Happy Accidents in the Kitchen

Forget Everything You Think You Know About Meat [Find Recipes]( [Join Now]( [Login]( [America's Test Kitchen: Notes from the Test Kitchen]( [America's Test Kitchen: Notes from the Test Kitchen]( [For layout only]( [A collection of recipes from this newsletter and images of the America's Test Kitchen cast]( Happy Accidents [Lisa McManus's Headshot]( [Lisa McManus]( Executive Editor, ATK Reviews Every time our ATK Reviews team tests kitchen gear or ingredients, we do tons of carefully planned hands-on work. We write step-by-step protocols of exactly how we will test, and we all weigh in on those protocols before any one of us even sets foot in the kitchen. But sometimes in the middle of a test we learn things we never set out to discover. I’ve come to appreciate these “happy accidents.” When [testing canned crushed tomatoes]( we planned to measure the liquid-to-solid ratio in each product. We set strainers atop measuring cups, poured in the contents of each can, and left them to drain overnight. The next morning, we were surprised to find the tomato juices were two distinct colors: red or yellow. We got on the phone with scientists and tomato canning companies. It was the key to the whole story. Turns out, tomatoes with yellow juices had been processed at lower temperatures, which preserved enzymes that keep them yellow. Red juices came from tomatoes processed at higher temperatures. We lined them up in order of our tasters’ preferences. Sure enough, “yellow-juice” brands had been top-ranked; tasters found them bright and fresh. “Red-juice” brands, described as more “cooked” and less fresh-tasting, ranked lower. Another time, testing cutting boards, I was keeping track of how they held up to chopping and also how quickly they dulled new knives. On some boards I made up to 1,000 cuts before I detected any lessening of the knives’ cutting ability. The biggest shock? A glass board. It completely wrecked a sharp new knife edge in about 10 cuts. Lesson learned: [Never use a glass cutting board for chopping food.]( These happy accidents are one reason I’ll never tire of testing kitchen gear and ingredients—it will always surprise me. Members get every recipe, review, and video. Get instant access to everything from the most trusted cooking experts. [Start your 2-week free trial](. Forget Everything You Think You Know About Meat [Slow-Roasted Beef →]( [Pan-Seared Strip Steaks →]( [Weeknight Roast Chicken →]( The . . . Microwave? 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