The Southern Living Test Kitchen

Celebrating more than 50 years of Southern recipes.

What Is The Southern Living Test Kitchen

Today, the Southern Living Test Kitchen is a shared 40,000 square-foot facility in Birmingham, Alabama, with 28 cooking stations, a giant pantry and walk-in freezer, and appliances and tools designed to mimic that of most home cooks. It’s staffed by a team of Test Kitchen Professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians.

History Of The Southern Living Test Kitchen

In 1970, four years after the premiere issue of Southern Living appeared on newsstands, we published our first collection of recipes, curated by founding Food Editor Lena Sturges. As the magazine’s popularity soared, so did the submission of recipes from readers — sometimes numbering thousands every month. In order to create a standard of excellence for every recipe published, modern test kitchens were built and staffed with skilled home cooks. In 1976, Jean Wickstrom Liles became Food Editor and established a testing protocol that ensured only the best, most reliable recipes would make it into print. “Reader involvement,” Liles said, “was part of the magic of Southern Living.” As Southern tastes and ingredients have changed over the decades, so have the recipes, but what hasn’t changed is our brand’s commitment to making sure every recipe is absolutely fail-safe.

Developing And Testing Southern Living Recipes

At Southern Living, we want home cooks to be as confident and successful in the kitchen as possible, so our food team takes great care with all the recipes we publish. A recipe is tested at least twice by Test Kitchen Professionals. Each time, multiple people in the Test Kitchen taste and review the recipes to make sure that they meet our standards in terms of flavor, appearance, authenticity, and more. After that, recipes are edited for clarity and consistency by Test Kitchen staffers as well as the Southern Living editorial team.

Although we do everything possible to prevent errors in recipes, they do happen from time to time. As soon as we are aware of a problem, we work with the Test Kitchen to troubleshoot and retest if necessary, and update recipes as needed.

The 4-Step Process

1. Each recipe is developed by Test Kitchen Professionals in Birmingham, Alabama.

2. Recipes are tasted and reviewed by Southern Living editors and Test Kitchen staff.

3. Every recipe is tested twice and then edited for accuracy and clarity.

4. Once recipes are approved, they are styled, photographed, and published in Southern Living Magazine and on southernliving.com.
   

The Test Kitchen Team

The Southern Living Test Kitchen is part of the DotDashMeredith Food Studios. The talented team of recipe developers, food stylists, prop stylists, and photographers create content for some of your favorite print and digital brands. Southern Living recipes are developed, tested, and photographed in our Birmingham, Alabama, Test Kitchen and Studios.

The Southern Living Editorial Food Team

Over the years, readers have been able to find Southern Living recipes in more than just our magazine and best-selling cookbooks. We are now developing recipes that live exclusively on southernliving.com, as well as on our social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. It takes a team of editors, with deep knowledge and experience in Southern food to make sure every recipe is tested, tasted, and ready for sharing with our audience across platforms. The team includes Lisa Cericola, Alana Al-Hatlani , Josh Miller (pictured above, from left), as well as Kimberly Holland and Ivy Odom.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.