Since 2001, warnings have circulated via Email and Facebook warning people not to use Canola oil because it is highly dangerous to humans. According to such messages, you shouldn’t use Canola oil because it is made from a genetically engineered plant developed in Canada “which is part of the mustard family of plants.” It is […]
What is a Banquette in a Restaurant?
In a restaurant setting, banquette is a word for a padded bench with a cushioned seat and back. This style of seating is used in “banquette seating,” which is often confused with booth seating. In fact, some restaurant owners may call the padded benches in their booth seating banquettes. However, banquette refers to a continuous […]
Banning Artificial Colors: Food Deserts and Minority Rule
With the current frenzy around banning food additives, and particularly banning artificial colors, I thought I’d recount a little story about the impact of food additives on someone’s life. The story involves artificial food colors or “dyes.” A 4-year old boy named Trenton started pre-K. He started having nightmares and public meltdowns. His mother couldn’t […]
The Biggest Myth About Using Salt in Food
Writing about the use of salted butter versus unsalted butter, and noticing certain notions people have about the two, made me realize that many cooks, and especially foodies, hold a central misconception about the use of salt in food. This is witnessed in the idea that if you buy the finest butter available, you won’t […]
What Does “Salt To Taste” Mean in a Recipe?
There are certain things that are obvious to seasoned cooks when reading a recipe. If you are a beginner to cooking, however, things that seem so self-apparent to the experienced can be confusing. One of the most confusing things about cooking, especially if you prefer precise instructions, is when exact amounts of ingredients are not […]
Why Do Wintergreen Lifesavers Make Sparks of Light When You Chew Them?
Did you know you can make little bolts of lightning in your mouth? Just chew on some wintergreen Lifesavers candy. It’s been observed since the 1980s that this particular flavor of Lifesavers has the curious habit of emitting sparks inside your mouth when you chew them. The sparks are electricity. This is caused by a […]
Does Ice Cream Really Contain Seaweed?
While ice cream does not actually contain seaweed, many mass-produced food products, ice cream often contains a gum ingredient. One of these, carrageenan, comes from seaweed. Food gums are naturally occurring non-digestible carbohydrates that are used as stabilizers, thickeners, and binders. Guar gum is a common example of such an ingredient that is often found […]