If you’ve eaten at a sushi restaurant before, you’ve probably seen shiso. Shiso (also known as perilla ), is a member of the mint family with broad jagged edged leaves. The green variety is often used as a garnish, but it also makes for a great herb, with a unique aroma, vaguely reminiscent of mint and cinnamon. Read more » All text and photos © 2010 [ No Recipes ] |  Read More →

POM, the beverage company that turned an old pomegranate orchard into a money machine with POM Wonderful juices, is taking the Coca Cola Company, parent of Minute Maid, to court. The reason: false advertising. According to POM, Minute Maid’s pomegranate juice name and label make it appear as if pomegranate is the main ingredient, though the blend actually contains less than 0.3 percent of …  Read More →

You’ve probably heard that celery has a negative calorie count. How could that be? The energy your body burns in breaking down the fibrous strands in the celery is more energy than the vegetable actually provides. We’re talking single digits here, so it’s not like a celery diet is going to have you shedding 30 lbs off in a weekend. And now, …  Read More →

Stevia, the calorie-free sugar substitute made from a shrub native to Asia and South America, has lots of potential, but several things have to happen before it really takes hold , reports Jeremiah McWilliams in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Prices have to fall, foreign regulators such as the European Union have to approve it, and new formulations have to be devised  Read More →

It seems like soda tax propositions are popping up like mushrooms after spring showers across the country. And everywhere they do, the beverage industry is there, like a wild boar, ready to stomp them down. Last week, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter wanted to raise $77 million annually from a tax on sugary soft drinks. A local bottler and multimillionaire offered a bribe donation of $10M to help promote health and recreation programs in the... 

The past 2 years have seen a decline in the beverage category, 3.1% in 2009 and  2.1% in 2008, according to Beverage Marketing Corp . The worst hit products are “value-added waters”, or what we like to call “sugar-water with vitamins”. For example, Coca Cola’s Vitamin Water took a 13% hit. The sales of classic soda pop were declining for the 5th straight year in a row. So are people drinking less? Obviously not.... 

PepsiCo announced yesterday that it will stop selling sugary soft drinks to schools worldwide . The company will stop sales of full-sugar soft drinks to primary and secondary schools by 2012.  The industry-leading policy establishes for the first time a consistent global approach to the sale of beverages to schools by a major beverage company. The policy applies in all countries outside the United States, and is generally consistent with the... 

The California Alcoholic Beverage Control agency is cracking down on bars and restaurants that make their own “infused” drinks such as limoncellos. Alcoholic Beverage Control’s “agents have been in San Francisco recently sniffing out these grievous lawbreakers,” reports Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle ’s Between Meals blog.  Read More →

Eggnog is one of those much maligned holiday traditions, taking it’s place right alongside jewel speckled fruitcakes and mincemeat pie. Being a lover of eggs, sugar and cream, I never quite got why people hate it so much, but it’s popularity seems to have waned even further in recent years due to food safety concerns as well as the heart-attack inducing amount of cholesterol in one glass of this creamy eggy concoction. Given my recent...