What ‘Test Kitchen Approved’ Really Means for Our Recipes
Updated: Apr. 09, 2024
Our Test Kitchen puts every Taste of Home recipe through a rigorous approval process. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how recipes go from submission to publication.
At Taste of Home, almost all of our recipes come from home cooks—we get several thousand submissions every year from people all over the world.
But before we publish a recipe on our website or in one of our magazines or books, our expert Test Kitchen team must approve it. We put every recipe through a rigorous selection, testing and evaluation process to ensure we share the best recipes that work every time.
Our Kitchens
First, let’s set the scene. Our Milwaukee headquarters has three on-site kitchens: the Prep Kitchen, the Test Kitchen and the Stylist Kitchen. We also have a Media Kitchen, a studio where we shoot videos for our website and social media.
These facilities are a big upgrade compared to the early days of Taste of Home: In the 1970s, our first test cook, Annette Gohlke, had to drive 30 miles from her home kitchen with completed dishes to reach her tasting panel.
Our Recipe Testing Process
Here’s how the process works in our Test Kitchen.
Step 1: Home cooks share their recipes
We believe the best recipes come from real home cooks like you because your favorite dishes have already passed two important tests: You can make them successfully at home, and family and friends request them over and over again.
Every year, home cooks—including our trusty squad of Community Cooks—share thousands of recipes with us. Taste of Home Executive Culinary Director Sarah Farmer leads the teams responsible for recipe selection, prepping, testing and food styling for print, digital, video and social media production.
We’d love for yours to be next! Here’s how to submit a recipe.
Step 2: Editors sort out the best recipes
An editor reviews each recipe we receive. They search for and select the best recipes, keeping an eye out for fresh ideas, new spins on old favorites and dishes that sound absolutely irresistible. They also consider practical factors that make the hallmarks of a Taste of Home recipe:
- Simple, nonfussy ingredients
- Easy-to-follow instructions
- Perfect results, every time
Recipes that make the cut move along to the Taste of Home Test Kitchen. Every member of the Test Kitchen team is a trained and trusted expert. They have earned degrees in various culinary fields including food science, culinary arts, nutrition and wellness and dietetics.
Fun Fact: The Test Kitchen team has more than 100 years of combined professional culinary experience!
Step 3: Prep cooks assemble ingredients
Led by Prep Kitchen Manager Catherine Ward, our Prep Kitchen team gets all of the food ready for our recipe testers and culinary producers. Later, the team prepares recipes that we’ll shoot in our photo and video studios.
The prep team uses a technique called mise en place, which means they gather, chop and measure all of the ingredients ahead of time. This helps the cooking process go smoothly—and it’s something you can do in your own kitchen!
Speaking of ingredients, the prep team also helps with groceries. Our recipe database creates grocery lists based on our recipe schedule, and our Prep Kitchen team places orders for delivery three times each week. A dedicated grocery shopper sources specialty items locally as needed. (On shopping trips, they drive our van, which boasts a big Taste of Home logo!)
In a given year, we go through mass quantities of cheese, flour, butter, milk, eggs and olive oil, plus thousands of other ingredients.
Step 4: Expert cooks test each recipe
Next, testers prepare each recipe. They ensure that the amounts, equipment, temperature and method are accurate. If something doesn’t work or could work better, they make adjustments until the recipe is right.
Our Test Kitchen tests more than recipes. We also test pantry items and cooking gear. Learn more about Taste of Home’s product-testing process.
Step 5: Culinary staff taste-test the recipes
On a typical day in the office, the culinary staff samples all the recipes made that day. Recipes are evaluated according to flavor, texture, appearance and more. Putting themselves in readers’ shoes, the Test Kitchen thinks about the difficulty of the cooking method and whether it’s a dish that readers are likely to make again and again.
The staff also discuss practical considerations like how well a recipe will freeze and how to reheat it; whether it can be pared down for small families or scaled up for entertaining; how it could be modified for healthier versions; and how it could be prepared in popular appliances, like Instant Pots or air fryers.
Test cooks take careful notes and adjust the recipe as needed. In some cases, they make the recipe again until they’re confident that it’s ready for readers.
Step 6: Recipes are edited
Once a recipe has impressed our Test Kitchen team, Senior Food Editor Peggy Woodward, RDN, runs a nutritional analysis on all the recipes.
She then reviews and revises the recipe directions to ensure they’re clear and concise. After all, we understand how important it is for recipes to be easy to follow. Nobody needs the hassle of a confusing recipe!
Step 7: The photo and video teams take over
After a recipe is finalized, it’s ready for the Taste of Home studios. The Taste of Home photography teams include a photographer, an art director, a set and prop stylist and a food stylist. Together, they select color palettes, lighting, backdrops, dishes, linens and more.
The goal is to make each recipe look as delicious as it tastes. That being said, people do ask if we do any trickery with our food styling to make things look better. The answer is no! We want the food to look real, natural and scrumptious on camera so you know what to expect when you make it at home—and so we can devour the recipes after the shoot wraps.
We also shoot about 50 recipe videos each month. Videos can take up to three hours to shoot, depending on a recipe’s complexity. Our Giant Cinnamon Rolls video took longer than our Flavorful Chicken Fajitas video, for instance, because we needed time to let the dough proof, bake and cool—we go through all of the steps in the recipe! Then, our video editor perfects each video before we review it for accuracy.
Step 8: Dishes are cleaned and organized
We’d be remiss not to mention Suzanne Williams, our full-time dishwasher, who cleans and organizes all of our pots, pans, utensils and prop dishes. Suzanne saves us valuable time every day; this kind of support is critical in keeping our operations flowing smoothly.
Step 9: Recipes are approved and published
Once a recipe has cleared all of these steps, it’s ready to be printed, posted and shared across all of our platforms. You can find recipes on our website, Instagram and Facebook, and in Taste of Home books and magazines.
Step 10: We eat—again!
A recipe’s completion means it’s time to eat! After the Test Kitchen and visual production teams are finished, the dishes go to the office’s food bar where staffers can nosh on and sample food from the day’s tests and shoots.
