Latest news with #Camembert
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Why mushrooms have magical stories spinning around them
It really is like magic: one morning there's nothing on the grass, the next morning, you spot this delicate, silvery grey umbrella-like structure standing on a slim stalk. A look around and you spot a couple more. And the following morning, they vanished! No wonder mushrooms (and toadstools) have all those fairy stories humming around them! They are of course, a form of fungi that — along with yeast and mold — form an enormous family of micro-organisms that, separated by a billion years from plants and animals, are neither. However, in ways mushrooms resemble both, though they are closer to animals! Like plants, fungi cannot travel and obtain nourishment through an underground network of thread- like roots called hyphae. And like animals, they cannot make their own food via photosynthesis but have to depend on obtaining it second-hand from those that do. Much remains unknown about this vast clan. So far some 1,48,000 species have been identified (out of a possible total of between 2.2-3.8 million), of which 8,000 are known to be harmful to plants and 300 pathogenic to us. But the good that they do far outweighs the bad. Fungi in various forms (along with bacteria) are principal decomposers of dead organic material, turning them back into nutrients like phosphates and nitrates that are vital for plants. Our planet would be buried under dead, rotting organic material otherwise; a hotbed of disease and infection. Also, fungi recycle carbon and other vital elements into the ecosystem. Along with plants, fungi, in a process called soil carbon sequestration, capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil for hundreds of years, improving soil fertility and reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. They can be deadly (the death cap mushroom aka Amanita phalloides), delicious (truffles), nuisances (ringworm) and life savers. Penicillin is a mold, and has saved millions of lives, and yeast has been used for millennia to leaven bread and cakes and in the making of beer, brandy, whisky and rum! We'd have no Camembert or Brie without them. Less toxic mushrooms like the fly agaric — when cooked — have been used for 'recreational' purposes, giving people, and especially pop-stars, hallucinogenic highs. Mushrooms have been used as a food source on a commercial scale and have numerous health benefits, as they are rich in Vitamins B, C, D as well as in phosphorus, potassium, calcium and protein. Six per cent of edible mushrooms have medicinal qualities and can help boost our immune system. Some species are known to be anti-diabetic, inhibit tumour growth and AIDs. Some fungi can even decompose and degrade pollutants in the atmosphere such as plastics and petroleum-based products as well as personal care products. By enriching the soil and working as bio-pest controllers, they can encourage the growth of forests in degraded areas. The underground network of hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi deals with plants and trees (as many of 90 per cent of all plants are so involved) to reach beyond the plant's root network and obtain nourishment for the trees in exchange for carbon. They also enable trees to do deals with each other: those with excess nutrients can supply to those in deficit via the hyphae. But they are a selfish species that takes more than they need and deliberately starve their neighbours. This astonishing underground network has been called the wood wide web. They occur in a bewildering variety, from microscopic molds to varnished shelf-like mushrooms, growing on tree trunks and boughs and quaint toadstool 'villages', crouched quietly in the shade. The visible portions of fungi are their fruiting bodies through which they scatter millions of spores into the breeze via their 'gills'. Reproduction can be sexual or asexual. The 'invisible' food gathering part, called the Mycelium, grows underground. Fungi may grow anywhere – on stale bread, damp leather, dead wood, and as I found, in dewy grass as well. The spores of one species of fungus – Ophiocordyceps unilateralis aka the zombie ant fungus – can be a complete nightmare for some species of ants like the carpenter ant. The spores fall on the ant, bury themselves inside its body and then, like an evil hacker, take control of the ant's brain by spreading the hyphae, forcing it to fall out of its nest. They then climb onto a plant of suitable height (around 26 cm) to face the right direction in order to get the right amount of humidity. Now ants are usually hardwired to obey the dictates of the colony and their place in it, so the short-circuiting of this iron-clad system is perhaps something even we should worry about! (Is there a zombie-human fungus out there somewhere biding its time?!) The ant will now clamp onto the stem or leaf with super-bulldog tenacity in a death clasp, while the fungus eats it from the inside. When it is ready to fruit, (and in the final humiliation for the ant), it bursts through the ant's head spreading spores far and wide, sometimes on to other unfortunate ants in the vicinity. The study of fungi is called mycology and it is clear that we have to do a lot more of it! We call them puffballs, fairy rings, shiitake, enoki, magic mushrooms, stinkhorns, button mushrooms et al. While it might be romantic to go wandering about in a damp forest collecting mushrooms, it's better to leave them where they are, and not pan-fry them with a little butter for breakfast. Not even if you are one hundred percent sure they are safe.
Irish Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Music Quiz: Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star in a movie about a husband-and-wife tribute act to which music institution?
Which North of England city was home to Studio Electrophonique? Liverpool Sheffield Leeds Manchester Who from Radiohead contributed to tribute album The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake (2023)? Thom Yorke Philip Selway Jonny Greenwood Colin Greenwood The man born Chaim Witz is better known as Kiss rocker...? Ace Frehley Peter Criss Gene Simmons Paul Stanley Which European film director is referenced in an album title by art-pop duo Sparks? Federico Fellini Ingmar Bergman Pedro Almodóvar Jean-Luc Godard What type of French cheese is associated with an album title by '70s prog/psychedelic band Gong? Brie Roquefort Camembert Bleu d'Auvergne Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star in an upcoming drama about a couple who form a tribute act to which American music institution? The Carpenters Neil Diamond Sonny & Cher Billy Joel Which 1950s/60s Euro actress is name-checked in the New York Dolls' 1974 song It's Too Late? Alexandra Bastedo Diana Dors Brigitte Bardot Zsa Zsa Gábor What did Iggy Pop call his 1980 autobiography? Blah Blah Power Raw Power I Need More I Need Less What is the name of Pete Doherty's record label? Trap Originals Strap Originals Crap Originals Von Trapp Originals Who is currently working with Lena Dunham on a musical adaptation of the romcom 10 Things I Hate About You? Lady Gaga Chappel Roan Sabrina Carpenter Carly Rae Jepsen
Daily Record
28-04-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Parmesan fans are 'going vegan' after learning how their favourite cheese is made
Some individuals are reeling after uncovering a fact about Parmesan cheese, prompting responses from "going vegan" to feeling "violated". Cheese might not typically strike one as being non-vegetarian, but the revelation regarding the production of Parmesan has caught many off guard due to its non-meat-free production method. As the Mirror highlighted, this cheese is crafted using rennet, which is an enzyme extracted from the stomach linings of young ruminants such as calves, lambs, and kids. A tweet posted in 2023 that left cheese lovers astonished announced: "Today years old when I found out Parmesan cheese is made from baby cow's stomach and I could go cry. I'm just gonna have to go full vegan at this point." The prospects of eating Parmesan again dwindled for some upon learning about its origins. One individual expressed their dismay: "I did not know. This makes me very sad. I like Parmesan but don't think I can ever eat it again," and another was equally disturbed: "Wow, I had never heard that! Dairy is scary for real." The person who posted the original message further declared: "I feel violated." To the chagrin of vegetarians, an array of other cheeses also contain rennet, including favourites like Manchego, Gruyere, Gorgonzola, and Camembert. On the brighter side, there are types of cheese available that don't use animal-derived rennet, allowing vegetarians to relish varieties such as Cheddar , Feta, Mozzarella, and Wensleydale without qualms. It was pointed out by one Twitter commentator that: "Rennet doesn't have to be from animal sources, there are vegetarian variants that work the same. "But it's true that you'll have to check for this to be able to say it's actually vegetarian." Another chimed in claiming: "Most rennet today uses genetically-engineered yeast and bacteria in its production, rather than calf stomachs." Another food's production process that has taken people by surprise recently is paprika , with people only learning what it's actually made from. Rather than being derived from a plant or herb, the deep-red spice that gives a sweet and smoky kick to dishes, is actually made from ground peppers. Paprika can be made with many different kinds of papers, from cayenne to Aleppo. Whichever pepper is chosen is left to dry than crushed using a mortar and pestle. Similar to Parmesan, it was a tweet that was previously shared the made the spicy revelation. At the time in 2023, @simsimmaaz tweeted: "Learning that paprika is just dried and crushed red bell peppers was really shocking. Like I dunno why I thought there was a Paprika tree somewhere." Multiple comments showed how this left people surprised, with one reading: "I didn't think there was a paprika tree, but I for sure thought it was some kind of spice blend or like its own thing that they just powdered."
Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Times
Oyster or Roquefort? Gallic flavours rustle up new market for crisps
The French are munching crisps in ever greater quantities as flavours based on Gallic specialities have become more widespread, among them oysters, Camembert and pastis, the anise-flavoured spirit. Other innovations include crisps seasoned to taste like aligot, a dish of mashed potatoes blended with cheese and garlic; tartiflette, a baked dish of potatoes, cheese, bacon and onions; and Roquefort, the strong and salty blue cheese. Crisp sales have risen 42 per cent over the past decade, according to new data, partly because a packet costs an average of only €1.30, despite inflation. Choice has widened too, with 120 varieties now available in France compared with 108 five years ago, according to the consumer magazine LSA. 'If we only had four or five flavours,
New York Times
16-04-2025
- General
- New York Times
How a Reporter Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Steak Fries
At first, I had nothing more than a rant in mind. It was January, and I had been to two restaurants in the span of a single week that had served me steak fries, first alongside some lamb chops, the second time next to a burger. On both occasions I had felt the instant pang of disappointment, followed by an unhappy sort of wonderment. Doesn't everyone hate these things? Thick, often undercooked and typically without crunch, they hardly seem to qualify as a fry. But I was genuinely curious. I wanted to know what was going on in the mind of the chef who considered steak fries a smart addition to any menu. This was a perfectly natural sort of inquiry for me because I am the chief French fry correspondent at The New York Times. That was a joke. I write features for the Business desk, and I have written about restaurants on a few occasions. Most recently, I went long on the surprisingly fraught demise of Red Lobster. But one of the pleasures of working at this newspaper is that it is filled with editors on many different desks who will take a pitch from anyone. In this case, that editor was Brian Gallagher, on the Food desk. 'Any interest in a piece about the mysterious persistence of steak fries?' I asked in an email. 'I like this!' he wrote back. My first step was to call David Burke, owner of Park Ave Kitchen in Manhattan, the second of the steak fry-offering restaurants I had visited. He sounded every bit as flummoxed as me. This was the doing of his chef, William Lustberg, he explained. Soon, Mr. Lustberg joined our call, and then he said something surprising. He had added steak fries to the menu on purpose. Nostalgia was part of it; the steak fry heyday, as far as anyone can tell, had been in the late 1970s and early '80s, and Mr. Lustberg figured that they were so out of favor now that they were due for a comeback. You should try our Midtown hipster fries, he said, which are topped with Camembert cheese and maple-soaked bacon. My plan, which was simply to fulminate about steak fries — I imagined a tone poem, filled with rage and starch — was over. Here was a chef who had found redeeming features in steak fries, and was showcasing them in a novel way. This left open the possibility that he wasn't alone. Maybe my article should be about the rum band of chefs who were proud to serve the world's least loved French fry. Before going further, I had to determine whether my distaste for steak fries was a personal quirk or a widely shared opinion. So I called Sysco, the Houston-based food giant, which sells to restaurants, hospitals and just about everywhere else. I found myself on a Zoom call with Neil Doherty, the company's senior director of global culinary strategy. Sysco offers a steak fry, he said, and it is either dead last or close to it on sales ranking lists in the United States. It has a following among people who want the taste of potato rather than crispy coating. 'That's why steak fries are still big in the U.K. and Ireland,' said Mr. Doherty, 'especially in bars and in fish-and-chip land.' Get in touch with someone at Red Robin, he suggested, referring to a burger chain of nearly 500 restaurants that has long put steak fries at the forefront of its menu. About a week later, I took a bus from Manhattan to Secaucus, N.J., and met Andrew Birkbeck, a Red Robin culinary product developer, who'd flown in from the company's headquarters in Greenwood Village, Colo. In a test kitchen there, he said, he and two other recipe developers spend their days in culinary mad scientist mode, whipping up new menu items, which include different sauces for steak fries. He fried up a batch and we sat at a table dunking them into the sauces. The appeal was instantly, blazingly clear. Simply putting salt and ketchup on steak fries is to miss their point. They are designed to carry big, bold flavors. Three days after this tasting my brain was still occasionally firing neurons bearing a message. 'Go back to Red Robin,' it said. 'Eat steak fries.' The next week I returned to Park Ave Kitchen and tried Chef Lustberg's so-called hipster fries. Obviously the name is a terrible idea, but the pile of ingredients atop the dish, in tandem with the fries, proved irresistible. I am still convinced that the undercooked steak fry, with a bit of salt and ketchup, is a disaster. But that is not the fault of the steak fries. It's the fault of chefs. When my article was published, steak fry fans showed up by the dozens in the comments section and in my inbox. One contested the very premise of my story. 'This article must be a hoax,' wrote someone identified as Corey, who then helpfully hinted at a solid idea for a follow-up article. 'Seasoned curly fries are an abomination.'
