Here’s a peppering of food news from around the region and nation:
Farmers markets
The Port Orchard Farmers Market opens Saturday, joining Bainbridge Island, Gig Harbor, Olalla, Port Townsend and Poulsbo, Silverdale and Suquamish in the weekly chances for local food and goodies. Next up on the opening list is Bremerton, which begins May 5, and it apparently has grown and will be in the grass this year at Evergreen Park. Following that will be Belfair and Chimacum.
Washington wines
This year’s late freeze may hurt the quality of this year’s Eastern Washington wine crop, reports Crosscut. The late freeze likely damaged grape plants’ primary buds, the ones responsible for most of the fruit, a wine expert explains. While the secondary buds also produce fruit, vineyards may have a mix of both, making ripening uneven, which has an adverse effect on the wine’s quality.
Modern dinner
Seattle Food Geek was invited to and photographed dinner at the lab where the contents of the mighty tomes of “Modernist Cuisine: the Art and Science of Cooking” were researched, tested and photographed. Since the six-book collection was released earlier this year, the food world has been abuzz over them and rekindled the conversation over more scientific approaches to cooking. The authors, including former Microsoft chief technology officer turned modern chef Nathan Myhrvold, have been inviting food experts to the lab to sample the foods. I’m sure my invitation is in the mail.
Magic Mushrooms
The (Tacoma) News Tribune reports that Lacey-based Ostrom mushrooms are offering “magic” mushrooms boosted with Vitamin D. How do they do it? The mushrooms get it the same way people can: with a little sunshine-like UV rays.
Is culinary salt worth it?
The Curious Cook at the New York Times takes a look at culinary salt and asks, can people really taste the difference? The answer: they can for some and writer Harold McGee leaves it up to readers to decide what and whether it’s worth it.
