Did you know that you should get your leftovers in the refrigerator in as little as 2 hours?  I wish I knew that several years ago when I ate the turkey that was sitting on the counter for 3 days.  Needless to say, my digestion system paid dearly for that.  Watch the video at the jump from ‘The Today Show’ on how to manage your leftovers.

Here are the 4 golden rules to follow as noted from the video:

• Get leftovers in the fridge fast
• Refrigerate up to 4 days , freeze for long storage
• Defrost in fridge, not on counter
• Thoroughly heat leftovers

DeNegri was grilling in his backyard tiki bar in Ormond Beach, Florida, when he popped open a can of Diet Pepsi, took a big gulp and started gagging, his wife, Amy, said.

He emptied out the can down a sink but something heavy remained inside. His wife took over and shook the can over a paper plate until something resembling “pink linguini” slid out, followed by “dark stuff,” Amy DeNegri said.

“It was disgusting,” said Amy DeNegri, 55. “And now, what started out as a normal afternoon in our tiki bar has blown up into this crazy thing.”

The DeNegris took pictures before calling poison control and the FDA, which showed up the next day to examine the can in question and collect it for lab testing.

The couple received a copy of the completed report last week from the Food and Drug Administration Office of Regulatory Affairs, which concluded the foreign matter appeared to be a frog or a toad.

“The animal was lacking internal organs normally found in the abdominal and thoracic cavity,” the report notes.

A second, closed can from the same 36-pack of Diet Pepsi from Sam’s Club, was also submitted for testing, according to Amy DeNegri. No abnormalities were detected, the report states.

The FDA also conducted an investigation at the local Pepsi bottling plant in Orlando from August 4 to 11 and “did not find any adverse conditions or association to this problem,” spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said.

“We have not determined when or how the contamination occurred,” DeLancey said in an e-mail.

Pepsi says the FDA results “affirmed” the company’s confidence “in the quality of our products and the integrity of our manufacturing system,” according to spokesman Jeff Dahncke.

“The speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment. In fact, there never has been even a single instance when a claim of this nature has been traced back to a manufacturing issue,” Dahncke said in an e-mail.

“The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package.”

When asked if Pepsi believed it was not responsible for the animal getting into the can, Dahncke said, “We have addressed the facts of the investigation and stated our position. It’s not appropriate for us to comment beyond that.”

But the DeNegris say they’re hopping mad over Pepsi’s handling of the matter.

Amy DeNegri said she hasn’t heard from Pepsi since the day after the incident occurred, when she spoke with someone over the phone. At first, the woman was apologetic, but DeNegri says her attitude changed after she told her that the FDA had taken the can for testing.

“She asked for my pictures, I sent them and never heard back,” she said.

The retired school staffer says she and her husband are seeking legal advice to examine their options.

“I want to see Pepsi fess up to it and compensate my husband for the negative publicity they have caused,” she said. “I’m easy, but they’re the ones that are making it hard.”

By Adam Lisberg
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

Controversial new subway billboards show human fat being poured out of soft drink bottles

A new ad released by the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene shows human fat being poured into a glass.

The agency that brought you images of missing fingers and blackened lungs has a new health warning on tap – glasses filled with fat.

Billboards going up in the subway today show streams of sugary drinks turning into glistening yellow globs of human fat, mottled with blood vessels and served on ice.

It’s disgusting. And that’s the point, say Health Department officials who conceived the campaign to scare New Yorkers away from soda, sports drinks, bottled teas and other drinks with sugar in them.

“Just trying to be positive and encouraging doesn’t always get people’s attention,” said Associate Commissioner Geoff Cowley.

“If you get in people’s faces a bit, that does get people’s attention.”

The fat campaign aims to reduce obesity and diabetes by showing New Yorkers just how much sugar is in the drinks they grab off bodega and deli shelves.

A 20-ounce bottle of soda can contain 16.5 teaspoons of sugar, a 20-ounce lemon-flavored iced tea can have 14.5 tablespoons of sugar.

Even a 20-ounce bottle of a sports drink can have 7.5 teaspoons, the department says.

Agency officials hope New Yorkers – especially parents of young children and teenagers – will think twice and instead grab lowfat milk, a diet soda or just plain water.

“If you thought you were doing well because you weren’t drinking a sugary soda, but you were drinking a lemon-lime drink and it turns out to have the same amount of sugar, that’s shocking,” said Cathy Nonas, the Health Department’s director of physical activity and nutrition.

“These kinds of things are shocking to people,” Nonas said. “In every age group, you see the increase in portion sizes and the number of servings.”

Health surveys show between 21% and 29% of city teens drink soda daily, slurping down 360 calories that would take a 70-block walk to burn.

A companion video ad, set to be released in a few months, shows an actor pouring pure fat from a soda can into a glass – and then appearing to drink it.

“Are you pouring on the pounds?” the ad says. “Drinking one can of soda a day can make you 10 pounds fatter a year.”

The ads come on the heels of other blunt city efforts to confront New Yorkers with the consequences of not following the department’s health advice.

Its anti-smoking ads featured a man with a robotic voice who lost his real voice to cigarettes, as well as a woman who has lost fingers and toes in more than 20 amputations.

Next up are posters of smoke-scarred lungs that will be required to be displayed near cash registers where cigarettes are sold.

The Health Department spent $277,000 over the last three years to develop the fat campaign, using focus groups to decide that a sharp-edged approach was best.

An anonymous donor gave $90,000 to the department to post 1,500 ads in the subways for three months.
There are three different versions, each in Spanish and English, but all with the same lardy layout.

Source

Starbucks is looking to expand once again, only this time in a bold new direction.  The company is testing a new concept to lure evening customers.  Starting next week, the new store, 15th Ave. Coffee and Tea inspired by Starbucks, will be launched in Seattle and will be offering customers not only coffee and tea, but also wine and beer.  Two other locations in Seattle have already been planned to outfit the new store, and if all goes well, expansion to other cities.

It looks like its current strategy in battling off the other two coffee behemoths (McD’s and Dunkin) isn’t panning out too well.  It’s a move that I didn’t anticipate from the company, after all, I thought they were trying to focus on what they knew best: coffee.

Source

By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Tokyo

The Japanese are eating more meat than seafood, according to a new report from the government.

Figures show that in 2006, for the first time, the Japanese preferred meat over sushi. And in 2007 their appetite for meat increased even further.

The study said that changing lifestyles were responsible, with parents finding meat dishes quicker to prepare.

The government suggests supermarkets hold fish cookery demonstrations to help protect the seafood industry.

Despite these recent trends, people in Japan still eat more fish than those in any other major industrialised nation. But fish eating has been declining across all generations for the last decade.

The study, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said one factor was that children increasingly eat separately from their families because they stay on after school for exam-cramming classes.

The decline in Japan comes as global seafood consumption is increasing.

The worldwide popularity of Japanese sushi and sashimi is helping to push stocks of the most prized fish, bluefin tuna, to dangerously low levels.

Rising U.S. sales of acai, a purple Amazon berry promoted as a “superfood” on Oprah Winfrey’s Web site, are depriving Brazilian jungle dwellers of a protein-rich nutrient they’ve relied on for generations.

U.S. consumers are turning a “a typical poor people’s food into something like a delicacy,” said Oscar Nogueira, who specializes in the fruit at Embrapa, Brazil’s agricultural research company.

Spending on acai-based products by Americans seeking to lose weight, gain energy or slow aging doubled to $104 million last year, according to SPINS, a Schaumburg, Illinois-based market research firm. Since U.S. demand took off early this decade, the fruit’s wholesale price in Brazil has jumped about 60-fold, Embrapa data show.

In 2008, exports from Para, the South American country’s main producing state, climbed 53 percent to account for about a quarter of output, according to the local government. Production, though, has increased little in the past five years.

Winfrey, 55, discussed the berry with Mehmet Oz on her TV talk show in February 2008, when the New York cardiologist presented his “anti-aging checklist.” It includes acai, blueberries and tomatoes.

including a powder that contains the berry, according to his Web page.

Winfrey Disclaimer

Oz declined to be interviewed for this article. Perricone didn’t reply to e-mail and telephone requests for comment.

Perricone’s list on Winfrey’s site includes a link to a statement saying she isn’t associated with any acai product.

“We are pursuing unauthorized uses of Ms. Winfrey’s name associated to acai-based products, none of which she has endorsed,” said Don Halcombe, a spokesman for Harpo Inc., Winfrey’s production company. Chicago-based Harpo is turning over complaints about such items to the Illinois Attorney General’s office, Halcombe said in a telephone interview.

Halcombe declined to comment on the effect increased U.S. demand is having on traditional consumers in Brazil.

In Igarape-Miri, an Amazon village 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) north of Brasilia, Francisca Neves, who sells manioc flour to neighbors and restaurants, says the bitter pulp she used to eat twice a day is now a luxury.

“Our granddaughter is turning 3 and we’re going to have family coming to our house,” said Neves, 68, as she paid 20 reais ($9.40), or about 7 percent of her monthly household income, for 2 liters (2 quarts) of the thick mush at a local street market.

Palm Trees

Acai grows on palm trees and looks like a blueberry. In the Amazon, it is beaten, diluted in water and eaten with manioc, meat, fish or dried shrimp.

The pulp provides more protein in relation to its weight than eggs and milk, and has high levels of anthocyanin, an antioxidant, as well as vitamins E and B1, potassium, iron and calcium, according to Embrapa.

The Para government recommends its consumption. The berry is popularly associated with bone and muscular strength, longevity and a healthy immune system, said Lucival Cardoso, the state’s chief health inspector.

“We encourage families to give acai to children as young as 6 months,” Cardoso said. “It’s also very filling; that’s why it’s traditionally associated with low-income family diets.”

No FDA Review

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t reviewed any acai-based products for safety or purported health benefits, Susan Cruzan, an FDA spokeswoman based in White Oak, Maryland, said in an e-mail.

Pills and other merchandise made with the fruit’s extracts are sold in health food stores across America. Energy drinks containing the juice are sold by the supermarket chains Safeway Inc., Publix Super Markets Inc. and Kroger Co., and by natural- food retailer Whole Foods Market Inc.

Some U.S. Web sites say the berry can help with weight loss, sexual dysfunction, fighting cancer cells and regenerating muscles.

MonaVie LLC of South Jordan, Utah, offers a 25-ounce bottle of its MonaVie Original acai juice blend that distributors sell for $45. Its Web site says the drink provides the “phytonutrients and antioxidants needed to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Independent Distributors

The company is struggling with independent distributors who promote the juice as a miracle drug, said Randy Larsen, executive vice president.

“We are very regulated here about what claims we can make or not make,” Larsen said in a telephone interview.

Attempts in Brazil to boost production to meet demand have had little success because of the difficulty in obtaining land alongside riverbeds, said Alfredo Oyama Homma, an Embrapa rural economist based in Belem, Para’s capital.

“The acai palm trees are most productive when surrounded by other trees, and they also need lots of water,” Homma said.

In Brazil’s southeast, where the country’s most populated cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are located, the berry’s pulp is sold at juice bars and health clubs as smoothies, mixed with sugar or sweeteners and other fruits.

That’s how Ryan Black, chief executive officer of San Clemente, California-based Sambazon Inc., which makes acai-based pulp, energy drinks and supplements, discovered the berry in 1999.

Flavor and Energy

“I was hooked on the flavor and energy,” said Black, 34, who traveled to Rio with Ed Nichols, who is now his business partner. “We thought California would be a perfect market.”

Black and Nichols, 34, shipped their first container of frozen pulp to California in 2000 and built a factory in Amapa, another state in the Amazon, six years later. In 2008, Sambazon’s revenue rose 67 percent to $25 million, Black said.

Sambazon, short for Saving and Managing the Brazilian Amazon, sells its products at 15,000 locations across the U.S., Black said.

In Brazil, farmers traditionally sell their harvest in wicker baskets that hold about 14 kilograms (31 pounds) of fruit. Since 2000, the wholesale price of a basket has risen from one real to as much as 60 reais, Embrapa data show.

Neves says she and her fellow villagers, who call Igarape- Miri the world capital of acai, are paying the price of the berry’s international fame.

“We are happy that people on the other side of the world are able to enjoy our acai, but we don’t want to have to go without it,” Neves said. “Why should we suffer so people who don’t even know anything about the fruit can have their acai pills?”

Winfrey’s site publishes dermatologist Nicholas Perricone’s “10 Superfoods List,” which includes the Brazilian fruit. Meriden, Connecticut-based Perricone, 60, sells skin-care items and food supplements,

Before you read this post, go ahead and list out what you think are the top ten most common ingredients in fast food.  Here’s my list, in no particular order.  Beef, chicken, bread, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayo, and salt.

Based on the list from HowStuffWorks.com, only 2 of the items I listed matched those listed on the website.  The findings might surprise you.

10.  Citric Acid – used as a preservative

9.  High-fructose Corn Syrup – a cheap sweetener

8.  Caramel Color – a color additive

7.  Salt – makes the food tasty

6.  Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – a flavor enhancer

5.  Niacin – one of the many nutrients fortified in bread

4.  Soybean Oil – great for frying and other common uses

3.  Mono- and Diglycerides – emulsifiers to prevent and stabilize food

2.  Xanthan Gum – used as a stabilizer or thickener

1. Chicken – the most common fast food meat product.

Lots more information can be found at the site.

The New York Times
May 6, 2009
The Minimalist

Freeze That Thought

By MARK BITTMAN

IF I tried to sell you a new appliance that could help you save money, reduce food waste and get meals on the table faster, the only thing you’d ask would be “How much?”

The answer is “Nothing.” You already own it. For just as the stove comes with a hidden and often overlooked bonus — the broiler — so does the refrigerator: the freezer. Why not use it?

I know: you do. In that messy box you have some ice cubes, some stuff you bought frozen — a pizza? Lean Gourmet? peas? — and maybe, if you cook a lot, some stock or hastily stored leftovers. You also have a load of things you’ve already forgotten about and will eventually toss, even though you would have been guilt-struck if you had discarded them when they were fresh.

But if you conscientiously use the freezer in two ways, you’ll value it as never before. The first: take raw ingredients you have too much of — or whose life you simply wish to prolong — and freeze them. The second: take things you’ve already cooked — basics like stock, beans, grains and the like, or fully cooked dishes — and freeze them.

To the extent that you do both of these tasks regularly, and keep your freezer organized, you’ll make your cooking cheaper, more efficient and faster.

If you’re nodding your head because so much of this is self-evident, go take a look. I thought I knew what I was doing, too, until I examined a piece of frozen meat that could have been that bit of lamb shoulder I bought three months ago or the beef chuck from two weeks ago. And, no, I couldn’t visually distinguish between a single frozen egg white and a bit of freezer-burned lemon juice, both in identical containers.

I know I’m not alone: the freezer of nearly everyone I visit is a mess. It’s easy enough to throw things in there, but a little more difficult to exercise the forethought that real efficiency requires.

In terms of reducing waste, the most important step you can take is to freeze things the moment you realize you’re not going to cook them in time. If you get a last-minute dinner invitation, you might freeze that fish you bought; if you take the kids strawberry picking, get the excess in there as quickly as you can; if you have a superharvest of vegetables (or a good score at the farmer’s market), blanch them and freeze them.

After all, few foods improve in the refrigerator. They don’t improve in your freezer, either, but they degrade more slowly, especially if you keep the temperature at 0 degrees or below. Check it with a thermometer, and re-check every few months. Note that full freezers are more efficient than half-full ones, a further inducement to freeze more.

While you’re freezing, remember that your enemy is freezer burn, a freeze-drying on surfaces exposed to air that imparts unpleasant flavors and dry, fibrous textures. To help maintain quality, avoid freezer burn by double- or even triple-wrapping food, filling containers to the top and squeezing the air out of containers (zippered bags are good for this). Some foods and sauces, like pesto, can be stored with a layer of oil on top. Others, like cooked beans, can be topped off with water or cooking liquid, leaving room for expansion. And remember: the idea of freezing is to prolong the life of food that you’re going to eat, not to postpone discarding it. Use what you freeze, within weeks if possible, but certainly before the next harvest rolls around. This isn’t so much a question of safety — frozen food will rarely go “bad” — but of quality. Freezing is not, after all, suspended animation.

One more thing, easy to overlook and impossible to overrate: Label. It is incredible how much things grow to resemble another in the freezer. Use a permanent marker, write exactly what it is (“fish” or “stew” isn’t as helpful as “monkfish” or “lamb/veg stew”), and date it.

Some more suggestions and tips for using your freezer wisely, in very rough order of usefulness. (And see, or make, further suggestions on my blog, Bitten, at nytimes.com/bitten.)

STORAGE

In addition to produce and meats, there are some less obvious ingredients whose life can be extended by freezing. Most of them can be used straight from the freezer: Fresh noodles; flours or meals; grains; nuts (which taste kind of good frozen); whole coffee beans (supposedly not as good after you freeze them, but most of us can’t tell the difference); banana leaves (nice for plating or wrapping, but they come in huge packages); and more, detailed below.

LEFTOVERS

Make extra of any dish, with leftovers in mind, then freeze in smaller portions that can be taken to work, sent to school or reheated for a solitary dinner. Freeze in individual containers, topping up with water, cooking liquid or oil to prevent freezer burn, or freeze in sturdy zippered bags, then squeeze out as much air as possible. Defrost in the fridge, in cold water, or in a microwave, or not at all — many items can be reheated straight from frozen. (Yes, I’m talking about homemade TV dinners.)

BEANS AND GRAINS

I’m tempted to say that you should never cook beans or grains without making more than you need. Freezing them (covered with water or cooking liquid, leaving room for expansion) works that well, and saves loads of time.

STOCK

For home cooks, the biggest problem with stock is having it around when you need it. So make as much as you can manage — three gallons, say. To save space, you can reduce the stock so that it’s extra concentrated, and reconstitute it with water to taste when you’re ready. Refrigerate and skim the fat, if you like, then freeze in containers of varying sizes, or in ice cube trays.

STOCK-MAKING MATERIAL

Scraps of poultry (most of the chicken parts we don’t eat are good for stock), meat (again, especially the less-used, bonier parts) or fish (heads and skeletons in particular), vegetable trimmings, bones and more. Keep separate bags for each, adding to them when you can. Remember, though, that stock is not garbage soup: Carrot and potato peels, cabbage cores, and the like can be used, but in moderation. Animal organs are best avoided (fish gills and guts must be removed, and offal in general makes bitter stock).

BREAD, BREAD DOUGH, BREAD CRUMBS

Freeze dough in well-wrapped balls; defrost until it regains springiness. (It will never rise quite as high as unfrozen dough, but it works nearly perfectly for pizza or focaccia, and well enough for other uses.) Good crusty bread, wrapped in aluminum foil, can turn lighter dishes into meals — just defrost in the foil at 350 degrees or so for 10 minutes, then crisp up, unwrapped, at slightly higher temperatures. (I’m talking about crusty bread; sliced bread can be defrosted on the counter or in a toaster.) And stale bread can be made into crumbs in a blender or food processor, stored in a container, and added to at will.

PASTRY AND PASTRY DOUGH

Most cake and cookies freeze pretty well, carefully wrapped. Or make a frozen log of “refrigerator” cookies to slice and bake later. Same with biscuits: make a whole batch or double batch of biscuit batter, bake just enough for dinner, and freeze the rest.

TOMATOES AND TOMATO SAUCE

Tomato sauce is best frozen in zippered bags with the air squeezed out. If you have ripe tomatoes, core, quarter, and throw them in a bag; as they thaw the skins will slip off, a bonus. (The frozen chunks separate easily so you can just break off a couple for soups, stews, salsas, sauces and so on.) You can also freeze unused portions of canned tomatoes, preferably in their juice.

BACON

Or pancetta, prosciutto, smoked ham hocks, prosciutto bones, etc. Wrap tightly in plastic and cut off pieces as you need them. (Or cut before freezing — you might need a butcher to do this in the case of big bones.)

FRESH HERBS

If you have extra herbs, your four best options are: Make pesto by puréeing the herb with oil and whatever other seasonings you like; make “pesto,” a purée of herb and water, with or without other seasonings; make compound butter; chop herbs, and freeze in ice cube trays covered with water.

FISH

When I’m in a good fish market I buy too much and later wonder what I was thinking. Fortunately, squid, shrimp and the meat of lobster, clams and mussels all freeze well. Even fillets, steaks, and cleaned whole fish — wrapped carefully in plastic — will keep most of their quality in the freezer for a couple of weeks, and there’s no reason they should spend any longer there. Another note: If you’re buying fish that has been frozen to begin with, ask for still-frozen rather than thawed fish, then store it in the freezer or thaw in the refrigerator.

FRUIT

Easier than making jam: Freeze berries or stone-fruit halves spread out on trays, then bag or put into containers, so they don’t all freeze together in a block. Or cook down a bit and store in their juice. Or purée and freeze.

VEGETABLES

If you find yourself with too much corn, greens, carrots, peas or snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, put them up. Blanch them for a minute before spreading them on a tray, the same way you freeze fruit. Tomatoes (as noted above) and bell peppers are the exception; they freeze well raw.

BANANAS

When my kids were young these were a staple. Peel and individually wrap overripe bananas in plastic; freeze. Use within a few weeks for banana bread or smoothies.

TORTILLAS

Wrap two corn tortillas at a time in wax paper, then in a plastic bag; freeze flat. When you’re ready, stick the wax paper packages right into the microwave for a minute to warm. The same technique works well for cooked waffles and pancakes. Where do you think General Mills got the idea?

EGG WHITES

If you make a lot of ice cream, custard, or other recipes that call for a lot of egg yolks, you will have extra whites. Freeze them in batches of two or three for making meringues, macaroons or angel food cake.

Parmesan rinds

Most cheese freezes well, but there’s not much reason to do it. Parmesan rinds, however, add a great deal to risotto and soups (and can be eaten; they’re delightfully chewy and a little rubbery). Freeze them in zippered bags.

CHICKEN OR DUCK LIVERS, FAT, ETC.

As noted above, they don’t make good stock, but they have other uses. Three livers or so and a small handful of fat makes a nice little batch of chopped liver, for example.

WINE

That last quarter of a bottle? Freeze it, then use it for cooking wine as needed. See stock for best methods.

CITRUS

If you have a surplus of citrus — perhaps someone sent you a case of oranges from Florida or you found lemons for a dollar a pound and went overboard — squeeze them. The juice freezes fairly well. Lemons, limes and oranges also can be frozen whole. When a recipe calls for juice, defrost what you need in the microwave.

BURRITOS

It’s a bit of a project, but you can mass-produce breakfast or other burritos, wrap them individually (first in wax paper, then in plastic), and microwave in a couple of minutes.

Updated: Wednesday, 22 Apr 2009, 9:51 AM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 22 Apr 2009, 9:33 AM CDT

By FRANK CARNEVALE, Special Contributor

kxan.com

BONN, Germany – Scientists searching space for evidence of amino acids, the molecules that are basic to life, found instead a substance called ethyl formate, a chemical responsible for the flavor of raspberries.

According to The Guardian scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy found the raspberry-related substance after sifting through radiation signals coming from the Milky Way galaxy.

“It does happen to give raspberries their flavor, but there are many other molecules that are needed to make space raspberries,” Arnaud Belloche, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, told the Guardian.

The search for amino acids in space is considered the Holy Grail for astrobiologists because it would show the possibility that life does exist on other parts of the universe. The results of the research are being presented at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science at the University of Hertfordshire in England.

Starburst candies must have already thought the fruit tasted like the cosmos as raspberry has been introduced in many of its products. And NASA has been working on improving the taste and menu for space travelers since its first missions. Today astronauts get many foods that we have everyday like potato chips and dessert including a berry medley.