Most red and yellow potatoes, which are sold in the fresh market, are not grown under irrigation in the Red River Valley in North Dakota and Minnesota. That means they depend entirely on rainfall.
“We’re not getting the big rains that we have had in the past, but it seems to be enough to keep things from deteriorating,” said Ted Kreis, Northern Plains Potato Growers Association marketing director.
South of Grand Forks, Kelly Grotte said his yellow and red potato fields generally look decent. Rainfall has been spotty; on Monday, June 28, for example, an inch of rain fell near his rural Thompson, N.D., farmstead, yet it rained only 0.15 inches just 2 miles from there.
The potential remains for a good potato crop, but if temperatures heat up and the rains don’t keep falling, that situation could quickly change, Grotte said.
“Right now, we’re happy, but we're on the edge of our seat,” Grotte said. “When our lawns get brown, we’re dry, and our lawns are brown. We’re flirting with disaster.”
Farther north, in Walsh County, N.D., the condition of the potato fields varies, said Brad Brummond, NDSU Extension agent-Walsh County.
So far in Walsh County, like in Grand Forks County, rainfall has been spotty, he said. While an inch of rain fell in a narrow band along Highway 32 in Walsh County about noon on Sunday, June 26, most of the county only received 0.30 inches.
“That’s going to do nothing for our potatoes,” Brummond said.
Statewide in North Dakota, the potato crop condition was rated 10% very poor, 12% poor, 60% fair and 3% excellent for the week ending Sunday, June 27, according to National Agricultural Statistics-North Dakota. North Dakota’s topsoil moisture supplies were rated 24% very short, 42% short, 33% adequate and 1% surplus. Seventy-eight percent of the state’s subsoil supplies were short or very short and 22% were adequate.
In Minnesota, 61% of potatoes were in good to excellent condition for the week ending Sunday, June 27, according to National Agricultural Statistics Service-Minnesota. The state’s topsoil supplies were 28% very short, 47% short, 24% adequate and 1% surplus. Subsoil moisture was 22% very short, 47% short, 30% adequate and 1% surplus.
So far, the lack of rainfall hasn’t caused significant damage to the majority of the potatoes in Walsh County because they haven’t started blossoming, which is a signal the plants are growing tubers, Brummond said. During that stage, called “bulking,” the potatoes, which are made up of 80% water, are growing in size so their moisture needs greatly increase.
“They’re going to need water really soon,” he said. ”It’s going to become critical.”
In 2020, North Dakota farmers planted 72,800 acres of potatoes, including red, yellow and russet varieties. Last year, Minnesota farmers planted 45,000 potato acres, National Agricultural Statistics Service-Minnesota said. The Red River Valley in North Dakota is the largest red potato producer in the United States.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service will release its 2021 crops acreage report, which will include potatoes, on Wednesday, June 30.
June 30, 2021 at 03:04AM
https://ift.tt/3AbgYSd
Red River Valley red, yellow potato crop doing OK — so far - Park Rapids Enterprise
Potato organizations are urging the U.S. to maintain a “trust but verify” stance ensuring fresh potatoes can be imported to all of Mexico.
Mexico's Supreme Court in late April lifted a longtime ban on full importation of U.S. fresh potatoes, allowing access to 130 million new consumers. The imports were previously allowed only within about 16 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Despite these positive developments, as we approach the finish line in this longstanding dispute, there are serious concerns about the long-term prospects for successful market access for U.S. potatoes in Mexico,” National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Seventeen state potato groups also signed the June 28 letter.
Mexico's government is “only grudgingly allowing access for U.S. potatoes, as the Mexican potato cartel (CONPAPA) is exerting great political power to impede competition with the U.S.,” Quarles said. “This causes serious concern among U.S. potato growers that access to the Mexican market will be only temporary before Mexican officials invent a way to halt imports again.”
Quarles wrote that in April Mexico's agricultural regulatory agency, SENASICA, without notice, required additional sanitary samplings of U.S. potatoes “to be sent to a laboratory selected and paid for by CONPAPA. The clear goal of this unilateral change is to manufacture a reason to close the market to U.S. fresh potatoes at some point.”
He said the Mexican government and potato industry for years acted to undermine agreements made to fully open the market to U.S. fresh potatoes. He listed seven examples since 2003.
“Given this history and these recent developments, we urge USDA and USTR to maintain a ‘trust but verify’ stance with Mexico,” Quarles said. “Without some sort of leverage, the pattern of CONPAPA’s political influence causing the Mexican government to close the market will simply repeat itself.”
As for a solution, “to help ensure Mexico’s commitment to allowing full access for our potatoes into Mexico, one option is to offer any additional access for Mexican avocados to the U.S. as provisional,” he said. “The Mexican avocado industry would therefore be an active participant in urging their government to resist the political pressure that harmed U.S. farmers in the past.
“Absent such leverage, we believe that any market access the Mexican government may provide to the U.S. will not be durable,” Quarles said.
If Mexico delays reinstating full access for U.S. fresh potatoes or illegitimately restricts the market, “we strongly urge USDA and USTR to move forward with the dispute resolution process under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and thereby seek to apply tariffs against Mexican exports to the U.S. such as avocados,” he said.
Idaho Potato Commission International Marketing Director Ross Johnson said the state’s farmers finished planting before the Mexican Supreme Court decision. They did not plant based on that market opening fully.
“We’re going to be just fine,” he said. “We already have a lot of demand for our product and are confident we can move our crop.”
But opening all of Mexico to U.S. fresh potato imports would increase overall demand, Johnson said. Consumers there would have access to more varieties, for example.
The Idaho commission is fostering relationships with brokers, distributors and retailers there, he said.
June 29, 2021 at 10:30PM
https://ift.tt/2Tc0usI
U.S industry seeks help in keeping Mexico open to fresh potatoes - Capital Press
Market Commentary: Russet table potatoes from Idaho, Wisconsin and the Columbia Basin continued their upward price trend last week.
Notes: Prices are Friday mostly quotes. All prices are in dollars per cwt. FWA is a weighted average of shipping point prices for common packs in each area. Weights differ by area. GRI is the Grower Returns Index for each individual area, on a delivered to packing shed basis. Idaho GRIs are based on a 60% packout for Burbanks and a 75% packout for Norkotahs.
June 30, 2021 at 12:30AM
https://ift.tt/3y7AbT2
Selected potato prices | Potatoes | capitalpress.com - Capital Press
The evolution of differing strains of Phytophthora infestans, a major cause of late-blight disease on potato and tomato plants, was studied and recently featured in “Scientific Reports.” Plant pathologists studied the genomes of about 140 pathogen samples – historic and modern – from 37 countries on six continents. The historic lineage called FAM-1 was found in 73 percent of the samples on all six continents.
“FAM-1 was much more widespread than previously assumed, spreading from Europe to Asia and Africa along British colony trade routes,” said Jean Ristaino, a professor of plant pathology at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of the study. “The lineage also was found in a span of more than 140 years.”
FAM-1 caused outbreaks of potato late blight in the United States in 1843 and then two years later in Great Britain and Ireland. It also was found in historic samples from Colombia, suggesting a South American origin.
FAM-1 caused massive and debilitating late-blight disease outbreaks in Europe, leaving starvation and migration in its wake. Ristaino theorized that the pathogen arrived in Europe via infected potatoes on South American ships or directly from infected potatoes from the United States. FAM-1 survived for about 100 years in the United States but then a different strain of the pathogen called US-1 displaced it.
“US-1 is not a direct descendant of FAM-1, but rather a sister lineage,” Ristaino said. “We found US-1 in 27 percent of samples in the study and they were found much later.”
Even more aggressive strains of the pathogen that originated in Mexico have since outpaced US-1. Winter tomato crops grown in Mexico and imported into the United States harbor the pathogen, Ristaino said.
The study also indicates that the pathogen spread first in potatoes and later moved into tomatoes. Spread of the pathogen in ripe tomatoes in ships’ holds would have been unlikely, Ristaino said.
The pathogen’s effects aren’t limited to the decimation of Ireland’s potato crop about 175 years ago. Billions are spent worldwide each year in attempts to control the pathogen, Ristaino said. Potatoes in the developing world are vulnerable because fungicides are less available and often unaffordable. Visit nature.com and search for "Global historic pandemics caused by the FAM-1 genotype" for more information.
Thank you for reading kmaland.com
At KMA, we attempt to be accurate in our reporting. If you see a typo or mistake in a story, please contact us by emailing kmaradio@kmaland.com.
June 29, 2021 at 01:00PM
https://ift.tt/2UHSMXo
Potato-famine lineage lingers | AG | kmaland.com - KMAland
In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai thanking them for.their efforts to improve the export situation for U.S. fresh potatoes to Mexico, the National Potato Council was quoted as syaing:
"Dear Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Tai, On behalf of the thousands of family farms across the United States involved in the potato industry, the National Potato Council and the undersigned state potato organizations would like to thank you and your respective teams for the relentless efforts to fully open the Mexican market for U.S. fresh potatoes. With the recent Mexican Supreme Court ruling, it appears significant progress is being made to resolving this long-standing trade dispute."
The letter continues to stress the market access for the U.S. goods, saying:
"Opening the Mexican market will provide a much-needed boost to the U.S. potato industry by providing access to 130 million new consumers. It will also allow Mexican citizens access to healthy, nutritious U.S. potatoes at affordable prices. Once the market is open, our industry is committed to expanding potato consumption in Mexico to benefit both U.S. and Mexican potato growers."
"Despite these positive developments, as we approach the finish line in this long-standing dispute, there are serious concerns about the long-term prospects for successful market access for U.S. potatoes in Mexico. Our concerns come from a 20-year history of the Mexican potato industry and Mexican government undertaking actions to undermine agreements made to open the market."
NEW YORK (AP) — You're at the supermarket and a recipe you're shopping for calls for rutabagas. Don't see any? Can you substitute turnips?
While you're thinking about that, you've also been asked to pick up some condensed milk. Isn't that really just the same as evaporated milk?
The answers to those and other vexing kitchen-based questions can all be found in the insightful book “What’s the Difference?: Recreational Culinary Reference for the Curious and Confused.”
Author Brette Warshaw wades into the potentially fraught worlds of jam versus jelly, broth and stock, the various types of regional barbeque, pie versus tart, and the potentially combustible differences between grinders, heroes, hoagies and subs.
“I feel like this hopefully can help fill in the gaps for people,” she said. “And even if they do know the difference, hopefully there’s some other fun facts they can take away to make their knowledge more well-rounded.”
The entries — nicely illustrated by Sophia Foster-Dimino — are short and tight, showing off Warshaw's journalist roots, and sometimes betraying the author's opinion.
Take her entry on Parmesan versus Parmigiano-Reggiano. The latter is strictly regulated and refers to cheese from a specific Italian region, while the former has looser standards and doesn't even have to be 100% cheese. She notes grated supermarket Parmesan can have cellulose, an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp.
“To me, what felt egregious about the whole situation is that all sorts of stuff could be passing as Parmigiano-Reggiano and it’s definitely not the same thing,” she said. “I definitely whip out opinions sometimes and that felt like an appropriate place.”
But she's not being judgy. Her fiancé has been known to sprinkle some grated Parmesan on his pizza and she says that's OK: “The crime is not actually eating it. If you want to eat it and you like it, no judgment there.”
Sometimes Warshaw's research discovered no difference between commonly confused items. Readers may be shocked to discover that button, cremini and Portobello mushrooms are all the same type of mushroom.
Or they may be stunned to find out that shrimp and prawns are completely different creatures but pretty much taste the same. “That’s an interesting one, where it’s like there is definitely a difference. But, in the end, it kind of doesn’t matter.”
The book emerged from a newsletter Warshaw started in 2018 which addresses the differences between all kinds of things, like how sea lions and seals are not the same and why balconies are not terraces. It started with a simple question.
“I had been debating with friends about the difference between a sweet potato and a yam and realized I didn’t know the difference,” she says. “I was kind of upset by that.”
Warshaw turns out to be a person who finds a gap in her knowledge and really doesn't walk away, shrugging. “I did a little bit of research and then realized how many other questions I had that were of the what’s-the-difference variety.”
For the book, Warshaw concentrated on food and beverages, leaning on her own food knowledge that she'd built up at stints working at Food52 and Lucky Peach magazine.
Karen Rinaldi, senior vice president and publisher at Harper Wave, helped convince Warshaw to focus the book as a culinary resource, calling her a creative and naturally curious person with a wide-ranging brain.
Rinaldi cooks all the time and still finds things confusing, like the differences between IPA, pale ale and pilsner. The entry she most appreciates is on cobblers, crisps, buckles and crumbles: “That was the one that just delighted me because it slotted into a question that we have all the time. Now I know.”
One of the exasperating questions many consumers debate is competently dealt with: What's the difference between canola and corn oil, much less grapeseed, peanut, safflower and vegetable oils?
“Something that a lot of people maybe don’t know is that any sort of neutral oil is pretty much fine for the same sort of purpose,” she said. “I think that’s actually a difference that hopefully makes your life a bit easier — to know the basics of what you really need and what can be swapped for each other.”
Oh, and for the record: Rutabagas are not the same as turnips, and don't confuse condensed milk with evaporated milk.
One never-finished entry still haunts Warshaw, the one that got away: What's the difference between frosting, icing and glaze? It seems basic but tons of her research hasn't produced an adequate response.
“I still don’t really have the answer there or a definitive answer. The answer might be that there is no definitive answer. But that’s a tough thing to accept. So I think I’m still going to be trying to get to the bottom of that one.”
___
Mark Kennedy is on Twitter as KennedyTwits
June 28, 2021 at 09:40PM
https://ift.tt/3xYAhw8
Yam vs. sweet potato: A reference guide to food differences - Westport News
AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) –We’ve all had potato salad, but have you ever had grilled potato salad?
That’s what Chef Bud is cooking up this week as we prepare for the 4th of July.
Below is the recipe and instructions. Don’t forget to sign up for Chef Bud’s classes this summer. You can find the link here.
Chef Buds Table
Fourth of July Grilled Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 lb red potatoes
1 Tblspn Roasted Garlic Chile Olive Oil Amarillo Grape and Olive
¼ C extra virgin olive oil Amarillo Grape and Olive
½ Tblspn Apple Cider Vinegar
½ tspn kosher salt
½ tspn McCormick Coarse Black Pepper
½ tspn Tulkhoff chopped garlic in water
½ tspn sugar
3 ea slices of cooked bacon, chopped
2 ea green onions, chopped
1 Tblspn fresh parsley, minced
Preparation:
Up to a day in advance, blanch the red potatoes by placing them into a pot of boiling water for 4-5
minutes. Remove from the hot water and place in an ice bath. Stop cooking process, and store in the
refrigerator.
Preheat grill to medium high.
Cut blanched potatoes into quarters
Place blanched potatoes in a bowl; add 1 Tblspn of the Roasted Garlic Chile Olive oil and toss to coat.
Cook on preheated grill until tender and grilled 6-10 minutes. Let potatoes cool
Whisk ¼ C olive oil, vinegar, kosher salt, coarse black pepper, garlic and sugar together in a bowl until
dressing is smooth. Toss potatoes, bacon, green onions, and parsley with dressing in a bowl until evenly
coated.
A light but flavorful Potato Salad, perfect for your Hot Fourth of July Celebration. Great with grilled
chicken, fish or All American Beef! The Unique grilled potato flavor will be a HUGE hit at your Fourth of
July Table! A perfect way to Celebrate our Great Nation and the Freedoms we all Enjoy! Please take time
to Gather around your Table and celebrate our great country! Enjoy!
June 29, 2021 at 05:37AM
https://ift.tt/3jmL67p
Chef Bud Improves the Potato Salad Side Dish - KAMR - MyHighPlains.com
It was announced last week that Mexican Agriculture Secretary Víctor Villalobos Arámbula is expected to travel to Washington, D.C. in early August to meet with his American counterpart, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The meeting is expected to include a discussion of the decades-long issue concerning Mexico’s ban on the full importation of fresh U.S. potatoes.
The meeting comes after April’s decision by the Mexican Supreme Court that unanimously ruled in favor of allowing the Mexican government to issue regulations allowing for fresh U.S. potatoes to be imported throughout the country. However, since then, Mexico’s agriculture department announced that U.S. potato imports would be required to undergo phytosanitary testing beyond the agreed-to protocols at a lab chosen and paid for by the Mexican potato cartel, CONPAPA.
In a conversation with the publication Inside U.S. Trade, NPC CEO Kam Quarles welcomed news of the meeting and thanked Secretary Vilsack for his vigilance on the issue. However, Quarles said that NPC continues be concerned about the Mexican government’s lack of transparency and issuance of regulatory roadblocks, saying the new regulation “raises a lot of red flags about whether or not this is going to be a fair and transparent process. Now that we’ve won in the legal forum [at the Mexican Supreme Court], the impediments may simply migrate to the regulatory side of the house.”
Today, NPC and state potato organizations sent a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack and USTR Ambassador Tai noting the many times over the past two decades that Mexico has unilaterally changed protocols and/or instilled roadblocks to prevent fresh U.S. potatoes from gaining full access to the country.
Given this history, the groups urge the Secretary and Ambassador to “maintain a ‘trust-but-verify’ stance with Mexico” as they continue their negotiations.
EAGLE, Idaho – Pulling out all the stops to showcase their favorite spuds, retailers nationwide fought hard for the highest honors in the Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) 30th annual Idaho® Potato Lovers Display Contest. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes were awarded in the 2021 competition, along with the sweepstakes prize: a trip for two to luxurious Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
“We are delighted to see retailers continuing this 30-year tradition of building spectacular Idaho® potato displays that boost sales and get their shoppers excited about visiting the produce department,” says Jamie Bowen, IPC domestic marketing director. “Every year we see so many new ideas and creative ways to promote Idaho® potatoes. Produce managers deserve to be recognized for all of their talent and merchandising expertise!”
But no Idaho® potato display would be complete without a little help from its friends. This year’s spud showcases also featured retail partners Hormel® Real Bacon Toppings and Fresh Gourmet® Crispy Veggies, encouraging shoppers to bake up their own potato masterpieces at home.
“Hormel® Real Bacon Toppings is proud to have had the opportunity to partner with the Idaho Potato Commission on its annual display contest,” says Meghan Baumann, brand manager, Hormel® Real Bacon Toppings. “Displays featuring Hormel® Real Bacon Toppings and Idaho® potatoes inspire consumers to elevate their favorite recipes, ultimately driving purchase and solidifying sales with retail partners.”
“Congratulations to the creative winners of this year’s Idaho® Potato Lovers Display contest!” says Ting Sheng, shopper marketing & promotions manager for Fresh Gourmet Co. “It’s always exciting to see the incredible displays our produce partners dream up using Fresh Gourmet® Salad Toppings.“
Alan Summers, produce manager, Broulim’s, Rexburg, Idaho: “It was a lot of fun, and I appreciate the response we got from it.”
Creating the 1st place display in the 10+ registers category was an ongoing labor of love for Alan Summers, produce manager at Broulim’s in Rexburg, Idaho. “I start planning a couple months in advance—I write down ideas as I think about it,” he explains. “Then I compile it into a plan and execute it. Even when the display is being built, I always get ideas and adapt the display.”
The end result was a testament to spud sentiment, featuring a giant poster of a loaded baked potato overlooking a red potato heart set in a background of russets. Shoppers shared the love by boosting produce sales 4 to 8 percent overall while the Idaho® potato display was up, says Summers.
Grant Naylor, produce manager, Macey’s, Providence, Utah: “Our store is located not far from the southern Idaho border, and we wanted to advertise to our guests that these potatoes were from Idaho.”
In Providence, Utah, produce manager Grant Naylor’s 1st place display in the 6-9 register category literally spelled out the spuds’ Idaho roots. Loose red potatoes sat on a backdrop of loose baker russets, highlighted by eye-catching Mylar and latex balloons. “It drew a lot of attention [and] we had people shopping the display before it was even finished,” says Naylor.
The winning display, which Naylor estimates took six hours to build, helped double sales of 10-pound bags compared with the week before the display went up. “Placing full sleeves of the bagged potatoes in the rear of the display turned out to be a good idea,” he adds. “We sold a few full sleeves of potatoes since they were available for the guests.”
Danny Kim, produce manager, Pick-Rite Thriftway, Montesano, Washington: “Everybody loved the display, and people said it looked great!”
Idaho spuds on the move inspired produce manager Danny Kim’s display at Pick-Rite Thriftway in Montesano, Washington, which took 1st place in the 1-5 register category. The elaborate train and tractor constructed by Kim fueled lots of extra interest in the produce department, he says, and helped propel sales nearly 10 percent higher.
“I’m pretty good at art, and I do a lot of woodworking and drawing. I love working with wood and making things,” says Kim. “I’m already planning next year’s display in my head!”
For many retail produce managers, the annual IPC competition offers a perfect opportunity to be recognized for enjoyable but often unsung merchandising work. “One of my favorite parts of my job is building displays and being creative,” agrees Aaron Kemper, assistant store director center store at Fresh Thyme Market in Carmel, Indiana, who entered the display contest for the first time this year. Kemper says he was pleasantly surprised to see how many loose Idaho® potatoes were sold through the display, too.
This year’s sweepstakes prize was a stay at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Each entrant also was entered in a random sweepstakes drawing for a spa resort getaway for two at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Kyle Pruitt, the lucky winner for 2021, says he plans to celebrate his 12-year wedding anniversary with his wife at the resort next spring. “I’ve never been to Arizona, and she’s never been there either,” says the produce manager for Food City in Lebanon, Virginia. “When my supervisor called me to tell me I had won, I was coming back from Dollywood with my wife and kids. I thought he was pulling my leg!”
Retailers competed with other same-size stores in one of three categories: 1-5 cash registers, 6-9 cash registers, or 10-plus cash registers. Within each store category, entrants were eligible to win these prizes:
1st place – $1,500
2nd place — $1,000
3rd place — $750
4th place — $500
5th place — $250
Honorable Mention — $100 (100 selected from remaining entries)
The Category Manager Match Program also awarded equivalent prizes to corporate category managers for stores that qualified for a 1st through 5th place prize or the sweepstakes trip to Arizona. All entrants received a free Nike Utility Speed Backpack with a side sleeve that keeps a 32-ounce water bottle within easy reach.
In-store displays were required to incorporate fresh Idaho® potatoes (bag, bulk or both) with a clear label showing the Idaho name and the “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a clearly marked Idaho® dehydrated potato product, any variety of Hormel® Real Bacon Toppings, and any variety of Fresh Gourmet® Crispy Veggies. The display also needed to use IPC 2021 special themed point-of-sale materials: two double-sided Idaho® Potato Lovers logo display signs, one large and two small double-sided signs showing an appetizing photo, and two inflatable Mylar™ IPC-branded balloons. Displays were required to be in the store’s produce section for at least one week between Feb. 1 and March 31, 2021.
For photographs of the winning displays and a complete list of winners, visit www.IdahoPotato.com/Retail.
IPC also sponsored a separate display contest for military commissaries from Feb. 22-28, 2021. Prizes were awarded by sales band group, with two winners per group. Each winner received a trophy and $300 (1st place winners) or $150 (2nd place winners) in commissary gift cards.
Established in 1937, the IPC is a state agency responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a federally registered certification mark that assures consumers are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation, and rich volcanic soil give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance. These ideal growing conditions are what differentiates them from potatoes grown in other states. For more information, visit www.idahopotato.com.
June 28, 2021 at 08:23PM
https://ift.tt/3y0KR5T
Retailers Break Away from the Pack with Top Awards in Idaho Potato Lovers Display Contest - PerishableNews
NEW YORK -- You're at the supermarket and a recipe you're shopping for calls for rutabagas. Don't see any? Can you substitute turnips?
While you're thinking about that, you've also been asked to pick up some condensed milk. Isn't that really just the same as evaporated milk?
The answers to those and other vexing kitchen-based questions can all be found in the insightful book “What’s the Difference?: Recreational Culinary Reference for the Curious and Confused.”
Author Brette Warshaw wades into the potentially fraught worlds of jam versus jelly, broth and stock, the various types of regional barbeque, pie versus tart, and the potentially combustible differences between grinders, heroes, hoagies and subs.
“I feel like this hopefully can help fill in the gaps for people,” she said. “And even if they do know the difference, hopefully there’s some other fun facts they can take away to make their knowledge more well-rounded.”
The entries — nicely illustrated by Sophia Foster-Dimino — are short and tight, showing off Warshaw's journalist roots, and sometimes betraying the author's opinion.
Take her entry on Parmesan versus Parmigiano-Reggiano. The latter is strictly regulated and refers to cheese from a specific Italian region, while the former has looser standards and doesn't even have to be 100% cheese. She notes grated supermarket Parmesan can have cellulose, an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp.
“To me, what felt egregious about the whole situation is that all sorts of stuff could be passing as Parmigiano-Reggiano and it’s definitely not the same thing,” she said. “I definitely whip out opinions sometimes and that felt like an appropriate place.”
But she's not being judgy. Her fiancé has been known to sprinkle some grated Parmesan on his pizza and she says that's OK: “The crime is not actually eating it. If you want to eat it and you like it, no judgment there.”
Sometimes Warshaw's research discovered no difference between commonly confused items. Readers may be shocked to discover that button, cremini and Portobello mushrooms are all the same type of mushroom.
Or they may be stunned to find out that shrimp and prawns are completely different creatures but pretty much taste the same. “That’s an interesting one, where it’s like there is definitely a difference. But, in the end, it kind of doesn’t matter.”
The book emerged from a newsletter Warshaw started in 2018 which addresses the differences between all kinds of things, like how sea lions and seals are not the same and why balconies are not terraces. It started with a simple question.
“I had been debating with friends about the difference between a sweet potato and a yam and realized I didn’t know the difference,” she says. “I was kind of upset by that.”
Warshaw turns out to be a person who finds a gap in her knowledge and really doesn't walk away, shrugging. “I did a little bit of research and then realized how many other questions I had that were of the what’s-the-difference variety.”
For the book, Warshaw concentrated on food and beverages, leaning on her own food knowledge that she'd built up at stints working at Food52 and Lucky Peach magazine.
Karen Rinaldi, senior vice president and publisher at Harper Wave, helped convince Warshaw to focus the book as a culinary resource, calling her a creative and naturally curious person with a wide-ranging brain.
Rinaldi cooks all the time and still finds things confusing, like the differences between IPA, pale ale and pilsner. The entry she most appreciates is on cobblers, crisps, buckles and crumbles: “That was the one that just delighted me because it slotted into a question that we have all the time. Now I know.”
One of the exasperating questions many consumers debate is competently dealt with: What's the difference between canola and corn oil, much less grapeseed, peanut, safflower and vegetable oils?
“Something that a lot of people maybe don’t know is that any sort of neutral oil is pretty much fine for the same sort of purpose,” she said. “I think that’s actually a difference that hopefully makes your life a bit easier — to know the basics of what you really need and what can be swapped for each other.”
Oh, and for the record: Rutabagas are not the same as turnips, and don't confuse condensed milk with evaporated milk.
One never-finished entry still haunts Warshaw, the one that got away: What's the difference between frosting, icing and glaze? It seems basic but tons of her research hasn't produced an adequate response.
“I still don’t really have the answer there or a definitive answer. The answer might be that there is no definitive answer. But that’s a tough thing to accept. So I think I’m still going to be trying to get to the bottom of that one.”
———
Mark Kennedy is on Twitter as KennedyTwits
June 28, 2021 at 09:38PM
https://ift.tt/3h7czZn
Yam vs. sweet potato: A reference guide to food differences - ABC News
ALTOONA, Wis. (WEAU) - Three seats have been filled on the Wisconsin Potato Industry Board after state growers recently voted for the promotional board positions. The District 1 seat, which covers most of our listening area, will be held by Eric Schroeder of Antigo. District 2, which includes Marathon, Portage and other east-central counties, will be held by James Okray of Stevens Point. John Bobek of Markesan will represent the District 3 seat, which in our area covers Adams, Buffalo, Jackson, La Crosse, Trempealeau, Vernon and Wood counties. The nine-member Potato Industry Board deals with a $1.7 million annual budget, with funds collected through producer checkoffs.
Then national hog herd is down compared with a year ago, but up compared with March. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent quarterly hogs and pigs report said the nation’s 75.7 million hogs at the beginning of June was a 2 percent decrease compared with the start of June, 2020. However, it was a 1 percent increase compared with the beginning of the year. Iowa continues to have the nation’s largest hog herd with 24.2 million head, followed by Minnesota’s 9.3 million head and North Carolina’s 8.3 million head.
Seventy lawmakers joined Sen. Chuck Grassley,R-Iowa and Reps. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn. and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D. in letters asking the administration to stop a recent court order National Pork Producers Council leaders say would harmj U.S. hog farmers. The letters call on Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Acting Solicitor General Prelogar to appeal a recent federal district court striking down pork harvest facility line speeds allowed under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s New Swine Inspection System. The NPPC leaders say the court order, set to go into effect tomorrow, will lead to pork industry concentration and increased market power for plant operators at the expense of small hog farmers. The council is calling for a longer stay of the court order and/or waivers that would allow the six affected plants to continue operating at NSIS line speeds until a long-term solution acceptable to all industry stakeholders can be established. Pork Council analysts say the court decision will result in a 2.5 percent loss in pork packing plant capacity nationwide, and more than $80 million in reduced income for small U.S. hog farmers,
Wisconsin has gone two years without a full in-person Alice in Dairyland finals event, but that will change in 2022. State Department of Agricultural, Trade and Consumer Protection officials announced that the 75th Alice in Dairyland finals program will be May 19-21, 2022, in Dane County, culminating with the naming of the next “Alice” at Monona Terrace in Madison. Alice in Dairyland is a paid DATCP position to promote Wisconsin agriculture products. Julia Nunes of Chippewa County this year became the first Alice in Dairyland to serve two years – as the 73rd and 74th Alice – because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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June 28, 2021 at 07:20PM
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Openings filled on Wisconsin Potato Industry Board - WEAU
Photo by Jess Mancini From left, Mister Bee sales director Rob Graham and owner Mary Anne Ketelsen describe how chips are made at the potato hopper at Mister Bee during a press event.
PARKERSBURG — Starting in early July, Mister Bee’s potato chips will be entering a new territory for the first time in company history.
Mister Bee’s will be featured in stores throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., through Labor Day in September honoring military personnel.
The chips will be available to be purchased just in time for the Fourth of July, being stocked on Giant Food stores shelves starting Friday, July 2. The chips will be in specially marked chip bags that salute military personnel and a portion of every sale will be designated for the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore (USO-Metro).
“It gets Mister Bee’s over into the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area, which we’ve never been in before. And there are a lot of people that live in that area now that grew up where they have tasted Mister Bee,” Mister Bee sales director Rob Graham said. “We’re hoping that Giant sees the results of this trial that we can turn a lot of products in that area, because we still have a fan base that lives in that area. For the new people who are buying it, maybe they’ll make that their third chip.”
Giant Food is headquartered in Landover, Md., and operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia with approximately 20,000 associates.
“We met Mary Anne Ketelsen, CEO of Mister Bee, through our mutual philanthropic partner, USO-Metro,” said Felis Andrade, Director of External Communications and Community Relations at Giant Food. “It is a pleasure to introduce her delicious product and help our service members and their families at the same time.”
Ketelsen in a press release said her father, husband and several nephews were in the service and some are currently in the military.
“Our service members put their lives on the line for our country. USO-Metro brings military families together. From the minute a service member enlists, the USO is always by their side. Donating to the USO makes me feel like I am not just helping one, but many.” Ketelsen said.
Mister Bee Potato Chips and the Ketelsen family donated $100,000 to the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore in 2020. In 2019, Ketelsen designed the 5-ounce chip bag to honor veterans and military personnel serving their country.
Mister Bee produces original, BBQ, sour cream and onion, honey BBQ, jalapeno, salt and vinegar and dip-style potato chips offered online or at retailers throughout West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Its growing manufacturing plant in Parkersburg employs 47 people.
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June 28, 2021 at 03:03PM
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West Virginia potato chip company expanding into other states - The Inter-Mountain
Hi! My name is Harvey. I am an Australian Cattle Dog/Retriever, Labrador who is about five years old. The shelter staff is not quite sure of my age but they are guessing that’s about right. I was brought in by Dog Control so they are not quite sure about my history or background, except that I was (hahaha) very “well fed!”
I consider myself a supreme couch potato. Rather funny as my breed of dog is known for being extremely high energy. I love nothing more than to relax and lay around most of the day. I do have moments of brief excitement and will actually get up and run around but not for too long. The shelter staff is doing their best to get me off my doggie butt and get me some much needed exercise.
I am mellow, easy going and love to relax (did I already mention that!?) I would be a wonderful companion in a home with no other dogs or cats. Any family would be great for me! With kids, without kids, an older couple, anyone! Winston, even though I am a couch potato (I swear I am working on getting off the couch) I would definitely show my excitement in finding a forever home. Thank you so much - Love, Harvey
Winston says: Well, yes Harvey, Australian Cattle Dogs are known for their high energy and activity level so you need to get moving, young man! I have great faith in you — we want you to get moving, get healthy and most importantly, get a home. Good Luck! - Winston
What is an Australian Cattle Dog?
Loyal but independent, an affectionate Australian cattle dog is a great match for anyone who shares his intelligence, high energy, attention to detail, and activity level.
Adoption updates
Cats: Rose, Stewart, Mo, Levi
Dogs: Star, Tully, Oreo
Wish list
Litter
Cat trees, towers, perches or jungle gyms
Purina Kitten Chow
3 Tier cat cage
Digital Baby scale
Thermometers
Miracle Nipple
We have updated our Amazon Wish List:
https://ift.tt/2StlzhG
Paws on the Green
Help us celebrate our biggest fundraising event of the entire year: The Paws on the Green golf tournament. The event will be held on Monday, Aug. 2, at the Teugega Country Club, 6801 Golf Course Road.
Please get your golf foursomes in early. The cost is $150 per golfer and you get to enjoy a day of golfing, together with lunch – dinner – snacks on the course – entry gifts (golf shirt and golf balls) prizes and more.
Sponsors are needed for the tournament. Become a major sponsor or a hole sponsor, it is a great way to promote your business while supporting our shelter. Major sponsors also receive advertising on the Humane Society website and social media. Call Lynn or Peggy at 315-336-6870 for more information. We are also looking for sponsors to help our shelter and receive advertising for their business at the same time.
Appointments
appreciated
Because it’s such a hectic time of year and in keeping with the CDC’s health and safety guidelines, we kindly ask that anyone interested in visiting our shelter, to please make an appointment first.
This goes for dropping off animals, and for possible meet and greets for adoption purposes. Donation may be dropped off any time, without an appointment.
Ways you can help the shelter
Become a member
Volunteer
Donate (you can specify where you would like your donation to go: Medical Fund, Spay/Neuter Fund, Building Fund or General Fund)
Also, did you know that if you love animals but cannot adopt at this time, you can still help?
Sponsor the cost of an animal while it is living at the shelter (pay the expenses for their food, care, etc.)
Sponsor an animal’s adoption fee
Sponsor an animal’s spaying or neutering fee
AmazonSmile
AmazonSmile is a simple, automatic way for you to support the shelter.
Every time you shop with Amazon, they donate a portion of the purchase price to our charitable organization.
This is what you do before you begin to shop:
1. Go to AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com).
2. Sign into your Amazon Account.
3. Click on Accounts and Lists.
4. Click on Your Account.
5. Scroll down to Settings.
6. Click on Change Your Charity.
7. Type in “Humane Society of Rome” and search.
8. Select — make sure you choose the correct humane society.
9. Go shopping!
Cat’s Pride
Litter program
We participate with Cat’s Pride Litter for Good Program — we’ve received 4,000 pounds of cat litter due to nominations from the community. This is an ongoing promotion. The more nominations, the more litter we receive.
Litter as you can imagine, is a great expense for us, so this would be a wonderful savings for our shelter.
The public is invited to participate as follows:
1. Go to catspride.com and sign up for the free Cat’s Pride Club.
2. Click on the “Nominate” button to help us receive litter.
3. Enter bonus code: 4GOOD and you will double your shelter nomination.
4. Buy a green jug of Cat’s Pride Fresh and Light – every time you do, another pound of litter is added to the total amount donated.
Contact us
For information, call 315-336-7070 or go online to https://ift.tt/2Ld9mHB.
The shelter is open Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
June 27, 2021 at 08:00PM
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Say hello to adorable couch potato Harvey | Rome Daily Sentinel - Rome Sentinel
Starting in early July, Mister Bee’s will be featured in stores throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., through Labor Day in September honoring military personnel.
From left, Mister Bee sales director Rob Graham and owner Mary Anne Ketelsen describe how chips are made at the potato hopper at Mister Bee during a press event. (Photo by Jess Mancini)
Starting in early July, Mister Bee’s will be featured in stores throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., through Labor Day in September honoring military personnel.
PARKERSBURG — Starting in early July, Mister Bee potato chips will be entering a new territory for the first time in company history.
Mister Bee will be featured in stores throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., through Labor Day in September honoring military personnel.
The chips will be available to be purchased just in time for the Fourth of July, being stocked on Giant Food stores shelves starting Friday, July 2. The chips will be in specially marked chip bags that salute military personnel and a portion of every sale will be designated for the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore (USO-Metro).
“It gets Mister Bee over into the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area, which we’ve never been in before. And there are a lot of people that live in that area now that grew up where they have tasted Mister Bee,” Mister Bee sales director Rob Graham said. “We’re hoping that Giant sees the results of this trial that we can turn a lot of products in that area, because we still have a fan base that lives in that area. For the new people who are buying it, maybe they’ll make that their third chip.”
Giant Food is headquartered in Landover, Md., and operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia with approximately 20,000 associates.
From left, Mister Bee sales director Rob Graham and owner Mary Anne Ketelsen describe how chips are made at the potato hopper at Mister Bee during a press event. (Photo by Jess Mancini)
“We met Mary Anne Ketelsen, CEO of Mister Bee, through our mutual philanthropic partner, USO-Metro,” said Felis Andrade, Director of External Communications and Community Relations at Giant Food. “It is a pleasure to introduce her delicious product and help our service members and their families at the same time.”
Ketelsen in a press release said her father, husband and several nephews were in the service and some are currently in the military.
“Our service members put their lives on the line for our country. USO-Metro brings military families together. From the minute a service member enlists, the USO is always by their side. Donating to the USO makes me feel like I am not just helping one, but many.” Ketelsen said.
Mister Bee Potato Chips and the Ketelsen family donated $100,000 to the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore in 2020. In 2019, Ketelsen designed the 5-ounce chip bag to honor veterans and military personnel serving their country.
Mister Bee produces original, BBQ, sour cream and onion, honey BBQ, jalapeno, salt and vinegar and dip-style potato chips offered online or at retailers throughout West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Its growing manufacturing plant in Parkersburg employs 47 people.
Tyler Bennett can be reached at tbennett@newsandsentinel.com
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June 26, 2021 at 11:01AM
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Military-themed effort the big buzz at Mister Bee Potato Chips - Parkersburg News
A very appropriate location has been chosen for the historic marker which will commemorate Central New York’s favorite summertime side dish, the salt potato.
The Salt Museum at Onondaga Lake Park was revealed last night as the home for the nation’s first “Hungry for History” marker, a new program created by the Syracuse-based William G. Pomeroy Foundation, which will help communities across the country put the spotlight on local and regional foods.
“It is the perfect place,” Onondaga Historical Association curator of history Robert Searing said. “It is going to look great out there.”
Searing said that the marker’s location, in front of the museum which explores Syracuse’s once-booming salt industry of the 19th century, will get “great visibility.”
The location was revealed during a launch party at the Willow Rock Brewing Company. Attendees at the event had a chance to enter a drawing for a chance to help unveil the salt potatoes marker at its dedication on Saturday, July 10.
The ceremony will take place on the grounds of the museum starting at 11 a.m. It will be free and open to the public.
The salt potatoes marker was obtained by the OHA through a Pomeroy Foundation grant.
Searing said it was a “team decision” to place the marker at the Salt Museum.
“It has been great working with Pomeroy,” Searing said. “The OHA is honored to be the first organization in the country to be awarded a “Hungry for History” marker.”
He is pleased by the “great community response” and interest in the new marker.
This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section onsyracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle atjcroyle@syracuse.comor call 315-427-3958.
June 26, 2021 at 01:04AM
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Find out where the new salt potato ‘Hungry for History’ marker will be located - syracuse.com
A study from the Centre for Nutraceuticals at the University of Westminster found that plant-based protein shakes may be potential viable alternatives to milk-based whey protein shakes, particularly in people with need of careful monitoring of glucose levels.
The study, published in the journal Nutrients, is the first to show potato and rice proteins can be just as effective at managing your appetite and can help better manage blood glucose levels and reduce spikes in insulin compared to whey protein.
During the study the blood metabolic response of participants was measured after drinking potato, rice and whey protein shakes. Appetite was also monitored in the following three hours to understand how these drinks may affect the participants' hunger and their desire to eat.
The research observed that vegan protein shakes led to a lower rise in blood insulin compared to whey, while potato protein prevented any rise in insulin. This may explain the better blood glucose control following consumption of the plant-based protein and poses the question of whether vegan protein shakes are more suitable for individuals who need to need control their blood glucose levels such as diabetic and obese individuals.
Interestingly, release of the key appetite regulating hormone GLP-1 was greater after drinking the whey protein shake. However, the greater GLP-1 response did not translate to an increased feeling of fullness as there were no differences observed in appetite perception between the three different protein shakes.
Consumer trends in protein intake are on the rise with milk protein derivatives such as whey extensively used in consumer products such as protein shakes, fortified food and beverage products.
There are alternative protein products available for vegetarians and vegans such as soy, rice, wheat and pea proteins but there is a relative lack of evidence on their health benefits in comparison to milk proteins. Potato protein is a novel plant-based protein product that is obtained from the waste material from potato starch production and is a sustainable economic protein source. This study provides the first evidence to suggest that it may be an alternative to whey protein sources.
Professor M Gulrez Zariwala, corresponding author and Director of the Centre for Nutraceuticals at the University of Westminster, said: "Global concerns on sustainability have led to consumer shifts towards ethical eating and a change in dietary habits with increased adoption of vegetarian and vegan diets.
"However, research in this area is still lacking and it would be interesting to clarify whether proteins from plant sources can provide identical metabolic health benefits as those with traditional sources such as milk.
"Our results shed new light in this area and improves our understanding of how plant source proteins can be a more sustainable yet nutritionally beneficial food source. We plan to conduct follow-up studies further research this exciting area."
Baked potatoes are basically the blank canvases of the culinary world. While classic toppings like butter and sour cream are always delicious, here are five creative baked potato recipes to up your spud game.
This loaded baked potato has all the Philly cheesesteak ingredients, including steak, butter, onions, peppers and three different kinds of cheeses. This baked potato is delicious but not light! Give yourself a generous window to digest before you try to do anything active post-meal.
This recipe brings some nautical flavors to the classic baked potato. Ingredients include spinach, peppers, onions, tomatoes and plenty of cream and cheese. If you’re a shrimp lover, this elevated and creamy baked potato recipe is for you!
This baked potato is a cheese-lover’s paradise. After you’ve baked the potato, remove its soft center and mix it with butter, Parmesan cheese, sharp cheddar, paprika and onion powder. Return the mixture to the original potato, and bake it again!
See also: An incredible deal on the Apple Airpods Pro!
These egg-stuffed baked potatoes are easy to make and have a gorgeous presentation! They make an excellent hearty breakfast with plenty of protein, too. The best part? Splitting the yolk before eating.
Broccoli isn’t just a healthy addition to your baked potato — it’s also delicious and flavorful! But don’t worry, there are plenty of other delicious ingredients that aren’t in the greens family, including bacon, sour cream, cream cheese and butter. If you didn’t like broccoli before, you will now!
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Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai thanking them for.their efforts to improve the export situation for U.S. fresh potatoes to Mexico, the National Potato Council was quoted as syaing:
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