Although pepper is the world’s most traded spice, it still seems to be the most underrated of the spices. Here’s a quick guide to the varieties of pepper out there.

Sure, unless you‘re a butcher or hardcore meatatarian, you probably will never make an attempt at ‘breaking down an entire pork loin’. But we figured that since you like to know where your meat comes from, you’d most likely want to learn how your meat is butchered and broken down. Who knows, after experiencing this visual walk through, you might get inspired to try it yourself.

As easy as this sounds, you’d be surprised at how clueless some people really are. Opening a bottle of wine is something that not a lot of people know how to do properly, but it’s something that we will eventually experience, some more than others. The following guide will take you through the steps to properly open a bottle of wine.

Step 1.
The first thing you want to do is to get a good grip of the bottle. The last thing you want is for the bottle to slip out of your hands as you are trying to open it. That’s not very debonair.

Step 2.
Once you get a good grip, pull out the knife on the opener and start to cut the foil cover just under the lip of the bottle.

Step 3.
Place your thumb on the back of the neck of the bottle while you cut the foil on the front from left to right. Then, take the knife to the back of the neck and cut the remaining foil until both cuts meet. At this point you should have a straight cut around the neck of the bottle.

Step 4.
Use the knife to start peeling off the foil above the lip. If your cut was straight through, the foil should come off in one piece without a problem.

Step 5.
Push in the knife and pull out the screw (aka the worm). Take the screw from an angle and stick the tip of it into the center of the cork.

Step 7.
Once the screw tip is into the cork, straighten the opener and start to turn clockwise. Make sure to keep it straight because if the screw goes in at an angle, the cork may break upon opening.

Step 8.
Penetrate the screw all the way down while leaving a couple of inches left. Next, locate the 1st hinge on the wine opener and place it on the top of the bottle.

Step 9.
Hold the hinge tight to the bottle as you grab the opener with your other hand and pull up. If you are putting enough force, the cork will start to come out of the bottle.

Step 10.
Once half of the cork is exposed, you’ll also notice that you no longer have enough leverage using the 1st hinge. Switch to the 2nd hinge and continue to pull until the entire cork is about to come out.

Step 11.
At the very point when the cork is about to surface, use your hand to pull the cork out.

If there are any 101’s, tips or techniques you would like us to cover, let us know. You can email your suggestions to co@acqtaste.com.

Words by Chuck Ortiz
Photography by Greg Washington

At Acquired Taste Magazine, we’re all about bridging the gap between the pros and the newbies. So we’ve started a column titled 101 that gives step by step pointers and tips on how to do anything and everything food related. Our first 101 shows the proper way to cut an onion. I’m sure most of you out there know how to do it, but here’s how to do it right.

Step 1: Take out your sharpest chef’s knife and cut off one end of the onion. Try to cut it so that the root is still intact. Doing so will keep the onion from falling apart when chopping it up and will hold it together. Then, do the same to the other side of the onion.

Step 2: Cut the onion in half.

Step 3: Take one of the onion halves and use your knife to slowly peel the skin off. If you’re not comfortable using a knife to do this, peeling with your hands will do. Just don’t rub your eyes after. Again, repeat with the other half of the onion.

Step 4: Lay the onion half on a cutting board and start to slice into it. Make sure each slice is roughly an inch apart. Also, it’s important that you do not slice all the way through the root as it is holding everything together.

To get uniform pieces you have to make sure that you are cutting fairly evenly.

Step 5: Next, take the knife and slice horizontally into the onion. A regular onion would only require about two slices horizontally and try not to cut through the root once more.

Step 6: The final step would require you to just start chopping the onion, starting on the side opposite of the root. Again, try to make sure each chop is even with the next. Most importantly, keep your fingers tucked in while chopping.

If you made your initial cuts, slices, and final chops even, your final onion pieces should turn out fairly uniform.

If there are any 101′s, tips or techniques you would like us to cover, let us know. You can email your suggestions to co@acqtaste.com.

Words by Chuck Ortiz
Photography by Greg Washington