- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
In early November, when California stonefruit and grape supplies are waning, kiwifruit comes to the rescue. It's beautiful green flesh, tart flavor and excellent nutrient profile make it a great choice for snacking and fruit salads as the holidays approach.
Kiwis are native to China, but are commonly associated with New Zealand. Called the Chinese gooseberry, they were renamed "kiwifruit" - after flightless birds native to New Zealand - for the export market in the 1950s.
A 1997 study that examined the 27 most commonly eaten fruits found kiwis to be the fourth most nutrient dense, following papayas, mangos and oranges, according to the Network for a...
- Author: John M Harper
I’ll bet a lot of you guessed chicken or pork. Some of you probably thought beef. Surprise! In the United States, we tend to consume chicken as our white meat of choice and beef as our red meat, but 63 percent of the world's population eats goat meat. Interestingly, more and more goat meat is being consumed in the United States and not just as an ethnic dish due to the growing ethnic population. The health-conscious consumer is also looking at the benefits of incorporating either cabrito (a delicacy meat from goats that are harvested between 1 to 3 months of age and weigh less than 50 pounds) or chevon (goats that are harvested between 6 to 9 months of age and weigh between 50 and 75 pounds). Older goat meat is also consumed but usually...
- Author: Mary E. Reed
With a daughter soon to complete a degree in health safety, discussions of Salmonella, E. coli and the like sometimes arise as we sit around the dinner table. As an agriculturally focused family, we like to think we’re pretty savvy about the best way to handle our produce to keep it safe and tasty.
Some are very concerned about food safety. A gentleman phoned the Postharvest Technology Center a few months ago, and shared that he was very concerned about eating strawberries. He thought perhaps he should scrub each one with a soft toothbrush, and then soak them in a diluted chlorine bath.
Others are much less aware of food safety concerns, sometimes using cutting boards and knives interchangeably between...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The bees did it.
Well, they enabled it.
Take a look at one of May Berenbaum’s favorite honey recipes and you’ll know why she calls it “Apiscotti” or “Bee-Enabled Biscotti.”
Seven of the 12 ingredients (butter, honey, almond extract, nutmeg, cranberries, cherries, and almonds) depend on the pollination services of the honey bee, Apis mellifera.
May Berenbaum, professor and head of the University of Illinois Department of Entomology, kindly shared the recipe below.
You may know her as an entomologist, an administrator, a honey bee researcher, a book author, a columnist (American Entomologist), an opinion...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Four years ago, a multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in fresh baby spinach gripped the nation. Nearly 200 people in 26 states came down with the disease. Two elderly women and a 2-year-old boy died.
The outbreak was also devastating for the industry. The contaminated spinach was traced back to Central California, where growers produce 80 percent of the nation’s leafy greens. Scientists, farmers and regulators worked together to restore public confidence in products that are widely considered part of a healthy diet. Regulators and farmers created the California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement to establish a culture of food safety on leafy greens farms and...