An interesting catalog of sea monsters, and which ones are edible from our friend at Lucky Peach
Source: Fourteen Monsters of the Deep | Lucky Peach
Fourteen Monsters of the Deep | Lucky Peach
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How To Make Chocolate | Lucky Peach
Itâs easy to forget that chocolate is a fruit. Itâs born on a tree and undergoes several steps that transform the bitter, astringent seed into the rich, flavorful bars that we know.
Letâs take a little time to ponder the botanical story of chocolate and retrace the journey from its tropical origin. The cacao tree (officially, Theobroma cacao; theobroma translates as âfood of the godsâ), was classified in 1753 by Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus. The most recent genetic research points to the upper Amazon rainforests of South Americaânear present-day Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peruâas its origin. It grows only within a narrow latitudinal band, between 20ËN and 20ËS of the equator. From its origins in South and Central America, cacao cultivation now spans the circumference of the globe within its tropical range. West African countries, namely Ghana and the Ivory Coast, currently provide about 70 percent of the worldâs cocoa supply.
The cacao tree is fairly small, commercially bred to grow roughly 9 to 12 feet high. Like grape vines, cacao must often reach six to seven years maturity before producing a full yield of fruit. Its fruit, the cacao pod, develops from flowers that blossom directly from the trunk and thicker branches of the tree, reaching maturity in five to six months (thus sometimes allowing for two harvests per year). Each individual bean is comprised of an outer shell, the germ, and the nib. Conveniently, one podâs worth of beans produces a 100-gram bar of chocolate.
via How To Make Chocolate | Lucky Peach.
Bun Nation Under God | Lucky Peach
Some background about the miraculous bun that makes every burger better.
This feature comes from âLucky Peach #10: Street Food.â Pick up a copy here!
If youâre looking for something to eat and seeking retreat from the scorching heat of the street in Salmiya, Kuwait, you might find yourself ducking into Al Fanar Mall. And in that mall you might end up eating burgers at the Shake Shack. And as your teeth sink into the soft bun of a ShackBurger, you will think, Just like home.
This is Where Your Salt Comes From – YouTube
A great piece on how some American entrepreneurs are making some pretty amazing salt right here.
This is Where Your Salt Comes From – YouTube.
From the Farmersâ Market to the Freezer – The New York Times
When the Manhattan chef Marc Meyer opened Rosieâs in the East Village in April, reports focused on the Mexican restaurantâs upscale tortilla-making station in the middle of the dining room.
But the more interesting feature may be the one hidden in the basement â a walk-in freezer left behind by the buildingâs previous tenants.
âThe minute I saw it, I thought, âIâve got to be taking advantage of this,â â said Mr. Meyer, who over the next few months plans to fill it with seasonal fruits, tomatoes and tomatillos, all bought from local farmers at their lowest price and at their sun-ripened prime.
While dedicated home cooks buzz over pickling, canning and curing projects, Mr. Meyer has joined a growing number of chefs who are quietly employing another time-tested method of preservation: the freezer.
Other techniques rely on sugar, brine or bacteria to conserve foods, said the chef Paul T. Verica of Heritage Food & Drink in Waxhaw, N.C., but freezing doesnât change the way things taste.
via From the Farmersâ Market to the Freezer – The New York Times.
Whole Foods Sued For Misleading Sugar Claims
When it rains it pours:
Whole Foods is in trouble again.
The supermarket chain, still reeling from the revelation that it had systematically overcharged customers for packaged foods for years, is now facing a federal class-action lawsuit for using the term “evaporated cane juice” as a euphemism for sugar.
The plaintiffs allege that Whole Foods called sugar “evaporated cane juice” on the label of its Gluten Free All Natural Nutmeal Raisin Cookies in an attempt to make consumers believe that the cookies “do not contain as much sugar as they in fact contain.” Their suit was originally filed in a Missouri state court but is now before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
For a while, it seemed liked every food manufacturer interested in appealing to health-minded customers was citing “evaporated cane juice” on its ingredient label. It sounds healthier, and certainly more “natural,” than plain old “sugar” — even though there’s no actual difference between the two.
DOH Announces Chilly Regulations About Freezing Raw Fish Before Serving – Eater NY
It’s not all bad news, thankfully â tuna and shellfish are okay.
The New York Department of Health and Mental hygiene just announced new regulations that will require restaurants to freeze many types of fish for a minimum of 15 hours before serving them raw, to kill off bacteria. The Board of Health approved these regulations in March, and they will go into effect next month. Presumably, these new rules were change how a lot of restaurants â especially sushi bars and any places serving crudo or ceviche â store and prepare their fish. It will no doubt also inspire some major menu changes throughout the city, especially at the pricey fish restaurants.
As the Times points out, many high-end restaurants freeze their best fish as a safety precaution. Sushi Zen vice president Yuta Suzuki tells the paper: “We purposely deep-freeze at negative 83 degrees, and we use one of those medical cryogenic freezers.” The amount of time the fish should be frozen to meet the code depends on the temperature and the storage method. The NYT notes that shellfish, fresh-water fish, and “certain types of tuna” are exempt from the rule. And James Versocki, a rep for the National Restaurant Association, tells CBS: “Most grade sushi that restaurants serve are not impacted by this…You know your yellow and bluefin and tuna, theyâre allowed to be served raw because they donât generally have these parasites in them.”
DOH Announces Chilly Regulations About Freezing Raw Fish Before Serving – Eater NY.
When You’re Eating Chilean Sea Bass, You’re Actually Eating Patagonian Toothfish
Have you ever heard of Patagonian toothfish? Well, chances are, you’ve eaten it — only when you ate it, it was called Chilean Seabass.
Yes, that’s right, Chilean Seabass is just a more “friendly” name for the Patagonian toothfish. The name under which it’s marketed was changed in 1977 by fisherman Lee Lantz , to make it sound more appetizing to the American market. Although the fish isn’t always caught in Chilean waters, and a toothfish isn’t technically even a bass, the term Chilean Seabass had “broad resonance among American seafood eaters.”
While the name change has certainly helped the Patagonian toothfish become more popular (there was a major Chilean Seabass boom in the ’90s), it has also led to overfishing of the species. Without strict government regulation, sustainability hasn’t been a top priority and many fishermen have been fishing in areas where they shouldn’t be. Had this fish not been renamed to make it more marketable, would the demand have been as high and led to overfishing? Probably not.
It may seem odd that a fish’s name was changed to make it sound better, however it is actually more common than you may think. Monkfish was originally called Goosefish, Sea Urchin used to be called Whore’s Eggs and Orange Roughy was Slimehead.
via When You’re Eating Chilean Sea Bass, You’re Actually Eating Patagonian Toothfish.
EDIBLE FLOWERS becoming more available and sought after
From our friend across the “pond”
In Issue NÂș6 we are celebrating the ingredient EDIBLE FLOWERS. We meet the wonderful Jan Billington, an organic flower farmer in Devon who believes that edible flowers should not just as a pretty addition on the side of a plate. The lovely Johanna Paget, communications manager at the Soil Association will be popping by to explain the importance of good/organic/healthy soil. The talented Matthew Mason, Head Chef at The Jack in the Green, talks about his love for good local ingredients and shares a couple of incredibly tasty summer dishes. Plus, barbecue expert Marcus Bawdon will be showing us how to cook up some tasty wood-fired recipes. We take a look at the Kitchen Table Projects, a brilliant new London-based initiative that is passionate about helping artisan food producers get their product out there. All this on top of the usual good stuff youâve come to expect!
READ ISSUE NÂș6: groweatgather.co.uk/
Baseball Fans Will Consume Over a Million Pounds of Popcorn at This Year’s All-Star Game – Eater
What does it take to feed a few thousand people in a matter of hours?
Attendees will wash down all that popcorn with 301,000 gallons of soda.
Sure, sports are played in stadiums, but the real game is the eating. Stadiums are known for their no-holds-barred attitude toward gluttony, and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is no exception. The game takes place tonight in Cincinnati and coupled with the Home Run Derby that took place Monday night, concessions company Delaware North Sportservice is expecting to go through an insane amount of food. Here’s the predicted all-star consumption that will go down at the 2015 All-Star Game, as reported by NBC:
via Baseball Fans Will Consume Over a Million Pounds of Popcorn at This Year’s All-Star Game – Eater.
