The Sage of Discovery

Lovely Lady Turkey at Farm Sanctuary by CETFA on Flickr

Turkeys have long been an important foodstuff in many parts of the world. In the U.S., not only has our post-colonial society been fueled by this fowl; historically, turkey meat, feathers, and bones have provided important uses for pre-contact Native Americans. But where did these birds come from? By examining the remains of turkeys from archaeological sites in the southwestern United States (circa 200 BCE – 800 CE), a group of scientists, led by Camilla Speller of Simon Fraser University, has shed some light on the matter. To do this, Speller’s group analyzed mitochondrial DNA from 149 turkey bones and 29 coprolites (fossilized dung) from 38 archaeological sites around the Southwest. Their recent findings can be found in the latest issue of PNAS.

In the past, many people believed that turkeys had already been domesticated in Mexico before being introduced to the southwestern United States. However, recent evidence suggests that domestication of the birds occurred in the US, either in the eastern region or in the Southwest itself. To confuse matters further, domesticated turkeys from Mexico were brought to Europe in the 1500s, spread throughout the continent, and reintroduced to America roughly two centuries later.

When the scientists from Simon Fraser compared mtDNA from the historic turkeys to that from modern American turkey populations, they discovered that Mexican turkeys and the Southwest turkeys looked very different. Not only did the groups show distinct genetic markers; information from the ancient US turkeys was extremely homogeneous — a mark of “breeding isolation”, in this case, lasting more than 1000 years. Evidence of  turkey husbandry — pens, eggshells, remains, etc., further suggest long-term domestication localized in the southwestern United States.

Speller et al.’s findings help demonstrate that turkey domestication did, in fact, occur in the prehistoric Southwest. But where did the southwest domesticated turkeys originate in the first place? According to Speller’s group, they’re most likely the progeny of South Mexican Wild Turkeys or of the Rio Grande/Eastern Wild Turkeys, introduced to the southwest U.S. region as domesticates. But, for now, the answer remains a mystery. It will be the task of future studies to finally crack that egg wide open.

[via the New York Times]

Speller, C., Kemp, B., Wyatt, S., Monroe, C., Lipe, W., Arndt, U., & Yang, D. (2010). Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals complexity of indigenous North American turkey domestication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0909724107

Beer Festival by Daveybot on Flickr

A few weekends ago we received a mysterious visitor: Scott from Re-tramp Across the Continent. Scott, who is tracing the route of 19th century journalist Charles Lummis on his tramp across the Southwest, stopped by as he approached the Rocky Mountains. As a consequence, we spent an afternoon visiting historic Denver…and a morning visiting the historic Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado.

I say historic, because it is. The company’s founder, Adolph Coors (née Khurs), was born in Bavarian Prussia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1868. Among  practicing different trades, Coors had been employed for some time as a brewer’s assistant. He arrived to this country via New York, relocated to Chicago, and finally settled in Denver in 1872, eventually taking control of a local bottling firm. 2 years later, Adolph Coors’ “Golden Brewery” opened it’s doors at the site of an abandoned Tannery in Golden Colorado, about 15 miles away from Denver proper. I don’t think there’s evidence that Lummis visited the Golden Brewery, but its opening predates his 1884 trip by a decade.

More Beer by Luciano Joaquim on Flickr

The first stage in the tour comprised a few displays depicting Coors history, including dated commercials from the 70’s and 80’s (pretty funny! See the example below via Youtube) and a bit about how Coors survived prohibition by selling malted milk and “near beer.” Another fun fact: Bill Coors developed a 2-piece aluminum can in 1959 when other brewers were using steel canning.

We also learned that the brewery sits on about 55 acres of Golden valley land. In fact, Golden, CO’s water is Coors’ claim to fame; as the tour recording put it, “it flows from the mountains.”

My favorite part of the tour was the brew house. Not only was it full of giant machines and gleaming copper, but it had such a delicious aroma. I’m not a fan of beer, but I do love the smell of warm, fermenting yeast that breweries offer. This brewery was full of copper kettles…big copper kettles! Three different types of kettles are used during the brewing process.

In one, a malt mash is added; in another the mash is filtered out to give the beer it’s malted sugars. Lastly, hops are introduced for flavor. Once this mix is fermented (insert lovely smell here), beer is born.

But after all this, Coors still needs to cold filter its beer to remove even small remnants of yeast or other particles.

Kettles by Scott Shumaker

Here’s a fun fact…do you know what Coors does with its discarded yeast? It goes to the Purina company to become an ingredient in cat food. What about the discarded grain? sent to feed cattle on local farms.

After a brief stop to hear about quality control practices (Coors does enlist taste testers), we were ushered in for a mid-tour pause to rest and take refreshment. Guess what the refreshment was? Coors light “silver bullet” and Coors Banquet beers.

There are two very different stories about how these beers came to be named. “Silver bullet” comes from Bill Coors‘ daughter; she overheard her friends calling the light beer by this name and it caught on with the American public forever after. The second story may be no more than legend. Supposedly, in the 19th century, area miners would throw “banquets” or parties where they’d imbibe plenty of Coors beer, their preferred “banquet beer.”

Aside from its namesake beverages, Coors also produces Killian’s Irish Red, Blue Moon, and Keystone products. On our way to the (impressive) packing facility, we learned that 300 rail cars and 1800 trucks full of these beer products leave the Coors Golden Brewery site every week for distribution. (One rail car alone carries over 100 thousand bottles or cans of beer)!

At the end of tour it was time for, you guessed it, more samples. Visitors enjoyed up to three free pints of libations.

Was I glad I visited the Coors factory? Yes, I was. The tour was interesting and choc full of details for those who didn’t want to skip around. I would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys any of Coors’ products.

Would I visit again? Probably not by my lonesome. However, if guests are in town and are eager to go, I’d be happy to oblige.

Below is a video of someone making a portrait of Conan O’Brien out of…cheetos? It’s very entertaining — give it a watch.

[via Neatorama]

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.

vegan marshmallows

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]

For a simply vegetarian (and simply simpler) method, Vegetarian Times offers up this recipe.

Bloody Mary Mix by Otterman56 on Flickr

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.

On a similar note, President Obama recently asked the astronauts in the International Space Station if they still drank Tang? Do you still drink Tang? You probably would if you took a trip to outer space…I wonder if Virgin Galactic has that in stock?

Bottoms up!

NYC - Chelsea: Chelsea Market - Ronnybrook Dairy Milk Bar by Wallyg on Flickr

Today as we were munching on our cereal and oatmeal, my husband asked “do you know why organic milk lasts so much longer than regular milk.” Embarrassed, I confessed I hadn’t ever noticed. “Sure,” he said, “it’s like way longer.” Well, I’d just have to look into it.

Luckily, Scientific American had some good answers: apparently it’s got nothing to do with the inherent properties of organic vs. non-organic milk, it’s how the milk is processed for preservation. Since organic milk is not as ubiquitous, it often has to travel farther to supermarket shelves. Therefore, manufacturers have to make sure it stays fresh longer.

Conventional milk normally undergoes pasteurization at temperatures below boiling. In other words, milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes, or 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds in order to slow microbial growth. That means that after you add some time for milk to be shipped and shelved, you have a couple weeks before the stuff is ready to be poured down the sink.

In contrast, organic milk typically undergoes UHT, or Ultra-high-temperature processing. In this case, milk is heated for a couple of seconds at temperatures exceeding 275 degrees F (135 degrees C), effectively killing off all microbes. As a result, UHT milk has a shelf life of up to 6-9 months before being opened!

The downside of UHT milk is that it tastes different due to some of the sugars caramelizing during the pasteurization process. In Europe, the taste of long shelf-life milk is often enjoyed, but many consumers in the US  dislike the flavor.

In stark contrast to UHT milk, in roughly half the states of the US, residents can buy their milk to consume raw. Like it sounds, raw milk is milk that has not undergone any type of pasteurization process. Many opponents of the dissemination of raw milk products cite incidents of harmful diseases, like dangerous E. coli outbreaks, which have been traced to raw dairy consumption. In direct contrast, many proponents of raw milk consumption tout the supposed health benefits of “natural” bacteria. Perhaps others just like the taste?

Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune posted a list of Top 10 college cafeteria favorites. The list was compiled from a survey by Sodexo, a company providing food service to roughly 600 campuses nationwide.

Restaurants and Institutions posted a corresponding list of college food trends, an eye-opening comparison of new crazes in 2009 vs. 1989. Having been in college in 1999, I would say that the typical fare was closer to the 1989 end.

Along with the top picks and general food trends, the survey turned up some additional surprising finds, including a University of Illinois craze for kimchi? Apparently it’s a good topper on a Chicago dog…

[via foodnewsjournal]

Kimchi by Nagyman on Flickr

This video-recipe appeals to my craze for all things pumpkin during this Holiday Season. This Pumpkin Drink can be served with or without rum and is sure to be delicious either way.

Find more videos like this on FoodTube.net

Interestingly, this video comes courtesy of FoodTube.net, a new site dedicated to recipe sharing in video format. Part social networking/ Part Blog/ Part Youtube, FoodTube.net invites you to “Find Video Recipes, or Add Your Own!” This will be an interesting site to watch over the coming months.

ifood.tv, offers up a similar format. Poke around both and maybe upload a video or two.

Ever wonder how they get your breakfast cereal to contain 100% of the daily recommended intake of iron? The answer: it has bits of metal in it. Yes, that’s actual bits of iron in your breakfast cereal. Check out the video below to see iron filings extracted from breakfast cereal.

Beware, even though it looks like this cereal is choc full of iron, it may not be the kind that is bioavailable, or easy for the body to absorb. The USDA cautions that not all forms of iron found in food are good for health, many types simple pass through the gastrointestinal system. According to the USDA, too little research has been completed to be able to make useful distinctions about which kinds of additives work best.