Food news antipasto

With spring in the air in the Northern Hemisphere, blooms are starting to pop up on what was, in many places, frozen ground just a few weeks ago. Seeing these cheery flowers might tempt you to use them as a garnish for cake or even salad, but be careful about which blooms you perch atop your food, cautions Epicurious. Some wild flowers are completely edible (nasturtium, violets, snapdragons) whiles others are toxic (lilies, hydrangea, foxglove).

Along with warmer weather comes more opportunity to dine with friends as backyard patios become gathering spots once again. Having a grazing board is a great way to meet multiple dietary preferences and allows for fuss-free entertaining. There’s an art to putting together a crowd-pleasing grazing board, says food writer Jill Dupleix. She provides a blueprint on how to put together a winning charcuterie or cheese board.

In the category of “no good deed goes unpunished,” grocery chain Sainsbury’s has come under fire for a change to its packaging. Vowing to reduce the amount of plastic waste it generates, Sainsbury’s changed the way it packed meat products, opting for a vacuum packed pouch. Consumers are not impressed, saying the new packaging is “very medical”, “too compressed”, and “vile.”

Now for a bit of sad news: this week we learned of Mimi Sheraton’s passing at age 97. The first female restaurant critic for The New York Times, Sheraton pioneered the art of disguising herself so she could dine anonymously. In addition to her work at the Times, she was a lecturer, IACP and James Beard Award–winning cookbook author, and the woman about whom famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten declared: “Her knowledge knows no bounds, her glossary of flavors is ultimate. Her opinion is like gold.” In April 2016, the Culinary Institute of America honored her as a Legend of New York Dining.