Fish and chips shops up and down the country have are switching to salt shakers that have far fewer holes in a bid to help prevent heart disease.
Shops taking part in the scheme, which will see older varieties – which can have up to seventeen holes – be replaced by newer five-hole models, will also be given a batch of low sodium salt and pack of posters as part of the NHS funded initiative.
Restaurants in Cheshire, Tyneside and Norfolk will be amongst the first to receive their wares.
[ Read More ]
According to a survey conducted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) 44% of us wash chicken before cooking it.
However the FSA has warned people against this commonly held kitchen practice as doing so increases the risk of food poisoning.
Those most at risk are the elderly and children under the age of 5.
Camplyobacter currently affects 280,000 people in the United Kingdom each year and the bacteria is commonly spread onto hands, clothing, utensils and surrounding work surfaces from splashing water droplets, hence why the governmental department has moved to inform the general public about this unknown threat.
[ Read More ]
In the grand scheme of things, there aren’t many better things that a perfectly cooked steak – if you enjoy a more carnivorous diet, of course. The beauty of the steak is its simplicity. To do cook it perfectly you need not stare away at the oven longingly for a couple of hours whilst the afternoon passes by; all it needs, as you will well know, is a handful of minutes and you have an almost flawless meal prepared in, comparatively, next to no time at all.
[ Read More ]
What do you do with your leftover food at the end of every day?
According to a report published today, supermarkets are opting to turn waste produce and surplus food into biogas rather than donating them to people in need.
Currently, the government offers millions of pounds worth of subsidies for those involved with the construction, maintenance and the day-to-day running of anaerobic digestion plants. These plants, it is stated, convert around 100,000 tonnes of food which is fit for human consumption into biogas, according to the charity FareShare.
[ Read More ]
This news may not come as a surprise to many, but many restaurant goers associate cost with quality.
So if you are thinking about lowering your prices, your patrons may suddenly decide your food is worse – even when you haven’t altered a single thing on the menu!
A new study, which was presented at the Experimental Biology meeting last week, found that the perception of taste varies wildly in accordance to the price of the meal. The group of researchers – who had bases in nutrition, economics and consumer behaviours – also found that the monetary value of the meal has no correlation to the amount eaten at a sitting.
[ Read More ]
Once again we delve into the fabulously varied world of Brazilian culture and cuisine, this time looking at a dish that is remarkably simple to make and one that should be an easy addition to any summertime menu for caterers who are looking to include a little bit of samba influence over the coming months.
Much like Brazil’s national cocktail the caiprihna, the components of the feijoada can be altered to taste and regional presence making it a wonderfully versatile dish. A black bean stew, very similar to a chili, it is easy to prepare and tastes exquisite when left to cook slowly.
[ Read More ]
Anglo-American researchers who have been looking into the health benefits associated with traditional Mediterranean staples have recently discovered, they claim, the secret combinations that help keep us all fit and healthy.
According to the researchers the presence of olive oil and leafy salad or vegetables is the key to good health.
The combination produces nitro fatty acids which help lower blood pressure levels.
The scientific bit of research, which was part-funded by the British Heart Foundation, found that nitro fatty acids would reduce blood pressure by blocking an enzyme called epozide hydrolase. Professor Philip Eaton, from King’s College London, said that “It’s nature’s protective mechanism. If we can tap into this we could make new drugs for treating high blood pressure and preventing heart disease.”
[ Read More ]
A new piece of research suggests that the practise of listing the calorie content on café and restaurant menus may not be changing the way customers behave.
The appearance of information relating to the calorie content on menus of restaurants and cafes is a relatively new phenomenon and the practise is not widespread across the industry.
The authors of the meta-study looked at over thirty different academic conclusions drawn up in a six and a half year period ending in the summer of 2013 which dealt with how labelling influenced customer choices whilst dining.
[ Read More ]
Over a decade ago steps were taken by the government and health agencies to push food companies into reducing salt levels in processed foods. The result of that became apparent in 2011 when figures were released that as a nation we were eating 15% less than we did eight years previously in 2003. Researchers into the subject say that this has led to improvements in our health, statements which are backed up by fact: over the same period there was a 42% decline in deaths due to strokes and a 40% drop in deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.
[ Read More ]
The exclusive Danish restaurant Noma picked the title of the World’s Best Restaurant again during an annual award ceremony a couple of days ago. The victory marked the fourth time that the Copenhagen establishment had claimed the prize of being the best in the world, but is it?
Awards like this are always subjective and there it is no surprise that the event and announcement has polarised industry professionals and ‘average punters’ alike: some people, as the Guardian’s Marina O’Loughlin states ‘question how impartial judges have scored reservations at some of the world’s hardest-to-book tables,’ exclusive chefs whip themselves into a frenzy over nominations whilst the average person on the street will more like be preoccupied with the qualities of beans on toast rather than the latest concoction by Heston Blumenthal.
[ Read More ]
Author
Damien Wilde