Rx: Grape Punch

Last year, Cornell University plant scientist Leroy Creasy announced that resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine (Bordeaux above all), seems to lower cholesterol. Now he’s found resveratrol in Concord grape juice, though not at Bordeaux levels. Next Creasy will study the cholesterol-fighting potential of non-alcoholic wines, raisins and grape jams and jellies.

Can You Spell ‘Nutritionally Correct’?

Sesame Place, the seven-acre theme park in Langhorne, Penn., that’s based on the “Sesame Street” characters, sells no candy or fried foods (its potato “fries” are baked) and pushes carob cookies instead of chocolate. Its biggest seller, however, is cheese pizza, despite a short-lived attempt to foist a whole-wheat crust on its young clientele. They simply ate the topping and left the wholesome crust.

Finish What’s on Your Table, Young Lady

On Saturday, Samantha Marcarelli turned 3 with a birthday cake measuring 56 inches by 40 inches and weighing 80 pounds--not counting the 240 pounds of ornament on top, which included a grotto with a fountain, a fish tank, a revolving castle and a 19th-Century street scene complete with gas lamps. Her mother, Maria Marcarelli, designed this $1,355 extravaganza (the cake part was baked by Phil’s Simi Bakery of Simi Valley) as a celebration of the sense of wonder. Samantha herself seemed overwhelmed.

I Have Phylloxera--Won’t You Help?

Dry Creek Vineyards is not taking the new outbreak of phylloxera sitting down--it’s selling wine from vines suffering from the vine root louse. The consciousness-raising bottling (Bug Creek Vineyard Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon) is $6.50, with 10% of the proceeds going for research on the insect threat.

New ‘Animal’ on the Block

“For years I have asked suppliers to give me a new animal,” says New York chef Seppi Renggli. “My new animal is sturgeon.” Now he makes osso bucco, chops in red wine sauce and scaloppine on angel hair pasta out of the caviar-producing fish, which is being farmed in Northern California.

New Age Meets Ice Age

Nirav Frozen Vegetarian Foods has a line of 15 frozen entrees (mostly vegetable curries, natch) at $2.99 each, currently available at Indian stores and markets in the Los Angeles area.

The Secret Carton

Sour cream, cottage cheese and whipped butter cartons look tacky on the table. According to Miss Manners, you should scoop the contents into a bowl (which you’ll have to cover with plastic wrap in the refrigerator and wash when it’s empty). Instead, you might simply stick the carton itself into a lidded ceramic container called Dairy Keep. It’s lead-free, dishwater-safe and, for that matter, microwavable: $9.95, plus tax and $3.25 shipping, from Canyan Industries, P.O. Box 2805, Orange, Calif. 92669-0805.