In news land, it's time for the annual best-of lists, year-end roundups, and food trend predictions for the year ahead. You'll find a few of those in this issue along with surveys of how the pandemic completely reshaped the food world from farming and food processing to restaurants and home cooking. And it reshaped our waistlines.
But maybe you're more interested in a deep dive. Maybe you want an answer to the most vexing question of the past 30 years: Why in the world did McDonald's change the recipe for its completely delicious French fries? Find out, along with the original recipe below. You can also see why restaurant servers and bartenders will soon be sharing their tips with cooks and dishwashers, thanks to a new Labor Department rule.
And get ready for lab-grown chicken! A lucky few recently tasted the world's first cultured chicken in Singapore, and the manufacturer is seeking U.S. approval. But the FDA has more important things to worry about, like salad dressing. After 70 years of regulating French dressing, the FDA wants to stop telling food manufacturers what needs to be in the bottle.
Yes, 2020 has been a crazy year: price fixing in the peanut world, sexual harassment in the elite wine world, and celebrity chef David Chang won $1 million on the TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. As if he needs it. The good news: Chang gave it all away to support struggling restaurant workers. More good news: Chefs have found a new place to serve meals while their restaurants are closed and it's too cold for outdoor dining. You guessed it: Vacant hotel rooms! Have any other ideas for keeping your favorite restaurant from going under? Drop me a line at [email protected]. Happy New Year!
As America’s biggest food holiday approaches, let’s all give Thanks for 2020 coming to a close in a few weeks. And for the new bacon-scented beer from Waffle House. If anything can help us through this next decade, it’s a 6.5% red ale called Bacon & Kegs.
And there's some great news in the world of American barbecue: 83-year-old pitmaster Desiree Robinson was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame, the first Black woman to receive the honor. Good on ya, Desiree. Plus, José R. Ralat, the Taco Editor at Texas Monthly (dream job!), just released his sprawling guide to the state's many styles of tacos from carnitas and costra to trompo and West Indian. Hellz yeah.
Let's give Thanks, too, for the 20-pound turkeys that survived Thanksgiving this year. It seems small birds are in demand during lockdown. And if you ever wondered why the holiday bird smells so good, roasting away in the oven with alluring aromas of crispy browned skin, Harold McGee has the answer in his new book on the fascinating science of scent.
Lastly, I need to apologize about two other science guys in our previous issue: Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil. We had a snafu with our ads and these two TV doctors showed up before we could filter them out. Sorry about that. We fixed the problem, and you should see no more ads for things like snake oil, Russian sexbots, or political candidates. If you do, please let me know at [email protected]. Or feel free to drop me a line telling me what you're feasting on this Thanksgiving. I'm going with duck. It's smaller, juicier, and tastier than turkey. I'm letting a few of my old traditions evolve this year. Happy Thanksgiving!
We Have A New Look!
Same essential food news. New, clean design. Welcome to the first monthly issue of DigestThis.news, part of our collaboration with Curated.co. We hope you like the streamlined look. Send us feedback at [email protected]. As always, please help keep DigestThis.news going by supporting us through Patreon. Thank you!
Same essential food news.
New, clean design.
...
Please Help DigestThis.news Continue
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading DigestThis.news. We think it’s the easiest way to stay informed of important food news in one simple email delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning. If you think so too, please help support this vital public service. Patreon offers a simple way to ensure that we can continue to provide you with topline food news. To become a Patron, simply pledge the dollar amount of your choice. Do you think DigestThis.news is worth $5 a month? We think it’s worth at least that, or whatever you can afford. Any amount that you are able to pledge will help us keep DigestThis.news coming to your inbox every week.
We are also actively seeking partners to help sponsor our work at DigestThis.news. If you belong to an organization that may find our readership valuable, please drop us a line here. Or if you have an idea for a company that may like to sponsor DigestThis.news, please do get in touch. Roughly 20,000 people (and counting) open and enjoy reading DigestThis.news every week. The right partners will ensure that we can continue to provide our readers with reliable food news from farm to fork. Thank you for your help.