The Heinz Ketchup sign atop the Heinz History Center building by alexabboud on Flickr
Why is it Heinz 57? Well, there used to be 57 varieties of Heinz products, a list of which was posted this week on Bleat. Link up with the official company web site for more Heinz history.
Did you know that, during prohibition, some individuals posed as members of the clergy to get their hands on alcohol? I didn’t either. WeirdWorm offers this and 9 other more dubious but entertaining facts about beer. [via Neatorama]
And ad freak airs my new top 3 favorite commercials about bacon. Check it out:
Last, but not least, the number one place in the world to go for chocolate is now in Beijing. A new exhibit, Chocolate Wonderland, features 80 tons of sculpted chocolate, including a chocolate model of The Great Wall of China, and an enormous BMW. The BBC has the sweet scoop.
Last week, Hipster Runoff, featured a slide show of Lady Gaga sugar cookies and their corresponding real-life costume inspirations. *Warning* the commentary is pretty crass and definitely not suitable for children. [via What's Hot on Google Reader]
While I was hanging out with some friends from Minnesota over the weekend, the topic of the Minnesota Dairy Princess came up. Dairy princess? What a concept!
Apparently, the annual crowning of state dairy princesses in Minnesota, as well as those in Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota, are sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association (MDA). The MDA is a “non-profit organization that is financed and directed by…dairy producers,” which, “implements programs that help increase sales and demand for dairy products and dairy ingredients and help improve the economic well-being of Midwest dairy producers.” The MDA is run by dairy producers in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Oklahoma.
The princesses, who serve as official ambassadors for the MDA, are generally elected at their respective state fairs and are thus titled the Iowa Dairy Princess, the North Dakota Dairy Princess, The South Dakota Dairy Princes…and Princess Kay of the Milky Way! Huh?
This crazy moniker is by far the most intriguing and it’s not the only funky tradition Minnesotans associate with their dairy royalty. Princess Kay’s first order of business, along with her court’s, is sitting in a temperature controlled room (i.e. a 38 degree cooler) to have her likeness carved into a 90 pound block of butter! (see photo below). For the remainder of the year, Princess Kay participates in dairy promotion: visiting schools, attending events, and giving speeches and interviews.
Princess Kay by jpellgen on Flickr
So how is Princess Kay chosen? First, 12 finalists are selected from over 100 Minnesota County Dairy Princesses. These finalist will make up Princess Kay and her court. Each year’s Kay comes from a dairy family (dairy farmers or dairy workers) and is chosen based on her communication skills, knowledge of the dairy industry, personality, and commitment to dairy promotion. She must be unmarried and under 24 years old.
The first Princess Kay was crowned in 1954. The reigning princess is Elizabeth Olsen, a 19-year-old college student from McLeod county.
So why the quirky title? “Princess Kay of the Milky Way” was selected from among 10,000 entries in a 1954 contest to put a name to the honor.
For those of you who are offal-loving, Scotsmen-at-heart, there’s good news in the world of haggis. BBC news reports that the US government is reviewing it policies on imported meats with an eye for making them less strict. Scottish haggis, which has been banned in the US for 21 years, may be making a comeback.
Haggis to Go. Really. by Diane Duane on Flickr
Lastly, for those of you who are tired of messy recipe searches, Microsoft search engine, Bing.com, has unrolled some smart, new, innovative recipe search features that make the process cleaner and more efficient. [via Lifehacker]
Unlike the other “Mystery Ingredient” foods I’ve featured so far, hákarl [HOW-kurl] is actually one I’m not eager to try. It’s a polarizing food, described by some in its native Iceland as an “acquired taste” and viewed by others internationally as the ultimate macho taste test.
But what is hákarl and what makes it so potentially offensive to the palate?
Hákarl is essentially made from basking shark — doesn’t sound too bad, right? The problem with basking shark, however, is that it contains poisonous amounts of uric acid and Trimethylamine N-oxide. To solve the problem, the gutted shark is buried and allowed to ferment from several weeks to a few months, then hung to dry for another 4-5 months. (Modern fermentation processes may involve vats of brine). According to an msnbcreport, this type of processing probably originated as far back as the Vikings as a way to rid shark meat of harmful toxins.
What results is an incredibly pungent, fishy, ammonium-scented treat, which has been likened to pickled whitefish or strong cheese. (Although fans of these treats often claim that they’re not at all alike).
Hakarl near Bjarnahöfn in Iceland on Wikipedia
Although some of you may be fans of Hákarl, and I’m sure some are — there’s even a facebook fan page out there, I hope you’ll still appreciate this cartoon poking fun at this surprising delicacy.
I don’t love Marshmallows enough to ever make this amount of work worthwhile, but if you’re Vegan (or Kosher) and have a serious need for s’mores, check out this method featured on Instructables. [via craftzine]
Pictured above is a Martian landscape, constructed by Mathew Albanese out of 12 pounds paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder and charcoal — What an excellent way to play with your food. Albanese specializes in creating amazing images by constructing landscapes out of everyday objects and skillfully applying photographic techniques.
Although my husband is a skinny guy, he could use this dinner plate scale, designed to help people lose weight by letting them know when they are eating too fast. [via boingboing]
For anyone’s who’s tired of commercials portraying manly construction workers chowing down on a mayo-smothered, half-pound of meat, here’s a group of video clips parodying the flaunting of excess in American food ads. [via boingboing]
Have you ever noticed that people drink a heck of a lot of bloody mary mix on airplanes (or tomato juice)? and ginger ale too? Perhaps you are one of these people; I am. Oh I could resolve to get some water, or a cup of tea, but for some reason when the flight attendants start making their rounds I just get a hankering for something canned, spicy, and full of vegetable-y goodness.
I’ve noticed other people make similar choices. I’ve tried to imagine that these people have a club pack of mini-tomato juice cans resting on their fridge shelves, nestled between the milk and a six pack of American beer. I’m not so sure. I rarely drink the stuff when I’m not on the plane.
Perhaps this predilection for specific beverages is due to a subconscious desire by passengers to alleviate some of the physical discomforts of air travel. After all, bloody mary mix is hydrating (think salt and water) as well as healthy (hard to get your vegetables far from home). Ginger ale, on the other hand, is a bit less healthy, but has the benefit of calming a queasy stomach.
I think that most of the driving force behind these choices has to do with novelty. We drink bloody mary mix on airplanes for the same reason those ridiculous plastic trays make us hunger for honey roasted peanuts. We eat special foods for special occasions and air travel merits its own snack cuisine.
Perhaps Newton’s theory of gravitation didn’t arise from a bonk on the head from a pomaceous fruit, but an apple might have been his inspiration after all. In William Stukeley’s biography, Memories of Isaac Newton’s Life (1752), the notorious scientists relates how an apple falling in his garden puts him in a “contemplative mood,” especially to ponder the properties of gravity.
Although Stukely’s biography may have been written over 2 and a half centuries ago, it’s taken on new interest for scholars. As part of their Turning the Pages project, The Royal Society has fully digitalized the memoir for all to peruse online.
