Latest news with #Ziska
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Remote island is now the ultimate bucket-list destination for food
In 2017, aged just 27, Ziska earned Faroe Islands their first ever Michelin star, followed by a second star two years later. Koks is now closed, but Ziska is back home in Tórshavn, once again setting out to prove that sometimes challenging Faroese flavours can be made accessible to an international audience. He reinvents local specialities such as fermented lamb, sheep tallow, wind-dried fish and fresh fulmar, so that diners get an understanding of the culinary soul of these islands where nature is raw and tough. 'I cook the things that surround me here in Faroes,' Ziska explains at the end of my meal. He is calm, unassuming and lacks arrogance about his awards. 'I want to use the ingredients I know, and for me there's no substitute for the freshness of what we can source locally.' Just as he did at Koks, Ziska delivers a multi-course tasting menu at Paz, surprising my palate with earthy flavours: caviar in a buttermilk sauce spiced with locally gathered seaweed, horse-mussels with trout roe and pickled pine needles, and sea-snail served with fermented berries and wild coriander oil with turnip glaze. The stars of the show – and Ziska makes every meal a performance – are freshly steamed cod with bladderwrack, and a plump Faroese langoustine tail seared in a reduction of brown butter that somehow manages to taste of the freshness of the North Atlantic depths and yet be as sweet as a caramelised pudding.
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
Remote island is now the ultimate bucket-list destination for food
In 2017, aged just 27, Ziska earned Faroe Islands their first ever Michelin star, followed by a second star two years later. Koks is now closed, but Ziska is back home in Tórshavn, once again setting out to prove that sometimes challenging Faroese flavours can be made accessible to an international audience. He reinvents local specialities such as fermented lamb, sheep tallow, wind-dried fish and fresh fulmar, so that diners get an understanding of the culinary soul of these islands where nature is raw and tough. 'I cook the things that surround me here in Faroes,' Ziska explains at the end of my meal. He is calm, unassuming and lacks arrogance about his awards. 'I want to use the ingredients I know, and for me there's no substitute for the freshness of what we can source locally.' Just as he did at Koks, Ziska delivers a multi-course tasting menu at Paz, surprising my palate with earthy flavours: caviar in a buttermilk sauce spiced with locally gathered seaweed, horse-mussels with trout roe and pickled pine needles, and sea-snail served with fermented berries and wild coriander oil with turnip glaze. The stars of the show – and Ziska makes every meal a performance – are freshly steamed cod with bladderwrack, and a plump Faroese langoustine tail seared in a reduction of brown butter that somehow manages to taste of the freshness of the North Atlantic depths and yet be as sweet as a caramelised pudding.
The Hindu
21-04-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Study links climate change with rising arsenic levels in rice, increasing cancer risks for Asians
Climate change could be resulting in higher levels of arsenic in rice, potentially increasing lifetime cancer and health risks for people in Asian countries by 2050, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal. Rising arsenic levels in rice Researchers from Columbia University, US, explained that an increase in temperatures above 2 degrees Celsius and rising levels of carbon dioxide could be causing changes in soil chemistry, favouring arsenic, which gets more easily absorbed into a rice grain. Contaminated soil and irrigated water while growing rice are known to increase inorganic arsenic in rice. An increased exposure to arsenic is known to heighten the risk of cancers of the lung, bladder and skin, among others. Rice can also absorb additional arsenic from water used for cooking. "Our results suggest that this increase in arsenic levels could significantly elevate the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and other non-cancer health effects," author Lewis Ziska, associate professor of environmental health sciences, Columbia University, said. Health risks and projections "As rice is a dietary staple in many parts of the world, these changes could lead to a substantial rise in the global burden of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and other arsenic-related health issues," Ziska said. Studies have revealed rice consumption to be a major health threat to people in South and Southeast Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam, where rice is the staple food. The combined effects of rising CO2 and temperatures on arsenic accumulation in rice have not been studied in detail until now, the team said. In this study, the researchers measured the effects of rising temperatures and carbon dioxide on 28 rice strains over 10 years in the field. Using models, inorganic arsenic doses and health risks for seven Asian countries -- Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam -- were estimated. "We found that temperature and CO2 act synergistically to increase arsenic concentrations in rice, compounding dietary arsenic exposures for rice consumers and leading to projected cancer cases in the tens of millions among populations of Asian countries in 2050," according to the study. Projected average cases of bladder and lung cancer in 2050 were found to increase in proportion with exposure to arsenic, with the highest risk projections (44 per cent) seen for rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels. China was projected to see 1.34 crore cases of cancer attributable to arsenic in rice in 2050 -- the highest among the seven countries studied. "Emerging evidence also suggests that arsenic exposure may be linked to diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes, neurodevelopmental issues, and immune system effects," Ziska said. Mitigation strategies The authors suggested measures to reduce arsenic exposure, including breeding plants to minimise arsenic uptake and improved soil management in rice paddies, along with public health initiatives.
