Food News Daily: August 22, 2011

Published by Monday, August 22, 2011 Permalink 0

Mainstream Anglo Media and Press

Dan Lepard’s sweet potato brownies recipe, The Guardian

Bill Clinton’s Life as a Vegan, NPR

The Minimalist: Easy Ratatouille, The New York Times

Britain develops a taste for goat, The Independent

A Southern Italian revolution continues to sweep across Australia’s wine landscape, The Australian

Market Watch: Indian Blood Freestone peaches are diamonds in the fuzz, Los Angeles Times

We All Scream for Gelato: High-End Italian Ice Cream Spreads to London and Other European Cities, The Wall Street Journal

Rustic summer vegetable casserole, Los Angeles Times

Chez Panisse’s wines – a list that matches a legacy, San Francisco Chronicle

Best of the Anglo Food and Travel Blogs and Sites

Apricot and pistachio frangipane tart, What’s For Lunch Honey

David’s Discoveries: A great bistro in Burgundy — L’Auberge de Jack, Milly Lamartine, Gadling

Alternative Press/Sites

Thomas Keller’s Grilled Cheese Recipe, Men’s Health

Peach recipes, Kentucky

Hardwick, Vt.—The Town that Food Saved, Organic Connections

What to do with summer fruits, Slow Food Ireland

World

Peach and Cinnamon Chutney, Ko Rasoi

Simply Brilliant (Asian food), Eating Asia

Japan to refrain from claiming safety of Japanese foods, Mainchi News

How to prepare a Korean meal at home, Zenkimchi Korean Food Journal

Purple Pixie Eggplants – Sabich, An Israeli Street Food Sandwich, Food Wanderings

Main Street Eat (Vietnamese street food), Sticky Rice

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Food News Daily: August 18, 2011

Published by Thursday, August 18, 2011 Permalink 0

Mainstream Media and Press

Baby’s Palate And Food Memories Shaped Before Birth, NPR

The 50 best gastro pubs, The Independent

Food for a Cause: Q&A: Chef Karl Wilder Talks About Living on Food Stamps, San Francisco Weekly

Indian Organic Farming, Video with Vandana Shiva , CNN

Bits on the side: supplemental charges: If a set menu is littered with supplemental charges is it still a set menu or just a slightly cynical way to draw in customers?, The Guardian

Best of the Anglo Food Blogs and Sites

Lemon, Blueberry and Poppyseed Muffins, Life’s a Feast

Rabdi infused with saffron over summer berries, Indian Simmer

Sweet corn, chilies and burrata over fettucini, Local Lemons

Watermelon Sorbet, Taste Australia

Alternative Press/Sites

Electronic Culinary Assistants, Trend Hunter

Baby’s Palate And Food Memories Shaped Before Birth, NPR

Food: From the Simple to the Sublime, Food, Food, Glorious Food

New York Times Food Critic Gives Commenters a Bad Review, The Atlantic Wire

World

Salon International des Chocolatiers et du Chocolat,

Zermatt’s “Madame Chocolat”, My Kugelhopf

Fall Festivals Highlight Spain’s Food, Wine and History, Travel Agent Central

China Full of Fakes, and not just shoes, clothing or jewelery, but also wine, Food News New Zealand

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Food News Daily: August 17, 2011

Published by Wednesday, August 17, 2011 Permalink 0

Mainstream Press

School Districts Rediscover Value of From-Scratch Meals, The New York Times
Why the Swiss Don’t Buy Swiss Cheese, Moneyland, Time
Consider chocolate, The Guardian
India Sues Monsanto Over Genetically-Modified Eggplant, Forbes
Why the Government Is Regulating Gluten-Free Foods, The Atlantic
One Man’s Blurry Quest to Cook Every Meal with Beer, BA Daily
Sex on a plate: in Paris, food and seduction are one and the same, The Telegraph

Best of the Anglo Food Blogs and Sites

Mexican Chocolate Pops Recipe, Leite’s Culinaria
{For Jennie & Mikey} Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Healthy-Delicious
Search – LocalHarvest, find local produce in your area by in U.S. by clicking on map
Yogurt Ice Pops with Berries Recipe, Leite’s Culinaria
Deliciously Rich Salted Caramel Ice Cream Recipe, Simply Stated

Alternative Press/Sites

2011 James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards – Sustainable Food Awards, The Daily Green
Best Farmers Markets – Big U.S. Farmers Markets, The Daily Green
The 10 (U.S.) Colleges With The Best Campus Food, Huffington Post

World

Masterchef India, playful Bollywood style
Sticky Date Pudding With Toffee Sauce, a Dubai take on a British classic, Sips and Spoonfuls
Ancient Rice Offering Is the Heart of India’s Jewish Community – Jew and the Carrot, Forward
The 7 Most Annoying Ways To Order At A Restaurant, Zagat
Flavors of Brazil: Attn Chocoholics: The World’s Largest Chocolate Fair Is Coming to Brazil, Flavors of Brazil
Keeping Food True: Embrace Pickles, Danish bread and butter pickles
The okra renaissance, the outcast vegetable is back in style, Food Bridge
Japanese Farm Food, Indigo Days
What food cravings say about your health?, IOL Lifestyle
Buttermilk ice cream with basil & Vanilla – Summer, come back!, Munich-based Delicious Days
Homemade Peanut Butter, Indian Country Today Media Network

 


 

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Happy 99th Birthday, Julia Child!

Published by Monday, August 15, 2011 Permalink 0

by Julia Child

Julia Child would have turned 99 today.

Julia Child brought French food to post-war America. When her husband Paul was posted to Paris, she studied at L’Ecole du Cordon Bleu, and went on to form her own cooking school with fellow students Mastering the Art of French Cooking and Louisette Bertholle. The threesome went on to write the 2-volume classic Coq au Vin , which covered all the basic techniques and dishes of classic French cuisine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And indeed she proved to be right. It is only now, 60 years later, that cooking has established itself as gastronomy, and only when referring to a few great American chefs.

This is Foodista’s list of their favorite Julia recipes.

Coq au Vin

Rooster cooked in red wine is a classic Burgundian dish made with red wine, mushrooms, onions, bacon and herbs.

Duck a l’Orange

Vichyssoise is actually the base of almost all French soups. This simple base — made of potatoes, leeks, and salt — is elaborated on in countless ways to make an endless variety of soup. When served cold in summer and cream is added, it is referred to as Vichyssoise.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Ratatouille brings all the flavors of the Southern sun together: red ripe tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, garlic, onions and Provençal herbs. Today there are many other versions, many of them even in the oven, but this is the classic recipe.

Upside-Down Martini

The problem with duck is always the same: the fat spews all over the place and it is difficult to digest. The acid of the orange in this classic French dish helps digest the fat, and makes it tasty too. This is a favorite Julia Child recipe.

Custard Apple Tart

Boeuf Bourguignon is a fancy version of our classic beef stew. What makes it different is that it is cooked in red wine, and pearl onions and mushroom caps are added to it.

Plum Clafoutis

Not surprising that Julia loved Martinis. She added vermouth to just about any sauce she could work it in to.

Sabayon

Not all French pies are made with custard, but you often find this version in Normandy, the land of cream and butter. It can be served either cold or warm.

Lessons from Julia Child

Clafoutis can be made with many different fruits, but plus and cherries are all-time French favorites. This tart has a custard-like consistency, but also contains ground almonds, giving it a salty edge.

Sabayon is a a cousin of the light, egg-based Italian dessert zabaglione. It is light and custard-like, and a standard in French as well as British cuisine.

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The Rambling Epicure is looking for social media marketing interns: immediate opening

Published by Monday, August 8, 2011 Permalink 0

Would you like to be part of a highly motivated team of well-known writers and artists from around the world working to promote real food in all its aspects?

The Rambling Epicure is a daily international food chronicle, and the first online newspaper to follow global food trends and news.

Based in Switzerland, The Rambling Epicure joins the voices of food writers and artists from around the world who are interested in promoting a mindful, responsible approach to real-food shopping, cooking, and eating, as well as food politics, safety, history, art, literature and philosophy.

Although the common language of our site is English, many articles are published in Spanish, French, German and Chinese, in bilingual version, and we plan to include still more languages. This allows us to reach a truly international audience and spread the word, literally following food from seed to table and sometimes even beyond. We want to expand, and we have no borders. That is why we are looking for social media interns from now into the fall.

Take a good look at our site and our goals, and if you’d like to be part of the our mission to spread the word, please contact us by clicking the blue Contact Us button at the top right of the home page.

There are no geographic location requirements for the job. You can do it from anywhere on the globe. All you need is fluent English and a stable ADSL or broadband connection.

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How I got my recipes indexed by Google Recipe Search. A Spanish perspective.

Published by Wednesday, June 8, 2011 Permalink 0

by SandeeA

Para leer en español

How I got my recipes indexed by Google Recipe Search. A Spanish perspective.

The first thing you need to know is that I am no expert on this subject. This article is not intended to be an infallible guide, but rather a summary of the steps I have taken to succeed in getting my recipes included in the search results of Google Recipe Search.

1. What is Google Recipe Search?

Google Recipe Search is a tool Google launched a few months ago, and is already operating in Japan and the U.S. At some point it will undoubtedly be launched for other countries as well, including Spain.

Continue Reading…

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Cómo conseguir que indexen tus recetas en Google Recipe Search

Published by Monday, June 6, 2011 Permalink 0

por SandeeA

Click here to read this in English

Este artículo no pretende ser una guía infalible, sino más bien un resumen de los pasos que he dado para que incluyeran mis recetas en los resultados de búsqueda de Google Recipe Search.

1. ¿Qué es Google Recipe Search?

Google Recipe Search (búsqueda de recetas en Google) es una herramienta de búsqueda implementada por Google, que funciona ya en Japón y EE.UU. desde hace unos meses, y que en algún momento empezará a funcionar para el resto de países.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Si os fijáis cuando hacéis una búsqueda en Google, en la parte izquierda se pueden filtrar los resultados de la búsqueda: puedes elegir que solo te muestre imágenes, vídeos, noticias, … Si pincháis en la parte inferior del recuadro de búsqueda, donde pone Google.com in English, veréis que además de todas las opciones que ya funcionan en España, en la parte izquierda aparece una nueva pestaña: Recipes. Al seleccionar esa pestaña, de todos los resultados posibles solo se muestran las recetas. Además, se puede acotar aún más la búsqueda, indicando tiempo de cocción, ingredientes, calorías,…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¿Cómo sabe Google que se trata de una receta? Porque los administradores de los sitios (o nosotros, pobres bloggers) introducimos en el HTML un código invisible para el ojo humano, pero no para los robots de búsqueda, donde se indica que la página en cuestión contiene una receta. Traducido: aunque tengas un blog con tropecientas recetas, si no implementas estos códigos en tu HTML, cuando empiece a funcionar en España esta herramienta tus recetas no aparecerán en las búsquedas en las que se utilice la pestaña “Recetas” ¿ Y cómo he logrado que mis recetas aparezcan en los resultados de búsqueda de Google Recipe View? Os lo cuento a continuación, aunque lo primero que debes preguntarte en este punto es:

2. ¿Me interesa que incluyan mis recetas en Google Recipe Search?

Esto es algo que tenéis que valorar cada uno de vosotros. En primer lugar, debes preguntarte cuántas visitas recibes a través de Google, y qué porcentaje representan sobre el total de tus visitas. En segundo lugar, debes tener en cuenta que se trata de una herramienta que actualmente solo funciona fuera de España, es decir, salvo que recibas un número importante de visitas extranjeras, probablemente no te interese en este punto. Pero deberás asumir que con toda probabilidad, finalmente se acabará implementando aquí también, y quizá sea conveniente estar preparado. En mi caso, solo hace una semana aproximadamente que mis resultados aparecen indexados, y por ahora no he notado variación en las visitas que recibo a través del buscador.

3. ¿Qué pasos tengo que dar para que se indexen mis recetas?

Google no ha publicado una guía de los requisitos exactos para lograrlo, únicamente ha publicado esta página:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=173379

donde se dan unas indicaciones generales de los pasos a seguir. Por tanto, ¿qué pasos hay que seguir para que se indexen tus recetas en la opinión de esta humilde blogger?

  • Debes tener un sistema de valoración de estrellas de las recetas. Esto no lo dice Google en ninguna parte, pero lo he leído en varios artículos americanos que hablan sobre el tema.
  • Si trabajas con Blogger, debes entrar en Blogger in draft dentro de Diseño, Elementos de la página, Entradas. Dentro de entradas, pulsas la opción “mostrar evaluación de entradas” y guardas
  • Si trabajas con WordPress, u otro sistema podéis conseguirlo aquí
  • Debes adaptar las recetas al formato enriquecido (Rich snippet) sin errores de ningún tipo. Este punto lo trataré en la siguiente pregunta, porque para decirlo en términos gastronómicos, tiene miga. Yo no he adaptado todas mis recetas, únicamente las últimas, unas 12 o 15, que representan un 10% aproximadamente de mis recetas. No sé qué mínimo de recetas exige Google, aunque en su formulario te pide que le indiques un link al menos a 4 recetas.
  • Debes informar a Google de que has adaptado tus recetas al formato enriquecido mediante este formulario.
  • Debes ser paciente. El proceso me ha llevado casi tres meses. Al final, una vez contactado Google a través del formulario que os decía, como no lograba respuesta me dediqué a saludarles todas las mañanas en Twitter, con mensajes tipo:
  • Good morning @google ! Will this be the day my recipes finally be displayed on Google’s Recipe Search? 🙂
  • Dear @Google: it seems this is going to be a long-term relationship, so I thought I should tell u something more about me. I love reading, dancing, and cooking, in fact I have a blog with recipes I’d like to be displayed on Google Recipe Search, like this one http://bit.ly/kiS6MW Oh! I forgot to mention I am Taurus, you know, the obstinate sign of zodiac 🙂
  • Dear @Google : I would like my recipes to be displayed on Google Recipe Search… do you like iberian ham? 🙂
  • Talking to @Google is like praying: one never knows if there is someone on the other side, or if your petitions will be answered one day…

Después de una semana saludando, incluyeron mis recetas en Google Recipe Search, pero no puedo afirmar con certeza que estos saludos fueran un elemento determinante.

4. ¿Qué es el formato enriquecido?

Es un código que aunque invisible, indica a Google información sobre el contenido de una página. En este caso se trata de informar de que nuestras páginas son recetas. Hay tres tipos de formatos enriquecidos: Microdata, microformatos y RDFa. De cada uno de ellos tenéis información en esta página. Yo me decanté por microformatos porque fue el que me resultó más fácil para mis escasos conocimientos de HTML.

La forma más fácil de de “etiquetar” la receta es partir de la plantilla que da Google de ejemplo (salvo que tengas conocimientos previos de formatos enriquecidos, claro!).

La plantilla base de microformatos sería esta, y se trataría de cambiar lo que aparece en rojo por nuestros datos.

<div>
   <span>
      <h1>Tarta de manzana especial de la abuela</h1>
   </span>
   <img src="tarta-de-manzana.jpg" />
   De <span>Carolina Sánchez</span>
   Publicación: <span>5 de noviembre de 2009<span title="2009-11-05"></span></span>
   <span>Esta es la receta de la tarta de manzana de mi abuela. A mí me gusta añadir una pizca de nuez moscada.</span>
   <span>
      <span>
      <span>4,0</span> estrellas sobre un total de
         <span>35</span> opiniones
      </span>
   </span>
   Tiempo de preparación: <span>30 minutos <span title="PT30M"></span></span>
   Tiempo de cocción: <span>1 hora <span title="PT1H"></span></span>
   Tiempo total: <span>1 hora y 30 minutos <span title="PT1H30M"></span></span>
   Cantidad obtenida: <span>aproximadamente 8 porciones</span>
   <span>
      Tamaño de la porción: <span>1 trozo mediano</span>
      Calorías por porción: <span>250 Kcal</span>
      Grasas por porción: <span>12 g</span>
   </span>
   Ingredientes:
   <span>
      Manzanas cortadas <span>en rodajas finas</span>:
      <span>1 kg</span>
   </span>
   <span>
      <span>Azúcar blanco</span>:
      <span>150 g</span>
   </span>
   Preparación:
   <span>
   1. Corte y pele las manzanas.
   2. Mezcle el azúcar y la canela. Utilice más cantidad de azúcar si las manzanas están ácidas.
   ...
   </span>
</div>

Parece muy complicado, pero la verdad es que una vez que tienes una receta adaptada sin errores, se hace rápidamente. Tampoco es necesario registrar toda esa información, según Google es suficiente con indicar al menos dos de los siguientes elementos: tiempo de preparación, tiempo de cocción, tiempo total, calorías, sistema de valoración, o imagen.

Para WordPress existe un plugin que al parecer simplifica bastante el proceso, pero no lo he utilizado, y desconozco como funciona.

Finalmente, para verificar que hemos introducido correctamente nuestras etiquetas utilizamos esta herramienta: Rich snippets testing tool Cuando empecé a trabajar con ella pensé que con que Google reconociera que la página era una receta bastaría, aunque me diera errores en otros campos, pero lo cierto es que hasta que no he tenido un resultado totalmente limpio de errores, no he conseguido que me indexen. Podéis probar con las últimas entradas de mi blog, como esta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Todavía no he conseguido que en las búsquedas de Google Recipe Search aparezcan las fotos de mis recetas, y el sistema de valoración, a pesar de que según la herramienta de verificación aparece todo correcto. Así que esto no acaba aquí, pero espero haberos ayudado.

Si habláis inglés, os recomiendo hacer una búsqueda poniendo Google Recipe Search y comprobaréis la cantidad de artículos que se han publicado al respecto. En general hay muchos blogs descontentos con esta nueva herramienta: algunos porque se niegan a trabajar tanto para lograr que las recetas se indexen; otros porque no se incluyen sus recetas en los resultados y nadie les da una explicación; y en muchos porque a pesar de que se incluyen sus recetas, al aparecer las primeras posiciones de los resultados las ocupan esos sitios grandes donde se publican recetas a porrillo que no ha probado ni hecho nadie… pero eso ya eso otra historia!

 

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News flash: Russia bans raw vegetables from EU

Published by Thursday, June 2, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

Reuters has just reported that Russia has banned raw vegetables from the E.U. in relation to the E. coli outbreak which seemingly started in Germany which has killed 17 people and made more than 1,500 others ill in 8 European countries. They had already banned imports of vegetables from Germany and Spain after German health authorities blamed Spanish cucumbers for the outbreak.

Spain is preparing the way for legal action over this accusation, claiming compensation for the loss of 200 millions euros (US$287 million) in a matter of a week, putting tens of thousands of people out of work and tainting the image of Spanish produce.

The Russian consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor, under pressure to adopt E.U. sanitary legislation, cites this case as demonstrating that the E.U. system is not efficient.

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I’m Spanish, and I DO give a darn about Spanish cucumbers!

Published by Thursday, June 2, 2011 Permalink 0

by SandeeA

Cucumber crisis and E. coli outbreak in Spain? The Spanish defense

The German health authorities finally recognized their error, albeit a week too late. After confirming the results of two out of the four laboratory tests carried out, it was announced that the variant of the Escherichia coli bacteria, commonly known as E. coli, responsible for the deaths in Germany is not the same as the one found in the Spanish cucumbers originally blamed.

What? The Spanish cucumbers are “no longer” the cause of the infection? After all the jokes that went around about them on Twitter, Facebook, and the like. And that’s not even the end of the story: the same social networks ended up condemning the entire agricultural production of a country, i.e. Spain.

But in a country like Spain, in the midst of a dire economic crisis, declaring its cucumbers and then its produce contaminated is no laughing matter, especially when such allegations are far from being proven. Almost all European countries closed the door on Spanish produce. The E.U. ordered that all imports of cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce coming from Spain be inspected.

How is the Spanish produce industry going to recover these losses? Will it ever be compensated? After a week of being blamed for several deaths due to our cucumbers, boldly proclaimed on the front pages of newspapers around the world, it will be difficult. There is no way to repair the damage, not even the damage done by social networks, where “news” spreads as quickly as unfounded rumors.

The E.U. is now analyzing how to compensate Spanish fruit and vegetable producers for the economic losses caused by this infectious outbreak the Germans attributed to a batch of Spanish cucumbers. The worry is that there are times that nothing can compensate for a loss.

The sad thing is that the innocent Spanish cucumber was never given a chance. German officials hastily proclaimed its guilt before even giving it a fair trial.

Related articles:

“Los pepinos españoles no son los causantes de la epidemia de E.Coli en Alemania”

“La crisis del pepino”

“ Los agricultores españoles y holandeses sufren el colapso de sus exportaciones”

“La crisis del pepino cuesta a España 200 millones de euros a la semana”

“Son ya 14 los fallecidos por la crisis E.coli en Alemania”

“El gobierno afirma que no hay pruebas de que la contaminación de pepinos se haya producido en España”

“La crisis del pepino provoca pérdidas cuantiosísimas a la agricultura española”

“Bruselas recuerda que España puede pedir ayuda por el bloqueo de los pepinos”

“Los 27 barajan una reunión extraordinaria en junio sobre la crisis de los pepinos”

“Germany admits Spanish cucumbers are not to blame”

“Spain says Germany must pay for cucumber damage”

“E. coli cucumber scare”

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Me importa el pepino

Published by Wednesday, June 1, 2011 Permalink 0

by SandeeA

Una semana después, las autoridades sanitarias alemanas han rectificado. Tras comprobar los resultados de dos análisis (de los cuatro) que se van a realizar, se demuestra que la variante de la bacteria Escherichia coli responsable de las muertes en Alemania no es la misma que la que se encontró en los pepinos inculpados. Vaya hombre, ahora resulta que los pepinos españoles no van a ser los culpables de la infección. Con lo bien que lo estábamos pasando haciendo chistes sobre pepinos españoles en Twitter, Facebook, y demás… sí, esas redes sociales que lo mismo acaban con gobiernos que con las exportaciones hortofrutícolas de un país.

Continue Reading…

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