Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 27

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

• Belgian supermarket Delhaize launched a wine collection featuring cork figures for the different regions (right).

• The heirloom and live food trends meet in Eternal Yogurt: The Starter That Lives Forever If you're set on store-bought, get some tips from this yogurt smackdown: A Frenchman, a Greek, and a Turk walk into a conference room to rank New York–made Greek yogurts. Spoons, predictably, fly.

• An amazing project of food, history and identity, The Southern Discomfort Tour, by the Cooking Gene. Michael Twitty explains the project in an essay entitled The cook who picks cotton: reclaiming my roots. "Slavery is not just a practice or moment in American history; it is a metaphor for our relationships to lifestyles and food systems that many of us view as beyond our control. Most of us are enslaved to food systems that aren’t sustainable, but eat we must. And because we must eat, food is a natural vehicle for telling the kinds of stories about historical slavery and the impact of “race” on how we eat, even as we critique and question our contemporary food politics. Food is our vehicle to move beyond race and into relationships and use those relationships to promote the kind of racial reconciliation and healing, our nation desperately needs."

• It's Derby Weekend. Bartender Chris McMillian rhapsodizes on the poetry of the perfect Mint Julep. "I don’t typically stir my Julep up...Each sip progressively takes you there and each sip is different from the one preceding it. Few drinks have that multidimensionality, building to the crescendo—which I think is the payoff of the Julep—of the bourbon and the mint together."

• Using vintage inspiration in packaging to answer a desire for authenticity makes news in the wine and spirits world. "We needed to bring the heritage back to the packaging.”

• Since we've got a bit of a drinks theme going on this week, Virgin Atlantic is now serving drinks with Richard Branson vanity ice cubes to passengers in Upper Class. Stephen Colbert has already mocked it (video).

Trailer — A Year in Burgundy Documentary

Watch the trailer for the new documentary film, A Year in Burgundy. The film, by InCA Productions and currently in post-production, follows seven winemaking families in Burgundy, France through the course of an entire year in an exploration of culture, climate and creative process.

A Year in Burgundy will have its first, sneak peak viewing at the 26th Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) in McMinnville, Oregon, July 27 - 29, 2012.

For more, visit the film's web site.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 25

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

• Hey there, Comrade Farmer, the Pork Fairy, courtesy of Soviet propaganda.

• SloPig takes the drama of heritage pork to the screen with a silent movie — heroes, villains, pigs and a damsel in distress.

• It's Farm Bill time, and time to get active. The Senate is proposing a 50% cut to the most important young farmer training program in the nation. Put in your two cents.

• Why we should love natural wines, and what all the fuss against them is about: "The real problem is the new popularity of natural wines. As long as they were fringe, they posed no threat. Now they are driving a growing market sector..."

• What artists have known for centuries, now even business magazines are getting in on: "New psychological research shows that mild intoxication can actually boost creative problem solving." Cheers!

• One for our giant step forward into the past — in 1915 there was a four acre school garden in the Bronx.

• Taco USA, NPR's On Point took a look at the evolution of Mexican food in America.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 24

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

 

• Snack as an art form (above) with the Mona Lisa in plum.

• Food styling bolsters its design cred as the trend for pantone cooking continues to a lovely cabbage soup, Pantone 268 C.

• Camel milk chocolates and lattes — a traditional food finds new opportunities in modern tastes in Dubai with video of dairy camels (you saw it here first).

• Is it possible for bacon to jump the shark? A new bacon reality show just might do it. And Burger King has debuted a bacon sundae.

• It's time to talk about the Farm Bill again. "The second half of April could determine whether or not we’ll have government support for sustainable farm and food programs for the next five years."

• Chinese consumers are spreading their love of wine to regions around the world and could help boost new tastes. "Crucially, they are adventurous consumers open to wines from various countries and regions with new styles and flavours"

• From the land of gadgets comes a new Japanese creation, SushiBots — that's robots that make sushi.