"annual" news and stories

The 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off has just been announced. The Bake-Off is one of the longest running and most beloved cooking contests in the US - in no small part because the grand prize is $1 million dollars. The contest started back in 1949 and ran annually until 1976, after which point it took place only every other year. This year, it seems that Pillsbury has joined up with the new Yahoo! Food to promote the contest, which should be a boon for the fledgling food site.

To enter, you must come up with an original recipe (and they have a dedicated staff and a huge reference selection of cookbooks and previous entries to check for originality) that uses two or more eligible products, from prepacked food like refrigerated biscuits and hot fudge sundae topping to basic staples, like sugar and olive oil. The minimum required amount of each ingredient is specified on the list. Once you have a dish, you must select one of five categories for entry: Breakfast & Brunches, Pizza Creations, Entertaining Appetizers, Old El Paso® Mexican Favorites and Sweet Treats.

All recipes need to be submitted by April 22nd, 2007 and finalists will be announced later in the year.

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 According to a study that was just released, Britons eat the most chocolate per capita, of anyone in the world. The average consumption is about 22 pounds per person. This can be compared to rates of 17.8-lbs per person in Germany, 15-lbs in France, 8.5-lbs in Spain and 4.8-lbs in Italy. The same study also showed that Germans preferred boxed chocolate treats and the French preferred molded chocolate bars. The British seemed to like anything made of milk chocolate, as only 3% of the chocolate consumption was of the dark variety!

For contrast, Americans eat about 12 pounds of chocolate per person per year. Like the British, they prefer milk chocolate to other varieties, though the interest in darker chocolates is steadily increasing. This is most likely a combination of the much-touted health benefits of dark chocolate and simply a greater availability of high-quality dark chocolates that American are developing an appreciation for.

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