Food news antipasto

Because of the Easter holiday, food news is on the light side this week, but there are a few tidbits to share. In the mashups you didn’t see coming department: Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Natural Light beer, is selling a branded lawn fertilizer made from spent grains. This week, the company debuted Natural Light Lawn Brew, a “custom mix of spent beer grains and fresh fertilizer” meant to nourish your lawn. While it won’t get your lawn drunk, you do need to be over 21 years old to buy it.

If you are facing a mountain of food remaining from Easter dinner, you might need help in finding ways to use up the leftovers. Good Food (Aus) has the answer, with 18 delicious recipes to make the most of what’s left. The recipes cover the gamut with ideas for hot cross buns, Easter eggs, roast lamb or even roast vegetables. BBC Food has ideas for your leftover lamb as well. As always, the EYB Library is chock full of ideas as well, including the Hot cross bun bread & butter pudding from Great British Chefs pictured above.

When you think of fast food, France is probably the last thing that comes to mind. However, the fastest-growing area in dining for the French is fast food restaurants. Younger consumers – often influenced by what they see on TikTok or Instagram – are flocking to chains like Tasty Crousty, which serves chicken tenders over rice. Cost is another reason that fast food is winning people over.

The biggest thing to happen this week in global food news is the acquisition of Unilever’s food portfolio by McCormick. The spice giant is purchasing all of Unilever’s food business, including Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr. The deal is valued at $45 billion, and will be completed with a combination of cash and equity, with Unilever’s shareholders owning 55.1% of the combined company. Unilever spun off its ice cream business in December, and plans to focus more on its personal care products.

Other articles:

• Sourdough science
• Pizza chains are feeling the pinch