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All green plants produce sugar, but most sugars you find in the grocery store are products of sugar cane and/or sugar beet plants. Through adjustments in the processing, crystallizing, and drying of the sugar, and varying the level of molasses left in or added back, different sugar varieties are possible. So how do you know which sugar to use in your recipe, what’s the difference between brown sugar and raw sugar, and when do you use sanding sugar?...

Unlike dried beans, lentils don’t require soaking before you cook them, which is one reason why they are excellent pantry staple to have on hand for quick and easy weeknight meals. Lentils are also an inexpensive source of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. And when prepared correctly, they are delicious too. Lentils are versatile too. Enjoy them in everything from soups and salads to dips and spreads to braises and bakes....

Officials in east-central Florida are struggling to identify a mysterious wooden structure unearthed by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in Daytona Beach Shores. The large wooden object was revealed by recent erosion and brought to the attention of Volusia County officials early last week. The back-to-back hurricanes swept numerous layers of sand from the popular beach. “This erosion is unprecedented at this point. We haven’t seen this kind of erosion in a very long time,” Volusia Beach Safety Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs told WKMG-TV....

It doesn’t matter if you’re making a multi-course masterpiece or a simple bowl of pasta, a home-cooked meal tastes even better when it’s made in a well-appointed kitchen. And we all know that even the most practical corners of our spaces deserve to look their best. That said, designing a kitchen that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing isn’t as easy as it may seem. One false move and you could seriously compromise your kitchen’s flow or function....

When she was a girl growing up in tiny Laurel, Mississippi, Erin Napier remembers being bullied from fourth through seventh grade. “I was a bit strange and introverted,” says Erin, who wasn’t interested in makeup or clothes. “Library time was my favorite. I had a fossil collection. I would put together natural history dioramas in old shoeboxes. Or I’d stay home and make a tiger costume—that was really exciting to me....

Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, have officially named the Silver Spring Library the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library after the pioneering airman who died earlier this year. Brig. Gen. McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-Black unit of the WWII Army Air Forces, died in his home in nearby Bethesda at the age of 102. County Council Member Will Jawando suggested renaming the library after McGee shortly after his passing in January....

Sallie Ann Robinson has just one rule when preparing the Gullah cuisine of her childhood: Keep it simple. “Less is best,” she says. “When you’re cooking with fresh ingredients, you don’t need much of anything else.” Robinson would know. Born on tiny and remote Daufuskie Island, South Carolina (accessible by boat only), the chef and cookbook author was raised on a diet of almost entirely homegrown bounty, from the vegetables and poultry to the fresh-caught fish and crab....

Paper towels? Absolutely. Giant muffins and a cheesecake for a crowd? Naturally. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks? Not even a question. But there is one item I’ll never leave Costco without, which hails straight from the seafood section. Costco’s Kirkland Salmon Milano with Basil Pesto Butter is a winner for weeknight dinners or big dinner parties, and I am here to sing its praises. The pre-prepped dish comes with three seasoned salmon fillets (I’ve also spotted a two-pack on occasion) topped with dill and a generous scoop of Basil Pesto Butter....

Tim McGraw’s latest album Here on Earth is here. And his raison d’être for being, well, here on earth? His wife Faith Hill and his three daughters, Gracie, Maggie, and Audrey. In a recent interview with NBC News host Willie Geist on the Sunday edition of TODAY, the country music star shared just how much his family means to him. “I’ve found that the times that I’ve spent working with Faith, especially touring with Faith, that my records got sort of exponentially better,” the Louisiana-born singer explained....

When Katie Posten walked out to her car on Saturday, she thought someone had left a note on her window. She told CNN that when she got closer, she realized it was actually an old black-and-white photograph. The photo shows a woman in a striped dress with a child on her lap. “Walked out to my car in New Albany, Indiana, and found this picture stuck to the window,” Posten wrote on Facebook....

Ever heard of pepper jelly? Of course you have. If you’re from the South, the answer is almost always, “Yes, and I love it.” Pepper jelly is a Southern-favorite preserve in jelly form—somewhere between a jam and a relish—that we add to anything and everything. The main ingredients in pepper jelly are peppers, sugar, and vinegar, which combine with pectin to form the preserve we know and love. Southerners pop open a jar for an easy app before dinner, and we’ve been known to cook our main dishes with it too....

Fall is prime time for sweet potatoes. It just so happens that right around the time you might be craving a slice of sweet potato pie or a steaming hot baked sweet potato, or need to make your signature sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving dinner, a new crop of sweet Southern-grown tubers is in season. Sweet potatoes are typically harvested at the end of September and early October, then cured for several weeks, which naturally converts the potatoes’ natural starch into sugar....

Southern Living contributing Barbecue Editor Robert Moss travels the South in search of the most mouthwatering ‘cue. From vinegar- to mustard-based sauces, here are some that best represent this regional favorite. 1.) Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge: Shelby, NC 704/482-8567 Sauce Style: Vinegar & ketchup Order the sliced pork tray with red slaw and hush puppies, or get a chopped pork sandwich with plenty of “outside brown” (the smoky outer bits of the shoulder) on a warm toasted bun....

The Houston Zoo recently welcomed 20 endangered sea turtles rescued from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The cold-stunned turtles were among 120 suffering from hypothermia and other complications that were flown south to Texas this week. The Houston Zoo is one of seven Lone Star State facilities that will care for and treat the animals including Texas A&M University at Galveston and Texas State Aquarium. On Monday, staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and New England Aquarium loaded the more than 100 turtles—each tucked into banana boxes with towels—onto a SAAB 340B turboprop aircraft donated by Castle Aviation and Jetstream Aviation Capital....

Long before Mickey Guyton was a chart-topping country singer, she was a little girl in Texas who dreamed of becoming a star. At the time, she had no idea that the two country women she idolized most would one day help shape her history-making career. In a recent interview with People, Guyton was asked which country artists might “hypothetically inspire her to record full-blown tribute albums.” “It’d be LeAnn Rimes and Dolly Parton for sure—absolutely, hands down!...

Cast-iron skillets are lucky that they turn out such flavorful food, because the rules and stipulations that go along with using a cast-iron skillet would hardly be worth the trouble if we didn’t get to celebrate with a slice of cornbread afterwards. Every step, from how you cook with a cast-iron skillet to how you clean a cast-iron skillet, is equally important to the well-being and success of it. That even goes for what you put in your cast-iron skillet....

It’s mid-March, which means spring is just around the corner and cookouts, barbecues, and all other outdoor fetes featuring delicious foods will soon be upon us. But even though we may have a few more weeks to go before outdoor entertaining season officially starts, you can still get your grill on, even if you live in a small apartment. The compact George Foreman Contact Smokeless Grill is just what you need if you have limited space....

Jarred pasta sauce is one of our favorite pantry staples to elevate dinner in a hurry, whether it’s a weeknight-friendly chicken parmesan, Italian sandwich, or a hearty spaghetti casserole. While many recipes call for an entire jar, halving a recipe or whipping up a quick pasta dinner for two may leave you with some leftover sauce to use later in the week, but its shelf life may not be as long as you’d expect....

If you’re lucky enough to have a fresh catch, it’s time to take advantage of crab season. Diners new to blue crab may not know exactly how to tackle this dish that requires a little bit of manual labor. Don’t worry - it’s well worth the effort. Here’s what you need to know about eating blue crab this season. How to Eat Blue Crab You’ll want to purchase 1 pound of crab per person when eating blue crab....

If we had a dime for every time a pink azalea stole the show, we’d be richer than a cowboy wearing Lucchese boots at the rodeo. But as much as we love those seasonal blooms, we’re currently oohing and aahing over an azalea that blooms in spring, summer, and fall in a scarlet red shade so pretty you’ll never have to give up curb appeal again. Autumn Bonfire Encore Azalea is a low-maintenance, fast-growing dwarf shrub that holds deep green foliage all year long and vibrant true red blooms for almost that long, which means we’ve been eyeing the little looker at Home Depot for a hot minute....