From Scratch

Considering how many worthless foods I could ingest if I let myself, I’m always surprised by the number of superfoods I’ve liked all my life. The pomegranate is one of them, with its juicy gems of sweet-tart seeds called arils. Happily, it’s in season.
Pomegranates are rich in fiber and, according to California’s Pomegranate Council , the […]

Today’s Sunday Times of London reports the largest-ever study of organic food has concluded organics really are more nutritious, providing up to 40% more antioxidants and higher levels of zinc and iron. Milk from organic herds had antioxidant levels up to 90% higher than milk from conventional herds.
The study spanned four years and cost £12 million […]

We don’t try to hide what these are. When consumers go to other fast-food places they feel like they’ve got to buy two of their breakfast sandwiches or burritos to fill up. This is really designed to fill you up.”
I’ll say. The quote is from Brad Haley, marketing chief of the Hardee’s fast-food chain, which […]

How much caffeine is in your decaf? According to Consumer Reports, there might be more than just a trace and in a few cases, much more.
CR shoppers bought brewed decaf from six chain stores, all size small. When the lab analyzed the coffee it found caffeine amounts ranging from the expected 5 mg or less […]

I’ve always been something of a dilettante about pie crusts. I’ve gone through phases when I’d make them with cream cheese or add herbs or spices. Sometimes I’d add ground nuts, cocoa or, for apple pies, cheddar cheese. When we became aware of the dangers of trans fat, I threw away my Crisco and went to […]

Many of us recall the old yogurt commercials on TV showing centenarians in the then-Soviet Union happily eating yogurt, selling us on the unspoken promise of good health and longevity. We’ve known for ages it’s good for us, but ask us to explain exactly why or how and most of us, I suspect, would be at […]

We’ve long known about the health benefits of eating apples, especially for the phytochemicals in their skins, but the juice of the fruit has been regarded by many as the black sheep of the family. Mere sugar water. But two new studies show the juice, especially unfiltered varieties and cider, has something going for it because the apple seems […]

Some public schools in my area got rid of their soda vending machines last year, but they — along with schools in nearly half the states — have a long way to go for better nutrition, and cafeterias nationwide are making changes this school year, although some are criticized as lax and outdated.
The Center for […]

Something I read last night is still bothering me. A new study that went beyond the impact of fast food advertising on kids found an early awareness of — and preference for — foods branded McDonald’s.
Dr. Thomas Robinson, a Stanford University obesity prevention expert, bought a bunch of food at McDonald’s. Some was left in […]

Years ago in Florence, I let an Italian take me to dinner; I knew he was hoping for more than dinner but we’d met at a museum so how awful could he be?
When our small portions of pasta arrived, before the main course as is the custom, he launched into a diatribe about what barbarians […]

As much as I admire Anthony Bourdain, I disagree with his sentiment, expressed in Kitchen Confidential, about organic foods. In a nutshell, he’s not impressed and said something along the lines of, Just because it’s grown in manure doesn’t make it better.
That’s true, of course, but for me organics go way beyond that. Not only […]

By the end of the year, Starbucks customers in the US and Canada will no longer have to request lower-fat milk in espresso-based drinks. The Seattle-based chain is moving from whole milk to 2% fat as its standard.
The change will happen gradually. Stores in New York switched over on Tuesday, as did those in four test […]

The store chain, with 158 supermarkets in five states, is believed to be the first grocery retailer to have developed such a comprehensive assessment program, and it is trying to have its food-rating algorithm patented.
The Hannaford supermarket chain made the front page of the New York Times New England edition last November in a story about […]

You might have seen Zero Trans Fat Crisco in a small green can at your supermarket. You might also have seen it, as I did, at a clearance price. The green can has been discontinued because all Crisco shortenings have been reformulated to be zero grams trans fat.
That does not mean there is no trans fat […]