lobster

Friday Faves No. 134

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

The house that Champagne built: a Russian man has built a house made almost entirely of Champagne bottles in the city of Chelyabinsk, where it is known as the “Palace of Oz.” It took 12,000 bottles, so you'd better start drinking if you want one of your own.(Drinks Business)

In hard new this week, the seafood world has been called out in an new AP Investigation: Are slaves catching the fish you buy? (AP)

Is the Strawberry Field The Next Farmworkers’ Rights Battleground? It's not just hard work, it's literaly poison: "Roman Pinal, the Southern California regional director for the United Farm Workers (UFW), says strawberry pickers are more susceptible to pesticide exposure than the average farmworker because the fields are more densely planted than other crops, meaning chemicals are being sprayed or are drifting closer to farmworkers. What’s more, compared to crops that are harvested once a season, strawberry plants produce fruit every two days—creating a situation where chemical management and harvesting occur “right on top” of each other, he says." (Civil Eats)

New waves of distilling have been a boost for rural areas, and that was the case in the 1920s and 30s too. Old Time Farm Crime: The Hooch Farmers of Templeton "Templeton Rye, “the good stuff,” was a hot commodity in Prohibition era Chicago, Kansas City and New York and its popularity helped save many a family farm in rural Northwest Iowa where the booze was illegally distilled by desperate farmers during the lean years of the 1920s and early-30s." (Modern Farmer)

'New Nordic' goes to the bar with Icelandic Birch Cocktails. (Huffington Post)

A Belgian chef Is making summer in a bottle with gin flavored with lobster. (Munchies)

Now Marriott has a magazine. You could too. Don't worry about all this new lingo. "Content" = stuff worth looking at that makes people like you. “Content marketing is a marathon; it’s not a sprint, said Lisa LaCour, vp of global marketing at content-recommendation platform Outbrain." (Digiday)

Friday Faves No. 107

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Lobster Rolls Take London As all New Englanders know, the lobster roll is the best thing to happen to summer since ice cream. How did this possibly take so long to jump the pond? (Guardian)

We told you beer was good for you, and so is the waste from brewing: Spanish scientists have developed a new biomaterial from waste discarded after beer brewing which can be used to regenerate human bones.  (Drinks Business)

How could we not have a world cup story? Pass the ketchup: World Cup 2014 players dip into favourite foods England has tomato sauce to hand while pasta is Italy's preferred fuel before matches, says their team nutritionist (Guardian)

Walmart China Is Substantially Upping Its Food Safety Game In light of rampant food fraud in China, the multinational giant is throwing $48.2 million at the problem. Says a Walmart rep: “We see this as our future home market." (First We Feast)

Yes, you will have to get your own idea if you wan to be different. Craft-beer: One strategy won’t fit all shows why you shouldn't only look at your competitors when you need brand inspiration (Drinks Business)

Goats In The City? Making A Case For Detroit's Munching Mowers (NPR)

This story was everywhere last week, but just in case you missed it: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK It's a situation you really should know about. "I thought I was going to die," said Vuthy, a former monk from Cambodia who was sold from captain to captain. "They kept me chained up, they didn't care about me or give me any food … They sold us like animals, but we are not animals – we are human beings." (Guardian)

Friday Faves No. 95

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

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Camel Milk Cheese? Why not. ''We have a rich culture of [consuming] fresh camel milk so the cheese could be a way of adding value to the product and valorizing pastoral cultures.'' (Fine Dining Lovers)

The Seeds of a New Generation  Some Midwestern farmers who have been growing feed corn exclusively are switching over acreage to fruit and vegetables, and increased demand for local produce is making it possible. "While an acre of corn is projected to net average farmers $284 this year after expenses, and just $34 if they rent the land, as is common, an apple orchard on that same acre will make $2,000 or more, according to crop analysts. A sophisticated vegetable operation using the popular plastic covers called high tunnels, which increase yields and extend the growing season, can push that figure as high as $100,000. Until recently, farmers in the nation’s heartland could only dream about such profits because there were so few ways to sell their produce locally." And did you know the Department of Defense is helping with DoD Fresh?  We sure didn't. (New York Times)

Georgian chocolate-making kitchen uncovered at Hampton Court Palace "Chocolate was an expensive luxury. Having your own chocolate maker, chocolate kitchen and chocolate room filled with precious porcelain and silver – all this, just for chocolate  – was the last word in elegance and decadence." (History Extra, BBC)

Tweet For Your Supper—And Handbag: Brands, Customers, And The New "Social Currency" What is the value of a tweet? And will kick backs devalue that? (Fast company)

With lobsters in mind, legislator proposes ban on some pesticides “Too many Mainers’ livelihoods depend on having a healthy lobster population not to act.” (Bangor Daily News)

California Is So Dry, Some Diners Won't Get Water Unless They Ask  "The entire idea of 'auto-items' is a huge generator of waste in North American restaurants, and it is often associated with 'good service,' " (NPR)

Women chefs, not just a cute side dish: "They are chefs. Not sexy chefs. Not cool chefs. Just chefs. They should be respected for what they do, and the mass media should be challenged to diversify its coverage of the food industry and when it talks about women, do it in a way that honors their work not their looks." (Foodie Underground)
 

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 87

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

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  • Are you ready for a machine that brews beer for you at home? The PicoBrew Zymatic works like a bread machine and might be coming to a counter top near you. "A pro can do targeted test batches," says Mitchell, who created the  PicoBrew brand with his brother and another former Microsoft executive. "A beginner can produce beer using someone else's recipes, because it  takes talent to come up with great recipes. Both parties can benefit  from the tool."(Fast Company)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 48

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 

  • The year — now-ish. Humans have overfished the oceans, taking too much and decadently hurling bycatch overboard. Now, the giant sea creatures of the deep are taking matters into their own "hands" — and they want their fish back... The New short film Monster Roll (above) is the most crazy-awesome thing you've seen this week. Seriously.
  • Geek out with a radio segment from On Point on everything you ever wanted to know about lobster (and more), from biology to art, to Greek Mythology.
  • Cooking made us smarter, or so the research indicates. And sitting around eating all that food was probably pretty good for making culture. "So raise a glass of good wine (fermentation being the other calling card of a higher order brain) and praise the cooks. You'd be stupid without them.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 39

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

  • Spirits from Asia, absinthe, cocktails on tap (right) and other bar trends.
  • The age-old problem of how to carry your food and drink at a party and shake hands has now been solved by the GoPlate.

 

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 37

 weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

  • Maine lobsters are cropping up in fashion colors, like blue and orange. "Color variation, which is caused by random genetic mutation, is nothing new. But odd-colored lobsters are becoming much more frequent than previously believed. Orange lobsters were thought to be a one-in-10 million occurrence — but a 100 lb. batch shipped to a Maine restaurant last month contained six of them."
  • Mowing kiwi fruit, biking on hills of corn — scenes from Minimiam, an ongoing art series by husband and wife team Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida, who take tiny toys and place them in worlds made of food via Laughing Squid.
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