Food news antipasto

It’s often been said that food is love, but some Spanish shoppers are taking it quite literally. It seems the latest craze to hit Mercadona supermarkets is looking for love in the produce aisle. People are using certain foods – mainly pineapple – as a sign that they are interested in a romantic partner. With fruit prominently placed in their cart, the shoppers head to the wine aisle to see if other like-minded individuals are around. I tried to think of a snappy tagline for this story but my thinking wasn’t as fruitful as these potential relationships.

When the heat dome descended over the US Midwest a few weeks ago, a popular cash crop worsened the hot and humid conditions. In a phenomenon known as “corn sweat“, the natural process in which cornstalks give off excess moisture into the air (evapotranspiration if you want to get technical) added to the already high humidity, driving up the heat index in agricultural areas where crops are heavily planted. Corn isn’t the only culprit but is the crop most linked to the phenomenon. A study conducted in 2020 found that “sweaty corn can increase moisture in the air by up to 40%.” So much for going to the country to escape the heat of the city.

Fans of the Netflix series “Chef’s Table” have reason to rejoice this week as the streaming service announced that three new seasons of the program are in the works, following a hiatus since the show last aired in 2022. The first season, which airs on October 2, focuses exclusively on noodles, with four chefs from around the world who work with pasta or noodles in different cuisines. On November 27, the next season returns to the format of highlighting chefs who cook all manner of foods. You’ll have to wait until 2025 for “Chef’s Table: Legends”, which will include “people who have shaped the food world and transcended borders,” although no names have yet been mentioned.

2018 GBBO finalist Kim-Joy is out with her fifth cookbook, which contains bakes in her whimsical signature style with plenty of animal faces. As gorgeous as her bakes turn out, Kim-Joy insists she isn’t a perfectionist and says that baking shouldn’t be about perfection. “I see paying attention to details as a different thing to being a perfectionist… being a perfectionist is inside of you, where nothing’s ever good enough and you’re constantly critical of what you do,” she told the Independent. Her latest book, Bake Joy, is “all about how baking can help you reconnect with your inner child.”

The process of cooking inevitably leads to leftovers, and storing these valuable items is an ongoing kitchen conundrum. Finding the right size, shape, and material for the containers can be exasperating. Epicurious recently tested several brands of storage containers, both plastic and glass, and weigh in with their recommendations for the best of each material.