Obama and Hollande: cheeseburger and French fries

On 18 May 2012, ahead of the G8 summit at Camp David and the NATO meeting in Chicago, French President François Hollande and US President Barack Obama held a bilateral meeting at the Oval Office at the White House. At the bilateral meeting, President Obama expressed an interest in President Hollande's views on cheeseburgers in Chicago. See remarks.

Obama
I was interested, when I was reading the President's biography, that he actually spent some time in the United States in his youth, studying American fast food -- (laughter) -- and although he decided to go into politics, we'll be interested in his opinions of cheeseburgers in Chicago. (Laughter.)

Hollande (translated)
And I would like to thank President Obama for the knowledge he has of my life before I took office. I will say nothing against cheeseburgers, of course.

Obama
I just want to remember that cheeseburgers go very well with French fries. (Laughter.)

Seemingly trivial, the exchange was not unnoticed in media reporting.

See for example, BFMTV (in French) or via YouTube



In Le Nouvel Observateur, Sylvain Courage provided some context to the exchange (my emphasis in bold)

Il sait que le jeune Hollande est venu, dès 1974, étudier le business américain du "fast food". Du coup, il attend avec impatience son jugement concernant les "cheeseburgers" de Chicago sa bonne ville où se tiendra, ce week-end, un sommet de l’Otan. L’allusion est rituelle. Combien de leaders mondiaux ont dû faire l’éloge du petit pain rond garni de steack haché pour s’attirer le lumineux sourire de Barack

La blague finaude souligne la dette culturelle et gastronomique du premier des frenchies. Naguère Sarkozy avait confié son admiration naïve pour Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne et l’inspecteur Colombo… Cette fois, le président français passe pour un accro du "Big Mac" et du "sundae fraise".

and finally

Pour conclure l’entretien préliminaire, Obama lance une dernière plaisanterie : les cheeseburgers de Chicago vont très bien avec les "french fries", ces frites que l’Amérique bushienne avait conspuées par francophobie post-irakienne… Hollande qui goûte autant la friture que la métaphore se garde "de faire tout commentaire." Pas de doute, pour tous les experts ès-diplomatie, le couple franco-américaine a remis le couvert.

The food metaphor signalled unchanged strengthened Franco-American relations.

See full exchange on White House YouTube complete with translators

Coconut water

Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young green coconuts. Coconuts are more commonly harvested when mature and brown for the hard white coconut flesh or meat, from which liquid is extracted using added water to make coconut milk.

The liquid from green coconuts, usually available fresh in the tropics where the coconut palm is grown, has gained popularity elsewhere as a drink in recent times through the availability of packaged drinks. While the usually sweetened juice with some pulp has been popular in Thailand for some time sold in a can or plastic container, the unsweetened variety has gained wider acceptance outside of Asia. Unsweetened coconut water (not juice) is now a popular health drink. Marketed as a health drink, it has become a fad. Its health benefits, however, have been challenged (see New York Times, CNN, Reuters).

I have actually been drinking coconut water for some time, starting with the nudie brand but the last few months noticed an increase in other brands and availability. Hence, I thought it would be interesting to compare prices, ingredients and taste.

A comparison of each of these is provided below. Prices in Australian dollars.

nudie Coconut Water
Australia, from imported ingredients, source not indicated, no sugar added
350mL ($2.99), 1L ($6.99), per 100mL (small $0.85, large $0.70)
per 100mL - Energy 90kJ, Sodium 18mg, Potassium 190mg, Polyphenols 9mg, sugars 5g
per 350mL - Energy 315kJ, Sodium 63mg, Potassium 665mg, Polyphenols 31.5mg, sugars 17.5g

This is one of the older products in the market with the larger bottle more recently available. It has a natural taste to it without being too sweet. Available in the refrigerated aisles in Coles and Woolworths.

AYAM Coconut Water with pulp
Product of Thailand, coconut juice 90%, water, coconut pulp 3%, sugar, preservative 223
320mL ($1.52), per 100mL ($0.47)
per 100g - Energy 96kJ, Sodium 25mg, sugar 4.1g
per 320mL - Energy 308kJ, Sodium 80mg, sugar 13.1g

This one has added sugar and added water. A cheaper option that is drinkable and slightly sweeter because of the mix despite having lower total sugar content.  Available in the Asian aisle in Woolworths. 

Celebes Organic Coconut Water
Product of the Philippines
350mL ($3.20), per 100mL ($0.91)
per 100mL - Energy 84kJ, Sodium 19mg, Potassium 222mg, sugars 5g
per 350mL - Energy 294kJ, Sodium 70mg, Potassium 780mg, sugars 16g

Despite the similar natural sugar content as other brands, this one tastes less sweet.  Available in health food stores. 

nakula coconut water
Made in Thailand from local organic certified ingredients
300mL ($3.95), per 100mL ($1.32)
per 100mL - Energy 91kJ, Sodium 16.6mg, Potassium 230mg, sugars 3g
per 300mL - Energy 272kJ, Sodium 50mg, Potassium 690mg, sugars 9g

Probably the most expensive brand. The sugar content is much lower and the corresponding taste reflects this. Available in health food stores.

(Schweppes Australia) Kokomo Coconut Water
Packed in the Philippines, no added sugar or artificial sweetener, no preservatives, no concentrate
330mL ($2.50), per 100mL ($0.76)
per 100mL - Energy 83kJ, Sodium 19mg, Potassium 222mg, sugars 4.3g
per 330mL - Energy 274kJ, Sodium 63mg, Potassium 733mg, sugars 14.2g

This is a new product from a large beverage company. It is not as sweet. Available in the drinks aisle in Coles supermarket.

cocobella coconut water
Made fresh at the coconut plantation in Indonesia, free from concentrates
250mL ($1.99), per 100mL ($0.80)
per 100mL - 95kJ, Sodium 40mg, Potassium 131mg, Phosphorous [sic] 67mg, sugars 4.7g
per 250mL - 238kJ, Sodium 100mg, Potassium 328mg, Phosphorous [sic] 166mg, sugars 11.8g

Along with nudie, probably one of the more popular and well-established brands.  It has the right amount of sweetness.  Available in the drinks aisle in Coles supermarket.

wasting food 6

I've previously written (a number of times) about wasting food.  Sweden's The Local (in English) has reported that Swedes throw away a large amount of food every year and malformed vegetables do not even reach human consumption stage.

Swedes throw away food for 20-40 billion kronor ($3-6 billion) every year and the food tossed aside by households, stores and restaurants is just the tip of the iceberg. A new report from the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket) reveals that vegetables considered unattractive never even reaches stores.

"A lot of carrots get thrown away because of their looks, and that just feels completely wrong considering today's debate about the environment," carrot farmer Tanya Hultman, outside Piteå in northern Sweden, told The Local on Thursday.

Carrots that don't make the cut are among the unappealing foodstuff most often rejected, according to Sveriges Radio (SR). Too small, too crooked, too big - none of these vegetables will see grocery stores.

Hultman is disappointed by this blatant discrimination, pointing out that there's nothing wrong with the carrots apart from looking insufficiently appealing.

According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture, as much as a fourth of all the carrots farmed are rejected by stores.

The Local also reported that one third of all food produced is not even eaten. Read more.  Full report from Jordbruksverket, Hållbar konsumtion av jordbruksvaror linked here (pdf document in Swedish).

Surely, unattractive vegetables would have been used in food processing.  The high levels of food wastage in affluent nations is unacceptable given so many in the world have barely enough to eat.

Australian celebrity chef swears that perfectly edible food should not be thrown out

I've previously written (a number of times) about wasting food, including mentioning that for commercial operations like catering and restaurants, there are charities that make good use of unsold or untouched food to help those in need, and that in Australia, OzHarvest is one such charity.  Today, OzHarvest announced a new initiative

OzHarvest, Australia's leading food-rescue charity, today launches REAP, an initiative that brings the food-rescue concept to regional areas around the country. The project, the brainchild of OzHarvest founder and former Local Hero of the year 2010, Ronni Kahn, provides a toolkit for regional communities to carry out the OzHarvest mission themselves; that is, to collect excess food and feed those in need.

REAP launched with a controversial viral ad campaign featuring renowned chef Matt Moran, owner/chef of Sydney and Brisbane's Aria restaurant and also judge on Network Ten's MasterChef.

The controversial viral video, captured on an iPhone, was released onto YouTube and Twitter revealing a very irritated Moran having a heated argument with staff on set while filming a cooking segment.

The unknown staff member throws away a piece of perfectly good-to-eat 'plated-up' chicken only to have a very angry Moran shock viewers by shouting expletives at the staff member for throwing away perfectly edible food.

It is revealed through a second viral video release that this was, in fact, a hoax which brings to light the issue of food wastage in Australia with the message from Moran to think twice about throwing away food. Moran also emphasises that billions of dollars of food is thrown away every year. A community service announcement with REAP's message will also be played on Network Ten during the month of May.

Matt Moran said: 'I was more than happy to be involved in something so controversial if it meant that the message of food waste would be brought to the top of Australians' minds. REAP is a simple concept started by leading food charity OzHarvest, who have already rescued millions of meals from going to waste and who have provided millions of people with fresh food that they normally would not have access to. It's a f***ing great cause!'

The REAP regional toolkit contains a three-step process with four guiding principles for communities in feeding the needy within their own towns. Firstly, identify the need, secondly, source the food and lastly get an esky and go!

Community food rescuers collect the food from the donor, delivering it to the client, who provides the food to the needy. Central to the program's effectiveness is that it is an entirely free service, aligned with the OzHarvest mission. The NSW Premier's Department provided funding to OzHarvest for this project.

Ronni Kahn, CEO and founder of OzHarvest said: 'The issue of feeding those in need goes well beyond the areas we currently service which is Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong and most recently Adelaide. We have been working hard to create ways to help regional areas where our yellow OzHarvest vans just don't have the capability to reach on a day-to-day basis.'

Kahn said: 'REAP provides regional areas with all the necessary tools that they need to rescue food and deliver it to the disadvantaged. On top of that, it also serves to stop good food from ending up as landfill.'

The 'viral' video


The follow-up video


Aside from the gimmicky manner in which this was announced such as prematurely labelling of a 'controversial viral' video (see reporting in Sydney Morning Herald, which played along), this is a great initiative.

See also public relations company Liquid Ideas' news release, which also includes details of 'food facts'.

Finally, real coffee in Paris

About 12 months ago, I wrote about New Yorkers finally getting the real taste of coffee, with Australian baristas from Melbourne, which has a well-known cafe and coffee culture, sharing their expertise.

AFP (through France24) has reported that Paris is now finally getting 'gourmet' coffee, also courtesy of experienced Australian baristas. Excerpt

It's famous for its sun-kissed sidewalk cafes, but Paris has lagged well behind New York, London and Sydney as a Mecca for connoisseurs of fine coffee -- until now.

Gourmet coffee bars and small-batch roasteries are popping up in the French capital, introducing locals to thick rich espressos, artful lattes and the idea that a cup of Joe can be savoured like fine wine.

"Coffee is a big part of the culture" in Paris, said Tom Clark, co-owner of the Coutume Cafe, which recently became the city's newest coffee bar and specialty roaster when it opened its doors on the Left Bank.

"It's just that it's not been respected... It is a living product. It has to be handled with care."

Driving the trend is an entrepreneurial network of young expats like Clark, an Australian living in France for three years who grew up on artisanal coffee, and well-travelled French contemporaries like his business partner Antoine Netien, a champion roaster in Melbourne before his return home.

"Before I went to Australia, I was drinking coffee with no idea how it was made," said French bartender-turned-barista Thomas Lehoux, who now mans the coffee machine at Eggs&Co, a hip Left Bank brunch spot.

"Most French people don't have any idea that coffee can be like wine."

Read more. It may come as a surprise to many people that despite its cafe society, the coffee in Paris is not that good at all.  It would be much the same in Germany, where the coffee is also 'industrial' served with cream and sugar.

more hot than hotter

In August 2007, I wrote (rather reproduced an Associated Press report) about bhut jolokia (the "ghost chilli") grown in northeastern India and claimed to be the hottest, rated at 1,000,000 Scoville units. The previous record holder, the Red Savina habanero, was tested at up to 580,000 Scovilles.

Bhut jolokia held the record for nearly three years until the end of last year when it was superceded by the Infinity chilli at nearly 1.18 million Scovilles then the Naga Viper at just over 1.38 million Scovilles, both grown in the United Kingdom.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that an even hotter chilli has been grown in Australia called the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T rated at 1.46 million Scovilles.

See also The Independent (UK).

the Double Down down under

In April last year, I wrote about the launch of KFC's Double Down sandwich (without any bread) in the United States.

At the time, there were no plans to make it available outside of the United States.

From tomorrow (30 March), the Double Down will be available in Australia for four weeks only (but six weeks in Tasmania). According to KFC's media release, resulting in considerable media coverage, it is being marketed to "young men left unsatisfied by traditional burgers".

See
- The Age
- Herald Sun
- Courier Mail
- Crikey

It will be a hit in terms of sales. The male-bonding over 'Double Down' 'ManTime' might be a different story.

Vegemite lite.

I've previously written about Vegemite and Marmite, that wonderful yeast spread that has been a mainstay of generations of children (and adults) in Australia and Britain.

In mid-2009, Kraft launched a milder version of Vegemite, blended with cheese (subsequently named Vegemite Cheesybite) in an attempt to lure new consumers.

Kraft has just launched 'myfirst Vegemite' without much fanfare aimed at younger children, of a watered-down version, to wean them slowly to full-strength Vegemite. Salt content has been reduced by 50 per cent in the new product with more iron and B vitamins.

The new product is sold in a smaller jar (150g) for $3.99 so is certainly more expensive.

Traditional Vegemite sustained generations of Australian children with little adverse affect (everything in moderation), so another variation in product appears to be yet again another marketing exercise.

Vegemite is an acquired taste. Not all adults (as parents) eat it but they should really provide it as an option for their own children.

See reports in Sydney Morning Herald (two).

wasting food 4

I've previously written about wasting food. On Boxing Day (26 December 2010), Jennifer Rajca writing in the Sydney Morning Herald reported that annually "[a]cross Australia, about 4.45 million tonnes of food, worth $7.8 billion, is discarded."   According to Jon Dee, founder of Do Something! "each household throws away $1036 worth of food, or 585 kilograms, each year."

That is a staggering amount. There needs to be a more careful study that audits food by type such as fresh (including vegetable, meat and dairy), processed foods (including condiments and their expiry dates) and frozen foods. While I very rarely discard fresh food as they are usually consumed before they get to spoil, processed condiments such as mayonnaise with expiry dates that require refrigeration often expire with significant content in the bottle. Hence packaging sizes may be a factor on such items.

Relatedly, last month, Sophie Morris in the London Evening Standard reported about a wonderful concept called "The People's Kitchen". Extrait

Sundays start slowly in Dalston. The local hipsters have been up late. If not partying, they've been customising their latest vintage clothing finds, writing short films to release as virals or debating radical politics.

So it's gone 4pm when a crowd begins to gather around chopping boards and crates of onions and potatoes at Passing Clouds on Richmond Road, a newish venue that wants to offer all things to all-comers, be that a funk night, drum workshop, gin-soaked ragtime and swing afternoon, golden oldie film screening or, in this case, a tasty home-cooked Sunday feast.

The venue describes itself as a “collective of artists and musicians” but now a band of foodies are staging a weekly takeover dubbed “the People's Kitchen”. You can eat a leek and courgette tortilla, oozing runny eggs and fresh greens, curled up in one of the worn velvet and leather armchairs in front of a film, or grab a spot at the bar with a bowl of spicy aubergine pasta. Latecomers pile up plates of bread and cheese before settling in for the evening's jam session, a weekly event performed by some of Passing Clouds' regulars.

The food is all waste collected from Spitalfields Market and local businesses that would otherwise have been thrown away, and some of the people who have turned up to help out have experience in professional kitchens, so the food and environmental boxes are ticked. But, best of all, this Sunday lunch is completely free.

Read more. It is a fascinating read. Wasting food is just simply sinful.

Kopi Luwak (poo coffee)

Reported by Sara Sidner in Jakarta for CNN


While not new information, having been previously reported elsewhere over the past ten years, is a useful reminder.

Of course Indonesia is not the only source of this coffee, with Vietnam also known for its "weasel coffee".

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM, or portion thereof, is commonly used to describe delicious food. We can thank Cookie Monster for this phrase.

See interview by Ella with Cookie Monster on 9 November 2009 for Rocketboom

Preserving French cuisine

UNESCO maintains a World Heritage List, which is well known. The 911 sites include those that are natural, like the Great Barrier Reef or cultural, like the Sydney Opera House. Inclusion of a site on the list means worldwide recognition of the importance of the site and the need to preserve and protect it for humanity.

Less well known is UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Items are those cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage that are deemed worthy of protection and preservation. Intangible items include human expressions such as song, dance and rituals.

Recently, UNESCO, meeting in Kenya, added the gastronomic meal of the French to the list

The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary social practice for celebrating important moments in the lives of individuals and groups, such as births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and reunions. It is a festive meal bringing people together for an occasion to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking. The gastronomic meal emphasizes togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature. Important elements include the careful selection of dishes from a constantly growing repertoire of recipes; the purchase of good, preferably local products whose flavours go well together; the pairing of food with wine; the setting of a beautiful table; and specific actions during consumption, such as smelling and tasting items at the table. The gastronomic meal should respect a fixed structure, commencing with an apéritif (drinks before the meal) and ending with liqueurs, containing in between at least four successive courses, namely a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert. Individuals called gastronomes who possess deep knowledge of the tradition and preserve its memory watch over the living practice of the rites, thus contributing to their oral and/or written transmission, in particular to younger generations. The gastronomic meal draws circles of family and friends closer together and, more generally, strengthens social ties.

Reported by AFP via France24

The country's ambassador to UNESCO Catherine Colonna hailed the inclusion, saying it "makes a contribution to cultural diversity".

"The French love getting together to eat and drink well and enjoy good times in such a manner. It is part of our tradition -- a quite active tradition," she added.

How wines are paired with dishes, how the table is dressed, the precise placing of glasses, for water, red and white wine, knife blade pointing in and fork tines down, are all seen as part of the rite.

Francis Chevrier, chief delegate of the French mission in charge of submitting the UNESCO bid, also welcomed the decision.

"It's very important that people realise, in villages in Africa and everywhere, that when you have knowledge of food it is a treasure for your community, and something worth cherishing," he said.

"It's wonderful. This is excellent news for French culture, for French heritage, to invite our cuisine, our gastronomic heritage to sit at the high table of culture at UNESCO."

See also a debate on France24 with commentators trying to define what is means including why French food is more special than many others (and in French). Unwieldily, the list is of the meal but not the cuisine.

Other 'cuisines' included in the list are Mexican and the Mediterranean diet.

Including 'cuisines' that are not endangered seems a little strange. Surely there are many more cuisines and gastronomic traditions throughout the world that are equally worthy of 'preservation'.

Bringing home the bacon

Last year I wrote about the micro pig being the latest pet craze in Britain.

It seems that the craze had also taken in Australia, with Chrystal's Mini Pigs being a main breeder-supplier.

The Age (Carolyn Webb) reported about a pet pig named Leroy attending canine obedience classes. Excerpt

Watching 10-week-old Leroy at a Heidelberg park yesterday, it was clear that the dog club's gamble to admit Leroy as its first pig student has succeeded. In a month of private lessons, Ms Behan has taught Leroy to sit, come when called, and push a soccer ball.

She's moving on to tricks such as carrying a bag in his mouth - a challenge because it's not a natural action for a pig.

Despite a short attention span and his poor eyesight, Leroy has nailed some tasks faster than canine students and has a non-aggressive nature.

Katarina Behan, the trainer also wrote in her blog, doglifetraining.com

A number of months ago I was approached to train a pet piglet, named Leroy. I saw this as an amazing opportunity to ‘test’ the method of training I use on dogs, on another species. I had heard that pigs are very intelligent and that they can be trained to perform many different behaviours.

To begin, I wanted to teach Leroy to push a soccer ball around with his nose. In order to do this, I knew I had to use a training tool called a ‘clicker’. Clickers are small hand held tools, with a button or stiff strip of metal that once pushed, it makes a distinct ‘click’ sound. You may have received one as a child in a party bag.

See video


Unlike the British micro pigs, these appear to be slightly bigger. More meat on a spit. Only joking.

Pigs are as intelligent as dogs, if not more so. Pig owners are probably unlikely to keep eating pork. If only ham and bacon weren't so tasty.

Terry Durack's top 50 food experiences in Sydney

Terry Durack is a well known Australian food reviewer/critic. He was the Sydney Morning Herald's chief food reviewer and editor of The Sydney Morning Good Food Guide for many years before leaving Sydney in 2000 to work in London as food critic for The Independent. He returned to Sydney with partner Jill Dupliex (who was food editor for The Times) in 2009, again as food reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald.

He recently wrote about the 50 things every Sydney food lover should try.

While there are some pricey ones, most are relatively reasonably priced, if not cheap. I like these and will add them to my list of things to do in Sydney

4. Wagyu burger and Martinez cocktail at Rockpool Bar & Grill
Every great bar has its perfect order. Here, it's the wagyu burger and a Martinez, the not-so-dry precursor to the dry martini. Settle into a dark leather chair in the lovely dimly lit bar – you'll need a candle to scan the menu – and hit on David Blackmore's full-blood wagyu burger with Schulz house-smoked bacon, gruyère cheese, Zuni pickle (zucchini and red onion) and relish ($22). Match it with the Martinez ($19), made of sweet vermouth, Tanqueray gin, bitters and a splash of maraschino. 66 Hunter Street, city. Phone: 8078 1900. rockpool.com.au

28. Pho dac biet from Pho Pasteur
The decor and service are basic but the special beef noodle soup ($9.50) is just that – special, with its silky rice noodles, slices of beef, tripe and translucent tendon awash in an aromatic broth. 295 Chapel Road, Bankstown (also at Haymarket and Parramatta). Phone: 9790 2900.

34. Xiao long bao dumplings from Din Tai Fung
Half the fun is watching the white-gowned, white-masked staff make these little porkand soup-filled dumplings ($8.80 for six) in the seethrough kitchen while you wait for a table. The other half is eating them. World Square, 644 George Street, city. Phone: 9264 6010. dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp

35. Tonkotsu ramen from Gumshara
It's worth hanging around once you've put your order in for this seriously thick, lipsticking pork broth swimming with ramen noodles ($12) just to watch chef Mori's assured technique as he swirls broth, strains noodles and tucks in barbecue pork and soft-boiled egg at speed with utter concentration. Eating World, 25 Dixon Street, Haymarket. No phone.

36. Hainanese chicken rice from Temasek
The uninitiated may ask what is so special about a simple Malaysian dish of chicken served with a bowl of the broth in which the chicken is poached, along with a mound of rice cooked in the same broth ($12). Temasek's regulars know better. 71 George Street, Parramatta. Phone: 9633 9926.

There were others on Durack's list that did not take my fancy, such as the famous pie with mushy peas from Harry's Cafe de Wheels (number 30 on his list). I tried it once but found the cold mushy peas unappealing.

Combat rations in Afghanistan

Last year, I wrote about Australian soldiers in Afghanistan not being satisfied with the meals being provided by the Dutch. In the same post, I also wrote about the Australian pre-packaged ration packs.

Ashely Gilbertson, in The New York Times, recently wrote about the pre-packaged rations, comparing those from different countries. Excerpt

The menus and accompaniments are intended not just to nourish but also to remind the soldier of home. Some include branded comfort foods — Australians get a dark-brown spreadable yeast-paste treat called Vegemite, for example — while others get national staples like liverwurst (Germany), or lamb curry (Britain’s current culinary obsession).

Some of the contents are practical. Italians get three disposable toothbrushes per day of combat. Americans get pound cake, which military folklore says reduces the need for toilet breaks.

Read more. See also photos of the packs from a number of different countries. Some of the other packs look appealing, but I would stick with the Australian one. The others don't have Vegemite.

When beans were bullets

I've previously written about wasting food a number of times.

There is a National Agricultural Library (US Department of Agriculture, USDA) exhibition until 10 September 2010 of war-time food posters at 10301 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville MD curated by Cory Bernat. The exhibit then moves to USDA at 1400 Independence Ave SW, Washington DC.

The exhibit examines the evolution of poster styles, propaganda messages and advertising history during the two time periods.

Viewers will recognize familiar wartime messages about food conservation, rationing and home canning. But today's audience might be surprised by government messaging during World War I encouraging home front populations to eat locally, healthfully and conscientiously in order to put the nation's interest first and contribute to distant war efforts. The exhibit also retraces the advent of modern consumer culture, including the far-reaching influence of both the Advertising Council of World War II and the dawn of the advertising industry in the 1920s and '30s.

Combining the eye of a graphic designer with the research skills of a historian, curator Cory Bernat highlights the dramatic differences in style and content that emerged between the two wars. She displays copies of over seventy posters on fence panels instead of in frames to highlight their mass-produced quality. She uncovered the educational and patriotic gems over the last two years among unprocessed posters within NAL’s Special Collections, where the originals are still held.

(picture via treehugger)


(picture from Beans are Bullets)

More of the posters can be viewed at the Beans are Bullets website. See also treehugger.

There may be a message somewhere that is relevant to today's over-consumption and obesity problem. Even during today's 'times of plenty', we owe it to those who faced tough times (and indeed many continue to do so through out the world) to treat food with respect and not be so wasteful.

Heston Blumenthal's perfect roast potatoes

Heston Blumenthal (from The Fat Duck) shows us how to cook perfect roast potatoes, from the BBC cookery show 'In Search of Perfection'.



I would have left the skin on.

Australia's most famous dessert

On 25 July 2010, around 3.9 million Australians watched two contestants prepare a dessert in their bid to be MasterChef 2010.

Consequently, the dessert called Snow Egg, created by Peter Gilmore of Quay restaurant in Sydney is now the most famous in Australia. Reported in Sydney Morning Herald

After its starring role in the MasterChef final, Sydney restaurant Quay's snow egg is arguably the most famous dessert in the country.

“We've had to put extra people on [the section] to help make it,” Quay general manager John Fink says of the stratospheric demand over the past week for the dessert (pictured).

“We've had people phone up asking if we do it as takeaway,” he says.

It looks stunning.



Components

* poached meringue
* maltose tuilles
* guava puree
* guava granita
* custard apple ice cream
* vanilla custard base
* vanilla cream
* guava fool

Poached Meringue

* 300g egg white
* 300g sugar

Maltose Tuilles

* 200g liquid maltose
* 100g sugar
* 20g flaked almonds

Guava Puree

* 175g sugar
* 250ml water
* ½ vanilla bean
* 375g strawberry guava flesh

Guava Granita

* 500ml water
* 100g sugar
* 400g strawberry guavas, peeled
* 100g fresh strawberries

Custard Apple Ice Cream

* 6 egg yolks
* 200g sugar
* 200ml milk
* 300ml clear custard apple juice
* 100ml single cream

Vanilla Custard Base

* 400ml single cream
* 2 vanilla beans
* 1 whole egg
* 3 egg yolks
* 80g sugar

Vanilla cream

* 100g vanilla custard base
* 100g double cream

Guava Fool

* 400g guava puree
* 200g vanilla cream

The full recipe can be found at Lifestyle Food Channel or MasterChef.

beef, lamb, kangaroo, venison... horse

Australians consume an average of 46.5kg of red meat each year, made up of 33.7kg beef, 10.8kg lamb and 2kg mutton (2008-09 Meat and Livestock Australia). Add to that the growing domestic consumption of kangaroo meat (though no figures are available) and smaller amounts of venison.

Soon, adding to the range of red meat will be horse. According to Daile Pepper, writing in WAToday (Sydney Morning Herald and The Age)

[Vince Garreffa of Mondo Di Carne gourmet butchers] would be the first Australian butcher to offer the product for humans, and claimed that people from ethnic groups who enjoyed the meat often resorted to buying it from pet stores.

Mr Garreffa said it was a little known fact that between 50,000 and 70,000 horses were slaughtered in Australia every year for human consumption in other parts of the world. It was time to end the hypocrisy, he said.

"It has never been sold before for domestic consumption in Australia," he said.

"We feel it's not going to be big business, it's not a money making venture, it's all about supplying the ethnic community with something they grew up with."

Not known to most people is that Australia has had a horse meat industry for some time, with most horse meat produced exported to Japan and Europe (DAFF).

Like other English-speaking countries, horse meat is generally considered to be a taboo food. Similarly, there were debates about kangaroo meat when it was first approved for human consumption. However, unlike kangaroo, there will be arguments about horses being service animals in Australia, like other companion animals such as dogs and cats, which are even more taboo as food.

Would I eat horse meat? I did. In Zurich, having 'forgotten' the German word for horse (Pferde) at the time. It was in the form of a medium rare cooked steak and very tasty.

Tetsuya's pursuit of excellence

From Australian channel SBS, a superb documentary screened tonight

Tetsuya’s Pursuit of Excellence is the story of world-renowned restaurateur Tetsuya Wakuda, who arrived in Australia in the early 1980s as a 22-year-old with little money, no professional skills and no English. Fate dictated that his first job would be as a kitchen hand.

From that accidental beginning, Tetsuya chartered a course that has taken him to the top of fine cuisine around the world. In this documentary we hear from those who were his first friends and mentors in Australia; including Danny White, Armando Percuoco and Tony Bilson.

We hear from some of his early suppliers and reviewers in Australia who helped him through a nervous beginning and some who he has helped into international markets. Also featured are a host of Tetsuya’s international colleagues including Ferran Adria from the famed El Bulli in Spain, Heston Blumenthal from Fat Duck in the UK and Richard Geoffroy, Chef du Cave at Dom Perignon.

It is available to watch in full online.

See also Tetsuya's restaurant.

Dining at Tetsuya's was one of the best meals I have ever eaten, some six years ago. I would go again.