food

NYC’s attack on salt misses the forest for the trees

Diet dilemmas Photo: George D Thompson In his most recent column the NYT’s John Tierney — a conservative political columnist turned “skeptical” science columnist — objects to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempt to reduce New Yorkers’ salt intake. He compares the proposed new policy to a mandatory experiment in which residents are unwitting (and possibly […]

Bittman takes a bite out of the ocean

Endangered species for sale Photo: MaRonin47 I’m a big fan of Mark Bittman. I’ve been reading him since his Cook’s Illustrated days in the early ’90s; I consider his weekly “Minimalist” column in The New York Times invaluable; and several of his cookbooks sit, stained and dogeared, on my shelf. Bittman made a career by […]

Umbra on used cooking oil

Dear Umbra, It’s always nice to look through cookbooks and to watch cooking shows that feature yummy deep-fried food, and I have often been tempted to try and cook my own creations. However, no one ever seems to mention what they do with the used cooking oil, especially after deep-frying. What is the best way […]

Umbra on eating locally in winter

Dear Umbra, I live in New Hampshire, and I am getting ready for the long, cold winter. I try to eat locally, but with no year-round growing season here and such a dense population, most of the food comes from elsewhere. I was wondering what I could do to reduce my impact during the winter […]

‘Tis the Season (for strawberry shortcake)

Ah, June. Roses are in bloom, weddings and graduation exercises occupy the weekends, and it's time to head to the beach. Summer in full swing! Summer at last!

So why am I making Thanksgiving dinner on what is, to date, the hottest day of the year?

Welcome, dear reader, to the topsy-turvy world of the food writer. Like fashion models who don heavy mink coats in July and itsy-bitsy bikinis in December in order to accommodate magazine production schedules, foodwriters are always working many months into the future. This leads to a rarefied category of Seasonal Affective Disorder: Seasonal Displacement Disorder -- a syndrome in which the patient is unreasonably preoccupied with the events and sentiments normally reserved for a season approximately six months into the future.

Umbra on free-range chickens and eggs

Dear Umbra, I just read your column on organic syrup, and you made a comment about the futileness of the phrase “free range.” I always try to buy free-range eggs and, whenever possible, the same with chicken. Am I wasting my money? Jeff PrittsSt. Louis, Mo. Dearest Jeff, Yes, basically. There is a chance that […]

The Fairest of Them All

Fair-Trade Food Starts to Catch on in the U.S. Hey, you — sipping the fair-trade, shade-grown, organic coffee. How would you like a fair-trade banana with that? Or a fair-trade chocolate bar? A small but growing number of products in U.S. grocery stores carry a fair-trade label issued by TransFair USA, based in Oakland, Calif., […]

The Farmer and the Smell

The U.S. EPA could offer large industrial livestock farms amnesty from the federal Clean Air Act and Superfund laws, according to people involved in agency-industry talks. Rather than enforce the laws, the EPA would monitor pollution levels at roughly 30 large hog and chicken operations, a plan environmentalists and former enforcement officials say is far […]

Look for the Onion Label?

It’s not quite like a pie in the face or mashed potatoes on the cafeteria ceiling, but Oregonians can still expect a food fight come November. The state seems poised to be the first in the nation to vote on a labeling law for genetically modified foods, now that the backers of the initiative, Oregon […]