Food Bytes

Food Bytes says goodbye

2011-03-10T19:01:07Z

A look at how the Food Bytes blog started -- and a farewell from the crew. This is our last post.

]]> About three years ago, I walked into then CBCNews.ca executive producer Mary Sheppard's office with an idea. With so many CBC foodies bursting with chatter about tasty fads and scrumptious meals, I thought it just made sense to share our love of food through a blog.

We figured there were already enough food blogs touting the latest restaurants and kitchen gadgets. Ours would focus on personal stories and commentary.

It was agreed the entries would be written in addition to our regular workloads, so we decided to enlist several contributors to carry the blog.

Though we all loved writing about food, the daily demands of online news sometimes took up all of our time.

Ultimately, the demands of online news have continued to grow and we recently learned that Food Bytes would not be part of the redesigned CBCNews.ca.

We -- Andree Lau, Andrea Chiu, Jessica Wong, Tara Kimura, Elizabeth Bridge, Kevin Yarr and I -- are, of course, sad to see the blog come to an end.

We've had a lot of fun tracking trends and finding interesting items to share with you. Thank you for following us through the years. We've been honoured to have you along for our journey.

The beauty of baking

2011-01-20T16:58:31Z

I consider myself a cook, not a baker. But I have a niggling feeling that's about to change.

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I consider myself a cook, not a baker. But I have a niggling feeling that's about to change.

Lately, I find myself more often splattered with flour than hot grease. It's part of my New Year's resolution: to learn how to make bread.

An odd goal for a self-professed lover of dinner rather than dinner rolls, but I think it's time to get past my fear of failure in the exact-measurement-obsessed world of baking.

I'm learning that baking isn't as follow-recipe-or-fail as I thought it was. That enlightenment is in part due to a recent purchase of Michael Ruhlman's book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. The book is a great for providing the basic recipe for a number of baked goods, thus giving you the ability to play with possible tweaks of the type of flour, liquid or fat used as well as choosing the extra ingredients.

I can also credit my grandmother. Watching her make bread and other yeast dough is an education unto itself. She makes it look easy thanks to decades in the kitchen. But more importantly, whereas I feel panicked at every mistake, she calmly fixes it and moves on. No big deal. The lesson: Baking can be flexible, too.

In fact, last week I even fit bread baking into my busy weekday schedule. I mixed the dough one evening, left it in the fridge until I returned from work the next day, went for drinks with friends while it rose on the counter, then when I returned I did the final proof and baked it.

Unconventional, perhaps. But it worked and I've had tasty bread all week.

Not only that, my lengthy kneading session provided a surprisingly good arm workout and was an effective stress reliever. (Don't underestimate whole wheat.)

Are you a baker or a cook? Do you think it's possible to be both?

New year, new resolutions

2011-01-12T17:52:47Z

The shop where I buy chicken ran out last weekend. Well, not completely: there were a few whole birds, some marinated segments and a few lonely boneless, skinless thighs kicking around. But the usual giant mountain of chicken breasts was gone.

]]> The shop where I buy chicken ran out last weekend. Well, not completely: there were a few whole birds, some marinated segments and a few lonely boneless, skinless thighs kicking around. But the usual giant mountain of chicken breasts was gone.

According to the young man who packaged up a few of those leftovers for me, that Saturday morning hadn't been busy, but the noon-hour had been rammed -- and everyone seemed to only want chicken breast.

After I pointed out that it was the first Saturday the St. Lawrence Market had been open since New Year's and that the onslaught might be due to "get healthy" new year's resolutions, he had an "ah ha!" moment.

After all, that was part of the reason I was there buying chicken that day.

Come January, it's hard to avoid the wave of resolutions and bids for renewal. In my household, we had already chosen the beginning of the year to start a cleansing diet, since it's when we're usually all gluttoned out, post-holiday season. (Even if we hadn't, I would still have been challenged by the myriad tips, advice, admonishments and reports being offered from CBC's Live Right Now initiative)

I'm several days into this month-long healthy, eating regime, complete with its seemingly insurmountable "forbidden" list (No to red meat, white rice, dairy, sugar, wheat and alcohol: I've had to gear up for this since late October!).

However, I have to admit it hasn't been so bad -- especially since we started eating less meat and also eating more brown rice last year.

Aside from certain cravings (chocolate bars and fruit juices, of all things!), the biggest obstacles so far have been breaking habits (dessert after dinner), planning ahead vs just picking up lunch at the food court, and finding out actual ingredients -- there was a farcical early attempt to eat out at a Japanese restaurant that had us second guessing everything.

Trying out my new slow cooker, new recipes and new ingredients -- hello quinoa, farro and millet -- has been a fun way to stretch out my kitchen muscles, too.

After a month, my hope is that I will have added a host of new favourites to my cooking repertoire and a bunch of new healthy habits, too.

Did you make any healthy eating resolutions for the new year? What foods do you turn to for healthier meals?

Chocolate genetics

2010-12-31T16:51:20Z

Hershey and Mars are engaged in a battle to unlock the genetic secrets of the cacao tree

]]> Hershey and Mars are engaged in a battle to unlock the genetic secrets of the cacao tree.

French and American scientists, funded in part by Hershey, recently published the DNA sequence of Criollo, a cacao tree that is one of the oldest domesticated trees in the world, dating back to Mayan farmers in 1,000 BC.

While Criollo is an ancient crop, it is not grown much nowadays because it is not as productive as more modern hybrids and is more susceptible to disease. It is, however, still considered to produce some of the world’s finest chocolate.

The announcement follows the September publication of the DNA sequence of a different cacao tree, financed in part by Mars.

Mark Guiltinan of Pennsylvania State University, a co-author of the Hershey-funded study, said currently less than five per cent of cocoa is devoted to quality cocoa. Both candy makers say they are hoping for trees that will produce quality chocolate, in large quantities, and be resistant to pests.

I have mixed feelings.

It is heartening to hear a giant food producer talking about quality, largely because it is something you rarely hear. But for that same reason I am suspicious. Is this about producing a higher quality of chocolate, or is it about the better understanding of high yields and pest resistance?

Will we really get better chocolate out of this, or will Hershey and Mars determine ways to produce more cheap chocolate?

I presume the chocolate giants are hedging their bets with this research, and as usual the market will decide at the end of the day whether we get better or more abundant chocolate.

Stove top fires

2010-12-01T18:13:03Z

P.E.I.’s fire marshal is excited about a new product he believes could save lives.

]]> P.E.I.’s fire marshal is excited about a new product he believes could save lives.

The Safe-T-element is a sensor you install over your coil-type stovetop. It limits the heat on the element so an oil spill won’t catch fire. P.E.I. fire marshal Dave Blacquiere provided a dramatic demonstration for CBC-TV’s Compass, with paper quickly flaring up on an uncovered burner, and curling up and turning brown on the Safe-T-element.

Blacquiere would like to see Safe-T-elements in apartment buildings and is drawing it to the attention of provincial housing authorities. He said housing authorities in Ontario are embracing the technology.

I recently lost a lovely Le Creuset saucepan when I left it unattended, so the story caught my interest.

I remember from junior high school science class that you can boil water in a Bunsen burner in a paper bag, because the water keeps the paper cool. Presumably the cooling is the same on a pot, so you don’t necessarily need the red heat of a fully-engaged coil burner for cooking.

But what about boiling water? For that, you want to be pumping out as much energy as you can to get that water rolling.

The manufacturer has anticipated that question, and had independent testing done. Interestingly, the Safe-T-element outperforms a glass-ceramic stovetop with larger quantities of water, and for two litres of water it is about the same as the uncovered coil burner.

For four litres, however, boil time goes from about 11:30 to over 14 minutes. I really have to wonder how long it would take to boil water for lobster, maybe 12 or more litres of water. I note the first commenter on the CBC story has tried them, and does not give a favourable review.

I’d like to try these, but it would be an expensive experiment. A set of four goes for about $150, and they need to be installed by an electrician.

I think I’ll just need to pay closer attention if I get a new Le Creuset.

Have you cooked with the Safe-T-element?

Trimming down high cholesterol

2010-11-22T18:14:10Z

Isn't it always the case that once you're personally connected to something, you start noticing stories about it cropping up everywhere? For me, it's high cholesterol - recently diagnosed in several of my family members.
]]> A handful of almonds, with no added sugar and no added salt, are a good snack for those watching their cholesterol. (Associated Press) Isn't it always the case that once you're personally connected to something, you start noticing stories about it cropping up everywhere? For me, it's high cholesterol -- recently diagnosed in several of my family members.

My father, an aunt and an uncle all recently shared that they'd been warned about or prescribed medication to tackle high cholesterol. Because of the revelations, I've been perusing health pages and websites in more detail than ever.

While stories like the one last week about some dramatic success for an experimental cholesterol-lowering drug are somewhat heartening, much of my reading has been aimed at finding food-based advice to share with my family.

While there isn't one miracle food to solve high cholesterol, bodies such as Health Canada and the Mayo Clinic have some good basic suggestions, such as:

Having a cup and a half of oatmeal for breakfast regularly (it boosts soluble fibre, which reduces low-density lipoprotein, a.k.a. "bad" cholesterol).
If you consume dairy, swapping high-fat for low-fat or skim products (e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt).
Snacking on unsalted, unsugared walnuts, almonds and brazil nuts to keep blood vessels healthy - although keeping portions to about a handful, since they're high in calories.
Eating reduced portions of meat (size: a deck of cards) and choosing poultry, fish and leaner cuts to reduce consumption of saturated fats.
Cook with olive oil (again, small amounts should do just fine).
Avoid processed foods -- e.g. store-bought cookies, crackers, cakes and baked goods that are often high in "bad cholesterol-raising" trans-fats.

And, as always, boosting the role of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains in your overall diet apparently does a body good.

Other lifestyle changes, like adding exercise and cutting out smoking, are also key.

My goal is to take some of this healthy food advice and adapt it for my Chinese-food-eating family.

What's the best advice you've received for reducing "bad" cholesterol? Have you found or developed heart-healthy but still tasty recipes?

Tim Hortons gets it right

2010-11-18T18:00:13Z

There are so many things that could have gone wrong with Tim Hortons oatmeal, but none of it did.

]]> There are so many things that could have gone wrong with Tim Hortons oatmeal, but none of it did.

It is not my habit to shill for any particular product here in this column, but Tim Hortons caught my attention the other day with an email with the subject line “Are you man enough to order a low fat, high fibre option at Tim Hortons?”

Clearly, Katie Noble at Tim Hortons has been reading Food Bytes, and in particular my post on the double down sandwich from last month. Never mind that post was more about marketing than healthy eating (something most commenters seemed to miss), I could not resist looking into a fast food chain healthy option.

So not long after getting the email, I took a break from my early morning shift and nipped across the street to grab some oatmeal.

Katie informed me that the oatmeal was “slow-cooked for 45 minutes every morning,” so the first thing that could have gone wrong - instant oatmeal - didn’t. Still, you can mess it up: too much salt, too much sugar. But the nutritional information looked good.

And yes, it tasted good too. It’s easy to have oatmeal go wrong, but on the other hand, it’s not that difficult to make it right either. You just have to decide you want to.

So kudos, Tims. I hope Canadians buy in.

Canadian Culinary Book Awards

2010-11-08T18:28:20Z

Typically timed to coincide with the start of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (now underway at Toronto's Exhibition Place), organizers of the Canadian Culinary Book Awards have announced the winners of the 13th annual edition. Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (now underway at Toronto's Exhibition Place), organizers of the Canadian Culinary Book Awards have announced the winners of the 13th annual edition.

Celebrity cooks Laura Calder and Anna Olson nabbed prizes in the English cookbook category, while special interest winners included David Sax's Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye and the Heart of the Jewish Delicatessen and Tony Aspler's Cellar Book: How to Design, Build, Stock and Manage Your Wine Cellar Wherever You Live.

Special honours were also presented to Canadian culinary maven Elizabeth Baird (the Founders Award) and B.C. chef John Bishop (the Edna Award, named after the late food writer Edna Staebler). A complete list of the prize-winners can be found on the Cuisine Canada blog.

Congrats to all the winners and happy reading to foodie book fans!

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News round-up: Frankenfish, food courts, food crises and a freakishly large worm

2010-10-26T14:50:54Z

Our tech writer at CBC.ca, Pete Nowak, talks with John Buchanan, director of research and development for AquaBounty, in a Q&A about the company's new breed of salmon that have been genetically engineered to grow faster. Buchanan addresses consumers' concerns about genetically modified foods, regulatory hurdles the company is trying to clear, and the state of biotech research.

]]> Our tech writer at CBC.ca, Pete Nowak, talks with John Buchanan, director of research and development for AquaBounty, in a Q&A about the company's new breed of salmon that have been genetically engineered to grow faster. Buchanan addresses consumers' concerns about genetically modified foods, regulatory hurdles the company is trying to clear, and the state of biotech research.

The Guardian focuses on six casualties of the world food crisis, describing shortages and rising costs of staple foods in South Korea, China, the United States, Israel, Russia and Pakistan. Tomatoes, according to the report, have become a delicacy in Israel with prices climbing sevenfold.

New York's legendary Tavern on the Green reopened this month, shuffling out its signature chandeliers and fancy ballroom to make way for a food court and tourist centre. Many claimed the Tavern's glory days -- in which it attracted an upper-crust celebrity crowd -- had long since passed, devolving into a faded tourist trap. That said, the last meal at the restaurant, which was served last New Year's Eve, drew a solid 1,700 diners. Anthony J. Micari, 68, and his 66-year-old wife, Maria, attended the event. The couple, who had their reception there in 1972, told the New York Times, "We think it's the most beautiful place in the world."

And in advance of Halloween, the St. Louis-based Vat19 has produced what it is touting as the world's largest gummy worm. Weighing in at a whopping 1.36 kilograms, the worm is the equivalent of 128 regular gummy worms and boasts a calorie count of 4,000. The company's cheeky advertising campaign builds upon its earlier product -- the World's Largest Gummy Bear.

From their FAQ section:

Q: Sweet mother of God...

A: That's right, we've done it again! We just keep out-gummying ourselves!

via The Food Section

Are you man enough for this sandwich?

2010-10-19T14:24:57Z

"Big bun, puny chicken." What are these guys really talking about?

]]> "Big bun, puny chicken." What are these guys really talking about?

With the marketing for its new Double Down, KFC makes the case that there is nothing more challenging to your manhood than a wimpy sandwich.

The ad starts with three complaining men. They get no satisfaction from chicken sandwiches. These guys have been unmanned by the bun, their voices artificially raised like castrati.

KFC to the rescue! With the Double Down, the bun is replaced by two pieces of breaded, deep-fried chicken breast. As the commercial nears its climax, with the men brandishing their Double Downs, their voices get deeper and deeper.

This is not the first fast-food ad to be clearly aimed at men. The Wendy's Baconator ad is an all-male production, but that promotion misses the mark. The men in Baconator ad are feminized, cut-out faces superimposed over the heads of girls screaming for pop stars. Amusing perhaps, but unmanly.

KFC has lifted the veil on what enormous, fat-drenched, sodium-infused sandwiches are all about. Don't let the nutritionists push you around. Leave the arugula salads, tofu stir-fries and vegetable smoothies for women and the poor excuses for maleness who dine (these guys don't even eat, they dine!) with them.

If you're brave enough to reclaim your manhood, KFC has the sandwich for you.

Losing a shortcut to tasty pastry

2010-10-07T16:47:34Z

Early last summer, I had a glut of cherries from my backyard tree and was looking for ideas to use them. Pie seemed obvious, but my pastry skills leave something to be desired. Hearing my lament, a friend suggested a cheat called Robin Hood Flaky Pie Crust Mix.

]]> Early last summer, I had a glut of cherries from my backyard tree and was looking for ideas to use them. Pie seemed obvious, but my pastry skills leave something to be desired. Hearing my lament, a friend suggested a cheat called Robin Hood Flaky Pie Crust Mix.

Flaky, indeed: the Robin Hood website is the only place you'll find their pie crust mix these days.

I'd never noticed it on the supermarket shelf, but there it was when I looked for it. The stuff was a revelation: just add water, mix and roll out. I was pleased with the results - not as good as my mother's pastry, but quick and better than a frozen crust or my own uneven efforts. I made four cherry pies with the mix, accepting kudos for the filling but always giving Robin credit for the crust.

With the advent of pumpkin pie season last month, I began looking for the pastry shortcut at my local grocery store. It's one in a discount chain, the sort of place with harsh lighting where the stocking of the shelves is haphazard at best. For three trips in a row I assumed it was just my bad luck that the mix was out of stock.

But this week, quite by accident, I came across a CBC Radio item from Kelowna, B.C. that explained everything. Smucker Foods, the parent company to the Robin Hood brand, has discontinued production on the Flaky Pie Crust Mix. In this piece from the radio program The Story From Here, a Kelowna baker goes on a mission to find any remaining product in her local stores, then tries lobbying Smucker to bring it back. She's not holding her breath, and neither am I. (You can listen to the item in the audio player below.)

That leaves two options if I want to make a pumpkin pie for dessert when my family comes over this weekend: accept a frozen crust or try harder to make pastry from scratch. But I think I'll go with option #3 instead: Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, courtesy of Martha Stewart Kitchens. Its crust calls for chocolate cookie crumbs. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Pink chicken goo

2010-10-05T20:11:50Z

It looks like soft ice cream or plastic foam. But the above photo showing a thick stream of bubble-gum pink goo spiralling out of a machine is apparently of mechanically separated chicken.

But what does that mean?

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A photograph apparently showing mechanically separated meat. (Courtesy of Fooducate)

It looks like soft ice cream or plastic foam. But the above photo showing a thick stream of bubble-gum pink goo spiralling out of a machine is apparently of mechanically separated chicken.

The resulting ick factor not only has people squirming, but has propelled the photo into viral status as blogs and Tweeters alike pick it up.

The photo first appeared on the food education blog, Fooducate, in 2009 under the headline, "Guess what's in the picture." It stated that the paste is a main ingredient in hot dogs, bologna, chicken nuggets, salami and other processed meat products.

Out of the blue, websites, including the Huffington Post, recently picked up the picture and it began making the rounds. The sudden interest caught Fooducate founder Hemi Weingarten off guard. "The internet is a strange beast," said Weingarten.

He can't remember where he got the picture from and questions have been raised about whether it is fake. Some bloggers, however, have pointed out that it is similar in appearance to other videos and photos of mechanically separated chicken.

In the end, Weingarten says, "Who cares? The whole point of my post was to teach myself and my readers what mechanically separated chicken is."

And the photo certainly has raised interest on the topic.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, mechanically separated chicken is defined as a "batter-like poultry product" made by forcing bones and edible tissue through a sieve under high pressure to separate the edible meat from the bone. It's a process that's been used since the 1960's.

A 1995 ruling found such poultry safe to eat and it can be used without restrictions. But products using it must label it as mechanically separated chicken or turkey in the ingredients list.

Limitations were placed on mechanically separated beef back in 2004, in order to protect consumers against mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Mechanically separated pork is allowed in the U.S., but hot dogs cannot contain more than 20 per cent. The Canadian government was not immediately available to comment on what the regulations are north of the border.

This video blog by chef Jamie Oliver gives a good overview of a homemade process that emulates mechanical separation - and this National Geographic blog shows it on a massive scale.

In Oliver's blog he learned a painful lesson: that some children will consume chicken nuggets or patties even if they know the disturbing process behind the tasty treat.

What's your reaction to the picture and the two videos? Will it change your eating habits?

Scratching the itch for a taste of turkey

2010-10-05T12:46:46Z

Expectation and tradition can play a big part of special occasion eating -- one might expect a slice of cake (or perhaps a cupcake or equivalent) on one's birthday, for instance. For me, holidays definitely inspire food expectations, like roast turkey or spiced pumpkin pie.

]]> Come autumn and the approach of Thanksgiving, many people start thinking of a turkey dinner. (Canadian Press)

As the leaves change colour and the air chills, I start to crave pumpkin pie: specifically the rich, creamy and fragrantly spiced version baked by the lovely pie-and-strudel lady at the weekly farmer's market near my home. And with Thanksgiving coming up, roast turkey with all the trimmings naturally pervades my thoughts, interspersed with daydreams of candied yams, pillowy soft dinner rolls and caramelized Brussels sprouts.

This year, however, a wedding is taking us out of town on Thanksgiving weekend, hence our last-minute decision for an early, smaller scale celebration last weekend. We roasted a turkey breast instead of a massive, whole bird and opted for one delicious pie versus a groaning table full of desserts. (We did manage to make five side dishes though!)

A couple of family members joined us for a little pre-holiday party so that I could scratch this particular food itch and fulfill what my appetite was expecting. Now that my Thanksgiving craving has been abated, bring on the chicken dinner and wedding cake.

What foods do you crave come autumn or for Thanksgiving?

Poisoning the system

2010-09-24T14:41:14Z

The gigantic egg recall in the United States raises interesting questions about both public policy and personal choice.

]]> The gigantic egg recall in the United States raises interesting questions about both public policy and personal choice.

Half a billion eggs were recalled in the U.S. in August, but not before about 1,300 people became sick with salmonella.

Food safety experts rang alarm bells, saying uncooked eggs should be treated like uncooked chicken and absolutely avoided. It’s all very well to stay away from uncooked chicken, but cutting out uncooked eggs means the end of hollandaise sauce, sunny side up eggs, lemon meringue pie, eggs boiled for less than 15 minutes.

That’s just a quick list. To my mind, it’s pretty close to a culinary disaster.

How did we get here? Salmonella in eggs has been around for decades, but recalls of hundreds of millions of eggs have not. That comes from the increasing concentration of food production into the hands of fewer people.

In a story this week, The New York Times traced this year’s egg recall back to one man. They connect him to another nasty salmonella outbreak in 1987, and outline his efforts to avoid government regulation in the interim.

From a public policy point of view there is an interesting debate here. If egg production is small scale with many producers, is there an effective way to regulate it? Do you end up with regular, small-scale outbreaks?

If it is large scale, with few producers, does inevitable human frailty lead to occasional massive outbreaks? Which of those two options do we choose?

From a personal perspective, how do we deal with this reality? Food safety experts seem to favour, “Don’t worry about it. Just cook your eggs.” But I don’t think I’m ready to give up eggs benedict and lemon meringue pie.

My approach is trust in my producer. I go to the local farmers market and buy eggs from people I know. It could be that some day I will come to regret that choice, but I’m hoping that years of sunny side up eggs and béchamel sauce will make up for it.

Label lingo - what's in it?

2010-09-09T15:33:15Z

For the consumer curious about modified milk ingredients, puzzled about food colouring, and concerned about hydrogenated palm oils, we've put together a new feature that examines the lists of ingredients for different products.

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First up, chocolate milk in which we examine the difference between milk and "dairy beverages." We're also casting the spotlight on mac and cheese and orange juice. Coming soon, explainers on chocolate pudding and luncheon meats.

Read on and join the conversation in the comments section.