Asparagus Is the Perfect Spring Risotto
THE FIRST ASPARAGUS OF THE YEAR TODAY’S LESSON: Asparagus is one of the first vegetable crops to stick its head out of the cold winter ground and be swept off to market. The asparagus crop we enjoy…
The future of seafood is bait-to-plate transparency on the blockchain
Sometime soon, American eaters may be able to purchase tuna labeled with a QR code that can be scanned to reveal when and where the fish was caught, and by whom. This new blockchain project…
Global wine production has hit a 60-year low, as changing weather picks new winners and losers
The weather is picking new winners and losers in the wine world. Annual wine output last year was up in Argentina, Australia, and South Africa, but down in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Chile, and China.…
The Buddhist Mock-Meats Paradox
Gazing down at the paper plate, I take a few moments to contemplate the meal in front of me. Is that a piece of wheat gluten masquerading as fried chicken, I wonder, poking at it…
Artichokes The Crown of Spring
TODAY’S LESSON: The warm spring days and cool, foggy nights are the perfect weather to bring the artichoke crop to its harvest. What better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than with an easy…
Last year’s devastating wildfires left behind an unexpected bounty: morel mushrooms
In 2017, the United States Forest Service spent close to $2.5 billion fighting and containing wildfires. It was the most expensive year on record. Governors in Montana, Oregon, and California declared states of emergency. Blazes…
The Food Ingredient Panic Meter
Food shortages have been making dramatic headlines for the past half-dozen years. The end of the avocado is in sight. Maple syrup could become a luxury ingredient, just like peanut butter. Hummus will go from snack food staple…
The Bugs that Give Wine Its Flavor
For the uninitiated, wine talk can be puzzling. Oenophiles gush over hints of tobacco, pencil shavings, charred herbs, and loamy soil. It’s brawny, chewy, cedary, or raw. Whether these descriptions are perceptive or pretentious, they…
Combatting Xylella Fastidiosa: Calling Innovators to Action
Agostino Petroni grew up surrounded by olive trees in his native Puglia, where the gnarled and twisted trunks grow into massive monuments over thousands of years. He’s seen the annual harvest his whole life, when…
How to ferment almost anything
There’s a reason chef Cortney Burns of “A Living Larder” has a basement filled wall to wall with jars. The art of fermenting vegetables is as simple as soaking them in salt and water, or—another…