America's Test Kitchen

-Today on "America's Test Kitchen"... Becky makes Julia Venezuelan cheese-filled corn cakes, Adam reviews dish towels, Dan uses physics to demonstrate the importance of a sharp knife, and Joe makes Bridget fresh corn chowder.

It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."

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-Cachapas con queso de mano are Venezuelan corn cakes with a sweet, savory flavor.

They're cooked on a griddle and filled with fresh cow's milk cheese.

And today, Becky is going to show us how easy they are to make at home.

-Yeah, these cakes are topped with a pat of butter and served for breakfast with fresh juice.

Or it can be a snack, meal, anytime.

-It sounds so good.

-They're delicious.

So, let's get started!

-Okay.

-Corn cakes.

We're using fresh corn.

I already stripped the kernels from three ears of corn.

I'm going to do the last one.

And you could use frozen corn or even canned corn... -Oh, wow.

-...if you want to, for this.

So, I like to cut the cobs in half just to make it a little easier to strip the kernels off.

And then, I just cut right down the side here.

So, we want three cups.

-Okay.

This is almost all corn, we're just gonna add a few other ingredients to bring it together into a pancake batter.

-Okay.

-So, we're going to put two and a quarter cups of the corn into the blender.

Now, we have a quarter cup of masarepa.

This is a super fine flour made from corn.

I have three tablespoons of Mexican crema.

It's pretty similar to sour cream, and you can swap that in if you can't find the Mexican crema.

Then, we have one whole large egg.

-I love that you're just dumping this all in the blender.

-A blender batter, it's super simple.

A tablespoon of sugar.

Some recipes call for quite a bit of sugar, but the corn itself is quite sweet, so we like just a tablespoon here.

And then, three quarters teaspoon of salt.

So, we're going to put this in the blender for 30 seconds until we get a nice, thick batter.

Alright, 30 seconds.

And now, this is that three quarters cup of corn that I reserved.

We're just going to pulse that in because we want some nice little pops of corn in these delicate cakes.

-That makes sense.

-There we go.

-Awesome.

That is a thick batter.

-Yeah, nice and thick.

Alright, so there's our batter.

And we need to let this sit for 10 minutes.

We need to give that masarepa a little bit of time to hydrate.

Alright, our batter has been resting for 10 minutes, and now, it's time to cook these corn cakes.

-Great.

-Now, I have a tablespoon of unsalted butter that's melting over low heat.

We cook these corn cakes very gently.

-Really?

-Yep.

So, it's going to take about 10 minutes total to cook each batch.

-Okay.

-So, I have a quarter cup measuring cup.

Put these into the skillet.

-There's not even a sizzle!

-Low heat.

-Low heat.

-So, I just want to spread these out a little bit.

You want about four-inch rounds here.

And now, I'm going to increase the heat to medium here, and we'll let these cook for about four to five minutes.

They're going to get really nice and brown on the bottom side.

-Okay.

-Alright, it's been about five minutes, and you can actually smell that caramelized corn sugar.

-It smells delicious.

-Yeah, that's how we know they're ready to flip.

You can see they're browning a little bit.

So, I'm going to use -- these are very delicate, so I'm going to use a wide, thin spatula, I'm going to actually use two, to help me get underneath here.

-A double spat.

That's gorgeous.

-That looks pretty good.

Alright, so we want to let these go for another three to four minutes until they get nice and brown on the other side, and then we'll continue.

Alright, it's been about three more minutes, and these are done now, so I'm going to put these onto a baking sheet.

Alright, I have the oven set at 200 degrees, if you'll pop these in to keep them warm, and then I'll wipe out the pan, add more butter, and we'll cook the other four.

-Okay.

-Alright, so all of our eight corn cakes are nice and warm.

-They smell delicious.

-Yeah.

You can smell that caramelized corn, right?

So good.

And now, here we have queso de mano.

-A-ha!

-Cheese of the hand.

-Right.

-Stretched by hand until it's really smooth and elastic.

-Kind of like mozzarella.

-Kind of, you can actually swap in fresh mozzarella if you can't find the queso de mano.

But it's great if you can find it.

It's a little bit salty, a little bit tangy.

Nice and delicate.

It's really good.

-Okay.

-So, it comes in a 24-ounce package like this in three slabs, this is how it's usually sold.

And we only need 8 ounces of it.

So, you're going to have quite a bit left over.

You can put it in nachos, omelets, just nibble on it.

-Yeah, leftover cheese is not a problem in my house.

-No!

No problem at all.

So, we have a 3.5-inch cutter.

-Ah, to match the corn cakes.

-Exactly.

So, I'm going to cut out some rounds here.

Alright, so, now, we have three, but we need one more.

So, I'm just going to use my cutter.

I'm going to cut out... one shape like this, and then another little snippet from the other side.

-I see what you did there!

I see what you did.

-And that's kind of going to fit together once it relaxes, between the corn cakes, you'll have almost a circle.

Alright, so, nice, big piece of cheese.

And you don't want the cheese -- it's not going to completely melt.

It's just going to relax and soften a little bit when we pop these back in the oven.

Now, we sandwich it like this.

Oh, my gosh.

-Man, that looks good.

-Oh, I can't wait to have you taste these.

You're going to love these.

Okay, so, I'm going to pop these back into a 200-degree oven.

Like I said, we don't want the cheese to melt.

It's just going to slump a little bit, nice and melty, and we'll give them a taste.

-Okay.

I can't wait to see these.

-Ooh, I know, it's been about four minutes.

Alright, Julia, so, you can see, the cheese, it's not melted.

It's just a little bit, it kind of relaxed.

-Yeah.

-Let's serve these up here.

Alright, don't eat yet because I'm going to give these a little bit more butter.

[ Both laugh ] -That's what this needs!

-You can never have too much butter, right?

Okay.

-[ Chuckles ] My mouth is already watering.

-Oh, I know.

So it's just delicately crisp, when you cut in, you'll notice, and then you get that melty cheese.

Oh, my gosh.

-Mmm!

Oh, this is comfort food, isn't it?

-Mm!

-The corn, the sweetness.

The cheese.

-A little bit salty, a little bit sweet.

-Mm-hmm.

-Just delicately crisp on the outside.

-But it tastes like corn!

-Yeah.

-It's as though fresh corn is just barely held together and made into a cake.

-Yeah.

-And that queso de mano is delicious.

I can't believe I've never had it before.

-Yeah, it is the perfect flavor and texture for so many things, but in this, man.

-This is good.

-Yeah.

-Becky, this is really cool.

Thank you for showing me how to make these.

-It was my pleasure.

-If you want to make these wonderful Venezuelan corn cakes, make a corn batter in the blender, then let it rest for 10 minutes.

Cook the pancakes in batches, then layer cheese between the pancakes to make a sandwich and let that warm through in the oven.

From "America's Test Kitchen," a fun and easy recipe for cachapas con queso de mano.

This would be great as an after-school snack.

-Oh, my gosh!

-Wouldn't that be fun?

-Yes.

-They dry your hands, and as advertised, they should dry your dishes.

Adam's here, and he's going to take us through the world of kitchen towels.

-And what does a dish towel really need to be?

-Absorbent.

-Absorbent!

And strong, and easy to clean.

-True.

-We got this line up of 10 different dish towels.

They came in sets of two or more.

One of them came in a set of 12, as a matter of fact.

-Oh!

Geez.

-The per-towel cost worked out to $1 to $15.

We focused on cotton and linen.

In terms of absorbency, it didn't really depend entirely on the type of fiber, it depended as much on the weave used to make the fabric.

The most common weaves are plain, waffle, basket, and terry.

A plain weave is going to make a flat, kind of thin fabric like this.

-Yep.

-That is really good for handling delicate items like champagne flutes or wine glasses, something like that.

It's maneuverable, not as great for absorption.

And I want you to show me.

In that bucket of blue water, you have a plain weave towel that has been soaking up water.

If you could pull that out, squeeze it into a measuring cup, and let's see how it did, how much water it absorbed.

-Alright, plain weave.

-Plain weave, flat.

-Alright, I'm going to hold it over one of these and squeeze.

-That looks like even less than half a cup.

-Definitely.

-If you go for one of the other weaves, like waffle, basket, or terry, that's going to create a looser fabric that's going to absorb more water because the fabric fibers are looser, there's more space for the water to go into, and there's also more space for the fabric fibers to expand.

And believe it or not, you have one of those in your bucket of blue water, too!

Would you squeeze that one out and let's see if it actually held any more water?

-This is the worst carnival I've ever been to.

-[ Laughs ] Alright.

-Oh, it's gone -- Yeah, a lot more.

-Look at that.

It's a lot more.

Check that out.

It's nearly a cup.

It's a lot more than the first one.

-It's about twice as much.

-Twice as much!

There were a couple of other benefits to the looser and thicker fabric.

One of the tests was to actually fold over a dish towel and grab a hot pan with it.

-Sure.

-A lot of people do that instead of using oven mitts or a potholder, I do it, too.

The thicker the fabric, the more heat protection you had.

And also, thicker fabric just feels better in your hand, which is nice.

-It really does.

-All of these were machine washable, all but one of them could go into the dryer, and we recommend washing them before you use them.

New textiles generally have some residual protective treatment called sizing.

That's meant to keep them in shape as they are transported, also to prevent pilling, but it's water repellent, so your towels are not going to be as absorbent as they should be until you have washed them.

-Get rid of the sizing.

-Get rid of the sizing.

We had three winners.

One of them is this guy.

This is the Williams-Sonoma classic striped towel.

It's a set of two for $23, and it combines two different weaves.

These red stripes are the plain weave, so they're flat.

They give it really good handling on delicate glassware.

The white parts are a basket weave.

They're a little thicker, so it's also absorbent and heat protective.

If you want to go for a terry towel, if that is more your style, this is the Now Designs ripple kitchen towel, set of two for $18, terry cloth.

This was the most absorbent of all of them we tested.

2.3 cups of water came out of this one.

-Wow.

-And if you're a linen type because you value maximum maneuverability over absorption, this is the LinenVibe pure linen tea towel for the kitchen.

It was $30 for a set of two.

-Alright, a lot of choices.

We've got three winners of kitchen towels for you to peruse.

And if you go to our website, you can go check them out.

-Everyone knows that a sharp knife cuts better than a dull knife.

But why?

It's all about force and point of contact.

Check this out.

I'm going to smash these two metal spheres together with a piece of paper in the middle.

Let's look what happens.

They actually create a hole in the paper.

That's because all of the force exerted on the spheres is transferred to one tiny point where they touch.

That's powerful.

Now, if I try this again with one sphere and one cube, let's see what happens.

Well, there's a little dent, but basically nothing happens.

That's because the force is spread out over a much wider area.

These two spheres, they represent a very sharp knife.

The edge of a sharp knife is just a line of single points.

If I cut a tomato with that knife, the thin edge contacts the tomato at a single point so all the force I exert goes into cutting.

The knife glides right through.

If I substitute in a very dull knife, which has more surface area like those cubes, the force is spread out over a wider area.

Instead of effortlessly gliding through, we just end up smooshing our tomato.

So, if you're cutting tomatoes, reach for the sharpest knife.

And when you want to make a tiny hole in a piece of paper, it's got to be spheres.

-Recipes that use summer's best corn rarely taste as fresh and sweet as they should.

But lucky for us, Joe's here, and he's got a recipe for a corn chowder that's going to bring out the best of corn.

-That's right, this recipe is all about packing in as much fresh corn flavor as possible.

And for that, we're going to be using a lot of fresh corn.

-Good!

-But the traditional start for all New England chowders is salt pork, which I've got over here.

-Alright.

-So, this is something that you might find in the chiller cabinet next to your bacon.

Like bacon, it's a cured pork product.

So, I'm just going to cut the rind off these 3 ounces of salt pork.

And we're going to cut this into two 1-inch pieces.

Okay.

-I'm going to transfer them to a large Dutch oven.

-Okay.

-Now, if you could just set this to medium-high heat and I can wash my hands.

So, salt pork has been cured for longer than bacon and it's saltier, so it's really going to add a lot of depth of flavor.

But we want to release some of its fat, we want to render it, so we're going to cook this over medium-high heat until it's really well browned and the fat is rendered.

That'll take about 10 minutes.

-Perfect.

-So, if you could tend to that, that would be great.

-Yes.

I'm on pork patrol.

-Yes, please.

And if you could just turn it, make sure it cooks evenly, and you can press down every so often to help release that fat.

-Gorgeous.

Alright.

-So, here is the corn that we promised.

This recipe is going to use 10 ears of corn.

-Oh, wow.

-Which is rather a lot.

I've already cut the kernels off two of them, and I'm just going to cut off the kernels from these other two.

I like to use a rimmed baking sheet and a sharp chef's knife.

I just like to anchor the corn on the cob on the rimmed baking sheet, and I just run my knife down the side of the corn, and it just comes right off, and this rimmed baking sheet captures all of those flyaway pieces.

So, we're actually going to treat the corn in three different ways so that they can really maximize their own potential, their own greatness.

-Alright.

-So, the first way is cutting the kernels off the cob.

Now, the second thing that we're going to do is something a little unconventional.

We're going to grate them.

-Okay.

-Just using a regular cheese grater with the big holes, I'm just going to take my ear of corn, and I'm just going to run it down the cheese grater.

And as we do that, we're breaking open all of those little kernels, and we're releasing some of the sap, the milky juice on the inside, that is going to give us so much flavor.

Right now, I've just released some of the juice and a lot of the pulp, but actually, there's still more to go.

So, we've grated it, we've cut it, and now we're going to milk it.

You could use a butter knife, but I'm just going to use the back side of my chef's knife.

I'm just going to run it down the corn, and you can see this thick, milky pulp... comes out.

-Oh yeah.

-That's where so much of the flavor is.

-Smells fantastic.

-Yes, it does.

So, it's been about 10 minutes and we've got our salt pork nice and brown.

-Yes.

-We've also got a lot of fat rendered into the pan.

So, to this, we're now going to add one large onion and then a tablespoon of butter.

Now, this isn't the main fat here, but it's just going to add that slight little buttery flavor that goes so well with corn.

-A little sweetness.

-And a little sweetness, too.

And a teaspoon of salt.

I'm going to reduce the heat to low.

Cover all of the onions with that fat and the salt.

And we're going to let the onions basically stew until they're super soft, which will take 12 minutes.

I've got this over low heat.

We're not looking for much browning other than the browning that we got from the salt pork.

It's just going to help absorb all that flavor and just get really soft and sweet.

-Gorgeous.

-So, it's been about 12 minutes, and -- mmm!

This is what we used to call sweaty onions.

Now, it sounds terrible -- smells amazing.

-I had a boyfriend with that nickname.

[ Both laugh ] -Okay, so, now, we should see a lot more fat come out because the salt pork has continued to render its fat.

We're going to take it out of the pan for now, but we're going to come back to them later.

And then, to our onions, we're going to add two cloves of garlic that we've minced.

I'm just going to cook this until it's fragrant, which will take about a minute.

We're now going to add something that's very common to a lot of soups, and that is three tablespoons of all purpose flour.

-Okay.

-So, this is actually going to perform two purposes.

First of all, I'm just going to make a roux, which just means cooking the flour in the fat.

And I'm just going to use a whisk just to make sure that all the flour gets evenly broken up.

We don't really want any clumps and we want the fat to really coat all of it.

Now, typically, people will make a roux in order to just thicken a soup.

But in this case, it's actually going to serve another purpose.

Now, we're adding a lot of dairy, and when you heat dairy, it can sometimes curdle and break.

And that will turn your soup grainy.

And it's not a terribly pleasant thing to do here.

-It looks split.

-It looks split.

And the roux, because it thickens a little bit, will help preserve the integrity of the emulsion of the milk.

-Okay.

-So, it's going to be nice and smooth.

So, I'm just going to use something that we use in a lot of soups, and that is chicken broth.

So, I'm just going to whisk this in.

It just adds a really lovely, subtle savory backdrop to a soup.

It's just going to heighten all the other ingredients without dominating.

And I'm just going to whisk this in slowly because we're essentially forming an emulsion here, much like you would a mayonnaise.

And you can see it immediately thickens up as we keep on adding it.

Because we're doing it very gradually, we're not having any lumps form.

And this is three cups of chicken broth.

-Okay.

-To that, I'm going to add two cups of whole milk.

And to that, we're going to add 12 ounces of red potatoes.

A lot of corn chowders are traditionally thickened just using potatoes.

-Right.

-And that's because the potatoes, as they cook, will give off their starch, and that starch is going to help thicken the soup.

To that, we're going to add back our salt pork because this has got more love to give.

-Thank goodness.

-A teaspoon of minced thyme, I'm using fresh here.

If you wanted to use dried, you could, you could substitute a quarter teaspoon.

-Okay.

-One bay leaf really does make a difference.

-It really does.

We have tested this.

-And then, we're going to add our grated corn and milk.

We're not going to add the whole corn kernels just yet.

-Okay.

-I'm going to bring this to a boil now.

And as you're doing that, you really want to make sure you keep on stirring it so that the bottom doesn't get too hot because that could break the emulsion.

-Right.

-Turn it grainy.

So, we're going to bring this to a boil, and then we're going to turn it down to a simmer and let it cook until the potatoes are almost ready.

Not quite ready.

-Look at that beautiful yellow color already starting.

-They're already getting there.

-Ah!

-And this will take about 8 to 10 minutes.

So, it's been about 9 minutes, and let's check on our potatoes.

-Okay.

-So, I'm just going to fish out one or two, and then, just using a paring knife, I want to make sure that I just feel just a little bit of resistance.

Yep, it mostly penetrates easily, but there's just a little bit of firmness left over.

So, now, we're going to add our fresh corn.

-Okay.

-So, this is -- it should be about three cups of corn from our forays from earlier.

Just gonna put it right in.

Now, I didn't add this at the beginning because we really want to preserve their fresh flavor and also their texture.

Those lovely little pops that you get when you bite into something that's not fully cooked.

-It's so true, and really great corn.

You almost don't need to cook it.

-Exactly.

It's so sweet, so lovely.

And then, to this, we're now going to add a cup of heavy cream.

We're not adding it too early on because cooked cream can get a very heavy character to it, whereas fresh cream really can lighten things up and just heighten the other flavors that are already in there.

-My goodness.

-So, we're going to bring this back to a simmer, and we're going to cook it for another five minutes until the potatoes are fully tender and the fresh corn is just cooked.

-Okay.

Mmm!

That looks like summer in a pot.

-That's right.

So, let's take out the salt pork... and then you've got to find the bay leaf.

-Oh, good luck.

-This is always a fun game.

Oh, there we go.

We got it.

-That never happens to me.

-My lucky day.

Now, let's just kill the heat.

-Alright.

-And we're going to finish it off with a little bit of fresh parsley.

So, you know, herbs really should be seen as a vital part of seasoning.

So, you really want to get your herbs in before you do your final check for seasoning.

Just check this out now, while it's nice and thick.

Mmm.

Lovely.

So, I'm definitely going to give it some pepper.

Fresh cracked pepper is such a lovely accompaniment to this.

And I'm just gonna add just one little pinch of salt just to get it right there.

-Well, that's a really good thing to bring up, too, because you don't know how salty the salt pork is... -That's right.

-...that you start with, and also the chicken broth that you're using.

So, always best to go low on it.

Taste it.

You can always add more.

-Let's plate up.

Ooh!

That looks so lovely.

You got so much in there.

-Ah!

It's perfectly thickened, too.

It's not stodgy, at least, it doesn't appear that way.

-That's right.

-I'm gonna go over to Joe's house because he gives big bowls of soup.

Loving it.

I mean, that's beautifully brothy.

-Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

-Mmm!

Gorgeous.

Potatoes are lovely and tender.

Actually, each little bite has just the right amount of potato and corn in it.

But the broth itself, the base is super corny.

So, it's not like you just added corn into a chowder.

It tastes like you designed it with corn from the very first step.

-Exactly.

And we are starting completely from scratch, you know, you could add a condensed sweet corn soup, but that really isn't going to give you that same purity of flavor.

-The corn is front and center.

It's sweet.

It's tender.

Summer spectacular.

Thank you so much, Joe.

-Thank you, Bridget.

-This was lovely.

So, if you want to make this beautiful fresh corn chowder, it starts by cutting the kernels from fresh ears of corn, then grating the cobs to extract flavorful corn pulp.

Add a little flour to the rendered salt pork fat to prevent splitting, and cook the fresh corn kernels with cream for only five minutes to preserve their fresh flavor.

So, from "America's Test Kitchen," the ultimate in summer luxury -- fresh corn chowder.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.

And those are all on our website, AmericasTestKitchen.com/TV.

Mm.

Now... where's the bread?

[ Both laugh ] Cornbread!

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Plugr -- from professional kitchens to your home.

-On an American Cruise Lines journey, you can explore historic New England.

As our boats sail past scenic shorelines and iconic lighthouses, you explore historic seaports, quaint island villages, and vibrant harbors, all from our modern American riverboats where you can experience local customs and cuisine.

American Cruise Lines -- proud sponsor of "America's Test Kitchen."

-GreenPan Frost -- the frozen treat maker that makes ice cream, sorbet, slushies, and more, with a built-in chiller that goes from fresh to frozen.

GreenPan Frost.

-Hungryroot delivers groceries designed for your taste, budget, and health goals.

With a collection of recipes that come together in minutes, we're a personal shopper, meal planner, and chef all in one.

-Smithey Ironware -- polished for performance.

Naturally nonstick, clear of chemical coatings.

Made in America.

Made to be passed down for generations.

Smithey -- use it well.