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Spain Introduces the World to Light Wine

partysugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:01:18 -0800

While many winemakers are worried about the increasing levels of alcohol in wine, one winery, The Bodega Casa de la Ermita, is actually doing something to stop it. The Spanish winery has just released the world's first ever "light wine." In this case, light means less alcohol - just six and a half percent - and lower alcohol levels means fewer calories.

The red wine will hit Spanish markets in April and is set to debut soon after in the rest of Europe. An article in the Daily Mail explains how the lower alcohol content is obtained:

The vineyard achieves the low alcohol content by reducing the amount of water the vines are given, which lowers the amount of sugar produced by the grapes. During the fermentation process, the temperature is raised and lowered rapidly by up to 15C, which makes the yeast less efficient and ensures that some of the sugar fails to turn into alcohol.

I love the idea of a light wine and hope to taste it on my next visit to Spain. Until then, I'll just have to wonder if the flavor is compromised.

What do you guys think? Are you interested in drinking light wine?

Yucky Link: Women Can't Cook?

partysugar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:27:33 -0800

In what seems to be an appalling piece of journalism, a British writer declares that, generally speaking, women cannot cook. I don't know about you, but reading this makes me want to grab my knives and give this man a piece of my mind. What do you think?- Daily Mail

Are Recipes By Female Chefs More Complicated Than Those By Male Chefs?

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:03:38 -0700

The UK Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills recently completed a study that looked at 35 recipes published by five UK celebrity chefs - Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Nigel Slater. It turns out that while these folks make cooking look simple, their recipes can be difficult to follow. Actually, of the five chefs, only the recipes from the two women chefs were considered overly complicated.

While Gordon Ramsay's recipes were considered "so simple they can be followed by a seven-year-old," Nigella and Delia's were deemed too "chatty."

"[The study] found that 5.2million adults in the UK would be unable to follow Nigella's cooking methods as she uses longer sentences and tends to write in a "chatty" style, mixing in personal observations with her instructions.

"Delia Smith's culinary teaching was also criticised for having too many stages and using measurements confusing for anyone with poor numeracy skills.
"She also sprinkles too many adjectives into her recipes."

The study was intended to highlight the UK Government's adult learning campaign, but actually turned up the fact that the high profile male chefs deliver easier, simpler recipes than their female counterparts.

What do you guys think? Are you familiar with their recipes, do you agree? Also, if the study was conducted on US chefs, do you think the same would be said? Do you think Bobby Flay's recipes would be easier to follow than Giada De Laurentiis's?

Source: Daily Mail
Image Source

Gordan Ramsay Goes a Hunting

YumSugar — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:00:19 -0700

Lately I've been trying to be more aware of my food chain. In fact, one of my goals for 2007 is to catch, kill and gut my own fish - Jimmy thinks I'm crazy, but I really want to do it. I think it would be a good reminder of the whole circle food chain thing. Also, fish are slimy and blech, but I'd probably have an easier time with a fish than I would, oh say a deer (mmm... venison).

Gordon Ramsay on the other hand, apparently doesn't have a hard time at all. In an upcoming episode of his show, The F Word (BBC America carries it, but is behind a season), Ramsay proves why he is the man most British men admire by hunting a deer. The episode hasn't aired yet, so I don't know if he actually succeeded, but I do know that someone did because later he carries the deer carcass through his restaurant. I guess the special that night was venison?

Source: Chow
The Daily Mail

Yummy Links: From Pardoned Turkeys to Healthy Stuffing

partysugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:50:53 -0800

Find out the fate of Obama's pardoned turkeys. - The Atlantic
Salon has finally launched its new food channel. - Salon
What exactly is dry-brining? - The Epi-Log
Need a good laugh? Watch Paula Deen get hit in the face with a ham. - Eater
Chefs fail at Thanksgiving, too. - Grub Street NY
Martha Stewart has formally apologized to Rachael Ray. - Eat Me Daily
Ten tasty mail-order gift ideas. - Chow
Sausage, apple, and cranberry stuffing is delicious and healthy! - Serious Eats

What Type of Milk Do You Drink?

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:45:30 -0700

Got (one percent) milk? The Daily Mail reports that after a British watchdog organization cautioned against excessive intake of saturated fat, sales of one percent milk have skyrocketed in the United Kingdom. The Food Standards Agency warned that whole milk can lead to heart disease and clogged arteries, so shoppers swapped out whole milk in exchange for one percent, which contains more flavor than skim milk. It now accounts for 10 percent of sales.

I'm surprised to hear that people have just started switching from whole milk in Britain, considering whole milk fell out of favor years ago in the States. Do you drink whole milk?

Gastrosexual: The New Metrosexual?

YumSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:00:28 -0700

Much like the sudden rise of the metrosexual, a recently released study discusses the rapid growth of the next major male demographic: the gastrosexual. According to the Daily Mail, these men use their culinary skills to impress their friends and potential love interests.

Leading the pack of gastrosexual men are celebrity chefs, like Jamie Oliver, Danny Boome, and Gordon Ramsay, who glorify the high-stakes world of the restaurant kitchen. PurAsia, the food company that published the report, entitled "Emergence of the Gastrosexual," said in a public statement:

We found that cooking for this new generation isn't simply a matter of refuelling. For them it's an enjoyable experience and something to be relished - they cook for pleasure, praise and potential seduction.

Restaurant chefs have always been macho, but I'm curious to see if this motivates more men to cook. What do you think of the development? Is there a gastrosexual in your life?

Source

Heinz Ketchup Goes Gourmet

YumSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:01:33 -0700

Ketchup is ketchup right? Tomatoes, sugar some spices. It's a condiment, not a gourmet sauce, right? Wrong! Maybe it's just because the British seemed more refined than the rest of us, but the Daily Mail is reporting that they're about to receive a gourmet Heinz ketchup.

The new "premium" ketchup has taken the chefs at Heinz over a year to perfect and it will cost three times as much as regular ketchup. According to Heinz it is meant to appeal to folks "who want a more sophisticated table sauce to match their palate."

There's no news on whether or not the US leg of Heinz is planning on releasing a similar product, but if they did, would you buy it?

Source

All The News That's Fit To Eat - August 15

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:05:33 -0700

Although chowders usually go hand-in-hand with winter, with ripe summer veggies, they become a fantastic summer soup. - San Francisco Chronicle
Buffalo is finally coming of age as an alternative red meat. Plus a Q&A with Top Chef's Tom Colicchio. - New York Times

Cupcakes came into vogue a few years ago, so what makes them stay so gosh-darned hot? - Chicago Tribune
If you're looking for a refreshingly cold summer treat, try caprese granita, an interesting twist on a favorite summer salad. - Washington Post
Forget big Cabs and light Pinots, Priorat is the next big red. - Los Angeles Times
Bento-style boxes are perfect for kids' lunches - apparently my mom knew what was up years ago... - Dallas Morning News
Two chefs show us what they would pile up on top of fresh angel food cake. - Oregonian
With hints of lemon, apple and flowers, tomatillos enliven standard summer dishes. - Houston Chronicle
After 14 cups of espresso, a teenage waitress was rushed to the hospital due to an overdose of coffee. - The Daily Mail

New Commercial is Full of Lovely Stuff

YumSugar — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:38:19 -0700

Before you ask why there's a picture of a car on YumSugar, you better take a closer look.

For a new 60-second commercial spot, car company Skoda hired a team of bakers, model makers and home economists to create a cake version of their new Fabia. The commercial, which reportedly cost around a million dollars to make, features the team baking the car cake from scratch. They used 180 eggs, 100kg of flour, 100kg of caster sugar, 30kg of almonds, 65kg of dried fruit, 180kg of orange sugar paste, 12.5kg of jam, a huge vat of chocolate and a whole lot of other delicious fixings. The car took 4 days to complete, and is incredibly detailed, down to the golden syrup "motor oil" and giant gelatin lights.

To check out the entire commercial (the pictures are cool, but the video is way better), read more

If you're curious to find out more, here is a step by step breakdown.

Source: Daily Mail via Spluch