Only in America -

by gansie

Another Victim of the High Fructose Corn Syrup Backlash

What can I say? Even a girl who’s tasked to write about food on a daily basis needs a pizza and fries kind of night. And so we ordered a large cheese and crispy potatoes on the side. This would have been an uneventful meal save for the use of new ketchup.

It looks like Heinz has fallen to the sword of real sugar and came out with a no-high fructose corn syrup rendition of their tomato spread. Last Target trip, my boyfriend picked up “Simply Heinz” and promptly ditched its chemical predecessor, therefore crippling our chances for a quick blind taste test.

Now, I totally fucking hate ketchup. (Viva la Mustard!) And, frankly, I’m not even sure if homemade ketchup could persuade me otherwise. But I saved one fry from a dip into a spicy mustard for a taste of the newly enhanced, newly natural ketchup. To me, it still tasted like ketchup. I’m still baffled why people want this weird sweet liquid crap on their fries, or anything. Why is it so sweet? Why!

Anyway, 80, an official ambassador for ketchup, liked the new product:

A little bit different. Less sweet. Lighter. Tastes like ketchup I had in England years ago. I probably could tell the difference in a taste test.

So for now, we’ll have to take his word on the difference. But I did steal a packet that they sent with the fries. Testing for another day. In the meantime, feel free to read some brain washing by the Corn Refiners Association.

Photo from flickr user Maalokki

in Trends 6 comments

by gansie

We’ve Changed it for American Tastes

“We’ve changed it for American tastes.”

It’s something I’ve heard a lot while reporting on food in this country. When I was interviewing Fikru “Chu Chu” Bekele about his Italian restaurant, La Carbonara in DC’s U St. area, he continually told me about how he changed his recipes to accommodate American tastes. He added more cream than necessary. In Ethiopia, where he is from and once owned an Italian restaurant, he needed to adjust recipes for our taste here, not there.

Last night, at a press dinner at Taberna Del Alabardero, our host explained the make up of the gifts we’d be receiving that night. It was olive oil. In Spain its citizens are used to a more bitter oil, here, a sweet oil. Instead of adhering to its home county for inspiration, the restaurant uses a sweeter oil to cook with. Guests were given a 250ML bottle of extra virgin olive oil packaged in Sevilla, Spain, but given the American taste treatment.

Kushi, a Japanese restaurant in DC, at times creates presentations so authentic it literally made my heart ache for the real thing. But it doesn’t serve the cuts of meat so familiar in Japan: heart, cheek, liver….instead, it serves chunks of American-favorite pork belly on a stick.

I was discussing this “dumbing down for Americans” concept with DC food expert David Hagedorn. He reminded me that restaurants are businesses and need to make money. They need to sell food that we will buy and enjoy.

I told him I wished restaurants weren’t always businesses. That they could be institutions for learning, places for people to explore authentic flavors of the world, without the requisite dumbing down for American tastes.

And then I remembered that our national past time is eating Doritos.

Photo Credit: Flick User Mattieb

by BS

Top 10 New Foods at the 2010 State Fairs

With all due respect to George Washington Carver, America’s greatest food inventions have all originated in one place — the state fair. From cotton candy to corn dogs to deep-fried Coke, the enterprising folks at America’s state and county fairs top themselves year after year. Some observers thought state fair cooks had hit their peak last year, when the Texas State Fair debuted Deep Fried Butter. But in 2010, they outdid themselves once again, proving that if it’s edible, it’s even better battered and fried. From coast to coast (but mostly in the middle) here are our top ten favorite finds:

10. Hash Brown Hot Dog – San Diego County Fair

Hot dogs with french fries is a pretty fantastic lunch, but boy it takes a lot of effort to transport all those individual fries from the plate to your mouth. If only we could get the hot dog and the potato to be one cohesive unit, preferably arranged on a stick. Thank you, San Diego. Thank you. (Photo: It’s Holly)

9. Deep-Fried Cheddar-Bacon Mashed Potatoes…On a Stick – Minnesota State Fair

Sorry, San Diego — did you really think you could best the Midwest at spuds-on-a-stick? Here, Minnesota achieves the state fair trifecta — potatoes, pork and cheese — all deep fried, all on a stick. For more of Minnesota’s many, many state fair foods, check out Baking Junkie’s heart-stopping food crawl through the MN State Fair. (Photo: Baking Junkie)

8. Garbage Burger – Indiana State Fair

It’s the great state fair dilemma. Should pork be the basis of your dish — or a topping? In Indiana, this is not a problem. Behold the garbage burger — a deep-fried pork patty topped with a healthy serving of pulled pork. Why settle for one pig when you can have two? See more at The Hot Cookie. (Photo: Sarah Richcreek)

7. Deep-Fried Frito Pie – Texas State Fair

No other state takes this season as seriously as Texas, the good people who started the deep-fried everything movement with their corn dog in 1942 and haven’t looked back since. Earlier this week, ES told you about frito pies — those delicious piles of chili-topped corn chips. One guess what Texas has gone and done to ’em. (Photo: Texas Fried Frito Pie)

6. Deep Fried Klondike Bar – San Diego State Fair

California continues its surprisingly strong showing by having the cojones to throw a chocolate-covered ice cream bar in the deep fryer. This one’s more concept than execution, because not so surprisingly, it’s a total disaster to eat. My Burning Kitchen has more. (Photo: My Burning Kitchen)

Next: Top 5 New Foods at the 2010 State Fairs

in Cheese / Desserts / Featured / Food Travel / Lists / Pig 42 comments

by BS

Introducing the Pie Shake…Yes, That’s Pie. Shake.

Walking through the NoPa neighborhood of San Francisco recently, the veggie gf and I stumbled upon a restaurant with a name so simple and enticing we couldn’t resist: chile pies (& ice cream). Yep, that’s the name of the restaurant. And they have just three basic menu items:

– Classic New Mexico-style frito pie (for the uninformed, that’s chili poured over a bed of fritos).

– Fresh slices of sweet&savory pie with outrageous varieties such as green chile apple pie with walnuts and a cheddar crust.

– Ice cream and frozen yogurt in creative flavors like bittersweet chocolate and horchata.

Obviously, this was already approaching a pretty perfect restaurant as far as I’m concerned. But then I scanned to the bottom of the menu and saw one more item that just about knocked me over…

Getting Friendly With My Neighborhood Pawpaw

On a recent trip to the farm I discovered the unusual fruit known as pawpaw. This is something I’ve never seen or heard of before so naturally, I had to investigate. I found the owner of the farm and he told me a little bit about this fruit. The pawpaw is the largest fruit native to America and can be found in the south and eastern parts of the country. I’d describe it as a very bruised avocado-like fruit, with the texture of a thick custard and a flavor profile of a cross between a very sweet banana and mango.

The pawpaw you see above is of the Shenandoah variety, and once picked they ripen pretty quickly, to the point of you having to use them within 24-48hrs. Once I got these home I threw them in the freezer, not knowing what to do with them. Google didn’t really come up with too many ideas, so I figured since they are similar to bananas I’d find a recipe that I could adapt. And in true Britannia fashion, I introduced the fruit to my very good friend, alcohol.

Every Year, America Digs a Little Deeper

September is National Deep Fry Everything Month here in the US, better known as state fair season. ML’s batter fried waddle through the Iowa State Fair got my heart racing, and got my stomach remembering the above photo, taken on my travels this summer in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The mystery DFF in question is deep fried pickles, and in true Midwest style, they were light on the pickles, heavy on the fried. Delish.

So as summer state fair season comes to an end, just thought I’d ask — any other ESers make it to the state fair circuit this year? If so, what’s the craziest thing you saw battered and fried? Extra points, of course, if it got placed on a stick.

Update: top 10 new state fair foods of 2010

in Food Travel 1 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Nee Nee offers up our favorite solution yet for the great how to peel a hard boiled egg mystery:

This is en egg-peeling solution only for cooking solo and not sharing food. If you crack a bit off the hollow end of the egg and put your mouth around it while making a seal and blow hard for a few seconds, it loosens the egg from the membrane and makes it much easier to peel. Gross, I know, but it work really well.

A-mazing. That might have to be the official ES-endorsed way to crack an egg.

– Meanwhile, bcarter3 disagrees with Fuchs Foodie’s Top Chef dismay:

Nonsense. “Top Chef” is a game show, not a cooking lesson. Does anyone watch “Survivor” for tips on how to survive in the wilderness? “The Price Is Right” for shopping hints? “American Idol” for singing lessons?

But rose saunders expects more from the Emmy-winning Padma & Company: