Eat Your Books Blog

Answers to 4 farmers' market questions that are always asked - and shouldn't be

2013-05-20T10:27:00Z

Forrest Pritchard is a farmer who just published a well-reviewed book, Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm (his is an eighth-generation farm) - you can read Michael Ruhlman on the book here. But Pritchard also publishes an interesting blog at his farm's website, Smith Meadows. One of those blogs we thought would be very informative to share.

Titled 4 Questions You Should Never Ask at Farmers' Markets, Pritchard leads in with: "I've spent over 1,000 Saturdays and Sundays selling at farmers markets, and even after all this time I still love to answer questions. Farmers markets are one of the few places where customers can directly connect with their food, meeting face-to-face with the people who grew it. Questions are expected at market, and even encouraged. From livestock breeds to production practices, organic certification to chemical usage, I've been asked just about every food-related question under the sun.

Though most farmers will happily answer all inquiries, there are a handful of questions that make even the friendliest farmers want to choke a carrot. If you don't want your farmer to turn three shades of beet red, here's the reasoning behind 4 questions every customer should avoid."

Here are the questions, with a condensed version of his response - the full blog is well worth reading, if for nothing more than the humor.

Was this picked fresh this morning? As he explains, given the work involved in getting ready for the market, the farmer and his crew would have to be up all night.

What time do you get up? Apparently this is a no-win question, so he has learned to say 4:30 - all farmers always get up at 4:30

I know you're not open yet, but I'm in a hurry… could you sell me something before the bell? No - it's a rush as it is to get ready for the opening bell.

Since it's the end of market, can I get a special deal on what you've got left? Again, no. This is a no-win question - people would either wait until the end or complain about paying full price.

And now you're a "market insider."

5 truly good online cooking videos

2013-05-19T12:38:00Z

Adam Roberts, over at the Amateur Gourmet, recently provided an antidote to Food TV. He gives links to five past food shows, now available online, that really defined good food television - they actually give you tips and advice on how to cook. In no particular order, they are (with our comments):

Molto Mario, with Mario Batali (probably the best show ever on cooking Italian)
Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home (Julia Child and Jacques Pépin together are a magical combination - the ultimate power kitchen couple)
Lidia's Italy, with Lidia Bastianich (not quite as dynamic as Mario, but there's always room for two Italian cooking shows)
From Martha's Kitchen (whether you find her too perfect or not, it's hard to deny that Martha Stewart can cook)
Avec Eric (this has a lot of travel in it, but Eric Ripert presents spot-on cooking lessons at the end of each episode)

These are all on Hulu, but you can watch them on your computer without a paid subscription (though there are commercials).

How to build and roll the perfect burrito

2013-05-17T09:48:00Z

Burritos are delectable - but can be a sloppy mess. But this 4-minute video from The Daily Meal takes you by the hand and shows you how to build the perfect burrito - one that doesn't get soggy or fall apart. There are several keys:

The order of ingredients is truly important - beans, rice, shredded cheese, meat/vegetable, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce.
The ratio of ingredients is key, especially rice to bean - about even. And not too much guacamole.
The desired shape is a rectangular, elongated form.
Rolling is a four-step process: in with the sides, over the top using your fingers to insure coverage, corners in, and tucked under itself (not really a roll) - and take your time.

Now this is an art form everyone should - and can - learn.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Meal

Kale has now been annointed as veggie-chic

2013-05-16T10:10:00Z

Since we doubt that anyone is unaware that kale has been soaring in popularity (stand aside, tomatoes) we haven't tackled it as a blog item - it seems to be almost passé. But sometimes events overtake the best of intentions, and the event that overtook us was the final, canonical blessing on kale by the New York Times who just announced that kale has been accepted in "Manhattan social circles."

In their article, Oh, How the Humble Has Risen, they note that "Along with midriff-baring tops and all things Gatsby, another trend has swept the spring social circuit: kale salads." Apparently, we can "Forget about filet mignon or caviar. The fashionable plat du jour these days is the humble kale salad, which seems to telegraph a certain veggie-chic for the juice-cleanse set."

Don't get us wrong - we love kale. But the premise that a Manhattan social set acceptance should turn us on to kale does befuddle us - it's not a group that we turn to for vegetable blessings.

And the group is even late to the party. As The Guardian wrote last March, in Kale: the hottest vegetable this season, the British have been tuned onto kale for quite awhile, "According to trade magazine the Grocer, kale is the "new star" of the brassica family. Sales were up by 40% in the past year, with 3,048 tonnes shifted in the 12 months to February, when its core season ends. Data analysts Kantor Worldpanel, who conducted the study, don't make the link between celebrities and our new-found fondness for this powerful leaf. But thanks to its high-profile supporters - including Gwyneth Paltrow (whose website Goop features recipes for kale juice and kale chips), Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver- some of it may even have been eaten, rather than left at the back of the veg drawer."

Or what about this article in Epicurious, The Next Big Thing: Baby Kale Salad Mix? They note that "Americans are crazy for kale. So crazy, in fact, that we might as well be singing "Kale to The Chief!" All kidding aside, it's taken a while, but kale is now solidly entrenched in our vegetable lexicon. Whether raw or cooked, it has firmly planted itself on restaurant menus. Bushy bunches of it crowd the produce aisles of supermarkets. And the farmers' market? Forgettaboutit. When kale's in season, there are so many different varieties piled high on tables, it's hard to choose."

We're not sure who started the kale craze, but we're glad they did and we'd like to give them credit if we could. However, the least we can do is to note that our EYB members are much savvier than the Manhattan social set when it comes to food (we doubt if many could use the expression "veggie-chic" with a straight face), so here are those online recipes at EYB for kale that have created the most buzz. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of shutterbean on Flickr

Remembering the great food commercials

2013-05-15T10:12:00Z

The Daily Meal has a wonderful list today for all of you of a certain age who might have spent a fair time in front of a television set (we plead guilty) in the U.S. It's a list of The 11 Most Iconic Food Commercials of All Time, plus links to the actual commercial on You Tube. As they say, "They're more than just ads, they're cultural touchstones."

Among the ones they list are several of our favorites: The Claymation raisins singing I Heard it Through the Grapevine, the Spicy Meatball commercial from Alka-Seltzer, and, definitely, Mikey for Life Cereal. But think of the ones they missed - the Bill Cosby Jell-O episodes, the Trix Bunny always losing out because "Trix are for kids," the Wendy's "Where's the beef" lady, and we are even nostalgic for the Green Giant - ho, ho, ho.

Enjoy the trip through memory lane, and let us know which ones you especially liked and don't see on the list.

What to do when a fondness for cookbooks approaches addiction status

2013-05-14T10:00:00Z

The Kitchn has an article that may strongly resound with our members - 6 Ways to Manage Your Cookbook Addiction. Their description of what defines a cookbook addict may strike a chord with some of our members: "Perhaps it's because while you have more cookbooks then you will ever be able to cook recipes from, you cannot stop yourself from adding to your collection. Or maybe there are teetering piles of cookbooks all over your house, surrounding the bed, on a little stool near the bathtub, stacked up next to the couch. It is almost impossible for you to not buy the latest release by a favorite author, even if there's not much new going on there and you can never, never walk past the cookbook section in the bookstore without stopping and losing half a day in the stacks. These are all signs that you may have a situation on your hands."

Of couse, unlike serious addictions (drugs, gambling, etc.) this addiction is one that isn't really unhealthy - as long as it's not financially draining or forces you to sleep in the garage due to space concerns. In fact, to us the word "addict" really doesn't work. The word ignores the fact there are many benefits to cookbook ownership - not least that home-cooked meals are now acknowledged as a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle. And cookbooks are not just to cook from - they can provide hours of reading enjoyment. But this article does have some good advice on how to approach a fondness for cookbooks rationally.

First, though, if you're a member of EYB you've already taken the most important step - making sure you can access all those recipes so you actually use the books. In fact, an EYB membership is the best way to approach two of the suggestions listed in this article - explore your archives and weed out any books that just don't work anymore.

So what are the other suggestions? Fuller explanations are in the article, but three interesting ones are:

Use the library
Avoid Amazon
Start a cookbook club with your friends

And what about buying new cookbooks? The article goes on to give advice on how to choose new cookbooks wisely. There are several good approaches here as well, we especially liked the one that reads: "Rule of thumb: If you casually pick up a cookbook to browse but find you're still reading it 10 minutes later, then you may just want to bring this one home with you."

Feel free to contribute any ideas you have. And we want to thank those members who added comments to the the Kitchn article strongly endorsing an EYB membership as an invaluable resource to help with many, if not all, of these suggestions.

Photo courtesy of the Kitchn

Here come the kids...

2013-05-14T08:19:00Z

With Mother's Day fast receding into the rear-view mirror, I thought it would be interesting to look more closely at a phenomenon which seems to be especially noticeable this year: cookbooks by those whose parents are better-known than they are.

April brought Old-School Comfort Food, by Alex Guarnaschelli - the daughter of Maria Guarnaschelli, the cookbook editor (most famously of the controversial 1997 Joy of Cooking). Having established herself as an executive chef (restaurants Butter and The Darby) and TV food personality, the younger Guarnaschelli produced a cookbook with none of the flaws of restaurant cookbooks: although the recipes are mostly not new, the book itself is accessible, direct, nicely-produced, and - perhaps unsurprisingly - well-edited.

Also last month came Daphne Oz's Relish: an Adventure in Food, Style, and Everyday Fun. Oz - the daughter of the famous Dr. Oz - is a cohost of "The Chew" on ABC - is making a bid for lifestyle gurudom. So her recipes (there aren't that many of them) focus on easy food - pasta, salads, grains - and are interspersed with tips on applying your mascara, developing a fitness routine, and how to tell a "confidant" from an "acquaintance".

Perhaps the most striking of all is the just-published Batali Bros. Cookbook, a slender tome the size of a picture book, written by Mario Batali's Benno (16) and Leo (14). The latter and greater half of the book are recipes by the big M himself - the abundant, authentic-spirited Italian fare we're used to seeing from him. The first half, however, is entirely written by the sons, and the recipes are no more than what most might think their teens up to handling: French toast, scrambled eggs, meatballs, pasta. They're written with charm ("Though the best meatballs are in italy, these will come very close.")- and indeed, that these boys chose to write a cookbook at all is disarming. But if their father weren't who he is, it's hard to imagine the book would have been published.

With the exception of this last case, children of celebrities generally mention their parents as little as possible, clearly hoping to be judged on their own merits, their recipes, their talents. (A sentiment I can understand. When I was an academic book editor, I never wanted anyone to think my position came from my dad's status as an art publisher. And he never mentioned to anyone that his dad was at one time the premier of China. In neither case did our fathers have anything to do with launching our careers, other than providing a stable middle-class upbringing.)

Nevertheless, these books provide a fascinating glimpse of how parents' career choices can affect their kids'- and maybe, possibly, down the line, be eclipsed by them.

The Brits discover cake clubs

2013-05-13T11:58:00Z

NPR's The Salt recently revealed that the British have developed quite a passion for baking. In Why Britain Has Gone Mad About Baking, they announced "In the last year alone, some 9 million Britons have taken up baking, according to market research firm Mintel. Indeed, the home-baking market grew a whopping 84 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to Mintel. Increases included sales of all baking-related products, from flour to decorating items, baking tins, mixers, even cake stands."

Attributable to the financial crisis, which "has encouraged the nation to stay at home, finding low-cost leisure activities," this passion has found several outlets. The outlet we found most fascinating was cake clubs. According to NPR, "Over the past three years, cake clubs like Hill's have been growing in popularity in the U.K. The concept is similar to a book club - except with cake. Often there's a theme: new recipes only, international or other mandates. Hill, who created her Clandestine Cake Club in 2011 (there are now 168 chapters in the U.K. alone), likes to build excitement by keeping meeting spots secret until the last possible moment."

Our congratulations to our friends across the Atlantic who have found a constructive and tasty way to deal with adversity. And you can see the index for the Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook here. Bake on...

The Munchie Award winners

2013-05-12T09:30:00Z

We were remiss earlier that we didn't acknowledge the winners of the Munchie Awards. As explained by Braiser, which published the results, these awards were created by Andrew Zimmern (most famous for his show, Bizarre Foods). "Zimmern and a panel of 26 experts (chefs, journalists, and media personalities alike) compile a list of nominees in each culinary category which are then open to a public vote."

You can check out the entire list at Braiser's article, but here are the winners of the Taste Makers award (they also announce Tasty Bites and Delicious Destinations - both geographic awards):

TERRIFIC TASTEMAKERS

Best Food Reality TV Show: Chopped (Food Network)
Best Food TV Personality: Alton Brown, Good Eats (Food Network)
Best Food Magazine: Cooking Light (Time, Inc.)
Best Food Blog or Site: Serious Eats
Best New Cookbook: Bouchon Bakery, Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel (Artisan)
Best Food Podcast or Radio Show: NPR: Food (NPR)
Best Chef: Hugh Acheson, Empire State South, Atlanta

Our congratulations to the winners and, most especially, the voters. Excellent choices, everyone...

Woo-hoo! We now have over 100,000 online recipes

2013-05-10T11:16:00Z

Today, we're going to take a break in our regularly scheduled blog to pat ourselves on the back. Just this week, we've reached a monumental milestone - we now have over 100,000 online recipes! Of those, almost 10,000 were added by our members using the Bookmarklet feature (thank you, thank you); over 10,000 are from cookbooks; and 33,000 are from magazines.

By the way, If any of you don't know about the bookmarklet feature, which is a great way to add favorite recipes from the net to your EYB library, here's a written explanation of how to use one. Or, if you prefer visual instruction, here's an explanation in a brief video.

And, of course, we'd be totally remiss if we didn't applaud all our members for supporting us while we reached this milestone and encouraging us to keep going. Today 100,000; tomorrow the world!

Four good reasons to eat chocolate

2013-05-09T09:19:00Z

Discussing chocolate is always appropriate, but never more so than approaching Mother's Day. So here's a shout out to The Daily Meal's article, Truth Behind 4 Chocolate Myths. By busting these myths, they produce even more reasons than you may already have for eating chocolate. Check out the article for the full details, here is a synopsis:

"Myth #1: Chocolate is bad for you
Eaten in moderation, chocolate can be good for you. Flavanols - antioxidants that have been linked to heart health - aren't just found in tea and red wine. Chocolate has them too, along with dietary fiber and assorted minerals.

Myth #2: Chocolate is an aphrodisiac
Chocolate stands alongside oysters and asparagus as an alleged agent of sexual arousal. [We're not so sure about this - but a gift of chocolate never hurts the mood.]

Myth #3: Chocolate causes acne
Even though mom said it for years, chocolate does not cause acne.

Myth #4: Chocolate is loaded with caffeine
Unless you're consuming it in large quantities, chocolate isn't likely to keep you up at night. Milk chocolate has about 12 milligrams of caffeine per serving, with dark chocolate clocking in at 20 milligrams to 40 milligrams per serving. To put that in perspective, an 8-ounce cup of coffee contains anywhere from 65 milligrams to 120 milligrams of caffeine."

Of course it's certainly no myth or secret that chocolate is the base for some of our best desserts and beverages, but don't forget chocolate can make an appearance in savory dishes. As a gentle reminder, and for another way to consume this latest health food, check out these online recipes for Mexican mole sauce featuring chocolate.

And don't forget to also continue to check out our Mother's Day Pinterest page for more great Mother's Day ideas and recipes.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Meal

All hail Hummus - the new King of the Snacks

2013-05-08T10:44:00Z

No less an authority than the Wall Street Journal has chosen to crown hummus as the new king of the snacks. In their online article, Hummus is Conquering America, they discuss how the growing demand for hummus is encouraging farmers to trade transplanting tobacco for chickpeas. Apparently the chickpea harvest has been concentrated in the Northwest, which creates a diversity of climate issue, and now the large hummus producers (e.g. Pepsi which partially owns Sabra, and Kraft which owns Athenos) are encouraging Southern farmers to add chickpeas to their crop list.

Sales of hummus in the market are skyrocketing; up 11% from a year ago and up 25% from two years ago. And certainly the fact that a low fat, high protein snack item is popular is nothing to sneeze at - any consumption is a good thing. But perhaps this is a classic example where, since it doesn't take much more effort to make hummus at home than buy it at the grocery store, we can do a little preaching and encourage people to take a look at these online hummus recipes from the EYB Library, sorted by buzz. In particular, we noted that this hummus recipe from the prize-winning cookbook Jerusalem (which has 8 pages devoted to hummus) is the favorite.

Or, since we assume that many of our members already make their own hummus, please share your favorites. A fresh batch might make for an unusual, but highly appreciated, Mother's Day gift.

About those menus...

2013-05-07T13:27:00Z

You know those "suggested menus" offered by many cookbooks? Where they tell you what goes with what, from starters to salads to mains to sides to sweets, and what wine you should serve with what? And often they have a picture to go with it - of the whole beautiful spread, sometimes being elegantly nibbled by an octet of attractive people whose clothes are conspicuously cooking-stain-free? You know, those menus?

Maybe it's just that I'm a cantankerous old mule, but: I do not like them, Sam-I-Am. Here's an example of a menu in Heather Christo's Generous Table, which was published approximately 5 minutes ago:

Cauliflower soup
Asparagus Walnut Pesto Linguini
Halibut en Papillote
Lemon Tart with an Almond Shortbread Crust
Coconut Sorbet

Now let me be clear - I have nothing against Heather Christo or these really quite-delicious-looking recipes. I just don't like having someone put them together for me. When I see a previously-composed menu, I feel:

Exhausted: Even though I'm not afraid of making multi-course meals, somehow seeing somebody else's menu all tied up in pink ribbons only emphasizes for me the amount of work it's going to take to pull it off, especially because it's usually printed across from some posh-looking table setting which itself took an hour to set up.
Like a Groupie: I can totally understand worshipping a cookbook author so fervently that I want to cook every recipe in their book. But do I honestly want to reproduce, bite for bite, the very menu that was served to that author's lucky friends, knowing that even if I pull it off, it can only aspire to be being as good as the original?
Resentful : Who has time to plot and plan a five-course meal?! (OK, in point of fact, five course meals- or at any rate, five-dish meals happen pretty regularly when my friends get together. But we all pitch in, is the point, so that even if half of us are stuck late at soccer practice or drama rehearsal, stuff will get made and shared.)
Uncreative : Maybe I want to follow a few recipes to the letter. But isn't it my job to figure out what goes with what, and what's right for the occasion and my guests and the time of year? With 128,788 recipes at my fingertips, isn't it the least I can do to pick and choose what we're going to eat?

Needless to say, feeling pressured by the menus in a cookbook that I may have received for free in the first place is, as my son would say, a First World Problem. And after all,nothing's stopping me from cherry-picking any recipe I like from anywhere and putting as little or as much effort as I like into it. But I can't help but wonder if there are better souls than I - less neurotic, more ambitious, less easily distracted - who follow those menus to the letter, never losing their good humor in the process.

If you know one, let me know - and tell me when to show up for dinner. I'll be there, contributing a bunch of flowers, and nothing else.

Mark Bittman identifies "the Big Mac of desserts"

2013-05-07T09:42:00Z

Mother's Day is approaching, and what mother wouldn't want the ultimate chocolate dessert - the "Big Mac of Dessert?" Mark Bittman has bestowed this title on Jean-Georges Vongerichten's molten chocolate cake - the original lava cake that has spawned so many offspring. But Vongertichten produces over 1,000/day, so if you want to go to the master, this is the one to choose. And to help everyone make it, the Braiser has provided this helpful NY Times video to show you exactly how to make it.

But if cake doesn't fit the occasion, check out our EYB's special Mother's Day Pinterest board which currently has 109 pins to recipes from savory to dessert to beverages to brunch.

Presenting recipes as infographics could entice new cooks

2013-05-06T10:46:00Z

It's fun to both acknowledge and applaud novel approaches to old methods, and a new cookbook coming out in October does just that. Rather than writing out the recipe, this cookbook, (Picture Cook: A Graphic Cookbook by Katie Shelly), presents the recipes as infographics - line drawings that show the recipe being made.

The idea behind this approach is explained in this article from Taxi, Brilliantly Illustrated Cookbook Shows Recipes As Infographics:

"Knowing how tedious it can be to wade through text-heavy recipes, Shelly's illustrated instructions keep words to a minimal, and instead, use simple drawings and arrows to bring their messages across...If you are a visual learner, you would appreciate the charming drawings in this unusual cookbook, which would allow you to pick up complicated dishes at a glance."

We're actually not sure how useful this is, but it's possible that these instructions may well appeal to a new group of potential cooks - and anything that entices people into the kitchen is a good thing. Below are two more examples - check out this site for more.

Illustrations from katieshelly.com

Rick Bayless and controversy over "authentic" Mexican food

2013-05-05T13:25:00Z

It's Cinco de Mayo, which is actually almost more of an American holiday than a Mexican one. It technically celebrates a battle than occurred in the Mexican province of Puebla, but became a holiday that Mexican-Americans encouraged to signify pride in their heritage. And just as with Cinco de Mayo, the concept of what is "authentic" Mexican food, vs. Mexican-American food, is also a bit hazy. Ironically, that haziness is proving to be the cause for another battle between Rick Bayless - an American chefs who is most famous for creating "authentic" Mexican food - and the state of California.

In the first of two incidents, Bayless purportedly "introduced Southern Californians to Mexican food. As ABC news sums it up, there was " a comment Bayless made (or didn't make, as Bayless himself maintains) about introducing Southern California diners to "authentic" Mexican cuisine. Long story short: In 2010, Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Jonathan Gold, addressing attendees as a fund-raiser for an association of Latino journalists,criticized Bayless for his role in Red O, a restaurant that, as he characterized it, positioned itself as introducing authentic Mexican food to Los Angeles -- a city long-influenced by Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and their respective, often overlapping food traditions. Bayless responded to Gold's comments online, tweeting directly to Gold that he "[t]hought a Pulitzer meant you checked facts. Sneering at me for something I never said is either mean or sloppy. I'm offended."

More recently, however, in San Francisco, in an interview with Zagat, Bayless is quoted as saying, "San Francisco doesn't really have much of a Mexican food tradition aside from the taquerias in the Mission, which is a fairly limited thing." This did not go over well in San Franicsco. In a blog written by Gustavo Arellano (author of Taco USA), titled Rick Bayless Insults Yet Another California City's Mexican Food Traditions, Arellano writes, "Um, excuse me? No tradition? Idiot obviously didn't read my Taco USA, let alone ask the Mexicans who've lived in the Mission even before Bayless was some Okie manning a barbecue pit whether their traditions are nonexistent. Idiot didn't even visit San Francisco's vibrant Yucatecan food scene, beneficiaries of the largest Yucateco community in the United States. And to call the Mission burrito a "fairly limited thing" is akin to calling the 1974 Cadillac Eldorado a fairly short car."

We love Mexican food in all forms - and think it's probably a good thing that there really can't be a fine line between "athentic" and "non-authentic" Mexican food. After all, culture changes (especially those involving food) that are inclusive rather than exclusionary should be welcomed. While this controversy doesn't change our over-all opinion of Bayless and the wonderful cookbooks he's written, it does make us wish that he would be a little more thoughtful in his interviews.

Photo courtesy of Facebook

The Food Network is losing popularity

2013-05-03T17:54:00Z

The N.Y. Post published today some news that we thought our members would find interesting. According to recent ratings, the "Food Network shed 17 percent of its audience during the 12 months through April 30. The average primetime show on the cable channel, which features such series as "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," slipped to 1.06 million." Also interesting, by contrast HGTV (Home and Garden TV) showed a 10% increase in viewers. We're not sure quite what it means, but given that Food Network has almost completely abandoned cooking shows for competition and other specialty shows (although it still does deal entirely with food), maybe viewers are getting a little tired of the cupcake wars.

And while we're on the subject, for those who'd like to understand the Food Network better, Forbes just published an interesting article, "Why There's No 'Cooking with Honey Boo Boo' on Food Network." It's a history of the network, and does indicate that there is a line beyond which the Food Network won't go: "At the end of the day,"says Lowe, "you have to stand for something."

The first ever cookbook rating app!

2013-05-02T12:11:00Z

You may have noticed Susie's mentions of her new cookbook rating app but I thought it deserved an entire post. Susie must thoroughly test more new cookbooks than anyone else around - as well as her posts for EYB, she reviews cookbooks for The Boston Globe and NPR. So it made sense that Susie used all that experience to create a cool new app, CookShelf, that provides ratings for cookbooks - now available for download here.

Susie has applied several ratings - Skill (how much experience is required?), New (how innovative are the recipes?), Gift (how applicable is the book and to whom?), and Keeper (which books will stand the test of time?). In addition she adds her own entertaining summary about the book. She has rated 200 books so far and will be adding several new ones every week. She will also add new features e.g. she just added a Cookbooks as Mother's Day Gifts selection. And finally, there are links to the recipe listing for every book that is indexed on EYB.

All this for $2.99 - a bargain (and a great gift for the cookbook lover in your life). We have 5 copies of the app to give away to EYB members. Please add a comment on what your most important criteria is when choosing a cookbook as a gift. Please make sure you are signed in to EYB when you comment so we have your email address to send you the promo code if you win. Giveaway expires on May 9th.

Beyonce and the $900 titanium straw

2013-05-02T10:29:00Z

It's well-known that touring artists often have very specific requirements for food, etc. in their touring contracts. And it's kind of fun to read them, if for nothing more than realizing what a fantasy world must be like. So when the Daily Meal published Beyonce's touring contract requirements, we paused to look them over.

Essentially, as far as food goes, the requirements weren't outlandish - nothing like Van Halen's famous requirement for M&Ms with all the brown ones carefully removed. But one of Beyonce's requirements - for a titanium straw - did pique our curiousity. According to the report, "the singer 'forked out $900 for titanium straws, which will be used to drink a special alkaline water that's served at exactly 21 degrees.' She also requires a hand-carved ice ball to suck on after every performance to cool her throat (which makes perfect sense to us), while asking for glass platters of almonds, oatcakes, and green-only crudites. As for junk food? It's apparently all been banned."

So what is a titanium straw and why require one? According to ThinkGeek,

"We have three or more reasons why you need a Titanium Straw. First, titanium is tasteless and odorless, which means it won't affect your beverage's taste. Also, it has very low thermal conductivity, which means your Titanium Straw will resist getting too cold or too hot (depending on your beverage of choice). Titanium is also super strong and light weight, which means you can stab it right into the fruit (or person, if you're a vampire) you wish to drink. We tried it with oranges and grapefruits and it worked well, however we don't recommend trying watermelons or rocks. Finally, you need a Titanium Straw because it is awesome. And you are awesome, too - the perfect match!"

One peculiarity, however, is that, although it's out of stock, ThinkGeek is selling their titanium straws for under $20. So what makes for a $900 titanium straw? Maybe because it must have been hand made - in fact, we couldn't find one for sale and in stock anywhere online. So if you strive to be as "awesome" as Beyonce, and have a little excess titanium lying around, here's a way to do it.

Why eat the hottest pepper in the world?

2013-05-01T11:21:00Z

Recently Slate posed a question that has puzzled us for a long time. In Eating Fire, they ask: "Why do people feel compelled to put the world's spiciest chili peppers in their mouths?" Indeed, in recent years, there has been a contest to develop the hottest pepper in the world. In 2012, the new scorpion pepper edged out the ghost pepper for that illustrious title. To put this amount of heat in perspective, the scorpion pepper has a Scoville unit rating of 1,463,700; a jalepeno, by contrast, can only go up to a measly 8,000.

Obviously there wouldn't be this competition if people didn't actually eat these peppers. But why inflict so much pain? Slate has a theory that it is a courage ritual:

"Ultra-hot peppers occupy a unique role in the West. They have been created specifically for the purpose of being horribly painful to people (usually men) who deliberately inflict this pain on themselves-typically in front of others. Other cultures have analogs of this behavior: The men of one Amazon tribe cover their hands with venomous ants in a ceremony so painful that one American participant said that he would have cut off his arm with a machete to stop the pain if he'd been able to. Other cultures enjoy ritual cutting or scheduled beatings. Young American men sometimes consent to hazing rituals in the course of rushing a fraternity or joining a sports team, but rarely do they involve pain as pointed as that of eating an ultra-hot pepper."

Of course, hot pepper addicts (and, yes, it can be an addicition) propose an alternative scientific reason for eating super-hot peppers. Eating capsaicin (the chemical in the peppers that carries the heat) is supposed to provide a natural high from the endorphins that are generated by the body in reaction to the pain - endorphins being a pain killer. Somehow, however, the thought of enduring the pain first would, we would think, stop someone in their tracks.

Interesting, it did not stop Jackson Landers, the author, and his friend Jenny (it's not just males who succumb) from trying a scorpion pepper - raw. As he describes it,

"The scorpion pepper creeps up on you, getting incrementally fiercer over the course of a minute or so until your whole face feels like it has turned into lava. At roughly the same moment, Jenny and I both leapt off of my couch and ran for the kitchen. We madly mixed together everything that was supposed to help mitigate the effect of spicy food: milk, oil, and sugar, poured haphazardly first into our cups and then directly into our mouths. The combination provided momentary relief.

"Let's never do this again," I croaked from between clenched teeth."

But, by the end of article, he has actually talked himself into appreciating the experiment: "Having eaten the world's hottest pepper, I feel that there's nothing the world can throw at me that's any worse than what I've already experienced. That's a very powerful sensation. For the cost of a vegetable and an hour or so of one's time, it's actually a pretty good deal."

We'd never do it, but it's an interesting question: Would any of you? And we certainly acknowledge that there are many of us who do enjoy a moderate (at least compared to the above story) jolt of heat. The EYB Library lists over 166,000 recipes in our member's libraries that call for chiles.

Photo courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr