Single Serve Coffee Website

I recently found this website devoted to all things that coffee drinkers who own single serve makers would enjoy. It bills itself as "the one cup cofee lovers website" and has reviews of all coffees, teas and cocoas that come in single serve containers. We own a Keurig but my uncle owns a Nespresso which takes their own unique pods. Singleservecoffee.com reviews K cups and pods for the leading coffee makers and actually rates coffee based on aroms, acidity, body, flavor and mouth feel. For example, a new K Cup by VanHoutte Coffee, Raspberry Chocolate Truffle scored quite well in those mentioned areas. It scored 10 in aroma, 9 in acidity, 10 in body, 10 in flavor, and a 9 in mouth feel, totalling a 98. This would be a highly recommended K Cup for those who like flavored coffee. I found this site to be well written, informative and very visual. It is a treasure trove for those who own or perhaps use at work single serve coffee makers. Its url is : http://singleservecoffee.com/

 Photo of stacked K-Cup Boxes by Kyle Karlin

Read more »

Posted in: Coffee,Kyle

Burger King's biggest item yet & Japan as its ironic first customer

(Ignore the current no.1 cause for a heart attack on your left) To begin with, when you're asked to think about the biggest burger a fast food restaurant has to offer, what comes to your mind? A whopper? A big mac? Maybe you imagine something ridiculous, something like stacking two whoppers on top of each other. Crazy? Well Burger King is taking the cake on this one with their introduction of Meat Monster -- which doesn't really sound too great but (seriously) does justice for its name.

So what is it?

Meat Monster (ˈmētˈmän(t)-stər) n., The best burger in the world *ahem* An invention created by Burger King that may be composed of 2x whopper patties, 2x slice of cheese, 3x slice of bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, IN ADDITION TO a grilled chicken breast.

Unfortunately, it is only in Japan but it's no mystery to the world as to how much it is packing and at 1,160 calories per serving, you wonder, "WHY JAPAN?!" Actually, you might not wonder why. But you should if you take a look at their society. On one hand, for those who do watch a lot of Japanese media, you pick up on the idea that there's always a convenience store nearby -- that's true. You also pick up that a lot of people, at least for the majority, are skinny. On the other hand, let's face it. We, as Americans, are helped with the biggest servings in comparison to the rest of the world -- probably.

So why is it ironic? Calorielab provides coverage as to why Japan is so "skinny:"

• Peer pressure. Japanese society is largely based on how one fits comfortably and unabrasively into society, way more so than most Western societies. There is a huge amount of peer pressure to conform, and the pressure on women in particular to stay slim is tremendous.
• More unplanned movement. Usually people who live in Japan, especially the urban and suburban areas, just have to move a lot more. Cars aren’t practical at all except for longer trips, so almost everyone commutes by public transportation. That’s not to say there aren’t any gyms and such (there are, tons of them) but people just naturally get more exercise than in a typical American city.
• Portions are way smaller. This is true in general, despite recent supersizing trends. There are Mega-Burgers and Extreme Meals and all of that, but the average portion sizes are still quite a bit smaller than in the U.S.

Their coverage is actually quite lengthy and provides a good insight as to the differences between America's and Japan's habits in regards to weight and food. Now do you know why it is ironic? While we're ordering a medium which is probably their large, Burger King just introduced the most heart throbbing burger in Japan.

...Heck, maybe I'm just exclaiming my disappointment in not being able to experience it first. *Sigh*

\\via CalorieLab, via Food in the News

Read more »

Posted in: Fast Food,Ken

Homemade spices or prepackaged?

For those who love cooking, there will always be a conflict that they may find themselves pondering over: to use homemade spices/flavoring or to use premixed spices?

Read more »

Posted in: Flavor,Herb

Food Facts: Disturbing truths about what you eat

I thought I would change it up a little bit. So instead of the usual recent news about food, I figure i'll fill your heads with some mind blowing trivia about food.

So, here I present some factoids about food that will probably make you think about taking that next bite:

Read more »

Posted in: Food Facts,Herb

Maybe I'll rethink how much sodium I eat.

Ever since my grandfather has been on a low sodium diet, I've been reading food labels religiously. It's been very difficult finding food that is low sodium and has some semblance of taste. I'm told going low sodium is an acquired taste but it's something I'm not looking forward to. I've always wanted to know what level is considered low sodium and what products were rated well in many food categories that were low sodium. I did some research and found some great websites. Food that is low sodium has 5 percent of the total sodium count for the day and 100 mg or less per serving is recommended. Any foods with more than 480 mg per serving is not recommended. The other website showed a comparison of fast food restaurants and their foods by category in calories, sodium, fat and carbs. What I found was not surprising. As an example: McDonald's 6 piece chicken nuggets - 250 calories, 670 sodium, Wendy's 5 piece chicken nuggets - 230 calories, 520 mg sodium. Both would be unacceptable. The websites are: http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/ and http://www.acaloriecounter.com/fast-foods.php

Read more »

Posted in: Food,Health,Kyle

Food in the Gulf of Mexico?

The thought of food in the Gulf of Mexico would probably fuel certain thoughts ranging from BP's oil spill to the probably devastated seabed. As such, has anyone ever come across the thought of whether or not the locals, that may or may not be dependent on seafood, are able to actually eat what is caught in the gulf? Wait a minute, everything that thrives in that large body of water is dead...Right?

Wrong.

Although humans are able to significantly change the environment in both good and bad terms, the ecosystem's strength is sometimes underestimated. As such, the perfect example would be the status of the Gulf of Mexico, and the associated local seafood businesses, following BP's oil spill. Justine Sterling of Food in the News, a blog affiliated with MSN, provides coverage of local restaurants and how they're doing as of now:

Ralph Brennan, owner of the New Orleans Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection after the spill. He asserted that, "The environmental, economic and societal impact cannot be underestimated, minimized or abandoned." He has personally been working with his restaurants to support the industry and has seen good things come of it.

"After the spill, I mandated each of our chefs add more Gulf seafood to the menu," Brennan told us in an email. Brennan's restaurant, Red Fish Grill, has purchased over 102,000 pounds of Gulf seafood since the spill. He is absolutely certain that the seafood is safe to consume. "Every single test has shown that Gulf seafood is safe to consume," he said. "Today 99 percent of Louisiana waters are open for fishing and our restaurant traffic is up over the same time period last year."

But the coverage also provides insight on how the general population perceives the seafood coming from the Gulf. As such, there are still speculations as to the safety of the food and that's an issue affecting many seafood businesses. Throughout all the testings that state that the food are safe, in addition to the opened waters for fishing that implies the safety of the seafood caught, the public is still not persuaded.

In the end, science tells us it's safe but public opinion still falters and we hope to one day relinquish such fears from both the locals and to the people who provide demand for the exportation of the Gulf's seafood.

Via Food In the News
Photo provided by Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Blog

Read more »

Posted in: Food,Health,Ken

Glowing Meat?

In recent news, a certain shanghai resident has discovered to her dismay that there was an ominous glow coming from her kitchen. When she went to investigate it, she found that it was her slab of pork.

No, this wasn't a case of radioactive meat. When she had bought it, it was just your average slab of meat from your average market (though how average a Shanghai meat market is can be debated). The slab of pork was left out on the kitchen table. Why is this fact important? Because it has been scientifically proven that meat, if stored in conditions that would make a porter-potty seem sanitary, can sometimes cause it to glow. What is the reason for this? Jason Best at Slashfood.com quotes in his article

" writers of Meat Hygiene name the likely culprit: phosphorescent bacteria, such as Pseudomonas cyanagenus, which can cause contaminated meat to appear "as if it were studded with stars."

Can you still eat? Maybe. Should you eat it? No. Can you tell time from meat? Only if you use it to  read your watch.

Read more »

Posted in: Bizzarre,Herb

Boar's Head has another fan.

We have what we think is a 14 year old cat. He was rescued from the mean streets of Island Park. Learning that cats are obligate carnivores and eat only meat we are finding out some interesting things about his preferences in human food. He loves Boar's Head deli meats. His preference is for roast beef but chicken or turkey will do in a pinch. What is so surprising is that even though the usual supermarket my parents shop in doesn't carry Boar's head, the cat knows and will not eat any other line of cold cuts. I did an experiment one day to see if he could tell the difference. I gave him Waldbaum's non Boar's Head turkey and bought a small amount of Boar's Head turkey from a local deli. I placed them side by side and it's as if he could read the package, he devoured the Boar's Head. Actually, I prefer Boar's Head too.

 My cat's daily diet. Photos by Kyle Karlin.

Read more »

Posted in: Food,Kyle

Debunking the viral video: Pop corn with cell phones

You can view the video here: Cooking kernels with cell phones. In short, the video depicts a few outdated cell phones surrounding a number of kernels. The phones are set off and the kernels are cooked or in other terms, "popped." As such, it's amazing that there is so much fear and/ or concern in radiation that people do not realize we're exposed to radiation...All. The. Time. In this case, the viral video depicts the idea that these cell phones are emitting enough radiation to cook kernels. The problem is that this is physically impossible. 

Wired.com provides an article that debunks this video through several statements made by
physicists such as Louis Bloomfield, a professor of the University of Virginia. All of which boils down to the explanation:

 In a microwave oven, energy excites the water inside popcorn kernels until it turns into highly pressurized gas, causing the kernels to pop. If mobile phones emitted that much energy, the water in the fingers of people holding them would heat up.

 Bloomfield add his personal statement by saying:

Ringing the phones doesn’t help because they’re interfering with each other and receiving a signal [from a cellphone tower] — not transmitting it. Furthermore, while it is possible to heat with sound, it’s not likely to happen at the low volume emitted by a mobile phone. "It would be like gathering opera singers together to sing, and trying to make the corn pop

In addition to Wired.com's article, Snopes, provided an article regarding the possibility of cooking eggs or popcorn kernels in which they debunked a viral chain email that showed the results of an egg exposed to the "radiation" of a cell phone. Others, as noted by the article, have tried experiments in which they've attempted to obtain the same results as those depicted in the chain email but have failed.

Mobile Manufacturers Forum, which is basically an association between many radio communication equipment manufacturers, states:

The claim that RF energy from two mobile phones can cook an egg in 60 minutes cannot be true as it is impossible for the egg's temperature to rise to a level that will cook the egg.

Their entire statement is posted on the Snopes article, regarding the technicalities behind why eggs nor kernels can be cooked in this manner.

Via  Snopes, Via Wired

Read more »

Posted in: cell phones,Ken,radiation

Radiation in your life? Nonsense!

Let's give it up to the idiots who assume that every little dose of radiation is a guaranteed trip to cancer. But as a result of such nonsense, I'm here to take a break from coffee art and present to you the reasons why the recent events concerning Japan's failed nuclear station may mean absolutely nothing to food with an increased level of radiation -- to a point.

As many of you may know, the resulting leak from the nuclear plant did not only result in local increases of radiation but tests have shown that radiation has been detected in milk as far as California. So should we be worried? Should we, who find ourselves under the sun all the time, be seriously worried that we are drinking milk that "may give us cancer?" No, no we shouldn't. As presented to you by a well known webcomic, here is a radiation exposure chart  created and presented by XKCD:

 

Clicking on the image will allow you to view the actual size of it. The chart works in a clockwise manner, starting with the top left chart. 

*Ahem* As you can all see, we're constantly exposed to radiation no matter where we live. But what I'm truly saying is that we should be concerned by the AMOUNT of radiation we are exposed to RATHER than the idea that so and so is completely unsafe because there is an indication of radiation.

Read more »

Posted in: Fast Food,Ken,radiation

New York City: No Toying Around

Do your kids like collecting toys from fast food restaurants? They might not be able to do so for long.

It has been recently unveiled that some New York City council members are planning to propose a bill to ban toys from being given away with meals from fast food restaurants. Why would they do this? City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie claims " banning toy giveaways would reduce the allure of fast-food restaurants for children and encourage the industry to provide healthier options." While this proposition looks good on paper, would it really solve the issue? While removing the toys could lessen the overall consumption of unhealthy food among children, it doesn't take away the fact that the children with problems related to consuming fast food are those that like those foods and are addicted to them. Taking away the toys could probably even be detrimental to the childrens' development as it could possibly stunt their creativity.

Read more »

Posted in: Fast Food,Herb,NYC

Food Shopping at Target

I read somewhere that Wal-Mart and Target are trying to include fresh foods in their stores. I know Wal-Mart has supermarkets in some places but the local Wal-Mart do not include them. After a trip to Target I was surprised by the quality of produce and meat sold there. As I was browsing the cold food cases I saw bagged salads, yogurt, fruit, cut up vegetables and steak. It would have been easy for a person to make a complete meal from what Target had to offer. For a single person or a small family Target could easily replace going to a supermarket and I saw many younger people browsing in addition to myself. The prices were very competitive to supermarkets and while the area target placed its food items was about a quarter of the store, this is a convenience for shoppers now can buy what they need from one store. I always liked Target for their selection of t shirts, DVD's, electronic gizmo's and now, food.

 Better than a 7-11 and more fun too. Photo by Kyle Karlin.

Read more »

Posted in: Kyle,Target

Day of The Living Zombies!!

A typical day in Wall Street.

It's official: Zombies exist in real life! Well, not really. Zombies as we know it are humans turned dead, then undead, and now crave human-mind-slurpies (a.k.a. brains). No, I did not meet one of those. But I did meet a zombie. Yes, that's right! A ZOMBIE!!

Read more »

Posted in: April Fools,Herb,Unrelated

Want to lose weight? Go high protein!

Many of us, when thinking about dieting and losing weight,immediately picture one thing: salads. It has been a popular image even in showbiz that the key to losing weight is eating plenty of greens in lieu of munching down some hotdogs or grabbing a burger. But is eating greens really the answer to shedding pounds that we can't stand to have?

Read more »

Posted in: Dieting,Herb