After watching an episode or two of any at least semi-professional competitive cooking show, it’s likely you’ve heard the name sunchoke dropped. Also known as the Jerusalem artichoke, this knobby, brown tuber (or thick stem) of a sunflower varietal really doesn’t look like a big deal. While culinary-types have been…
Our humble food scene has been getting a nice bit of national attention recently. In the past two weeks, both the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe have complied lists of must-see dining spots and drinking destinations in Phoenix and throughout Arizona. Both outlets named Chef Gio Osso’s Virtu…
Experts estimate that since last spring, an epidemic of porcine epidemic diarrhea, or PED, virus has killed about a million baby pigs at farms all over the country. The virus, which can cause deadly dehydration in baby pigs, has been spreading from farm to farm since it was first found…
When I was younger I loved the Super Bowl parties that my grandfather threw every year. He would invite all his employees, family and friends to a potluck dinner and viewing party. The thing I waited for all year, were the “monkey balls” that my grandfathers shipping manager brought. I…
Last year, Chipotle debuted The Scarecrow, a three-minute animated video ad that attacked the processed-food industry with sad images like the one above. It was called both one of the best and worst ad campaigns of the year, but the mixed reviews didn’t stop the video from getting more than…
We’ve mentioned it before, but in case you didn’t know, we’ll tell you again: The serving sizes you see on food packages today are actually based on data gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1970s and ’80s. As you can imagine, that data is outdated and so…
About two years ago, we tried our first Cara Cara orange. While sweet, tangy blood oranges have have been popular the past few years, we feel Cara Caras deserve as much, if not more, hype. Orange on the outside, bright pink on the inside, this fruit is thought to be…
Forget about those weird watermelon Oreos from August. Seriously. Because in just a few short weeks we’ll all be able to dig into a bag of cookie dough-flavored Oreo cookies. And if a cookie dough-flavored cookie doesn’t sound damn delicious to you, then what the hell are you doing eating…
Last year, we told you that a horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico was working to open its doors and begin processing (read: killing) horses for human consumption. Valley Meat Company, located in southern New Mexico, had been trying to get up and running since 2011 when Congress effectively lifted a…
My husband stormed into the bedroom the other night in a rage. I know you are starting to think you clicked the wrong link and that this is Katie Johnson’s awesome Jackalope Ranch column, Courting Disaster, in which she writes about sexual exploits. Nope, just a cake pop hater here…
Bad news for drinkers who also are trying to watch their figures. According to Scientific American, a new study found that drinking cocktails made with diet sodas can make your breath-alcohol levels 18 percent higher than those made with full-calorie sodas. The study, completed by researchers in the Department of…
Originally published in 1824, The Virgina Housewife is often considered the first American cookbook. And if not that — because some would argue Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery (1796) claims that title — it’s certainly the first regional cookbook. In it, you’ll find recipes for Southern-style specialties like gumbo, catfish soup,…
For those days when you wake up and think, “Gee, I could use a cup of coffee and a piece of buttered vagina bread” (don’t lie, you know who you are), we present The Vagina Toaster. No, it’s not a joke. It’s a real thing and you can buy your…
Picked before reaching maturity when the bulb and stalk dries out to a more of a husk, green garlic has a much more fresh and light flavor and texture than garlic cloves. While green garlic, which is also called young or spring garlic, looks more like leeks or scallions, it…
If you’re a daily juicer and have a habit of throwing a certain leafy green superfood in your Vitamix, you might want to put down that leaf of kale. At least until after you read this. A recent piece in the New York Times titled, “Kale? Juicing? Trouble Ahead,” has…
Despite overwhelming evidence that the American public is sick to death of Dominique Ansel’s trendy pastry hybrid, the Cronut — seriously, people, there’s even scientific proof — it seems food producers, or at least East Coast bakeries, aren’t ready to give up on the trend just yet. Proof: There currently…
For the second year in a row, an Arizona wine made SF Gate’s list of the top wines of the year. This year the recognition goes to the 2012 Sand-Reckoner Malvasia Bianca, which comes from Rob Hammelman in Cochise County. If you’ve been paying close attention you will have already…
In today’s installment of People Eating Things You Thought They Couldn’t (for part one see “Watch This Woman Eat a 72-Ounce Steak in Less Than Three Minutes”) we present a video of competitive eater Kevin Strahle, who goes by the name L.A. Beast, eating two cacti. And we’re not talking…
In my house, we have been watching a lot of Alaska: The Last Frontier of late, and some days I dream about being a homesteader. The TV show follows the story of three generations of hardcore homesteaders living in the harsh Alaskan frontier, growing, raising, hunting, or gathering everything they…
For those people who can barely finish a petite sirloin, this video seemingly will defy the laws of nature. In it, Molly Schuyler, a competitive eater and mother of four from Minnesota, demolishes a 72-ounce steak in 2 minutes and 44 seconds. Seriously. You have to see this…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down a Foster Farms poultry plant in California on Wednesday after finding cockroaches on site for the fourth time since September. The USDA won’t say how many roaches were found but did say the pests were found in various locations throughout the plant. This…
But what about your mom’s famous queso dip? Well, she might have to use — gasp — actual cheese this year because Kraft Foods has warned that it may run short of its famous Velveeta processed cheese product. The possible shortage comes at a time when the cheese product tends…
