"eat" news and stories

The fork, once known as a split spoon, is a vital eating utensil for just about everyone these days. The implement originated sometime during the early Middle Ages, caught on in Italy in the 11th century and gradually spread across Europe, heading first to France and then to Spain, over the next few centuries.

When they first came into use, it was considered very rude to eat from them and spoons, knives and fingers were the implements of choice for most diners. These days, there are few foods that cannot be eaten with the aid of a fork and it would be considered quite rude to resort to using fingers in most dining situations. Culinary etiquette experts offer a few pearls of wisdom on what foods are appropriate to eat with your hands (just in case one of these experts happens to show up the next time you're having a meal out).The foods you can eat by hand are:

• Bread: break slices of bread, rolls and muffins in half or into small pieces by hand before buttering.
• Bacon: the crispy American style can be picked up and eaten. The more ham-like Canadian bacon should be cut.
• Finger foods/meals: Follow the cue of your host. If finger meals are offered on a platter, place them on your plate before putting them into your mouth. Make sure a napkin is nearby.
• Foods that are meant to be eaten by hand include: corn on the cob, ribs, lobster, clams and oysters, chicken wings, sandwiches, certain fruits, olives, celery, dry cakes and cookies.

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Every year, over $20 billion dollars is spent on snack foods in the US, so it is easy to see why the snack industry is so interested in trying to find the next big product - or better yet, the next big flavor. Most snack products have been around for a long time and are met with only slight variations. Popcorn is healthier or more indulgent and cookies can be chewy or crispy. The flavors, however, can be used across the board in all different types of snack foods. Cheddar, for example, is a very American flavor and everything from chips to popcorn to aerosol "cheeses" come in cheddar flavor, making it one of the most popular snack flavors around.

In their efforts to come up with the "next cheddar" the snack industry uses snackologists, who observe the snacking habits of their target audience "to identify flavors the public will like and then find ways to package those flavors into irresistible morsels." A lot of research is done at restaurants, where trends are introduced to the mainstream. Chipotle and jalapeno were some of the most recent snack flavors to spring from the restaurant industry and snackologists are now pondering whether teriyaki, curry and other Asian flavors can make it into the US snack mainstream successfully. These masters of munching aren't going to reveal anything more specific just yet, but you'll know who the idea came from the ext time you see the word "New!" emblazoned on bags in the snack aisle.

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A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in conjunction with the University of California, Davis, has uncovered a difference in the way that the eating habits of men and women are impacted by body image.

When shown images of "ideal-bodied people" of their own gender, young men and women often changed their eating habits depending on how they perceived their own body in relation to the image shown. If they were insecure about their bodies, some women would eat less after seeing the image, while some men would eat more. The food used in the study was pretzels, which the participants were given free access to during another activity.

The body images that the women saw were taken from magazines like Cosmo, Vogue, Shape and Elle. The men's images came from fitness magazines, including Men's Health, Men's Fitness and Muscle & Fitness. The participants were all of average build.

The question that remains is what effect viewing these images has in the long run and whether it contributes to the development of eating disorders.

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For years, doctors, nutritionists and even parents have told people that the key to getting more satisfaction from your food is to eat more slowly. Not only does this allow you to actually enjoy the flavors in your meal, but it was always said to give the brain time to recognize the fact that it was no longer hungry, which would in turn cause you to stop eating. Up until recently, there was no clinical evidence to support that decision.

Dr. Kathleen Melanson, of the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, changed all that by conducting a study on college age women to see how much different styles of eating affected their calorie intake. All the women were given a bowl of pasta with tomato and vegetable sauce after eating a 400-calorie breakfast and fasting for four hours. One group of women was given a large spoon and told to eat as quickly as possible, not pausing between bites. The other group was given a small spoon and told to pause in between each bite, setting down the spoon and chewing 15-20 times. The fast eaters ate 646 calories in 9 minutes, while the slower eaters ate only 579 calories in 29 minutes. The slower eaters also reported feeling fuller, longer.

Melanson estimates that eating slowly could reduce the number of calories a person eats by about 210 per day.

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Artie's Deli in New York held its annual turkey-eating contest last Wednesday, just before Thanksgiving. Each contestant was given a fully-cooked 12-pound turkey and the goal was to see who could eat the most in 12 minutes. Competitive eating champion Pat Bertoletti walked away from his competition, eating a full pound more meat than his closest rival and reaching a total of 4.8 pounds. Competitive eating fans might be surprised to know that Sonya Thomas, aka the black widow and the defending turkey-eating champ, was also competing. Unfortunately, she was disqualified after getting so much turkey into her mouth that she was unable to swallow. Bertoletti, for his part, said that he had a specific strategy that helped him. He started with the white meat because it was harder to chew, so that his jaw would have enough energy to get through it before moving onto the softer, moister dark meat. The runners up included Tim Janus (3.8 lbs), Arturo Rios (2.8 lbs) and Crazy Legs Conti (2.38 lbs).

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