Calling All Bugs

How to make an olfactometer: Put jars containing different rice plants at the corners of a square platform, place an insect in the middle of the platform, then watch which plant it walks toward. The International Rice Research Institute uses an olfactometer to find out which rice varieties attract insects, preferably the insects that prey on rice’s enemies.

Yeah, Yeah--But Can We Get Sparkling Blush Uhudler?

Having tried to stamp them out for 50 years, the Austrian government may soon legalize the so-called Uhudler wines (named for a variety of owl), which are made from non-traditional grape varieties. In Decanter Magazine, Giles MacDonogh reports tasting some white Uhudlers made from the American grape variety Noah (he found a “cherry-bubblegum” aroma) and some pale reds made from Ripartella (a “synthetic, cream-soda strawberry” bouquet). New evidence shows Uhudlers contain no more wood alcohol than other wines and are safe to drink, though MacDonogh does note that Noah grapes were once blamed for high levels of insanity in the Beaujolais region.

It’ll Be a Wok-Off

Pillsbury is about to sponsor a $1 million canned corn cooking contest, based on the Pillsbury Bake-Off idea, in Taiwan--where 90% of Pillsbury’s Green Giant brand sales are canned corn. If it catches on, there may be an All-Southeast Asian canned corn cooking contest next year.

Who’s Gene, Anyway?

Would-be beef-banner Jeremy Rifkin also opposes the Food and Drug Authority’s recent green light to genetically engineered foodstuffs (see below). Though he portrays potatoes with waxmoth genes and tomatoes with flounder genes as mad scientist stuff, gene-sharing is actually not new. Biologists believe green plants are descended from algae that somehow incorporated blue-green bacteria genes.

Next: Toffee Tastings

The food industry is betting that the next flavor will be toffee. Soon we’ll be seeing toffee cookies from Keebler and Entenmann’s and Heath Bar Crunch frozen yogurt from Ben & Jerry’s. And Cracker Jack is about to bring out its first new flavor in 99 years: butter toffee.

Two Basic Food Groups Unite

Just like Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry’s, Mrs. Field’s now has a brand of ice cream with cookies already mixed in: say, chocolate chip cookies in chocolate chip ice cream, or brownie fudge with fudge ribbons in mint ice cream. These and six other flavors just showed up last week in the L.A. area at markets such as Von’s, at $3.99-$4.99 per half gallon, $1.69-$2.29 a pint. For addicts, there are also cookie/ice cream bars at $2.69-$3.09.

Dangdest Whiskey Ever

Jim Beam now distributes an ultra-toney Danish vodka flavored with citrus and herbs, which comes in a mysterious three-sided bottle engraved with stars and moons ($22.95). Jubilaeum has been promoted by tastings at film festivals, art auctions and charity benefits, and Wolfgang Puck has developed a recipe for smoked Maine lobster with Jubilaeum sauce. What we want to know is, what do they think about all this back in Kentucky?