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Saturday, April 20, 2024

The Avenue | Food

Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Let's roll: Olives, olive bars and roasted olives

My sister and I were at our friend’s party, and, like most, I wandered over to the food table. Propped up close to the table was the friend’s daughter, a happy two-year-old eating from a bowl of jumbo black olives. Her chubby finger speared an olive and she happily pulled it from her fingertip, eating it with delight. Amused, I watched as she then bejeweled all her fingertips with olives and ate them one by one. Her mother, close by, noticed my curiosity and laughed, moving her daughter out of reach of the olive bowl, and said: “She loves these so much! She’ll eat the whole bowl if I don’t move her!” Laughing, I grabbed an olive to see what was so amazing about them. My tongue rolled the black olive around, savoring the umami, sweet-briny flavor. My eyes opened with renewed appreciation, and I reached for more. Soon five more olives were gone. So much one can learn from the youth!


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Cookbook introductions: How to write one and why you should read them

Often an overlooked element, the introductory pages to a book tell the reader everything. You find out what the book is about, why the author is writing it and who it is for. You meet the author and get a feel for the book. Introductions set the tone and flavor of the book and can make the difference in whether someone keeps reading it or leaves it on the shelf.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

‘Food voice’: What it is, how to get it

Food is highly personal. Talk with anyone about food, their favorite restaurant or the best thing they ever ate, and their eyes light up with excitement. As they detail the taste, the dish, the setting, their “food voice” emerges. Coined by Annie Hauck-Lawson, a professor at the City University of New York, “food voice” is the way you engage with food to assert aspects of your identity. You develop your food voice as you create new recipes and dishes and try different cuisines.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Comfort food: best served in a bowl

There is a lot of comfort and satisfaction to be found in a bowl: the creamy, soothing bowl of oatmeal bathing in a pool of maple syrup, dried fruits, salty, crunchy nuts and cream; the hot, nourishing bowl of clear chicken broth to nurse the sniffles and banish away the rain and dreary clouds; the filling bowl of pasta coated in a rich tomato sauce with juicy meatballs and salty, cheesy parmesan. This is a bowl that at once restores and energizes, soothes and satiates.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Choices: less is usually more

With summer on the way, cold, creamy concoctions may become very appealing. So, you might decide to go out for an ice cream. You’d think that the more choices of ice cream flavors and toppings offered, the happier and you would be. Americans love choices, after all. But you may be surprised — more is not always better.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Dining out: more than just food

Stopping by Starbucks on the way home for a Frappuccino? Making reservations for Friday night at Leonardo’s 706? If so, you are not alone; countless people seek hundreds of thousands of different restaurants every single day in the U.S. There are different restaurant environments, from small “mom and pops” to individually run businesses to fast-food chains to fine-dining, sit-down establishments. Restaurants face many challenges to draw diners in and work to enhance the eating-out experience by creating a specific ambience.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Flavor, smell of food affected by in-flight time

Have you ever wondered why food tastes different on airplanes? Brownies taste bland, and peanuts taste plain, but bloody marys taste richer? Flavor is a combination of your taste buds and sense of smell, and according to research by Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, these senses are affected in higher altitudes. The low air pressure and lack of humidity affect your sense of taste, reducing your detection of saltiness and sweetness. At the same time, sour, bitter and spicy flavors remain unaffected, and umami notes (like tomatoes and cheese) actually seem stronger in the air than on the ground.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Lucky's Market and the evolution of the supermarket industry

The recent opening of Lucky’s Market sparked a flurry of excitement. People are buzzing about the amazingly low prices and exceptional, fresh, locally grown produce. Functioning as a central source of goods, Lucky’s provides customers a place to purchase food and socialize. Small, specialized “superettes” like The Fresh Market, known for its European-style experience, and Trader Joe’s, known for its Hawaiian T-shirt-clad crew and brand-name packaging of hard-to-find goods, thrive alongside larger supermarkets like Publix. Ward’s Supermarket has a niche as well, as it is the only locally owned grocery store in Gainesville.


THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Netflix binge drinking game: Friends

So no one told you life would bring you “Friends” on the silver platter that is Netflix. All 238 episodes of the decade-old sitcom came with the New Year, and it even has Central Perk frequent visitors reliving the highlights: the will-they-won’t-they Ross and Rachel; the fan-favorite, sarcastic Chandler; and, oh my God, don’t forget Janice. For those of you unconvinced to watch it again, might I remind you that you don’t have to wait for reruns or get up after every sixth episode to change the DVD in the box set. Whether you’re reliving the ‘90s for the umpteenth time or experiencing it for the first time, here’s a drinking game to take you from opening song to ending credits.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Men's cooking more about leisure

The constant presence of the male chef on food-related TV shows and the rising number of books, magazines and blogs about men’s cooking seems to indicate a growing enthusiasm for cooking among men. Indeed, American men are spending about twice as much time in the kitchen compared to the 1960s.


Florida Alligator
THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

The history and art of recipes played on the radio

The sharing of recipes is not only through cookbooks, television and the web but also on the radio. Contemporary radio shows, such as American Public Media’s “The Splendid Table” hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, have been continuing the art of recipe telling on the airwaves since the early 20th century. In fact, the glory days of radio homemaking began in the 1920s, increased in popularity during the Depression years and lasted up until the 1960s when television took the scene. Providing a community for the radio homemaker were women such as Evelyn Corrie Birkby, of Sidney, Iowa, who chatted about domestic life, sharing best recipes and cooking tricks.


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