Dancing Spoon

Red Wine (Benefits) in a Pill?

Nutrition Wine &

From Morning Edition, NPR, 11.15.07
Red wine grapes contain a component called resveratrol.  Several research studies published last year found that mice that were fed this component lived longer. Since then sales of red wine supplements has grown more that 300 percent, according to NPR. The article Red Wine Pills: Buyer Beware, by Allison Aubrey, looks into these supplements:

Since there's no official recommended dose for resveratrol and no government regulation of the supplement, distributors are free to sell and say just about anything about their products. The Food and Drug Administration doesn't step in unless there are reports of harm.

There are intriguing findings in the animal studies of resveratrol, showing the compound has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. "The challenge is, of course, that we don't have any good clinical trials — in other words, human trials," says Dr. Brent Bauer, who specializes in alternative and complementary medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

Read and listen to the article on NPR: Red Wine Pills: Buyer Beware

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Ducking a Foie Gras Ban

Cooks The Media

by J. Michael Wheeler
Chicago Restaurants Duck a Foie Gras Ban
From All Things Considered, National Public Radio

NPR (8.22.07) reports that “ Chicago's foie gras ban is one year old, but in spite of the law, restaurants are still serving it.”

Some get around the ban by "giving it away for free" (with an $18 salad). Other restaurants don't have it on the menu, but will serve it if you ask (a local French chef calls them "duck-easies" — like speak-easies).

It's among a series of laws in Chicago that seek to change behavior but are rarely enforced.

Adriene Hill of Chicago Public Radio reports. Click here to listen to the story on NPR.org 

Buffalo Making a Comeback at the Table

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler 
From the New York Times 8.15.07

The New York Times reports that on “fancy china and in hot dog rolls and burger buns, buffalo is finally coming of age as an alternative red meat.” Part of the reason, the Times reports, is that buffalo is more healthful than beef. Compared to beef, it has fewer calories, less total fat, and more of the kind of essential fatty acids that some research suggests is good. It is also high in iron.

As the market for buffalo meat increases, a controversy is developing in the finishing of the animals. Traditionally, the animals have eaten grass their entire lives while many former cattle ranchers lean towards grain finishing. David Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association, is quoted in the article:

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Acquired

News Wine

by David Haley

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marchese Piero Antinori of Italy To Acquire Winery
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (www.cask23.com), one of the world's most highly regarded winery estates and currently owned by the Winiarski family, is being acquired by the joint venture partnership of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates of Washington State (Ste-Michelle.com) and Marchese Piero Antinori of Italy (Antinori). 

The sale includes the estate's extraordinary brand, spectacular Napa Valley winery, and its signature Napa Valley estate vineyards, S.L.V. and Fay. The Winiarski family looks forward to continued grape growing and will retain its Arcadia property to furnish grapes for the winery's estate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Olive Oil Fraud

Cooks The Media

by J. Michael Wheeler
EVOO it ain't
From All Things Considered, National Public Radio

NPR (8.7.07) reports that “Italian extra-virgin olive oil has become so lucrative that adulterated olive oil has become the biggest source of agricultural fraud problems in the European Union.”

Some oil labeled "extra-virgin" is diluted with cheaper olive oils or other vegetable oils. In some cases, lampante, or "lamp oil," which is made from spoiled olives fallen from trees, is used, even though it can't legally be sold as food. One fraud ring is accused of coloring low-grade soy oil and canola oil with industrial chlorophyll, and flavoring it with beta-carotene.

New Yorker contributor Tom Mueller near Genova, Italy, talks with Michele Norris about fraud in the olive oil industry. Click here to listen to the story on NPR.org 

A Better Ice Cube?

News Food

A Better Ice Cube?

If Americans will buy their water in a bottle, how about their ice cubes? Miami-based WBOA is betting on it. Bottled water is a $10 billion business in the U.S. and WBOA thinks its Ice Rocks can tap into the flow.

Their web site tells us “ICE ROCKS are secured ice cubes made from spring water and ready to be frozen. These cubes, to be consumed within two (2) years, are hermetically packaged in disposable, recyclable containers, providing the user with a complete guarantee with regard to hygiene and safety, while respecting the environment.”

Guaranteed fresh and uncontaminated from their own springs, WBOA intends to establish its secured ice cubes as a new advertising tool. This new concept will be proposed to large advertising agencies representing leading renowned brands.

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Spice My Skewer

News Food

Spice My Skewer

Flavor from the inside out? Seattle-based Callison is helping you perk up your kabobs by flavoring your cooking skewers. Seasoned Skewers use birch for their skewers, rather than the usual bamboo, allowing them to transfer flavor from the inside!

Their web site tells us:

“Seasoned Skewers started with a simple, but revolutionary, idea: what if we added flavor to our food from the inside out? In a world of marinades, sauces and rubs, flavor just doesn’t make it all the way inside. But what if the sweet tang of your barbecue chicken actually got past the skin? Imagine the center of your roast having the same garlic herb taste as the crust.

Seasoned Skewers to the rescue. We make our skewers from untreated, Maine wood and steep them in all-natural oils. So all you have to do is skewer your food, and it gets infused with flavor. The skewers do the work and your food tastes delicious-inside and out. It’s fast. It’s convenient. And, yes, it really works.”

Flavors offerings include

• Thai Coconut Lime A tropical blend of coconut, ginger, lemongrass, red pepper and kaffir lime
• Garlic Herb A full-bodied mix of garlic, basil, lemon and chives
• Citrus Rosemary A delicate blend of rosemary and garlic, sweetened with the essence of orange
• Indian Mango Curry Sweet mango mingles with the exotic spice of cardamom and curry
• Honey Bourbon The perfect marriage of two classic barbecue flavors
• Mexican Fiesta A robust mix of smoked chili pepper, coriander, cumin and lime

 Spice My Skewer!