A French meal is often not complete without a baguette. Discover how baker Jean-Louis Hecht has pleased the crowd of baguette lovers with his new invention, a vending machine that serves baguettes! Are you looking for a delicious recipe that incorporates fresh fruit from the farmers’ market? Visit this issue for the inside scoop.
August 1, 2011
The Menu
Up in the Air
What types of foods are you inclined to purchase during your next flight? According to an article published in The Wall Street Journal, airlines have experimented with healthy snacks; however, passengers are more inclined to consume junk food. Alaska Airlines offers an eclectic menu of gluten-free and vegan items yet their best selling item is a quarter-pound cheeseburger reheated in-flight. "The aroma from the oven stimulates sales," says Lisa Luchau, director of onboard food and beverage for Alaska Airlines.
Likewise, United Airlines tried to offer organic and high-protein snack boxes, but the healthy alternatives were not well-received among travelers. Several coach buy-on-board menus are filled with high-calorie processed foods which passengers crave during long flights. Airlines do not publish calorie counts for passengers, snack boxes are often filled with excessive sugary and salty food.
Ted Allen, host of the television series "Chopped," asserts that airlines should accept the limitations of serving food in flight and offer simple and fresh menu choices. What is Allen's best advice for travelers who are mindful of airline food choices?
"Make your own sandwich, grab a hunk of cheese and an apple or take some nuts, and a pear," says Allen. "You are going to be the happiest [passenger]."
View the full article here.
Beloved Baguettes
France is recognized for its world-renowned gastronomy. A French meal is often not complete without a baguette. Baguettes, served during most meals, are accompanied with butter, jam, meat, or cheese. However, acquiring a baguette in August is nearly impossible since most of the 33,000 bakeries are closed when residents depart for the summer holiday month.
Baker Jean-Louis Hecht from northeast France has invented a 24-hour automated baguette dispenser. "This is the bakery of tomorrow," he says. Hecht was accustomed to customers knocking on his bakery doors after closing hours. The vending machines bake partially precooked loaves which deliver bread to customers within seconds.
Hecht is operating two vending machines that were designed with the assistance of an engineer. The first baguette dispenser was introduced this past January in a small town called Hombourg-Haut, and the second dispenser recently debuted in Paris. Hecht sold 4,500 baguettes in July.
Does a baguette from a vending machine taste authentic? You be the judge. Read the full article here.
Ketchup Makeover
It's time to rethink ketchup. "Everyone else in the world still thinks of American food as ketchup," says celebrated Spanish chef Jose Andres who recently opened a pop-up restaurant called America Eats Tavern in Washington D.C. His new restaurant has a separate menu just for ketchup!
Tomato ketchup was speculated to have been first introduced as a condiment as early as 1691 in England. Ketchup has made quite an impact on various cuisines across the world. The condiment is used as a main flavor in stir-fry noodles served by street vendors in Malaysia. Diners in Hong Kong and Tokyo squeeze ketchup onto American foods like tacos and waffles.
With the culinary assistance of his colleague Jorge Luis Hernandez, Chef Andres is offering assorted ketchup flavors to his restaurant patrons including barberry, whortleberry, cherry, and even a ketchup that is mixed with butter, shallots and oysters.
"I mix mayonnaise, ketchup, brandy, and a little bit of mustard. This is a heck of a good sauce for seafood," says Chef Andres.
Learn more about the redemption of ketchup in an article here courtesy of The New York Times.
The Specials
A House Tour for Hens and Chickens
Cupolas and gazebos are just a few of the elaborate architectural designs for chicken and hen coops. Urban coop tours are popular in cities like Dallas, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle. Read article details here courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
Doughnuts...D'oh
Homer Simpson always enjoyed doughnuts. He would be impressed with Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Oregon. The bakery set a Guinness World Record for the largest box of doughnuts. More than 3,880 doughnuts were stuffed inside a box weighing 660 pounds. Inhale the sweet aroma of doughnuts here.
Limes
The finger lime, also nicknamed the "caviar lime," is a popular ingredient among restaurant chefs. The color of the citrus fruit varies in shades of yellow and dark green. What makes this particular lime unique? Tiny pearls bursting with flavors are located inside the fruit's exterior peel. The pearls can be used as garnishes in cocktails, key lime pie, and ceviche. Read more about the finger lime here.
The Write Stuff
Is your IFT section hosting an upcoming New Professionals event? Submit your event info for the next issue of Eat Your Words. Email newprofessional@ift.org.
Eat Your Words is the official New Professionals monthly newsletter about cool stuff in the world of food science. Do you like to play with words? We are always looking for writers. Email newprofessional@ift.org if you would like to contribute to an upcoming feature article.
Advance Your Career
Are you familiar with IFT's online Career Center? IFT provides insight and information to help advance your career in food science. The Career Center offers a listing of food science employment opportunities, salary data, and more. Visit the IFT Career Center today!
Calling all Bookworms: Contribute to IFT's ePerspective Blog
Have you recently read a book on some aspect of the food industry? Did you agree or disagree with Michael Pollan's Food Rules? What were your thoughts about Brian Wansink's research presented in Mindless Eating?
The ePerspective is a great forum to present your thoughts about the food industry. View the opinions of industry experts by visiting the ePerspective.
Do you have a book in mind that you would like to review? Please send an email with your book selection to Kelly Hensel at khensel@ift.org.
Want to Volunteer?
Have you updated your IFT membership directory listing to include your volunteer preferences? We use this information as a way of linking members with IFT volunteer opportunities. If you haven't shared this information with us, follow these easy steps:
- Go to ift.org (you will need your IFT username and password to login)
- Click on "My Community"
- Click on "Edit Your Profile"
- Click on "My Interests"
- Click on "Volunteer Preferences"
- Let us know how you'd like to be involved in IFT
Please click here to have your username and password e-mailed to you.
IFT Leadership Call for Nominations
Do you know or work with a new professional that you feel would be a great addition to the IFT Board of Directors? The Nominations & Elections Committee is interested in leadership development and we encourage you to take the next step within IFT by nominating yourself or a colleague as a candidate for the Board of Directors or for President-Elect in the 2012 IFT Leadership Election. Nominees must be Professional Members of IFT to be considered for candidacy. Click here to find out more about Professional Membership.
It is easy to submit a nomination online. Click here to complete the Leadership Nomination Form. The deadline is Monday, October 3, 2011, so submit your nomination today! If you have additional questions, please contact Erin Carter, staff coordinator for the Nominations and Elections Committee, by email at ecarter@ift.org or by phone at +1. 202.330.4983.
New IFT Webcast: Advancements in Application and Measurement of Glass Transition in Foods
This live webcast on September 27 is free for IFT members and features an in-depth understanding on how glass transition temperature (Tg) and food polymer science provide important information around the stability of amorphous foods. Webcast participants will recognize the factors that influence glass transition, understand how to more effectively use isotherms to observe glass transition, and apply examples of successful investigations of glass transition using moisture sorption isotherms. Register today.
New P
rofessional: Rachel Prososki
Snapshot of my life:
I am a sales manager for the Midwest territory at Marathon Foods, a food brokerage company located in Edina, MN. I am responsible for project management, sales execution, and marketing strategies for our products. I live in Maple Grove, MN which is surrounded by trails that go miles in both directions right in my backyard. I enjoy kayaking, sand volleyball, golf, and water and snow skiing. I volunteer for my local community, the Minnesota Section IFT, and the American Association of Cereal Chemists. I am a foodie, too! I love cooking and checking out the latest food trends at new restaurants in my neighborhood.
How did I get interested in food science?
My parents owned a couple of restaurants for over 20 years, so I grew up and worked in the food industry ever since I was old enough to put my hands in the sink. I took an intro to food science course in college and really liked it! I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in food science.
How does my job impact the world?
My company works with our principals to ensure that our products are complying with food safety inspections. We respond to new food government regulations in order to prevent product recalls and outbreaks of food borne illnesses.
When we supply ingredients to different food service agencies, processors and retailers, we also work with global agricultural supply and demand to meet the customer needs and wants. This impacts the distributor, retail food marketing and end user.
What are five things you don't know about me?
- I am a certified Wilton cake decorator and designed my sister's wedding cake.
- I mow my yard in different patterns every time to make a monotonous task more adventurous.
- I bike new trails to get lost so that I can discover a new route home.
- I ran the Boston Marathon in 2008.
- I've been skydiving (non-tandem)
What is my favorite vending machine snack?
Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips or FunYuns Onion Flavored Rings.
The Side
College Bowl Trivia ...
The College Bowl is an annual food science quiz hosted by the IFT Student Association. Teams from universities around the country compete regionally for the chance to contend in the finals at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo.
Let's see how well you will do…
Q1: What plant does linseed oil come from?
Q2: What is the most expensive spice in the world?
Q3: Name the two groups of marine pelagic fish.
Fried Food
Deep-fried butter served on a stick was the food trend at the Iowa State Fair. That's right. Click here to see for yourself.
Sweet Smells
Pucker up! Betty Crocker, General Mills, and Pillsbury have introduced food-inspired lip balms with flavors reminding us of our favorite childhood cereal. Click here to view the Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch lip balm flavors.
Fresh Fruit Recipes
Are you looking for a recipe that incorporates fresh fruit from the farmers' market? Visit the Serious Eats website here for recipes such as apricot drop scones and strawberry-rhubarb cobbler which translate to summer deliciousness. Yum!
Answers to college bowl trivia:
A1: Flax
A2: Saffron
A3: Coastal (inshore) and Oceanic (offshore) fish