The Last Appetite » Friday Food Links

Five Links on Friday – 2 May 2008

Phil Lees — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:52:30 +0000

The chicharron burrito – “I took another bite and the chicharron let me know that this shit was not a game.”
Austin Bush does Tsukiji – Austin from RealThai trains his wide-angle lens on some frozen tuna at Tokyo’s famous fish market
If I drank more wine – this is how I’d spend my weekends
A beginner’s guide to cognac – A nice introduction to the return of brandy. Pass the Courvoisier, Salon.com.
Brief Jerky – The ultimate addition to the world of dried meat couture.

Five Links on (Good) Friday

Phil Lees — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:49:02 +0000

Photo Credit: Wooster Collective

Food Hero of the Day: Former Microsoft CTO, Nathan Myhrvold – “I love to cook short ribs at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours,” Myhrvold says. “They become very flavorful and have a different texture than most braised meats.”
Once upon a time, public relations folk would spam food bloggers with press releases – Now, prepare to be spammed with actual SPAM. Or at least, whatever processed garbage can be mailed to you.
The correlation between lack of publishing for scientists and their beer consumption – The NY Times forgets that correlation does not equal causality.
Icecream truck meltdown – Icecream truck succumbs to either global warming or ~~possibly Ricky Swallow~~ Orest Keywan somewhere in Adelaide

Five links on Friday: This week in transglutaminase.

Phil Lees — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:23:53 +0000

What is transglutaminase? – according to Wikipedia, they:

are a family of enzymes…that catalyze the formation of a covalent bond between a free amine group (e.g., protein- or peptide-bound lysine) and the gamma-carboxamid group of protein- or peptide-bound glutamine. Bonds formed by transglutaminase exhibit high resistance to proteolytic degradation.

In layman’s terms, it’s meat glue. They let you glue protein-y things together, like gluing bacon to fish or more commonly, gluing mechanically- separated meats into chicken nuggets. It woud be what you’d find on the buffet on the Island of Dr Moreau. If you’ve never heard of it or the brand Activa before, my guess is that your reaction would be similar to Prendick’s discovery of Moreau’s vivisectionist ways:

“Monsters manufactured!” said I. “Then you mean to tell me–”

“Yes. These creatures you have seen are animals carven and wrought into new shapes. To that, to the study of the plasticity of living forms, my life has been devoted. I have studied for years, gaining in knowledge as I go. I see you look horrified, and yet I am telling you nothing new. It all lay in the surface of practical anatomy years ago, but no one had the temerity to touch it.”

What is Activa then? – it is Ajinomoto’s brand name for their transglutaminase products. Let them explain it to you
Alex and Aki from Ideas in Food reinvent popcorn shrimp – with chicken skin! and meat glue!
Food Trends: too much Activa is never enough – NY mag unsuccessfully attempts to coin the term "Frankensteak"
Food Trends: For the love of Activa – Hock from Gutfeelings glues together some 9+ wagyu scraps into saleable steak.

Five links on ummm…Sunday

Phil Lees — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 01:22:59 +0000

Sorry…I made a quick trip to Sydney and forgot that I was meant to be posting this on Friday. Enjoy your long weekend, Australians.

We must hunt the elephants to save them – "Sustainable use" doesn’t make for great bumper stickers, but "I shoot ferals" does.
Food trends: Wet Market Diplomacy – Celebrity chef and Prime Minister of Thailand Samak Sundaravej hits Phnom Penh’s markets
Food trends: Kampuchea Fried Chicken – Kentucky Fried Chicken opens its greasy-handled doors in Cambodia (via DAS).
Pressure cooking with kimchi puree – Alex and Aki from Ideas in Food have begun exploring the earthbound limits of kimchi flavour. Needless to say,they’re tasty.
Food trends: Kimchi in SPAAAAACE! – “This will greatly help my mission,” Mr. Ko, who is training in Russia, said in a statement transmitted through the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. “When you’re working in spacelike conditions and aren’t feeling too well, you miss Korean food.”

Five Links on Friday: Leap Year Edition, 2008

Phil Lees — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:01:11 +0000

Michael Pollan summarises his “In Defence of Food” in 8 minutes (YouTube) – Who needs to read?
Food Trends: Gelatin in your cocktail – Bacardi thinks that the future of mojitos is bubble tea. I’m personally looking forward to martinis in aspic.
What is manufactured meat? (PDF) – According to Australian Standards Code, it is anything processed that is at least two-thirds meat. The other third can be anything edible.
Where to eat in Bangkok – Austin Bush shows you where to go with Google Map mashup of his favourite haunts in downtown BKK
Wine writers employed to write shower gel blurb – “notes of black licorice and glazed grapefruit in the woody-based blend of cedar wood, liquid amber and Tonka beans. The Smoothing Shower Scrub contains frozen tomato leaves combined with ginger candy and green melon notes”

Five Links on Friday: 22 February 2008

Phil Lees — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:05:51 +0000

Food Trend: Seaborne Chefs – Marco Pierre White hits the high seas, rented out by P&O Cruises
Intestines in Coca Cola – Great Vietnamese offal recipe (in Vietnamese)
Rachael at Thus Bakes Zarathustra wants to glass Jamie Oliver – and I want to watch.
Food Trends: Malaysia’s Roti Boy and Papa Roti open in Korea – The forever expanding roti-verse engulfs South Korea
The new grub street – How ethics became a food writing mainstay, at Columbia Journalism Review