Food | Photography | with Rudy | Recipes: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Dispatch From Poutine Fest, Chicago's 'Love Letter' To Canada

Enlarge image i

Missy Ruminski prepares The Peasantry's entry. Note that poutine is not only a delicious snack but also a source of light and warmth in the universe.

There is no greater mystery in America than this: Why is poutine not available everywhere?

French fries with cheese curds, covered in gravy there's nothing more American than this Canadian dish that's not actually American. And while you can find it stateside more easily than you used to, poutine should be in every restaurant in the country, and probably somewhere on our flag.

For one day in Chicago, at least, poutine gets its due, at the Poutine Fest. There's no particular poutine connection to Chicago, except that we like things that are perfect.

The creators call the festival "the first of many love letters exchanged between a tipsy, slurring Chicago and picturesque French Canada." It's also 11 restaurants battling for poutine supremacy, and for a trophy with a gravy boat on top.

Enlarge image i

The "King of Poutine" trophy

The "King of Poutine" trophy

When I walk into the back room of Haymarket Pub & Brewery, where the festival was held last Sunday, the first thing I notice is there are lots of beards, and the air itself has been deep fried.

I meet up with my friend Dan Pashman, who hosts the Sporkful podcast and who you hear sometimes on Weekend Edition Sunday. He believes poutine would be better if it were served with the gravy on the side, so you could mete out perfect bites and avoid sogginess. I tell him you could also ask for a bunch of cans of paint instead of Starry Night, but I'll trust Van Gogh on it.

Enlarge image i

A poutine from El Ideas, which tastes way better than it photographs.

The Publican is one of my favorite Chicago restaurants, so I'm happy to see they've got a station. But they're having some "electrical issues," and aren't serving yet. Two tiny pieces of chicken sit, rather sadly, in a lukewarm deep fryer.

I start with a very fancy poutine from El Ideas. It's got duck sausage and foie gras. And those little green things on top are just there as a reminder there are people who've made healthier choices than you, and they're probably deeply unhappy.

But is the foie gras overkill?

"It's cheating," says El Ideas chef Phillip Foss.

It's delicious, but I think it's a little over-the-top for a dish most likely to be eaten drunkenly at four in the morning. Foss isn't so sure.

Enlarge image i

Art Jackson of Pleasant House Bakery prepares his take, which uses skirt steak, and chunky British chips in the place of fries.

"Depends on what you're drinking."

Poutine just seems like one of those things that isn't invented so much as discovered. These things are just meant to be together, like coffee and cream, or The Beatles.

I try the Haymarket's take: smoked ham hock, Andouille sausage, and lemon-soaked apples. I ask the young woman preparing it if she thinks poutine is the next big food trend. Could it replace the cupcake? Could it replace bacon? She laughs, as if to say bacon is not going anywhere. Bacon is forever, like a diamond.

Enlarge image i

Little Market's poutine served in its traditional dish, a seven-passenger boat.

I take another pass by the Publican's station. No luck.

If I made a list of the reasons the Midwest is objectively superior to the rest of the world, the ready availability of deep-fried cheese curds would be right at the top. So when I see that Little Market is deep-frying their curds before putting them in their poutine, I head right over.

It's a formidable poutine: In addition to the fried curds, it's got red wine-braised short ribs.

The more poutine you eat, the more useful the iPhone's panorama function becomes.

Says chef Ryan Poli, "We call it Vladimir Poutine."

Four or five poutine boats in, I start to wish I'd been pacing myself. I'm slowing down. I head over to try Red Door's entry it's got duck confit, chorizo verde, and pickled jalapeno. Their poutine is right between Mexico and Canada, just like us.

Enlarge image i

When zooming in on his iPhone to see if this picture was in focus, the photographer left two pretty gross chicken grease streaks on the screen.

I'm done. Completely full. I could not eat another bite. These are the lies I'm telling myself when Ryan from Little Market yells out, "The Publican has poutine! Form a line!" Love of poutine, you see, is bigger than competition.

The Publican's take has fried chicken tail and blue cheese. It is worth the wait. I'm too full to try the entry that would eventually win, a wild boar and pickled red onion concoction from The Gage. It'll be days until I'm again hungry enough to be disappointed about missing it, but that day will come.

Ian Chillag is a producer/humorist with Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!

The Columbus Dispatch Central Ohio News, Sports, Arts & Classifieds Life & Entertainment. Food. Reports on death of cupcakes seem like exaggeration after looking at local bakeries. Community. The Good Life: Volunteer shares love story ... TicketsInventory Tickets : Buy Tickets for Concerts, Sports ... Country Megaticket Country Megaticket is the hottest country music festival including Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Miranda ... DarkeJournal.com Darke County community information, news, announcements and conversation. Topic Galleries -- chicagotribune.com Topic galleries provide easy access to stories and photos about people, places, organizations, events and subjects of interest to you. They bring together rich ... St. Louis Post-Dispatch Macleans.ca - Canada News, World News, Politics, Business, Culture ... Canada's only national weekly current affairs magazine. ... News articles and headlines from the Chicago Sun-Times Daily Chicago newspaper offering news from local community news to international, sports, weather, and more. News - Events, Festivals, Concert Reviews, Shows - Page 1 Billboard The online extension of Billboard magazine, Billboard.biz is the essential online destination for the music business. Learn more

China's Horses May End Up In Russia's Kabobs

China isn't a good place to be a horse, if your goal is to avoid ending up as the Russian kabobs known as shashlik.

China exports the most horse meat to the global market, while Russia has the biggest appetite for horseflesh, according to a new infographic on the continuing European scandal over horse meat sold as beef.

Mike Stewart, editor of the newish blog Australian Food Safety News, tried to write a post untangling the many threads of the European horse meat scandal. "But it was all so complex and confusing, it seemed like the simplest way to explain it was to do an infographic," he told The Salt.

So he dug into data from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization on horse meat production, import and export, to find that some of the biggest players n the global market aren't in Europe at all.

If you'd fancy a more Eurocentric version, England's The Guardian did a nice job tracking the (legal) movement of horseflesh through Europe. Polpettine, anyone? The Italians imported twice as much horse meat as the French in 2012.

Via: The Australian Institute of Food Safety

Ag Department Warns Budget Cuts Will Affect Food Inspectors

The secretary of Agriculture says if the sequester cuts go into effect, he'll have to furlough food safety inspectors. What would that mean for food companies and consumers?

Press Announcements - U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page February 2013 February 26, 2013 - FDA approves Osphena for postmenopausal women experiencing pain during sex; February 25, 2013 - FDA approves Stivarga for advanced ... Business News, Personal Finance and Money News - ABC News Find the latest business news on Wall Street, jobs and the economy, the housing market, personal finance and money investments and much more on ABC News USDA ERS - Publications This outlook report offers, on a quarterly basis, the U.S. agricultural import and export outlook, as well as the year-to-date value and volume of U.S. agricultural ... Poultry News and Events -- Department of Poultry Science -- Auburn ... March 27, 2011 News From Around the Southeast Caller makes bomb threat to Boaz poultry plant Boaz police were forced to shut down a busy stretch of Alabama 168 ... herald-mail.com: Tri-State breaking news, sports, business ... Distributed daily in Western Maryland. Local, tri-state, and national news, opinion, community notices, police logs, calendar of events, classified ads and weather. Politics News: Latest Political News and U.S. Elections Coverage ... Get the latest breaking politics news and political coverage of U.S. elections. Get updates on President Obama's White House, congress and more at ABC News. Tax Watch At former Westchester County Executive Andrew ORourkes last public appearance in May, 2012, I asked him about the future of the WestHELP apartments he built in ... DTN/The Progressive Farmer: Agriculture Markets, News and Weather 2/26 06:11PM Bipartisan Push on Farm Workers Lawmakers, Ag Groups Seek New System for Hiring Foreign Workers 2/26 05:23PM DTN Daily Basis Comments

Ag Department Warns Budget Cuts Will Affect Food Inspetors

The secretary of Agriculture says if the sequester cuts go into effect, he'll have to furlough food safety inspectors. Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports on what that would mean for food companies and consumers.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Budweiser May Seem Watery, But It Tests At Full Strength, Lab Says

Enlarge image i

Plaintiffs accuse Anheuser-Busch of misleading consumers about the alcohol content in Bud Light, Budweiser and other products. The brewer denies the claims.

Anheuser-Busch is accused of misleading beer drinkers about the alcohol content of Budweiser and other products, in lawsuits filed against the brewer in several federal courts. The plaintiffs say Anheuser-Busch waters down its beers and then misrepresents their final alcohol content. The brewer says the lawsuits have no merit.

Like many mainstream U.S. beers, Budweiser has long been accused of tasting watery and low-powered in comparison with strong and flavorful American craft and European traditional brews. But the lawsuit's main contention is not that a crime against taste has been committed.

The plaintiffs allege intentional "mislabeling" of at least 10 beers' alcohol content, after the brewer added water to boost the amount of beer produced from raw materials. The suit also accuses the giant brewer of engaging in false advertising and unfair business practices.

Peter Kraemer, Anheuser-Busch InBev's vice president of brewing and supply, calls the lawsuits' claims "completely false," in an email to Bloomberg News. "Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws," Kraemer says.

Update at 6:15 p.m. ET. Beer Is At Full Strength, Tests Say

Samples of Budweiser, Bud Light Lime, and Michelob Ultra were found to be in line with their advertised alcohol content, according to lab tests conducted at NPR's request. Our colleague Dan Bobkoff, who reports on that side of the story on Thursday's Morning Edition, got the test results from White Labs in San Diego.

As analytical laboratory specialist Kara Taylor tells Dan, the lab's analysis showed that "the alcohol percentages inside the cans were the same as what was stated on the can."

"Some of them were spot on," she says. "Others deviated within a hundredth of a percentage" within federal limits.

Dan spoke to the lawsuit's lead attorney about the tests; you can hear the audio of that conversation after Thursday's show airs. Our original post continues:

The lawsuit, versions of which were filed in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and elsewhere, seeks a broad classification that would allow it to represent millions of consumers.

On Twitter and other social media networks, news of the lawsuit was greeted by jeers and jokes. But the practice of adding water to beer before it's packaged is common among large brewers. It's called high-gravity brewing, and it involves blending a potent brew with water.

The process is very efficient and that can mean higher profits for companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer.

"In high-gravity brewing, you can make a lot more beer by stretching the beer that you have fermented," explains Dan Kopman, co-founder of Schlafly Beer, a craft brewery in Anheuser-Busch's ancestral home of St. Louis. (AB InBev is now headquartered in Belgium.)

Kopman says that adding water can help a brewer "stretch" the amount of the final product by at least 5 or 10 percent without changing the beer's flavor.

"This is primarily done in very large breweries, and it works well for lighter lager beers," he tells The Salt. "I would assume that all major brewers in the world high-gravity brew. It is not unique to AB."

As an example, Kopman says, Anheuser-Busch might brew high-gravity Bud, with an alcohol content of around 5.5 percent after fermentation.

"Then in packaging they will add deaerated water," he says, to achieve the desired flavor and alcohol content. Deaerated water has low oxygen levels, to help the beer "keep" on the shelves.

Brewers who use this process monitor alcohol content closely; most also verify it with a lab test after packaging. But that's where the newly filed lawsuit claims there are problems. The plaintiffs say the alcohol content printed on Budweiser, Bud Ice, Michelob and other beers' labels isn't accurate and that the discrepancy is intentional.

"AB never intends for the malt beverage to possess the amount of alcohol that is stated on the label," according to the suit, which also says Anheuser-Busch has the ability to measure alcohol content to a hundredth of a percent.

"As a result, AB's customers are overcharged for watered-down beer," the lawsuit claims, "and AB is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell."

The suit claims that the practice of watering down beers was "vigorously accelerated" after Anheuser-Busch merged with InBev to form a mammoth global corporation in 2008. But the documents posted online do not cite lab tests of the beers.

"Our information comes from former employees at Anheuser-Busch, who have informed us that, as a matter of corporate practice, all of their products mentioned [in the lawsuit] are watered down," Josh Boxer, a lead attorney in the lawsuit, tells The Associated Press.

But Boxer "stopped short of saying the beers had been independently tested," the AP reports. And the lawsuit doesn't cite specific numbers to back up its claim, saying only that Budweiser has "significantly lower alcohol content" than what its label announces.

Two plaintiffs in the California suit, Nina Giampaoli and John Elbert, say they regularly purchased Budweiser over the past four years, taking the "stated percentage of alcohol into account" when they made their decisions to buy the beer.

Documents posted online to support the lawsuit include a Dec. 18, 2012, letter in which Boxer offers Anheuser-Busch a chance to "replace, refund or otherwise rectify the violations" on behalf of consumers who bought the brewer's products in the past four years. The suit says it will seek more than $5 million.

In a financial report released Wednesday, AB InBev said its fourth-quarter profit dipped slightly, to $2.5 billion. For 2012, the corporation reported a $9.4 billion profit a 19 percent rise, despite revenue growth of just 2 percent compared with 2011.

Biology 103 Lab 2002 Forum - Serendip Studio Comments are posted in the order in which they are received, with earlier postings appearing first below on this page. To see the latest postings, click on "Go to ... Project CBD CANNABIDIOL SCIENCE FOR DOCTORS FOR PATIENTS CBDiary is our catch-all column for news generated by patients, doctors, dispensaries, growers, plant breeders, pharmacologists, the industry, the government all ... CNN Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com Pastor uses tithe excuse to refuse tipPastor uses tithe excuse to dispute tip Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News My North State delivers breaking news and information on the latest top stories, weather, business, entertainment, politics, and more. For in-depth coverage, My North ... Health News & Articles Healthy Living - ABC News Get the latest health news from Dr. Richard Besser. Here you'll find stories about new medical research, the latest health care trends and health issues that affect ... How long does weed stay in your system How long does weed stay ... How long does weed stay in your system? How long does weed stay in the body? Technology - New Scientist Find news and information on the latest new technology. Read about new inventions and advances in computer software and information technology International News World News - ABC News Get the latest international news and events from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and more. See world news photos and videos at ABCNews

Video: Machine Unlocks The 'Physics' Of Separating Oreos

Eat them whole or divide and conquer? That's the eternal question when it comes to Oreos, those little rounds of chocolate cookie hugging creme in the middle.

Over the years, the marketing folks at Nabisco have issued some well-known directions on how to enjoy their beloved processed cookies: You can twist 'em, lick them, dunk 'em. Now, it seems, you can also use a robot to take a hatchet to them.

In a new satirical video that's quickly making the rounds online, self-described physicist David Neevel (he's actually a copywriter with advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy) explains how he spent "0.4 years" building the OSM that's short for "Oreo Separator Machine" a robotic device to carefully scrape the crme from the sides of the cookie.

The four-minute video perfectly channels the intensity of a documentary, with Neevel narrating his herculean effort to rid the snack cookie of unwanted crme.

As Neevel intones in a delightful deadpan, "One of the hardest things to overcome was to learn to build robots and make them work. But it was also difficult to keep my hands warm and the back of my neck warm."

The video is part of Nabisco's Cookies Vs. Crme campaign to market Oreos, which turned 100 last year. Still, it struck us here at The Salt as a bit ironic that Nabisco should choose this time to advertise the "scientific side" of its iconic cookie.

After all, the science of processed food is really mostly geared at seducing consumers' taste buds. And it has gotten a lot of scrutiny over the past week, following the publication of an excerpt from Salt Sugar Fat in the New York Times Magazine. The book, from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss, explores how manipulating those three ingredients has become central to the success of the processed food industry. If you're curious, you can hear more from Moss' interview on Fresh Air Tuesday.

Your World Religions Welcome to World Religions Welcome to the fascinating study of the worlds religions. This site supplements textbook knowledge with religious experience, expressed ... The Elder Scrolls Online is Not as World of Warcraft as You Might Fear About a month ago, on the top floor of a seven-story hotel whose elevators were temporarily out of service, I saw the massively multiplayer online version of The ... Fitness Exercise Machines Strongest Man Alive Cartoons Working ... Fitness Exercise Machines, Strongest Man Alive, Cartoons Working Out, The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout Wii. Strongest Man Alive, Fitness Exercise Machines, The ... Toys & Games - How To Information eHow.com Toys & Games: Want to be the ultimate gamer? Get the latest info on video game cheats, hints on how to get better at blackjack and more on eHow. Find essential tips ... youtube How to Perform centrifugation in the chemistry lab Science ... Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform ... How to Measure the melting point in the chemistry lab Science ... Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform ... About the Center for International Security and Cooperation - CISAC About the Center for International Security and Cooperation . The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) is Stanford Universitys hub for ...

Do Parents Really Know What Their Kids Are Eating?

Enlarge image i

Youth Radio reporter Chantell Williams likes to munch on Popchips, which are marketed as a healthy snack.

After school and evening are "crunch time" for most families. It's the time when crucial decisions get made that affect kids' fitness and weight. And that includes snacking.

To get an idea of what parents thought their kids were doing during this time, NPR conducted a poll with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

We also spoke to parents, like Deborah Richards from Oakland, Calif. She thinks she has a handle on her son Donta's eating habits.

"He's fussy but he eats healthy," she says. "He eats healthier than me."

But Donta doesn't think so. "I know for a fact I don't," he says. "My breakfast, I can say on the daily, is a pack of Skittles. I make sure I get one every morning."

Enlarge image i

Donta Jackson's snack of choice is a bag of Skittles.

"Skittles?!" gasps Richards. "I try to teach him better!"

Richards isn't alone. According to the poll, 87 percent of parents report their children are eating healthfully. But do parents really know what their kids especially older kids are eating?

Not according to high school senior Felix Pieske, from Portland, Maine.

"Middle school might have been the last time that I really talked to my parents about like, 'Oh, what did you eat today?' " he says.

I still talk to my mom, Oya Autry. She thinks I have a good diet lots of juices, water, fruits and salads, and not a lot of chips or fried foods.

And that sounds about right. Although, to be honest, I don't make it a point to keep track of what I eat.

However, some people, like 18-year-old Jorisha Mayo, know that they indulge, and do so starting right after school ends.

"I do occasionally eat unhealthy. I eat a lot of sugary foods and snacks," admits Mayo, from Concord, Calif. "I think I snack probably around the 3 to 4 [p.m.] zone. Then when it gets later, 11 or so, that's when I snack on my cookies and ice cream, and crackers or chips and stuff."

That's pretty normal. According to the poll, nearly half of children snacked on sweets, and a quarter ate chips the day before.

The Brown-Spencer family gathers for dinner at their home in Mechanicsville, Va. This family of eight manages to eat together nearly every weeknight, but they've had to cut back on many after school activities to make it work. From left: Doug Brown, Laura, Celedonia, Anna, Miriam, Anita, Amy Spencer and Gavin.

On The Run: How Families Struggle To Eat Well And Exercise

Lydia Tinajero, an expert on pediatric weight management at Oakland Children's Hospital, says some kids sneak their snacks.

"Some of the kids I work with that are overweight, they feel bad that they're eating things maybe they shouldn't," she says. "And so they sort of try and hide it, because at times they feel bad and they're a little embarrassed by it."

I don't intentionally hide food from my mom. But at the same time, I don't tell her every single thing I eat in a day, and she doesn't ask.

But for this assignment, I decided to keep a food diary, which I reviewed together with my mom.

I made some unhealthy choices during the week, including a bowl of crab fried rice and four Dorito chips for breakfast one day. But I also snacked on things like apples and granola bars.

Overall, my mom was pretty happy.

"Even those horrible snacks and weird breakfasts that I heard on the list, I think even those are still fairly healthy four Doritos versus four bags of Doritos," she says.

However, I'm not convinced. I've always thought of myself as a healthy eater, but when I look at my food diary, I'm less sure.

Which got me wondering, where do we teenagers get our ideas about what healthy even means?

"That's a good question: What does healthy mean?" says Tinajero. "With pediatrics, healthy is about being balanced. I always tell kids ... are you putting the best thing into your body?"

Tinajero says that if you're in tune with your body if you notice when you've had your fill of junk food for the week and decide to start eating better then you're body will begin to tell you what it needs.

Which means my mom doesn't have to.

This story was produced by Youth Radio (with additional reporting from Blunt Radio).

The story is part of the series On the Run: How Families Struggle To Eat Well and Exercise. The series is based on a poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. If you want to dive deeper, here's a summary of the poll findings, plus the topline data and charts.

I Am Adam Lanzas Mother: When Parents Are Afraid of Their ... Most parents in the U.S. have spent the past few days imagining what it would be like to be the mother or father of one of the 20 schoolchildren murdered ... Kids-In-Mind: Movie ratings & parents' reviews that actually work HUH? WHAT IS THIS? We enable adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for them or their children, according to their own criteria. Eyewitness News Interaction - Typepad. Share your passions with ... Eyewitness News invites viewers to post their comments on topics of the day. Your comments may be displayed here or on Eyewitness News on WABC-TV in New York City. Children - How To Information eHow.com Describing your child's accomplishments and strengths is one really great way to help boost their self esteem. Describe your child's accomplishments and strengths ... North Korean parents 'eat their children' after being driven mad ... North Korean parents 'eating their own children' after being driven mad by hunger in famine-hit pariah state . Undercover reporters found a 'shocking' number of ... John Zuhlsdorf - Fr. Z's Blog What Does The Prayer Really Say ... Slavishly accurate translations and frank commentary - by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf. 'We know lots of things that we shouldn't know': Kids, parents ... NEWTOWN, Conn. -- It's not a conversation parents expect they'll have with their kids: But Shari and Andrew Paley were doing just that, talking with their identical ... Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew ... As both an adoptee and president of Jewel Among Jewels Adoption Network, Eldridge brings an original approach to the topic of adoption. In an attempt to inform ...

Bud, Michelob Intended For That Beer To Taste Like Water, Suits Allege

Enlarge image i

Plaintiffs accuse Anheuser-Busch of misleading consumers about the alcohol content in Bud Light, Budweiser and other products. The brewer denies the claims.

The lawsuit, versions of which were filed in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and elsewhere, seeks a broad classification that would allow it to represent millions of consumers.

The process is very efficient and that can mean higher profits for companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer.

Kopman says that adding water can help a brewer "stretch" the amount of the final product by at least 5 or 10 percent without changing the beer's flavor.

As an example, Kopman says, Anheuser-Busch might brew high-gravity Bud, with an alcohol content of around 5.5 percent after fermentation.

"Then in packaging they will add deaerated water," he says, to achieve the desired flavor and alcohol content. Deaerated water has low oxygen levels, to help the beer "keep" on the shelves.

"As a result, AB's customers are overcharged for watered-down beer," the lawsuit claims, "and AB is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell."

Germans Are Drinking Less Beer These Days, But Why?

Enlarge image i

A waiter carries beer mugs through the Braeurosl beer tent during the 2012 Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany.

For centuries, Germany has been synonymous with beer. Tourists flock from around the world to take part in the country's many beer festivals, including the famous Oktoberfest.

But officials say the German beer tradition is waning. A recent government report found Germans drink less beer now than they did a generation ago. To find out why, I visited some pubs and brew experts in Berlin and heard a range of explanations.

At the Max and Moritz tavern, in a former working-class neighborhood of the German capital, beer once flowed as freely as the nearby Spree River. The pub is named after the characters of a beloved children's tale whose images adorn the walls and shelves, but it's the beer that this tavern is famous for.

Like most traditional German pubs, local brews are served here from taps or in bottles. On the night I visited, most customers were drinking wine or soda pop.

One of those drinking a soda was my husband's friend, Jan Katzmarczyk, a German lawyer who's sworn off alcohol for Lent. Even when he does drink, the 41-year-old says he rarely orders a beer anymore maybe two a week, but not more.

He took us to several well-known pubs in Berlin to see what his country's statistics agency is reporting: that Germans despite consuming two and a half billion gallons of beer last year are drinking less beer now than at any time since 1990.

"People might drink less because it has lots of calories," Katzmarczyk says. "People are thinking much about their bellies, and beer is not helping."

At a nearby tavern called Zur Kleinen Markthalle, or "small market hall," there were more beer drinker. But bartender Andreas Varrelman confirmed what the government is reporting: Fewer patrons order beer these days.

He blamed the decrease on Germany's economic crisis, saying he believes people are more reluctant to go out and spend money, including on beer.

Marc-Oliver Huhnholz, spokesman for the German Brewers Association, says the waning interest in beer is more about changes to German society.

"We have a shift of the population, the people become older and less younger are following," he says. That means there are fewer Germans in younger age groups, which are more typically associated with beer drinking.

Huhnholz adds there are also fewer jobs in fields once associated with drinking beer, like mining and construction. "When the people have built a house or something like this, they opened the first bottle at 8 o'clock in the morning," he says. "Now we have computer work, we have much more mobility, so people are driving cars."

And that means less drinking of alcohol, be it beer or anything else.

Despite the decrease, Huhnholz notes that Germany is still among the top three beer-drinking countries in Europe. The 28 gallons of beer per capita Germans consume every year far exceeds what Americans drink 21 gallons per capita.

In order to lure more Germans back to beer-drinking, Huhnholz's brewers are experimenting with new products, including tasty non-alcoholic beers and fruit-flavored beers, as well as unusual mixes, like beer with cappuccino.

history - German Beer Institute Home The only authoritative and easy-to-use source for authoritive and comprehensive information about German beer, their styles, brands, and traditions. Germany travel guide - Wikitravel Germany is the largest country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by Denmark, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and ... Oktoberfest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival celebrating beer held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of ... Why do people drink beer if it is a "Depressant"? (What are ... Best Answer: With all these answers I'm surprised nobody actually corrected you on what it means when a drug is a "depressant"... No, it doesn't mean it ... Beer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification enzymes are often ... German Beer Primer for Beginners The only authoritative and easy-to-use source for authoritive and comprehensive information about German beer, their styles, brands, and traditions. German Beer Steins Value Home and Garden - Shopping.com This is a unique Castle Gate Stein with opening gates adorned and held closed by a German metal crest with magnetic latchs attached to the crest. Food & Drink - How To Information eHow.com Food & Drink: Don't let that next party be a flop. Be the envy of your friends thanks to eHow's entertaining secrets sure to make that next affair a success. Food is ...

Cheesecake Factory, IBM Team Up To Crack The Code Of Customer Bliss

Enlarge image i

A new outpost for The Cheesecake Factory in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Consider the following entirely fictitious but totally plausible scenario:

A diner at the Kuwait City branch of The Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain complains to his waiter that the pickles in his Americana Cheeseburger (American and cheddar cheese, crunchy potato crisps, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, pickles and secret sauce) had a funny texture. The waiter instantly offers to replace the dish, since The Cheesecake Factory is committed to "absolute guest satisfaction," according to Donald Moore, chief culinary officer for The Cheesecake Factory Inc.

So the diner opts for the Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich (crispy coated chicken breast covered with melted cheese and either spicy Buffalo or chipotle mayo, served on a brioche bun), and subsequently reaches the company's desired level of satisfaction.

That very same day, diners at Cheesecake Factory outposts in Wauwatosa, Wis., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and Pembroke Pines, Fla., also complain about the texture of the pickles on their burgers.

Are these hypothetical experiences related in any way? And even if they are, is there any way that the people at The Cheesecake Factory's factory would ever learn of these events and connect them together?

In the future, the answer will be yes, according to Angela Nardone, chairman and chief innovation officer of N2N Global.

Nardone's company has partnered with IBM to use tools for analyzing big data sets to help the restaurant chain look for potential problems like this.

With more than 170 outlets, 300 menu items, and something like a thousand different fresh ingredients from dozens or hundreds of suppliers, Nardone explains, The Cheesecake Factory is blessed/cursed with a lot of data. The new software would allow the company to track whether the pickles all came from the same supplier, and whether other outlets were experiencing the same problem without yet being aware of it.

Normally, says Nardone, finding out something like that, never mind doing anything about it, can take weeks. With the big data analytical software, she says, the problem can be spotted and solved within a day.

"The new system can work bottom up or top down," says Nardone.

The software might detect a pattern in complaints from the field, as in my fictitious scenario, or a supplier could contact the restaurant chain about a problem with a particular ingredient, and the new software could rapidly disseminate that information to local branches.

And while the system wasn't implemented with public health in mind, it would certainly simplify tracking the culprit in cases of an outbreak of foodborne illness.

"We have talked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about this," says Nardone.

This complex new data analytics system may seem like a fairly expensive way to prevent the occasional mushy pickle from appearing on a burger. But as Atul Gawande wrote in The New Yorker, The Cheesecake Factory does seem to have an extremely high commitment to smooth operations and customer satisfaction for the more than 80 million people it serves each year.

But "absolute guest satisfaction"? I have to admit, that quest seems a bit quixotic to me.

In Praise Of The Humble Lentil

Enlarge image i

Get recipes for Mudardara (Mejadra), Lentil Meatballs With Lemon Pesto and Red Lentil Dal.

The year I discovered lentils, I was broke and lonely and didn't know how to cook. Lentils, it turned out, would have gone a long way toward providing the solution to some of these problems. However, when I first had them, they were a mystery.

They also were the cheapest thing on the menu at the Middle Eastern deli around the corner. The dish was mudardara, I was told. "What's that again?" I said, unable to untangle the knot of plosive consonants. It was repeated.

I sat by the window, watching the rain trickle down the plate glass, and slowly ate what I couldn't pronounce: the rice, the lentils, the caramelized onions. At the time, it seemed like the best food in the world filling, nutty and earthen, the onions sweet and crisp on the edges. As I walked the block home, I muttered, "Muhdaahrderer, moojardarah, murdarjerer," stumbling over the rolled "r" in the middle and wondering how I would go about ordering it the next time.

I didn't know then that mudardara is as common as can be a staple found throughout the Arab world and is spelled mejadra and mjaddarah among others. Though it's thought to have originated in Persia, it's eaten everywhere between Greece and India, from North Africa to the Black Sea. Even if you have almost nothing, you can probably scrape together a handful of rice and a handful of lentils, and if you can do that, you have mudardara.

About The Author

T. Susan Chang regularly reviews cookbooks for The Boston Globe, NPR.org and the cookbook-indexing website Eat Your Books. She's the author of A Spoonful of Promises: Recipes and Stories From a Well-Tempered Table. For more information, visit her blog, Cookbooks for Dinner.

Understanding The Brussels Sprout Jan. 30, 2013

The Hard-Boiled Truth About Egg Soups Oct. 31, 2012

Zucchini You Actually Can't Resist Aug. 29, 2012

Just Add Water: The Miracle Of Seaweed July 18, 2012

Overnight Breakfast: A Feast For Reluctant Risers April 25, 2012

Like many other intrinsically boring foods say, tofu or grits lentils shine because they get out of the way. They provide a vehicle and a backdrop for other flavors whether it's good olive oil and gently gilded onions, or ground spices or minted yogurt. They provide a sturdy, comforting stage for a colorful cast of characters, from chaste cumin to tart sumac, brilliant lemon zest to cool cucumber.

It took me awhile to learn my away around the understated charm of lentils. I started with soup, which was a cinch to make. Dry lentils were another story. Eventually, after many tooth-cracking undercooked lentils, I learned to pan-steam them with rice into the corner deli's signature dish. I learned, too, that the flavor wasn't magic. It was onions, as is usually the case. It's said that Esau's mess of potage the one for which he sold his birthright was an early variation of mudardara. If it had fried onions, then I think I know how he felt.

Over the years, I have come to love lentils many different ways. I eat them in stews. I eat them seethed with bits of bacon or salt pork. I like them in cold salads. I especially like the red split lentils as a hot, spiced dal. I recently found a recipe that transforms them into "meatballs" airy, nutty, meatless ones.

Yet time and again, I return to that ancient blend of rice and legumes. It's not that I would sell my birthright (whatever that might be my father's name? my mother's good teeth?). But somehow, after eating my lentils, I always feel comfortably full, as if I could want for nothing. And if I can pass along to my children the know-how expressed in a dash of cumin, a handful of grains and a crisply dealt-with onion, surely that's an inheritance worth a good deal more than a hill of beans.

Recipe: Mudardara, Or Mejadra

This version comes from Jerusalem (10 Speed Press, 2012), the smashing cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. It has lots and lots of fried onions. It's not a deep fry so much as a shallow fry, and the onions are so very, very good. If you don't want to fry, you can certainly caramelize the onions instead (using 3 tablespoons of oil and taking unhurried pains with the texture and the color).

Enlarge image i

Makes 4 servings

1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils

4 medium onions (1 1/2 pounds before peeling)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 cup sunflower oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 cup basmati rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups water

Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.

Peel onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add a third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn't fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion, adding a little extra oil if needed.

Wipe clean the saucepan in which you fried the onion, and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil, then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

Recipe: Lentil Meatballs With Lemon Pesto

These meatballs, from Sara Forte's The Sprouted Kitchen (10 Speed Press, 2012), are surprisingly light in texture, though robust in flavor. Don't skip the pesto, as it makes the dish if Meyer lemons are not to be had, regular lemons will do.

Enlarge image i

Makes 4 servings

1 cup lentils, rinsed

2 cups water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup ricotta

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

A few pinches of fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

Lemon Pesto Sauce

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

Grated zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons water

Put the lentils in a pot with the water and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes, adding water if the liquid has evaporated and the lentils are still tough. Drain the lentils and set aside to cool.

Transfer the lentils to a food processor and pulse until a chunky puree forms. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, olive oil, ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, fennel seeds, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well. Stir in the bread crumbs and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In the meantime, make pesto. In a food processor or mini blender, blend the garlic, pine nuts, lemon zest and juice, and salt until smooth.

Add the basil, 1/4 cup of olive oil and Parmesan, and pulse again until smooth, adding more olive oil as needed to smooth it out, and a bit of water as needed to get a thinner, saucelike consistency.

Check the lentil mixture by rolling a 1-inch ball together between your palms; it should hold together fairly well. If it seems too wet, add another tablespoon or two of the breadcrumbs to the mixture. Roll the lentil mixture into 1-inch balls and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. They don't need a lot of space between. If you like a bit more of a crust, give them a thin brush of olive oil. Bake until the tops are golden brown, gently turning the balls over halfway through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to cool slightly.

Serve with a drizzle of pesto sauce.

Recipe: Red Lentil Dal

This very traditional recipe originally came from a family friend, Rohini Nilekani. I like it best with red split lentils (masoor dal), although yellow lentils (moong dal) also are good. You can find them at many natural foods stores, as well as online and at Indian groceries. The latter are your best bet for the harder-to-find items, such as fenugreek and curry leaves.

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups red split lentils (masoor dal) or yellow lentils

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon black or brown mustard seeds

2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 or 2 small fresh green chili peppers (e.g. Thai bird chilies), finely chopped

10 to 12 curry leaves

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons ground coriander

Pinch of turmeric

Pinch of cayenne

1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

Cilantro sprigs to garnish

Cooked rice

To cook the dal, place the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the dal forms a loose, tender mass (or until it achieves the texture you prefer), about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the age of the dal. Salt to taste.

In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium-high flame until it shimmers. Grab a splatter screen or cover and add the mustard, fenugreek and cumin seeds to the pan (the mustard seeds will instantly begin to pop, so wield the splatter screen wisely). Before the popping ceases, add the chopped onions, chili peppers and curry leaves, and reduce the heat to medium. Gently cook the onion mixture until the onions have softened and show a pale gold, stirring as you go and checking for salt, about 15 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir to amalgamate. If the onion-spice mixture is very dry and stiff, add water to loosen it until aromatic and slightly wet. Add the coriander, turmeric, cayenne and fennel and stir to mix. Add the cooked dal with salt to taste, and cook very gently until just married, turning off the heat before the pan dries out.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Family Dinner: Treasured Tradition Or Bygone Ideal?

Hide caption
The Brown-Spencer family gathers for dinner at their home in Mechanicsville, Va. This family of eight manages to eat together nearly every weeknight, but they've had to cut back on many after-school activities to make it work. From left: Doug Brown, Laura, Celedonia, Anna, Miriam, Anita, Amy Spencer and Gavin.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
The Brown-Spencer family is made up of Brown's three daughters from a previous marriage, and Spencer's three children. To make cooking dinner manageable every night, each child is assigned a day to be a kitchen helper.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Brown, who is the director of music at the Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, moved to a six-day workweek so that he can leave early on weekdays to meet his girls when they get home from school at 3 p.m.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Laura, 6 (from left), Anna, 8, and Anita, 13, head out to the cul-de-sac to play before dinner. The kids get most of their exercise roller-skating, biking or playing ball after school.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Brown checks his phone while his daughters Anita and Anna play on a swing set near their home.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Brown makes dinner rolls while helping his seventh-grader, Anita, with math homework.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Celedonia, 8, Gavin, 3, Spencer and Brown gather around the kitchen as Brown prepares a fruit salad for dinner.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
"With the schedules of six kids and two adults, [dinner] has to be a priority or it just wouldn't happen," says Brown.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Dinner at the Brown-Spencer house this evening is pasta carbonara with broccoli and fruit salad.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Laura, Celedonia, Anna, Miriam and Anita reach for the bread basket.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Anna, 8, practices the viola with her stepdad as her mother cleans up after dinner. All five of their daughters play an instrument and practice after dinner four nights a week.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
Celedonia (left) and Anita pick a few pieces of candy to add to their lunches. The house rule is that they can eat no more than two to three pieces a day.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR
Hide caption
After dinner, Brown gets a moment to himself.

Previous Next

Maggie Starbard/NPR

1 of 13

View slideshow i

When we asked you (via our Facebook page) to tell us about the weekday challenges your families face, given the competing demands of work, commutes, schoolwork and activities, you didn't hold back. Especially on the subject of squeezing in a family dinner.

"This topic hit my central core," wrote Moschel Kadokura. "It's amazingly hard," says mom Samantha Kolber of Plainfield, Vt. "Lots of balls in the air," says Katherine Hennessy of Boston. "Witching hours" is how working mom Czarina Kulick of Pittsburgh, Pa., described the daily hurdles and tag-team efforts to feed, bathe and complete homework. "It often feels like no one wins."

"My family dinners, while they are surely Norman Rockwell in my head, in real life, it's more like the TV show The Simpsons," says Jessica Leichsenring of Wisconsin, mom of three kids. She referenced one episode where Homer Simpson cajoles the family off the couch. "We're not going to shovel food in our mouths while we stare at the TV," Homer says. "We're going to eat at the dining room table like a normal family."

If you listen to my story on All Things Considered, you'll get a shockingly honest and real snapshot of Leichsenring's family dinner: It's quick (eight minutes) and full of distractions (think iPods, TV and kids complaining they don't like milk). And Leichsenring is not alone.

Our NPR poll, conducted with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, finds about a quarter of children surveyed live in homes where on a given night the TV is on, or someone is using an electronic device. (The poll was based on a nationally representative sample of U.S. households with children. About 1,000 caregivers are included.)

The poll also found that, despite families ranking a family meal as a high priority, about half of children live in a home where, on a given night, families don't sit down together to eat or share the same food.

Lots of families we heard from told us that family dinners are special times: They just don't happen every night. For many, it's a weekend dinner where everyone looks forward to being together. But for a choice few, it seems, family dinner is the glue that holds the family together. (We profile one such family, the Brown-Spencers, in our photo gallery above.)

Enlarge image i

Brown stops by the grocery story after work to pick up ingredients for a fruit salad that he plans to make for dinner.

So why are we asking about family dinners? Several studies have suggested that regular family meals contribute to healthy eating habits. For instance, one study found that middle-school kids who routinely ate with their families tended to be healthier eaters when they reached high school. And there also seems to be emotional benefits as well.

"We think family dinners matter because they provide an opportunity for families to sit down together, to relax, to communicate, to share happenings about their day" says Kelly Musick, an associate professor at Cornell University whose research focuses on modern family dynamics.

But in an era when so many families are stretched thin, it's possible that a nightly dinner may not be the prime opportunity for communicating or relaxing together. If a meal is slap-dash and stressful, is it really making a family stronger? Musick says it's not clear.

"Our research shows that the benefits of family dinners are not as strong or as lasting as previous studies suggest," says Musick.

It may be that quality time spent together away from the table is just as beneficial as eating together. For Jessica Leichsenring's family, this means playing outside together after school, or reading together at bedtime.

Leichsenring says she's come to terms with her eight-minute dinners, and she feels she's got strong relationships with her children.

"As long as I'm present in their lives and involved with them and showing them what it is to be a good person, I don't think having dinner together is going to sway that one way or another," she says.

So does family dinner matter? Tell us what you think.

This story is part of the series On the Run: How Families Struggle to Eat Well and Exercise. The series is based on a poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. If you want to dive deeper, here's a summary of the poll findings, plus the topline data and charts.