"testing" news and stories

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!

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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%.

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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.