Cassie Womack

Virginia

Writer at Tasting Table

Copywriter at allianz-partners.com

Freelance writer 🍓 food and fashion Find me at @dalstrong and @tastingtable

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Articles

Get The Freshest Lobster Possible By Avoiding Ones That Look Like This

3 days ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

For most folks, lobster is a rare treat — so it's hard to know what to look for when you want a fresh one. But Mark Murrell picks out prime lobsters for a living, and he gave The Takeout some advice. Murrell is founder, owner, and Chief Curator of Get Maine Lobster, a site that ships live Maine lobsters across the United States. He's also an advisor to the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative. Unless you're buying frozen, you want your lobsters not only live, but also lively.
The Umami Addition That Makes Dirty Martinis Deliciously Savory

6 days ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

Savory cocktails are trending hard. Mustard, pickled onions, and fat-washed liquors are all cocktail staples du jour. But creative concoctions can't beat the lasting power — or simplicity — of a dirty martini, the classic savory drink. The drink lends itself to endless possibilities, often varying into forms that bear no resemblance to the original martini whatsoever.
Can You Safely Eat A Split Watermelon? - The Takeout

1 week ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

Summer is approaching, and with it, seasonal produce. Often, that means pulling out your phone for a Google in your kitchen or local produce stand to find out how to pick the best tomatoes or to ask if corn with matted brown silk is still fresh? Another pressing question for the times is if it's safe to eat split watermelon. Well, that depends on what you mean by "split." No, you shouldn't eat a watermelon if there's a gash in the rind — that's just common sense.
Skittles Just Changed Their Formula – Here's The Ingredient That's Been Removed - The Takeout

1 week ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

On Tuesday, Bloomberg announced that Mars Inc. has removed the controversial color additive titanium dioxide from its Skittles candies. The change was made at the end of last year, though Skittles containing the ingredient may still be on store shelves. Experts are torn on whether or not titanium dioxide is truly harmful, but some studies suggest that the ingredient could cause cancer, damage DNA, and potentially harm the immune system and intestines.
The Eco-Friendly Way Sam's Club Tackles Unsold Groceries

1 week ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

Food waste is a major problem in the United States: Up to 40% of our food supply goes to waste, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. There are small steps individuals can take to combat food waste, but large-scale farms, companies responsible for food storage and transportation, and retailers have a much larger role than consumers wasting groceries. Planting, growing, and harvesting food has an ecological cost — and that's before the food is shipped to stores.
What Sam's Club Does With Unsold Groceries

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Cassie Womack

Food waste is a major problem in the United States: Up to 40% of our food supply goes to waste, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. There are small steps individuals can take to combat food waste, but large-scale farms, companies responsible for food storage and transportation, and retailers have a much larger role than consumers wasting groceries. Planting, growing, and harvesting food has an ecological cost — and that's before the food is shipped to stores.
Is There A Flavor Difference Between Pink And Yellow Watermelons?

1 week ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

These days, stepping into the produce aisle feels like stepping into Oz. Fruit has always been colorful, but if you feel like it's gotten more colorful (and weirder) in the past few years, you're not alone. Thanks to advances in breeding techniques and rising demand for Instagramable grocery hauls, crazy color combos are cropping up everywhere. Now you can buy pricy pineapples with pretty pink innards, tomatoes in deep purple hues, and what's the deal with those yellow watermelons?
The Easiest Way To Cook Grains

1 week ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

I'll admit, I'm not the best at cooking rice. Like many cooks, I find the supposedly-simple dish tricky to perfect. But there are two rules I learned early on: keep the lid on at all times and measure your water carefully. You'll hear similar advice for other grains, like barley. Neither rule is as unshakeable as I assumed. Lifting the lid to check on your rice to give it a quick flip can help the grains cook smoothly.
The Mess-Free Way To Throw Out Cooking Oil - The Takeout

1 week ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

Deep-frying food is time consuming, messy, and dangerous. But personally, I think the worst part comes after dinner when you're figuring out what to do with the leftover oil. Sure, you can reuse it a few times, but leftover frying oil won't last forever. What should you do when it's spent? Pouring oil down the drain will cause clogged pipes and fatbergs, the bane of sewage treatment plants. You can sop smaller amounts up with paper towels, but you'll quickly end up wasting most of a roll.
This Beloved Pasta Chain Restaurant Plans To Close Up To 21 Locations

2 weeks ago | thetakeout.com | Cassie Womack

Fans of fast casual pasta chain Noodles & Company may see their local stores shuttering in the near future. The company's first quarter report revealed plans to close up to 21 locations in 2025. The report, which was issued on May 7, 2025, revises previous expectations. Initially, the company planned to close 12 to 15 of its 469 restaurants in 2025. Noodles & Company has not yet revealed the specific locations, as not all the decisions have been finalized.