The Juicy Bits
The DigestThis news squirrels were on vacation last month. So welcome to our very first double issue! Here are highlights from last month's food news:
Seafood Chain Red Lobster Closes 99 Stores And Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Materials Scientists Explains Why We Like Beer Cold And Sake Hot
New Periodic Table Of Food Documents Biochemistry Of 1500 International Foods
40-Year Study Finds That Americans Now Consume More Cannabis Than Alcohol On A Daily Basis
Oreo-Maker Mondelez Fined $366 Million For Rigging European Markets
Alabama And Florida Ban The Sale Of Lab-Grown Meat
Did You Know That You Can Hear The Temperature Of Water?
Also, Jasper White, the influential chef and mentor who redefined New England cooking at his restaurants Jasper's and Summer Shack, passed away last month. Food & Wine has some key remembrances. And RIP chef Marcel Desaulniers, the inventor of Death by Chocolate cake, and celebrated New York City chef James Kent, both of whom passed away this month. Peace and love to their families.
For the rest of this month's food news, see below.
—Dave Joachim
Restaurants
2024 James Beard Award Winners Announced
Image Source: Lille Allen
The "Oscars of the food world" were held in Chicago in early June, where Dakar NOLA won Best New Restaurant, Michael Rafidi of Washington DC's Albi won Outstanding Chef, and the Outstanding Restaurant award went to Langbaan in Portland, OR. Over the same weekend, the James Beard Foundation announced its Media Award winners, including nods for the best cookbooks, food journalism, and broadcast media around the country. Full list here. Congrats all!
More Restaurant News
Amazon Prime Now Includes Grubhub Food Delivery Subscription
Barcelona's Disfrutar Named #1 In World's Best Restaurant Ranking
20 Chinese Restaurants Receive Michelin Stars In Latest Guide To Guangzhou
New York's Una Pizza Napoletana Retains Top US Pizza Spot In World's 50 Best List
BBQ Hot Spot
New Study Reveals America's #1 BBQ-Loving State
Image Source: Getty Images
This study comes from Casino.org, so take it with a grain of steak salt. Still, the survey of 4,000 US residents reveals some interesting BBQ trends. It found that Americans spend on average $89 per BBQ session and 64% of Americans say their favorite day to BBQ is July 4th. To zero in on the country's top BBQ-loving state, they asked how often residents BBQ, their average time spend BBQ'ing, how often they dine at BBQ restaurants, and how many BBQ events they attend. Which state is most bonkers for BBQ? Mississippi!
Regulations
Supreme Court Rules Against New York City's Ban On Foie Gras
Image Source: Getty Images
In 2019, New York's City Council enacted a foie-gras ban, mostly intended to curtail the controversial practice of force-feeding ducks to enlarge their livers. The ban wound its way through the courts as the state's duck farmers lobbied against it and animal rights activists championed it. The ban was initially set to go into effect in November 2022, but litigation held it in court until last week, when the New York Supreme Court ruled against the ban, much to the chagrin of those who fought for it. NYC's restaurants can now continue to legally serve the delicacy. Score one for gourmands.
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Science
The Textbooks Were Wrong About How Your Tongue Works
Image Source: Alamy
We taste sweetness mostly at the front of our tongues and bitterness at the back, right? Wrong. The widely disseminated "tongue map" shown above is from a 1901 study conducted by German scientist David Hanig. Decades of research have since debunked this myth, according to an in-depth review published this month in The New England Journal of Medicine. Also wrong: the notion that taste is limited to the mouth. Taste receptors are found all over the body, in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, pancreas, lungs, thyroid, fat cells, muscle cells, and the brain. I'm waiting for a study to reveal that we have taste receptors on our eyeballs. That would lend some scientific weight to the old adage "We eat with our eyes first."
Last Bite
Chiquita Banana Brand Held Liable For Deaths During Colombian Civil War
Image Source: Chiquita
In mid-June, Chiquita Brands International was found liable for financing the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a far-right Colombian paramilitary group known for mass killing, kidnapping civilians and mutilating their corpses. Chiquita was ordered to pay $38.3 million in damages to the families of eight men killed by the group during the country's recent civil war. The landmark federal ruling came after 17 years of legal proceedings and adds to the $25 million Chiquita was ordered to pay back in 2007 for funding the AUC. Chiquita may argue that it takes a bunch of cash to stay top banana in a war-torn country, but I'm now re-thinking my shopping list.
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