Peggy Aoki
Location
Mountain View, CA
School
University Of Missouri - Columbia, University Of Southern California, California Culinary Academy
Expertise
Classical Western Cuisine, Food History, Nutrition
- Peggy loves butter so much that she spent time learning butter and cheese making at Jonathan White's Peekskill Dairy.
- She staged at the 150-year-old Le Pré aux Clercs restaurant in Dijon, France.
- Peggy can not resist buying books about food – cookbooks, food history, and any writing about food and the people who grow and prepare it.
Experience
Peggy has been a professional cook and cooking teacher for more than 25 years. She began cooking when she still needed a stepstool to reach the stove and after an attempt at a career in sales, gave in to her passion to work in restaurant kitchens. While heading the kitchen at Mountain View CA's Chez TJ, she was invited to teach a class at a local cooking school which launched her passion to share her love and understanding of food. After many years of teaching public cooking classes, catering, opening local restaurants, and working long hours, she accepted a position with a large food service company supporting other chefs. She continues to teach hands-on classes in person and through Zoom, and enjoys learning from other chefs around the world through on-line classes as well.
Education
Peggy has bachelor's degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master of arts in teaching from the University of Southern California, as well as professional cooking and baking certificates from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, CA.
Tasting Table’s editorial coverage hails from a veteran group of writers and editors with expertise in their respective fields in the food and drink, hospitality, and agriculture industries. Outside experts are also consulted to help deliver factual, up-to-date information and original recipes.
We strive to publish knowledgeable, engaging articles to give readers the information they're looking for, whether that is the news of the day; cooking tips, tricks, and trends; or reviews and recommendations. In an effort to provide the most comprehensive, current, and accurate content, our team is constantly reviewing and updating articles as necessary. Click here for more information on our editorial process.
Stories By Peggy Aoki
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Both recipes have "steak" in their names, but only cube steak qualifies as the usual definition of steak - an actual slice of meat. Salisbury steak does not.
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To take your homemade chocolate bars up a notch and make something truly stunning, you only need two easy ingredients to make a paint-splatter effect.
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Beef short ribs have become popular because of their fall-off-the-bone texture and rich flavor. However, there are multiple ways to cut these sections.
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Iced coffee has been trending for quite a while, so it only makes sense that Nespresso is ready to lead the home iced coffee market with specialty capsules.
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Go to a wine aficionado's house, and you might see a flat, palm-sized device meant to cut the foil at the top of a wine bottle. But do you actually need one?
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The concept behind that old adage "don't cook with a wine you wouldn't want to drink" applies to any thing you put in your cocktail glass, too.
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A loaf of sandwich bread can come in many sizes, but what's the average number of slices? We've determined the range, and average weight and thickness.
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In the world of cocktails, tradition is overrated. Vodka already wasn't part of a traditional martini, so shaking things up further with bourbon is natural.
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Expiration dates are a pretty nebulous part of the food and drink market. Does canned wine have a best buy date, and what do you risk if you're past it?
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You might automatically assume that a can of wine is designed to be a single serving, but the volume of some canned wines could be a lot more than you think.
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Mint Juleps are an iconic part of the Kentucky Derby, but other horse races also have their own official cocktails to celebrate their legendary events.
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If you're preparing to make your own cocktails, then make sure to pay extra close attention to the type of muddler you use, especially for fruits.
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Nespresso started off with just four coffee pods when the company was founded in 1986. Learn their flavors and see how the company has branched out since.
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When crafting the perfect, restaurant-worthy sandwich, you need to pay attention to how to cook your meats to ensure they are tender and tasty.
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While sambal oelek is prevalent in some circles, sriracha's popularity is unmatched. Though the two have similar bases, they ultimately differ in a few ways.
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A well-made chicken panini is good and hearty enough to serve as a weekday dinner, particularly if you add this one easy-to-find store-bought ingredient.
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If you have leftover cocktails, the best place to store them is in the freezer. Learn how to freeze them properly, how long they last, and how to thaw.
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Trader Joe's offers a lot of quality sweets at a budget-friendly price, but one of their candies is actually even tastier than the big-name brand version.
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Coconut cake is a cornerstone of Southern cuisine, and this dessert has deep roots in Black cooking and African-American history at large.
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There's a sophistication to a French omelet that its American diner cousin lacks. But to achieve it, first you must get a little rough with it.
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Plenty of people keep instant coffee in their pantry for a quick and easy caffeine hit at home. But this one Nescafé variety is worth steering clear of.
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Not everyone loves instant coffee, but we can agree that some options are better than others. And when it comes to Nescafé, one Mexican-inspired flavor won out.
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Steak Diane and steak Oscar are two of the most decadent beef dishes around. Here are the differences between these two behemoths of the culinary world.
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If you're a Nespresso fan, it's hard to imagine a time before you could simply push a button and be rewarded with a stream of perfectly brewed espresso.
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If you regularly use cast iron cookware you may notice small black flecks in your food on your dishcloth. But it's nothing to be concerned about.
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Are they called wine vinegars because they retain some of the alcohol content of the wine used to make them, or is it all removed in the vinegar-making process?
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Cast iron is one of the most versatile, durable pieces of cookware in your kitchen, and using it to deep fry can actually make it even better!