In the most unsettling food science news since the laboratory-created hamburger, Chinese scientists have created piglets that glow in the dark. Just like that Ghostbusters t-shirt you had in third grade! Seriously -- scientists in Guangdong Province in Southern China injected piglets with jellyfish DNA that makes them glow green under a blacklight, in an experiment designed to see how viable it is to move cells between animals.
We might be seeing a lot more tweezers in cocktail bars this time next year. The new California food safety law that went into effect on Jan. 1, which requires chefs and food-handlers to wear disposable gloves or use utensils when handling "ready-to-eat foods" like sushi, deli sandwiches, and so on, has riled up a lot of folks in the food community. Today, the LA Times pointed out that the law could extend to bartenders when they handle ice, make lemon twists, or olive garnishes.
This weekend, the Fancy Food show at the Moscone Center means a lot of international food and wine professionals will be doing business here. For those in the trade, it means the chance to sample and trend watch: green tea powder, flavored chocolates, and salty snacks abound. A new and potentially fun twist is in the works for those outside the trade with the launch of the first ever Japan Food Festival, which includes free garlic edamame with lunch purchases at the JapaCurry food truck for the first 200 customers (612 Mission on Jan. 16; 200 Sansome on Jan. 17) and Onigilly (343 Kearny St.) in downtown San Francisco.
By now most of us are familiar with Michael Pollan's no. 1 food rule: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He developed that thesis further in his new book, Cooked, in which he hypothesizes that the food you eat doesn't matter as much as who makes it -- that is, whether it's made by an individual or a corporation.
It's (almost) time to make the donuts!
Until recently, the Dunkin' Donuts tagline, "America Runs on Dunkin'" would have been more accurately "America Except for the Pacific Time Zone Runs on Dunkin'". You can order a jelly doughnut in Ecuador, Pakistan, Bulgaria, and Phoenix, but not in California -- but that will be changing. Last year the chain announced it was moving into Orange County and the Inland Empire, and Monday announced its plan to open 80 stores in Northern California, according to NBC -- but slowly, over the next five or six years.
