When NYT Kitchen As deputy editor Genevieve Ko was planning the publication’s annual Thanksgiving pie spectacular, she played with the appropriate level of culinary experimentation. One such battle came to light in their blueberry lemon meringue pie. “The first time I made the Blueberry Lemon Meringue Filling, I tasted it and was like, ‘OMG, this is perfect,’” she recalls. “Occasionally, you get these unicorns where you just get it on the first try.” Next, she evaluated how much work she had put into that one recipe. Multiple steps, multiple dishes and tools, straining, setting – techniques too advanced for the average home cook.
“So the process became, ‘How do I get back to that exact taste and texture, which feels more authentic to me, without the hassles?’” Ko explains. The development process exercised creativity not in taste but in craftsmanship. . The deputy editor considered the tartness of her lemon in this festive equation—perhaps the average baker would prefer a little more sweetness, a little less tart—but she stuck to her initial leanings. “It was a pretty spicy, puckery filling because I love that intense acidity,” she says. Although you will sacrifice yourself in the process, you won’t when it comes to style.
Ko, a cookbook author and contributor and formerly a cooking editor at the Los Angeles Times, sums up her personal style with a smile. “Well, number one is that they are really delicious. I know it sounds silly, but it’s very, very important.” Compared to Instagram and other similar forums, aesthetics can sometimes trump taste. “One hundred percent I would always choose something that looks less fancy, but tastes so much better,” she says. “And when I say flavor, I always think of not only balancing the flavors but also the textures.” She also doesn’t like heavy cheeses; she won’t find macaroni and four cheeses on this editor’s author page.
In posts like NYT Kitchen today, personal style trumps the need for a reductive, singular approach. “I don’t think I they can make a recipe that isn’t mine,” Ko continues. Each of the staff cooks has a very different approach to food thanks to varied interests, skill sets, training and backgrounds, which is what makes the collective result be interesting. “I’ve noticed among our audience that there are certain people who know NYT Cooking very well, they know what certain people’s styles are like.” One might have a knack for salads. Another makes the fluffiest cakes. (Someone has to make it up to Ko and appeal to the country’s love of melted cheese.)
The diversity of the NYT Kitchen staff culminates in the kitchen of his studio. Although most of the development process begins at home, this is where the perfected recipes make their debut. It’s “both a studio and a kitchen,” but it still comes equipped with all the bells and whistles. Crockery shelves line the back wall. Though the color-coordinated organization tricks the eye into assuming uniformity, the collection actually comes from all over, some from traditional cookware shops, others handcrafted by artisans and potters. “We maintain an aesthetic, or try to, that is quite neutral, because we always want the food to stand out,” he explains. They also expect the NYT Kitchen the site is perennial; nothing should look too dated 10 years from now. “I don’t know if you’ve ever looked back at cookbooks from the ’70s, ’80s like, ‘Wow, what’s going on there?'”
Ko is minimalist when it comes to her own essentials. Your number one essential? A good knife. But then in a very follow up, if you give a mouse a cookie, add “a good cutting board because you don’t want to mess up your good knife.” A good frying pan ranks very close to these two. In his kitchen, Ko prepares a rather traditional Thanksgiving feast. At work, she’s been preparing for the holidays since, well, last Thanksgiving, taking stock of what worked or what they hope to accomplish in the next round. His family, however, has not. Her children expect the classics: stuffing, turkey, etc. Raised by Hong Kong immigrants, Ko has also added sticky rice stuffing and stir-fried vegetables to the menu. Needless to say, it’s a full table.
For our visit, she made a holiday-ready caramel apple pie with a shortbread crust. The latter compares it to the LBD for baked goods. “It’s wonderful because it’s so versatile.” The thicker crust allows for a sparser filling. Another encapsulation of her personal style, Ko explains, “I could never imagine eating a caramel pie, but I’m sure a lot of people could.” So she withdrew. “Often among our recipe editors, we invoke a very famous Chanel saying: You only need to take off a piece of jewelry once in a while.” Ella Continue scrolling to tour the NYT Kitchen Studio Kitchen and hear more about Ko’s very personal approach to cooking.