Cook’s Insider: Reflecting On a Milestone

Plus, tips for making whipped cream way ahead

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June 30, 2026 6:05am EDT

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Reflecting on a Milestone for Cook’s Illustrated

Cheryl Brown

Editor in Chief, Cook’s Illustrated and Editorial Director of Recipes

We usually highlight a Cook’s Illustrated recipe in this space. This week, in light of the 200th (!) issue of the magazine and the 250th anniversary of America, we will do that—but we’re also zooming out and reflecting on what drives us at America’s Test Kitchen. For more than 30 years, science and technique have been the bedrock of the work that we do: We believe that when you understand why food behaves the way it does, it makes you a better cook. Our mission hasn’t changed since the magazine’s launch, but our discoveries and methods are always evolving.

Case in point: This week on our website and app, we unveiled America’s Potluck, a collection of celebratory regional recipes. Included is our Fresh Peach Pie, developed in 2013 by then–Cook’s Illustrated senior editor Andrew Janjigian. ATK had published a recipe for Lattice-Top Fresh Peach Pie years earlier, but that recipe uses potato or cornstarch to thicken the filling. Andrew’s innovation of using both fruit pectin and cornstarch as a binder leaves the pie with a clear, silky texture and none of the gumminess or off-flavors that starch alone can produce.

Andrew’s version borrows steps from our original recipe: (1) Blanching fresh peaches if necessary to help peel them; (2) Macerating the sliced peaches with sugar and salt to draw out some moisture at the outset; (3) Employing a beautiful, traditional lattice top that also lets moisture cook off. But it also reflects things we’ve learned in the test kitchen since that original recipe was published.

The evolution continues in the pages of Cook’s Illustrated magazine every issue, as well as on our app and website, where new recipes are published every day that demonstrate new discoveries and build on ones we’ve already made. We’ll never stop exploring, and we’re delighted to have you—our community of passionate, curious home cooks—along for the ride.

Featured Recipe

Fresh Peach Pie

The juiciness of a perfect peach is sublime—except when you want to bake it into a pie. We corralled the moisture that peaches give off during cooking in a number of ways. Get the recipe.

Why This Recipe Works

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Macerating the peaches draws out some of their juices that we add back to the filling in a controlled way.

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Using both cornstarch and pectin leaves the pie with a clear, silky texture without any of the gumminess or gelatinous texture that larger amounts of either one alone produces.

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The open nature of a lattice crust lets moisture cook off as the pie bakes.

Recipe Developed by Andrew Janjigian

Andrew Janjigian is a baking teacher, recipe developer, writer, and photographer from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He writes and develops recipes for Serious Eats, King Arthur Baking, Epicurious, and Edible Boston, among others. In 2020, he ended an 11-year run as a test cook, editor, and resident breadhead at Cook’s Illustrated magazine. His IACP-award nominated bread baking newsletter can be found at newsletter.wordloaf.org. His first cookbook, Breaducation, will be published by Ten Speed Press in November 2026.

4 Ways to Make Whipped Cream Way Ahead

Whether you plan to dollop it onto a dessert or load it into a piping bag to create a decorative edge, here are four different ways to make whipped cream that holds its shape for hours (and, in some cases, days). Read our tips before you plan your special desserts.

Related Recipe

Summer Berry Pie

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Cooking Tips

Is Your Dish Too Salty? Sweet? Sour? Spicy? Here’s How to Fix It.

We have some simple corrections that can come to your rescue when seasonings go awry. Let us help you with these corrections.

Keeping Up with the Team

By Keith Dresser, Executive Food Editor

What I’m Up To

Developing New ATK Recipes for America’s Potluck

Working on recipe development for America’s Potluck was a thrill. The project opened the door to cuisines I’d never explored before, like Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Kådun Pika, a traditional braised chicken dish, and Hineksa’ Agaga’ (Chamorro Red Rice) stand out as two dishes that speak to the depth of the area’s indigenous Chamorro culture—a tradition that has absorbed Spanish and Filipino influences while remaining distinctly its own.

What I’m Eating

Whoopie Pies

Another regional favorite from America’s Potluck, this time closer to home. I know the Pennsylvania Dutch also lay claim to this chocolaty, handheld cake sandwich, but in my view the best versions come from the great state of Maine.