Foods & Ingredients
When Vosges Haut-Chocolate in Chicago introduced a chocolate bar studded with applewood bacon last year, the sweet-swine concoction was novel. Now, it's popular with chefs across nation. Among the treats: bacon ice cream, maple bacon cupcakes, banana bread pudding with bacon brittle.
By Maria Hunt
The Christian Science Monitor 2008-12-03 (entry)
Sherry Dudas, of Honeybrook Farm CSA, will dig turnips from the farm fields and steep home-grown lemon balm tea.
From heritage turkeys to homemade lemon balm tea, New Jersey cooks see Thanksgiving as chance to grow their own, or buy it from nearby. Either way, they're celebrating the bounty of the Garden State.
By Kelly Feeney
The New York Times 2008-11-16 (entry)
Multi-year rotation plan critical for the health of all vegetables; best idea to keep track comes from garden book: Group vegetables according to families. Thus all the members of the Solanaceae family - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and peppers - are grown together, then moved together to a different bed the following year.
By Shirley Barker
Berkeley Daily Planet 2008-10-16 (entry)
On border of Kazakhstan and China, conservationist has spent 70 years in 'fatherland' and forest of apples, cataloging as hedge against memories of famine. As solution to urbanization and loss, he proposes pairing restoration and commerce. Author (click 'See also'): Foragers and traditional farmers are food's safe-keepers. North America lost more than 15,000 apple varieties in 400 years.
By Gary Paul Nabhan
Orion Magazine 2008-05-01 (entry)
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Summer tomatoes ripe and in vogue, says author/tomato farmer (click 'See also' for book review). Heirloom tomatoes, multi-colored and multi-cultural, replace Jersey beefsteaks in
regional cuisine. Think Hungarian heirloom tomato salad with black radishes, a salsa cruda of Oxhearts and grilled peaches.
By Tim Stark
The Washington Post 2008-08-13 (entry)
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Seeking excellent traditional hot dogs (mostly beef, smoked) in excellent buns in establishments full of character and local color, grown-up little boy with mustard on his chin travels coast-to-coast and finds some top dogs.
By Raymond Sokolov
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-03-29 (entry)
Eating three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables cost as little as 64 cents daily in 1999, data shows. A price analysis of 69 fruits and 85 vegetables showed that more than half cost about 25 cents or less per serving, federal government reported in 2004.
By Jane Reed, Elizabeth Frazão, and Rachel Itskowitz
USDA Economic Research Service 2008-01-23 (entry)
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Pigs fly (after USDA OKs custom-constructed production facilities) and the famed Spanish ham, jamón ibérico, arrives in southern California, at $90 per pound. But that's just the appetizer: In July, the jamón ibérico de belota arrive, for $150 to $180 per pound. They're hams made from black-footed ibérico pigs allowed to roam the oak-forested pasture land and gorge on acorns. For a mail-order source in Virginia, click 'See also.'
By Amyscattergood
Los Angeles Times 2008-03-05 (entry)
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Confused by labels? Here's a handy guide that explains fat-free, organic, low-fat and light, as well as trans fats, low sodium and whole grains.
By Keri Glassman
CBS News 2008-03-05 (entry)
Five cooks plus three pantry ingredients each equals 36 quick soups, enough to help us make it through the waning days of winter workdays.
By Bonnie S. Benwick
The Washington Post 2008-02-20 (entry)
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Superbowl Sunday calls for exhaustive taste-testing of dip-worthy potato chips. Some tasters like them pale, others deep and dark, some like them thick and some thinner. Low-fat and baked versions aren't on the radar. And the best? Kettle Krinkle Cut Chips.
By Carol Ness
San Francisco Chronicle 2008-01-30 (entry)
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In the apple-a-day category, nutrition specialists recommend that we make these foods a habit: spinach, yogurt, tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, black beans, oats and walnuts. Plus, their simple tips on working them into our diets with a minimum of fuss.
Ben Hewitt
BestLife; Men's Health 2008-01-08 (entry)
European holiday classics of panettone and stollen, made from scratch with homemade candied citrus peel and spirit-soaked dried fruits in a basic butter- and sugar-enriched yeast dough, are best for quiet moments.
By Jenn Garbee and Donna Deane
Los Angeles Times 2007-12-19 (entry)
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Fruitcake, long an object of reverence and revulsion, has evolved past its traffic-light colors of hideous candied fruit to a plethora of nuts, booze and maybe a bit of pineapple, much to eaters' (and bakers' ) delight.
By Susan Warren
The Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) 2007-12-22 (entry)
Testing nearly two dozen dark chocolate bars was hard work, but to save the rest of us, staffers at the Los Angeles Times took on the task. The top three: Michel Cluizel "Noir de Cacao" 72% cacao; Valrhona "Le Noir Amer" 71% cacao; Chocovic Unique Origin Varietal Chocolates "Ocumare" (Criollo from Venezuela) 71% cacao.
By Betty Hallock
Los Angeles Times 2007-12-05 (entry)
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One day, a star of the table, the next day, nothing. The sweet potato, with its noble nutritional profile (fiber and vitamins A,C and E), trails celery in its per capita consumption of about 4 pounds and levels of 1920 - 29.5 pounds - seem miraculous. But fans seek the boost that bubbling oil and salt gives the russet potato.
By Robert Tomsho
The Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) 2007-11-21 (entry)
Amateur historian finds 600-year-old recipe for beef-and-pork Thuringian sausages which are still symbols of Germany's cultural heritage and snacks at football matches; to view the original parchment, visit the Bratwurst Museum near the eastern city of Erfurt.
Reuters 2007-11-01 (entry)
Store coffee beans whole, if possible, then grind them just before brewing, and buy new coffee once a week; otherwise, to extend freshness, store coffee in the freezer for up to three months.
By Martha Stewart
The Seattle Times 2007-10-27 (entry)
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New sugar substitute, Organic Zero, lacks aftertaste of other products but is only 70 percent as sweet as sugar, and it changes texture and taste of baked goods. Still, the liquefied sugar cane derivative is possible option for diabetics.
Madelyn Feldman
San Francisco Chronicle 2007-10-24 (entry)
Apples, native to Kazakhstan, were planted across frontier America for their ability to make a potent, easily fermentable brew called hard cider, and didn't gain popularity as a snack until Prohibition took hold.
By Ron Mikulak
The Courier-Journal (KY) 2007-10-10 (entry)
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Japan's squeaky-clean image slips after candy manufacturer admits recycling old red bean paste for new rice cakes and earlier allegations of mixed meats mislabeled as pure ground beef; officials vow to prosecute but citizens feel unsettled and even worry about authenticity and safety of sushi, shark's fin and marbled beef, the nation's iconic dishes.
By Hiroko Tabuchi
The Associated Press 2007-10-26 (entry)
Tracing the evolution of Halloween leads a radio reporter to a recipe for iced pumpkin juice and currant-studded Soul Cakes, which once were distributed to beggars and to costumed mummers, from which trick-or-treater tradition might have sprung.
By T. Susan Chang
National Public Radio 2007-10-24 (entry)
Listeria bacteria and listeriosis, the food-borne illness caused by the germ, isn't as prevalent as salmonella, but it is of particular danger to developing fetuses and those with chronic illness; the bug has been found in myriad prepared foods and illness has an incubation period of 30-90 days.
By Jane E. Brody
The New York Times 2007-10-16 (entry)
To determine your environmental footprint of those restaurant dinners and other lifestyle choices, play this game from American Public Media.
By Christopher Kennedy, Michael Skoler and others
American Public Media and Realtime Associates, Inc. 2007-09-19 (entry)
Mom's quest for a high-nutrition bar her daughters would eat (aided by her expertise in nutrition and diet) has grown into Manna Gourmet, a New Jersey company that makes the bars in five flavors as well as whole-grain, high-fiber cookies, with and without chocolate.
By Sally Friedman
Philadelphia Inquirer 2007-09-16 (entry)
A quiz to determine your knowledge of sodium content in the food you eat, from the American Heart Association.
By Gwen Schoen
Sacramento Bee 2007-09-16 (entry)
With imports flooding the borders and FDA food safety staff winnowed away over the last decade, agents can sometimes only provide a cursory inspection of a listed import; they inspect less than one percent of actual products.
By Stephen J. Hedges
Chicago Tribune 0000-00-00 (entry)
From Alps to Vermont, climate changes, from unprecedented heat to new plants, force cheesemakers into adaptations that may change the taste, texture and quality of their products.
By Ketzel Levine
National Public Radio 2007-08-30 (entry)
After farm advocacy group files two complaints against Aurora Dairy and USDA threatens to revoke its organic certification, company agrees to remove organic label from some milk and to add pasture for cows.
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times (may require subscription) 2007-08-30 (entry)
Couple, new to northern France a decade ago, discover a talent for making jam that eschews the modern formula, finds a niche for intensely fragrant, gooey and bright jams, and now they're much desired tastes of summer in a jar.
By Anita Chaudhuri
The Guardian (UK) 0000-00-00 (entry)
After years of delays, country-of-origin labels for beef, lamb, pork, perishable agricultural products, peanuts and other items, will soon be required, but politics plays favorites and many processed foods are exempt.
By Diedtra Henderson
The Boston Globe 2007-08-24 (entry)
Seattle's Lettuce Link, which teaches gardening, nutrition and cooking to low-income population, helps fill coffers of food pantries and hot meal food banks whose regular donors are on summer vacation.
By Ann Lovejoy
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) 2007-08-17 (entry)
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As Atlanta grows, community garden plots are feeding the burgeoning appetite for locally grown produce and mingling of cultures; advocacy group partners with administration to open parks for communal plots.
By Elizabeth Lee
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 0000-00-00 (entry)
Like prima donnas, heirloom tomatoes wait an extra week to ripen, but these voluptuous misfits with the tawdry, nightclub-act names - Cherokee Purple, Banana Legs, Green Zebra, Hillbilly, Black Russian - have it in their power to hold us all in thrall for a good part of the summer.
By Tim Stark
Washington Post 2007-08-15 (entry)
Seeking the perfect tomato means eschewing perfectly formed orbs in favor of a weedy tangle of vines in which antique, thin-skinned heirloom treasures are hidden; this obsession is an art in the Merrimack Valley, where growers proliferate.
By Kristi Ceccarossi and Darry Madden
The Hippo (NH) 2007-08-23 (entry)
Genetically modified sugar beet seed designed to resist Monsanto herbicide is gaining popularity among growers and processors, including American Crystal Sugar Co.; Wyoming Sugar Co., and Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative; farmers must pay $60 premium per acre, and GMO sugar won't carry special label.
Associated Press; CNN 2007-08-22 (entry)
From humble to fancy, cupcakes, those little indulgences that don't require sharing but seem like a personal celebration are earning their own shops, and the lines of customers that go along with them.
By Gail Pennington
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 0000-00-00 (entry)
Despite day jobs, couple hunt, fish and gather about a third of the food they eat, using a nearly comprehensive mental map of Seattle foraging spots to relish what they call unbelievably bountiful land.
By Huan Hsu
Seattle Weekly 2007-08-08 (entry)
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Bane and benefit both, blackberries cover the Oregon landscape with a thorny thicket but are high in antioxidants, show promise in tumor reduction, are a high cash crop, a primary food source for honeybees and other pollinators - and they're tasty as well.
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard (OR) 2007-08-11 (entry)
In groundbreaking presidential report, cancer panel calls down governmental polices that have made fruits and vegetables more expensive and less available, have limited physical education in schools and created an environment that discourages physical activity; food industry with its unhealthy food sales implicated as well.
MSNBC; Reuters 2007-08-16 (entry)
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Program that last year brought 35,000 pounds of hunter-donated venison to low-income clients of southern Wisconsin food pantry endangered by budget cuts; testing the deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) reduced by 60 percent; experts predict explosion in deer population.
By Christina Beam
Reedsburg Times Press (WI) 0000-00-00 (entry)
After years-long import ban for fear of exotic pests, first commercial crop of luscious purple-red tropical fruit has reached New York and is being snapped up at $12 to $15 per piece; more shipments expected from Thailand, Puerto Rico.
By Andrea Hu
National Public Radio 2007-05-07 (entry)
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In search of past glory, team of top-level scientists from Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station aim for the return of the tasty tomato, one that is nirvana with salt on a piece of crusty bread, one that isn't necessarily a good keeper.
By Dianna Marder
Philadelphia Inquirer 2007-08-14 (entry)
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Marion Nestle, professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition. She is the author of "Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health,"Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism," and "What to Eat."
By Marion Nestle
2007-08-16 (entry)
The FDA is warning consumers not to eat raw oysters harvested from an area of the southern tip of Hood Canal in Washington after an outbreak of illness caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria. Oysters from the area were distributed to California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, New York, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia (Canada), Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Food and Drug Administration (entry)
Seeking sales, food processors add crushed insects to yogurt and grapefruit juice, titanium dioxide to Betty Crocker's white frosting, and dye to fish and chicken feed, but FDA rules are lax on ingredients disclosure, so labels might read 'artificial color.'
By Pallavi Gogoi
Business Week Online 2006-10-01 (entry)
Too much basil calls for afternoon of stripping leaves from stems, grating Parmigiano-Reggiano, chopping garlic, drizzling olive oil and pureeing big batches of green magic that will take us through the winter with sanity intact.
Rob Kasper
Baltimore Sun (entry)
Escoffier would be shocked, but Hugo Liu, computer whiz at the MIT Media Lab is shaking up the food world with blend of artificial intelligence and obsession, running recipes through deconstruction computer program and sorting them by emotion.
By Regina Schrambling
Los Angeles Times (entry)
Overfishing, poaching and pollution have depleted worldwide fish stocks to 10 percent of normal; for every pound of shrimp harvested, 10 pounds are discarded, along with turtles and dolphins, conservationists report.
By Eviana Hartman
Washington Post (entry)
See also
"The Zen of Fish," and "The Sushi Economy," offer lessons in how global economy works, dangers of over-fishing and how it thrives on demand, and why trout might not be the best choice for eating raw (think tapeworms).
By Stuart Biggs
bloomberg.com 2007-08-08 (entry)
Some swear that Mr. Pastie's English beef-and-potato pies, now sold internationally, have magical powers; at the very least, they connect Gar Sleep, the 78-year-old company owner, to a large part of his family history.
By Sara Jerome
Pocono Record (entry)
In "Twinkie, Deconstructed," Steve Ettlinger describes the work of making unnecessarily complicated snacks; the book is the polar opposite (complete with smiley face) of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Michael Pollan's frowny faced take on simplifying food.
By Chelsea Martinez
Los Angeles Times (entry)
Kamut, a heirloom wheat with a sweet, nutty flavor and high in nutritional qualities, once the darling of the Birkenstock crowd, has captured Italy carbohydrate-wise, and Saskatchewan, as well as Montana and Alberta, are profiting.
By Beppi Crosariol
The Globe and Mail (Canada) (entry)
Gustatory glamour shots aside, food photography can be creative and informative, particularly when illustrating portion sizes, caloric density and just what fast food looks like, up close - really close.
By Chelsea Martinez
Los Angeles Times 2007-07-12 (entry)
With ethanol craze and escalating corn prices taking all the attention, worldwide drought has gone almost unnoticed, but it is driving wheat prices up; breadmakers are paying more for flour and weak dollar makes U.S. wheat attractive.
By Jeff Cox
CNNMoney.com (entry)
New interactive map allows users to tract proliferation of factory farms by state and county - even number of animals - and it raises questions of whether we pursue the logic of industrialism to its limits, and how badly will it harm the landscape, the people who live in it and democracy itself?
The editors
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
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Looking to meet anti trans fat market demands, Spanish food giant Grupo Sos plans to plant olive trees in Lone Star State, where climate is similar to southern Spain; the firm follows a handful of Texas growers with 75,000 trees growing - and harvest plans this fall.
By Jenalia Moreno
Houson Chronicle (entry)
Mushy sides aside, fried chicken from Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits is some of the best soul food in Boston - but does it matter that this tender, juicy, extra crunchy bird with a cayenne kick is from a chain, if it's a cool chain?
By Devra First
Boston Globe (entry)
Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Läckeby Water Group join other food, drink producers in UN agreement to use water more efficiently; lack of access to clean water and sanitation undermines humanitarian, social, environmental, and economic goals.
By Ahmed ElAmin
foodproductiondaily.com (entry)
Find hemp seed, hemp oil, hemp butter, hemp bread, and hemp bars at the natural foods store, but it's all imported; hemp farming is banned in the U.S. because the plant is a version of the cannabis plant and contains low levels of the active ingredient in marijuana.
By Ann Woolner
Bloomberg News (entry)
Starbucks, learning early on that carbon emissions would affect rainfall and temperatures, thus affecting price, quantity and quality of coffee beans (and its bottom line), calculated its carbon footprint and is working to lower the number; other companies are coy.
Sonia Narang
Forbes magazine (entry)
For mom-and-pop enterprises, food safety isn't important when the question is how to feed the family, so hidden and unregulated businesses spring up at home, behind closed doors - and they thrive.
By Audra Ang
Associated Press (entry)
Cargill's attempt to add Regenasure, a vegetarian version of shellfish-derived glucosamine, to European list of food products for addition in mostly beverages and fermented milk products, hits snag with questions of safety for diabetics.
By Alex McNally
nutraingredients.com (entry)
Peanuts, long feared for chance of toxic reaction, might be tamed; researchers learn that allergic mice are missing interleukin-12 molecule; study shows that raw milk, too, could play role in keeping allergies at bay.
United Press International (entry)
Following South America and Asia, Germany calls a cheese by the name of a town in Italy famous for its cheese, causing purists to shudder and the Euro-court to contemplate - is Parmigiano Reggiano only from Italy, or is it just a style of crystal-grained, crumbly and tart-sweet cheese that adorns many pasta dishes?
ansa.it (entry)
Despite activists' efforts to bamboozle public, price-conscious customers appear happy buying milk containing synthetic hormone, and squeezing more milk from cows via drugs saves natural resources, reduces corn prices, greenhouse gas emissions and manure production; in a more rational world, customers would choose milk so labeled.
By Henry I. Miller
The New York Times (may require subscription) 2007-06-29 (entry)
Lax food safety standards in China push General Mills, Kellogg and other companies to increase scrutiny on ingredients, including apple juice, ascorbic acid and xanthan gum, and point up growing dependence of U.S. on new, untamed economic giant that offers vast quantities at lowest prices.
By Nelson D. Schwartz
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
Responding to demand from affluent countries, tuna, along with sharks and other ocean-dwelling species, have been rapaciously overfished by aggressive industrial fleets (Japan is a chief offender) for decades, but will new global discipline save the Atlantic bluefin from extinction?
The editors
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
FDA issues alert, requires testing on shrimp, catfish and its relative basa, eel, and dace, related to carp imported from China because of recurrent contamination from carcinogens and antibiotics; country supplies one-fifth of imported seafood and made $1.9 billion in 2006.
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
Kitchen incubator in San Francisco helps women with big dreams and few resources to start their own food businesses, linking them to planners, marketers and food retailers, and sometimes giving them step away from poverty.
By Laura Novak
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
Ralph Stayer, Johnsonville Sausage Company founder, who popularized bratwurst.
Associated Press; The New York Times 0000-00-00 (entry)
Overfished, now scarce, expensive and in demand in U.S. and Russia, South Korea and China, tuna slips from sushi menus in Japan, causing national panic and in-depth reports on nightly news; country frets about global tuna superpower status.
By Martin Fackler
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
Food executives to discuss perceived threat from biofuel industry to food company supply chains, as well as shift in how food companies purchase ingredients, control quality and develop products.
By Lorraine Heller
foodnavigator.com 2007-06-19 (entry)
According to new measure of environmental stewardship, ConAgra and Sara Lee are stuck, but Danon, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Stonyfield are striving; food production companies, with large transportation and packaging responsibilities face particular challenges.
By Anna Cynar
Utne Reader 2007-03-04 (entry)
See also
With no genetically modified organism labeling required, the questions are complicated and the science is heavy and we haven't dropped dead, but to steer clear from GMO unknowns, avoid corn, soy and canola in processed foods, says author of new book.
By Carol Ness
San Francisco Chronicle (entry)
Whole Foods does the calculations and goes the way of the bank line - one big one, separating to multiple checkout clerks as they become available - and shoppers' wait time is drastically reduced.
By Michael Barbaro
The New York Times (entry)
For a short history of candy and snacks in the United States, look no further than the refreshments counter at the local movie theater, where treats now comprise 40 percent of the revenue, but once weren't so large, nor were they so expensive.
By Jill Hunter Pellettieri
Slate magazine (entry)
After one too many smoke alarms and subsequent evacuations of offices from burned popcorn in Seattle, officials consider an anti-microwave popcorn ordinance, but columnist thinks the simpler solution is to test every job applicant on popcorn prowess.
By Karen Mracek
Des Moines Register (entry)
Self-taught chef cranks up the heat with Mad Dog hot pepper sauces that, at their hottest, are best tested with a dipped toothpick placed in the center of the tongue - he says it's not torture, he's just following the market.
Jennifer Wolcott
The Christian Science Monitor (entry)
When returning to beef that grazed on grass, be prepared for pure taste that removes the sweet, bland and rich coating that corn feed provides -- and take care to cook meat carefully to achieve tenderness.
By Corby Kummer
Atlantic magazine 2003-05-01 (entry)
