Pop Culture
Is there a difference between bourbon and whiskey?
According to this article from Smithsonian Magazine there is a way to differentiate between whiskey and bourbon. UC-Davis’s Tom Collins (great name in this context) researched the chemical differences between 60 different whiskeys including Tennessee, ryes, bourbons and others. He found over 4,000 “non-volatile compounds.” There are components that are barrel derived, as we would […]
Why do we eat cereal for breakfast?
Have you ever wondered why most Americans eat in the same general pattern every day? Cereal for breakfast, maybe a sandwich for lunch and a big dinner? Smithsonian Magazine recently interviewed Abigail Carroll author of Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal which traces our eating evolution. Most people during colonial times ate their […]
The 4 Best Christmas Movie Food Scenes
It’s Christmas movie time on all of the TV networks. Whether It’s A Wonderful Life, Frosty the Snowman or Elf, more often than not, something is on. TBS is doing their annual 24 hour marathon of a Christmas Story. Food is an integral part of Christmas so it’s not surprising that the movies below feature […]
Why Are Some Cheeses Orange?
The sky is blue. American cheese is dyed orange. Two facts of life. But why isn’t cheese white since it comes from milk? Centuries ago in England, lots of cheeses had a natural yellowish-orange pigment. The cheese came from the milk of certain breeds of cows, such as Jersey and Guernsey. Their milk tended to […]
Halloween: Trick of Treating Memories
As a kid, if you grew up in one neighborhood, you could get a rough sense for which houses gave out the good candy and which ones didn’t. On the good list were any kind of chocolate, candy corn and Nerds. My favorite was Charleston Chews since I only got those during Halloween. On the […]
Meatless Monday – It’s Working
Created jointly in 2003 by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and an ad exec, Meatless Monday was invented to encourage gradual dietary change (and help the environment). Monday was chosen because people are more likely to make lifestyle changes like quiting smoking or begin exercising at the beginning of the week. While Americans still […]
Food Superstitions
Every culture has food superstitions. When my parents were returning from India I requested a bottle of table mustard called kasundi. People use to believe that this type of mustard, along with boris (dried lentil dumplings) and achar (pickled relish) are bad luck for travel. I had no idea I’d risked my parents lives for […]
Post-NFL Eating Habits – Pass Me the Salad
If you’ve had a stressful day it’s a natural instinct to eat something rich and unhealthy. Foods like candy immediately provide pleasure. According to a study from the INSEAD business school in France, the same holds true for when your favorite sports team loses a game. Tracking NFL fans, they found that “Overall calorie consumption […]
Gluten Free Struggles Via Buzzfeed
This list comes from Buzzfeed. While I’m not gluten free, I know many who are. This list covering the most difficulties of those who are gluten free/intolerant seem to be spot on. My favorites are “Feeling Strangely Attracted to Potatoes” and “Speed Reading Labels on the Back of Packaged Foods”. The only one that seems […]
Paranormal Witness: Help My Carbonara Is Haunted!
Fall will officially be here in a matter of days. That means it’s time to break out the scary TV shows and movies. My girlfriend just introduced me to a show on the SyFy network called “Paranormal Witness.” It’s one of those which features first person accounts of hauntings along with re-enactments. Full disclosure: Several […]
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