Slashfood

• First food memories: I dare you to drink this
  

  Filed under: MSG, Culinary Kids, Television/Film, Food Oddities, America

  Okay, perhaps this is not a typical first food memory, but it's one of my favorites. I've been watching the box set of Freaks and Geeks and during one of the episodes, the "geeks" dare each other to drink a disgusting combination of ingredients (salt, sardines, pickle juice...) for money. O how the memories came flooding back.
  
  When my brother and I were in elementary school, we used to do the exact. same. thing. We used to stand at the refrigerator and goad each other into drinking conconctions we created. Our rules were that you could only use three...
  



• Have Allergy, Can Travel
  

  Filed under: MSG, Food Gadgets, New Products

  A boon for travellers who have special dietary requirements-a set of cards that could help out in countries where English is not widely spoken.

  The wallet sized cards are available in 15 languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, German, Swedish, Russian, Polish, Japanese, Thai, two forms of Chinese and of Portuguese - plus English). They come resplendent with a picture of the offending food stuff and can have stronger warnings for particularly hazardous foods. Over 40 different food stuffs covering peanuts, wheat, milk, fish, eggs, onions, lactose, gluten and monosodium glutamate are detailed. You select the language and the cards are printed off to order.

  They are available through...
  




• Cereal that saves the planet doesn't save taste buds, says NYT
  

  Filed under: Breakfast, Vegetarian, Organic, Vegan, Non-GMO, Grains, MSG, Raves & Reviews, Trends, Newspapers, Stores & Shopping

  Why do you buy your breakfast cereal? Peace Raspberry Ginger cereal carries a quote from Mother Teresa, along with a promise to send 10% of profits to a "foundation for peace." Barbara's Bakery, which makes the Cinnamon, Peanut Butter and Honey Rice Puffins cereals, sends a percentage of its profits to a wildlife refuge (to help puffins... maybe). Envirokidz Panda Puffs (my fave of the brands mentioned) has a box 10% smaller than other cereals to contribute...
  




• Umami
  

  Filed under: Science, MSG

  What do soy sauce, parmesan, and tomatoes have in common? They all contain free glutamates, which makes them have a savory taste--what the Japanese call umami. Literally translated, it means "delicious taste", and some argue it's another taste sensation that our mouths can detect.

  In modern chemical form, MSG (monosodium glutamate) is sometimes used in dishes to induce a big umami flavor. Critics have said that MSG can cause headaches, but no actual scientific link has been found. And, the fact is, many Asian cultures have used naturally occurring MSG like in bonito flakes and seaweed to flavor broths for centuries without problems. Other foods like cheese, walnuts, mushrooms, and...
  




• Gwyneth Paltrow chooses death over Cup-A-Soup
  

  Filed under: Lunch, Snacks, MSG, Trans Fats

  Reason Not to Like Gwyneth Paltrow #70: she gets irrationally dramatic around convenience foods. According to the NY Daily News, the actress, who just finished directing a short film called Dealbreakers, flipped out when she spotted a box full of Cup-A-Soup on the set. "Who eats this stuff?" she demanded. When a crew member admitted that his kids were actually really into the additive-laden snack, Ms. Paltrow-Martin said - and you can wait for it, because it's totally worth it - "I would rather die than let my kid eat Cup-A-Soup." Gwynnie famously adheres to a macrobiotic diet, but she...
  



• Chinese Takeout in Baghdad
  

  Filed under: Closings, Restaurants, Business, MSG, Asia

  A few weeks after the fall of Baghdad, Chen Xianzhong opened the first authentic Chinese restaurant in post-Sadaam Iraq. His only competition? A rival joint in the Green Zone whose proprietors he writes off as "amateurs" whilst intimating that the restaurant doubles as a massage parlor. Everything was going great for awhile - until a suicide bombing "spewed body parts into the dining room." Now Chen and a few workers prepare take-out from the top of his Chinese goods emporium for a few regulars who got hooked on his food before choas wrecked his business. Craig S. Smith...