How Fruitcake Can Kill!!!

According to the December issue of Nutra News--New Product Update, dried and glaced fruits usually contain sulfites from the preserving process and “can be potentially fatal to persons suffering from asthma.” More common reactions are itching and nausea. Horrifying information such as this, plus diet recipes and recommendations on diet-oriented shopping, are yours when you subscribe to this monthly newsletter, $16.95 a year: Pat Zito Associates, 1300 Wintergreen, Fairview, Pa. 16415.

The Oyster: Lovely to Look At, Lovely to Talk About

Spat is the word for free-swimming oyster larvae that fall to the sea bottom and attach themselves to random solid stuff, such as bits of oyster shell, which is known as cultch.

Very Fast Food

The 60-Second Grill Express cooks meat faster than a microwave--it will do a hamburger in 60 seconds, a steak in 90 seconds, pork cutlets in two minutes. You put water (and optional flavorings) in a special trough, preheat the machine four minutes, put in the food and set the timer. No smoke, they say, and no accumulation of grease. If it sounds weird, at least it comes with an instructional videocassette and a water measuring beaker. At housewares, department and appliance stores.

I’ll Have One Quasi de Veau With Everything, to Go

Le Crocodile, a three-star restaurant in Strasbourg, France, recently offered a children’s dinner for the Christmas season: quasi de veau et foie gras en farandole petit lutin (veal steak with foie gras); sandre roti a laitance de carpe Sirella (pike perch with carp roe); galette belle de Fontenay au cepes (something-or-other cake with porcini mushrooms); dodine de poulette aux nouilles fraiches Blanche-Neige (boned, stuffed, braised chicken with pasta); tarte tatin, and special desserts in honor of St. Nicolas. It came to 300 francs, or about $50, per kid. (These were foodie kids, of course. “ J’aime pas le McDo ,” said one; “I don’t like Big Macs.”

Very Big Thermometer

Charcoal Companion, the barbecue paraphernalia manufacturer, is introducing an instant-read thermometer called the EZ Reach that features a 12-inch shaft and a wooden handle (color-coded with the readout dial for the safe cooked temperatures of various meats). Obviously this will save barbecuers a couple of singed fingers, but it should also be practical for people baking largish pieces of meat and all who don’t want to stick their hands too far into an oven. At barbecue stores.