"traditional foods" news and stories

The newest food stuff to come under scrutiny isn't a member of the fast-food circuit but rather of Native American culture: fry bread. This doughy hole-less puff is best centered under a helping of chili, soaking in juices to be eaten by the finger-pluck-full.

But according to Health magazine's June 29 report, it's among the 50 fattiest foods in the country, reports Argus Leader, a local newspaper of Sioux Falls South Dakota, whose large Native American population named fry bread the state bread in 2005. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that one slice of fry bread the size of a large paper plate has about 25 grams of fat," the magazine's report notes. And a recent episode of fitness show "Losing it with Jillian" depicts the bread as "poisonous," the Leader reports.

I realize that it is now January 3rd, which might be too late to be writing about all those lucky New Year foods. However, I've really been enjoying reading about all the things that people prepared for themselves to ensure an auspicious New Year and thought I might share a couple that I particularly liked with you all.

The video you see above is from Chris and Michelle, who decided to make pork chops and sauerkraut to commemorate their New Year (an Italian tradition). They also made some delicious-looking mashed potatoes and homemade applesauce (I love it when people make their own applesauce, as it is just so easy and so much better than the stuff that comes out of the jar). The sauerkraut song that they used as background music is also totally infectious.

Over at the Perfect Pantry, Lydia posted a recipe from Arlo, one of her readers, for Boullets, which is a New Year's meatball soup, traditional to Arlo's Cree and Metis roots. It consists of a large pot of meatballs (the size depends entirely on you) in a broth. The post explains that there is no definitive recipe for this dish, that it changes depending on who is making it. It was always made in large quantities for the New Year, so that every visitor who stopped by could be welcomed and fed.

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In California, there is a small, but growing debate developing over rice cakes - not the dry, crispy cakes that are sold in packages in the grocery store, but traditional Vietnamese rice cakes that consist of sticky rice, filled with seasoned pork and wrapped in a banana leaf. The problem is that the restaurants and shops that sell them are being made to comply with state food safety regulations that go against the way that these buns are normally served. Ken Trieu, whose family has been making and selling the cakes in San Jose for two decades, says that the cakes should be at room temperature and can remain that way for two days. The health department says that the cakes can only remain out at room temperature for 2-4 hours, or need to be in a hot or cold (less than 41F or more than 135F) environment to prevent bacterial growth. Health analyses have shown that the cakes are "potentially hazardous'' at room temperature, as are several other similar rice and pork pairings.

At the moment, vendors are trying to get the cakes, and other traditional foods, re-tested for safety.

The real question is whether you, the consumer, think that foods that are served in a slightly less than traditional manner are losing something in terms of quality or flavor or if the tradeoff for safety is worth a compromise.

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