Food news antipasto

Dina Begum’s Made in Bangladesh: Flavours and Memories in Six Seasons explores the delicious, but underrepresented, food of her home country. Saveur recently interviewed Begum (they are featuring Made in Bangladesh in their Cookbook Club this month), discussing everything from spicy bhortas and glistening kebabs to divine biryanis and milky puddings.

Have you ever looked at a baking recipe and wondered if you could make the cake or dessert in a different pan than the recipe specified? Head over to The Guardian, where Anna Berrill (with the help of several baking experts) let’s you which substitutions will work and which won’t. For those not scared by math, Sarah Lemanski explains how she scales a recipe to fit the tin she wants to use.

Many drinks writers have called the past 15 years or so a “golden age” for cocktails. However, I’m wondering if cocktail culture might have peaked and has jumped the shark with the latest news I read in Punch. Upscale cocktail bars are importing special Japanese ice from over 5,000 miles away to use in their signature drinks. The ice is made with water sourced from Japan’s Mount Haku and contains virtually no impurities or microbubbles thanks to an extended process that takes close to a week to complete. No offense to aficionados, but the image that sprang to mind when I read this article was the “these go to 11” scene from This is Spinal Tap.

Do you have t-shirt, mug, tote bag, or other merchandise from your favorite lunch spot, food truck, or restaurant? If so, you are not alone. Eater’s Linni Kral explains how branded restaurant merchandise has taken off, starting as a small trend that later exploded during COVID and is now “becoming shorthand for selfhood.” Linni blames the trend on The New Yorker tote that was offered as a subscription perk beginning in 2014.

The right dressing can make (and the wrong one break) a salad. We all have our favorite dressings, but have you ever thought about which ones were the most nutritious? If not, skip this article, but if you are interested in knowing how your favorite dressing does in the nutrition department, head over to Good Food (Aus) for a ranking of salad dressings from unhealthiest to healthiest.