After a long, hard workout, women just want to settle down to a nice refreshing salad and a glass of vodka. That's the scene that one vodka manufacturer in Russia is trying to sell to the upwardly mobile ladies of the country. The vodka, which comes in lime, vanilla, almond and original flavors, is being heavily marketed to women, in an attempt to convince them that they deserve a vodka designed especially for them.

This is concerning Russian doctors, as alcoholism is rampant in Russian. There are 2.5 million registered alcoholics in the country, but experts estimate that the real number of alcoholics in that country is closer to 10 percent of the nation's population. So far, sales of the Ladies Vodka have been brisk, but what does that mean for the health of that country's women? I guess when it comes to sales and marketing, the bottom line is always more important than the health line.

[via The Morning News]

I was just reading about a survey done by a U.K. group called the Food Commission. The group looked at several products that were fruit flavored (they actually concentrated on strawberry flavored foods) to see what the actual fruit content was. Well, it wasn't so great. Only about 40% of the products had any fruit in them at all, and those that did only had minimal amounts.

The Food Commission is upset. They say that the products which have no fruit but are flavored and have that fruit pictured all over the packaging are misleading consumers, at the very least. But in this day and age, with all the studies that have been done and all the information available, can anyone really claim to not know what they're eating? Maybe companies can be misleading on packaging, but they can't outright lie on the label information (though they do find tricky ways around some information).

I just assume that big corporations are lying to me. I assume that anything in a box or other packaging has very little nutrition, especially real fruit. If a food says it's fruit flavored and has that picture on the front, you still need to read the ingredient label to know what you're really eating. I feel like people should take charge of their own consumption. Read the label. Then if you still eat it, at least you know what you're getting.

There are a lot of flavored waters marketed to kids on the grounds that they are tastier than plain milk or water, but have less sugar than juice or soda. Parents can give heir kids one of the usually colorful drinks and will not have to worry that they are actually drinking it at lunchtime in place of a soda from the vending machine. This week, the Wall Street Journal held a taste test with groups of both adults and children to see if the drinks' taste held up to their marketing hype.

Aroma Water was the must adult-oriented of the four brands, with the flavors (which are actually scents) of either lemon lime or mandarin orange embedded into the bottle cap, not the water itself. 90% of taste actually comes from smell, so there is no flavoring added to the water and yet it still tastes flavored. These were "subtle, natural and refreshing. Waddajuice is a brand of juice diluted with water, just as the name implies. It comes in white grape and apple and has no added sugar. It "retains enough flavor that kids may thing it is the real thing." Crayola Color Coolerz! are waters sweetened with sucralose (Splenda) that are "very tart, extremely sweet and neon-colored." Flavors include Purple Pizazz, Berry Blue and Screamin' Green. Wild Waters are naturally sweetened waters that have minerals and vitamins added for an extra nutritional boost. Flavors include Flippin' Fruit Punch, Groovin' Grape, Twistin' Tropical Punch and Rippin' Raz Lemonade and tasters placed them squarely between Waddajuice and Crayola in terms of sweetness.

Waddajuice and Wild Waters are the best choice for kids as they are sweeter than Aroma Water, which adults will probably enjoy, and have no artificial ingredients.

The idea of a flavored wrap isn't too unusual. Spinach and sun-dried tomato wraps, both of which are little more than colorful flour tortillas, have been popular for quite some time, perhaps even gaining in popularity as people seem to opt for soft tacos over the crunchy variety. But Old El Paso is launching some flavored hard taco shells in an attempt to capture some new interest in the crunchy shells. The shells come in Salsa and Nacho flavors and are designed with a slightly flat bottom that allows them to stand upright on their own, so they're easier to fill and serve.

Plain corn and flour tortillas will still be my favorites, but if you really like crunchy shells, this could be a nice chage from tradition.

Compound butter is butter that has a flavor, or additional ingredient(s) added to it. For example, I can think of several restaurants that serve garlic butter with dinner rolls (often barbecue restaurants), which is a compound butter. They are also sometimes simply called "herb butter," though they can be sweet or savory.

Compound butters are very easy to make and can have any number of flavors blended into them. The first step is softening the butter to room temperature. Once it is soft, the desired ingredients can be added . Herbs and spices are the most common because they are the easiest things to use, but just about any ingredient can be added. Lemon zest and dill make a great compound butter to "finish" a fish dish. Grated parmesan cheese, garlic and a bit of parsley make a wonderful spread for dinner rolls. If you choose to use cooked additions, like roasted garlic, make sure it is entirely cooled before mixing in, or the butter will separate. Use savory butters to top steaks, corn on the cob or any other dish you think needs a bit of extra flavor.

For sweet butters, you can add in any combination of spices, too. Pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon butters bake wonderful spreads for toast or waffles. You can also stir in a little bit of jam to make a fruity butter or maple syrup for a deliciously sweet addition to oatmeal. My favorite compound butter is served by Bill Granger in his Sydney restaurants: honeycomb butter, which has bits of smashed honey candies stirred in.

To store, simply return the mixed butter to the fridge to firm it back up. If you prefer to be able to slice your butter, shape it into a log on a piece of wax paper before refrigerating.