The Knives Are Out

Finding the right utensils can be a headache for anyone who cooks.  Home chefs and pros can agonize about getting the right knife or cutting board at a good price. There is the choice of a regular store or a specialty shop. However there is another choice - the restaurant supplier. This can be a blessing because everything is there and it's usually the best kind.

This was the subject of an article in yesterday's  New York Times Dining section. Contributor Jane Lear  wrote about the famed J.B. Prince Company a Manhattan based purveyor of all things culinary.This is great place (and website) for anyone wishing to stock up on items or starting either a kitchen or a restaurant. it has both old fashioned gear such as mandolines to new fangled microplanes.. The company was started in the mid 1970's by the Prince family. Judith Prince ,a German immigrant and her husband Lawrence, wanted to bring European quality cooking items from France, Germany and Switzerland. They turned their top floor into a warehouse and started a catalog business. They now have a store in the Park Slope section of New York City which attracts everyone from seasoned restaurant owners to culinary school grads..

J.B. Prince has everything from simple cookbooks to even ice carving tools. For those who like to collect recipes there are moleskin journals in which to write down family favorites. There are also a variety of molds for bakers and candy makers as well as the more unusual terrine molds used for making vegetable and meat terrines. The online cutlery section is also amazing , with a dizzying array of knives and turning forks JB Prince also carries poultry scissors and shears in all sizes  , perfect for cutting up various birds. The store also has a neat array of cool machines from the ordinary food processors to sprayers used for spraying chocolate,

JB Prince has a wide collection of all sorts of cooking items. They are a great destination place for any foodie, home cook or chef visiting New York City. If not check them out on line, It's not as great as visiting the store yet they still have everything and anything a cook could want.

Mini - Yums

Good things come in small packages. That age old adage is true, especially with the latest food trend: mini sweets. Cupcakes are shrinking. Ice pops are melting while muffins are minimizing. Even more interesting - this trend is here to stay.


This was the topic of an article in today's New York Times Dining section. , The piece, written by Dining regular, the great Julia Moskin, tells of everyone's favorite treats getting smaller and smaller. It's like the famed scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice eats the bite size cake that has "Eat Me" written on it. The same is becoming true for cupcakes that are perfect for baby dolls and macaroons that are dime sized. Even the famed Sicilian pastry cannoli, is being made smaller. Usually two or three inches in length , it's' now being shrunk to only an inch. Creating such treats proves to be a challenge for bakers. Minis tend to easily break apart easier . Finding molds for them is also somewhat difficult as well.

Why the trend to bite size goodies? It's because we're drawn to smaller, more fun sized snacks. It also means that we can still have our guilty pleasures but with much less sugar and fat. No one is going to chow down on three cupcakes. That's too many calories to be consumed. However it's perfectly OK to gobble down three mini cupcakes. It's still the taste without all the sugar and fat. The same holds true for any other mini treat. A muffin may be too much for one person however shrink it to a fingernail sized bite and its perfect. manufacturers already know this and such companies as Hostess are jumping on the baby muffin and treat trend.

One thing is that we'll never get tired of these bite sized sweets. They're fun and colorful. They also have the allure of less calories too.They really live up to the phrase - good things really do come in small packages!