Food news antipasto

Microplastics can be found everywhere, even inside our bodies. Researchers have raised concerns about this issue, noting that certain types of plastic shed more particles than others and warning about their use in connection with foods. Some plastic manufacturers claim that their products are safe for cooking and storage, but one of those manufacturers is now facing a class action lawsuit over these claims. The makers of Ziploc bags, the SC Johnson Company, is being sued by consumers who claim that the bags are made from types of plastic that will shed microparticles when used in the freezer or microwave.

Everyone’s favorite hazelnut and chocolate spread, Nutella, just announced a new flavor for the US market, making it the first new flavor in the States since the product’s introduction over 60 years ago. Before you get too excited, this will not be anything exotic – the new flavor is Nutella Peanut. Nutella’s parent company, Ferrero, said in a statement announcing the release that the flavor “combines the distinctive creaminess of Nutella cocoa hazelnut spread with the delicious taste of roasted peanuts.” (Note: Jenny reports that Bonne Maman has offered a peanut chocolate spread as well as a hazelnut chocolate spread for quite some time – and reports that is delicious.)

Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore in NYC announced the winner of the second annual Nach Waxman Prize for Food and Beverage Scholarship. You may remember that Waxman, who founded Kitchen Arts & Letters in 1983, passed away suddenly in 2021. The prize recognizes a “US-published book which invites the general public to seriously consider issues in culinary and beverage history, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, geography, and other fields of study.” This year’s winner was Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley.

We are happy to report news that involves another of our favorite cookbook stores. PA Eats recently interviewed Catie Gainor, who opened her Philadelphia store, Binding Agents, last year after a successful crowdfunding campaign. When discussing her decision to focus mainly on culinary books, Gainor said “The moment the idea took root, I saw on social media that Book Larder in Seattle was hosting an event with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and I said, ‘Wow, I wish we had that. Doesn’t that look so cool? What an amazing thing… Oh, God. I guess I have to open one.’”

Rick Stein has been a phenomenon in the UK for decades, and his first restaurant just celebrated its 50th anniversary. To commemorate Stein’s contributions to Cornwall’s culinary scene, The Independent sat down with the chef and talked about the restaurant’s early days, the growth of his culinary enterprises, and how his sons want to build on his success. His son Charlie explained that they “want to create a generational hospitality business and take it into the next 50 years.”

In case you missed this post: Getting to know your gingers.