Nathan Myhrvold’s second food manifesto, Modernist Bread, is a $625, five-volume labor of loaves.
Wired—October 7, 2017
Review: The Traeger Timberline 850
Mechanical bugs and faulty thermometers stunt Traeger’s otherwise great grill.
Wired—September 15, 2017
Review: Dave Arnold’s Spinzall Culinary Centrifuge
The Spinzall kitchen centrifuge does stuff like clarify fruit juices, make butter, and create clear herb oils. But does it, you know, work well?
Wired—August 4, 2017
Wheat Nerds and Scientists Join Forces To Build A Better Bread
A group of bakers, millers, and scientists are working to make whole-grain foods delicious. Here’s what happens at the Grain Gathering, an annual meeting of some of the world’s best bakers, millers, and grain growers in the flowing meadows of Washington State’s Skagit Valley.
Wired—July 28, 2017
Review: Breville’s Oracle Touch: Pro-Quality Espresso At Home, For The Price Of A Used Car
Who needs a barista, anyway?
Wired—July 19, 2017
Review: Meal Kits Provide Tasty Dinners, With A Side Of Landfill
We review ready-to-cook meal kits from Amazon Fresh, Blue Apron, Purple Carrot, and Home Chef.
WIRED—July 13, 2017
Review: Cook By Numbers With The Hestan Cue
The Hestan Cue’s app guides you through recipes step-by-step, setting your pan to exactly the right temperature every time. Is it worth the price?
WIRED—June 28, 2017
Review: Stasher and Anova Team Up On Multi-Use Sous Vide Bags
Stasher has teamed up with sous-vide company Anova to market its reusable silicone bags to trendy home chefs.
WIRED—June 9, 2017
Review: Oh, Look, A $350 Box To Hold Your Cheese
The Cheese Grotto promises to extend the life of fine cheeses by creating the perfect storage conditions. But in reality, deli wrap might work just as well.
WIRED—March 16, 2017
Holy Shucking Fit! You Might Be Shucking Oysters All Wrong
Learn a hinge-first technique for popping bivalves open with a formal beauty that recalls the tango.