Weird Eats

Peanut Butter Diamonds

Let me see if I've got it straight. Dogs are man's best friend, but peanut butter is a girl's best friend. Or are diamonds a girl's best friend?

As luck would have it, peanut butter and diamonds can both be a girl's best friend nowadays, thanks to some research being done by researchers at Edinburgh University. Using a great deal of pressure said experts can apparently make diamonds by "squeezing the paste between the tips of two diamonds."

Which apparently means you need diamonds to make diamonds, but hey, what are you gonna do?

More from the BBC.

Fry Mania

The passion for frying things. Has it gotten out of hand? Is there anything that can't be deep-fried and consumed? Even spaghetti and meatballs? The New York Times briefly considers the matter here.

Not so long ago a Brazilian housewife got into hot water for frying something you may never have thought of. ABC News tells all about it here. Do not try this at home, kids.

While you're at it, why not hearken back to our previous report on frying stuff?

Book Review - In Bad Taste?

In Bad Taste?: The Science and Adventures Behind Food Delicacies
by Massimo Francesco Marcone
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III

Nowadays some of our most high-profile guides to the world of offbeat foods just happen to be chefs. Take Anthony Bourdain, for example, or Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern. Dr. Massimo Marcone's background, as he puts it, is a little different. Marcone refers to himself as a "food scientist, adventurer, and urban myth buster."

New Bizarre Foods Episodes

Given the nature of this Web site, it's probably no surprise that we're kind of fond of the Travel Channel's new series - Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern. The show first aired earlier this year with a handful of episodes, many of which we've reviewed. To check out the reviews have a look at our Just Weird category here.

According to the Travel Channel, there are some new episodes in the works, with the first set to air July 9. The destination is Trinidad and Tobago. For more info here's the Bizarre Foods Web site.

Lutefisk

Lutefisk, typically made from codfish, is a Scandinavian delicacy that’s been described as a "tasteless glob of fishy Jell-O." As acquired tastes go, it ranks with Limburger or haggis, but lutefisk "feeds" are a tradition in Minnesota and Wisconsin, most notably in lutefisk capital Madison, Minnesota, at the annual Norsefest. While you’re there, don’t miss the statue of a giant cod named Lou T. Fisk. Clever.

Kobe Beef Hot Dogs

If you're among those haven't had a chance to sample Kobe beef yet, perhaps you're a vegetarian (present company included) or maybe you're just not ready to fork over a hefty sum of money for a piece of meat.

For a somewhat less pricey alternative, you might want to give Kobe (or at least Kobe-type) beef hot dogs a shot. Though, in many cases, they tend to be much pricier than a regular wiener. Here are a few places where you can sample one.

Fluffernutter

I've eaten my share of peanut butter - and then some. But I can't say that I've ever eaten a concoction known as a Fluffernutter. For the uninitiated, this a sandwich that's made with peanut butter and a gooey confection known as Marshmallow Fluff.

As one might expect nowadays, there's at least one Web site devoted to singing the praises of this sort of thing. Actually there are probably a lot more than one, but the one you'd probably want to start with would be the site maintained by the makers of Marshmallow Fluff. There are also links to Fluff history and to their recipe collection - The Yummy Book.

Image: Durkee-Mower Inc.

Cheez Whiz Inventor Dies

Say what you will about Cheez Whiz, but you probably won't say that it's a foodstuff that occurs naturally. In other words, somebody had to invent it. Edwin Traisman, who died recently at the age of 91, helped do just that during his stint working for Kraft Foods.

Traisman was also an early McDonald's franchisee and patented a Method for Preparing Frozen French Fried Potatoes, in 1962, which was later utilized by the company. For more on the life of the man who brought us cheese-like stuff in a can, read his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

To check out Kraft's official - and somewhat sparse - Cheez Whiz site, go here.

Banana Split Festival

Unless you're close to Wilmington, Ohio, it may be too late for you to make it out to the Banana Split Festival, which is wrapping up today. But if you can't get there, take heart. There's always next year.

Though I've lived in Pennsylvania for a large part of my life, I never realized that there was any sort of contention between us and our neighbors over the banana split. But, according to a page at the festival site, there is.

Apparently the good people in Wilmington, Ohio have laid claim to inventing the banana split, a claim that they're also making in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. More details on the controversy here.

The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, for what it might be worth, credits Latrobe with inventing the treat in 1904.

Thanks to CHOW's The Grinder for tipping me off to this event.

save to del.icio.us

Serving Time - Prison Cookbook

To call Serving Time a prison cookbook might be a little misleading, as it suggests that perhaps prisoners were involved in the making of the cookbook. In fact, the volume of more than 500 recipes is the work of staff members at Wisconsin's Racine Correctional Institution and Sturtevant Transitional Facility.

For more information on the cookbook, check out this article from the Racine Journal Times. If you're looking to actually buy the book, that might be a little trickier. It doesn't appear to be listed at the major online booksellers.

save to del.icio.us