Food
Dip and Squeeze: Heinz Reinvents the Ketchup Packet
Feb 22nd
For years, we who partake in fast food have been stuck with a dilemma when it comes to dunking our fries in ketchup: We’d have to empty the packet onto the paper on the tray. Or put it on a napkin that may have already been touched by lord knows who. Tasty, tasty way to catch H1N1 perhaps!?
Thankfully, the good people at Heinz have–after 30 years–heard our plea. They have redesigned the ketchup packet, and there shall be much rejoicing in the streets.
The new packet can be opened in not one, but two ways. The end can be torn away so the ketchup can be a topping on, say, a burger (or Cap’n Crunch, if that’s your thing). But the really cool part is that the other end rips away to create a dunking container for fries, one of the most popular applications for ketchup.
Seattle ketchup enthusiast Jonathan Fuchs told me he loves the new design. "This is progress," he said. "I think the world is becoming a better place."
Maybe it’s not the most radical of designs–McDonald’s has had dunking containers for its McNuggets for years–but it is noteworthy that a corporation like Heinz looked at the design of one of its best-known products and determined it was time for a redesign.
It’s good to know that my children will never know a world where you have to smear ketchup on a napkin to enjoy your fries.
See the original article at Crave and CrunchGear.
New Yorkers beware! New cockroach hits the Big Apple
Dec 24th
NEW YORK (AFP) – New Yorkers are used to fighting each other for space, but there may be a new contender in town according to a Rockefeller study that appears to have uncovered a new species of cockroach.
“The cockroach is genetically modified. Species don’t differ more than one percent, this cockroach is four percent different, which suggests it is a new species of cockroach,” Professor Mark Stoeckle, an expert on genomics and DNA barcoding at Rockefeller University, told AFP.
“We think that the museums of natural history in Paris or New York could be interested.”
The previously-unidentified creepy-crawly was uncovered as part of a project undertaken by two high-school students, Brenda Tan, 17, and Matt Cost, 18, under Stoeckle’s supervision.
In their roles as “DNAHouse investigators,” the pair trawled New York apartments, stores and street, collecting 217 specimens between November 2008 and March 2009.
They took samples from supermarket food, the remains of an insect found in a box of fruit, a feather from a duster, dried dung and a cockroach and matched DNA sequences using the Barcode of Life Database and GenBank.
The American Museum of Natural History laboratory identified 170 genetic codes, leading the researchers to identify 95 different animal species, including some that were unexpected.
“A feather from a duster yielded ostrich DNA. A delicacy labeled ’sturgeon caviar’ instead turned out to be from the strange-looking paddlefish. A popular Asian snack was revealed as giant flying squid. Bison DNA was found in a dog biscuit,” the pair wrote on the Rockefeller University website.
In fact, they found that 16 percent of food items were mislabeled, including cheeses labeled sheep’s milk that were actually made of cow’s milk, a potentially dangerous labeling error for those with allergies.
But perhaps the biggest surprise for the researchers was the discovery of “a genetically distinct ‘mystery’ cockroach that might be a new species.”
“By appearance it looks like the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) but it is genetically different from other American cockroaches in the databases,” the researchers said.
Blood Energy Potion, authentic looking synthetic blood drink in a transfusion bag
Sep 29th
Thirsty at twilight – or after reading or watching Twilight? Slake your blood-lust by grabbing a transfusion bag of Blood Energy Potion, the best bloody drink around!
Vampires, zombies, witches and more – the culture of horror seems to have been given a shot in the arm. Speaking of which, Urban Collector’s Blood Energy Potion looks frighteningly like a fresh transfusion bag of people juice, so much so that we’re sure some overzealous Goth will attempt to infuse it IV style.
That would be unwise, because although Blood Energy Potion looks like blood, has the same viscosity as blood, has the same nutritional composition as blood and comes in a resealable plastic bag designed to emulate a Red Cross blood transfusion bag, it’s NOT blood.
Blood Energy Potion does, in a similar vein (sorry), provide 4 hours of energy, protein and electrolytes plus it’s a "delectable source of iron" and doesn’t contain garlic.
See the full article at Inventor Spot.
KFC gambling on chicken that is grilled, not fried
Apr 16th
Would KGC ever have the same ring?
In a culinary gambit backed by buckets of big money, KFC is hoping to replicate its founder’s recipe for success with the national introduction of Kentucky Grilled Chicken.
This week’s rollout is KFC’s most ambitious attempt to win over health-conscious customers as the chain known worldwide for fried chicken tries to reinvigorate lackluster U.S. sales.
"It’s going to get people who haven’t eaten KFC for a long time to come back into our restaurants," said KFC President Roger Eaton. "It’s going to get people who have never eaten KFC to come into our restaurants."
Eaton says he spent years as part of the team tinkering with a grilled alternative, and the rollout follows KFC’s longest market test ever. It will be backed by a marketing blitz.
Grilled chicken items are staples at some KFC competitors. McDonald’s Corp. offers grilled chicken in sandwiches and wraps, and says chicken sales "continue to be extremely good." McDonald’s has also recently been emphasizing its new Southern Style Crispy Chicken sandwich, which is fried. Chick-fil-A says its Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich "continues to grow rapidly" as part of a menu offering "balanced choices" for customers.
KFC’s slow-grilled chicken drew strong reviews from the lunchtime crowd Monday at a KFC restaurant in Louisville, the chain’s hometown. Eddie Collard proclaimed grilled better than fried.
"I think the colonel would be happy," Collard said of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders.
Like its predecessor, Kentucky Grilled Chicken has its own secret recipe. The original copy of the recipe — a blend of six herbs and spices — will be kept in an electronic safe at company headquarters. It will sit alongside Sanders’ handwritten recipe of 11 herbs and spices coating the chain’s Original Recipe fried chicken.
The difference is in the nutritional numbers.
KFC says each piece of its grilled chicken has 70 to 180 calories and four to nine grams of fat. By contrast, the Original Recipe items have between 110 and 370 calories and 7 to 21 grams of fat, depending on the piece. The grilled chicken contains from 160 to 440 milligrams of sodium per piece, as opposed to 290 to 1,050 milligrams of sodium per piece of Original Recipe chicken.
See the full article at Yahoo News.
Study Finds Guys Aren’t That Into Girls Who Drink
Mar 14th
Image by Ingorrr via Flickr
Sometimes when on a date with someone new, you may drink to relax a little. However, one drink may turn into five or even more than that. While drinking may loosen you up a little to have fun, a new study says that guys would rather a girl not drink when out with them.
A survey of 3,616 college students – 62 percent were women – found that women greatly overestimated the amount of alcohol a guy wanted them to drink. The women answered questions about their drinking behavior and also their thoughts on what they thought a college man would want them to drink. The men were asked about their preferences of drinking when being with a friend, date or girlfriend.
“Although traditionally, men drink more than women, research has shown that women have steadily been drinking more and more over the last several decades,” said the study’s lead author, Joseph LaBrie, associate professor of psychology at LMU. “Our research suggests women believe men find excessive drinking sexually attractive and appealing, but it appears this is a giant misperception.”
The research actually showed that 71 percent of the women thought that men wanted them to drink excessively.
As for the rest of the results, 26 percent of the women thought men wanted to be friends with a woman that drinks five or more drinks, while 17 percent of the women would be the most sexually attracted to a woman that drank five or more drinks.
[ed]Actually I think this article might be wrong – most guys can’t remember girls who drink because they’ve been drinking so much themselves…[/ed]
See the full article at InventorSpot.
Tea Bag Lighting Concept is Absolutely Tea-lightful
Mar 9th
Korean designer Wonsik Chae’s light concept is in the shape of a teabag filled with fluorescent molecules that react to chemicals in a teacup. The result: a new meaning to the words "tea light."
Much like normal cups of tea, you dip the teabag in to start the reaction. You then "draw a light" by pulling up the teabag and letting the fluorescent molecules slip into the chemical concoction. Draw it multiple times to make the concoction darker and thus the light brighter.
See the full article at Toxel (via Engadget).
10 Best Hamburger Fantasies Become A Reality
Feb 27th
Sushi is so 2006 and bacon is totally 2008, but what random food fad is on the cool horizon this year? Burgers. Why burgers? They’re as all-American as you can get – even more American than apple pie and baseball, which are really just variations of German and British inventions respectively. Plus, they’re a great compliment for 2008’s just passing trend, bacon.
In honor of this great American feat of food engineering, I am proud to bring you the must-have burger gizmos of the upcoming year…
Read the full article at InventorSpot.
A sommelier for every mobile device
Feb 24th
If wine tastings can be conducted via Twitter, it should come as no surprise to find a wine-recommendation service that’s accessible by SMS. Sure enough, Hello Vino is a new wine pairing and suggestion tool that can be accessed both via the web and from any mobile device.
Users in search of wine advice merely visit Hello Vino online or text the word HELLOVINO to 368266. The tool then guides them through a simple question-and-answer process, asking first if the wine they seek is for with a meal, for an occasion, of a specific taste or style or from a particular region. Depending on their choice they are then asked a few additional questions, the ultimate result of which is a short list of specific wines that could fit the bill, including for each the vintage, region and price.
See Hello Vino via Springwise.
Free pancakes at IHOP today
Feb 24th
In celebration of National Pancake Day, IHOP restaurants will be giving away a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7am to 10pm today. They do suggest that you make a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network or other local charities depending on where you are. Pancakes!
