Knives: The Basics – Part 1
by Blanca on 03/09/10 at 3:11 am
Knives and knifing skills are essential to any cook, professional or home chef. If you’re just getting started it can be pretty scary to walk into a store and get yourself started with a new set. Besides, knives can be quite sexy…so you’ll want to make sure you have the most beautiful (yet useful set). [...]
< Full StoryAre You Allergic to These Foods?
According to the The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), established in 1991, eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions. They are milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat [See details for top 8 foods]. FAAN notes that some of these allergens may be outgrown, but others, such as [...]
Full StoryPoll: Gas Versus Charcoal
Labor Day is just around the corner. It’s time to sit back, relax and leave the worries of your work day behind. It’s a day for you to enjoy some succulent burgers, juicy corn on the cob and some delicious wings. But you still have some work to do and one major decision to make…you have [...]
Full StoryWhy We Should Eat Sustainable Seafood
Making an effort to consume sustainable seafood helps to extend wild, diverse and healthy ocean ecosystems that will exist long into the future. The organization Seafood Watch helps accomplish this goal by encouraging consumers and businesses to purchase seafood that is fished or farmed in ways that don’t harm the environment. “When there is scientific [...]
Full StoryThe Hidden Dangers of Food Colorants
We are grateful to one of our readers, Brian, for bringing food dyes (scroll down for list) — specifically tartrazine, also known as “FD&C Yellow Number 5″ or “E-102″ — to our attention. Brian is one of many of the tens of thousands who suffered severe adverse effects from the food colorants/chemical additives prevalent in [...]
Full StoryRecall: Ground Beef Contaminated with E. coli O26
Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., has recalled 8,500 pounds of ground beef due to E. coli O26. The products in question are 42-pound cases of “GROUND BEEF FINE 90/10,” which hold three 14 pound chubs each. They have a “use/freeze by” date of “07/01/10,” and an identifying product code of “W69032.” They are also marked with “EST. 9400” [...]
Full StoryThe Truth Behind the Egg Scandal
With over a half-billion eggs recalled this month because of salmonella contamination traced to Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, once again the federal agencies responsible for regulating and safeguarding America’s food supply have demonstrated that their real aim is to defend and protect the interests of huge agribusinesses. Because of their perpetual “See No [...]
Full StoryFood Borne Illness
It has become a fact of life that recalls happen. Staph, Botulism, Salmonella, E. coli…these are pretty scary things. We’ve had recalls on eggs, deli meats, ground beef, hummus; the list goes on. Who knew there are more than 40 diseases that humans can get from eating contaminated foods. According to the USDA, there are [...]
Full StoryThe Restaurateur
We loved Roger Sherman’s film “The Restaurateur“. If you are a foodie, this movie is a must. The film was chosen to be part of the first annual Double Feature Competition where six films from around the world were selected to be shown as a double feature with BUSHWICK, an independent feature directed by Luis Landivar. The film [...]
Full StoryWill robots serve and cook food in a machine-controlled future?
Our good friends in Japan are at it again. They have created a legion of robots specifically designed to serve and cook food in what they perceive as an automated future. There are a number of robots already in the development and testing stages that make pancakes, serve sushi, slice cucumbers, and some that even [...]
Full StoryReading a Menu in French (Without Knowing French)
We just returned from our France trip and although mostly everyone in France speaks some English (and Spanish and German and Italian and it seems at least a bit of every language on the planet) once in a while you will find that one amazing restaurant where English is just not spoken. This is where [...]
Full Story380,000 Pounds of Deli Meat Recalled: Listeria
Zemco Industries has recalled 380,000 pounds of deli meat distrinuted to delicatessens because of Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The products involved in the recall include: 25.5-pound cases of “Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches BLACK FOREST HAM With Natural Juices Coated with Caramel Color” with the number 17800 1300. 28.49-pound cases of “Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches HOT [...]
Full StoryThe Bottled Water Scam
Let’s face it, the multi-million dollar bottled water ad campaigns have been a stunning success. Americans have allowed Madison Avenue to convince them of the evils of public water. Now when we reach for a glass and head to our faucets, a little nagging voice whispers, “I shouldn’t be drinking water from the tap — [...]
Full Story15 Tips for Eating in France
France is known for its culinary traditions. This can be somewhat intimidating for those traveling to France for the first time. If this is your first trip to this amazing country, check out some of the most basic things that we learned during our France travels. Getting a Table: This one is pretty easy, just [...]
Full StoryWas Meat the Original Brain Food?
Anthropologist Leslie Aiello, who runs a foundation that funds research in evolution, suggests our evolutionary ancestors’ switch to meat allowed the body to devote less energy to digestion and permitted growth in the brain. Aiello argues that prior to consuming meat, our ancestors digested large amounts of fruits, nuts, roots, tubers, and berries, which required [...]
Full Story380 Million Eggs Recalled, Hundreds Sickened
This recall has all the entities involved (USDA, CDC). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) received reports of 200 cases of Salmonella Enteritidi PER WEEK week from late June to early July. The normal numbers (which is still scary) are usually around 50. Apparently this has been a problem since May. People in CA, CO and MN have [...]
Full StorySalicorne: “The Taste of Summer by the Sea”
“The taste of summer by the sea” is the luscious metaphor that Barry Lazar, the Flavourguy, uses to describe salicorne — a low, fleshy annual plant widespread in France on all the coasts and in Lorraine in salt marshes. Salicorne is a member of the halophyte family, and thrives in arid land, such as the [...]
Full StoryDark Chocolate May Prevent Heart Failure
That is in small amounts of course, so don’t go chocaholic on me. A Harvard study has found that eating a small bite of high quality good chocolate three times a week can prevent heart failure in women. The study included 31,823 women (48-83 years) who were in good health. They were monitored for 9 [...]
Full StoryPoll: What is your favorite sparkling wine
Now that you have learned (almost) all there is to know about sparkling wine, we want to know what your favorite kind is. Are you blown away by traditional Bubbly? Or are you more of a risk taker, picking a nice Cava or Prosecco? And don’t be shy, if you’ve got a favorite Bubbly house, [...]
Full StoryUS Cattle Cloned from Dead Cows
Just when you think the lack of U.S. food regulation has reached its inept pinnacle, recent news reports indicate some US cloned cattle have been created from the cells of dead animals. And since the U.S. approved cloning over two years ago, you may have already grilled a cloned steak this summer from beef cells [...]
Full StoryWhy American Wines Can’t Compete with French Wines
I flew out to spend a two week holiday in Nice and Cannes before starting the arduous journey up the Rhone sipping and drinking wine. This is my first real vacation in two years, so I was planning to make the best beach vacation out of this. In my hotel room, with a little jet [...]
Full StoryThe Process of Baking
Baking is one of the oldest forms of cooking food. Most anthropologists agree the invention of cooking-fires began approximately 250,000 years ago with the discovery of hearths, earth ovens, burnt animal bones, and flints across Europe and the middle East. Some anthropologists speculate that bush fires — created by lightning strikes — scorched stems and [...]
Full StoryDenny’s Fried Cheese Melt
Reminiscent of a Fat Darryl (famous sandwich of the Rutgers Grease Trucks made up of chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks and French fries), but somehow a bit more scary. This creation, courtesy of Denny’s is made up of a grilled cheese sandwich PLUS breaded mozzarella sticks. Guess they took some inspiration from the KFC Double Down (which [...]
Full StoryRetailer List for Ground Beef Recall
The USDA just came out with the list of the retailers that purchased the frozen ground beef involved in the recent E. Coli recall of over 1 million pounds of ground beef. This list may not be complete and those who are worried about products they may have purchased should check the USDA website. Here’s [...]
Full StoryAll About Sparkling Wine Part 2
As we mentioned in Part 1, Champagne is a sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Technically speaking, Champagne is sparkling wine produced only in the Champagne wine region in France, and most commonly includes chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes; each house uses its own blend of Champagne wine, with most [...]
Full StoryWT? Pop Tarts World in NYC?
The marketing department at Kellogg’s has come up with just another way to get sugar laden, empty calorie food into people’s mouths. Pop Tarts World has opened in Time Square. Apparently one of the main attractions at the store is a full service “cafe” that sells over 30 Pop Tart dishes including: Fluffer Butter: Marshmallow [...]
Full StoryAll About Sparkling Wine
Part 1 – The universal term to describe sparkling wine is Champagne, which is used as an inaccurate synonym for all sparkling wines, because technically speaking, “Champagne” is sparkling wine produced only in the Champagne wine region in France. Authentic champagne really only constitutes approximately 10 percent of the worldwide sparkling wine market. Sparkling wine [...]
Full StoryTaco Bell Salmonella Outbreak
Yup, sure we all know that Taco Bell feels like a rock in your stomach an hour after eating it, but now it is giving people salmonella. 155 people so far actually. NY Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, said ”People should promptly contact their health care provider or local health department, if they have experienced possible symptoms [...]
Full StoryChildhood Nutrition Bill Passes
Very good news indeed. The U.S. Senate approved a bill that will create great changes in the school lunch program. Which will include linking local farms to school lunches. This was one of the few bipartisan bills to pass. It is fully paid for ($4.5 billion dollars) and it renews and increases federal support for [...]
Full Story1 Million Pounds of Ground Beef Recalled
ONE MILLION POUNDS of frozen ground beef patties and bulk ground beef from Valley Meat Company is being recalled due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. People in California became ill and reports of contamination reached the on July 15 (seven people have been reported sick from February to June). Why it took this long to create [...]
Full StoryCloned Franken-Meat Stealthy Enters Euro Food Chain
U.S. consumers are already ingesting cloned meat and dairy products. American main stream media essentially looked the other way with only a casual mention when the U.S. approved cloning over two years ago. And of course none of these franken-animal lab creations are required to be labeled in U.S. supermarkets. In 2008, the Food and [...]
Full StoryPoll: What is your favorite summertime treat
It’s been a scorcher this year. Global warming or not, I think we can all agree that 90 degrees and above would be insufferable with out treats like ice cream, ice pops, gelato, sorbet, frozen yogurt, ices and custard. Nothing better than hearing the sound of that ice cream truck coming your way. When the [...]
Full StoryHigher rates of metabolic syndrome in farm, food service jobs
According to research published in the journal Diabetes Care, farm industry and food service workers had higher rates of metabolic syndrome compared to an overall U.S. jobs risk. Transportation and moving workers had the greatest risk for metabolic syndrome — waiters and waitresses were not included in the food service category. The study’s researched categories [...]
Full StoryCanned Meatball Recall: High Health Risk
147,667 pounds of canned meatball products from Ugo. DiLullo & Sons are recalled. The problem is that the meatballs contain egg as an ingredient but are not labeled properly. Check out the label of the recalled product here: View Label. Below is more information on the recalled item: 6 lb., 10 oz cans of “U. DILULLO’S [...]
Full StoryWith guns blazing, cops raid raw milk food club
With guns drawn, four officers blazed into Rawesome Foods in Venice, California, and raided the walk-in cooler to find jugs of raw milk. Also seized in the early morning bust of July 2010 were blocks of unpasteurized goat cheese. Rawesome Foods is a private food club run by nutritionist and raw-food advocate Aajonus Vonderplanitz. For [...]
Full StoryAlfalfa Recall
Specialty Farms has recalled Alfalfa sprout products that may be contaminated with Listeria. Listeria can be fatal and is specially dangerous in children, the sick, the pregnant and the elderly. In healthy people, Listeria can cause high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. [...]
Full StorySoup Companies Scramble to Boost Declining Sales
According to NPD, a consumer marketing research company, only 12% of lunches eaten in American homes include soup, down from 14.4% over two decades ago. “Private label brands from grocers have gained market share while Campbell’s and other commercial brands have declined.” Of course commercial brands have declined. Consumers are trying to stretch their food [...]
Full StoryPoll: What is your favorite cooking show
Food television has brought tons of “chefs” (it’s a very loosely used term nowadays) to the forefront. We want to know just who it is you love. We know who we like and we know who we don’t like. But hey, this is about you…not us. So get to it, vote. And if your favorite [...]
Full StoryThe War Against Soft Drinks
Americans consume more than 10 million short tons — 1 short ton equals 2,000 pounds — of sugar a year. And that’s not counting high-fructose corn syrup — a Japanese invention converting cornstarch into 55% fructose and 45% glucose. High-fructose corn syrup extends the shelf life of processed foods, is cheaper than sugar, and is [...]
Full StorySous Vide Temperature Time Chart
As you may all have guessed from all the articles I have been writing, I’m a huge fan of the Sous Vide method of cooking. Why? Nutrients are retained, you can cook ingredients to the perfect point and textures are beautifully enhanced. On top of that, there’s barely a mess, dishes are eliminated making clean [...]
Full StoryVitamin Water NOT Healthy?
You would have thought that with a name like “Vitamin Water” you’d be buying a healthy product. It’s no surprise to us that it is not. You would be amazed at the amount of products that partake in deceitful advertising practices and we are very glad at the latest decision by US District Judge John [...]
Full StoryDeadly Epidemic Plagues Farmed Salmon
With a global harvest at 110 million tons and increasing at almost 10 percent a year, farmed fish now accounts for 50% of all fish and shellfish consumed around the globe. But a deadly and mysterious epidemic is threatening farmed Atlantic salmon which constitutes a significant portion of the farmed fish industry. Compounding the problem, [...]
Full StoryHedonic Versus Homeostatic Eating
“Hedonic” versus “homeostatic” eating refers to the study and understanding of why some people allow themselves to overrule their body’s built-in mechanism to regulate hunger and fullness. As Wall Street Journal’s Health columnist Melinda Beck observes — obese people react much more hedonistically to sweet, fat-laden food in the pleasure and reward circuits of the [...]
Full StoryRaquel’s Hummus Recall
This one is going to be a pretty big recall. Various products from the Raquel’s products from the Quong Hop & Company have been recalled due to contamination with Listeria Monocytogenes. The following states have been affected so far: Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. So far nobody has been reported sick as a result of [...]
Full StoryYou’re not a virgin?
I can’t love you any more. Ok, I can, but I won’t be able to trust you as well. A recent UC Davis study has found that many imported “extra virgin” olive oils fail international (and US) standards. The report was conducted by Dr. Edwin N. Frankel, Dr. Rodney G. Mailer, Dr. Charles F. Shoemaker, [...]
Full StoryWhy is there tertiary butylhydroquinone in McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets?
McDonald’s chicken McNuggets served in the U.S. contain tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a petroleum-based product, and dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent also used in Silly Putty. Because TBHQ does not cause discoloration or change flavor or odor of the material to which it is added, the chemical is used to help the chicken and other ingredients in [...]
Full StoryHundreds of unlicensed food producers in state linked to deadly salmonella outbreak
The Dallas Morning News reported last week that hundreds of businesses across Texas have been manufacturing and selling food without a state license or health inspections. The offending businesses were discovered in what The Dallas Morning News called “a statewide crackdown” on unlicensed food manufacturers that began last year by the Texas Department of State [...]
Full StoryHow Can Soda be Cheaper Than Water?
The Mintel International Group, a market-research company, claims soda outsold bottled water, juices, sport drinks and most other beverage segments over the past 18 months. “Half of all buyers changed their nonalcoholic-beverage habits due to the recession,” says Garima Goel Lal, an analyst at the firm. “Consumers shifted from more expensive beverages, such as energy [...]
Full StoryAs Food Recalls Soar, Regulation is a Perpetual Myth
One of the most recent tragic stories involving food contamination is of 22 year-old Stephanie Smith, a dance instructor left paralyzed from the waist down by E. coli contaminated beef. Minnesota officials later traced the E. coli to the hamburger that her mother had grilled for their Sunday dinner in early fall 2007. “I ask [...]
Full StoryPerdue Farms Frozen Chicken Nugget Recall
Perdue Farms, Inc. has recalled 91,872 pounds of the following item: “1-pound, 13-ounce bag of “GREAT VALUE Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets.” Each bag bears the establishment number “P-33944” as well as a case code of “89008 A0160” on the backside of the packaging. There is also a “BEST IF USED BY” date of June 9, [...]
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