Slashfood

• Back Away from the Wine, Dr. Health!
  

  Filed under: Wine, Australia, Trends, New Products, Health & Medical

  
  Ok, so wine has numerous health benefits. It cures everything from cold sores to cancer. (Note: the above is not intended as medical device.) I tout wine's health benefits as much as anyone, but deep down inside, the truth is that I kind of like my wine as a vice. It's the only vice I have, really (though I'm sure my husband would say otherwise). I don't drink it because of its health benefits, but for the sheer pleasure of the taste, the bouquet, the way it enhances the food I cook and relaxes...
  



• Syrah/Shiraz - Wine of the Week
  

  Filed under: Wine, Australia, America, Europe, Comfort Food, France, Holidays, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Winter, Wine of the Week

  Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and the December holidays are ahead of us, but not so close that I'm feeling the panic of unbought presents and unmade cookies and undecorated house, it's time to talk about a wine that was tailor-made for this "down" week before the holiday frenzy begins, when you still have time for a bit of pre-bed reading or TV-watching while snuggled into a cozy chair with...
  



• McDonald's may cut 'Pasta Zoo' from Aussie Happy Meal
  

  Filed under: Grains, Australia, Fast Food

  By the time McDonald's introduced Happy Meals, I was too old to enjoy them. I've always felt kind of gypped by the whole Happy Meal thing. Now that the fast-food giant may discontinue the Pasta Zoo Happy Meal in its Australian restaurants, I'm even more disappointed. Actually that's a lie, I've never even heard of Pasta Zoo until today. It sounds like the pasta version of animal crackers.
  
  Pasta Zoo was introduced back in January, but after poor sales, McDonald's is seriously considering replacing it with something else. The animal-shaped pasta with dipping sauce was part of the company's...
  



• Chewing gum may help you concentrate
  

  Filed under: Science, Australia

  
  (Click the photo for 5 Foods That Make You Smarter)
  
  
  It's Monday morning, and if you have a lot of work to catch up on or a deadline to meet, consider popping a piece of gum.
  
  There's a new study from Australia that found chewing gum not only raises alertness, it also reduces stress and anxiety. Study participants were subjected to a test called DISS (Defined Intensity Stressor Simulation). The gum chewers also had "significant improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities."
  
  The study was...
  



• A new source of truffles: Western Australia
  

  Filed under: Farming, Australia

  If you're unfamiliar with these disgusting-looking fungi called truffles, there's a good reason for that. Truffles are among the most expensive foods in the world, along with caviar and saffron. Up until recently, though, they could only be grown in Italy, Spain, and France.
  
  That's all changing, though. Over the last ten years, farmers in Western Australia have been working growing the precious mushroom and they've finally succeeded. The truffle producers are understandably proud of their achievement: they say that several other places have tried and failed to grow truffles.
  
  The farmers are predicting a crop...
  



• "It tastes like beef and smells like beer"
  

  Filed under: Beer, Australia, New Products, America

  
  
  Depending on your preferences, you probably found this title either deeply appealing or really disgusting.
  
  If you're a dog, hopefully you felt the former, because this new product is designed for the furry set: Dog Beer. A company in Australia has concocted a brew specifically for Fluffy. It's non-alcoholic, but company owner Elise Schumacher claims it tastes just like normal beer. Apparently, she came up with the idea after she saw her own dogs, Louis and Vuitton, leaping up to catch drops of beer.
  
  Some customers are paying up to five bucks per bottle...
  



• Cadbury does not own the color purple
  

  Filed under: Business, Chocolate, Australia

  Yesterday, I brought you a story about a victory for Ferrero Rocher. Well today, here's a victory for the little guy.
  
  There's been a five year court battle between Cadbury and an Australian chocolate maker, Darrell Lea. The international chocolate giant claims that it owns the color purple as far as packaging and marketing chocolate is concerned. Cadbury says that Darrell Lea, who uses purple for "its store signage, uniforms and products was too similar to its own and confused customers."
  
  There are only so many colors, in all reality. There...
  



• Kids are too fat for carseats
  

  Filed under: Culinary Kids, Australia, Trends, Health & Medical

  Childhood obesity isn't just a US problem -- it's a global epidemic.
  
  In Australia, children are so fat that they don't fit into their car seats (the source article calls them "booster seats"). Researchers in Melbourne found that of the children who meet the height requirement (i.e. are short enough to sit in a car seat), 40% of them are too heavy.
  
  Yikes.
  
  And what's even more alarming is that parents are putting their kids in the car anyway using the regular seatbelts, which could do more harm to kids than...
  



• In honor of Leap Day, some frog love
  

  Filed under: Candy, Australia, Newspapers

  It's Leap Day, and zoos and animal organizations across the world are kicking off "Year of the Frog," which aims to highlight the impact of global warming and pollution on our amphibian friends. In honor of the cause, here's a rundown of some notable frog-themed foods (though nothing containing actual frog, that seemed a bit crass):
  
  Freddo Frog - An Australian treat since the 1930s, this chocolate cartoon frog is made by Cadbury and comes in different flavors and fillings. Weird note: I bought an aquatic frog from the pet store when I was seventeen and named him Freddo,...
  



• The worst food in America comes from Outback Steakhouse
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Vegetables, Dairy, Beef, Cheese, Australia, Condiments, America, Comfort Food

  
  It's official. The Worst Food in America is not the Pizza-Crepe-Taco-Pancake-Chili Bag that was famous for about 30 seconds a couple of years ago. First of all, the PCTPCB doesn't actually exist, and second of all, the Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing from Outback Steakhouse, which does exist, has made its way to the top -- er bottom, as it were -- of Men's Health's list of the