Slashfood

• Time for Offal
  

  Filed under: Frugal Food, British Isles, Magazines, Trends, Europe, Meat, Head to Tail

  
  
  Time Magazine reports, with a soupçon of punny glee, that sales of offal in Great Britain have surged as of late, likely in response to the international economic downturn. Quoth London's Liz Logan:
  

  "Tough economic times have Britons eating their hearts out and swallowing their tongues. Not literally, of course. But offal - or "variety meats," as the food category is euphemistically called in the U.K. - is experiencing a surge in popularity, with sales up 67% over the past five years."

  Thing is, even in advance of the pound...
  



• The Tasty Allure of the Scotch Egg
  

  Filed under: British Isles, Eggs

  
  
  Last week, while celebrating the repeal of Prohibition, I ordered myself a Scotch Egg (courtesy of the delicious Abbot on the Hill). It's been a good two years since Slashfood delved into the world of the Scotch egg, both as a portable breakfast and gargantuanly eggy ostrich task, so I thought I'd give the dish some more love.
  
  Scotch eggs (recipe here) are hard-boiled eggs encased in a mixture of sausage and spices, then dredged, breaded, and deep-fried -- another case of tasty things getting wrapped in tasty things and then covered in more tasty things and turning out beautifully. They're delicious...
  



• Traditional Mincemeat Pie and Suet Substitution
  

  Filed under: Dessert, British Isles, Beef, Recipes, Baking, Europe, Retro cookery, Holidays, Christmas, Festive Family Feasts

  
  
  Lo these many years ago, a UK-born boss of mine attempted to wheedle me into swifter production by offering me a small mincemeat pie if I finished a pressing task by 4 p.m. I begged to be allowed to take only half if I knocked it out by 3, and remain fully un-minced if I had everything squared away by 2.
  
  In theory, I should love traditional mincemeat. I'm a huge fan of a meat 'n sweet one-two punch...
  



• Can Light Drinking Possibly be Good for Pregancy?
  

  Filed under: Wine, Beer, British Isles, Science, Health & Medical

  
  
  Often times, health advice falls into the "What do we make of it?" column. This can be especially true when it involves drugs such as alcohol and caffeine where people have predetermined biases or agendas.
  
  So here's a potentially inflammatory article from the L.A. Times discussing a U.K. study considered to be "the largest and most rigorous...on low levels of alcohol or caffeine" during pregnancy. The first nine words of the title clearly state "Pregnancy has room for a little wine...
  



• U.K. pulling plug on Miller Beer
  

  Filed under: Beer, British Isles, Business, Trends

  Americans love foreign beer. And in many ways, until the advent of the craft beer revolution, the words "imported beer" were synonymous with "good beer." So enamored with this notion are Americans that even Canadian and Mexican brews are afforded such a higher status, often regardless of their actual quality, simply because they crossed a border.
  
  In other parts of the world, however, drinkers aren't as easily impressed by the simple idea of importation. Case in point: UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle will no longer be producing Miller Beer. Miller has undergone a number of changes in the...
  



• Spotted Dick and other foods that sound dirty but aren't
  

  Filed under: British Isles, Food Porn, Celebrations, Guilty Pleasures

  As someone who lived in England for three years, I have encountered many a food with a shocking name.
  
  I'm pretty sure the English are naming things "bangers and mash" and such on purpose, but there are many foods with dirty names that don't seem as self-aware.
  
  For your pleasure and education, I present to you:
  
  The List of Foods that Sound Dirty but Aren't
  
  

  Continue reading Spotted Dick and other foods that sound dirty but aren't




• British bacon burglars force market to lock up breakfast meat
  

  Filed under: Breakfast, British Isles, Pork, Trends

  
  Lately bacon has been appearing in everything from tiaras and bras to ice cream and Obama logos. It's gotten so popular and so absurd that many in the blogosphere are crying, "Enough with the bacon all ready!" Which is why I found this story about bacon shoplifting rather refreshing. Not that I'm in favor of shoplifting, I just like reading about bacon in the traditional sense.
  
  I guess with all the hoopla about unconventional uses for bacon, I missed this one. Last month shoplifters cleaned out a Londis supermarket in Burnley, U.K., of all...
  



• Is a $200 cookbook worth it?
  

  Filed under: British Isles, Books, Newspapers, Celebrities

  
  There's quite a bit of buzz about Heston Blumenthal's new cookbook, at least on the other side of the pond. One of the masters of molecular gastronomy and the owner of three Micheline star The Fat Duck, Mr. Blumenthal is renowned for his amazing, and amazingly complex food.
  
  Now he's brought his molecular know-how to the masses...sort of. His new cookbook, The Big Fat Duck Cookbook, is a huge, 516 page, 12 pound, £100 ($200-though I found...
  



• On the rocks indeed
  

  Filed under: British Isles, Northern Europe, Cocktails, Spirits

  Well, it seemed like we may as well get the obvious punchline over with right at the beginning. Mocha, a UK company with a eccentric home gadget line--specializing in items like Swarovski crystal egg crackers and mugs with built-in cookie holders--now offers these tres barbarique drink coolers. The Nordic Rock stone ice cubes are genuine chunks of "pollution-free base rock" mined in Sweden--who else would invent this but some kind of Viking?
  
  Just pop the Nordic Rocks (in their charming leather pouch) into your freezer (or igloo) for an hour, then drop two...
  



• Can spicy food kill?
  

  Filed under: British Isles, Spices, Food News

  
  A 33-year-old British man has died after eating a plate of ultra-hot chile sauce, leaving his family to wonder if the chiles did it. Andrew Lee died several hours after eating a plate full of pasta sauce made with chiles grown by his father, in a contest with a friend over who could consume the spiciest food. He reported feeling itchy before going to bed; his girlfriend found him dead the next morning.
  
  %Gallery-31077%
  
  But how likely is it that the chiles actually killed him? Last year, the magazine Mental Floss compiled links to several studies...