http://groups.ucanr.org/sbdisplay/blogs.cfm?county=1808&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed Food Blog en-us UC ANR http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/ Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:34:50 PST Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:34:50 PST Every August, I pack up my saddle, cowboy bedroll, chef’s knife and my vacation hours and head to a pack station high in the eastern Sierra Nevada between Mammoth and Bishop. A couple days later I’m out on trail, usually riding somewhere in the national parks of Kings Canyon, Sequoia or Mt. Whitney, with strings of pack mules in front of me. The author heading to workThe packers—cowboys who load and manage the mules—and I take paying guests, their gear and our supplies into the back country for......
]]> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:27:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3375&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed aesenuta@ucdavis.edu(Ann Senuta) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3375 Remember that snow on the foothills back in May? That cold spell delayed the apple harvest in El Dorado County about 10 days, but the ranches of the Apple Hill Growers Association are now open for visitors. Gravensteins are already ripe and the first crisp and juicy Galas are ready to pick, with Jonagolds close behind. September is the perfect month to visit the ranches, pick your own apples and maybe stop for a glass of wine or a slice of fresh apple pie. More than 50 Apple Hill Association......
]]> Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:59:27 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3363&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed paleff@ucdavis.edu(Penny Leff) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3363 Fishing has resumed in the Gulf of Mexico, but the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill that began in April has dampened consumer appetites for seafood.  Consumers have concerns about the effect of the oil spill on gulf seafood, and some are eating less seafood now. In a June 2010 telephone survey of 1,076 consumers conducted by University of Minnesota’s Food Industry Center, Louisiana State University AgCenter and the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, 89 percent said they are......
]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:48:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3347&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pskanrice@ucdavis.edu(Pamela Kan-Rice) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3347 Vegetable and fruit gardens are taking over American backyards and that is a really good thing. However, many gardeners are forgetting that their backyard should also be a place to enjoy in other ways and hence the food garden really should be a thing of beauty as well as productivity. I was at a garden in downtown Oakland not too long ago and the garden, while productive for being on a vacant lot, still looked somewhat like a vacant lot. You could tell there were veggies growing, chickens ran......
]]> Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:11:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3338&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3338 On a recent trip to the East Coast, our first in almost 13 years, I reflected on our differing coastal experiences with agricultural diversity. Our travels took us through most of the mid-Atlantic farming region – Delaware, District of Columbia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania – where we lived for almost 35 years. We saw the familiar vast fields of corn, soybeans and alfalfa throughout most of the region. There were occasional pockets of other crops: apples, pears and......
]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:13:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3329&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jmsams@ucdavis.edu(Judy Sams) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3329 When Bill Clinton was president in the 1990s, his Council on Food Safety identified eggs as a food that poses a risk to children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. The Clinton administration launched a safety plan that aimed to eliminate Salmonella contamination in eggs entirely by 2010. Unfortunately, the goal was not met. This month, a vast outbreak of Salmonella food poisoning prompted the recall of half a billion eggs produced in Iowa. In California, UC Cooperative......
]]> Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:23:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3312&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3312 A recent Food Blog post about a new research effort aimed at improving the flavor of fruits and vegetables found in American grocery stores prompted a scornful e-mail from a reader. To whom it may concern, the letter-writer began, I find it appalling that $6 million is being spent to study something that any 3rd grader should be able to figure out. The writer continued: "It is virtually impossible to enhance the flavor of an industrial farmed tomato because the flavor has been bred OUT of the...... Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:43:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3293&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3293 Mmmmm. Pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Potato chips. Umami (pronounced "oo-MA-mee") is, as a result of a series of scientific studies in the 1980s, officially recognized as a legitimate fifth primary taste, adding to the well-known sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes. Umami is difficult to describe in just one word; it is a pleasant, hearty, savory, tongue-coating sensation.  And because it is so complex - a taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including......
]]> Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:37:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3280&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pwdevine@ucdavis.edu(Pam Devine) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3280 If those pollen-packing honey bees were to board an aircraft, they’d be charged for their carry-on luggage. Fortunately they don’t and they’re not. And if we were a bee, we’d have to visit two million flowers to make a pound of honey. Fortunately we’re not, and we don’t. The honey bee, brought to America by the European colonists in the 1600s, will be celebrated on National Honey Bee Awareness Day, Saturday, Aug. 21, but this insect should be celebrated every day of the year. Revered for......
]]> Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:48:47 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3274&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed kegarvey@ucdavis.edu(Kathy Garvey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3274 Taking a look at melons, berries, tomatoes, pears, stone fruit, and more, researchers from UC Davis, along with collaborators from the University of Florida, are focusing on increasing consumption of specialty crops by enhancing quality and safety.  Funded by the USDA, work on this Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) grant began about a year ago. Americans, after years of hearing that fresh produce is valuable for numerous health benefits, have still not significantly increased their......
]]> Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:42:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3253&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed postharvest@ucdavis.edu(Mary Reed) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3253 Drink beer to lose weight? That’s what some recent newspaper headlines trumpeted. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, what our favorite authority on beer — UC Davis professor Charles Bamforth (right) — said was that swapping a glass of wine for a beer every day for a week would cut out more calories than are burned off during a 30-minute jog. Why? Because most of the calories in alcoholic beverages are in the alcohol and wine typically has a higher alcohol content than beer. “The......
]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:45:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3236&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jdstumbos@ucdavis.edu(John Stumbos) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3236 August visitors to California wine country can see winegrapes ripening – green changing to gold, red and purple. This is the critical final stage of development, and its success drives one of the state's economic engines, with wine sales generating $18 billion in revenue in 2009. Wine country is also a tourist magnet and a job generator; the industry has a $61.5 billion economic impact statewide each year. If this is a typical year, California will produce 90 percent of the nation’s wine. In......
]]> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:28:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3225&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jlwhite@ucdavis.edu(Janet White) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3225 This weekend, you're in luck. You can bring your favorite children to Kids Day on the Farm in San Luis Obispo County to churn butter, plant sunflowers, press cider, make a cornhusk doll and lots more. You can learn draft horse driving, go on a calf feeding tour, and enjoy bluegrass music at the Heartland Festival in Merced County, take a bus tour from Berkeley to pick peaches at Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, shop for apple butter at the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol, or hike to the top......
]]> Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:09:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3200&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed paleff@ucdavis.edu(Penny Leff) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3200 For more than a hundred years, gardening has been linked to service in American communities.  Reformers used school and community gardens to improve aspects of urban life, to educate children, to feed the hungry, to provide training to those facing economic challenges. Today, the University of California models service through gardening via its Master Gardener Program, which fields thousands of highly trained gardens who provide support for school, home and community gardens across the......
]]> Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:58:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3075&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed rmhaydensmith@ucdavis.edu(Rose Hayden-Smith) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3075 Do you remember when store-bought produce was succulent every time you took a bite? Then you’re old – well, at least you’re not a kid. Today’s youth in America have a different experience with store-bought fruits and vegetables – sometimes they’re yummy and juicy, sometimes they taste like chalk. What’s a mother to do? "It’s a problem, because often you have only one window of opportunity to introduce a new fruit or vegetable to your child,” says Beth Mitcham, UC Cooperative Extension (CE)......
]]> Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:27:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3177&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed denelson@ucdavis.edu(Diane Nelson) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3177 Depressing news for those who love chocolate. A recent study published by UC Davis and UC San Diego medical scientists in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that consumption of the delicacy appears to be associated with depression. The scientists examined the relationship between chocolate and mood among 931 women and men who were not using antidepressants. Their surprising conclusion: Participants who screened positive for possible depression ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate......
]]> Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:39:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3187&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3187 As we move through the summer months, backyard gardeners everywhere are faced with the questions, "What do I do with all of these [insert vegetable or fruit here]?" followed by, "What was I thinking last spring when I planted all of this?"To the rescue is a series of free, downloadable publications from the ANR Catalog. I've always noticed that these publications move to the top of our download charts each summer, so this year I decided to try one of the recipes.This comes from the category,......
]]> Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:03:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3138&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cckintigh@ucdavis.edu(Cynthia Kintigh) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3138 Rose Hayden-Smith, Ventura County Cooperative Extension director and U.S. historian is passionate about the power and possibilities inherent in gardening. She uses her extensive knowledge of homefront war efforts to help influence public policy in regards to local food systems. Earlier this year Dr. Hayden-Smith gave a lecture, Victory Gardens: Join the Garden Revolution, at the San Diego Natural History Museum about this topic. More about the lecture. At no point in our lifetimes has the...... Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:26:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3141&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cmwebb@ucdavis.edu(Chris Webb) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3141 The surge in popularity of home chicken-raising is astounding. From cities to farms, more and more people are keeping small numbers of chickens for egg production, as family pets, and sometimes for meat production. The city of Davis, Calif. even had a “Tour de Cluck” recently – a bicycle tour of 25 home chicken coops in Davis (the tour sold all 500 tickets and served as a local educational fundraiser). The amount of attention and care that families spend on their chickens shows that chickens......
]]> Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:07:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3155&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed afilmer@ucdavis.edu(Ann Filmer) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3155 A traditional crop is getting a modern makeover – and UC Davis is cultivating its growth in California.The UC Davis Olive Center last month hosted a symposium on super-high-density olive production – a relatively new practice that has fueled the expansion of California’s olive oil industry. The production system, developed in Spain, reached the Golden State in 1999 and has taken off in the past five years. California accounts for almost all domestic olive oil production – now 850,000 gallons a......
]]> Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:48:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3132&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed alec.rosenberg@ucop.edu(Alec Rosenberg) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3132 “Fresh from the Garden” is a “vegetable education” program that was created several years ago by retired LA County Cooperative Extension employee and registered dietitian Susan Giordano. Giordano created lessons to reach home gardeners and their families living with limited resources.  The lessons are designed to increase gardeners' knowledge of healthful eating habits, while emphasizing the health benefits associated with a vegetable-rich diet. The lessons also encourage gardeners to grow a......
]]> Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:39:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3118&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed bkroche@ucdavis.edu(Brenda Roche) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3118 Cooking and eating outdoors are favorite summer past times. But every year hundreds of thousands of people end up in emergency rooms, or worse, when basic food safety measures are ignored. Deadly bacteria can develop in some foods more rapidly in hot weather, warns a UC Cooperative Extension nutrition advisor. "Temperatures are important factors in protecting your food. You want to be really careful that you keep hot food hot and cold food cold," stresses Patti Wooten-Swanson, UCCE nutrition,......
]]> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:16:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3093&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed alberto.hauffen@ucr.edu(Alberto Hauffen) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3093 I collect gardening catalogs. To me, they represent life and productivity and the promise of family, good food and good health. They also provide a link to a simpler, agrarian past that I find comforting and restorative in these unsettling times. In a world where oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, violence seems unchecked, compassion towards the less fortunate seems to have evaporated and economic misery abounds, I find gardening catalogs a refuge of optimism. We need fewer bad things in this......
]]> Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:27:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3074&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed rmhaydensmith@ucdavis.edu(Rose Hayden-Smith) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3074 Buyer beware, is the message of a new study from the UC Davis Olive Center, which found that many of the imported olive oils sold in California retail stores are not “extra virgin” oil as their labels claim they are. Extra virgin olive oil is the top grade and priciest of olive oils.  To meet international standards, extra virgin must be removed from the olive without using heat or solvents.  It also has to meet specific criteria for chemical makeup, flavor and aroma. However in the new......
]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 06:30:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3078&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pjbailey@ucdavis.edu(Pat Bailey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3078 Methyl iodide – yes, that volatile chemical that could find use as a soil fumigant – has been in the news lately, and mostly in a negative light. In April, California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation made a preliminary decision to approve the use of methyl iodide as a fumigant under strict conditions, and soon after received more than 50,000 public comments. Methyl iodide, it turns out, is not only toxic, like all fumigants, it “can cause cancer, brain damage and miscarriages.” Its...... Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:29:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3055&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed iqbal.pittalwala@ucr.edu(Iqbal Pittalwala) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3055 I was only gone for 10 days, but when I came back the squash plants were just packed with zucchini — some that were as big as torpedoes (they got fed to the chickens) but many just the perfect size for harvest.  However, what do you do with 50 zucchini?  First stop, my neighbors. Got rid of 10 there. Next, as 4th of July guests leave, they get a bag to take home; another 10 down . . . only 30 more squash to use or distribute.  What can you do? Well, there are lots of ways to eat zucchini but......
]]> Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:38:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3041&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3041 Summer time in the Central Valley means scorching temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, and sunshine that just won’t quit. When the thermometer heads north, we head to the freezer in search of a refreshing treat.  Can you remember devouring an ice cream cone in all its melting glory? Gobbling it up in search of refreshment as the sun’s rays seem to pierce right through you? Savoring each bite as the excess fat and sugar runs down the arm to the elbow, before dripping onto the asphalt with a......
]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:29:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3005&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed sdbue@ucdavis.edu(Shelby MacNab) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3005 San Joaquin Valley farmer Mas Masumoto famously described the joys of fruit eating in the opening pages of his book Epitaph for a Peach. The prologue reads like a love letter to the old Sun Crest variety, planted years ago by his Japanese-American father. Sun Crest peaches are juicy and delicious but lack some commercial attributes. On eating a fruit he calls a “treasure,” Masumoto wrote: “You lean over the sink to make sure you don’t drip on yourself. Then you sink your teeth into the flesh......
]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:20:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3028&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3028 Remember when George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States, declared he didn’t like broccoli and declined to eat it? “I do not like broccoli,” said Bush, who served as President from 1989 to 1993. “And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.” Well, all the broccoli-haters out there need to come up with some different anti-broccoli strategies. Mom was......
]]> Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:01:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3009&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed kegarvey@ucdavis.edu(Kathy Garvey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3009 School diet and exercise policies may not be ideal, but research shows that they provide a healthier environment than many children have during summer vacation. The American Journal of Public Health reported in 2007 that weight gain spiked during the summer between kindergarten and first grade. The difference was especially large for black children, Hispanic children and children who were already overweight at the beginning of kindergarten. "Instead of scheduled meals and snacks, children at......
]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:04:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3001&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3001 Don't take any wooden nickels? When the new Oak Park Farmers' Market in Sacramento opened last month, organizers made sure to have wooden tokens ready for opening day. Farmers' selling at farmers' markets and flea markets all over California will gladly accept wooden nickels, plastic tokens, or paper "market dollars" this summer in exchange for good food. The Stockton Farmers Market under the crosstown freeway is wide awake at 7 every Saturday morning all year round, crowded with farmers and......
]]> Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:25:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2992&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed paleff@ucdavis.edu(Penny Leff) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2992 As the workshop speaker explained that school foods are contributing to the growing epidemic of obesity among children, I slumped in my chair and flashed back to high school. At the 10:20 a.m. break, I could be found standing in line at the high school snack bar ordering a chocolate milk shake and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. Daily. UC Berkeley professor Michael Pollan and others argue that farm policy is to blame for our corpulence. Many reference a 2002 USDA-ERS study that shows Americans......
]]> Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:22:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2978&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pskanrice@ucdavis.edu(Pamela Kan-Rice) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2978 On the McDonalds Happy Meals website, children can make themselves the star of a music video. Kids are challenged to send pastries soaring over as many toasters as possible on the Pop-Tarts website's "Daredevil Toaster Jump." Cheetos lets kids upload a picture or video of a Cheeto to have its website’s “state-of-the-art analyzer thingy” determine what it resembles. These and other “advergames” can have a tremendous impact on children’s preferences and purchasing requests for unhealthy foods,...... Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:46:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2968&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2968 Food blog here, food blog there, food blog everywhere — including this one!  The popularity and variety of food blogs has exploded, and proves many of us are little foodies at heart. In doing research for this post, I have to admit, I couldn’t believe what’s out there, especially about cooking. From vegan to Indian to coffee to crock pots to cooking with kids to Asian grandmothers to organic, it’s all there waiting for you. The popularity and importance of food content is well documented. Last......
]]> Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:08:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2949&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pwdevine@ucdavis.edu(Pam Devine) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2949 California residents not only enjoy an enviable climate and diverse regions, but also a wide selection of fresh produce year around. As consumers, we want to stretch our food budget and provide a nutritious diet to our families; but we are not always sure about how to select the best fruits and vegetables, how to store them when we get home, new ways to serve them, and the nutrition benefits they offer. Placer-Nevada Cooperative Extension has come to the rescue! As part of the Nutrition Best......
]]> Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:25:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2926&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed myriam.grajales@ucr.edu(Myriam Grajales-Hall) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2926 As you returned home from the market and unloaded your sack of produce, have you ever simply admired the satisfying bounty? Enjoyed the color, texture, and aroma as cantaloupe, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, cherries, apricots, avocado, strawberries and more passed through your hands?  But now, what to do with each item … how best to keep it fresh and tasty until you’re ready to eat it?   The Postharvest Technology Center offers free copies of an 8.5” x 11” full color poster that......
]]> Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:39:07 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2897&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed postharvest@ucdavis.edu(Mary Reed) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2897 The sub-tropical fruit lychee could be a new crop for farmers along California's coast, according to Mark Gaskell, the UC Cooperative Extension advisor to small-scale farmers in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. A ping-pong-ball-sized tree fruit with white, jelly-like flesh, the red-skinned lychee is popular among Asian consumers. They appear to be adapted to roughly the same conditions as avocados, Gaskell said. Since the fruit is well accepted in areas where it is available, the......
]]> Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:36:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2922&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2922 When the grand opening celebration of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the University of California, Davis, takes place on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this will also be a celebration of the honey bee. The declining bee population, exacerbated by the mysterious disease called colony collapse disorder, makes us appreciate bees all the more. One-third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees. Enter the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. Planted last fall next to the Harry H. Laidlaw......
]]> Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:55:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2899&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed kegarvey@ucdavis.edu(Kathy Garvey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2899 Blackberries and boysenberries are amazing fruits. The fleeting fruit bearing nature of these productive plants are to be truly appreciated by pie and jam connoisseurs alike. Berries are a very low glycemic index foods (low in sugar) and a great treat for nutritionally conscious eaters. Every gardener can enjoy and/or hate a productive berry plant. The fruit production is confined to a very short season but the plant can take on enormous proportions if left unchecked. One must be ever diligent......
]]> Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:47:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2898&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2898 Californians can take advantage of our abundant sunshine and temperate climate in order to grow fruit and vegetables they can truly call their own.   Gardening has some very obvious rewards, giving gardeners the freshest fruits, vegetables and herbs possible. If you are a cook, adding a garden to your backyard will pay dividends all year long. Typical suburban backyard vegetable garden. Raised beds, compost boxes and a trellis for climbing plants are visible. Large amount of fencing requires......
]]> Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:33:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2890&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed kakrist@ucdavis.edu(Karl Krist) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2890 How about looking at Saturn through a telescope, picking your own cherries and blueberries, learning from UC Merced scientists how they estimate snow pack and water flow, taking a dip in the river, tasting local olive oil, wine and cheese, painting a picture, petting a lamb, and camping out in the walnut orchard? About 600 people enjoyed all this and more at the Pick and Gather Festival at Riverdance Farm in Merced County June 5 and 6. Organic farmers Cindy Lashbrook and Bill Thomson,......
]]> Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:52:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2894&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed paleff@ucdavis.edu(Penny Leff) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2894 How do you use California table olives in your family meals? On pizza? In salads? In Mediterranean dishes? As part of your holiday relish trays? Today, California is the only U.S. state to commercially produce olives. Over 95 percent of production is canned as California-style black-ripe or green-ripe olives. California table olive (Olea europaea L.) growers rely on the primary ‘Manzanillo’ cultivar. To assure absolute quality, harvesting is done by hand. Using ladders, crews hand-harvest......
]]> Mon, 07 Jun 2010 07:33:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2869&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jmsams@ucdavis.edu(Judy Sams) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2869 Healthy eating has gotten complicated. Fresh fruits and vegetables pack the produce aisle as never before. And new food products with added health benefits are being introduced all the time. Yet the food supply, and the agricultural system that supports it, has become increasingly criticized for its impact on the waistlines of millions of people in the United States. “Agriculture and conventional food systems have provided the basis for long and healthy lives, and much of that improvement......
]]> Fri, 04 Jun 2010 06:27:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2868&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jdstumbos@ucdavis.edu(John Stumbos) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2868 Move over, Mrs. Fields. Make way for Mrs. Miller. “Mrs. Miller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies,” that is. “Mrs. Miller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies” scored a big hit at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day, held in Fairfield. Caitlin Miller, 10, of Vacaville, a member of the Elmira 4-H Club, chose to give a presentation on a cookie she loves the most:  her grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies. Her grandmother, Alice Miller, of Washington state, formerly of Benicia, “makes them all the time,”......
]]> Thu, 03 Jun 2010 07:13:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2858&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed kegarvey@ucdavis.edu(Kathy Garvey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2858 A wise man once said that God made weather so farmers would have something to complain about. Or maybe he was just a wise-acre. One very wet spring a few years ago I was talking with another wise man, the late UC plant pathologist Joe Ogawa. I told him that the fruit trees must be enjoying the rainy weather. Joe's response: "Oh, the trees are probably enjoying it—but the fungi are so excited they're jumping up and down!" I was working that spring with Joe and his colleague Harley English on......
]]> Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:35:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2854&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed wjcoats@ucdavis.edu(Jim Coats) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2854 In October 2009, UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County was awarded a grant from the “UCLA REACH U.S. Legacy Project” to implement the “East Los Angeles Nutrition Project” - an exciting new initiative that aims to increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables for residents of East LA through healthy corner store and restaurant “makeovers.”  East LA was chosen for this project not only because Cooperative Extension is located in this area and has strong ties to the community,......
]]> Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:18:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2856&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed bkroche@ucdavis.edu(Brenda Roche) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2856 Last Friday afternoon, the sales manager at Produce Express in Sacramento, Jim Mills, drove to Chiam Lee's small farm south of Galt to pick up six cases of the most delicious strawberries you've ever tasted. Mills delivered them to Karen's Bakery in Folsom, a company that needed superb fruit for a charity event. It used to be, Lee only sold strawberries at his roadside stand, and rarely six cases at a time. But thanks to a connection facilitated by UC, he has a new and much larger market for......
]]> Mon, 31 May 2010 13:48:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2841&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2841 In most California homes there are few commodities more precious, or more taken for granted, than clean tap water. We use it without hesitation for drinking, cooking and washing produce. However, recent news reminds us that not everyone can take clean water for granted. In rural California, where some households rely on well water, up to 2 million people have been exposed to unhealthy levels of nitrates in their water at some time during the last 15 years. Synthetic fertilizers used in......
]]> Fri, 28 May 2010 06:16:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2832&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jlwhite@ucdavis.edu(Janet White) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2832 By assigning a simple, 15-digit identification number to cows, UC researchers can track each one from conception to carcass, garnering valuable data for studies on cattle fertility, genetics, and health, and helping to select breeding animals with desirable beef characteristics such as flavor and tenderness. In today’s beef market, an individual cow may change ownership many times during its lifetime as it travels from the ranch of its birth, to stocker and feedlot, to slaughterhouse, and......
]]> Wed, 26 May 2010 07:56:31 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2812&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jlbyron@ucdavis.edu(Janet Byron) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2812 When food calorie content was posted on menu boards at Kaiser Hospital cafeterias, a significant number of patrons altered their food choices, according to a pilot menu labeling study conducted by UC Berkeley researchers. The results are compelling because the California menu labeling bill (SB 1420), which requires chain restaurants to put calorie counts on menu boards, goes into full effect next year. In the Kaiser pilot study, more than 500 patrons completed cafeteria exit surveys. Nearly a......
]]> Mon, 24 May 2010 07:34:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2807&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2807 It is "absolutely essential" to eat and drink two to four hours before workouts to fuel and hydrate the body, says UC Davis sports nutrition expert Liz Applegate. Eating before exercise is particularly important when taking part in activities that require hand-eye coordination, like basketball and fencing. Applegate recorded a 13-minute video for the UC Cooperative Extension website Feeling Fine Online that outlines what and when athletes should eat for optimum health and performance. The......
]]> Fri, 21 May 2010 07:37:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2667&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2667 Gardening has become very popular lately, particularly in growing fruits and vegetables, and largely due to the need to lower grocery bills and eat healthy during this recession.  But for beginners, gardening can sometimes seem intimidating and bewildering due to the multitude of variables involved, such as soil fertility, pest management, seasonal plants, composting, to name a few. Well, UC Cooperative Extension’s “Grow LA Victory Garden Initiative” in Los Angeles helped demystify gardening......
]]> Wed, 19 May 2010 08:24:50 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2779&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed deekim@ucdavis.edu(Dohee Kim) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2779 UC Davis microbiologist David Mills received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to test whether certain milk sugars can prevent life-threatening diarrheal diseases in young children. Globally, these gastrointestinal infections are the second leading cause of death among children under the age of five, each year killing 1.5 million children. Mills, an authority on the molecular biology of lactic acid bacteria used in foods, said, “We will examine the ability of these compounds......
]]> Tue, 18 May 2010 14:34:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2785&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed afilmer@ucdavis.edu(Ann Filmer) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2785 Although the outbreak earlier this month of E. coli O145 in shredded Romaine lettuce hasn’t touched California consumers and local retailers, it is impacting the industry. Once again, the safety of pre-washed and cut leafy vegetables are in headlines, raising the fears of consumers and producers alike. The Centers for Disease Control have confirmed 23 illnesses and 7 probable illnesses in New York, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee from the contaminated lettuce. The traceback investigation is......
]]> Mon, 17 May 2010 06:23:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2770&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2770 Farmers markets and produce stands are starting to bulge with the bounty of California's fields as strawberries, artichokes and asparagus mark the start of the spring and summer produce seasons. But have you ever wondered what to look for when selecting fruits and vegetables? Why does your refrigerator have separate bins for fruits and vegetables?  Should fresh tomatoes be stored in the refrigerator or on the counter?  And how do you keep fresh basil fresh until you're ready to use it? These......
]]> Fri, 14 May 2010 07:33:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2746&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cckintigh@ucdavis.edu(Cynthia Kintigh) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2746 Workers sort tomatoes at Russell Ranch Part of our mission at the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis is to ensure access to healthy food. So we’ve focused much of our work on the intersection between agriculture and human nutrition. An interesting new field of study in this area looks at flavonoids, which are compounds in fruits and vegetables thought to have beneficial antioxidant effects and other medicinal value – they may even help reduce cancer risk.Measuring the amount of......
]]> Mon, 10 May 2010 16:51:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2740&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cbishop@ucdavis.edu(Colin Bishop) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2740 Catechins are phytochemical compounds found in plant-based foods and beverages. Consumption of catechins has been associated with a variety of beneficial effects including: ability of plasma to scavenge free radicals, blood vessel expansion, fat oxidation and more. High concentrations of these helpful compounds can be found in many foods and beverages including: red wine, broad beans, black grapes, apricots, strawberries, apples, cherries, pears, raspberries, chocolate and both black and green......
]]> Mon, 10 May 2010 07:28:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2696&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cmwebb@ucdavis.edu(Chris Webb) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2696 I’m lucky enough to live about a mile from a small, family-run strawberry patch in Yolo County. From some time in April until October, the Laotian family members pick berries in the mornings and sell them from their small wooden stand until they run out of fruit for the day. Flats of 4 or 6 baskets are the most economical to buy. I carefully place the flat on the floor of the passenger seat; by the time I have walked around to the driver’s seat, the fragrance of the fresh berries has filled......
]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 09:30:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2695&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed aesenuta@ucdavis.edu(Ann Senuta) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2695 There are a number of short (two-minute) NewsWatch segments on the UC Davis YouTube channel on various aspects of food. These timely and straightforward videos are easy to view and educational. Some food-related topics of interest include: Shaking up salt perceptions [link] Do we obsess about being fat? [link] Why diets don’t work [link] UC Davis creates “bettermilk” (dairy goat milk that protects against diarrheal diseases) [link] UC Davis nutritionist advises: save your money......
]]> Wed, 05 May 2010 10:57:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2706&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed afilmer@ucdavis.edu(Ann Filmer) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2706 The ever popular pasta salad is sturdy and economical, but is it nutritious? It sure can be, and research from UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences professor Jorge Dubcovsky is helping to make that so. Dubcovsky’s team discovered a gene in domesticated wheat that had been damaged, a gene that controls the distribution of nutrients to the grains in healthy grain plants. What’s more, they discovered a copy of that damaged gene in wild wheat, enabling them (and others) to breed new varieties......
]]> Wed, 05 May 2010 09:04:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2630&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed denelson@ucdavis.edu(Diane Nelson) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2630 The University of California’s campus-run dining halls and restaurants are offering a healthier and more environmentally friendly menu to diners. For years, many campuses have offered organic food choices or engaged in practices such as using locally sourced products and composting that cut waste and conserve resources. Trayless dining halls, which also reduce waste and water use, are emerging as a trend at universities across the country and are highlighted in a UC Newsroom story about UC’s......
]]> Tue, 04 May 2010 07:47:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2670&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed alec.rosenberg@ucop.edu(Alec Rosenberg) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2670 Carl Winter has been called the “Elvis of E. coli” and the “Sinatra of Salmonella,” but you won’t find him headlining a lounge act in Las Vegas. Instead, the UC Davis food toxicologist crosses California – and the United States – to sing about a subject near and dear to him: food safety. Combining science-based information with a synthesizer, Winter performs food safety music parodies such as “You Better Wash Your Hands” (from the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand”) and “Don’t Be a Gambler”...... Mon, 03 May 2010 08:47:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2688&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed alec.rosenberg@ucop.edu(Alec Rosenberg) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2688 Home cooks know the secret to peeling tomatoes is a quick dip in hot water to loosen the skins. It takes a lot of water (and heating energy) to peel three million pounds of processing tomatoes in California each year. New UC Davis research is fine-tuning a novel way of peeling all those tomatoes with almost no water — using infrared heat. Two methods are used to remove skins in processed tomatoes — a hot water/lye dip, or steam. The dip method uses a lot of water, a lot of energy, and creates......
]]> Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:05:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2613&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed afilmer@ucdavis.edu(Ann Filmer) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2613 Last week (April 21, 2010) the Institute of Medicine issued an official report claiming that Americans consume too much salt and urging that new government standards be established for "acceptable sodium content" in foods. Two UC Davis nutrition experts disagree. In November, Judith Stern, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine, and David McCarron, an adjunct nutrition professor, both at UC Davis, published a study in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology that......
]]> Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:59:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2656&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed afilmer@ucdavis.edu(Ann Filmer) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2656 Several studies suggest that grass-fed beef is more nutritious than conventional grain-fed beef, says a research review published in the March 2010 issue of Nutrition Journal.The review, written by three Chico State professors and UC Cooperative Extension livestock advisors Glenn Nader and Stephanie Larson, says the diet of exclusively grass gives beef a higher amount of Vitamin A and E precursors, boosts cancer-fighting antioxidants and reduces overall fat content. "However, consumers should...... Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:39:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2582&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2582 UC researchers who created Nutributter and tested it successfully in several African nations are now preparing to reformulate and evaluate the dietary supplement for Bangladesh and Guatemala. The research aims to determine whether specially developed Nutributter can prevent stunting and abnormal motor development in a variety of cultures where children are at risk for malnutrition. The Africa Nutributter studies found that children preferred a sweet paste, but the scientists believe regional......
]]> Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2451&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2451 The combination of UC's successful strawberry breeding program with an array of north-to-south micro-climates allows California producers to harvest strawberries somewhere in the state practically year round. This year's wet, cool winter, however, is getting some of California's traditional springtime strawberry powerhouses off to a slow start, according to UC statewide strawberry specialist Kirk Larson, based at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Orange County. There haven't......
]]> Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:46:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2427&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2427 When Solano County 4-H’ers compete in their annual Chili Cookoff, part of the countywide Project Skills Day, the competition is as fierce as some of the hot peppers. This year’s cookoff was no different. When it was all over but the tasting, the “Beanless Babes Do Beans,” a duo from the Maine Prairie 4-H Club, Dixon,  won the championship, followed by “The Golden Spice Girls,” a trio from the Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon. Both teams provided unusual recipes: the Beanless Babes opted for elk burger......
]]> Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:15:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2322&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed kegarvey@ucdavis.edu(Kathy Garvey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2322 Nutritionists recommend eating a cup of leafy green vegetables every day, but recent reports about the safety of fresh greens may have some wondering whether it could do more harm than good. Consumers Union, the publishers of Consumer Reports magazine, analyzed store-bought prewashed and packaged leafy greens and published the results in the March 2010 issue. Currently, the FDA has no set guidelines for the presence of bacteria in leafy greens. Consumers Report said several industry......
]]> Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:15:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2317&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2317 Families today are starved for time, starved for money and starved for well-balanced meals, and USDA projections hold another piece of bad news: food prices are likely to increase 2.5 to 3.5 percent this year. The good news is there is one powerful five-letter word that will save you money on your food budget, allow you to eat healthier and cook less: beans. Beans and legumes are a powerhouse of nutrition, heart healthy and very economical. There are endless varieties of beans and legumes and......
]]> Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:23:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2219&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2219 California olive oil may cost a little more than the mass-produced imports commonly found at the supermarket, but UC farm advisor Paul Vossen said it is well worth the money.“Good olive oil imparts delicious, subtle flavors to foods, its antioxidants can neutralize free radicals in the body and it is ‘greener’ than other vegetable oils because it requires no heat or chemical extraction," says Vossen, who has traveled the world to study olive oil production.Most of the imported oils found at the...... Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:28:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2099&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2099 A report released by the Centers for Disease Control in September 2009 confirms what most moms already know - high school students don't eat anywhere close to enough fruit and vegetables. According to the report, only a third get two servings of fruit a day, and only 13 percent say they get three servings of vegetables. Adults don't have much higher marks. The CDC said only 33 percent of adults get two servings of fruit, and 27 percent three servings of vegetables. Compare that to the......
]]> Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:39:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2057&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2057 There is no evidence to support the claim that farm subsidies -- by making fattening foods relatively cheap and abundant -- contribute to obesity in the United States, according to an analysis led by UC Davis researchers. "U.S. farm subsidies have many critics. A variety of arguments and evidence can be presented to show that the programs are ineffective, wasteful or unfair," said Julian Alston, a professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis. "Eliminating farm subsidies could solve some......
]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:34:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2039&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2039 UC researchers studied farm-to-hospital initiatives in the Bay Area, and they found a growing movement to put locally produced food on patient trays and cafeteria menus. They say that buying from local farmers and ranchers is part of a trend toward better quality and flavor in hospital meals, both to satisfy consumer demand and to address concerns about dietary contributions to chronic disease. "Just replacing food-service cans with locally grown vegetables won't curb high rates of obesity and......
]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:26:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2038&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=2038