food
Schrader on Wine: Sauvignon Blanc for spring, summer drinking
This time of year can be tricky when it comes to picking a wine to suit the teetering Chicago temperatures. The days can be warm; nights, cool; and often our summer weather decides to show up with little warning. Wines that bring us from the …
Top chefs offer up fresh takes on taco night
When salsa overtook ketchup as America’s favorite condiment in the 1990s, you had to know that “taco night” wasn’t far behind. Simple, satisfying and inexpensive, hard or soft tacos filled with meat, cheese and a what-have-you of veggies have become a staple for busy families. …
Restaurant learns online reviews can make or break
It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet. An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly …
Rising consumer demand aids organic industry sway
The organic food industry is gaining clout on Capitol Hill, prompted by rising consumer demand and its entry into traditional farm states. But that isn’t going over well with everyone in Congress.
Chicago Heights pita plant has major expansion
Holding a small crucifix in one hand and clutching a clump of basil dipped in holy water in the other, George Kaloudis walked Thursday alongside an array of ovens in a Chicago Heights pita bakery. The blessing of the hulking machine with holy water by …
How loyalty programs influence the way you shop
Loyalty programs at supermarkets used to be as simple as getting access to the cheaper advertised prices on store shelves. Today, companies are using shoppers’ purchasing histories to offer more personalized deals.
Dem bid to stop food stamp cuts turned back by House committee
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee rebuffed Democratic efforts Wednesday to keep the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program whole, as debate on the farm bill turned into a theological discourse on helping the poor.
Americans eating more smoked seafood products
There’s no smoke and mirrors about it — Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to. And that demand — part of a larger trend of infusing everything from salts and cocktails to fruit and teas with a kiss of smoky …
Idaho spud giant bets on biotech potatoes
A dozen years after a customer revolt forced Monsanto to ditch its genetically engineered potato, an Idaho company aims to resurrect high-tech spuds. This month, tuber processing giant J.R. Simplot Co. asked the U.S. government to approve five varieties of biotech potatoes. They’re engineered not …
Hellmann’s whips up centennial campaign
A lot changes in 100 years, but the key to Hellmann’s success may be that not much has changed for the mayonnaise. To celebrate Hellman’s centennial birthday, owner Unilever is launching a marketing campaign to drum up attention for the country’s top-selling mayonnaise, whose formula …
Strawberry Pepsi? New fountain machine in test
PepsiCo says it plans to start testing a new fountain machine at restaurants that lets people create a variety of flavor combinations, such as strawberry Mountain Dew.
Whole Foods mixes up chicken, vegan salads
Whole Foods Market Inc. said labels on a chicken salad and those on a vegan version were reversed at some of its cold food bars in the Northeast.
Coke’s anti-obesity push to go global
Coca-Cola says it will work to make lower-calorie drinks and clear nutrition information more widely available around the world. Earlier this year, it began airing its first TV commercial in the U.S. addressing obesity.
A Wisconsin favorite raises a stink
MONROE, Wis. — The sign above the bar in Baumgartner’s Cheese Store and Tavern warns visitors about the perils of sampling the $3.25 house specialty — a slab of Limburger cheese on rye bread slathered with onions and mustard. “Limburger: don’t eat it with your …
A tapas-style take on a Mother’s Day brunch
A tapas-style meal made up of a variety of small, appetizer-like bites is something we tend to associate with evenings and cocktails. But we thought the same idea of small plates would lend itself perfectly to a Mother’s Day brunch. So we came up with …
Vickroy: It’s no fib: You can grow figs in this climate
Long before humans cultivated wheat, barley or legumes, they grew fig trees. Some even suggest that figs were grown a thousand years before wheat and rye were domesticated. “For 98 percent of the time humans have been alive, it has been a starvation existence,” said …
