YumSugar

Have You Ever Pretended a Dish Was Vegetarian?

partysugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:15:16 -0800

The majority of you have never taken ownership of a store-bought dish (which frankly, I found surprising!), and now I want to know if you've ever served a vegetarian a dish that wasn't totally meatless?

Source

Do You Ever Pretend to Make Something That's Store Bought?

YumSugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:30:40 -0700

A friend recently admitted that she'd faked making something that was actually store bought. This prompted a discussion (and confession session) about the times we've taken credit for a dish that we actually didn't make. For the most part, everyone admitted that they'd "faked it" at some point or another - even myself!

Admit the truth (I won't tell!): Have you ever "faked" making something?

Source

All the News That's Fit to Eat - Oct. 1, 2008

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:30:00 -0700

Early autumn is a perfect time to try some of Italy's most charming reds. - Boston Globe

Satisfy the football fans

Los Angeles Times

Why Tom Colicchio's newest restaurant concept is sure to be one of the toughest reservations in town. - Diner's Journal
Top choices and worst picks for sustainable seafood found on sushi menus. - San Francisco Chronicle
Enter the fascinating realm of faux food. - Chicago Tribune
Meet Jen Lin-Liu, one of America's experts on Chinese cuisine. - Washington Post
The time is ripe for enjoying green tomatoes. - The Oregonian
Why a rice cooker ought to be standard equipment in your kitchen. - New York Times

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Is It a Real Food Song or a Fake? Round Two!

YumSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:13:31 -0800

I found out that Harry Belafonte's "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" was number one on this date in 1957. It's always been - probably thanks to the scene in Beetlejuice - one of my favorite food songs. Luckily for us, it is just one of many great songs about food.

I had so much fun last time we played this game, that I decided we should do it again. So tell me, which of these are real food songs, and which are fake? Think you can tell? Source

Take the quiz

Is It a Real Food Song or a Fake?

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:18:31 -0800

On Dec. 18, 1965, Herb Alpert's "Taste of Honey" was number one on the charts. It's from the album Whipped Cream and Other Delights and is so quintessentially 60s. I also love that the song - along with nearly every other song on that album - is named after food. Fortunately for all of us food inspired music doesn't stop with Herb Alpert, in fact, there have been a ton - a highly accurate term if I may say so myself - of them since.

I've rounded up a few of my faves, as well as a bunch of fakes. Now you need to tell me, is it a real food song, or something I cooked up? Ready to play? Source

Take the quiz

Yummy Link: Adorable Felt Food

YumSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:27:11 -0800

Sometimes the best food doesn't even have to be edible. Be sure to check out these adorable plush eats from Go Buggy. I personally love these little gyoza! - Etsy

Kellogg's Testing Logo Corn Flakes in the UK

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:20:07 -0700

From Chanel suckers to LV-inspired cupcakes, fashion labels and food have been teaming up in unusual ways. But this trend may be headed in a direction that even the most brand-beset consumers couldn't have comprehended.

In an effort to quash imitators, cereal brand Kellogg's is developing laser technology in the UK to burn its logo onto individual Corn Flakes. "Now you'll always be able to tell your Corn Flakes from your corn fakes!" Kellogg's UK tweeted yesterday.
The company intends to use concentrated beams of light to print a toasted trademark logo without altering the cereal's taste, and is going to test batches before deciding whether or not to put branded flakes in all Corn Flakes boxes. If successful, the logos could be put on other brands, such as Special K and Bran Flakes.

Helen Lyons, lead food technologist for Kellogg, said, "We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else. We're constantly looking at new ways to reaffirm this, and giving our golden flakes of corn an official stamp of approval could be the answer."

Source: Twitpic User KelloggsUK

Is Your Soy Sauce Really Soy Sauce?

YumSugar — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:05:24 -0700

Soy sauce is soy sauce, right? Wrong. There's actually a bit of a feud brewing (or should I make that fermenting?) between the Japanese and the US Codex Alimentarius Commission. Right now there's no labeling distinction between traditional soy sauce (which is brewed and fermented from soybeans) and the American "knock-offs" (extract of soybean and some other protein, flavor enhancer and artificial colorings). The committees in the Codex Commissions have "harmonized hundreds of food standards since the 1960s" and the Japanese want them to set a standard for soy sauce similar to the one used in Japan.

The Japanese manufacturing process, used by companies such as Kikkoman Corp., dates to the 17th century. This so-called "natural brewing" process involves blending wheat, soybeans and a mold, and letting the culture ferment for several months before refining and bottling the sauce.

Food snobs and consumer groups here and in Japan consider non-brewed soy sauce an impostor since it contains caramel color, corn syrup, salt and what is called hydrolyzed soy (or some other protein), in which the protein is reduced to an amino acid to create what is essentially a flavor enhancer.

There's currently a proposal in place that would continue to call both products "soy sauce" in which one would be labeled "Naturally Brewed" and the other "non-brewed."

However, not everyone's pleased with this compromise. The International Hydrolyzed Protein Council, whose members make the "non-brewed" soy sauce, are arguing against the labeling proposal. Martin J. Hahn, an executive director of the trade group stated:

"These products have been manufactured here and around the world for decades and sold as soy sauce, and there have been no complaints from consumers."

What do you guys think? Should they have to label themselves, or does it not bother you?

Source: Washington Post

Yummy Links: From Bobby Flay to Chicken McConfit

partysugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:50:23 -0700

Bobby Flay may be the world's worst horse race caller. - Grub Street
Find out where Bernie Madoff used to eat. - Eater
Got old school photos of your parents partying? Send them here. - Keggers of Yore
The nation's top 10 food trucks. - GQ
Must make: caramelized onion, potato, and blue cheese tart. - Serious Eats
Ten ways to barter for food. - Chow
Meet Rani Cheema, the lady who makes the Food Network's fake food labels. - Sunny Anderson
The latest trend to hit the beverage scene? Bartenders who farm. - Gourmet
Learn how to turn chicken McNuggets into chicken McConfit. - The Feedbag

Guy Fieri, Other Food Personalities Face Identity Theft

YumSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:00:24 -0700

The fashion world may claim that fakes are never in style, but lately, the food world sure has seen a lot of them. Take Food Network star Guy Fieri, who's living the good life - in three short years, he went from unassuming restaurateur to TV star and TGI Friday's spokesperson. But apparently, his life is looking so good that somebody actually wants to be him. "So check this out," Fieri recently twittered. "Some cat is playin me in KC. Crazy, just for da record. I am home."

Indeed, a Fieri fake was passing himself off as the real Guy at a Kansas City Royals game on Monday night. Sporting the trademark spiky platinum hairdo and Ray-Ban sunglasses, the faux Fieri even managed to get interviewed by a Fox Sports Net reporter. Check out the footage when you read more.

Fieri's identity is not the only one to be highly sought-after. The online food world has seen several cases of stolen Twitter accounts - or what food blog Eater has dubbed "twidentity theft." New York Times food critic Frank Bruni (@frankbruni) and New York Daily News reviewer Danyelle Freeman (@restaurantgirl) have both fallen victim to twidentity theft. Freeman is taking legal measures claiming trademark infringement.

Do you find this new wave of identity theft to be as bizarre as I do? What are your thoughts on this issue?

Source