Tang

A billion dollar brand? Tang? I kid you not. While it may not sell much in the US, apparently this space age drink is taking the world by storm.

This week, a look at the legacy of Tang.

TTFN, Fred.




Tang

Santa and the FDA

Another reason never, and I do mean never, to run afoul of the FDA.

This week, I wish you all Happy Holidays in whatever form or fashion you choose to celebrate!

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is." - Eric Sevareid (a CBS news journalist for nearly 40 years , 1912 - 1992)

Santa and the FDA

Eating Chocolate May Help Eyesight

Previous research suggests eating chocolate can make your brain sharper, that dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure and also appears to have a favorable effect on cholesterol levels, platelet function and insulin sensitivity.

Add improved eyesight to the list. A recent study found that dark chocolate might improve your ability to see in low-contrast situations, such as poor weather.

This week, a look at another benefit of chocolate, improved eyesight.

TTFN, Fred.



Eating Chocolate May Help Eyesight

For Soda, The Genie is Out of the Bottle

Who killed the soda fountain? Was it Franklin D. Roosevelt, who signed the 1933 repeal of Prohibition, allowing American adults to return to saloons and bars? Or one J. G. Kirby of Dallas, who opened the first drive-in restaurant in 1936, sparking a new national craze? Or was it William Painter who patented the crimped metal bottle cap, ultimately making fortunes for companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Royal Crown?

Dunno for sure, but perhaps like Mark Twain, the reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. As usual, looking for something new requires looking to the past.

This week, a look at a resurgence in soda fountains.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, 1929 - 1968)

For Soda, The Genie is Out of the Bottle

Is This Food Still Good?

It's a topic that, in many households, is worthy of calling in an expert in arbitration: expiration dates on food packaging. Put a person who considers them gospel in the same kitchen with someone who views them as a rule of thumb and you'll definitely find a conflict in need of resolution. So who's right? Well, you're not going to like this, but both are. Much depends on the specific food product in question and how it has been handled.

This week, a look at dates on foods.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars." - Rabindranath Tagore (Bengali poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright, 1861 - 1941)


Is This Food Still Good

Annatto

Consistency, it has been said, is the goal of any quality process. Such is the mantra of most cheddar cheese and butter manufacturers who desire the color of their product to be the same all year long, regardless of the changing weather and feed available to the cows who produce milk, the precursor of both butter and cheddar cheese.

Enter annatto, long used as a spice and a dye, to give both their characteristic shades. Honestly, would a little variation really matter? I prefer my cheddar to be white (or uncolored), but that's just me.

This week, a look at annatto.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." - Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his stage name Molière (French playwright and actor, 1622-1673)

Annatto

A Cautionary Tale - 1931 Botulism Poisoning Tragedy in North Dakota

Canning is a great way to preserve vegetables and fruits for your own use or for gifts. The basic principal is simple: during the canning process, food is heated to a high enough temperature to stop the decaying action of enzymes and/or bacteria and other microorganisms in the food. The food is then stored in sterile, airtight containers to prevent contamination.

This isn't a process you should treat carelessly. In the United States, an average of 22 cases of botulism are reported each year. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur are usually caused by eating contaminated home-canned foods.

This week, a cautionary tale on canning your own food.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." - Anthony J. D'Angelo (American author and motivational speaker, 1972- )

A Cautionary Tale - 1931 Botulism Poisoning Tragedy in North Dakota

Virtual Supermarket

Quick Response codes are a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) designed to be read by smartphones. The smartphone train left the station without me, as I continue to use a cell phone with little intelligence (as I recently described it, an abandoned caboose on a spur line no longer in use). QR codes are everywhere, with a recent and explosive 1200% increase in their use in North America alone.

There is literally no end to how they can be used, including shopping for groceries in the subway. Since I found this article, China has also added this technology in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

Not quite shopping in your jammies, but still pretty convenient. This week, a look at Virtual Supermarkets.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932, 1841-1935)

Virtual Supermarket

Food Like a Drug?

A 2010 study with rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.

Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.

This week, a look at how food may be like a drug to our brains.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Eden Phillpotts (British novelist, poet, and dramatist, 1862-1960)
Food Like a Drug

Beer for Post-workout Replenishment

We've talked about beer and it's mineral content, how beer was one of the six drinks that shaped the world and about studying really old beer. This time, proof positive that beer is better for you than sports drinks...but you already knew that, didn't you?

This week, a look at beer versus sports drink for re-hydration.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them." - Isaac Asimov (US science fiction novelist & scholar, 1920 - 1992)

Beer for Post-Workout Replenishment

All Good Things...

My friends -

Just over four years ago, "Anything Can Happen Wednesday" was introduced to my beloved staff during my tenure at Amy's Kitchen. The goal then and now has been to educate, to inform, to entertain. I sincerely hope that goal was met across just over 200 assorted, varied and wide-ranging posts. I have loved every minute of it and I can only hope you enjoyed it as well.

Twenty-seven years after completing college, I have decided to take on an MBA program. With that comes a need for more time than I have available on a weekly basis. ACHW will never really go away, as when I come across something interesting I will be sure to post it. I can't guarantee the frequency, but it is a part of me I will not "go gentle into that good night."

Until then, live brave.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week:

Could a Pill Take Away the Tempting Aroma of Food?

Of the three chemical senses, smell is the main determinant of a food item's flavor. While the taste of food is limited to sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory – the basic tastes – the smells of a food are potentially limitless. A food's flavor, therefore, can be easily altered by changing its smell while keeping its taste similar.

Smell does to discover and enjoy food as much as taste. The aroma reaches the nose before the food reaches the mouth and we can taste it. The sense of smell explores our food before we eat it. Block the aroma and you may not want to eat the food.

This week, a look at better living through chemistry part 149: a pill that takes away the tempting aroma of food.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week:

Could a Pill Take Away the Tempting Aroma of Food

Chicken feathers into biodegradable plastic

Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. Although feathers cover most parts of the body of birds, they arise only from certain well-defined tracts on the skin. They aid in flight, thermal insulation, waterproofing and coloration that helps in communication and protection.

At the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, a number of institutions presented their research into possible new sources of eco-friendly bioplastic, including everything from fruit fiber to bone meal. On the final day of the event, one other idea was put forward – bioplastic made from waste chicken feathers.

While this particular source material has been tried only semi-successfully in the past, the researchers claim that this time, the chicken plastic should take flight.

This week, a look at how chicken feathers may be turned into biodegradable plastic.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate." - Charles Dickens (the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, 1812 – 1870)

Chicken Feathers Into Biodegradable Plastic

A Short History of the Fork

Before the fork was introduced, Westerners were reliant on the spoon and knife as the only eating utensils. Thus, people would largely eat food with their hands, calling for a common spoon when required. Members of the aristocracy would sometimes be accustomed to manners considered more proper and hold two knives at meals and use them both to cut and transfer food to the mouth, using the spoon for soups and broth.

Whether you use it American style with the tines curving up or continental style with the tines curving down, it's a great addition to the spoon and knife.

This week, a short history of the fork.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery." - H. G. Wells, (English author, best known for his work in the science fiction genre, 1866 - 1946)

A Short History of the Fork

See Something, Say Something

After September 11, 2001, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority coined the slogan, “If you see something, say something,” and put it on posters encouraging subway and bus riders to call a police counterterrorism hot line if they encountered anything suspicious.

To improve suspicious activity awareness and reporting within the Food and Agriculture Sector, a one-page document highlighting indicators of suspicious activities and recommended protective measures was developed.

This week, we're reminded to it can be a dangerous world. It is not always easy, but please speak up when you see something.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Experience is by far the best teacher. You know, ever since I was a little girl I knew that if you look both ways when you cross the street, you'll see a lot more than traffic." - Mae West (American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol, 1893 - 1980)

See Something Say Something

Young Generation of Farmers

The average age of the American farmer is 57, and getting older. Farms used to be kept in the family and passed from generation to generation. In this age of large–scale industrialized farming do we need family farms anymore? What type of young person gets into farming these days?

This week, we look at an emerging young generation of farmers.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Castaneda (American author, 1925 - 1998)

Young Generation of Farmers

VTT to study one of world’s oldest beers

We've talked about beer and it's mineral content, as well as how beer was one of the six drinks that shaped the world. Feel free to insert your favorite quote on beer from Homer Simpson or Norm from Cheers here.

This week, a look at some really old beer and a geography lesson.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy." - Milton Erickson (American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy, 1901 - 1980)

VTT to study one of world’s oldest beers

The Bug That Poisoned the President

President Obama's busted lip from an errant elbow during a recent basketball game was just the latest scrape suffered by a commander in chief. President Gerald Ford was notorious for his slips and trips, once taking a tumble down the steps off Air Force One in 1975 in Salzburg, Austria. There was also President George H.W. Bush's embarrassing food sickness incident in 1992 in Japan, caught caught on camera vomiting on the Prime Minster of Japan's lap.

President Zachary Taylor was less fortunate, dying in office from what was likely Salmonella poisoning. This week, a look at the bug that poisoned a President.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust (French novelist, critic, and essayist, 1871 – 1922)

The Bug That Poisoned the President

The Six-Legged Meat of the Future

In the U.S., we're more accustomed to exterminating insects than to eating them, but in scores of countries around the world, including Thailand, where food markets are stocked with commercially-raised water beetles and bamboo worms, bugs have long been a part of a well-balanced meal.

This will take some getting used to. It may be a while before someone on a television cooking show ends with "Bug appétit!"

This week, a look at the six-legged meat of the future.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security." - John Allen Paulos (professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia, 1945 - )

The Six-Legged Meat of the Future

Researchers find the cause of food poisoning

We've talked about salmonella before and, well, before again. Now we find out salmonella is like the Borg, assimilating individuals (cells) and turning them into mindless slaves.

Tying a Star Trek reference to salmonella...today is gonna be great!

This week, a look at the science behind food poisoning.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Crying is all right in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do." - C. S. Lewis (Irish-born British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist, 1898 - 1963)

Researchers find the cause of food poisoning

Sprouts and History's Worst E. coli Outbreak

If it seems like you hear about sprouts being associated with bacterial pathogen outbreaks on a regular basis, you're not imagining things. The last two decades have seen thirty-seven separate cases in the United States and Canada that accounted for 2,273 illnesses.

These pale in comparison to an outbreak in Japan during 1996 which sickened at least 9,441 and claimed the lives of 12. This week, a look at sprouts and history's worst E. coli outbreak.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Live your life without pressure and in the utmost contentment." - from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Roman Emperor from 161 to 180, considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers, 121 - 180)

Sprouts and History's Worst E. Coli Outbreak

The Science Behind Why We Love Ice Cream

We've talked about ice cream before, and before, and before. Why is it to popular? Why ask why?

This week, a look at the science behind why we love ice cream.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A time will come when men will sit with history before them or with some old newspaper before them and ask incredulously,"Was there ever such a world?" - Herbert George Wells, aka H. G. Wells (prolific English author best known for his work in the science fiction genre, 1866 - 1946)

The Science Behind Why We Love Ice Cream

The Dicey Calculus of Cooking

Not all people are chefs, but we are all eaters. Most of us need to learn how to follow a recipe at some point. To create dishes with good flavor, consistency, and texture, the various ingredients must have a kind of relationship to one another. For instance, to make cookies that both look and taste like cookies, you need to make sure you use the right amount of each ingredient. Add too much flour and your cookies will be solid as rocks. Add too much salt and they'll taste terrible.

And then there are all those differing pan sizes...give me a break. This one is too big, this one is too small, where the heck is the one that is just right? One pan to rule them all, and in the oven bind them.

This week, a look at the calculus of cooking.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity." - Gilda Radner (actress and comedian, 1946-1989)

The Dicey Calculus of Cooking

Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind

Daydreamers rejoice, for now, research shows how doing nothing but daydreaming improves our focus and generally, makes us smarter. At long last, I am, I mean the doodling daydreamer, is getting some respect.

This week, a look at discovering the virtues of a wandering mind.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Medicine, law, business, engineering. These are noble pursuits. And necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love. These are what we stay alive for." - Tom Schulman (American screenwriter most famous for his screenplay Dead Poets Society, 1950 - )

Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind

Future Fridge

What can your refrigerator do for you? For most people these days the answer is simple, “it keeps things cold” and for some “it even dispenses ice and water.”

What does the future hold for your refrigerator? Interactive message boards, digital picture frames, satellite radio, CD/DVD players, recharging cell phones and other devices as well.

All that it and it still keeps things cold...will wonders never cease. This week, a look at future fridge.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright, 1856 - 1950)

Future Fridge

Repeatability and Reproducibility

Repeatability measures the success rate in successive experiments. Reproducibility, on the other hand, is the ability of an experiment to be accurately replicated. Together, repeatability and reproducibility make up precision, which is altogether different from accuracy.

Confused? It's okay. This week, a look at repeatability and reproducibility.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got." - Art Buchwald (US author, columnist, dramatist, & journalist, 1925 - 2007)

Repeatability and Reproducibility

Tomato History, Part 2

For some it is nirvana to bite into a garden-ripe tomato, fresh off a vine in the backyard sun. For me, it is the last thing I want to eat; I can't get past the texture.

Tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup...all good things I enjoy to consume. I even learned to like tomato soup, as long as it is devoid of identifiable pieces. Chunks of tomato...ugh. The soft, squishy center is the worst.

This week, part 2 of the history of tomatoes.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein (US (German-born) theoretical physicist, 1879 - 1955)

Tomato History Part 2

Tomato History, Part 1

Tuh-MAY-toh or Tuh-MAH-to? Pronunciation doesn't matter when it comes to this fabulous nutritious fruit known as a vegetable. It's hard to believe that such a widely-used food source was once considered deadly poisonous.

Available year-round in fresh and preserved forms, there is no shortage of uses for this versatile "vegetable." This week, a part 1 of a history of the tomato.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody." - Mark Twain (American author and humorist, 1835-1910)

Tomato History Part 1