Weird Eats

Caffeine Mania

By all rights, Americans should be getting very twitchy by now, with all the emphasis on caffeinated beverages and whatnot over the past few years. But caffeine isn't just for drinks anymore, as you surely must already have known.

Read more about some recent caffeinated developments in this article from the Davis Enterprise. Among the revved up items it covers - caffeinated soap, stockings (!), sunflower seeds, and mints.

Not surprisingly, the article also touches on the notion that perhaps the caffeine thing is getting a bit out of hand. Which is as good a time as any to mention the Caffeine Awareness Alliance, "a non-profit organization, has created a new online forum that addresses the concerns and issues regarding caffeine addiction."

More about the Alliance here.

Food On The Go

If you find anything the least bit peculiar about a candy bar designed to be eaten "on the go" you'll want to check out this recent article from the Washington Post. It takes a look at the increasing efforts - and sometimes absurd lengths - food makers will go to to make their products portable.

Among the other "portable" foods mentioned, peanut butter, yogurt, coffee, and cocktails.

10 Designer Fruits We'd Like To See

Bizarre cross-bred and genetically tweaked fruits are hardly the stuff of science fiction these days. If your local grocery store is forward-thinking enough you might be able to find such quirky delights as an Aprium (apricot & plum), Grapple (grape-flavored apple), or Nectaplum (nectarine & plum), just to name a few.

Not to put a fruit fly in anyone's ear or anything, but here are some possibilities that might be worth looking into:

Allergen Free Peanuts

I've eaten my share of peanut butter over the years - and then some. I guess it goes without saying that I'm not among the increasing numbers of those who are allergic to peanuts.

Researchers at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University recently came up with a way to remove allergens from peanuts, a process they hope to apply to other foods. Ain't progress a wonderful thing?

Although, if I were allergic to peanuts, I think I'd want to wait and make sure they have all the kinks worked out of this process before eating any. After all, it is a matter of life and death. For that matter, I might just be tempted to stick with a peanut free regimen. Your mileage may vary.

For more of the pertinent details, check out this UPI report.

Prefabbed PB&J

There's a standup comic - I don't remember which one - who waxes witty about premixed PB&J of the Goober Grape type. The gist of the gag is that perhaps we don't really need that much convenience and that perhaps those who are so pressed for time that they can be bothered to open two jars might actually benefit from some time management tips.

Cereal Straws & Celery Straws

The drinking straw - what a marvel of simple utility. It's hardly an innovation that needs improving, but that hasn't stopped a few food companies from attempting to do just that lately.

Take Kellogg's, for instance, who now offer Froot Loops Cereal Straws, a gimmick that kinda sorta makes sense, if you're a kid.

The target audience for celery straws is presumably a little older, unless there are kids out there who have been hitting the Bloody Marys after a long day at their desks. The celery straw, which is exactly what you're probably thinking it is, comes to us courtesy of Duda Farm Fresh Foods.

For even more on edible straws, check out our previous entry about Sipahh milk flavoring straws, here.

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.

Peanut Butter Gun & PB Paintings

When it comes right down to it, a peanut butter and jelly gun is probably not going to advance the cause of humankind very much. But that didn't stop the inventing team of Tim Homoya and Austin Nelson from coming up with such a gizmo. The pair are hoping the gadget will land them a spot on the TV show American Inventor. More info here.

Portable Microwave & Mood Lids

I can't imagine why you'd need a portable microwave, but that's just me. Besides, nobody ever asks me what they think before they come up with these kinds of gadgets.

Food Books For Geeks

Food and science. Not a pair of words that you normally expect to see associated with each other. But the fact is that there is no aspect of food production and consumption that is not inextricably intertwined with science, whether it be the growth of plants and the development of animals, to preparation and processing of food stuffs to perhaps one of the most fundamental aspects of all - at least for epicureans - how we actually perceive the often complex and subtle flavors of our food.

(Read more of my article, Food Geeks: The Almost Definitive Guide to Pop Food Science Books, at Epicurean.com.)

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