Even if a recipe doesn't state that sifting dry goods is needed, Williams says she always does it. "I don't think it hurts—it lightens the load," she says, meaning that the result will be a more cloud ...

Beyond flour, it’s good to sift ingredients such as confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder that are almost always clumpy straight out of the package, especially for use in something like a glaze. Byrn ...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. A pillar in both baking and cooking, flour is an age-old essential ...

I’ll admit it: Every time a recipe demands that I sift an ingredient like all-purpose flour, I raise my eyebrows. Do I really have to break out an extra tool that’s notoriously tricky to clean? The ...

Old recipes and cookbooks are time capsules — relics that give you insight into a different era. Sometimes it’s just the type of recipe (so much Jell-O!) or the name of a particular ingredient (see my ...