I am a big fan of my Baker's Edge pan and use it just about every time that I bake bar cookies or other treats I might ordinarily use a rectangular pan for, including brownies and cheesecake bars. The pan's unique design allows for more even cooking and a higher crust-to-center ratio for baked goods. Cooking for Engineers set out to scientifically test the pan in a side-by-side bake off with a 9"x13" rectangular pan. Their goal was to test the evenness of the cooking, as compared with the standard pan, and to see how the crustier batch appealed to tasters.

The Baker's Edge cooked very evenly and produced pieces with appealingly chewy edges (unlike the hard edges that can result in regular pans), but the brownies weren't quite as popular with center-piece lovers as the brownies from the larger, more traditional pan. A few batches later and C for E found that a slightly shorter baking time made the whole batch of Baker's Edge brownies just like center-pieces.

Their overall verdict was that the pan worked extremely well, with the only real drawback being that it was difficult to get out the first piece. Of course, as the chef, having a sample piece for yourself isn't such a bad thing, is it?

For his science experiment this year, a middle school student from Boca Raton, Florida decided that he would test the effects of energy drinks on blood sugar. He came up with the idea because the drinks are hugely popular with his friends who feel that the drinks give them a "boost" and was already familiar with blood sugar and testing it because his cousin is a diabetic. Lucas Peel's hypothesis was that the drinks with the greatest amount of sugar and caffeine would produce the greatest increase in blood sugar, giving the drinker a burst of energy.

Over the course of about a week, Lucas drank Red Bull, Rock Star, Amp and water, testing his blood sugar levels twice after each of the three times he tried each drink. He found that, contrary to his original theory, it was "the energy drinks with the least sugar [that] increased blood sugar level." Red Bull boosted blood sugar more than any of the other drinks.

Lucas says that he avoids energy drinks and hopes that his project will help some of his fellow students to realize that they are not a good replacement for a real breakfast.

This isn't the first time that a middle-school student has conducted a science project that attracts a far-ranging interest. Earlier this year, for example, a student in Tampa, FL tested samples of water from the toilets at fast food restaurants and compared it to the ice from the soda machines, only to discover that there were more bacteria in the soda machine than the toilet.

After green onions were identified as the source of contamination for an E. coli outbreak at several East Coast Taco Bells, the company not only recalled all the scallions at its 5,800 locations nationwide, but sent out samples of the rest of their food products for testing to ensure that no other foods were at risk. The tests have come back negative, leaving the green onions as the sole source for the bacteria.

Taco Bell has switched produce suppliers, but with 61 cases identified, including 48 hospitalizations and 7 cases of kidney failure, the company is not out of the woods yet. Lawsuits are already being filed on behalf of some of those who were victims of the contamination, and because most chain restaurants have indemnity agreements with their suppliers, the company will be the one held accountable in these cases.

The company is working to sanitize and reopen stores that closed as a result of the outbreak.

A blade coffee grinder, which is the standard for most home coffee drinkers, has a food processor-like blade that swings around and chops up coffee beans. The grinders are usually fairly inexpensive and do the job of grinding up beans faster than you could do it with a hammer, but they are not necessarily very efficient, nor do they come close to getting the coffee beans evenly ground. Burr grinders, which are more expensive but crush the beans instead of chopping them up, produce even grounds and will generate the most consistent flavor in coffee - not to mention that they offer a range of sizes (from powdery fine to coarse) that work with different types of coffee makers, including espresso machines and french presses.

The Wall Street Journal's catalog critic sat down and tested a number of burr grinders to see which ones performed the best. The less-than-satisfactory grinders included the Capresso Infinity burr grinder, The Krups Burr Coffee Mill and the Cuisinart Automatic Burr grinder. The top performer was the KitchenAid Proline Grinder ($200), which produced grounds to exacting specifications and stored them in a nice glass container before use to eliminate the possibility of static charge making grounds adhere to the side of the container, as they sometimes did with plastic container models. The model given the "best value" designation was the Solis Maestro Burr Grinder ($115), which performed perfectly, but had a plastic grounds container that could have a minim static charge. In fact, it is the grinder that I use and it always does an excellent job - even with dark-roasted, oily beans that can jam up some other grinders. The KitchenAid would make a great Christmas gift "for coffee geeks," but the Solis is probably the way to go in terms of both price and performance.

There can never be too may turkey taste tests or suggestions about different methods of cooking turkey before Thanksgiving, whether you are trying to choose the perfect bird, find the perfect temperature or narrow down your list of useful gadgets. After all, the holiday comes only once a year and anyone motivated enough to cook their own bird is going to want to do it right. In their quest for the perfect turkey, the Washington Post tested out several more expensive local brands against the ubiquitous Butterball. Their food section staff and chef Todd Gray got together and tasted four birds prepared by Chef Bryan Voltaggio of Charlie Palmer Steak (who shoots and plucks his own wild turkeys).

The favorite was the free range, all-natural turkey from Maple Lawn Farms, with moist and full flavored meat. In what came as something of a surprise to everyone, the ordinary Butterball came in second, pleasing taste buds with its familiar flavor even though it was a bit dry. The judges did not like the flavor of the fresh, free-range, organic, certified humanely raised and handled American Bronze heritage breed turkey from Ayrshire Farm or the fresh, natural Shady Brook Farms turkey.

Chef Voltaggio said he could see the difference in textures in the two mass produced birds (Shady Brook and Butterball) and would prefer to serve one of the other two brands. But the taste test here is a good reminder that it doesn't matter what you pay for the bird as long as your guests enjoy what you're serving

The Good Home Cookbook is a fantastic all-in-one type of cookbook. It has more than 1,000 recipes and covers just about classic American recipe that you can think of, from apple pie to New England Clam Chowder.

Now, you may be thinking that there are other cookbooks that tackle this very same topic, but there is something distinctly different about this book. Its value is in how the recipes were tested. The author/editor, chef Richard J Perry, recruited more than 700 families from all 50 states to test the recipes up to 10 times before revising any problems and putting them into the book. Using a recipe in the book is similar to using a highly rated recipe on a user-supported recipe website, except that you don't have to sort through anything by an index to find exactly what you want.

I can personally vouch for some of the recipes in this book, since I was one of the recipe-testers, as were a number of other food bloggers. I tested about six recipes, as well as several others after getting a copy of the finished book, and had good results with all of them. The instructions are concise and the dishes are often simple, yet flavorful. Some of my favorites included: sweet potato pie, cheese bread (a must-try if you get the book) and black walnut cake. Is it obvious I went with the baking recipes?

On the off-chance than any of you were testers as well, go ahead and note the recipes you tested in the comments and any links if you posted pictures on your blog!

After busily cleaning out the pantry, I discovered two open, but only partially used, containers that I didn't know I had. One was baking powder and one was baking soda. It's always useful to have extra on hand in case of a baking emergency, but I figured that it would be a good idea to test them to see if they still worked, since chemical leaveners can lose their potency over time for various reasons, including poor storage conditions.

The procedure for testing these two products is simple. Get out two small glasses or bowls and fill one with 3-4 tablespoons of white vinegar and fill the other with 3-4 tablespoons of room temperature water. Add about 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the bowl containing the vinegar and the same amount of baking powder to the water bowl. Each mixture should fizz up, with the soda/vinegar producing a bigger reaction. If they both work, mark the containers with the date and check them again in 6-12 months (if you haven't used them up by then) to make sure they're still active. And if they don't fizz up, you better stop by the store before the next time you want to whip up a batch of cookies.

A group of Swedish university students is taking part in a study that is recreating Morgan Spurlock's fast food experiment, Super Size Me, in laboratory conditions. Under the supervision of professor Fredrik Nyström, two groups of young medical school students are stuffing themselves with fast foods and avoiding exercise. All of the calories they eat must come from fast food, although they are allowed to make breakfast at home so long as it was "bacon-and-eggs based".

Nyström thought it would have been more difficult to find people willing to participate, but the students were more than eager. More men than women applied and the chosen were the most highly motivated, who were likely to stick to the 6,000 calories-a-day diet. All their food throughout the study would be paid for and they were provided with bus passes so they would not have to walk any more than necessary. The only control on the study was that the Swedish ethics board said the participants must be removed from the study if they increased their bodyweight by more than 15%.

The USDA announced this week that it will reduce the number of cattle tested for mad cow disease by 90 percent, the Associated Press reported. Agricultural Secretary Mike Johanns said Thursday that testing one percent of the 35 million cows slaughtered annually in the U.S. is more than what's necessary. The number of cattle tested on a daily basis will now fall from 1,000 to around 110. Current testing costs are approximately $1 million per week, according to the AP. "There is no significant BSE problem in the United States," Johanns said, "and after all of this surveillance, I am able to say there never was."

Good nutrition, with well-balanced meals and lots of fruits and vegetables every day is obviously the best way to help your kids perform their best on standardized tests, but students are now turning to sucking on peppermints before exams. 

The peppermint craze is based on findings by Professor of Psychology in West Virginia, Bryan Raudenbush, who found that the smell of peppermint oil is associated with improved performance in athletes. Raudenbush applied different scents to athletes on treadmills, piped scents into locker rooms and gyms, then studied athletes'' performance. Peppermint seemed to have distracted people from boredom and helped to make them feel more energetic. It works because the smell of peppermint increases blood flow. Cinnamon has the same effect.

Peppermint has been added to so-called "brain foods" that teachers have been asking parents to feed their children -- white grape juice, dark chocolate, peanuts, carbohydrates and protein-rich meat.

Back when I was in high school, all I remember is my parents feeding me fish at every meal before my big exams.

 

Canned tuna has been tested safe by the FDA. After hearing increasing warnings about the levels of mercury in seafoods - particularly canned tuna - the United States Tuna Foundation (USTF) has reported that Food and Drug Administration tests have proven that canned tuna contains less mercury than the national allowance. It is recommended that no more than 1 part per million (ppm) of mercury should be consumed daily, and the canned tuna tested averaged 0.12 ppm, approximately 8 times less than the limit for commercial fish. The USTF director, David Burney, said that the "FDA's latest findings about mercury levels in canned tuna should end the debate over whether canned tuna is a safe and healthy food for all Americans. No one is at risk from the minute amounts of mercury in any form of canned tuna."

Tuna is high in omega-3 fatty acids and is an excellent source of lean protein. It is also a good source of a variety of minerals and nutrients, including selenium, magnesium, potassium, niacin, folic acid, B1 and B6. The national dietary guidelines and organizations such as the American Heart Association advocate eating at least two servings of fish per week, and canned tuna is perhaps the most convenient way of having it.

Global health authorities say that there is currently no bird flu in the Western Hemisphere and the most likely way for it to enter the United States would be through birds smuggled in as pets or for cockfighting, or else from migratory birds, particularly ducks and geese. Nearly every chicken consumed in the US is raised here. Commercially bred chickens, including many "free range" birds, are raised inside giant airplane-hangar sized complexes and almost never see the light of day. Outdoor-raised chickens are usually kept away from wild birds with netting. The birds that are most at risk are unconfined birds and home raised birds, which may mingle with wild or migratory birds that carry the disease.

Almost all US chicken farmers have joined a program to test chicken flocks for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, which has already killed millions of birds in Asia and 76 humans. The producers who have joined the USDA's program - under which chickens from every flock will be tested approximately two weeks before slaughter - account for 90% of the US chicken production. Should an infection be detected, the flock will be destroyed and all flocks in a two mile radius will be held for further testing. State and national officials strongly recommend that even privately raised birds be brought in for testing on a regular basis.