Food news antipasto

With Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appointed as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, raw milk advocates believe there is potential for increased availability of raw milk products. Currently, regulations vary from state to state with some allowing raw milk sales and others banning the practice. The Bittman Project recently posted a lengthy piece about the pros and cons of raw milk, highlighting the risks and purported benefits of consuming unpasteurized dairy products.

If you are familiar with the term ‘love cake’, you likely associate it with the Persian celebration cake as that is the most well-known version. However, there is a Sri Lankan ‘love cake’ too, as explained in an SBS Food interview with 70-year-old grandmother Shiranie Christie-David. Shiranie brought the recipe from Sri Lanka to Australia, merging two of her family’s recipes into the one she uses now. She explains how labor intensive the cake was to make before modern appliances came into the picture, and says that love cake “is a dish that’s made for ‘loving’ occasions in the Sri Lankan community: Christmas, weddings, baptisms, Easters and more.”

The Pillsbury Tunnel of Fudge cake is often credited with propelling the Nordic Ware Bundt pan from obscurity to one of the most beloved cookware products in the US. However, Pillsbury stopped making the fudge frosting mix that created the “tunnel” and frustrated home bakers were unable to successfully recreate the recipe…until now. Slate’s Dan Kois connected with a Pillsbury food scientist who provided him with a recipe for the frosting. He incorporated that frosting mix into his existing cake recipe to produce a cake with the requisite fudgy center. Hat tip to an EYB Member who alerted us to this development.

The Trader Joe’s Customer Choice Awards were released earlier this month. This is the sixteenth year of the awards, which result from annual customer surveys for eleven categories, including snacks, beverages, desserts, and dinner picks. Food and Wine brings us the list of top products and standing tall at number one for the second year in a row: Chili and lime-flavored rolled corn tortilla chips. They are followed by Steamed Pork & Ginger Soup Dumplings, seasonal Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, Kimbap, and Vegetable Fried Rice. The best appetizer was the Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip, and the best Breakfast/Brunch item was the Hash Browns. The Hash Browns have a permanent spot in my freezer because they are so easy to make and don’t contain a bunch of unpronounceable ingredients.

The Michelin Guide released its ratings for Great Britain and Ireland last week, and Plates London became the first vegan restaurant to be awarded a coveted Michelin Star. It was one of 26 restaurants given an accolade at the ceremony, which was held in Glasgow last Monday. Moor Hall, a modern European restaurant near Liverpool, became only the 10th restaurant across the UK and Ireland to earn three Michelin stars.

Starbucks has been in the news a lot recently, first with the company announcing changes to its online ordering system. The changes include reducing the number of items that can be ordered at one time from 15 to 12, and removing some modifications that already exist as distinct menu items. The goal is to reduce wait times for customers and reduce the load on its baristas. The second news items comes from Missouri, where the state’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that some of Starbuck’s DEI practices are a “mere pretext for its actual commitment to unlawful discrimination.” The suit also claims that Starbucks make hiring decisions based on race that shortchange customers because they lead to increased wait times and mistakes in orders.