Clearing the Table

In the weeks to come, Gluttonize will undergo a few changes.  Some of these changes will be cosmetic, while others may be slightly more severe.  Rest assured, however, that the blog’s mission to be a bin of delicious food trivia will remain untouched.

The blog is getting renovated! Image by Mario Sixtus, http://www.sixtus.net; Flikr.

Stay tuned for an all new Gluttonize!

Quick Bite: Chocolate

covers China’s famous terracotta army.

They each measure about 35 centimetres tall. Image by Sam Ilić, Flickr.

In Beijing, this past January, an estimated 80 tons of chocolate was used in a delicious replication of the terracotta army and the Great Wall.  The troop of 400 cocoa miniatures and the 10 metre wall was on display at the Beijing Olympic Park, and made its way from the mainland to Taipei’s National Taiwan Science Education Center in late June.

Quick Bite: Mushrooms

can kill.

Some mushrooms don't like Chinese people. Image from http://www.saidaonline.com/en/news.php?go=fullnews&newsid=9621.

Several hundred mysterious and sudden cardiac arrest cases have been raising alarm in China’s Yunnan province, and scientists are pointing the finger at an enigmatic and inconspicuously murderous fungus, the Little White.   Don’t eat it.

The BBC article, here.

Quick Bite: Saliva

lets you taste things.

Nice. Image by David Trood, The Image Bank.

Yes, yes, that’s what tastebuds do, but without saliva to dissolve food into the chemicals that those little papillae interpret and “taste,” they’re just decorative pink bumps on your tongue.

The Forgotten Faces of Butter

Some trace butter to the Mongolians who created the most archaic way of butter-making.  The conquests of Asia then diffused the man-modified grease to other ethnic groups where distinct regional styles and methods for crafting it evolved.  Allowing for a sizable time-skip, butter now sits comfortably as the exalted keystone in classic French cuisine .

Acting as the rich slather on toast probably wasn't really the original purpose for butter. Image by A. Carmichael, Stone

However, long before butter appeared as salted or unsalted in grocery store fridges, they held a little more significance in many cultures worldwide.  Regarded as medicinal, magical or sacred, the milk product at one point or another was (and in some places still is ) more cultural symbol than kitchen staple.

Quick Bite: Lettuce

can alleviate menstrual pains.

Put these on your breasts. Image by Daisuke Morita, Photographer's Choice.

A certain shameless women’s magazine wrote recently that by “wrapping a refrigerated raw lettuce leaf around each breast until it wilts” helps with those irritating side-effects.  Try at your own discretion.

Quick Bite: Lemons

to be nominated for the next alternative energy source!

Lemons are sour, yellow, and can zap you. Image by Southern Stock, Photodisc.

Perhaps that might be taking it too far.  However, if you stick say a nail and a penny in a lemon, you’ve made yourself a battery!  Well, there’s a more precise science to it, but that’s not really my forte.  Read more about it, here.

Quick Bite: Popcorn

is full of people.

If you look closely, you can kind of make out tons of tiny people. Not actually. Image from life123.com/food/cooking-tips/popcorn/how-to-make-perfect-popcorn.shtml.

In the state of Indiana, there is a town called Popcorn.  If you’ve ever tried Dale & Thomas brand popcorn, then you might be familiar with this place.  That, or you might actually be from there!  But that’s highly unlikely as there really aren’t too many people in Popcorn, Indiana.

Asians Eat Cellophane

And they can’t get enough of it.  Since cellophane is the go-to material for food packaging, Asians are reducing the amount of waste inherent in processed food items in this way.  Bizarre, but refreshingly sustainable.

Why waste time opening the bag when you can eat right through it? Image from Foodcollection.

If only.

Chinese, Korean, and a whole host of Asian eaters happily consume what Westerners have rather appropriately named, cellophane noodles. 

Quick Bite: Honey

lasts forever.

This goopy stuff can outlive you. Image by Megan Fizell, Tres Jolie Studios.

Well, not forever, but a pretty long time.  Thanks to what the bees do to the chemical nature of honey, it could outlast your shelf life on the planet.