Before flying home to Los Angeles, The Astronomer and I made one final stop in Brookline, Massachusetts for a behind the scenes look at America’s Test Kitchen. I have been a huge fan of the Test Kitchen’s cookbooks ever since I began feeding myself after college. As a nervous home cook with little experience, I trusted these rigorously tested recipes to hold my hand as I tackled everything from roasted beets to roasted turkey. Using recipes that guaranteed a delicious end product not only kept The Astronomer and me extremely well fed, but it also served to build up my culinary confidence.

To this day, the America’s Test Kitchen’s Family Cookbook remains my kitchen bible. It is the most beaten up, abused, dogeared, and stained tome in my vast collection, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bright and early on the morning following Memorial Day, The Astronomer and I met up with the Test Kitchen’s Social Media Manager Steph Yiu for an informal tour. After years of using the Test Kitchen’s recipes, it was surreal to see exactly where the magic happens. Everything from editorial to photography to recipe development takes place in this unassuming walk up in suburban Boston. Even the PBS show is taped here.

From the reception area, Steph led us to the Test Kitchen’s library and tasting table. The first step in developing a “perfect” recipe is preparing various versions that have already been published. I spied a copy of Modernist Cuisine and wondered if molecular techniques would make their way into future recipes.

Since all photography for the cookbooks and magazines is completed in-house, a tremendous collection of props and “photo only” equipment line various shelves, nooks, and crannies throughout the building. I was excited to learn that one-hundred percent of their photos are taken using natural Bostonian light.

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