Author Archives: Ed

A Brief History of Cheese

Found by on Friday, 20th May 2011
Brain Pickings
» Brain Pickings

I've wracked my brain to think of a better title than "A Brief History of Cheese". I don't think there is one.

The average American eats some 33 pounds of cheese per year, up from under 22 pounds in 1954. Cheese comes in some 2,000 varieties and has been around for some 4,000 years. The Science and Art of Cheese, a new microdocumentary from KQED, explores the rich and nuanced spectrum of this cultural fixation, from unraveling the secrets of cheese artisans, who hone the aesthetic and sensory attributes of fermented blocks of milk, to scientists who stick feta in the MRI in order to reduce its salt content without changing its texture.

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The Lure of the Laksa

Found by on Thursday, 17th February 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
» Sydney Morning Herald
I'm reliably informed by a friend from Sydney that laksa has now replaced spaghetti bolognese as the national dish. And about time too!
“There's nothing like a laksa to divide opinions. Whether it's the types of noodles used, the heat in the sambal served on top or the use of coconut milk versus cow's milk, it is one of those dishes guaranteed to elicit a passionate and varied response from diners. A noodle soup originating from Malaysia and Singapore, laksa has a number of regional variations but it is the rich, coconut flavoured curry laksa that is most commonly served in Australia.”
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If Food Be The Food Of Love…

Found by on Saturday, 12th February 2011
The Guardian
» The Guardian
A bit of voodoo gastronomy for Valentine’s Day.
“The pinky goo of Valentine’s Day draws near, as we are reminded relentlessly from various quarters. “Chef X has prepared a unique Valentine’s menu using naughty ingredient Y.” “New research reveals turnips are the vegetable of love, says Turnip Marketing Board.” Sainsbury’s launches heart-shaped cucumber. Nonsense, all of it, but it got me thinking about aphrodisiacs, those comestibles reputed to license roving hands and cause people to leap into bed together with gay (and straight) abandon.”
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Wake and bake

Found by on Thursday, 10th February 2011
The Telegraph
» The Telegraph
You can keep your automatic bread maker – this is my kind of alarm clock!
“Wake up and smell the bacon – with an alarm clock that allows you to do just that. This new alarm clock wakes you up with the smell of freshly cooked bacon. Wake n Bacon is the only alarm clock that not only wakes you up but also cooks you breakfast in bed.”
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Does This Rabbit Taste Like Tires?

Found by on Tuesday, 8th February 2011
Slate
» Slate
Road pizza, YUM!
“It really was a good-looking rabbit. Shiny coat, sleek body, glassy eyes – only its mangled back leg hinted at its violent cause of death. My husband Peter and I had come across this rabbit on a trip to a bird sanctuary in Gridley, Calif. It was lying in the middle of a narrow country road, stretched stiffly across the pavement; Peter swerved slightly to avoid its body.”
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Pepperoni: On Top

Found by on Wednesday, 2nd February 2011
New York Times
» New York Times
Food fetishists talk of authenticity but rarely mention where ‘authentic’ Italian food actually comes from. Tomatoes – South America. Pasta – Asia. Pizza – the Levant!
“It’s not Italian, so some chefs have shunned it. Across the United States, artisanal pizza joints are opening faster than Natalie Portman movies. But inside those imported ovens, pepperoni – by far America’s most popular pizza topping – is as rare as a black swan. In these rarefied, wood-fired precincts, pizzas are draped with hot soppressata and salami piccante, and spicy pizza alla diavola is popular. At Boot and Shoe Service in Oakland, Calif., there is local-leek-and-potato pizza. At Paulie Gee’s in Brooklyn, dried cherry and orange blossom honey pizza. At Motorino in the East Village, brussels sprouts and pancetta. But pepperoni pizza? Geddoutahere!”
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Charcuterie project goes viral

Found by on Friday, 28th January 2011
Washington Post
» Washington Post
“Charcutepalooza! Shar-coo-teh-pah-LOOZ-ah. The name practically rolls off the tongue while you consider all it might entail. Cured meat and good times. A group meat-and-greet. A concert to salute salumi. Twitter and food blogger pals Cathy Barrow and Kim Foster are not sure about that last concept, but it’s early yet. Their “year of meat” project is less than six weeks old, and developments are unfolding daily. But it’s already a prime example of new culinary education where pros don’t lead the pack, newbies aren’t afraid to join in and no classroom time is required.”
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Ignore Expiration Dates

Found by on Friday, 28th January 2011
Slate
» Slate
“There’s a filet mignon in my fridge that expired four days ago, but it seems OK to me. I take a hesitant whiff and detect no putrid odor of rotting flesh, no oozing, fetid cow juice – just the full-bodied aroma of well-aged meat. A feast for one; I retrieve my frying pan. This is not an isolated experiment or a sad symptom of my radical frugality. With a spirit of teenage rebellion, I disavow any regard for expiration dates.”
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Recipe Redux: Rib Roast of Beef, 1966

Found by on Friday, 28th January 2011
New York Times
» New York Times
Mmmmm, beef!
“Cooking beef to the right doneness, especially a wildly expensive cut like rib roast, while also tending to guests, ranks with kitchen anxieties like unmolding a tarte Tatin or killing a lobster. But Ann Seranne, a food consultant and the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, solved this problem back in the 1960s. Craig Claiborne wrote that her technique “is so basic, so easily applied and so eminently satisfactory in its results, the astonishing thing is it is not universally known.” As it still isn’t, I will reprint it here once more. Please tell all your friends the news, so that rib roast can finally have its no-knead-bread moment.”
Nice!
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Review of Hawksmoor

Found by on Friday, 28th January 2011
the grumbling gourmet
» the grumbling gourmet
“Ok, so rocking up at ten on a Friday night after a few lagers wasn’t going to be the best introduction to the meaty joy that should be a night at Hawksmoor but, having been to a recent and successful Steak Club at their older brother in Liverpool Street, at least one of the gang knew what to expect.
We went expecting the finest burgers, perfect post pub fodder, and were drooling at the description of the Third Burger, a rotating option aside their classic hamburger and the Kimchi Burger, a spicy Korean melange attracting Marmite-like attention from the reviewing community. This month’s Third Burger was enthusiastically sold to us by our bubbly server, and promised a topping of pulled pork rib topping the Longhorn and bone marrow patty, enthusiastically moulded from the best the Ginger Pig has to offer.”
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