Our weekly serving of off-the-menu items – a few popular favorites from the week, as well as a few morsels that may have slipped your notice.
Dairy Alternatives Gain a New Competitor, Banana Milk
Despite the already crowded market for milk (with almond, coconut, soy and other milk alternatives vying with the original cow’s milk), investment banker Jeff Richards is betting on the desire for yet another option. After developing a recipe for his banana milk, he began slowly introducing the product to a select number of Texas grocery stores. The banana milk’s surprising name seems to be generating success, as the drink is slowly being added to stores across the US, including Whole Foods.
Illustration by Tala Safie for The New York Times.
Over the past year, legislators, meat-eaters and vegetarian food companies have waged a fierce battle over the labelling of alternative-meat products. Can veggie burgers use the word “burger?” And should we start calling vegan cheese “cultured nut product?” Alternative-meat producers are fighting back, stipulating that restrictions on what they call their foods pose a threat to the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Stop Wasting Your Summer Produce
Although summer brings with it a bounty of fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies, using up all the produce you buy can prove to be a challenge. (Those tomatoes you got might be delicious, but if they go bad after just a few days, then you can’t enjoy them!) This piece from The Washington Post will give you some tips and tricks on how to avoid food waste, and make sure your farmer’s market bounty will last as long as possible.
Image courtesy of Tino Seubert.
Minimalist Design for the Kitchen
For the design-minded home cook, Ignant has curated a list of sleek and simple minimalist kitchenware. With pieces from well-known design houses like Muji and Alessi, these kitchen accessories are functional, subtle and aesthetically pleasing.
Image courtesy of the American Dairy Association Mideast.
The Ohio State Fair is paying homage to the Apollo 11 crew with an interesting and artistic take on the classic “the moon is made of cheese” myth. The fair this year features life-sized sculptures molded from butter, depicting several members of the Apollo 11 crew, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. In addition to the crew members themselves, the exhibition – which uses more than 2,000 pounds of butter – also displays several (historically inaccurate) butter-sculptured cows.
