One of the best gastronomic experiences is the gooey rich creaminess of caramel slowly melting on one's palate. Over the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of products, such as Poco Dolce's burnt caramel toffee, adding salt into the caramel equation. A recent New York Times article explains how this extraordinarily sweet and savory combo went from elite chichi Parisian pastry shops to the American mass-market (stores such as Wal-Mart) and the soon-to-be Obama White House.
The article suggests that the financial success of this exquisite pair is due to a fortunate profitable trend cycle. Parisian pastry chefs initiated American chefs' obsession with the caramel-sea salt blend. Then, it ended up in specialty food magazines and food shows. Soon enough, chain restaurants, like the Cheesecake Factory, began selling them. Finally, Wal-Mart picked up on the trend. Of course, it would not have caught on so quickly if it were not for Americans' long-established taste for salty mixed with sweet, a flavor picked up gracias to dulce de luche from South America and Mexico.
As fellow blog Salt News states, the NY Times focuses on the financial and cultural success of the caramel-salt mix without ever delving into the gastronomic sensations it elicits. The title of the article, "How Caramel Developed a Taste for Salt," is misleading since there is never any substantial information explaining how this caramel concoction developed in small villages in the region of Brittany in France. I'm left wondering whether or not caramel indeed activates a desire for salt. Instead, the article gets carried away with Obama's love for salty caramel delights as though it would be hard to imagine. Could you blame him?
A good friend of mine once spilled a gallon of milk in his car. If that ever happens to you, head directly to the car wash. Do not stop on the way. Once that milk smell sets in, it never goes away and it is not pleasant. According to the New York Times, milk spilling has become a big problem due to a change in the classic milk carton.
Wal-Mart and Costco are rolling out new milk jugs. The difference is that the new jugs are square and made of recyclable plastics. This makes them stack-able and compact in trucks and on shelves. These jugs are less expensive because of easier shipping and the elimination of milk crates.
The downside of the new jugs is that it is taking consumers some time to get used to them. People are having difficulty not spilling milk during the pour since there is no spout. Sam's Club has even been offering in-store classes on how to pour from the new jugs. I suppose you could always transfer your milk to a glass container with a spout if it were that much of a problem.
This is probably (hopefully) the only time you'll see the words "straws" and "penis" in the same story here at Slashfood.
The mom of a 3 year-old Kentucky is upset at Wal-Mart for selling what she says are obscene straws. Some of the straws in the package (ahem) she bought are shaped like...well, a penis. Or so she thinks. I'm not sure if I would have thought that at first, especially since the two straws in question are mixed in with other random shaped straws.
So, Slashfoodies, what do you think? Does the mom have grounds to be mad about the straws, or is it just a fun shape (like a rocket ship!) and she's seeing what she wants to see in them?
And no, this isn't connected to the massive recall announced recently by United Food Group. This is a whole new possible E. coli contamination. Weeeeeeeee!
Tyson Fresh Meats has recalled 40,000 pounds of ground beef that was shipped to Wal-Mart stores in 12 states. The states include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. There have been no reports of illness, but test results came back positive.
This is happening so much now that I should probably put this under our "Trend" category.
A few months ago Nick mentioned that Fizzy Fruit may be introduced into some schools. Well many years before it made the news I tried my hand at making my own fizzy fruit at home. I had heard about the idea a few years earlier from people in the brewing industry when I was an assistant brewer during grad school in Seattle. It's pretty easy to do. I used an empty soda syrup keg, filled it with assorted fruit, added CO2 under pressure, and chilled it overnight. This carbonated the fruit, the same way soda is carbonated, so that it fizzed with tiny bubbles like champagne when you ate it.
Looking back, it was fellow blogger Joe D who taste tested that first batch with me in the winter of 1996/1997. Personally I didn't think much of most of the fruit. They all tasted good, and the fizz was fun, but except for the grapes, the fizz was more annoying than anything else. With the grapes it was actually enjoyable. I guess because they were small, sweet and tart, and you could pop whole ones in your mouth. I never thought the idea was going to go anywhere, but I guess it has.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be getting a little overzealous in its push to include more organic products on its shelves, according to the Cornucopia Institute. The group, which represents small farmers recently filed a complaint with the USDA alleging that the megadiscounter had falsely labeled some products as organic.
Cornucopia alleges that several Wal-Mart stores mislabeled Stonyfield Farm all-natural yogurt as organic. It also claims that nonorganic items like tofu and juice in a cooler used for organic produce. Wal-mart has countered these claims by noting that one of Cornucopia's founders, Mark Kastel, used to work for Organic Valley, a national farming cooperative that competes with several of the discounter's suppliers.
I'm not really a big buyer of organics and I'm not sure what to make of this case. I am pretty certain that I'd never buy anything labeled organic at Wal-Mart.
Wal-mart opened their first store in
Shen Zhen, China 10 years ago. Now, the retailing behemoth
is eying India, with speculation that a store will be open within a year or two.
Opponents to what China called "the wolf," say that Wal-mart will, as is always the accusation with the
store, crush healthy competition and increase unemployment, where India is already "struggling to feed and house
its one billion citizens." However, proponents believe that India will embrace Wal-mart, as the retailer will do
its best to adapt to local tastes by stocking popular spices and food items. Hm...bulk curry? Ready-made ghee? We'll
see...
Wal-Mart is already the number one seller of
organic milk, but in the next few weeks, the retail giant plans to increase its selection of organic products,
according to a recent
Reuters article. Wal-Mart's head of dry grocery told Reuters that customers can expect the amount of organic
offerings at Wal-Mart to soon double. While the stated goal is to offer organic products at a low price, some worry
that the enormous quantities required by a retailer like Wal-Mart may continue to push organic suppliers and lawmakers
to weaken organic standards. A New York Times article explains,
citing both the Organic Trade Association and the Organic Consumers Association.
A mouse
was found in a UK ready-made meal. To be more specific, only the head of the rodent was actually in the meal
and the rest of the body was presumably lost during processing. After purchasing the microwaveable curry at an
Asada market in England, the pregnant Tricia Rankin only ate two bites before she spotted the head. She told
reporters that she threw up all night as a result of the incident. The company, which is owned by Wal-Mart, has issued
an apology to the woman and assured her that they would issue "an appropriate amount of compensation" after
the product has been tested. I wonder if she will receive more "compensation" if they find other bits of the
mouse in the meal. As far as value per piece, I strongly feel that the head of the mouse is the most traumatic bit to
encounter, followed by the tail.
Last year, retail giant Wal-Mart pulled Splenda brand products from its shelves and began to test market a product
called Altern. Altern is Wal-Mart's own brand of the artificial sweetener sucralose. According to CNN, a spokesperson
for Wal-Mart revealed that the company is planning to have all of its supercenters fully stocked with Altern by the end
of this month, while a spokesperson from Tate & Lyle, the company that distributes Splenda, issued a statement
assuring investors that this new product would have no effect on its own sucralose division.
Despite the T&L assurance, it seems likely that Splenda would experience some drop off in direct-to-consumer
sales as Wal-Mart replaces its products. Altern's release should not have an effect on the use of Splenda by
food and drink manufacturers, however.
Wal-Mart has taken over just about every other market, and now they are going after hard liquor. Wal-Mart's combo of cheap prices and large quantities has proved wildly popular in other areas, but thus far their liquor sales have been small, in part because the company itself isn't exactly booze-friendly. Apparently Wal-Mart forbids alcohol consumption at company events (talk about a boring Christmas party) and Wal-Mart execs can't expense booze. Twenty-four states allow supermarkets to sell hard liquor, but the rules vary from state to state and sometimes stores must close off aisles or sections during hours when alcohol sales aren't allowed. Since the company now sells more and more groceries and wants to be competitive with other companies like Costco, liquor is the next step (plus it has a nice little markup, perfect for boosting Wal-Mart's slightly flagging growth). Now that Wal-Mart's doors are officially more open to liquor, distributors will be eager to get their products in Wal-Mart stores. The good news, is of course, lower prices, while the bad news is the inevitable squeeze that Wal-Mart's monstrous shopping might puts on small independent liquor stores.
This is probably (hopefully) the only time you'll see the words "straws" and "penis" in the same story here at Slashfood.
And no, this isn't connected to the massive 
Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven 
A few months ago Nick mentioned that 
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be getting a little overzealous in its push to include more organic products on its shelves, according to the 
A 
10 More Dirty Restaurant Tricks
5 Things You Didn't Know About Turducken
10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hate
