The Juicy Bits
As 2021 comes to a close (good riddance!), food media churns out the inevitable year-end best-restaurant listicles and food trend predictions for the year ahead. But among the predictable stories, you can also find some delicious reads like this takedown of the "world's worst Michelin-starred restaurant", along with a few hard-to-swallow nuggets like this indictment of a South Georgia crime ring that ran a $200 million "modern-day slavery" farming operation. We humans can be maddening! But we can also be amazing, like this Vermont chef cooking with European green crabs and other invasive species to help repopulate the planet with more appetizing foodstuffs. And this thirsty author who wrote an entire book on how to turn your Christmas tree into cocktails instead of just kicking it to the curb. Those are stories to celebrate. And that's what I'm choosing to do as 2022 comes into view. Time to make Christmas tree mimosas. Cheers!
Cooking
Here Are The Most Googled Recipes Of 2021
Image Source: Sarime/Shutterstock
I'm not a huge fan of roundups but always find this one interesting. Is bacon jam really just now catching on? And smashed potatoes? Those two foods are firmly embedded in food culture, no? What made them pop in 2021? And what exactly is that cicada recipe? Oh Google! You peel back the curtain of our most random collective cravings!
Restaurants
Eater Releases 2021 Restaurant Awards
Image Source: Courtesy of Eater
OK. Maybe I am a fan of roundups. At the end of the year, we take stock of things, right? We look back. We celebrate the good stuff that happened and try to learn from the bad. 2021 had a lot of good and bad for restaurants. The best thing about these Eater awards is they span more than 15 cities across the US. Even Montreal and London are included. Here's to more great places to eat in 2022.
Beverages
Champagne Pops Sales Records As Demand Flows Again
Image Source: Charles Platiau/Reuters
In the champagne world, 2020 was as flat as day-old root beer. But this year, bubbly revenues have risen higher than ever to $6.2 billion. That's well ahead of the tipple's previous sales record of $5.6 billion set just before the pandemic hit. I guess people are finally finding things to celebrate again. Omicron be damned: We're going to toast to 2022 this weekend!
Supply Chain
Food Prices, At 10-Year High, Expected To Rise More In 2022
Image Source: Melissa Askew
Womp womp. Not-so-good news for the year ahead. But it's no surprise. In fact, some analysts would say it's about time the era of cheap food (and high collateral costs) gave way to one that reflects the real costs of the food business. We've been conditioned to expect low food prices. Maybe they are artificially low.
Agriculture
Antibiotic Use In Farm Animals Is On The Rise, Says FDA Report
Image Source: Catherine Falls/Getty Images
Five years ago, US legislators attempted to halt the spread of superbugs and improve animal welfare by restricting unnecessary antibiotic use in livestock. Their efforts failed, according to the FDA. In 2019, the year the FDA's analysis stopped, animals accounted for an astonishing 65.3% of all antibiotics sold (more than those used on humans), a net increase since restrictive legislation was introduced. The FDA needs to step up enforcement or our human antibiotics may become less and less ineffective.
Regulations
New York Becomes Largest US City To Phase Out Gas Stoves In New Construction
Image Source: Vox via Getty Images
By the end of 2023, gas stoves in New York City will be prohibited in new buildings under seven stories tall (skyscrapers have until 2027 to comply). At that point, new construction must use electric technologies such as induction stovetops and electric ovens instead of gas. Why? Because 13% of US greenhouse gases come from buildings powered by fossil fuels, and the percentage increases exponentially in dense cities like New York. I love cooking with gas, but I admit: It's terribly inefficient (about 40% efficient compared to 85% for electricity). Change is good, right? I just need to find a more climate-friendly way to toast my tortillas.
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Science
Psychologist Explains Why Food Is The Root Of All Human Disgust
Image Source: Maisie Cousins
Maggots. Roaches. Pus. What is it that makes them so repulsive? According to food psychologist Paul Rozin, it's part survival instinct. We perceive feces and rotting meat as disgusting so that we don't eat them and get sick or die. But dogs didn't get the memo that shit smells bad. And that's where things get interesting. Disgust is more than a biological reaction. It's a fungible human emotion related to cultural norms of purity, propriety, and even politics. What's disgusting to some is delicious food to others. Does that mean you should eat maggots? Chacun son goût!
Last Bite
How To Eat And Drink Your Christmas Tree
Image Source: Aaron Joel Santos
Christmas is over. Time to kick your Christmas tree to the curb. Or is it? Could you squeeze another ounce of value out of it? Perhaps you could break off a branch, simmer it in sugar water and make spruce syrup for cocktails. Or you could cure gravlax or make pickles with a few fir fronds instead of using dill or another herb. You could even flavor a braise or stew with the aromatic evergreens. That fresh woodsy scent has all sorts of culinary applications. Like most of the wonderful things about Christmas, you just need to use your imagination.
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