The Juicy Bits
You've probably heard that "World's Best Restaurant" Noma is closing permanently, that celebrated Chinese chef and cookbook author Eileen Yin-Fei Lo has died, and that Ronzoni is discontinuing its pastina shape pasta. Ronzoni fans are devastated. Really? Just use the Barilla version. I am saddened by the former news: my uncle lived in the same town as Eileen and I learned a great deal from her teachings. As for Noma, chef-owner Rene Redzepi said it best: "It's unsustainable...we have to work in a different way." Fortunately, fine dining is alive and well at other restaurants, including the long list (450 strong!) of this year's James Beard Award semifinalists. The finalists will be announced in March and winners anointed in June. In other news, the FDA has finally gotten around to adding sesame to its list of major food allergens, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering regulating gas stoves. Don't worry: your kitchen stove isn't going anywhere. But you may want to open a window or turn on your range hood. Meanwhile, Edinburgh scientists are restoring the flavors of 19th century scotch with forgotten barley varieties (looking forward to those bottlings!), and US researchers have engineered a spoon that enhances our perception of sweetness in the absence of sugar. Maybe in the near future, a spoonful of sugar that's completely empty will taste just as sweet. Until then, can we at least get some clear labeling on store-bought chicken stock?
—Dave Joachim
Cooking
US Consumer Product Safety Commission Considers Regulating Gas Stoves
Image Source: Getty Images
Eighty-two US cities, including New York and Los Angeles, have banned gas stoves in new construction. The feds are now considering national regulations. Why? Gas stoves emit indoor air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide at high enough levels to be illegal outside, but there is no regulation for indoor emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization have linked gas stove use to increased risk for childhood asthma and other respiratory diseases. The methane from indoor gas combustion is also responsible for about 13% of US greenhouse gas emissions, a notable contribution to climate change. Don't worry. No one's coming for your gas stove. But you might want to turn on your range hood.
Restaurants
World's Best Restaurant Noma To Close
Image Source: REUTERS/Yuya Shino
At the end of 2024, the Copenhagen restaurant Noma will close its doors. Opened in 2003 by Danish chef Rene Redzepi, Noma put New Nordic cooking on the map and helped popularize hyper-local cuisine around the world. Noma has 3 Michelin stars and has been named World's Best Restaurant 5 times. Announcing the closure, Redzepi said it's impossible to make the math of fine dining work for his almost 100 employees and himself. Instead, Noma will transform into Noma Projects, a pioneering cooking lab that sells innovative food products like its already-sold-out smoked mushroom garum.
More Restaurant News
Grubhub To Pay D.C. And Customers $3.5M For Deceptive Marketing And Hidden Fees
National Restaurant Association Sued Over Misuse Of Food Safety Program Fees
California Bill To Improve Fast Food Worker Wages On Hold Until 2024
Eric Finkelstein Breaks Record For Dining At Most Michelin-Starred Restaurants In A Day
Beverages
Edinburgh Scientists Restore 19th Century Scotch Flavors
Image Source: Dylan de Jonge
Researchers at Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University have begun testing how 8 varieties of barley from the 1800s respond to modern processing methods. A 200-year-old variety called Chevallier, the most popular barley in Britain for 100 years, is under the microscope. Scotland's Holyrood Distillery is sponsoring the research and hopes the heritage barleys will bring back flavors and aromas that have been missing from Scotch whisky for many decades.
Supply Chain
US Egg Prices Rise 60% In A Year
Image Source: AP Photo/Erin Hooley
As demand for eggs has risen, US production has slumped. According to the USDA, nearly 58 million birds have been slaughtered due to the ongoing bird or "avian" flu epidemic, making it the deadliest outbreak in US history. You know the laws of supply and demand: the result is that US egg prices have more than doubled, increasing 60% from last year. Across US cities, the average price of a dozen eggs was $4.25 in December, putting pressure on professional and home cooks, especially during holiday baking season.
Agriculture
First Successful Indoor Wheat Crop Grown In Germany
Image Source: Courtesy of Infarm
While vertical farms can produce mounds of lettuce, tomatoes and strawberries, calorie-dense grains have been more challenging. By optimizing its growth environment and crop cycle time, German company Infarm has now produced the first successful crop of indoor-grown wheat. At scale, the crop is the equivalent of 117 tonnes per hectare (52.2 US tons per acre) per year, 26 times the average open-field farming yields. It's a significant agricultural milestone that may help improve global food security.
Regulations
US Food And Drug Administration Adds Sesame To Major Food Allergens List
Image Source: Getty Images
Sesame is the ninth most common US allergen. As of January 1, this ingredient is now subject to the same labeling and manufacturing requirements as milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. According to a 2019 study, about 1 in 200 Americans report having an allergy to sesame, and about 1 in 4 of those have experienced severe reactions. Look for "CONTAINS SESAME" coming to food labels near you.
Health
Teflon-Coated Pans With One Crack Release 9100 Forever Chemicals, Study Finds
Image Source: Pexels
About 80% of nonstick cooking pans are coated with a synthetic fluoropolymer called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), better known as Teflon. A new study in Science of The Total Environment found that a cracked in Teflon coating may leave behind about 9100 plastic particles. PTFE is classed under per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), compounds that build up in the bodies of living creatures, contaminate soil and water, and don’t break down in the environment. These "forever chemicals" have been linked to altered metabolism, increased risk of obesity, and reduced ability to fight infections. The solution? Don't scratch your nonstick pans. Use medium heat, wood or plastic utensils, and non-abrasive cleaners.
Help DigestThis.news Continue With Only $3/month
Like what you're reading? Help keep DigestThis.news going by supporting it here with only $3/month. Thanks!
Science
Scientists Engineer Sweet-Tasting Spoons To Enhance Sensory Perception
Image Source: filo/Getty Images
Research has already shown that the weight, color and shape of utensils can change our perception of a food's taste, including its sweetness, saltiness, and fattiness. In an attempt to produce the sensations of sugar without the calories, a team of scientists from Cornell and New York University has designed a a spoon with several bumps on its underside, creating a greater surface area to press against the tongue. Dubbed "Sugarware," the bumpy spoon is covered with ligands, molecules that bind with taste receptor proteins on the tongue, triggering a cascade of nerve signals that cause the brain to register a sensation of sweetness. A promising development for diabetics.
Last Bite
What Goes Into "Chicken Stock," The First Ingredient In Store-Bought Chicken Stock? 🤔
Image Source: Dingding Hu
It's a simple enough question. Shouldn't cans and boxes of chicken stock list ingredients like chicken bones, chicken meat, and/or various vegetables? Most don't. "Chicken stock" is the main ingredient. To get an answer, an intrepid reporter explores the food product worlds of Swanson, College Inn, ConAgra, the USDA, and the FDA, only to find that federal laws leave a lot of leeway on what must be listed on ingredient labels. Do you really want to know what's in commercial chicken stock? Enter this deep-dive article at your own risk.
Your Ad Here!
To reach more than 50,000 engaged readers across the food and cooking industries, place a Classified ad in an upcoming issue. Classifieds are inexpensive and easy to book with a few clicks.