The Juicy Bits
Before we get into this month's issue, here's what didn't make the cut: Saveur magazine is coming back in print! That's good news for food lovers. Also, here's a twisted tale of rare Japanese Kit Kats worth $250,000 that were hijacked en route in a whole new level of porch piracy. What did make the cut? Yes, there are shiny new lists of Michelin-star restaurants in big US cities, the year's best new cocktail bars, best new cookbooks, and best new restaurants that Michelin didn't visit. But among the listicles you may have missed that a cookbook, Prison Ramen, is one of the most banned books in America. That Wisconsin has declared the Brandy Old Fashioned to be its official state cocktail. That half the country has shifted plant hardiness zones, according to the USDA. And that pasta and rice may actually be healthier when eaten as leftovers. Guess the food world still has a few surprises up its sleeves. Happy Holidays! —Dave Joachim
Cooking
Why Hot-Climate Countries Cook Spicier Food Than Cold-Climate Countries
Image Source: Getty Images
Bored by holiday cookbook roundups, I came across this review of research into why people eat spicier food in hot climates. The hypothesis? It's an adaptation to increased risk of foodborne illness in those regions. The researchers examined 33,750 recipes from 70 national and regional cuisines containing 93 different spices. Conclusion? There's definitely a correlation, but preventing foodborne illness doesn't appear to be the cause. Maybe it’s because spicy-hot food helps cool you down when temps climb, or because spices help preserve food, or because spices grow better in hotter regions? Not according to the data. Nonetheless, the American South occupies a position that is virtually identical to Lebanon and Iran on the climate/spiciness spectrum. Curious, indeed.
More Cooking News
New Orleans To Host Back-To-Back International Culinary Competitions
The Best Cookbooks of 2023, According to Epicurious And the LA Times And Good Housekeeping And Amazon
Cooking Spray Burn Victim Awarded $7.1 Million In Damages After Can "Exploded Into A Fireball"
Why Prison Ramen, A Cookbook, Is The Most Banned Book In The US Prison System
Restaurants
Restaurant Drive-Through Traffic Rises 30%
Image Source: Nate Ryan
The pandemic effects are lingering. It's not surprising that restaurant drive-through usage rose 30% from 2019 to 2022, according to research firm Technomic. Or that by the first half of 2023, the number of people eating inside fast-food restaurants fell by 47% compared to 2019 numbers. What may stick though, is that drive-through sales now account for two-thirds of all fast-food purchases. It makes sense. It's faster than walking inside! Fast food joints are leaning into the trend, developing ever-more convenient drive-throughs like the Taco Bell unit pictured here. For more glimpses into the fast-food future, check out this New York Times article (subscription required).
Beverages
Penedès To Become World's First 100% Organic Wine D.O.
Image Source: Tim Mossholder
In 2025, the Spanish Penedès region, just south of Barcelona, will formalize the area's common production practices and become the world's first 100% organic wine-producing D.O. (Denominación de Origen, a regulated geographic designation). The region currently produces 18 million bottles of still wine and 1 million bottles of sparkling wine a year. In addition to the organic requirement, D.O. Penedès plans to prioritize its indigenous white Xarel.lo grape, which provides the acidic backbone to its famous Cava sparkling wine. Pop the cork for Penedès protecting its good name in the wine world.
Supply Chain
EPA Reports Rampant Food Waste, As 50+ Local Governments Seek Aid To Curb It
Image Source: Sarah Reingewirtz
Two new reports from the Environmental Protection Agency found that more than one-third of the food produced in the US is never eaten. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it generates tons of methane, hastening climate change. That’s why more than 50 local officials signed a letter recently, pressing the EPA to expand grant funding and logistics aid for landfill alternatives. We've been down this road before. In 2015, the USDA and EPA set a goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030. Little progress has been made, admits the EPA's own food-waste czar, Claudia Fabiano. Hopefully this latest cry for help speeds things along. What can you do? Buy less, use everything you buy, and make soup from food scraps.
Agriculture
USDA's New Plant Hardiness Zone Map Shows Half The Country Has Shifted
Image Source: US Department of Agriculture
Researchers behind the USDA's plant hardiness zone map have measured the coldest night of the year, every year, for the past 30 years. The map gives gardeners and farmers a reasonable barometer of which plants will survive in their region. The last time it was updated was 2012. It seems the new 2023 map is about 2.5ºF warmer across the contiguous US, meaning that half the country has shifted into a warmer zone over the past 10 years. In central Arkansas, which moved from zone 7b to zone 8a, gardeners can now try growing kumquats, mandarin oranges, and shampoo ginger, a tropical plant. Welcome, gardeners, to a warmer world.
Health
Why Pasta And Rice May Be Healthier As Leftovers
Image Source: Amanda Hakan
You've seen spurious headlines like "Eat Chocolate Cake—Lose 50 Pounds!" But this one has some scientific backing. When cooled after cooking, the starch in some high-carb foods like pasta and rice changes in structure, forming what's known as resistant starch. Resistant starch is harder to digest, so some of the sugars are not absorbed into the bloodstream. That helps reduce blood sugar spikes and may help reduce diabetes and obesity risk. With fewer absorbable sugars, resistant starches also contain about half the calories per gram as freshly cooked starches. The moral? Try cooking your pasta and rice ahead of time. It may do a body good!
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Last Bite
FTC Cracks Down On Food Companies For Paid Posts By Nutrition Influencers
Image Source: The Examiner/Washington Post
Big sugar is getting a slap on the wrist. The Federal Trade Commission sent a warning letter recently to American Beverage, a lobbying group funded by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The same letter went to the Canadian Sugar Institute and a dozen health influencers with over 6 million followers on TikTok and Instagram (collectively). The charge? Influencers failed to disclose that big sugar was behind their paid advertising. Tsk, tsk. Beware the side on which your bread is buttered! And good on the FTC for enforcing transparency on social media. It's a jungle out there.
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