Food news antipasto

It is nearing peak melon season in Australia, and while the drought has been bad news for the fires that are wreaking havoc across the continent, less water is not bad for the melon crop. When water is scarce melons can actually have more flavor, according to The Guardian. They have assembled a guide on how to choose the best melons, along with storage advice.

If you live in the US, tomorrow is a federal holiday. Since mainly banks, professional offices, and government buildings will be closed, retail businesses use the Presidents’ Day holiday as an excuse to hold a sale. Sur La Table is one of them, and according to Food & Wine, the company is offering great deals on Le Creuset, many brands of knives, and other must-have kitchen items.

James Bond may have ordered his martini shaken, not stirred, but what about carbonara? While you likely never thought of using a Mason jar to serve the silky pasta dish, chef Marc Forgione did. The idea came to him when he needed to serve carbonara to a large crowd, and wondered what to do since the pasta does not hold well. The Mason jar idea proved to be  “one of the best ways to emulsify egg yolk into the sauce and allows you to do it tableside,” Forgione told Grub Street.

Move over slow food, there’s a new movement in town: smooth food. The latest Instagram & Twitter sensation is food that is nearly textureless. Think smoothies, Jell-o, applesauce, and baby food. People are using smooth food as an antidote to the “ultra-high-clarity, sharpened-to-the-max, faux-HDR look” popularized by Instagram. Advocates of smooth food use it as “a sensory suppressant, a soothing Ambien for your eyes,” according to Eater.