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Book review: The Food Lab (J Kenji Lopez-Alt)
The Food Lab is J Kenji Lopez-Alt’s fantastic book that documents the results of his culinary experiments. If you like to cook and are science-minded, this is a must-read. The author J Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Culinary Advisor for Serious Eats and the chef and co-owner of the restaurant Wursthall in San Mateo, California. He has science in his genes (both his father and maternal grandfather are scientists) and studied Architecture at no less than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I first ran across his work through Serious Eats several years ago and have been a follower ever since. Kenji makes frequent guest appearances in food podcasts such…
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What to do with canned fish and seafood
Canned fish can be a great source of nutrition, especially when cost and shelf life are a concern. Find out what to do with canned fish and seafood to make it taste great. Types of canned fish and seafood Without a doubt, the most common fish in a can is tuna, but there is a decent variety of fish and seafood available in canned form: Fish: tuna, sardines, salmon (red, pink), anchovies, mackerel, herrings, kipper, trout Seafood: oysters, mussels, crabmeat Nutrient composition In general, canned fish and seafood are great source of protein and long chain omega-3 fatty acids. Some varieties also contain high amounts of zinc (e.g. oysters), calcium…
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Plant-based burgers
Plant-based burgers are becoming more available in Australian supermarkets and fast food chains. Read on to find out which burger options are out there, what are their ingredients and their nutritional breakdown. Plant-based vs vegan It is common to use the terms “plant-based” and “vegan” interchangeably. However, plant-based does not necessarily mean vegan. Instead, it means that is predominantly vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and other plant foods (you can argue here if this is to be determined by volume, weight or energy percentage). Vegan means no animal products whatsoever. Having said that, most food products that are advertised as “plant-based” are actually vegan. The interest in both terms has experienced…
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Recipe: Pastel de choclo con polenta
I recently inherited a bag of polenta that I had to put to good use. Instead of going the easy (Italian) route, I decided to see if I could use it to sub fresh Peruvian corn to make our version of cottage pie. Thus, pastel de choclo con polenta was born. The recipe calls for ají amarillo paste and ají panca paste. If you don’t have ají amarillo I would not bother trying to find a substitute as most chilli pastes will add heat rather than flavour. If you don’t have ají panca for the filling, you can use tomato paste instead. This dish is gluten-free and can be made…
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Eating in Japan with a gluten intolerance
My husband and I recently came back from our first trip to Japan. We didn’t plan it this way but it turned out to be a Buddhist/food trip. It was perfect! However, eating in Japan with a gluten intolerance can be challenging. The only thing that always worries me a little every time I travel is the gluten. I don’t need to avoid it completely because I don’t have Coealiac Disease (CD), but I am intolerant to gluten. Like every intolerance (e.g. lactose, histamines), symptoms may occur when a certain threshold is passed. In my case, I can get away with eating some fermented gluten-containing foods (e.g. soy sauce, sourdough)…
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How to reduce food waste
Food waste is a massive problem worldwide, particularly in the industrialised world. This happens in all steps of the food chain, so to speak, from production to consumption. While there is little you can do about agriculture and manufacture you can learn how to reduce food waste in your household. Food waste in Australia According to the Department of the Environment and Energy, “In 2016-17… Australia produced 7.3 million tonnes of food waste across the supply and consumption chain. Of this, 2.5 million (34 per cent) was created in our homes, 2.3 million tonnes (31 per cent) in primary production and 1.8 million tonnes (25 per cent) in the manufacturing…
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Product review: We Feed You ready meals
We Feed You ready meals are a new(ish) option for those seeking healthy and nutritious meals delivered to their home or work. We Feed You ready meals We Feed You meals are developed and cooked by a chef and a dietitian. The company is based in Melbourne and the meals are delivered to several cities in Australia, including Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. The meals As mentioned above, the meals are frozen, which guarantees that the meals will keep for longer and that nutrients are preserved until you eat them. Yes, this also means that the texture of some meals will suffer a little, but for the most part they have…
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Can you get food allergies as an adult?
Can you get food allergies as an adult? In short, yes. Up to 5% of adults suffer from food allergy, and approximately 15% of them developed the allergy in adulthood (1). What is food allergy? Food allergy is an abnormal reaction of the immune system to an ingested food. The most common types of allergens are cow’s milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, wheat, soy, sesame, fish, shellfish and lupin (2). You can read more about food allergy, intolerance and preference in this article. Common food allergies in adults The foods most likely to cause allergic reactions in adults are seafood, peanuts, tree nuts (1, 2) and sesame seeds (2). The…
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5 mispronounced Spanish food words
As a native Spanish speaker, I often get annoyed by people mispronouncing words, particularly food words. This is especially irritating when the person at fault is a waiter/waitress, restaurateur or food podcaster. Please don’t take this post as a rant, as its purpose is mainly to educate those who want to say things right. These are my top 5 mispronounced Spanish food words. 1. Tortilla This word can refer to: Flour or corn flat breads used for wrapping tacos, burritos, fajitas and other Mexican dishes Tortilla española (Spanish omelette), a very popular dish made, in its simplest iteration, with eggs and potatoes A plain omelette in Peruvian Spanish Note that…
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Book review: Culinary reactions (Simon Quellen Field)
Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry Of Cooking is a book for the scientists who love cooking or the cooks who love science. If you are neither of those, you might find this book frustrating. Consider yourself warned. The author Simon Quellen Field is the CEO of Kinetic MicroScience, a company that designs and sells science toys. The book Culinary Reactions is an exploration of food and cooking from a scientific point of view. Throughout the book, there are chemical lessons, recipes and some nutrition-related topics. I listened to the audiobook because that’s my preferred medium these days but keep in mind the following: The audiobook is not narrated by the…
