"iron" news and stories

A recall of Coca-Cola brand soft drinks in Japan, originally issued last week, has been broadened to include an estimated 2.4 million bottles, according to BeverageDaily.com. Defective equipment at Japanese factory is believe to be responsible for iron powder in some bottles. Coca-Cola says that the iron powder does not present a health concern, according to a Forbes article. The number of drinks involved in the recall has risen from six to 27 and includes Coca-Cola and Fanta brands as well as local beverages including Qoo and Aquarius, Beverage Daily reported. MSN also reports on the initial recall.

Like so many other people, I've been using my nonstick frying pans for many years now, in addition to my other pots and pans. With cancer concerns relating to the toxic perfluorochemicals coming to light, it's time for some new cookware. After all, the EPA is only "phasing out" these chemicals to avoid shutting down very large portions of very large companies. PFOA has been shown to cause cancer and, like mercury and lead, build up in the body over time, so there is no reason to continue our exposure to it. 

I know Christmas must be coming when I break out one of the few unitaskers in my kitchen: the VillaWare Prego Pizzelle Baker. I'm sure if I thought hard enough I could come up with something else to make with this small waffle iron (small waffles, maybe?). Last weekend I devoted an entire afternoon to cranking out dozens and dozens of pizzelles--thin, crisp wafers studded with fennel seeds. Up until now, I'd used the recipe from the instruction manual that came with the iron, but since I wanted to make a larger batch to give to friends, I decided to try the pizzelle recipe from Mario Batali's Holiday Food. The batter is a simple combination of eggs, flour, sugar, oil, baking powder and fennel seeds.

All in all, I turned about roughly five dozen pizzelles, two at a time. Since the iron took several minutes to reheat between batches, it was slow going. Still, I kept reminding myself that it could be slower, I could be using the single-pizzelle stovetop model pictured in Mario's book. I also recently noticed that VillaWare now makes a four-pizzelle iron. I don't know that I can justify buying another one though.

[Photo Nick Vagnoni]