On the Blogs

Yo! English Farmers Rap it Up in Yeo Valley Organic Farm Ad

by Jason Best, Posted Oct 27th 2010 @ 1:00PM

Yeo Valley Dairy Rap Commercial Photo: YouTube

It may be one of the most trippy rap videos ever: no tricked-out Escalades, no writhing fly girls and nary a bottle of Cristal in sight. Instead it's just a bird and a couple of blokes rhyming about...organic dairy farming!?

Welcome to Yeo Valley (yes, it's actually pronounced "Yo!" Valley). This bucolic landscape in southwest England may seem more Lord Byron than Lil' Kim, but it seems the folks at Yeo Valley Organic didn't think sonnets were the best way to go about selling their organic diary products.

Watch the video after the jump.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Videos

Halloween Candy: The Not-So-Sweet News

COMMENTS 1

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Oct 27th 2010 @ 12:00PM

Bowl of Halloween Candy Photo: mandaloo, Flickr

No one is going to claim they eat Halloween candy because it's good for them. But the Daily Beast ran the numbers on calories, fat, carbs and sodium for 40 top treats, and found that of the almost 25 pounds of candy per person that Americans eat annually, some sweets are definitely less fattening than others. So you can pick your Junior Mints or Hershey's Crunch Bar with all that knowledge. Just sayin'. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are on the list, and all we'll say is that it's better news than we thought. Almond Joy? Ouch, but you'll still be our BFF. Visit the Daily Beast for their rogues' and winners' gallery of candies.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Health & Medical

Japanese Discover Kokumi, the Sixth Taste (Sort Of)

COMMENTS 6

by Jason Best, Posted Oct 26th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Smaku, Flickr

Before we even had a chance to figure out the sound of one hand clapping, the Japanese have given us a riddle of a different sort: kokumi. Think of it like this: when is a flavor not a flavor? When it's kokumi! Confused? Apparently, so are a lot of food journalists who got all excited when Japanese researchers announced that they had discovered a whole new taste to add to the five we already know -- except, wait a minute, kokumi has no taste. Huh?

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter-those are pretty self-explanatory. Then there's umami, also identified by the Japanese and now commonly accepted as the "fifth" basic taste. It roughly translates to "savory." (According to the Food & Think blog at Smithsonian.com, it more accurately translates to "yummy," but that's not very helpful for explaining things.)

Now here comes kokumi. Unlike sugar, which of course tastes sweet, or salt, which (duh) tastes salty, the compounds in food that relate to kokumi don't have an identifiable taste in and of themselves. Instead, they appear to heighten the sensation of other flavors by activating calcium receptors on the tongue, making salty foods taste even saltier, for example, or savory foods taste more savory.

Filed under: On the Blogs, News

Hits and Misses: How Quiznos Brings Sandwich Trends to Market

COMMENTS 1

by the Editors at YumSugar, Posted Oct 22nd 2010 @ 4:00PM

Quiznos sub sandwich Photo: Deibu, Flickr

Zach Calkins, Vice President of Culinary Development for the sandwich chain Quiznos, recently gave YumSugar insight into how a nationwide eatery translates the food world's biggest hits into menu items that successfully appeal to Quiznos's customers.

So do all of their creations make it on the menu? Absolutely not. Head over to YumSugar to read what has worked and what doesn't.

Filed under: On the Blogs

Trick or Treat? Marketing Baby Carrots as the New Candy Corn

COMMENTS 4

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Oct 21st 2010 @ 2:00PM

Halloween candy corn Photo: JasonTromm, Flickr

Would you accept a little bag of baby carrots as a substitute for, say, a mini Snickers bar in your Halloween trick-or-treat sack? Neither would we. We love carrots; really, we do, but the "Eat 'Em LIke Junk Food" campaign and now the "Scarrots" trick-or-treat gambit is pushing it. The editors at Eatocracy give us the skinny on what's hot and what's not for Halloween. A hint: candy corn is still Miss Popularity. Since, Americans will most likely spend $2 billion on candy this year (we kid you not), it's time to choose wisely. And then get some dental insurance.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Food News

Can Meat Save the Planet?

COMMENTS 2

by the Editors at TheStir, Posted Oct 21st 2010 @ 1:00PM

organic meat Photo: Villain Media, LLC, Flickr

For those of you who love to rant against vegans, you're about to get fuel for your fire. The Stir just posted a story about how Simon Fairlie's new book, Meat, a Benign Extravagance, already has high-profile English vegan activist George Monbiot thinking differently about meat. Monbiot's vegan retraction "I was wrong about veganism" is a delicious read for carnivores.

That doesn't mean you can now scarf down a Big Mac guilt free (environmentally speaking) -- it's all about which meat you eat and how it's raised. Head over to The Stir to read about the 5 ways that meat can be earth friendly...

Filed under: On the Blogs, Food Politics

Cooking Up the Mother of Egg-and-Cheese Sandwiches

COMMENTS 1

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Oct 21st 2010 @ 12:00PM

Photo: OctopusHat, Flickr

Tater Tots? Did someone say Tater Tots? The boys at Slate V, Dan Pashman and Mark Garrison, needn't have said more than that. We're sold. This breakfast sandwich they dub the Mother, has so many layers, they say, it's geologic, "like looking back in time." We want one, stat.

Head over to slatev.com for Dan and Mark's egg-a-thon at the Gastro Lab to learn how to make a bagel hold your oozing egg, and other ideas on how to make breakfast kick it.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Recipes

Hand Me a Lollipop, Chef. Women vs. Men in Food Photos

COMMENTS 1

by Nanette Maxim, Posted Oct 19th 2010 @ 12:00PM

Nigella Lawson Photo: Food Network

Men like Alton Brown sink their big manly teeth into a bone-in chop; women like Nigella Lawson get to lick an ice-cream cone. Or maybe, like Paula Deen, just poise a forkful of cream pie in front of their open mouths, with just an eensy dab of cream clinging to their lower lip. Are photos of women with food just plain soft-core, and can we make it stop? Or at least have Tony Bourdain nuzzling up to an oyster? We love you, man. Head over to Serious Eats to get the full story.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Celebrities, Chefs

To Catch a Fish: 'Next Iron Chef,' Episode 3

COMMENTS 1

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Oct 18th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo Courtesy Food Network

The Next Iron Chefcontestants baited their lines in the latest episode, and found that going to the source can either leave you pretty much empty-handed (Marco Canora, whose fishing skills leave a bit to be desired), or with a line full of shark (chef Mary Dumont comes face to face with her own personal "Jaws"). Head over to Eater to read the recap of the Next Iron Chef highs and lows.

Filed under: Television/Film, On the Blogs, Chefs

Paper Takes on "Food Snobs" in Portland

COMMENTS 30

by Jason Best, Posted Oct 18th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Sayler's Old Country Kitchen

It looks like the populist fever that's been sweeping through American politics this season has hit the food world -- in Portland, Oregon, of all places.Food lovers have been flocking to Portland for years; the place is a culinary mecca and practically synonymous with the whole ethos of sustainability ("organic," "locally grown") that's swept through American cooking over the past decade. To criticize someone for being a "foodie" in Portland is like talking smack about steaks in Texas.

But one local writer lambasted foodie-culture in a piece that introduced last week's "Non-Foodies Food Guide" in the Orgeonian, the city's major daily paper. "I am not a foodie," writes Lee Williams. "To me, food is what you eat, not what you pray to. Call them gourmands, connoisseurs, picky eaters, or just plain old snobs. Foodies blog, write and chat about pet restaurants, trends and chefs. They leave little room on their plates or in their hearts for fast food, family dining and the untrendy. And they can be pretty mean to some places we love."

Filed under: On the Blogs, Fast Food, News