Friday Faves No. 172

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Oil-cured Coho salmon. We're still waiting on the seafood "charcuterie" revolution. Photo by Polished Brands.

Shop till you flop: Why can’t anyone make money in online grocery delivery? "Despite immense growth in demand in recent years, the online grocery business remains largely unprofitable. As an online grocery business grows, it can no longer rely on sending workers to local grocery outlets to fill orders. Instead, they must invest heavily in more intricate and more costly ordering and logistics systems in order to pick, pack and deliver the near-infinite combinations of items customers select."
(Salon)

‘Big ag’ omega-3 solutions in canola oil, algae stoke fears for fishing companies. It's not good news for fishmeal producers, but it is good news for the oceans and the food chain. (Undercurrent)

Teff could be the next quinoa as Ethiopia boosts exports. Ethiopia’s staple grain is the latest superfood, but there are fears about impact of rising exports on local people who rely on it as their staple food. “What happened with quinoa will not happen with teff. We just won’t let it," said Khalid Bomba, the head of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). (Guardian)

Time for more product innovation. Sales of specialty meat and seafood are up, and Millennials are pushing the trend. "Specialty frozen and refrigerated meat, poultry, and seafood accounts for 10.5 percent of all meat, poultry, and seafood sales. The category hit $3.6 billion in 2015, jumping 23.1 percent since 2013." (Specialty Food)

Friday Faves No. 138

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

This Morbid Artist Serves Her Cake with a Side of Death (like above, and much more through the link made from chocolate) "The chocolate project came about as kind of a natural progression of having switched to an edible medium,” de Vetten explains. “I was reading Dr. Paul Koudounaris’ book Empire of Death and was marveling once again at the painted skulls displayed in the Ossuary of St. Michael in Halstatt, Austria, and it occurred to me that I could make myself one, in chocolate. I hadn’t really thought about if that would be something my customers would want or aimed at selling. It was just something I wanted to own and as I couldn’t have a real one I made one from chocolate."  (Munchies)

Astoundingly Realistic Candy Animals Skillfully Crafted Using the Traditional Japanese Art of Amezaiku gives a cuter version of sugar art. (Laughing Squid)

Why your next food porn will come from Ethiopia Really, it's about time. (CNN) 

The All-Stars of Stadium Snacks From the best pie in English football to Baltimore’s crab cakes, we serve up the tastiest game-day grub (Mr. Porter)

'Tales' Of Pig Intelligence, Factory Farming And Humane Bacon with Barry Estabrook Good commentary, but not an easy listen. (NPR)

As if you didn't already know that kombucha was up to no good; it's now part of an LA cult bust. (Jezebel)

Is it aliens, or is your microwave talking to you? At one observatory in Australia they were. Rogue Microwave Ovens Are the Culprits Behind Mysterious Radio Signals (National Geographic)

Decaying City Just Wants To Skip To Part Where It Gets Revitalized Restaurant Scene “Sure, we’ll eventually see lobster roll stands and high-end noodle bars popping up on every corner, but that could take years or even decades. Let’s just skim over all the gang turf disputes and burnt-out streetlights and go straight to blocks lined with stores specializing in key lime pies, locally sourced butcher shops, and gourmet empanada places. That honestly seems like the way to go.” (The Onion)