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Turkish Cucumbers. Photo: beautifulcataya, Flickr

Twelve separate cucumber thefts have put Australian police in a pickle.

According to ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), cucumber capers have targeted market farmers in Adelaide over the past three months, stealing more than $10,000 worth of the popular vegetable.

"It's certainly a unique theft," Chief Inspector Kym Zander told ABC.

Few leads are reported at this point, but police are speculating as to all possible motives, including the case of a jealous farmer.

"We're looking at the possibility that it may be a grower that's had a failed crop and he's substituting through theft," Zander said.

Police do believe the timing of the thefts shows the thieves are in the know.

"Somebody has the knowledge that cucumbers are being picked at the appropriate time, they're being stored in boxes, buckets or bags -- and overnight the thefts are occurring," Zander tells ABC News reporter Pete McDonald.

Even if there was a lead, Zander admits it is hard to determine which cucumbers are the stolen ones.

Embezzled cukes could be sold right under investigator's noses at local grocery stores and markets, as there is no way to detect a cucumber's origin.

Ok, so wine has numerous health benefits. It cures everything from cold sores to cancer. (Note: the above is not intended as medical device.) I tout wine's health benefits as much as anyone, but deep down inside, the truth is that I kind of like my wine as a vice. It's the only vice I have, really (though I'm sure my husband would say otherwise). I don't drink it because of its health benefits, but for the sheer pleasure of the taste, the bouquet, the way it enhances the food I cook and relaxes me after a stressful day at work or with the kids. The fact that it won't kill me in small quantities is simply a bonus.

What I don't want is a wine that's turned into a drug. An Australian doctor has pumped up a wine with resveratrol, the antioxidant that makes wine so good for you, with 100 times the normal amount. Phillip Norie, the winemaker and an M.D. expert on the link between wine and health, calls it a preventative medicine and a vascular pipe-cleaner. Taste-testers say they can't taste the difference between this wine and normal wine.

Perhaps the discovery will launch a new generation of health-concious wine-drinkers, but I hope if that's the case, they'll move beyond imbibing strictly for health and begin to enjoy the wine for the beautiful drink it is.

When I think of my mom, two things usually don't come to mind: beer and Frank Zappa. Which made it odd earlier this week when I opened an email to find she had sent me the following quote: "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."

Now, I'm not a big Zappa fan and have never heard this quote. I'm guessing that puts me in Group A of two possible groups, with Group B consisting of huge Zappa fans who have heard this quote a million times. But the quote did get me thinking that there are a number of countries that I associate with one specific beer. Yes, I realize they have more than one beer, but every time I think of said country, one specific beer immediately pops into mind trumping all others.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying these are the best beers each country has to offer, or even a list of my favorite international beers, but for this week's Slashfood Ate beer edition, I present the 8 countries that through experience and marketing I most associate with one specific beer.

See the list after the jump...

It's Monday morning, and if you have a lot of work to catch up on or a deadline to meet, consider popping a piece of gum.

There's a new study from Australia that found chewing gum not only raises alertness, it also reduces stress and anxiety. Study participants were subjected to a test called DISS (Defined Intensity Stressor Simulation). The gum chewers also had "significant improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities."

The study was done in conjunction with Wrigley, and their Wrigley Science Institute. I'm not discounting the study results, but I also think that's something to keep in mind. What do you think about this study?

It's Leap Day, and zoos and animal organizations across the world are kicking off "Year of the Frog," which aims to highlight the impact of global warming and pollution on our amphibian friends. In honor of the cause, here's a rundown of some notable frog-themed foods (though nothing containing actual frog, that seemed a bit crass):

Freddo Frog - An Australian treat since the 1930s, this chocolate cartoon frog is made by Cadbury and comes in different flavors and fillings. Weird note: I bought an aquatic frog from the pet store when I was seventeen and named him Freddo, with no knowledge of the Australian candy connection. Guess it's just a good name for a frog. Freddo's still alive.

Haribo Frogs - the white, marshmallowy underbellies are my favorite part of these lime-flavored German gummies.

Frogaroni - frog-shaped pasta, in regular and spinach green.

Frog Cake - Little sponge cakes coated in fondant and decorated with froggy features are a specialty of the South Australian city of Adelaide.

Any other favorites?

What do you do if you happen to have a bountiful harvest of 24,000 peaches?

If you're BMF Sydney, you create a sculpture of a naked woman in the middle of Sydney, Australia. The sculpture is "Ella," the peachy interpretation of Ella Baché's new skin care line with the slogan, "Skin Good Enough To Eat." Whether you'd actually want to eat skin care products out of the bottles is up to you. Let's hope that BMF Sydney does something useful with those peaches afterwards.

[via: Neatorama]

What do you do if you're in the Australian outback and have a feral camel problem? You start a camel meat business, of course. That's what Garry Dann did. He started Territory Camel to help deal with the feral camels in the area, and he's even begun getting feral camels from other parts of Australia brought to his processing plant. This has the added benefit of employing large numbers of indigenous people.

Territory Camel mainly makes camel steaks and sausages. For now their products are sold only in Australia, though Mr. Dann is trying to get tier 1 accreditation from Australian Quarantine Inspection Service. That would allow him to pursue an export market, mainly to Middle Eastern Countrys where camel meat is more acceptable.

A spokesman for the company said that, while getting people to try the camel meat is a challenge, once the hurdle has been jumped the "yuck factor is dispelled". They say that camel meat actually tastes like beef, so much so that even experienced cattlemen can't tell the difference. Not only that, but the meat is also low in cholesterol. This sounds like another strange food on my list of things to try. Yum!

[Via ColdMud]

Not only did thieves in Australia steal 17 tons of ham from a warehouse in Sydney, they left a note on the wall that said "Thanks, Merry Christmas."

Ouch.

The ham was stolen from the Zammit Ham and Bacon Curers company via a hole the thieves cut in the wall. The ham was worth $100,000. No one knows how the crooks got 17 tons of ham out of there though. I'm guessing elves, or maybe a relative of The Grinch?

Two food recalls in one post (no waiting)!

Dairy State Foods has recalled their Minnie's Bake Shop Chocolate Chunk Cookies (7 oz.) because they might contain macadamia nuts, which could be dangerous for people who are allergic to nuts. The cookies went to Florida stores and have the UPC 400136148117 and a date of March 2008.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Yoplait has recalled several flavors of their yoghurt, including Yoplait vanilla, vanilla and banana, and peach and pear, as well as Elivae fig and honey, vanilla, and strawberry flavors. The yoghurt might have pieces of metal inside. (Note: not sure if this a worldwide recall or just in Australia, but the two news sources I found are ABC News in Australia and AdelaideNow.

I always feel weird about "taste testing" bottled waters because to me, all water tastes like...water. Sure there are subtle variations that are borne out of where the water originates, if it was bottled at the source, and even the type of packaging it's in, but to me, these are normally undetectable.

What I'm trying to say is you should most definitely take my "review" here with a trace amount of sodium.

I wasn't sure how to feel about Tasmanian Rain because it's touted as bottled rain water. Where I live, if you drink rain water, you'll probably erode the lining of your intestines (I live in Los Angeles). However, the Tasmanian Rain water is collected in Tasmania Australia, "The Edge of the World," where the air is the purest in world. Thats' quite a claim, but the promise is that the air has been scientifically proven to be the purest in the world because it crosses three oceans by the winds of the Antarctic and never touches the ground before it's collected.

Hey, if the Tasmanian Devil has that much energy, the water there must be good!

Our friends down under in Australia are enjoying some lovely summer weather, while many of us are still looking for a way to add another layer to our outfits without looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Watermelon is one of the iconic foods of summer and is something that, in addition to shorts and t-shirts, we're all looking forward to enjoying in a few months. And by "enjoying" it, we mean eating it, although not everyone shares our idea of what to do with a watermelon. In Australia this week, a world record for watermelon smashing was set by a melon picker in Queensland, who smashed open 40 watermelons in 60 seconds - with his head.

The watermelon smashing even is just one part of the biannual Water Melon Festival. Other highlights include water(melon) skiing and a largest watermelon contest. You can see a video clip of some of the highlights, including the watermelon speed-smashing, here.

Willy Volk at our sister site Gadling has some great ideas for what to do on Valentine's Day, especially if you are a chocolate lover. He has made a list of places that are featuring chocolate tours in various locations around the world, so if you happen to be anywhere near one of them, I highly recommend checking it out. One example:

London's Chocolate Ecstasy Tours offers 4-hour long tours (guided by a Chocolate Ecstasy Chocoholic Guide), through London's side streets and alleys. Participants sample chocolates, enjoy chocoholic chats, take a lavish hot chocolate break, enjoy special prices on the ultimate chocolate luxuries, and receive a goody bag!

If you don't find yourself in Boston, Australia, London, or any of the places he has named, phone around to your local Chocolatier and see if they are offering any special tours or events on Valentine's Day.

Ever working to improve their image and put their best foot forward with the public, McDonald's has introduced nine meals to its Australian menus that have all been given the seal of approval by the National Heart Foundation. It's an historic event, to be sure, since the company has never had their approval before and fast food is not known for being heart-healthy - or healthy in general, for that matter. The meals include salads, Chicken McNuggets and some hamburgers, but no french fries.

Critics say that the "the Heart Foundation should feel 'duped'" for going along with McDonald's "marketing ploy." While it is true that McDonald's is paying to get the NHF's approval - fees that go towards testing the food, according to the NHF - the organization is still placing their reputation on the line and has no reason not to support the fast food company if their meals meet the NHF's standards. And if some regular McDonald's eaters switch to healthier fare, that's a positive change whether it came from a "marketing ploy" or not.

I believe that I mentioned one of my favorite things - although I had quite a lot of "favorites" to be perfectly honest - from the Fancy Foods Show were the meat pies that I had at the Vili's Gourmet booth. Meat pies are a favorite Australian snack food, the sort of thing that you'll find at pubs, random takeaways and - of course - at any major sporting event. They exactly what they sound like, too: small pastries that are filled with a thick mixture of meat and gravy. It's important that the filling be thick enough not to run out all over the eater, since the pies are usually eaten by hand and they are best when topped of with a bit of tomato sauce (ketchup).

Today (January 26th) is Australia Day and one way that some of our friends down in summery Australia are celebrating is with Vegemite gelato.

The combination sounds slightly horrifying to anyone who doesn't already love Vegemite, the salty brewers' yeast paste that, like Marmite, is popular on toast in many parts of the world, but for those who enjoy its flavor, the combination is proving to be a popular seller for its creator. Gherardo Deflorian is from Italy and has a gelato shop, Gelateria Cremona, in Brisbane. Not a fan of Vegemite himself, he thought that the flavor would be unique, a little controversial and a bit more interesting than the same old flavors that everyone uses. He had to have his customers taste the gelato in progress, as he just couldn't stomach the concoction himself, but it has been met with positive feedback from gelato (and Vegemite) fans who say that "it reminds them of when they were little and they had Vegemite on toast with butter."