"FoodStories" news and stories

Just how tumultuous a year was 2008 when it comes to food news? In November, a man in India died at a company-sponsored pastry eating contest. That same month a couple sued McDonald's. For what? Philip Sherman left his cell phone at a McDonald's in Fayette, Arkansas, and he claims that employees found naked pictures of his wife Tina and posted them online.

Alright, what's so new about McDonald's being sued? Fair enough. Perhaps, one of the craziest news in food for 2008 is the world's largest fruit mosaic created by over 1,000 students from Pingyuan Middle School in China. The mosaic consists of 349,200 navel oranges, 18,172 apples and 5,153 pomelos. And, it made the Guinness World Record being 60 m (196 ft 10 in) long and 37 m (121 ft 4 in) wide, with a total area of 2,220 m² (23895 ft²).

This past summer, CNN posted a story online of the world's priciest foods. And, apparently gold is an edible mineral. Companies, such as Fancy Flours, are selling edible gold leaves for approximately $15,000 per pound. Now, one of my favorite food stories from 2008 comes from Wacky Archives: creative food sculptures. These adorable and insane food creatures are hilarious, especially the one of the egg shell transformed into a baby carriage carrying its yolk. And, there's the anthropomorphized roll of bread, seen above, biting onto its knife.

What are some of your favorite crazy food moments from 2008?

Everyone loves to taste and smell and experience food. And rightly so; it can be a very visceral experience. But to me, it's just as enjoyable to hear about food. To hear someone describe a great meal can be almost as satisfying as eating it myself (with none of the calories). I love discovering different words and terms and metaphors to describe my food. I love hearing beer described as "woody" or "nutty" or "golden." And I love the actual sounds that food makes when you play with it - crackling, bubbling, snapping.

Hence, why I get so much of my food information from public radio. Sure, there are better sources - but it's the way I like to get my food news: in words and phrases as gorgeous and robust as the dishes they describe. If you squeeze your eyes shut and listen to cooks speak about their latest creations, it's quite lovely and relaxing.

Obviously, nothing beats sitting down at a restaurant with a great plate of food in front of you. But if I'm lying in bed on Sunday afternoon, I'll take a plate of public radio, thanks, soup on the side. And then I'll get full on seconds.

Source