This may be a little late for Mother’s Day 2013, but these are good tips for any special occasion.

A More Sustainable Mother’s Day

Danielle Nierenberg and Quinn Korreck

Here are seven tips to make it a point to create a better, more sustainable celebration:

1. Buy local.  Consider cooking at home instead of going out and try to buy local ingredients.  Local Harvest has a search feature that allows consumers to find area farmers markets and farms in their communities.
2. Dine responsibly.  If you prefer to go out, do some research beforehand and find restaurants that follow best practices for sustainability.  The Green Restaurant Association has a search feature that allows diners to locate the most environmentally friendly places to eat.  And make sure to take home and eat the leftovers.
3. Learn something new.  Understanding why it’s important to eat locally or to support sustainable operations is as vital as the actions themselves.  There are great books and documentaries, which will also provide lots of quality conversation topics for dinner.
4. Make a donation.  Instead of buying another gift that Mom doesn’t need, why not find an organization that supports a food- and agriculture-related issue and make a donation in her name, i.e. Oxfam America has a gift section where you can donate a vegetable garden for a family in need.
5. Help out in the community.  Share a meal with those less fortunate on Mother’s Day by lending a helping hand at a food bank or a soup kitchen.  Food Pantries has a website to locate food pantries and soup kitchens in your area.
6. Buy Fair Trade.  Common Mother’s Day gifts include chocolate, fresh fruit, coffee, or flowers—all items that can be purchased from fair trade producers.
7. Plant a garden.  Planting a vegetable garden at home is not only a fun Mother’s Day activity, but is also an excellent way to make sure that Mom has fresh produce available for the rest of the summer.

Flight Plan: Food & Drink Destinations Worth the Trip

Here are a few Food Festivals Tasting Table recommends as “worth the trip”:

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival

Thursday, 5/30 to Sunday, 6/2

Now in its third year, this festival has hit its stride.  This year, the founders are abandoning large, stadium-style demos in favor of smaller, hands-on classes and lectures (day passes start at $185).  Learn about real Cajun food with Donald Link, frying techniques with the Lee Bros., and classic cocktails with Neal Bodenheimer.

Charleston Grub Crawl

Saturday, 6/22

Bon Appétit is bringing its popular roving eat-and-walk event ($149) to Charleston this year.  Spend the day walking the city’s cobblestoned streets, with pit stops at its best restaurants and bars, including Xiao Bao Biscuit, Hominy Grill and Husk.

Seattle Street Food Fest

Saturday, 8/10

Seattle’s first street-food festival will take place this year, and it promises to bring together food trucks, carts and nightly pop-ups with local culinary talent, including Joshua Henderson of Skillet, and Ethan Stowell.

West Coast Pig Pickin’

Sunday, 8/18

The South comes to California this summer, in a collaboration between the Southern Foodways Alliance and Napa’s Whetstone Winery.  The afternoon ($125) will include on-site wine tastings paired with ‘cue from Rodney Scott of Scott’s Barbecue and Samuel Jones of Skylight Inn.  Local chefs Daniel Patterson, Christopher Kostow and Stephen Barbour will prepare sides for the feasts.

Food-Safety Inspections to Dwindle Thanks to Sequester

The sequester will delay the US FDA implementation of the 2-year-old Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and result in fewer food-safety inspections, the agency’s top ranking official told the editorial board of USA TODAY.  Thanks to the loss of $209 million in funds due to the $85 billion in government spending cuts, FDA will conduct 2,100 fewer inspections, representing an 18% decline from last year.  A representative of Consumers Union expressed concern that sequestration will lead to more outbreaks of foodborne illness.  The FSMA was crafted to prevent bacteria-ridden incidents, but FDA needs adequate resources to implement the law.

Food Stamp Programs Likely To Be Affected By Cuts

Mary Clare Jalonick

The government’s food stamp program, which helps feed 1 in every 7 Americans, was one of the few programs exempted from this year’s automatic spending cuts.  But now it is likely to get trimmed.  Unresolved is by how much.  The Democratic chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee is only willing to take roughly one-half of 1 percent, or about $400 million annually, off the top as the panel prepares to move a massive farm bill through committee next week.  Her Republican counterpart in the House, also preparing to consider a farm bill next week, would give the program a makeover and cut it by five times that amount.  Neither committee has released its version of the bill, but House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., says he plans to propose a cut of about $2 billion a year.  The House bill would also propose changes in the structure of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), something Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and other Senate Democrats have adamantly opposed.  Both committees proposed slightly small changes to the program in bills they pushed in the last Congress, but the House leadership has committed to moving a bill, meaning the two sides will have to somehow resolve their differences over food stamps.  It won’t be easy, but finding the right amount of food stamp cuts will be the only way farm-state lawmakers can get the five-year farm bill passed.  The bill, which also sets policy for farm subsidies and other rural development programs, has historically included food stamps and domestic food aid to gain support of urban lawmakers who may not otherwise vote for the bill.  The debate over food stamps doesn’t always fall along party lines—the top republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, has said he won’t support major cuts to food stamps because it is a popular program in his state.  Food companies and states, both of which benefit from the program, are also expected to fight changes.  On the House side, conservatives are expected to offer amendments to convert the program to block grants to the states, a move that could freeze spending and cut the benefit to many who now receive it.  The debate on the floor is expected to be “lively”.

CDC Says Food Allergies Increasing In Children

The prevalence of food allergies increased in children under age 18 years from 3.4% in 1997 to 5.1% in 2011, according to a new report from CDC released today.  Skin allergies rose from 7.4% to 12.5% in the same time period; however, they decreased with age.  The prevalence of respiratory allergies remained constant, at 17%, between 1997 and 2011, although it remained the most common type of allergy affecting children.  Interestingly, the prevalence of respiratory allergies increased with age.  In March 2013, the University of Manchester kicked off the world’s biggest study on food allergies that will have far-reaching consequences for consumers and food producers.  The evidence base and tools that result from the study will support more transparent precautionary “may contain” labeling of allergens in foods which will make life easier for allergy sufferers as they try to avoid problem foods.  The research project, which is expected to take three years to complete, also will work with groups of babies and groups of children who have been followed from birth in a number of countries to look at allergy and give advice on diet in pregnancy and early life.

Whole Foods Error: Grocer Mixes Up Chicken And Vegan Salad Labels

Amy McKeever

Whole Foods announced on May 9 that some cold food bars mixed up the labels for chicken salad and vegan salad.  Labels on a chicken salad and those on a vegan version of the salad were reversed at some of its cold food bars in the Northeast.  The Mislabeled salads—a curried chicken salad and vegan curried “chick’n” salad—were sold in 15 stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, Whole foods said.  In some locations the salads were sold in the cold food bars where customers can scoop food into containers, which are then weighed at the register.  In other locations, the salads were displayed in the prepared food sections behind glass.  The salads were sold on Tuesday (5/7) and Wednesday (5/8).  The FDA noted the vegan salad contains soy, and the curried chicken salad contains egg.  People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy or eggs run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they eat the salads.  The mislabeled salads came from a company-owned commissary.  The mix-up was discovered by an employee in the prepared food section at one of its stores.  Whole Foods is issuing a recall in line with guidelines set by the FDA and plans to post signs in stores alerting customers.  To date, no illnesses have been reported.

Honey Bees Are Dying Putting America At Risk Of A Food Disaster

Todd Woody

Bee Deaths May Have Reached A Crisis Point For Crops

Dan Charles

Forget the plight of the polar bear for a moment and consider the coming collapse of the $30 billion honeybee economy in the US.  Since 2006 honey bees responsible for pollinating more than 100 crops—from apples to zucchini—have been dying by the tens of millions.  As a new report form the USDA details, scientists are still struggling to pinpoint the cause of so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and time is running out.  Farmers who grow crops like almonds, blueberries and apples rely on commercial beekeepers to make sure their crops get pollinated.  But the number of honeybees has now dwindled to the point where there may not be enough to pollinate those crops.  In recent years, agricultural pesticides have become a leading suspect in bee deaths.  Attention has focused on a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids.  Last month the European Commission imposed a two-year ban on neonicotinoids as global concern grows over the bee population crash.  But scientists increasingly believe several interacting factors—from disease-carrying parasites to poor nutrition to pesticides—are responsible for the mass die-off.  And as agriculture becomes ever more industrial and natural habitats that formerly bordered farmland are destroyed, bees are being starved of the food they need to help produce food for humans.  So how to save the bees?  One answer: Breed better bees.  The report recommends stepping up efforts to identify genetic traits in particular bees that make them resistant to suspected causes of CCD.  The report also suggests importing Russian honey bees and other “Old World” bees to diversify bee breeding stock and build up CCD resistance.  Scientists already have begun to stockpile bee semen and germplasm in case the worst comes to pass.

Farm to Paper – Tasting Table

For as much mention as there is about local food in mainstream food publications, little of it goes into depth on the actual process of creation—farming.  With the inaugural issue of Modern Farmer, that’s about to change.  Headed up by an alum of the New York Times Magazine and Monocle, the quarterly publication aims to cover issues surrounding the origins of food, whether raised in rural or urban settings, on family or industrial farms.  This is not an empty mission held afloat by bucolic photo spreads.  To provide substantive commentary, the team has enlisted some major journalistic talent, writers with credits at the Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones and the San Francisco Chronicle, to name a few, who tackle topics like a rampant wild board epidemic, organic farming in the highly polluted city of Shanghai, the state of American slaughterhouses, and planting a four-season vegetable farm in your backyard.  Modern Farmer is available now at newsstands and specialty food stores.

Antioxidants are beneficial, but consumers should know the myths about them

Linda Davidson

Grocery shelves are full of products with labels bragging that they contain antioxidants and implying that you’re just a few bites (and a few bucks) away from better health.  But it’s not that simple.  To help distinguish the myths from the truth, here’s a close look at the latest on antioxidants:

Myth:Antioxidants are all vitamins.

Truth: There are thousands of antioxidants, but relatively few of them are vitamins.  Some are minerals and others are enzymes, which are protein molecules that facilitate chemical reactions necessary for cells to function properly.

Myth: All antioxidants are created equal.

Truth: Different antioxidants fight different free radicals, and they work well together.  Even though scientists have yet to pinpoint all the ways the compounds protect against disease, many observational studies suggest that people who consume a greater amount of antioxidant-rich foods have a lower risk of certain diseases than people who don’t.

Myth: Be sure to eat pomegranates, berries and other “super fruits.”

Truth: All fruits are “super.”  Each type of fruit or vegetable has a unique combination of healthful compounds, including antioxidants.

Myth: You should amp up your intake with supplements.

Truth: Focus on food instead.  Overall, clinical trials that have examined the disease-fighting capability of specific antioxidant nutrients in supplement form haven’t shown very promising results.

Myth: If some antioxidants are good, more are better.

Truth: Too much can be problematic, so beware of multi- and single-antioxidant capsules labeled “megadoses,” which contain more than the recommended daily values for antioxidants.  For example, consuming extremely large amounts of carrots or other vegetables rich in beta-carotene can result in orange-tinted skin.

Myth: Packaged food with labels that promise antioxidant benefits will boost your health.

Truth: Antioxidant claims on packaged food don’t always mean a health benefit.  Some food manufacturers add an antioxidant, such as Vitamin C or E, and then label the product as containing antioxidants, presumably in hopes of boosting sales.

Is It OK to Leave Butter on the Kitchen Counter?

Sarah Perry

Is leaving butter out on the counter a common practice?  And how long does room-temp butter last before it goes rancid?  Keeping butter out seems to be pretty widespread.  A very old method of preserving milk fat, butter existed long before refrigeration.  Besides, butter right out of the fridge is un-spreadable—there’s nothing more frustrating than a stack of hot toast and a solid stick of butter.  A lot of Chowhounds use a covered butter dish for kitchen-counter storage.  Some like to use a butter bell, a ceramic storage container shaped like an inverted goblet with the open end neatly sealed in a crock of water.  You need to change the water every couple of days.  As the water evaporates, it cools the butter, keeping it fresh and spreadable.  According to Land O’Lakes, butter should stay fresh for two weeks, though that depends on a few variables.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that salted butter lasts longer.  High-fat butters melt too easily to leave at room temperatures.  Keep high-butterfat brands in the fridge, but leave ordinary butter on the kitchen counter.

How Long Can You Store Rendered Fat?

Sarah Perry

More Chowhounds are rendering their own fat at homes these days.  But how long does it last?  How can you best keep it fresh, and how will you know if it’s rancid?  Commercially rendered animal fat tends to keep forever.  Unfortunately, home-rendered fat doesn’t last as long, as tiny amounts of impurities in the fat can cause rancidity.  Since the bits of meat and impurities tend to settle to the bottom, sprinkling a layer of salt at the bottom of your storage jar before pouring in the fat will keep those bits from spoiling the whole batch.  Or let the fat settle, spoon off the snow-white fat from the top, and toss the bits at the bottom.  For long-term storage, the freezer is best.  Fat can get freezer burn, but it won’t get rancid.  Since fat doesn’t freeze as hard as water, you can freeze it in bags and chip off bits as needed.  As for recognizing when it’s rancid, you’ll know from the taste—it’ll make your tongue tingle form the acidity not to mention the bad taste.

Why Britain Has Gone Mad About Baking

Amy Guttman

Over the past three years, cake clubs have been growing in popularity in the UK.  The concept is similar to a book club—except with cake.  Often there’s a theme: new recipes only, international or other mandates.  Members rendezvous regularly at local tea shops and cafes, where they show off their homemade cakes before digging in.  The clubs are just one manifestation of a baking madness that’s sweeping England. Last summer’s London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee inspired Brits to bake for street festivals and village fairs to commemorate both events.  And the financial crisis has encouraged the nation to stay at home, finding low-cost leisure activities—including watching cooking shows on TV.  “The Great British Bake Off,” which premiered in 2010 and tests home bakers on every aspect of baking skill, is also credited for the revival.  Baking is so hip these days that, when 31-year-old Chris Holmes decided to quit his job to become a full-time baker, he wrote his resignation letter in icing on a cake—an image that quickly went viral.

Food School: MTV Jumps on the Food Reality TV Train

Hillary Dixler

MTV is joining the food reality fray with a new show called Food School.  The casting notice explains that they are looking for “amateur chefs, bakers and cooking enthusiasts of all kinds (who are at least 18 years old), with the biggest personalities and a fierce appetite for competition.”  The contestants will live together in a house “and be schooled in the most intensive and practical culinary training, with mentorship by legendary food masters.  Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern offered some thoughts on the new show via Twitter: “Will do for culinary arts what Teen Moms did for parenting!”

Alton Brown Is Going on Tour and There Will Be Ponchos

Hillary Dixler

TV personality Alton Brown is going on tour, and he’s bringing ponchos.  His live show will feature cooking, live music and “bizarre and potentially messy experiments.”  Brown has not yet announced the name for the tour; he is deciding between “The Inevitable Edible Tour” or “The Edible Inevitable Tour.”  According to the official website, Brown will be heading to cities across the US, including San Diego, CA, Mesa, AZ, Detroit, MI, and Tampa, FL.  He’ll also be heading to New England in the second leg of the tour.  Since Brown tweeted a link to the site at 10:54 am EST today, the site has been crashing due to the number of visitors.

Booths Recalls ‘Monkey Nuts,’ Didn’t Disclose That Product Contained Nuts

Booths, the UK-based grocery chain, has recalled its “monkey nuts.”  The store failed to disclose on the packaging that the product contained peanuts—but the Wholehearted Roasted Monkey Nuts are merely peanuts contained in their shells.  It’s a scary world we live in, if the bag of peanuts has to disclose that it contains peanuts, to make sure that people allergic to peanuts don’t accidentally consume them.

Cucumber Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 73 People In 18 States  Joe Satran

Watch out cucumber fans: your favorite raw vegetable has been tied to an outbreak of salmonella.  It has been reported that 73 people in 18 states have contracted salmonellosios after eating cucumbers imported from Mexico over the past several months.  Twenty-eight of those affected live in California.  Nearly a third have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.  The FDA placed an “Import Alert” on cucumbers from Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse, two suppliers in Culiacan, the largest city in the Sinaloa state of Mexico on Thursday.  The cucumbers were distributed by Arizona-based Tricar Sales.  According to the CDC there is no evidence that the contaminated cucumbers are still on the market.

Nestle Recalls Frozen Pizzas That May Contain Plastic Fragments

Nestle Pizza Co. of Little Chute, WI, is recalling four frozen-pizza products that might be contaminated with plastic fragments.  The fragments are of clear, brittle plastic with sharp edges.  One consumer reported a chipped tooth after biting into one of the California Pizza Kitchen products.  The problem was apparently related to the spinach in the pizza.  According to the USDA, four products are subject to recall:  California Pizza Kitchen Limited Edition Grilled Chicken with Cabernet Sauce, DiGiorno Crispy Flatbread Pizza Tuscan Style Chicken, DiGiorno pizzeria! Blanca/White Pizza, and California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust White.

Ground Turkey Study Finds More Than Half Of Samples Contaminated With Fecal Bacteria – Carey Polis

According to a new study from Consumer Reports, more than half of ground turkey samples are contaminated with fecal bacteria.  In addition, the magazine found that more than 90 percent of the ground turkey samples it tested contained at least one of the five bacteria the test was looking for—salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, enterococcus and campylobacter (no campylobacter found).  The test covered 257 retail samples from 21 states and 27 different brands, all purchased in retail stores.  In addition to evidence associated with fecal contamination, Consumer Reports also found that many of the disease-causing organisms it tested were resistant to antibiotics used to fight them.  Conventional ground turkey was compared to ground turkey labeled “no antibiotics,” “organic,” or “raised without antibiotics”—and all were found to be equally likely to contain the bacteria included in the study.  However, bacteria on the antibiotic-free ground turkey was less likely to be antibiotic-resistant.  Industry groups were quick to attack the findings.  The National Turkey Federation refuted the study as “alarmist” in a press release.  “The magazine reported high levels of certain pathogens on the samples tested, but it is important to note that the two most prevalent, enterococcus and generic E. coli, are not considered sources of foodborne illness,” the federation wrote.  The American Meat Institute said that while “the magazine chooses to focus today’s story on four bacteria their labs did find, the more important story is about the pathogenic bacteria of public health concern that they didn’t find or found at remarkably low levels.”

Cured Meat Ban Lifted By USDA For Some Italian Regions, New Imports Could Follow

Here’s news sure to make the hearts of charcuterie fans skip a beat: The USDA indicated Friday that it will relax a ban on Italian cured meats that has been in place for decades, beginning May 28.  According to a USDA document, the regions of Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Piemonte and the provinces of Trento and Bolzano are free of swine vesicular disease.  Authorities are satisfied that safety measures employed will prevent the spread of the disease to the US.  The ban is thought to have been in place since at least the 1960s, enacted following a string of European livestock illnesses, writes the New York Times.  Since then, the USDA has only allowed the importation of some cured pork products from producers that pay a hefty certification fee.  That ban has for years deterred many smaller and artisanal companies from selling their products in the US, but this may now change for outfits based in the aforementioned regions.  “[It’s] the beginning of a huge possibility to explore and to have high quality Italian salumi in the US, said Dino Borri, the head buyer at Italian emporium Eataly.  Borri has his eye on two types of coppa—Coppa Piacentina and Coppa di Parma—which have a history that dates back to the Middle Ages.  Made from a pig’s neck muscles, the meat is salted and flavored with pepper, ground cinnamon, cloves, bay seeds and nutmeg.  Borri also hopes to introduce Eataly customers to several varieties of salami which all vary in flavor by their regions of origin.  They are spiced with garlic, mace, juniper berries, myrtle berries, fennel, chili pepper or red wine, and many are stuffed inside gut cases.  Then there’s Pancetta Piacentina, which is made with meat from the marbled front portion of a pig’s ribs, salted by hand and left to cure for at least two months.  Finally Borri wants to acquaint Americans with Culatello di Zibello, a salted and tied portion of a pig’s upper leg cured for a whole year.  Even though the ban will be lifted as of May 28, new products could appear as early as June, but more likely October or later.

Boomers or bust: Is the $10bn US breakfast cereal market in a state of terminal decline?  - Elaine Watson

On paper at least, boxed breakfast cereal ticks all the right boxes.  It’s quick, great value for your money, and nutritious—the perfect recession-proof food.  Yet US consumption has dropped about 1% every year for the last decade as consumers have sought out more convenient—and often more expensive—alternatives, and ‘breakfast’ has switched from being one of three square meals a day to just another snacking occasion.  Demographics are working against the breakfast cereal industry.  Millennials are ditching their breakfast bowls of cereal for a protein-packed Greek yogurt or a 300-calorie frozen breakfast sandwich that can be heated in the microwave.  Declining birth rates mean that a key cereal-eating demographic, children, is slowing down.  In addition, more consumers are eating breakfast outside the home, with breakfast now accounting for one in five restaurant visits.  Older adults are still big cereal consumers.  Millennials might be wooed back with innovative and targeted marketing that emphasizes the importance of breakfast as the most important meal.  Under pressure to cut sodium, sugar and fat, cereal makers are increasingly trying to move kids’ cereals in particular from the ‘fun for you’ category into ‘good for you’ or ‘better for you’ categories via recipe engineering.  There may be potential in focusing on more gourmet, premium offerings for adults.  This might mean a switch to more expensive natural sweetening systems to use of more protein-rich nuts and legumes instead of wheat, corn and rice in cereal-type products.  Kellogg, the clear global leader in cereal, believes they can continue to grow the cereal business aggressively.  Kellogg has developed new products for older adults such as Raisin Bran Omega-3, which is coming out the middle of the year.  For adults who eat breakfast on the go it has developed breakfast shake “Kellogg’s to Go’ which is basically a bowl of cereal and milk in a portable beverage format.  In the UK, Kellogg’s has launched Nutri-Grain breakfast biscuits.  General Mills also doesn’t believe that the breakfast cereal category has peaked.  General Mills executive vice president, US Retail, Ian Friendly, said that declining volumes in the US cereals market is due largely to “below-par” innovation from branded competitors and price hikes prompted by cost inflation.

Hummus Is Conquering America  – David Kesmodel

Prodded by the largest US hummus maker, farmers in the heart of tobacco country are trying to grow chickpeas, an improbable move that reflects booming demand for hummus.  Sabra Dipping Co., a joint venture of PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) and Israel’s Strauss Group Ltd., wants to cultivate a commercial crop in Virginia to reduce its dependence on the legume’s main US growing region–the Pacific Northwest—and to identify new chickpea varieties for its dips and spreads.  For Sabra, which makes hummus at a plant near Richmond, VA, a secondary source of supplies could help protect the company if a chickpea shortage occurred because of crop failures in Washington or Idaho.  Sourcing chickpeas locally also would lower its shipping costs.  But the Virginia effort carries risk, because experts say the state’s high summer humidity could make chickpeas more susceptible to a fungus known as Ascochyta blight that long as threatened chickpea crops in the US.  Sabra has provided financial support for chickpea research at Virginia State University, and this spring, Virginia State recruited farmers to plant chickpeas in on-farm trials.  Virginia State University agronomist Harbans Bhardwaj is working on identifying a variety more suited to the climate, which could also potentially be planted months earlier than most chickpeas.  Virginia farmers may be able to grow the crop on a commercial scale within three years.  US farmers are expected to plant a record 214,300 acres of chickpeas this year, up 3% from last year and a fivefold increase over a decade ago, according to the USDA.

Public School 244 In Queens Adopts All-Vegetarian Menu, Becomes The First In NYC To Do So

A New York City elementary school has adopted an all-vegetarian menu, serving kids tofu wraps and veggie chili.  Public School 244 is the first public school in the city to go all-veggie and possibly the first school in the nation.  The Queens school has 400 students in pre-kindergarten through third grade.  It wanted to offer healthy food options and started serving a vegetarian lunch three times a week, then increased it to four times a week and recently went all vegetarian.

Margot Woelk, Hitler’s Food Taster, Recalls Life Of Terror In The ‘Wolf’s Lair’ – Kirsten Grieshabe

Hitler’s food taster tells of poisoning fears

There were feasts of sublime asparagus—laced with fear.  And for ore than half a century, Margo Woelk kept her secret hidden from the world, even from her husband.  A few months after her 95^th birthday, Mrs. Woelk revealed the truth about her wartime role: Adolf Hitler’s food taster.  She confirmed that Hitler was a vegetarian, stating that he never ate meat during the almost two and a half years she spent as a taster.  Hitler was so paranoid that the British would poison him that he had 15 girls taste the food before he ate it himself.  With many Germans contending with food shortages and a bland diet, there were advantages to tasting Hitler’s food.  “The food was delicious, only the best vegetables, asparagus, bell peppers, everything you can imagine.  And always with a side of rice or pasta,” she recalled.  “But this constant fear—we knew of all those poisoning rumors and could never enjoy the food.  Every day we feared it was going to be our last meal.”  Woelk first revealed her secret to a local Berlin reporter a few months ago.  Since then interest in her life story has been overwhelming.  She was drafted into civilian service and assigned as a food taster and kitchen bookkeeper at the Wolf’s Lair complex.  She said she never saw Hitler in person, only his German shepherd Blondie and his SS guards.  Following the 1944 bombing, the Nazis ordered Woelk to leave her relatives’ home and move into an abandoned school closer to the compound.  With the Soviet army on the offensive, one of her SS friends advised her to leave the Wolf’s Lair.  She said she returned by train to Berlin and went into hiding.  Woelk said the other women on the food tasting team decided to remain in Rastenburg since their families were all there and it was their home.  She learned later that the Russians shot all of the 14 other girls when they overran the headquarters in 1945.

Maker’s Mark Alcohol Content Mistake Causes Sales To Soar  - Martinne Geller

Sales of Maker’s Mark soared 44 percent after the company announced it would lower the alcohol content in its bourbon because of a limited supply of whiskey.  A consumer outcry led Beam to quickly reverse that decision, but not before die-hard fans stocked up.  The company said it had benefited from the timing of ingredient costs, selling a higher proportion of more expensive products, price increases and a shift in advertising spending to the second and third quarters from the first quarter.  Beam Chief Executive Matt Shattock said the company realizes that kind of growth was not sustainable and that Beam would control the supply of Maker’s by managing bottle sizes, prices and promotions.  Beam shares ended regular trading on Thursday up $1.82, or 2.8 percent, at $66.11.

Monkeys Also Want To Eat Like The Locals  - Nancy Shute

When you travel, do you want to taste the food of the region you visit?  Well, so do monkeys.  According to a new study, monkeys will eat new, different food if they travel to a new place and want to fit in with the locals.  But back home, they’ll eat what Mama eats, shunning perfectly good food if it doesn’t get her approval.  There’s growing evidence that animals learn behaviors through their social networks, much like humans, but most of those studies haven’t been rigorous enough to prove that the shared behaviors don’t come about through chance.  The study’s co-author, Andrew Whiten, director of the Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution at he University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and his colleagues gave four groups of vervet monkeys living in the wild in South Africa two types of corn, one colored blue, the other red.  One was flavored to be bitter.  Within three months, the animals had learned to shun the bitter corn.  Then the scientists took away the corn.  Months later, when a new crop of baby monkeys was old enough to eat solid food, the scientists once again put out tubs of red and blue corn.  This time, none of the corn was bitter.  But the baby monkeys ate only what they saw their mothers eating.  Out of 27 baby monkeys, just one ate the non-preferred corn.  And that monkey had seen his mom eat some of the shunned corn because monkeys of higher rank were hogging the “good” stuff.  Young males who migrated into other groups after the first part of the corn experiment almost all chose the corn eaten by the new group, even though it was the color shunned in their home group.  Just one monkey stuck with the corn of his home group and he was big and strong and immediately rose to a high-ranking position.  Most controlled experiments with animals are done in the lab, not in the wild, so this should give a better sense of how social interactions affect behavior.  A second study in Science found that humpback whales spread new feeding techniques through their social networks—the cetacean equivalent of sharing a new cooking method on blogs.

Atlanta Delivery Driver Carjacked, Delivers Pizza Anyway – Paula Forbes

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor carjackings at gunpoint could keep one Atlanta Papa John’s delivery driver from getting his pizza to its intended recipient.  After ‘several males armed with handguns” demanded an unnamed delivery driver to give up his vehicle, the man walked down the street to the customer’s address before calling the police.

Food Network and Travel Channel Announce New Shows – Hillary Dixler

Scripps Network Interactive has announced new 2013 programming for the Travel Channel, Food Network, and Cooking Channel.  There are a lot of familiar faces, some new ones, and a whole bunch of format recycling going on.

Food Network:

• Bubba’s Grills Gone Wild, Chef Roulette—chefs are challenged with a spinning wheel
• On the Rocks—an apparent knockoff of Spike’s Bar Rescue
• Cutthroat Kitchen—a reality competition show with yours truly as “the devilish provocateur”
• Extreme Tupperware Ladies
• Beat Bobby Flay
• A special called Guy & Rachael’s Kids Cook-Off with “downright adorable contestants.

The Cooking Channel :

• Donut Showdown (like Cup-cake Wars but donuts?)
• The Freshman Class that tracks culinary students at the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge.

The Travel Channel:

• Adam Richman’s Fandemonium (formerly announced as “Tailgate Takeover”)–Richman “samples the tastiest foods, discovers the finest tailgate innovations and uncovers the storied history and insider secrets to what being a diehard fan is all about.”
• Get Lost—a married couple with survival expertise is “dropped blindly into the wilderness with limited supplies and precious clues as to where they actually are.”

If you want to see the full lineup, just follow the link provided above.

Behind the scenes of Good Eats’ American Classics VII: Tacos

Margarita

Refresca de Avena

Salsa

Guacamole

Nachos

Masa Tots

Turkey Tamales

Hot Tamales

Lime Tortilla Chips

Corn Tortillas

Flour Tortillas

Fish Tacos

All-American Beef Tacos

Taco Potion # 19

Skirt Steak Fajitas

Enchilada Lasagna

Tres Leches Cake

Dulce De Leche

Pineapple Sauce

]]> http://altonbrown.com/alton-brown-cinco-de-mayo-recipe-round-up/feed/ 0 http://altonbrown.com/browns-edible-examiner-volume-xix/ http://altonbrown.com/browns-edible-examiner-volume-xix/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:01:43 +0000 Mr.Brown http://altonbrown.com/?p=719 How Coffee Influenced The Course Of History - Lydia Zuraw

Coffee is a powerful beverage.  On a personal level, it helps keep us awake and active.  On a much broader level, it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture.  Coffee plants grow wild in Ethiopia and were probably used by nomadic tribes for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until the 1400s that people figured out they could roast its seeds.  “Then it really took off,” according to historian Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World.  By the 1500s, he says, the drink had spread to coffeehouses across the Arab world.  Within another 150 years, it took Europe by storm.  Coffeehouses became a spot not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas.  Lloyd’s of London was founded hundreds of years ago in one of London’s 2,000 coffeehouses.  Literature, newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach and Beethoven were also spawned in coffeehouses.  It is often said that after the Boston Tea Party of 1773, when American colonists raided British tea ships and threw crates of tea into the harbor, that Americans universally switched over to drinking coffee.  Pendergrast cites a letter John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, in which the Founding Father proclaims his love of tea but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead, because drinking tea had become unpatriotic.  On the negative side, to be profitable coffee plantations used slave labor.  In Brazil—where slavery was legal until 1888—coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture, tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees that depleted the nutrients in soil.  Once the soil had been sapped, growers would move on to another place.  There are also history’s many coffee naysayers.  In 1511, for example, the governor of Mecca banned coffee because his medical advisers warned it was bad for people’s health.  In 1674, women in London were convinced that coffee made their husbands impotent.  Overall, coffee has dad a very good impact in many ways on our civilization.

How Coffee Brings The World Together - Dan Charles

Coffee is more than a drink.  For many of us, it’s woven into the fabric of every day.  It also connects us to far corners of the globe.  All across Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, people grow coffee.  The best coffee comes from high altitudes, but you cannot grow it in places that freeze, so you need a mixture of high altitude and warm climate, which makes the tropics the place to grow it.  In many tropical countries, especially poor ones, it’s a pillar of the economy; exports of green coffee beans, globally, are worth $15 billion a year.  Forty percent of all coffee comes from Brazil, and the typical coffee farm in Brazil looks more like a corn farm in Iowa.  When it’s time for harvest in Brazil, big machines roll through and strip off the cherry-like coffee fruit, with its valuable bean inside.  The second-biggest producer in the world is a surprise for many people:  Vietnam.  Vietnamese farmers grow a species of coffee tree called Robusta.  It grows fast and produces a big crop, but the bean has a bitter taste.  It’s often used in blends, but high-end coffee producers stick to another species, Arabica.  The one big divide in the coffee business is the “commodity” coffee on the one side and “connoisseur” companies on the other.  The “connoisseur” companies sell coffee that has been more carefully harvested and graded.  Some market the coffee almost like wine, labeling where it came from and how it tastes.  People used to divide the coffee world neatly into producers, like Brazil, and consuming countries in Western Europe and North America.  The clear lines are getting blurred.  Brazil could soon overtake the US to become the world’s single biggest coffee-consuming country.  There has also been significant growth in consumption in regions like Southeast Asia, South Korea, Eastern Europe, India and the Gulf nations.  The coffee experience is more global than ever.

Coffee Quiz: Discover The World In A Cup Of Joe - NPR Staff

Now, let’s test your coffee knowledge.  (Answers at the end of this week’s Edible Examiner)

Question 1:          Who drinks the most coffee?

a) Finland     b) Italy     c) Peru

Question 2:          Which of these is a macchiato?

a) Milk Foam/Steamed Milk/Espresso     b) Water/Espresso     c) Milk Foam/Espresso

Question 3:          Where did coffee originate?

a) Ethiopia     b) Brazil     c) Indonesia

Question 4:          Which country comes SECOND to Brazil as the world’s largest coffee producer?

a) Vietnam     b) India     c) Colombia

Question 5:          Who first told North America about coffee?

a) William Penn     b) John Smith     c) Christopher Columbus

Question 6:          Which will give you the biggest shot of caffeine?

a) Arabica Beans     b) Robusta Beans     c) Yerba Mate Tea

Question 7:          What’s the origin of “Mocha” coffee?

a) Arabic word for chocolate     b) Yemeni Port City     c) Island off South America

Question 8:          Who brought coffee to Java?

a) Dutch East India Co.     b) Marco Polo     c) Muslim Traders

Food Safety Regulations ‘Unlawfully Withheld’ By FDA, Court Rules - Joe Satran

Court Orders FDA, Center for Food Safety to Propose FSMA Deadlines - Josh Long

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially broken the law by failing to release regulations needed to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the 2011 legislation meant to overhaul the nation’s food safety system.  That was the key finding in the case of Center for Food Safety v. Hamburg, released Monday by US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California.  The Center for Food Safety had sued Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner, after the agency failed to release seven key regulations by July 2012, which the FSMA had set as the deadline for their release.  The FDA responded that the rules were complicated and technical, and that releasing them prematurely would compromise their efficacy.  They did not address widespread accusations that the regulations were being held up by the White House for political reasons.  Judge Hamilton ruled that the seven food safety regulations were being “unlawfully withheld” and that “the FDA has violated the FMSA and the [Administrative Procedure Act] by failing to complete the regulations by the statutory deadlines.”  She ordered the FDA’s food safety officials to meet with representatives from the Center for Food Safety to draw up a concrete timeline for the release and finalization of the regulations and to present it to the court no later than May 20 of this year.  FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said that the FDA could not comment on pending litigation.  Kimbrell noted that the agency could appeal the decision to the US Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit.  Barring that, however, the next step in the case is the meeting to set a timeline.  The seven regulations could conceivably be released by July, one year after the deadline in the FSMA.

Genetically Engineered Food Labeling Taken On By Congress In Right-To-Know Act

On Wednesday, April 24, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced bills to the Senate and House of Representatives that would require food manufacturers to clearly label any product containing genetically engineered ingredients—or risk having that product classified “misbranded” by the FDA.  Both have previously sponsored bills that would have mandated GMO labeling, but the new “Genetically Engineered Food Right-To-Know Act” is the first GMO labeling bill to be introduced with both bicameral and bipartisan support.  DeFazio said he hopes the new act would generate a “grassroots tidal wave of support” from constituents.  Polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans—over 90 percent—supports mandatory labeling of foods with GE ingredients.  Sixty-four other countries including Saudi Arabia, Russia and China, already require such labels.  And dozens of advocacy groups and food corporations have signaled their support of the new bill.   However, strong opposition from the agriculture and biotech industries has scuttled proposals for GMA labeling laws in the past.  The most recent of these failed attempts at a GMO labeling requirement was California’s Proposition 37, which was narrowly defeated in a popular referendum after opponents spent $50 million lobbying against it.  DeFazio confirmed that he intended the Genetically Engineered Food Right-To-Know Act to put political pressure on President Obama and the FDA.  He described the executive branch’s stance toward GMO labeling so far as “indifference or even overt opposition.”  But even if the bill fails to pass and to convince Obama and the FDA to require labeling on their own, GMO labeling could still happen soon—because of the private sector.

Anheuser-Busch InBev Strikes Deal With DOJ, Gives Production Of Modelo Beers To Competitor - Diane Bartz

The US Justice Department and Anheuser-Busch InBev have agreed to conditions that will allow the beer giant to expand its stake in Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, according to court documents and company statements on Friday. The agreement looks like a victory for AB InBev, which knew early on that the Justice Department would balk at allowing it to expand its already significant US presence.  Instead, AB InBev’s goal in doing the deal was to expand the sales of Corona and other Modelo brand beers outside the US.  The deal requires AB InBev to sell the Piedras Negras brewery in Mexico that makes Corona and other Modelo brand beers for the US market.  It also requires the purchaser, Constellation Brands, to expand the brewery so that it can make at least 20 million hectoliters of beer by December 31, 2016.  The deal announced on Friday is similar to what AB InBev had offered in mid-February but adds Constellation as a defendant to the settlement with the department.  This means that pledges that Constellation makes to the court about expanding the plant to make it big enough to serve the US market will be legally binding.  InBev expects the deal to close in June 2013.

Mussel Ban Issued Earlier Than Usual Due To Toxin Find

The annual ban on consuming recreationally harvested mussels from the California coast has been imposed early this year after testing revealed toxins that are harmful to humans.  The quarantine usually begins May 1 and continues through Oct. 31.  The quarantine applies to all species of mussels taken by the public anywhere on the California coast, including all bays, harbors, and estuaries. Commercially harvested shellfish are not included. Consumers of sport-harvested clams or scallops are advised to eat only the white meat, removing and discarding the dark-colored organs or viscera before cooking.  Officials said compliance with the quarantine can prevent paralytic shellfish poisoning and domoic acid poisoning.  There is no known antidote to the toxins, and cooking cannot be relied upon to destroy them.

Why Do People Love Eating Dangerous Foods? - George Embiricos

Physical and emotional discomfort.  Hospitalization, asphyxiation that can lead to death.  We’re not talking about the symptoms of some mysterious foodborne illness here, but rather the potential consequences of voluntarily eating some common, and often popular, foods.  Let’s take a look at some of the most dangerous foods thrill-seekers can’t stay away from.

A spoonful of cinnamon.  A recent article in The Atlantic details how a medical journal looked into the “cinnamon challenge,” which essentially involves a person trying to swallow a spoonful of dry cinnamon.  The aftermath almost always includes coughing, vomiting and can even lead to collapsed lungs.  Yet Pediatrics reports that there are currently some 51,000 videos on YouTube of individuals attempting the challenge.

Hot chilies.  The Wall Street Journal wrote last month about the ongoing race to grow the world’s hottest pepper.  The piece delves into the competitive nature of consuming ridiculously hot peppers.  Now there are even restaurants serving dishes that include waiver forms, and some diners end up in hospitals after challenging their spice tolerance.

Fugu (puffer fish)

Widely recognized as the world’s most dangerous food, blowfish is often referenced in popular culture.  Each year there are approximately 35 to 65 victims hospitalized from eating fugu in Japan—where it has long been considered a delicacy—with a 6.8 percent fatality rate.  The poison, tetrododoxin, is found in the skin, skeleton, ovaries, intestines and liver of the fish, and chefs hoping to serve the dish must go through years of rigorous training just to gain certification allowing them to prepare it.

Confections With Convictions: Kalamazoo Chocolatier Hires Youth With Criminal Records To Make Truffles - Zinta Aistars

Dale Anderson has been a licensed professional counselor and a mediator in the court system since 1996 and has been working at Campus Employee Dispute Resolution Services at Western Michigan University since 2006.  Anderson is good at that sort of thing.  Making peace, building bridges…in fact, building literally is his third job. During his years of counseling, Anderson had observed that many of the juveniles he counseled were kinetic learners.  They need to be moving, doing things while learning.  He is a licensed builder, and his first thought was to provide work to young people looking for a second, or even a fifth chance, at getting life right by working in construction.  But he bumped into child labor laws that don’t allow kids to use power tools or climb ladders.  Buying a box of gourmet chocolates, Anderson suddenly had a sweet idea.  These artisanal chocolates tasted far superior to ordinary supermarket boxed chocolates.  Anderson took his master’s degree in counseling and multicultural conflict resolution and stirred in a heart for humanitarian work together with classes on becoming a chocolatier, and created artisan chocolate with a cause.  Confections with Convictions opened its doors to the public in December 2010, in a building that had stood empty for nearly a decade.  The convictions in the store name refer to Anderson’s commitment to offer employment to those who may not be able to find work elsewhere due to their criminal records.  All of his employees have felony convictions.  “Convictions” also refers to creating the best artisanal chocolates possible, using organic and fair trade means, and buying local fruits whenever possible.  He has been successful at both.  Amy Anderson, his 83-year-old mother, mirrors the same warm smile as her son, and she is only too happy to work alongside him in the shop.  “I love working here, it’s like a new lease on life,” she says with enthusiasm.

Food Jobs Among the Worst in America, Survey Reports - Hillary Dixler

Not only do food industry jobs account for seven of the 10 lowest paid jobs in the country, they’ve been ranked as some of the all-around worst jobs too.  CareerCast has announced its 2013 list of best and worst jobs and, as in years past, food industry jobs make a strong showing at the bottom of the list.  CareerCast evaluates each job on five key elements: physical demands, work environment, income, stress, and hiring outlook.  The only food-related job in the top 100 is dietician (#16).  Here are the food and restaurant industry jobs on the list: Bartender (150), Butcher (183), Waiter/Waitress (185), Dishwasher (187), Farmer (190), Dairy Farmer (195).  The following jobs are ranked even higher than the food-related jobs listed janitor (153), bus driver (157, sewage plant operator (87) funeral director (116) and taxi driver (146).

Students Stage Walkout at Culinary Institute of America - Paula Forbes

Students at the Culinary Institute of America staged a walkout protest yesterday, with about a fifth of the undergraduate class demonstrating.  According to the New York Times, they were protesting, “a weakening enforcement of educational standards, including perceived lowered standards for admittance and graduation as well as rapid expansion.  Students at the protest wore nametags declaring the amount of debt they had accrued going to the CIA.  In 2008, students demonstrated against CIA president Tim Ryan, complaining that the school’s relationship with corporate food led to students learning institutionalized food preparations and lowered academic standards overall.  Students involved in the protest told the Times they were trying to preserve the reputation of the school, in order to protect their investment in their education.

The Price Tags for 11 Culinary Schools Across the Country - Amy McKeever

Earlier this week, students at the Culinary Institute of America’s Hyde Park location staged a walkout to protest what they perceived as weakening academic standards alongside massive debt accrual.  Folks in the restaurant industry have long debated whether culinary school is worth the high tuition rates for an industry in which entry-level jobs are notoriously low paying.  Here’s a look at 10 programs across America, including tuition rates, programs offered and notable alumni.  To keep things simple only the basic culinary arts programs are listed—not pastry, accelerated courses or bachelor’s degrees in management or any other specialty.

• Johnson & Wales University:  $54,312 – $108,624.  Located in Providence, RI; offers two-year associate degree or a four-year bachelor of science degree; 2013-2014 tuition set at $27,156 per year, or $502 per credit.  Notable alumni include Emeril Lagasse, Sean Brock.
• Kendall College:  $53,772 – $89,667.  Located in Chicago, IL; offers associate of applied science and a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts.  Notable alumni include Michael White, Mindy Segal, and José Garces.
• CIA, Hyde Park:  $52,920 – $105,840.  Located in Hyde Park, NY; offers both an associate degree in culinary arts and bachelor’s degree programs in either culinary arts or culinary science.  For the 2013-2014 school year, each semester costs $13,230 in tuition.  Notable alumni include Grant Achatz, Charlie Palmer.
• CIA at Greystone:  $52,920.  Located in St. Helena, CA; offers an associate degree in culinary arts.  Theirs is also an 18-week externship and students work in the school’s own restaurant at the end of sophomore year.
• New England Culinary Institute:  $52,500 – $82,350.  Located in Montpelier, VT; offers both an associate degree of occupational studies in culinary arts and a bachelor of arts in culinary arts.  Notable alumni include Alton Brown, Heather Terhune.
• The International Culinary Center, New York:  $38,500 – $48,750.  Located in New York City, NY; offers a variety of culinary arts training programs, including farm-to-table, French or technology intensive programs.  Notable alumni include David Chang, Wylie Dufresne.
• Institute of Culinary Education:  $30,278.90  – $34,278.90.  Located in New York City, NY; Offers a variety of schedules for its 650-hour curriculum.  There are no more than 16 students per class.  Externships count for 210 of the 650 course hours.  Notable alumni include Missy Robbins and Armandino Batali.
• International Culinary Center, California:  $29,500 – $34,700.  Located in Campbell, CA; offers a Classic Culinary Arts course with work experience.  California students take externships at sites such as Bottega, Spruce, Café des Amis, the Mina Group and even Google.
• L’Academie de Cuisine:  $29,500.  Located just outside of Washington, DC; offers a three-phase culinary arts program that includes classroom learning, kitchen training and a paid externship at a fine-dining restaurant.  Notable alumni include Carla Hall, Angela Pinkerton.
• Le Cordon Bleu, Los Angeles:  $19,200 – $39,200.  Located in Los Angeles, CA; offers a diploma in culinary arts and an associate degree in culinary arts.

Answers to the Coffee Quiz:

Question 1:          a) Finland.

In 2011, Finns consumed an average of 12.17 kilograms (26.8 pounds) of coffee per person.  In fact, Nordic countries make up the top six coffee-drinking countries.  Could it be something to do with the long, dark nights?

Question 2:          c) Milk Foam/Espresso

Question 3:          a) Ethiopia

Evidence suggests that the first coffee plants grew in the region of Kaffa in central Ethiopia.

Question 4:          a) Vietnam

Coffee was introduced to Vietnam by the French in the mid-19^th century.  Robusta beans account for most of Vietnam’s coffee output—more than 3.1 billion pounds in 2011.

Question 5:          b) John Smith

Founder of the Colony of Virginia in 1607, Smith would certainly have encountered coffee on his Turkish travels, so he usually gets the credit.

Question 6:          b) Robusta beans

A six oz. cup of drip-brewed Robusta coffee will give you anything from 140-200 mg of caffeine, compared to around 100 in a cup of Arabica.

Question 7:          b) Yemeni Port City

Al-Mikha used to be a thriving port on the Red Sea Coast.  It shipped a variety of coffee native to Yeen and Ethiopia and lent its name to those beans.  These helped fuel Europe’s growing taste for this new and delightful drink that began in the 15^th century.

Question 8:          a) Dutch East India Co.

The Dutch governor of Malabar India, sent coffee seedlings via the East India Company to Batavia (near present day Jakarta) around 1696.

With Earth Day fast approaching on April 22nd, this is a good time to check in with our community and ourselves and think about what we can do as citizens to help honor and respect our planet.  The choices we make in our diets may have a direct impact on our planet.  With agribusinesses now dominating our food system, food is now processed in factories that are responsible for massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.  This is an issue that needs to be addressed on every level from government to individual.

We need new infrastructure in order to support our farmers and get local food into local markets.  As individuals we can reduce our carbon footprint by making informed choices at our farmers markets and grocery stores.  One of the most effective and efficient ways for individuals to contribute is by planting something.  Urban gardening can be challenging, but there are many ways to grow potted vegetables and herbs on your fire escape or windowsill.  As we think about Earth day and what that means to each of us, take advantage of these simple and accessible ways to do your part.  Your body and your planet will thank you. 

Farmers markets’ salad days - Elaine Gordon

According to the Agriculture Department, there are now more than 7,175 local farmers markets across the country.  Many farmers markets open in April or May, so now is the time to get exploring, to discover new produce and fresh or potted herbs that your supermarket might not feature.  Proper preparation can help make your trip to the market a great experience.  Here are some guidelines to help you get the most out of your trip:

• Bring reusable, clean bags to carry your goodies home.  Use separate bags for raw and cooked foods.
• Bring storage containers for delicate produce such as berries and cherry tomatoes that might otherwise get crushed when combined with other products.
• Arrive early in the day for the best selection.  However, if you go toward the end of the day, you might get some good deals.
• Bring cash in small bills with a bag for change.
• Go in with an open mind.  Vendors may point out produce you may not be as familiar with, such as garlic scapes, a twisty, curly plant, which makes a really good pesto.
• Take the time to scope out the entire market as different farmers offer different selections and prices of the same item.  Be sure to ask the farmers how long produce will stay fresh so you don’t overbuy.  The farmers may also be able to provide helpful storage tips.

Forget Gold, the Gourmet-Cupcake Market Is Crashing - Emily Maltby and Sarah E. Needleman

Cupcake Market Crash And Sprinkles ATM Delayed: Is This The End Of A Sweet Trend? - Erin Ruberry

Is the Gourmet Cupcake Trend Finally Over? - Paula Forbes

Cupcakes became a cultural and economic phenomenon over the last decade, with gourmet cupcake shops proliferating across the country, selling increasingly elaborate and expensive concoctions.  The craze hit a high mark in June 2011, when Crumbs Bake Shop Inc., a New York-based chain, debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol CRMB.  After trading at more than $13 a share in mid-2011, Crumbs has sunk to under $1.40 today following an announcement that this year’s sales would be down 22% from earlier forecasts.  As a business, making cupcakes has a relatively low barrier to entry and the field has become saturated with competitors, including individual bakeries, chains and grocery stores.

Also, backlash against the cupcake is nothing new: there have been cupcake haters ever since Magnolia Bakery first appeared on the HBO series Sex and the City.  The sweet treats then became central characters in TV shows like the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” and TLC’s “DC Cupcakes.”  But it seems the cupcake backlash has reached the masses or maybe the masses are just suffering from gourmet cupcake burnout.

In Meat Tests, More Data Tying Human Illness To Farm Antibiotics - Eliza Barclay

Are the antibiotics the livestock industry uses on animals responsible for antibiotic-resistant infections in people?  Bacteria are notoriously hard to follow from farm to fork, but more pieces of the puzzle are coming together that suggest the answer is yes.  Findings released through a joint program of the FDA, the Department of Agriculture and the CDC in February reported data on tests conducted on supermarket meat samples gathered in 2011 by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System.  This week the Environmental Working Group, which opposes some of the livestock industry’s use of antibiotics, analyzed the government data and highlighted some of their startling implications in a report.  EWG researchers found that 53 percent of raw chicken samples were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant E. coli.  Resistant salmonella was also common on the meat samples: Of all the salmonella found on the chicken samples, some 74 percent were antibiotic-resistant.  And 26 percent of the chicken tested positive for resistant Campylobacter.  Lance Price, an expert on antibiotic resistance and a professor at George Washington University, reviewed the EWG report and he concurs.   “This report isn’t fear mongering,” says Price.  “Food is an underappreciated potential route of exposure to drug-resistant bacteria.  And it’s a huge potential source for emergence of the next true superbug.”  Mike Apley, a veterinarian at Kansas State University who specializes in cattle raised in feedlots, has frequently defended the livestock industry’s use of antibiotics for disease prevention and treatment.  But he agrees that the new data suggests that the appearance of drug-resistant strains of harmful bacteria on meat is a problem.  Many scientists and food advocacy groups are pushing for tighter regulations on the industry and more details about how it uses antibiotics.  Ultimately, antibiotics are a crutch for a system that relies on confining large numbers of animals in a way that increases their susceptibility to disease.

Food Poisonings Up From Raw Milk, Poultry Bacteria - Mike Stobbe

Bacteria commonly linked to raw milk and poultry is causing more and more food poisonings, health officials said Thursday.  Cases of campylobacter grew by 14 percent over the last five years, a government study found.  The CDC report was based on foodborne infections in only 10 states—about 15 percent of the American population—but it is seen as a good indicator of food poisoning trends.  Overall, food poisonings held fairly steady in recent years.  There were no significant jumps in cases from most other food bugs, including salmonella and E. coli.  But campylobacter rose, and last year accounted for more than a third of food poisoning illnesses in those states and about a 10^th of the deaths.  Health officials are not clear on why the campylobacter cases have increased, or which food or foods was the source of most of the added illnesses.  The CDC report focused on only nine types of food germs, and counted only cases that were lab confirmed.  The CDC reports that many  illnesses never get reported and it estimates that as many as 48 million Americans get sick from contaminated food each year.

USDA Livestock Identification Program Seeks To Strengthen Security Of Food Supply - M.L. Johnson

The federal government has been trying for nearly a decade to establish an animal identification system. The main goal of a livestock identification system is to track animals’ movements so agriculture and health officials can quickly establish quarantines and take other steps to prevent the spread of disease.  It introduced a voluntary program in 2006 but scrapped it several years later amid widespread complaints from farmers about the expense and red tape.  Some also worried about possible privacy violations with the collection of information about their properties.  The program ultimately failed because relatively few participated.   A new program recently launched is mandatory but more limited in scope.  It applies only to animals being shipped across state lines, and it gives states flexibility in deciding how animals will be identified—an important concession to cattle ranchers in western states where brands are still commonly used.   The rules that went into effect March 11 require dairy cows and sexually intact beef cattle over 18 months of age to be registered when they are shipped over states lines and outline acceptable forms of identification.  The two most widely used forms of ID are ear tags and branding.   Consumer advocates want the government to take the system further.  Their goal is a program, which will trace food from farm to plate.

Why More Extreme Foods Are Creeping Onto Menus - Susan Berfield and Venessa Wong

For Americans who haven’t been to a state fair recently, this may come as a surprise: Some people make sandwiches with doughnuts. The Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich—there’s a pepper fried egg and cherrywood-smoked bacon inside–now offered at Dunkin’ Donuts, is one of many curious new items offered by restaurant chains, often for a limited time, to attract that adventure-seeking, fast-food-eating creature known as the young American male.  Food-industry researcher Technomic reports that 34 percent of young men eat fast food several times a week; only 23 percent of young women do.  So many restaurant menus are crafted with the Y chromosome in mind. According to Technomic Executive Vice President Darrne Tristano, “The younger generation is looking for fun things to try, interesting things to talk about.”  In March, Burger King began offering burgers stuffed with bacon and cheddar and topped with onion rings, as well as tater tots filled with bacon and onions. Among the most successful in the more-is-more category of food is the Doritos Locos Tacos, which Yum! Brands’ Taco Bell introduced a year ago.  Pizza Hut, another Yum! Brands’ unit has found a way to deliver even more cheese to customers.  The chain’s new pizza has 16 open-face pockets along the crust brimming with its Italian five-cheese blend.  A slice has 340 calories; one-third of them come from fat.

This Fully Loaded, Column of a Kitchen Is Actually Becoming a Real Thing - Ashley Feinberg

With populations growing and cities overcrowding, space-saving designs are amassing a huge, highly lucrative following.  The only problem is that they often stay just that—designs.  But at least one innovative appliance is leaving concept land to become a reality: Ecooking, a fully functional, vertical kitchen.  Designed by Massimo Facchineti, the towering column of a kitchen includes practically anything an industrious, space-starved chef could need, plus a few things you wouldn’t even think to want.  Kitchen basics are obviously covered with a fridge, oven, induction cooktop, sink, dishwasher, and an espresso maker.  But then there’s everything else: multi-stage water filtration, side-mounted herb garden with UV light, dining surfaces seating up to six, extra storage, AND a solar panel to cut costs.  The modular unit will be available sometime in early to mid-2014.  Pricing is still undetermined.

Whiskey, Tea Perfumes By Commodity Will Have You Smelling Like Your Drink

Usually when someone smells like whiskey, that’s not a good thing.  But perfume company Commodity wants to change that.  The company allows you to fill out a scent profile, and it will mail you samples you may enjoy.  Or, you can go ahead and purchase the whiskey (for men) or tea (for women).  Unlike the bacon cologne or the Pizza Hut perfume, these perfumes/colognes are not meant as novelty items.  May we suggest eau de chocolate cake?

Coming This Summer: Food Network Star Season 9 - Maria Russo

The ninth season of Food Network Star is set to start on Sunday, June 2 at 9pm/8c, when contenders will travel to Los Angeles to begin an 11-week journey, complete with all-new Mentor and Star Challenges, surprise chef guests and on-locations demands.  Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis will be back to mentor the contestants, but this season they’re doing so from across the judges’ table as members of the selection committee.  Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson will be on hand, as well.  Focus groups will also be invited to share their reviews with Alton, Bobby and Giada. For the first time, one finalist will be brought back after elimination for another chance at victory.  Just like last year, there will be a live finale fan vote to determine the winner at the end of the season.

Welcome Home, Sea Salt! — Justin and Sunny Team Up to Rescue Local Kitty - Maria Russo

Food Network Star Sunny Anderson is well know by her Twitter followers as perhaps the ultimate cat parent.  When Sunny found out that fellow Food Network Star Justin Warner had found a stray cat near his Brooklyn restaurant, Do or Dine, she couldn’t help but welcome the wide-eyed kitty into her home.   Sea Salt joined Truffle Tycoon, Cheddar Cheese and Milky Mouth as the newest member of the Anderson household.  Sunny makes sure she keeps Sea Salt’s “godfatha” Justin up to date on her progress.  Sunny and Justin aren’t the only ones pitching in to save animals in need.  When Alton Brown found out last month that a corgi, Dale, in Virginia Beach, VA, was at a local shelter awaiting adoption, he took to Twitter to help Dale find a loving owner.  “If one of my followers adopts him, I will bake him biscuits and deliver them myself,” he tweeted to his more than half a million followers.  In just a few weeks, the shelter reported that Dale indeed had found a permanent home.

Is your wallet feeling a little thin after submitting your taxes?  Haven’t gotten your refund yet?  Several national food chains are offering deals for Tax Day.

• Cinnabon.  Get 2 free Cinnabon bites from 6-8 pm.  No coupon needed.
• Brueggers.  Guests pay just $10.40 (a “deduction” of nearly $3.50 per bundle) at participating locations for their choice of 13 bagels and two tubs of cream cheese.  Get your coupon on the Bruegger’s Facebook page.
• Arby’s.  Free curly fries or potato cakes on April 15, with coupon.
• White Castle.  15% discount on orders at all restaurants and online through Tax Day.  Coupon required.
• Boston Market.  Incredible Rib Special.  Two rib meals for $10.40 on April 15.  No coupon needed.  Offer includes a ¼ rack of St. Louis Style BBQ! Ribs with mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn and freshly baked cornbread.
• Sonic.  The Tax Cut.  Half-price drinks and slushies all day on April 15.
• Great American Cookie Company.  Free Birthday Cake Cookie on April 15.

Manda Packing Company Recalls 468,000 Pounds Of Meat Over Possible Bacterial Contamination

The Manda Packing Company recall announced this past week now includes 468,000 pounds of roast beef, ham, turkey breast, tasso pork, ham shanks, hog headcheese, corned beef, and pastrami.  The agriculture department said Friday the products were recalled because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.  The products were shipped to retailers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.  The USDA said eating food contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

Freezing Food Doesn’t Kill E. Coli And Other Germs - Nancy Shute

Think that freezing food kills E. coli and other nasty microbes?  Thank again.  That’s the lesson from the new E. coli outbreak caused by frozen chicken quesadillas and other snacks that has sickened 24 people in 15 states.  Freezing does slow down the microbes that cause food to spoil, but it’s pretty much useless for killing dangerous bugs.  Bacteria die if they’re heated to 165F.  Cooking instructions on frozen food packages are designed to deliver a temperature of 165F to the coldest part of the product, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association.  The foods involved in the outbreak are all meant to be cooked, not just warmed up, before they’re eaten. Remember safe equals piping hot when it comes to frozen foods.

Ridding Schools of Fast Food, Junk Food, and Soda Pushers - Michele Simon

With the passage of the Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act of 2010, in addition to improving school meals, Congress required the USDA to update nearly non-existent nutrition standards on so-called competitive foods.  These are foods sold outside the school meal program, i.e. junk food sold in vending machines, school stores, fundraisers, and the like.  While it’s commendable that the federal government is now taking up the issue, there are several serious concerns about the feasibility of an approach that essentially endorses healthier junk food while allowing corporations continued unfettered access to children in schools.

• Competitive foods financially undermine the school meal program.  The opportunity to opt-out by purchasing competitive food is actually counter to the mission of the National School Lunch Program.  A report from the Illinois Public Health Institute found that “schools that completely eliminated competitive food sales tended to see the greatest increases in school meal participation rates.”
• Competitive foods at school meals creates stigma for low-income children.  The presence of so-called “a la carte” items on the school meal line sets up a demographic divide between those who can afford these items and those who cannot.
• Slightly healthier junk food is still unhealthy.  USDA’s narrow focus on nutrients such as grams of fat and sugar will still result in highly processed junk food with only slightly improved nutritional profiles.
• Competitive food allows junk food companies to market to children.  Maintaining the presence of fast food, soft drink, and junk food companies in public schools sends all the wrong messages to children.

To both maximize the economic benefit to schools as well as protect schoolchildren, USDA should assist and provide resources to help schools that want to eliminate competitive foods, as opposed to simply placing a healthy halo and government seal of approval on highly-processed and nutritionally-void products from companies seeking only to target children with their brands.

A Battle Over Antibiotics In Organic Apple And Pear Farming - Maria Godoy

Apples and especially pears are vulnerable to a nasty bacterial infection called fire blight that, left unchecked, can spread quickly, killing fruit trees and sometimes devastating whole orchards.  It’s such a big threat that for decades, growers have seen two antibiotics, streptomycin and oxytetracycline, as vital weapons in the fight to control the disease—even on organic apples and pears.  Antibiotics have been used in American plant and livestock agriculture since the mid-20^th century.   Heavy antibiotic usage has been widely blamed for promoting the spread of antibiotic-resistant bugs.  But antibiotic use in plant agriculture is far more limited—just a little over one-tenth of 1 percent of total agriculture use.  Research suggests that both of the antibiotics used on fruit crops are rendered inactive in soils.  That said, fire blight resistance to streptomycin is a concern for growers.  Growers are committed to eliminating the use of the antibiotics.  But before all organic growers can completely give up antibiotics, they need to have effective alternatives for preventing the devastation of fire blight.  Aggressive pruning has helped reduce reliance on antibiotic spraying.  There are two alternatives under field trials, which are promising.  One option, called Blossom protect, is a yeast-like fungus that blocks the fire blight bacteria from colonizing the blossom.  The other alternative is a copper sulfate that can be applied during bloom times without harming the fruit.  Both need more testing, so it’s a little too soon to say goodbye to antibiotics.

L-Carnitine, Nutrient In Red Meat, Linked With Heart Disease - Carl Nierenberg

Red Meat and Heart Disease: L-Carnitine Linked to Increased Risk - Caroline Scott-Thomas

High intakes of red meat repeatedly have been linked to heart disease, but new research suggests that along with saturated fat and certain preservatives, l-carnitine is another red meat constituent that may contribute to cardiovascular risk.  In a study published in Nature Medicine, researchers from Cleveland Clinic found specific bacteria in the gut that metabolize l-carnitine into trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO), a substance that has been linked to hardening of the arteries.  In addition, they found that diets high in carnitine promoted the growth of the bacteria that metabolize it, thereby compounding the effect.  The association between consumption of red meat and heart disease is well established, but researchers say that the increased risk could not entirely be accounted for by red meat’s saturated fat and cholesterol content.  Researchers examined carnitine levels in 2,595 heart patients.  They found TMAO levels in vegetarian and vegan participants were significantly lower than in omnivores, and they did not produce significant levels of TMAO even after consuming a large amount of carnitine.  In omnivores, however, carnitine consumption promoted TMAO production.  Researchers suggest that a better understanding of the role of gut microbiota in heart disease risk could help in the development of new ways to reduce risk.  Carnitine is also taken as a weight loss supplement and is added to some energy drinks.  Researchers advised caution to users in light of their findings.  The American Meat Institute (AMI) issued a statement in response to the study in which they said that linking carnitine in red meat to heart disease was an oversimplification of a complex disease.

Reduced Guilt? Chocolate Gets A Healthy, Fruity Makeover - Audrey Carlsen

Chocolate Made With Fruit Juice Has Half The Fat Content Of Conventional Products - Rachel Tepper

In a study published in the Journal of Material Chemistry, scientists, led by University of Warwick’s Stefan Bon, injected chocolate with micro-bubbles of fruit juice, which succeeded in cutting the product’s total fat content up to 50 percent without sacrificing its silky texture.  The tiny droplets of apple, orange and cranberry juice, which were each less than 30 microns in diameter, were infused into chocolate (milk, dark and white) to create a creamy emulsion.  In conventional chocolate making, fatty ingredients like cocoa butter and milk are used to create this creaminess.  Another benefit to the new product is that bars left on the shelf for too long won’t develop a chalky white film.  One downside (at least for some) is that the chocolate will retain a fruity flavor from the droplets.  But the scientists assure the public that chocolate makers will have the option of replacing the juice with water and a small bit of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which should remedy the issue.  But don’t get too excited by the prospect of a healthier chocolate bar—fruit juice is still packed with sugar which adds to its sugar content.

What’s In Your Steam? - Sarah Perry

Home cooks often assume that food cooked in a steamer comes into contact with pure neutral-tasting vaporized water, period.  But it turns out that all kinds of things are present in steam and some can add off flavors to your food.  One of the chemicals most present and most likely to affect food flavor is chlorine.   Chlorine gas escapes from liquid water even at room temperature, so it can easily be removed by letting your cooking water sit out for a day or two before using, or by giving it a preliminary boil.  Even better news is that you can add aromatic herbs, fruits, and vegetables to the cooking water to flavor food as it steams.  Also, any liquid, not just stock or water, can be used to flavor steamed foods—try beer, wine or vinegar, to name just a few.

How to Get Extra-Crispy Skin on That Roast Chicken - Caitlin McGrath

The difference between a great roast chicken and merely a decent one is the skin.  The key to crispiness is making sure the skin is dry when it hits the oven.  For best results, salt the bird several hours before roasting, then let it air-dry, uncovered, in the fridge.  Try mixing a bit of baking powder into the salt before rubbing on the uncooked skin.  If you forget to salt and dry, parking the chicken in front of an electric fan will get its skin nice and dry in about an hour.  Roasting on a rack in a shallow pan allows maximum circulation around the chicken.  The hotter the oven, the crisper the skin, but high-heat roasting can fill your kitchen with smoke.  To thwart the smoke detector, put a quarter-inch layer of salt in the bottom of the roasting pan and roast the bird on a rack above it.  The salt absorbs the drippings so they don’t burn.

ALDI  Introduces ‘Specially Selected’ Gourmet Private Label Brand to US Stores

Elaine Watson

ALDI is introducing its premium private label range “Specially Selected” to US stores after it proved a bit hit in Europe.  The range of products includes specialty products from German coffees and gourmet pastas to premium meats and cheeses.  ALDI, which is a major player in the European retail market, is expanding rapidly in the US, opening between 50 and 80 new stores every year.  It now operates more than 1,200 stores in 32 states.

Can These Funky-Smelling Wooden Spoons Be Saved?  - Sarah Perry

Here are some tips on removing odors from wooden utensils.

• The simplest and gentlest thing you can try is letting them sit outside, in breezy sunlight for a few hours each day.  You may try boiling them in plain water first.
• If that doesn’t work, scrub utensils with plain dish soap.
• If odors linger, soak them in vinegar diluted with water.
• Still funky, put them in a paper bag with some deodorizing activated charcoal, then sprinkle with baking soda and scrub with the cut side of a lemon.
• Finally, remove the top layer of odor-infused wood with fine sandpaper.

If all else fails, give your utensils a soak in 1 part bleach to 20 parts water, followed by a session in the dishwasher.  This is an absolute last resort as both can be pretty harsh on delicate antiques.

Earliest Cookware Was Used To Make Fish Soup - Nancy Shute

Not so long ago, scientists thought hunter-gatherers were too busy roaming and foraging to invent cookware.  But more recent archeological discoveries in China and Japan suggest that people were making ceramic containers as early as 20,000 years ago, long before the advent of farming.  What were they cooking?  Speculation first centered on nuts and plants.  But a new study published online in the journal Nature says it was fish soup.  About three-quarters of the shards found had traces of carbon and nitrogen, suggesting that they were used to cook food from fresh or salt water.  Many had traces of marine fatty acids, while only one had fatty acids typical of a grazing land animal.  The high nitrogen levels suggest that the foods cooked were something that ate other fish, rather than mollusks.  Evidently these earliest cooks weren’t too keen on dishwashing.  But their neglect is science’s gain.

How Atlanta’s Cabbagetown (Maybe) Got Its Name - Mike Benzie

Atlanta’s Cabbagetown was created to supply housing for factory workers at the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill in the late 1800s and early 1900s, according to the National Register of Historic Places.  The mill maintained the housing costs for the entire neighborhood until it was sold in 1957.  It’s a unique, tight-knit Atlanta neighborhood with a wide variety of homes, charming streets, restaurants, and bars.  And the neighborhood’s graffiti-lined Krog Tunnel can’t seem to go 12 minutes without hosting some sort of photo shoot.  A 2008 Atlanta tornado lasered in on the small neighborhood, taking a big chunk out of the Fulton Cotton Mill, now lofts.  There are no confirmed sources, but there are plenty of stories about the naming of Cabbagetown.  There are two stories, which are most frequently told.  One describes how the mill workers would cook cabbage in their yards, creating an overwhelming and distinct smell in the neighborhood.  The more romantic theories explore the idea of a truck, wagon, or train carrying cabbage and overturning or wrecking in some fashion.  The cabbage from those wrecks may have baked in the sun so the town smelled like cabbage for days.   The timing of the name also varies.  One book notes that it was called Cabbagetown as early as 1919, while another said the name wasn’t used until after 1940.  In his Creative Loafing story, Wyatt Williams’ research couldn’t find a “Cabbagetown” reference in print prior to 1969.  The short and clean answer:  It has to do with cabbage.  But even that is not entirely certain, just a high-percentage guess.

The internet has outdone itself this April Fools’ Day with jokes galore.  So what’s happening across the food and restaurant world?

• Food52 became Food1852.  Recipe website Food52 went old school this year.  The entire front page has been redone in sepia and touts stories like “Who You Callin’ a Hoecake?” and “Chicken Slaughter 101: It’s All in the Wrist.”
• Rene Redezepi’s “Audial Eating” Pop-Up in Manchester.  A pop-up at Manchester’s Town Hall will feature the acclaimed Danish chef’s newest experiment in dining: Audial Eating.  “The ringing of the bells will be matched with food from across the Nordic region plus some moss from the Town Hall walls.”
• Bacon Scope.  Everything is better with bacon.  Scope has “introduced” bacon mouthwash, “For breath that sizzles.”
• The Newest LA Burger Chain: Golgugi Burger.  Riffing on popular Los Angeles burger chain Umami Burger, LA Weekly “announces” Golgugi, after a newly discovered sixth taste.  Golgugi, is described as “the sensation when the tongue feels fizzy with a hearty twinge.”
• Google Nose.  Google has announced plans for a “beta olfactory search” called Google Nose.  Imagine the impact this could have on the bakery industry.
• Recipe: Hot Boiling Water.  All Recipes walks you through boiling water start to finish, complete with an instructional video.
• Artisanal Air.  Quote: “Fed up with the regular old nitrogen-oxygen blend, Jason is a pioneer in the artisanal air movement.”  Jason’s shop will offer small-batch handmade air, bottled in repurposed Mason jars.

Waffle House Employee Arrested for April Fool’s Prank - Hillary Dixler

A Waffle House employee in Hampton, Virginia has been arrested for what may well be the stupidest April’s Fools Day prank of the year (and not goofy stupid).  The Daily Press reports that the employee was arrested for falsely reporting a robbery at the Waffle House to the police.  According to the Hampton Police media release, Susan Alexandra Tinker made the emergency 911 call at 5:56 AM on April 1st.  The police responded by sending K9 units to the Waffle House and canvassing the neighborhood.  Tinker has been charged with falsely summoning the police, and faces a $2500 fine and up to one year in jail.

Nestlé Recalls Kit Kat Chunky Bars And Giant Egg In UK, Canada And Elsewhere Over Plastic Pieces - Rachel Tepper

The residents of some countries may want to think twice before digging into their leftover Easter candy, because Nestlé has issued a voluntary recall of several varieties of Kit Kat Chunky bars and the Kit Kat Chunky Collection Giant Egg.  The recall comes after seven consumers in the UK discovered small plastic pieces in some products.  As a precaution, Nestlé is recalling items in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Malta, Austria, Singapore, Philippines and Canada.  Kit Kat is one of Nestlé’s top-selling brands; consumers worldwide chow down on about 150 bars per second.

The ‘All-Natural’ Fightback?  Judge Throws Out AriZona Iced Teas Lawsuit and Blasts ‘Dilatory” Plaintiffs’ Counsel - Elaine Watson

A decision by a judge to throw out a class action lawsuit alleging that AriZona Iced Teas are not “natural” because they contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and citric acid, should give hope to scores of firms facing similar legal challenges, says experts.  The lawsuit was originally filed in March 2010 and is just one in a growing pile of lawsuits alleging that ingredients from natural sources that have been overly “processed” are not “natural”.  While much of his ruling was devoted to criticizing the poor prosecution of the case—at one point he describes the plaintiffs’ counsel is “dilatory”—it also had broader ramifications, Justin Prochnow, an attorney in the Denver office of law firm Greenberg Traurig, told FoodNavigator—USA.  “The judge basically said that just because something is processed, doesn’t mean it isn’t ‘natural’….”  “This case not only provides a good road map for other companies defending natural claims but it reinforces the principle that plaintiffs must prove their case, not just make bald assertions and then hope a court will rule in their favor.”  In his decision, Judge Richard Seeborg wrote, “Plaintiffs have cited no legal authority supporting their contention that if the process to produce an ingredient is patented that fact, in and of itself, automatically renders it artificial.  This is merely an extension of their rhetoric that HFCS is artificial because it ‘cannot be grown in a garden or field, it cannot be plucked from a tree, and it cannot be found in the oceans or seas of this planet’.  In the face of a motion for summary judgment, rhetoric is no substitute for evidence.”

Trader Joe’s Seeks to Conceal Added Sugars with Term “Evaporated Cane Juice”, Says Lawsuit - Elaine Watson

Trader Joe’s has become the latest firm to be hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it ‘conceals’ added sugar by listing it on pack as ‘evaporated cane juice’.  A lawsuit filed by Pratt & Associates LLOP—which sued Chobani on similar grounds last year—says Trader Joe’s uses the term ‘evaporated cane juice’ instead of the more accurate terms ‘dried sugar cane syrup’ or ‘sugar’ on several private label products from Greek-style yogurt to soy milk, despite the fact that the FDA has repeatedly told firms not to use it.  They also allege that Trader Joe’s falsely describes products as having ‘no added coloring or preservatives’ when in fact several, “including French Village Strawberry non-fat yogurt, have artificial coloring and a number…including chocolate peanut butter salted caramel truffles, have added chemical preservatives”.  Finally, they allege that Trader Joe’s also misleads shoppers by representing non-dairy calcium products as ‘milk’.  Trader Joe’s said that it does not comment on pending litigation.

Pioneers in Sustainable Food Show We Can Eat Well and Protect Environment - Frances Beinecke

On April 4, 2013, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced the 5^th annual winners of the 2013 Growing Green Awards.  These awards celebrate the farmers, business owners, and bold thinkers who are transforming America’s food system.  Each one has pioneered ways to provide food that nourishes our families and restores our environment.

• Food Producer Award goes to Russ Kremer.  Known as the “Pope of Pork,” Kremer is a fifth-generation pork farmer from Frankenstein, MO.   After contracting an antibiotic-resistant infection from his pigs, his near-death experience inspired him to stop putting antibiotics in his animal feed and to embrace a host of other sustainable practices to profitably raise healthy pigs.
• Young Food Leader Award goes to Brianna Almaguer Sandoval.   When faced with the realization of how hard it was to find fresh, healthy food in Philadelphia’s urban communities, she helped launch the Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative, which offers storeowners the education, tools, and financial support they need to stock fresh produce.  Her program has grown to include 680 stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
• Food Justice Award winner Tezozomoc.  When the city of Los Angeles threatened to bulldoze the nation’s largest community food garden in 2003, Tezo rose in defense of his community.  He rallied 350 Latino farmers who fed their families from the South Central Garden, engaging in one of America’s most important battles for urban agriculture land use.  He now leads an organic cooperative for Latino and other minority growers who supply fresh produce to LA food programs, farmers markets, and underserved neighborhoods.
• Business Leader Award goes to Larry Jacobs.   Larry is committed to protecting farm workers and consumers from dangerous pesticides.  He and his wife Sandra helped launch the Del Cabo Cooperative in Baja, Mexico, which enables 1,000 family farmers to grow healthy, organic food and create a sustainable local economy.

From pesticide-free produce to antibiotic-free meat, from corner stores to urban farms, all the Growing Green Award winners have found creative ways to bring sustainable food to more people.  They remind us that food we eat every day can be a powerful tool for preserving our communities and protecting our environment.

From Pets To Plates: Why More People Are Eating Guinea Pigs - Alastair Bland

You may best know the guinea pig as a nervous little pet that lives in a cage and eats alfalfa pellets.  Now, the rodents are increasingly showing up on plates in the US.  South American restaurants on both coasts seem to be pushing the trend, answering to demand mostly from Andean expats for what is considered a fine and valuable food in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. There may be more to gain from eating guinea pig than bizarre foods bragging rights.  According to activists, eating guinea pig is good for the environment.  Matt Miller, an Idaho-based science writer with the Nature Conservancy, says rodents and other small livestock represent a low-impact meat alternative to carbon-costly beef.  The Little Rock-based humanitarian organization Heifer International, which assists communities in enhancing their economies and streamlining local food production, is also promoting guinea pig husbandry in Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala.   In the US, most guinea pigs intended for human consumption come from Peru as whole, frozen, hairless rodents in plastic bags.  The animals—called cuyes in Spanish—are usually cooked whole, often grilled, and sometimes deep-fried.  Many dinners eat every last morsel, literally from head to toe.

Secret Weapon: Skin - Matthew Jennings

A passion for eating skin might seem more fitting for Hannibal Lecter than for Matt Jennings, chef of Farmstead in Providence, RI.  Nonetheless, when asked which ingredient he finds himself turning to most these days, he cited the oft-overlooked organ.  Jennings butchers whole animals for his restaurant and shop and seeks a waste-not approach.  Pig skin is saved to become chicharrones, and used on cotenne, a Southern Italian dish where the skin is rolled up, seared and stewed in a tomato ragú.  He doesn’t stop with the pig: Fish skins are dried out, smoked, and later used to add depth and flavor to stocks.  Skin from poultry, either chicken or turkey, can be spread on a sheet tray, layer another sheet tray on top to compress, then cook them at 250 degrees F for 45 minutes, then use them as chips or crumble them over bowls of pasta or salad.

New York Town Bans ‘Fast Casual’ Restaurants - Hillary Dixler

The town board of Eastchester, New York, has banned “fast casual” chain restaurants like Panera, Cosi and Quiznos.  Changes to the zoning code of the Westchester County town will prohibit any restaurant with more than 15 locations nationwide from setting up shop.  Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s were already prohibited, but chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts who already have locations in Eastchester will be grandfathered in under the new rules.  While some local business owners have expressed support for the new measures, not all the Eastchester dwellers are as pleased.  An unscientific poll conducted by the Eastchester Daily Voice suggests that roughly 30% of residents think the decision is a mistake.  Some residents have even said they believe it to be unconstitutional.

Seven of the Ten Lowest Paying Jobs Are in Food - Rachel Tepper

Lowest Paying Jobs In America: 7 Out Of 10 Are In The Food Industry -Hillary Dixler

A recent analysis from U.S. News and World Report reveals that 7 of the 10 lowest paying jobs in America are in the food industry, citing 2012 data from the Department of Labor.

The 10 lowest paid jobs in America:  10. Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers ($20,320).  9. Amusement and recreation attendants ($20,020).  8. Farm workers and laborers, crop, nursery and greenhouse ($19,990).  7. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers ($19,690).  6. Hosts and hostesses, restaurants, lounge and coffee shop ($19,570).  5. Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop ($19,430).  4. Dishwashers ($18,930).  3. Fast food cooks ($18,780).  2. Combined food preparation and serving workers ($18,720).  1. Shampooers ($18,600).

Low wages have resulted in restaurant workers being three times more likely to live in poverty and twice as likely to use public assistance compared to the regular population.  Moreover, workers often feel they can’t afford to take days off when they’re sick.  Workers in the restaurant industry weren’t always so meagerly compensated.  In the 1970s, about 80% of the work force was unionized in cities like San Francisco and New York, which helped protect workers’ interest.  In the 1960s and 70s, restaurant industry jobs were comparable to other good jobs, like factory jobs.  Thanks in part to lobbies from the National Restaurant Association, for the last 22 years minimum wage for tipped wages has remained at $2.13. The federal minimum wage for un-tipped workers is currently at $7.25.

How To Eat A Bowl Of Pho Like You Know What You’re Doing - Matt Rodbard

To an early-rising Vietnamese population, pho is like cereal, Pop Tarts, oatmeal and scrambled eggs.  It’s how you start the day.  Pho is typically taken at street stalls where Vietnamese park their motorbikes before diving into a bowl.  The best pho peddlers have long lines and sell out by 11 a.m.  There is debate over its pronunciation.  Is if Fuh? Faux?  Taking into account both northern and southern accents, fuh might be the correct choice.  The term Pho actually refers to the noodles, not the soup.  Pho is made with pristine white rice flour noodles that are made daily and sold in markets.  But really, everybody in Vietnam judges the pho by its broth.  A good pho broth is crystal clear, like a French consommé, and packs two punches.  For pho bo (beef), there’s the underlying earthiness brought on by the long simmering of bones oxtail and flank.  For pho ga (chicken), the entire bird us used.  The second component of the broth is spice and aromatics.  Cinnamon and star anise lead the charge, with assists from cloves and cardamom.  Roasted and/or charred onions and ginger are the key vegetable components.  In the broth typically rests a minimal amount of meat (and sometimes tendon and meat or fish balls).  Those are cooked individually, placed in a basket and thrust into a pot of boiling water for a couple of seconds before finding their way into the soup.  Garnishes will include a choice of Thai basil and bean sprouts (these two are a given) and possibly Thai chili peppers, green onions, coriander (cilantro) and culantro.  Herbs are best ripped up and sprinkled into the broth.  Lastly, the condiments.  It’s common to find many sauces at the tables in the US including hoisin, sriracha and fish sauce.  The author recommends, “Resist the urge to sauce your pho.”  Now, how to eat pho.  Here’s the process for those of us who are right-handed.  The bowl arrives.  Plastic chopsticks in right hand, soupspoon in left.  Reverse the process if you are left-handed.  Sip the broth first (this is important), while you work the noodles with your chopsticks.  It’s OK, even preferred, that you stick your face into the bowl while slurping.  You get a hit of those aromatics while avoiding a messy splatter.  Once the noodles are gone (they usually go first), raise the bowl to your lips with both hands and polish it off.  This is not impolite—this is how you finish a bowl of pho.

Baked Eggs

Sure you could just boil your eggs for dying but, if you need to do more than one dozen at a time, baking is best.

Position the oven racks in the center of the oven, then arrange the eggs in a mini muffin tin. Set the oven to 325 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes. When the eggs are done fill a large bowl with ice water and move the eggs into a bowl. Peel the eggs as soon as they are cool enough to handle, then return them to the ice bath to thoroughly chill.

I usually find baked eggs a little harder to peel than steamed (or boiled), but just barely. The fact that shell of the baked eggs gets hotter during cooking than the shell of the steamed eggs may be a factor. Still I prefer the slightly creamier texture of baked eggs to steamed or boil. I imagine its because the dry heat moves into these eggs more slowly than steam heat does.

]]> http://altonbrown.com/baked-eggs/feed/ 0 http://altonbrown.com/browns-edible-examiner-volume-xv/ http://altonbrown.com/browns-edible-examiner-volume-xv/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:58:18 +0000 Mr.Brown http://altonbrown.com/?p=697 Best Spring Foods For Health - Meredith Melnick

Spring marks the end of cold weather, but it also brings on some of the most nutritional foods available—fiddlehead ferns and ramps, pea shoots and microgreens, among others.  These young greens are delicious but also have a unique nutritional benefit: a density of phytonutrients that makes them particularly healthful.  Also, triggered by longer daylight, birds begin their heavy laying season.  Eggs, because of the amino acids that comprise egg protein, are one of the most digestible and most easily absorbed proteins.  Spring is also the beginning of berry season—little nutrient powerhouses full of cancer and heart disease-fighting antioxidants.

Craft Brews Slowly Chipping Away At Big Beer’s Dominance - NPR Staff

See Also: Craft Beer Sales Brewed Up $10.2 Billion in 2012

In the US, $200 billion worth of beer is consumed annually.  What many Americans might not know is that 90 percent of domestic beer sales are dominated by just two companies: Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors.  Innovators are challenging that dominance in the form of craft beer breweries.  Regional breweries now account for about 6 percent of domestic beer sales.  According to the Brewers Association, while US beer sales only nudged 1% higher in 2012, craft brewers saw volume rise 15%, with a 17% increase in dollar sales.  This represented a total barrel increase of 1.8 million.  There are now more small breweries than there were before Prohibition, when beer was largely a regional business.   But craft brewers still face an uphill battle particularly against the big two.  The Justice Department shares their concerns and recently blocked an attempt by Anheuser-Busch InBev to buy the 50 percent of Grupo Modelo it does not already own.  The Mexican beer maker is the world’s third-largest brewer and the Justice Department said this purchase would effectively eliminate the competition.    Big beer is increasingly pushing the craft brewers out of prime shelf space in grocery stores.  There’s also the issue of what the Brewers Association calls “crafty” beers—beers owned by big beer companies disguised as small craft beer.  A common example is Blue Moon, a Belgian-style beer, which many people believe to be a craft beer, is actually owned by MillerCoors.  Craft brewers argue that this limits consumer choice.  If a bar stocks the top brands from a big brewer along with these “crafty” beers, consumers are essentially only buying from a single company.  Craft brewers believe big beer should be required to print its name on the bottles.  Craft beers must also overcome a higher cost, which makes it harder for them to compete.

Beer Madness 2013: Going local - Greg Kitsock

This year the Washington Post’s annual Beer Madness focused on selections from local craft breweries.  Beer Madness offers a blind tasting to crown a worthy beer as top of the taps in the nation’s capitol.  After decades of sampling the rest of the world’s beers, dating back to its founding in 1957, DC has sprouted a homegrown industry.  The city’s five indigenous beer makers (two brewpubs and three packaging facilities) are tiny, but they are discovering enthusiastic local support.  Maryland and Virginia boast upwards of 70 breweries between them, and new ones are being announced weekly.  For purposes of the annual event the definition of “local” was expanded to encompass Delaware.  Although the breweries hailed from only three states and a federal district, the lineup displays as much breadth and depth as any fielded in previous years.

After a tough day at the office in Pakistan, a cool bottle of camel milk - Michele Langevine Leiby

During the evening rush hour in central Karachi, Pakistan, Nadeem Mutloob can barely keep up with demand at his curbside Marhaba milk bar, a popular stop for workers on their way home.  Customers line up for cool bottles of what some medical researchers tout as an unbeatable healthy supplement: camel milk, or as the label says, “the world’s next super food.”  Many believe that camel milk can treat a range of ailments, including liver problems, hepatitis and diabetes.  There might be something to the hype surrounding the age-old nostrum.  Camel milk contains three times more vitamin C than cow’s milk and is a rich source of iron.  Karachi is at the center of the trend imported from Africa and the Middle East.  Several camel-milk vendors have set up shop in the past year or so.  The white frothy liquid’s resemblance to its bovine equivalent does not extend to its flavor or its price.  It is reported to have a salty taste and camel milk costs nearly five times more than regular milk because of shortages in supply.  But customers who can afford it continue to purchase the milk because they are convinced of its efficacy.   Drinking camel milk is becoming more prevalent because local healers encourage the practice.  It’s also spreading by word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.  The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has noted the commercial value of camel dairy products, saying they could provide nomadic herders “a rich source of income.”  The FAO also notes that doctors are prescribing camel milk to patients in Russia, Kazakhstan and India and might be recommending it for people living with AIDS in Africa.

Genetically Modified Seafood: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s And Others Vow Not To Sell GMO Fish - Lisa Baertlein

Whole Foods Market Inc., Trader Joe’s and other food retailers representing more than 2,000 US stores have vowed not to sell genetically engineered seafood if it is approved in the US.  The US FDA appears close to approving genetically engineered salmon from Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies.  If it gets final approval from the FDA, the salmon would be the first genetically engineered animal to enter this country’s human food supply.  The US is already the world’s largest market for foods made with genetically altered plant ingredients.  Critics say such genetically modified products are not sufficiently tested for safety, carry allergy risks and should be labeled.   Proponents disagree and say the products are safe.  Consumer groups are working at the state and federal level to require labels on products that contain GMOs.  Dozens of countries already have genetically modified food-labeling requirements, with the European Union imposing mandatory labeling in 1997.  Since then, genetically modified products and crops have virtually disappeared from many of those markets.

Asian carp spawning areas wider than expected - John Flesher

Several varieties of carp imported from Asia have migrated steadily northward in the Mississippi River and its tributaries since escaping from Southern fish farms and sewage treatment ponds in the 1970s.  They’ve been spotted in more than two-dozen states.  Research based largely on data from their homeland has indicated the carp can spawn successfully only under the right circumstances.  But a study by Purdue University has found their eggs in places that previously were considered unsuitable.  The findings are particularly sobering for the Great Lakes, where scientists say the carp could threaten the $7 billion fishing industry if they spread widely.  None are known to have reached the lakes, although their DNA has been found in Lake Erie and in Chicago waterways a short distance from Lake Michigan.  A federal study last year identified three rivers that flow into Lake Erie as good candidates for Asian carp nurseries.  Further research is needed to determine whether eggs laid in more remote stretches of the river are surviving to adulthood.

Bay’s intersex fish mystery remains unsolved - Darryl Fears

Ten years have gone by since one of the weirdest discoveries in the Chesapeake Bay region, on the south branch of the Potomac River—male smallmouth bass with lady parts, eggs in places where they absolutely should not be.  Over that decade, wildlife biologists have probed the bay’s tributaries, slicing open fish for more necropsies than anyone can count.  They still aren’t sure why between 50 and 100 percent of bass in various locations are gender bending, switching from male to something called intersex.  Biologists say studies are falling short because of a lack of data on the type and quantity of pesticides that run into the bay from farms.  This complaint prompted Democrats in the Maryland House and Senate to sponsor two bills in the current legislative session that would for the first time require growers to record their use of insecticides and herbicides and submit it to the state.  Maryland already requires farmers to record applications of restricted-use pesticides but they don’t have to automatically report it to the state.  The pesticide-reporting rule would create a treasure trove of data for the scientists.  But opponents say the bills have major drawbacks.   They would create a financial burden for farmers, who would be forced to purchase updated equipment such as GPS devices to log pesticide applications.  The Maryland Department of Agriculture said it would need $1.5 million a year to form a new unit of employees to input the data and maintain computers to process it.  The EPA found monitoring gaps where “some pesticides currently in use” couldn’t be accounted for.  A better accounting and more research into pesticide mixtures would help scientists understand the impact of chemicals on fish and wildlife.  But the farm lobby and officials in agriculture say the Maryland proposals also have gaps.  They would not go after all the chemicals that concern the EPA, such a pesticides used to fight indoor pests and weeds sprouting in driveways and lawns.

If Caffeine Can Boost The Memory Of Bees, Can It Help Us, Too? - Allison Aubrey

The nectar of coffee plant flowers contains caffeine—but who knew that the flower nectar of citrus plants (some varieties of grapefruit, lemon and oranges) also contains caffeine.  When honeybees feed on caffeine-containing nectar, it turns out, the caffeine buzz seems to improve their memories—or their motivations for going back for more.  In order to study the effects of caffeine on bees, researchers at Newcastle University in the UK trained bees, Pavlovian style, to associate a reward of food with a smell of a flower.  When the bee detects the smell, it extends its proboscis, the long, hairy tongue used to suck up the nectar from the flower.  The researchers wanted to know whether the bees would respond differently to flowers that contained caffeinated nectar, compared to those that just had sugary nectar.  It turns out there was quite a difference.  The bees feeding on the caffeinated nectar were three times better able to remember the flowers’ odor 24 hours later.  And the benefit of remembering?  These bees may have an advantage over their pollinating competitor in terms of locating food.  Some of the best studies on the effects of caffeine on people come from the US military, where caffeine has been studied as a way to keep soldiers alert.  It was found that in moderate doses, caffeine enhanced ability to pay attention, and it enhanced vigilance.  And caffeine also seemed to improve the exhausted sailors’ short-term memories.  But in the absence of exhaustion, caffeine doesn’t seem to help people remember any better.

Start-up hopes to burst into US snacks market with Punjabi Popcorn - Kacey Culliney

US start-up Punjabi Popcorn says its Indian spiced range should lure the curious consumer and profit from the booming snack segment.  Entrepreneur Deepak Kanda set up Punjabi Popcorn in January this year in a bid to liven up a bland and tiresome popcorn segment.  The popcorn segment continues to grow in the US fuelled by the continued consumer quest for healthy snack alternatives.  Kanda said that there is a clear consumer desire to experiment with new flavors—particularly ethnic—and Punjabi Popcorn should fit nicely with this sentiment.  The company has debuted a line of seven popcorns at Snaxpo 2013 that include some typical east-Indian flavors, like cumin, turmeric and dersi spice along with other more common flavors like butter and caramel set to act as “entry flavors” for the curious consumer.

Lard And Schmaltz Make A Comeback In The Kitchen - Peter Ogburn

When the author grew up in the South, every good home cook kept a can of bacon grease in the refrigerator.  One friend’s mother made biscuits with butter and bacon fat.  Cooking with animal fat—common around the world for centuries—was dealt a near-fatal blow in the early 20^th century by Crisco and its anti-lard campaign.  Lard was demonized as an unhealthy fat, and cooks took note.  Other vegetable oils came along, and lard was all but forgotten.  Scientists now have found that the trans fats in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are bad fats, while monounsaturated fats found in lard are good fats—which is not to say lard is a health food.  Olive oil has them all beat.  Between science and the nose-to-tail movement, animal fats are getting another look.  The author did pause to consider what other animal fat is out there.  How about that whole chicken in your fridge?  Don’t throw away the fat; turn it into schmaltz.  Schmaltz is the rendered fat from chicken that, when combined with a little diced onion and strained, is amazing.  It looks similar to butter but smells deeply of wonderful roast chicken.  Imagine roasting your potatoes with that instead of olive oil.  The same goes for duck fat.  It will provide a flavorful base that will elevate French fries to a level you never imagined and it freezes well.

How to Get Really Smooth Mashed Potatoes - Caitlin McGrath

Lump-free mashed potatoes are a sure thing if you take the trouble to use a ricer or food mill, but you can also get them really smooth with an old-fashioned potato masher.  The key is using the right kind of potato with the right technique.  First, choose starchy, lower-moisture potatoes like russets or Yukon Golds over waxy white or red potatoes.  Once the potatoes are cooked, it’s essential to remove any residual water before mashing.  If boiled, drain the potatoes well, then return them to the pot over low heat, shaking the pot till the potatoes are completely dry and look a bit floury.  Or you may skip boiling, and steam or bake the potatoes instead.  Without adding anything to the pot, start mashing.  When the potatoes have broken down but still look chunky, add a generous chunk of butter and incorporate it thoroughly before adding liquid.  Make sure to heat the milk or cream before adding and use a sturdy wooden spoon to incorporate the liquid until the mash is smooth.

Big Love for Stovetop Smokers - Sarah Perry

An inexpensive stovetop smoker can smoke fish steaks in 20 minutes, turn corn on the cob into something amazing, and turn tomatoes into a deliciously smoky soup.   You can smoke a standing rib roast before finishing it in the oven or smoke bone-in chicken breasts, shrimp in the shell and smoked sea salt.  How do you do all that without filling the house with smoke?  Begin with the smoker slightly open, on high heat.  The second you start to see smoke, close the lid and reduce the heat to medium.  Finally, don’t use too many wood chips; just a few will do.

One of the first widely reported personal tidbits to emerge about the newly selected pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is that the Argentine cooks for himself.  But the new pontiff, who will now be known as Francis, is hardly a foodie, it seems.  Although Argentina is famous for its hearty, meat-laden parillas, as Archbishop, Bergoglio kept his meals frugal and healthy, though he does enjoy the occasional glass of wine.  Fruit, skinless chicken and salads are all favorites.  He rarely eats out, though he’d board a public bus and head out to bless popular new restaurants or celebrate a birthday with someone.  Very rarely, he’d stay and eat some soup.

Bumble Bee Tuna Recall: Company Pulls Some 5-Ounce Cans Over Risk The Fish Could Spoil

Bumble Bee Tuna Recall Expands To 51,000 Cases

Chicken of the Sea Added to Canned Tuna Recall

On Wednesday Bumble Bee Foods LLC announced that it is recalling some of its 5-ounce canned tuna because of a risk the fish could spoil.  Some cans’ seals may not be tight enough.  Loose seals could let in pathogens and spoil the tuna, sickening an eater.  The products subject to the recall include Bumble Bee brand and Brunswick brand 5-ounce cans of chunk white albacore in water and chunk light tuna in water and vegetable oil.  Late Thursday Bumble Bee increased it’s original recall of 22,500 cases to 51,000 cases of canned tuna, expanding the “best by” dates from January 16-January 18 to January 14-January 18.  A problem on a manufacturing line, which caused the problem, has been corrected.

Tri-union Seafoods also announced and subsequently expanded a nationwide recall of Chicken of the Sea brand 5-ounce chunk light tuna in oil to include Chunk Light Tuna in Oil products due to loose seals.

USDA Weighs Sugar Bailout That May Boost Candy Prices: Report

The USDA is considering buying 400,000 tons of sugar in an aim to limit supply and boost prices so that sugar producers can pay back government loans that they’re in danger of defaulting on, the Wall Street Journal reports.  The move would be an exercise of an untested provision inserted in the 2008 farm bill called the Feedstock Flexibility Program, which allows the USDA to intervene in the market to raise prices.  While the artificial price boost would benefit companies that manufacture sugar, the losers may be the makers of our favorite candies and that may mean higher candy prices.  Candy companies, for their part, claim they often have to raise prices or slow down hiring to cope with the artificially high cost of sugar.

Judge Kills New York City Soda Ban, Appeal Coming

Judge Overturns New York City Ban On Big Sugary Sodas - Maria Godoy and Allison Aubrey

Bloomberg to Appeal Judge’s Ruling Striking Down New York Ban on Super Size Sodas - Hank Schultz

A state judge has enjoined New York City officials from enforcing a ban that was set to take effect March 12, 2013, on large sugary drinks after finding the board of health exceeded its authority and issued a regulation that is “arbitrary and capricious”.  That authority, the judge said, does not include the power to “limit or ban a legal item under the guise of ‘controlling chronic disease.’”  The judge also found the controversial ban to be arbitrary and capricious, in part because it excludes certain businesses. “The loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the stated purpose of the rule,” the judge wrote.  Industry groups that sued to have the ban overturned expressed relief.   At a news conference at a restaurant in New York City that supports the portion size regulations, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city would appeal the ruling.  He expressed disappointment, but, regardless of the outcome believes that one goal of the program has been met—raising awareness.

Soda Wars Backlash: Mississippi Passes ‘Anti-Bloomberg’ Bill - Jeffrey Hess

Mississippi ‘Anti-Bloomberg Bill’ Would Make Health Initiatives Illegal At Local Level

Proposed legislation known as the “Anti-Bloomberg Bill,” which passed by an overwhelming margin in the Mississippi House on March 6, would make it illegal for local governments to restrict the sale of fatty or sugary foods based on the nutritional value of those foods.  Senate Bill 2687 garnered wide bipartisan support passing the state Senate, 50-1, and the state House, 92-26.  The bill would prohibit towns, cities and counties in Mississippi from requiring fast food restaurants to include calorie counts on menus, from banning large sodas, and even from prohibiting free toys included in kids’ Happy Meals.  The prosed law was created partially as a response to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempted soda ban in New York City.  But the bill also has critics, who argue that it’s misguided and won’t help solve the state’s obesity problems.  Local politicians say it steps on an ideal Mississippians hold dear—the ability to govern themselves.  The bill is due from Gov. Phil Bryant by March 18.  NPR reports that Bryant is “expected” to sign it.

Bloomberg Soda Ban Ban Isn’t The Only (Or Even Most Important) Soda Story Out There - Joe Satran

Over the past 24 hours, it’s become clear that the surest way to draw attention to a story about soda laws is to include the word “Bloomberg” in the headline.  The “Bloomberg” label drew eyeballs to the Mississippi Senate’s passage of a law dubbed the “Anti-Bloomberg Bill” preventing towns and cities from limiting soda sizes or mandating calorie counts in restaurants.  The news that a proposal to tax soda in Hawaii had died in the state Senate’s Ways and Means committee at the beginning of March was greeted with the chirping of crickets.  And an unusually dramatic battle over soda taxes in the Vermont House hasn’t made it to the “Today Show.”  But when it comes to soda laws, the focus on Bloomberg and New York City may be misguided, because New Yorkers drink far less soda than people in many other parts of the country.  Surveys show that less than 30 percent of New York City residents drink sugar-sweetened beverages on any given day—compared to about half of all Americans.

Whole Foods GMO Labeling To Be Mandatory By 2018 - Carey Polis

Whole Foods to Start Labeling GMO Foods –The Kitchn

Whole Foods Market Commits to GMO Labeling In All US and Canadian Stores by 2018 - Elaine Watson

Whole Foods has announced that by 2018, all products in US and Canada stores must be labeled if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  This is the first national grocery store to set a deadline for GMO labeling.  Whole Foods has been selling non-GMO food for years—any certified organic food cannot be made using GMO crops, for example.  The company will continue to make announcements about progress between now and the 2018 deadline.  This announcement comes at a time when interest in GMO labeling is at an all-time high.  During the November elections, a mandatory GMO labeling initiative was introduced in California.  Millions of dollars poured in from various large corporations such as Monsanto and PepsiCo against the ballot measure, which was ultimately defeated.  This decision has intensified the debate over GMOs.  Proponents of labeling point to a few studies done in rats that say bioengineered food can be harmful, and contend that consumers have a right to know about the ingredients in the food they eat.  Those against labeling say that there are no strong scientific findings showing that GMO foods caused health or safety issues, and thus labeling was unnecessary and a form of fear mongering.  A 2012 election poll showed that public opinion is strongly in favor of GMO labeling.

Plague Of Locusts Has Israelis Asking: Are They Kosher For Passover? - Maria Godoy

Israel’s Locust Invasion Offers Intriguing Options For Cuisine - Linda Gradstein

A swarm of locusts that has devastated crops in Egypt made its way into neighboring Israel this week.  While Israeli farmers now fret over what the insects might do to their fields, others in Israel have proposed a culinary approach to the infestation:  Why not eat them?  It’s a tidy approach, but there’s just one catch:  The rabbis don’t agree on whether the critters are kosher.   This being the holy land, religious disputes are to be expected.  Some rabbis said that only those Jewish communities, which have a tradition of eating locusts, such as the Yemenite Jews, are permitted to consume them according to Jewish law.  But other rabbis say that in the book of Leviticus four types of kosher locusts—red, yellow, spotted gray and white—are listed as kosher.  The timing of the locust swarm, coming just a few weeks before the Passover holiday, when Jews reenact the exodus from Egypt at a ritual meal called a seder, has been uncanny.  Before Pharoah allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, God visited ten plagues on the Egyptians, one of which was locusts.  Interestingly, the locust is also permitted according to Muslim law, meaning it is kosher and halal at the same time.

Poi: Hawaii’s Recipe For Revitalizing Island Culture - Sandy Hausman

Historians think poi, a sticky, nutritious food made from pounded taro root, has been eaten in the Hawaiian Islands since the time of the ancient Polynesians.  There are only about 1,000 people of pure Hawaiian descent left in the world, but island residents are cooking up an idea to keep native island culture from fading away—poi.  To keep that tradition alive poi partisans have turned to places like Kamehameha, the most prestigious high school on the island of Oahu.  Outside one classroom, instead of blue blazers, young men wear “malo,” or loincloths—a suitable uniform used when pounding steamed taro roots using stones and wooden boards.  The students are meticulous about poi and ku’i, the process used to make it.  When students first began attending Kamehameha in 1887, poi was served at every meal.  Then, there was a taro shortage in 1920, and the dining hall switched to potatoes—heating a huge food fight.  The shortage could be traced to sugar barons planting former taro fields.  Today, the sugar cane is gone, but now taro plants must compete for territory with another major industry: housing.  A taro patch is a good place to plant a house, because it’s already flat.  And that’s why the University of Hawaii’s Cooperative Extension Service is teaching people to grow this crop in their own backyards.   Hawaii imports most of its food so cultivation and production of poi could make life on the islands more sustainable and create jobs.

Ancient Grains, Andean Dreams and Space Food: How One Quinoa Cookie Firm Hit the Big TimeP

Elaine Watson

A technical paper produced by NASA in 1993 observes: “While no single food can supply all the essential life sustaining nutrients, quinoa comes as close as any other in the plant or animal kingdom.”  Quinoa is an edible seed (of the ‘ancient’ and gluten-free variety) that’s so nutrient-dense (packed with protein fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron) that it’s like the ultimate space food—as well as a trendy addition to the pantries of celiacs and health-conscious foodies alike.   In 2005 when LA-based music industry executive Ingrid Hirstin Lazcano started working on a PR campaign for a research scientist impressed by quinoa’s nutritional punch, it was unknown to many Americans.  You could buy packs of it in wholefood stores, but it wasn’t even listed in the ingredients of many packaged foods.  Lazcano had a connection to quinoa growing country Bolivia via her husband, then serving as Consul General of Bolivia in LA.  She struck a deal with Bolivia’s largest exporter of organic royal quinoa (grown around a salt lake at high altitude and has unusually high levels of protein and minerals) to secure her raw material.  In the summer of 2006 she signed up a Bolivian cookie manufacturer to produce quinoa cookies under the Andean Dream brand using the royal quinoa.  A few weeks later Andean Dream quinoa products were gracing shelves of Whole Food Stores across the west coast of the US.  Soon the cookies were appearing in natural food stores all over the country, and were followed in 2008 by pasta and in 2012 by soup mixes.  Demand continues to grow strongly in spite of higher prices.  A recent newspaper article reports that ordinary people in Bolivia can no longer afford to buy quinoa because the wealthy overseas market pushes up prices.  Lazcano says she found the article frustrating in that her company is providing many jobs for the people in Bolivia.  Also, local people have been given land by the Bolivian government where they can grow their own quinoa, she claims.

What Type of Onion Should You Use? - Caitlin McGrath

Even small neighborhood markets stock more than one type of onion.  Which type you should buy depends on what you’re planning to cook.  According to BrainFoodie:

YELLOW.  The hardest of the onion varieties, best for long simmering in soups and stews.  They keep well stored in a cool, dark place.

RED.  Good for cooked dishes, eating raw in salads, or pickling.

WHITE. Common in Mexican cooking for salsas, tingas and other stewed dishes and soups

SWEET VARIETIES.  A good choice for eating raw in salads and sandwiches.  They break down quickly when cooked.  Higher water content causes quicker spoilage.  Keep longer if refrigerated.

When serving any type of onion raw, rinse the slices in cold water to remove some of the bite.  Chilling an onion before slicing will cut down on the tears.