Two New York Times stories put the spotlight on so-called “functional foods” this weekend. One (Dessert, Laid-Back and Legal) reported on processed snacks containing melatonin; another (Foods with Benefits, or So They Say) attempted to shed light on the murky world of health claims on food labels. Does its oatmeal really help reduce cholesterol, as…
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World class wine where you might least expect it
Driving the back roads of Maine’s mid coast last week brought us to Harpswell, population 5300, one of Casco Bay’s sweet spots. We saw charming white churches and quite a few homes with lobster traps stacked in the yard. Here and there a bend in the road yielded a magnificent view of the bay and…
Why sweet wine at Passover?
Over at The Atlantic, Brandeis historian Yoni Applebaum is speculating on why sweet wines are favored for Passover. He tells an intriguing story involving homemade (or at least locally-produced) raisin wine and the gradual emergence of the native Concord variety as the grape of choice for a series of New York wineries catering to the…