The Perky Centennial
Shredded Wheat was invented 100 years ago by a lawyer named Henry D. Perky as an indigestion remedy. He and his brother first started a company to sell shredding machines so you could shred in the privacy and comfort of your own kitchen. It was when the firm went broke that they hit on the idea of selling wheat pre-shredded (we now buy 56 million pounds a year).
Who’s the Worst Cook You Know?
Self-declared bad cook Mike D. Nelson is looking for the worst recipes in the world. The winners so far are chocolate-covered chicken, tuna-marshmallow supreme, wiener water soup and liver pudding, but if you can top that, send your worst to Worst Recipes, Box 580075, Minneapolis, Minn. 55458. You could win . . . a copy of Nelson’s forthcoming book containing yours and other terrible recipes.
Go for the Sting
“The first significant innovation in canned tuna since the introduction of water-pack,” says Bumblebee Tuna of its Light Chunk Tuna with jalapeno. Of course, you could just add your own jalapenos to any tuna, but this stuff really is delicious, medium-hot with a long, satisfying burn, and may revolutionize the tuna casserole tradition. Being introduced to markets in the Southwest this month: 99 cents per 6 1/2-ounce can.
Breakfast of Chiefs
General Mills bet a pile on the Redskins. Before the Super Bowl it printed up 100,000 Wheaties boxes with pictures of the Redskins on them; as soon as the game was over, it filled the boxes with cereal and raced them to markets in the Washington, D.C. area. If the Bills had won, General Mills would have had just a pile of cardboard.
I’ll Have a Taos With a Water Back
The beverage industry speaks of the trend away from “brown goods” (whiskey, brandy) toward “white goods” (vodka, tequila). The ultimate white good has now been achieved: Taos, from Seagram’s--a 5%-alcohol aperitif made from vodka and mineral water.
Next: Swordfish Rib Roast
David Burke, chef of Park Avenue Cafe in New York, is so proud of a dish he created that he has actually trademarked the name: Swordfish Chop. It’s a cut of swordfish that looks like a thick veal chop (a boneless one, thankfully--you can choke on those little tiny veal bones).
New Health Food Rage: Flax Licorice Garlic Brownies
Flaxseed update: The Canadian government is sponsoring research on flax, the new wonder food: cancer fighter, Omega-3 source and fibermeister (and a big crop in Saskatchewan). Its researcher estimates that to get the full cholesterol- and triglyceride-lowering effect of flaxseed, the ideal daily dosage is 25 milligrams. Back in the U.S., Herbert Pierson, director of the National Cancer Institute’s designer foods program, says the three top foods the program’s looking at are flaxseed, garlic and licorice extract.