"edible" news and stories

You Southerners out there know about kudzu, but many of the rest of us have never heard of the stuff. It's an ornamental vine imported from Asia generations ago, in the 1930's to be precise, which has taken over many areas of the South. It has actually earned the nickname "the vine that ate the South." It overwhelms wherever it grows and covers up trees, homes, cars, telephone poles, and more.

Did you know it was also edible? I had heard this was so a few years ago, but since this was after I had finished my several year sojourn in rural Georgia I haven't had the chance to try it. I've wanted to quite a bit since one of my favorite hobbies is foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants.

I just read a great little article on eating kudzu. Kudzu is related to the pea and can be prepared in many ways. The young shoots are tender and tasty. They can be used in salads and cooked as greens like spinach. The young leaves can be treated like collard greens, the flowers can be used to make great jellies, and mature leaves can be fried like potato chips to make a crispy and tasty snack.

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Researchers at the USDA have developed an edible coating that will actually kill bacteria on fresh produce. It is intended to be an alternative to conventional or chemical produce washes that will keep the food just as fresh, if not fresher, and reduce the risk of food-borne illness that is associated with fresh produce. The coating is made of apple puree and oregano oil. The oregano oil is a natural antibacterial agent and did a better job at eliminating bacteria than other oils, while the apple puree helps the coating adhere to the fruit/vegetable and takes the edge off the oregano flavor. So far, it has only been tested on E. Coli, where the oregano has been shown to kill at least half of all present bacteria in under 3 minutes. The are planning on developing wrappers in other flavors, as well as targeting different bacteria in the future, including salmonella and listeria.

The products could be commercially available in as little as two years, but they are now being tested by some selected companies and stores.

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Millions of women love cream puffs and a good number of them wouldn't mind having a croquembouche - tower of cream puffs - at their wedding. Very few would actually want to be a croquembouche. Ukrainian pastry chef Valentyn Shtefano made his wife's wedding dress entirely out of cream puffs and caramelized sugar. It took over 2 months to make and used 1,500 puffs. Despite the fact that it appears to be heavy, the dress weighed only 20 pounds. Shtefano is a well-know figure in his town due to the elaborate desserts that he makes "in a place where cake is often layers of heavy cream, wafers and nuts or poppy seeds - more something to eat than to look at." His creations, like the dress, are both.

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You don't have to be gregarious or adventurous to start or be part of a community garden. If you're lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with an available spot of ground, say 80'x80', you have the beginnings of a great social experiment. Here in Boulder, this was inclusive to the development plans in my neighborhood so procuring growing space wasn't a problem. I thought getting people to sign up and rent plots (this wasn't my job) would be an issue. Not so. It was what should be grown that got thorny. Most wanted veggies and flowers. Some wanted only flowers and vice versa. In the end it was an even mix. We even had edible flowers: I ate carnation petals right from the plant, and later steeped in sherry. The point is, a typical 9-5 person doesn't have time to tend a large garden. When folks come together and each grow their specialty, we all get to cook the many varieties of squash, cabbages, onions, roots and shoots. I never cared for Zucchini but my neighbor three houses down traded me some zukes for a futures claim on my pumpkins. The zucchini bread was eaten in one sitting; she plans to make pumpkin bread next month. It may sound corney, so to speak, but growing food with people you didn't know really brings food into focus. At least that's been my experience.

Our garden's first year was a success. Nothing was poached and there was a healthy competitive nature to the venture. The only "failure" was the tomatoes. Hard to grow at altitude with minimal care. Other than that, if you have the opportunity, you might start here.

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For Mother's Day, See's Candies has restyled one of their signature boxes into an adorable pink and white purse with a beaded handle. It is packed with an assortment of truffles and other chocolates and topped off with a bow. In addition to selling the purse alone, See's also sells a larger Mother's Day Keepsake Collection, which includes the 10-ounce purse, an additional pound of assorted chocolates and a pink bag full of foil-covered chocolate hearts.

If you're interested in getting some other edible, purse-themed gifts for Mom, check out the selection of edible handbags that Luxist has picked out:

Dean and Deluca Sweet Couture
Eleni's Designer Handbags
Hand it to Mom Handbag Cheesecake
Choco Choco Truffle Handbags (which we've also mentioned here)
I Dream of Cake Purses
Caramel-Filled Purse