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YumSugar Gift Guide: The Global Gourmand Grandpa

YumSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:00:12 -0800

Shopping for an epicurean grandpa who's more well-traveled than you? Fret not. If he's been tasting his way around the globe, chances are, he's open to eating anything.

If he's enjoyed traveling to Japan, present him with this matcha green tea set. Remind him of his trip to Scotland last year with Spey smoked salmon. Or send him an assortment of exotic imports: It's the closest you can get to giving him the world.

For more gift ideas, browse the selection below. Check out all the gift guides on HolidaySugar.

Yum Market Finds: Globalize Your Kitchen

partysugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:43:39 -0700

All week we have been showing you how to use food to take you on a journey in your own home. Cooking up delicious, exotic and foreign dishes is a great way to globalize your life, as is using fun internationally-inspired cooking tools and gadgets. Judging by all of the cool worldly things you've bookmarked in the Yum Market on TeamSugar, you guys already know this! Experience Italy with this ricotta making set that mellie_608 bookmarked. Or serve your ratatouille in classic French dishware or teach your kids how to use chopsticks with holdstix. Other ways to bring the world to you: drink Hawaiian coffee, keep your stews in an authentic Brazilian soapstone, and mix up guests a classic Cuban mojito.

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McGlobal Village

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 07:03:38 -0700

One of the weirdest things about globalization is how everything is the same and yet totally different. You'd think that no matter where you go, a McDonald's would be a McDonald's right? Wrong! If you've never been to an International McDonald's, you might not know what you're missing. For example, in Germany you can order a Big McFeast and a cup of beer, whereas in Norway you can opt for the McLaks - a sandwich made from grilled salmon and dill sauce. Personally I love how you can get an Ebi (shrimp) burger in Japan, and rice burgers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. How about you, have you ever discovered anything interesting on an International McDonald's menu?

Source: Trifter
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Around the World in One Thanksgiving

YumSugar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:01:38 -0800

Growing up in a multiracial house, Thanksgiving was a smorgasbord of flavors. We had classic stuffing along with piles of rice and stir-fried vegetables. Although Thanksgiving does often mean a great, big Turkey with all the fixings, for some it means a marriage of those classics with their heritage.

Recently, New York Magazine asked several of New York's top ethnic chefs to create globalized yet traditional Thanksgiving menus. Each chef took the classics - turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans or Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie - and reinvented them to suit their culinary culture. The result was five delicious sounding menus: Mexican (Aarón Sánchez), French (Laurent Tourondel), Italian (Fabio Trabocchi), Chinese (Joe Ng), and African (Marcus Samuelsson). If you're looking for a way to spice up your Thanksgiving, you could try one of these menus, or mix and match to create your own.

I'm personally hoping to try something off of each one, but am probably going to have to start with the Lemongrass Turkey Rolls, the Pumpkin Mash, or the Potato-Gnocchi Gratin. How about you, where would you begin? Which menu sounds the best to you?

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Kate Bosworth Eats Organic and Wants You to Do Your Part

partysugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:00:14 -0800

On Tuesday night I was invited to the Gorgeous and Green benefit in San Francisco.

The event was hosted by Global Green, an environmental nonprofit that focuses on global climate change through green initiatives. Not only did I taste an amazing eco-friendly wine, but I also got the chance to speak with the hostess of the night, actress Kate Bosworth. Here's what the stunning starlet, who was wearing a dress with recycled zippers, had to say:

On her abilities as a home cook: "I do a little bit, I am getting into it more and more. I'm OK. I'm not advanced at all."

On eating organic: "I try to as much as possible. I guess you can't be so rigid. Do what you can. Clearly you can't eat all organic all the time, but you just have to do as much as you can."

It was a pleasure speaking with Kate. She reminded me that it's important to do what we can to better the earth - I'm going to follow her lead and add a compost pail to my Christmas list! I hope she takes my cooking advice and starts to read YumSugar.

Photo courtesy Drew Altizer.

Sonoma and Mendocino Wine Regions Prepare For Dry Spell

YumSugar — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:15:15 -0800

Due to a lengthy dry spell in Northern California this season, Sonoma and Mendocino counties face a potentially devastating drought. This water shortage poses an immediate threat to Russian River grape growers and the region's hospitality industry.

Local officials have warned residents that water usage cutbacks may be as high as 50 percent. The dry spell won't just be about brown lawns and dry pools. The first to weather the impact? The region's grape growers, who will be forced to reconsider whether or not to turn on the spigots for frost protection in March. In addition, the drought's effects will likely spill over to the entire region's hospitality industry, as restaurants would be facing restricted flow on water, and forced to ration water, which is used in everything from making drinks in-house to doing dishes and mopping the floor.

I find this news alarming, and can't help but think it's a direct result of global warming. Did it ever occur to you how much a climate change could impact a sector such as the restaurant or wine industry?

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The Ultimate Kitchen: Chef's Knife

YumSugar — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 00:15:22 -0800

When I'm at parties I'm always asked one of three things.

1- What's your favorite thing to make?
2- What's your favorite restaurant?
3- What's your favorite kitchen tool?

The first two are hard, but the last one is the most difficult. There's so many to choose from: mixer, grater, food processor, pepper grinder, etc. Since there are so many so called "essentials" I've decided to highlight one each week. Most of these will be kitchen must-haves, but I'll also highlight the occasional splurge. You can think of this list as The Ultimate Kitchen.

To start things off, every kitchen needs at least one good 8" chef's knife. A full set of knives is nice to have, but it's actually better (and cheaper) to build your own set. This way you'll get the knives that suit your needs best. So to start off your set, invest in a good chef's knife. I personally really like the knives from Global, they have a lightweight feel and a unique grip handle. Plus, if I'm going to be 100% honest, I also just like the way they look.

A Global 8" Chef's Knife will set you back about $86. If you're adding it to a registry, you may consider requesting the 3-Piece Global Knife Set which includes a 3 1/2" paring knife, a 5 1/4" utility knife and 7" santoku (which can replace the need for an 8" chef's knife).

If you don't like the way Global's feel (go in and test them out first), Wüsthof and Henckels are both really nice knives as well.

Starbucks Embarks on Product (RED) Campaign

YumSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:15:27 -0800

Despite its staggering fourth-quarter drop in sales, number one coffee retailer Starbucks has announced a multiyear partnership with charity campaign Product (RED).

From Nov. 27 to Jan. 3 in the US and Canada, Starbucks will donate five cents from the sale of any Starbucks (RED) beverage to the Global Fund to help save lives in Africa.

The exclusive Starbucks (RED) beverages include the Espresso Truffle, Peppermint Mocha Twist, and Gingersnap Latte. And on Dec. 1, the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, Starbucks will be donating five cents for every Starbucks beverage that's made to order.

The chain is going through great effort to get the word out about the new campaign. Instead of their signature green getups, baristas will sport red aprons to highlight the partnership. This Friday, Nov. 28, Starbucks and celebrity chef Mario Batali will take over Times Square, passing out free (RED) coffee beverages. Other celebrities supporting the cause, like Mary-Louise Parker, Helena Christensen, and Annabella Sciorra, will also be on hand at the event.

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Beer Prices on the Rise; Budweiser Goes Global

YumSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:30:45 -0700

In the mood for a brew? Be forewarned, a cold one could cost you. Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors have both announced plans to hike beer prices. Falling sales and higher costs of commodities like barley and hops have forced them to compensate by raising prices. In a statement Tuesday, US-Belgian company Anheuser-Busch InBev said it will raise stickers "across different price tiers" in "a majority of markets this Fall" to cover "input costs." Likewise, InBev's biggest competitor, MillerCoors, intends to increase prices this season. Higher prices from the two conglomerates - which together comprise more than 80 percent of the market - will impact the beer industry during a time when beer drinkers are reaching for the cheapest selections.

In a New York Times commentary, "Rising Beer Prices Hint at Oligopoly," the op-ed's writers lament that the two companies' abilities to raise prices while customers are hurting "highlights the pricing power that has accompanied industry consolidation" and "begs for an antitrust review."

Anheuser-Busch isn't stopping there. The beer overlord has aggressive plans to transform Budweiser into a global player, using Coca-Cola as a marketing model. The corporation hopes to introduce the "King of Beers" into dozens of new markets, including parts of Africa. Have you noticed rising beer prices? Could Budweiser eventually become an international symbol like Coke? Should Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors face antitrust allegations?

National Geographic's Portrait of the Global Food Crisis

YumSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:00:14 -0700

While it's unlikely that there'll be any shortage of food at Memorial Day grill-outs across the country this weekend, National Geographic has released a special report on the global food crisis that's occurring at the same time.

In "The End of Plenty," writer Joel K. Bourne, Jr., and photojournalist John Stanmeyer address the fact that agricultural productivity isn't keeping up with population growth, and humanity's looked the other way. "For most of the past decade, the world has been consuming more food than it has been producing," Bourne writes. Consequently, the cost of wheat, corn, rice, and other basic commodities has skyrocketed worldwide, hitting the world's poorest billion people the hardest. And the situation will only get worse: based on the world's booming population, we'll need to double our current food production by 2030 in order to keep up with demand. Simply stated: there isn't going to be enough food to go around.

Predictably, the root of the problem lies with agribusiness, and the synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and genetic engineering that come along with it. Overconsumption of meat is a problem, too: it takes up to 10 times more grain to get the same amount of calories from eating US grain-fed beef as it does from eating the grain itself. This alone is reason enough for a city to go meatless!

Check out the stunning photo slideshow, which profiles the world's interdependent food system. Do you feel the same urgency to address the world's food crisis?