A Closer Look at Agave Syrup

The sap from the Mexican plant agave is now increasingly being sold beside honey on supermarket shelves as a natural sweetener called agave nectar. Companies that sell it say it saves calories and raises blood sugar less than conventional sugar. Doctors are skeptical that it is healthier, and the Glycemic Research Institute has issued a warning that it may not be safe for diabetics.

IACP Awards in Progress

The 2010 IACP Bert Greene Awards for Food Journalism and the Awards of Excellence are now in progress. Entries are due at Headquarters by December 7, 2009.

Read more about these exciting awards programs and enter or nominate someone today!

Bert Greene Awards

Awards of Excellence

Vongerichten Returns to Boston

Nation's Restaurant News reports that renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is opening a restaurant called Market in the W Hotel in Boston. The menu will feature French, Asian and Italian dishes made from locally sourced food items.

The restaurant’s debut will mark Vongerichten’s return to Boston after two decades. He began his career in the United States as executive chef at the Lafayette restaurant there.

Food is Active Category for New Magazine Launches

In the first nine months of the year, 383 titles were shelved and 259 were introduced, according to MediaFinder, an online database of U.S. and Canadian periodicals. Food was one of the most active categories for new launches, with 14 new titles started.

Irene Tinker on Street Food Vendors

Political scientist and street-food studies expert Irene Tinker is interviewed by Gourmet about the symbiotic relationship of urbanization and street food, gender dynamics in food preparation and purchase, and some of the hazards—and joys—of the trade for vendor and consumer alike.

Some Pesky Plants Taste Great

Generally invasive plants like garlic mustard, kudzu, and Japanese knotweed are pulled up and controlled because of their tendency to crowd out native species. Some are now also being enjoyed at the dinner table.

Closing the Book on Gourmet

Founded in 1941, Gourmet magazine closes its doors. Read more from:

The NY Times

The LA Times

TIME Magazine

NPR

Why You Can't Miss the IACP Conference

Filmed at the 2009 Annual Conference in Denver by Joe Baran, Workingman's Film.

Sodium Reform

Donna Berry at Food Product Design explains why many in the food-formulating industry believe salt is the next target, despite conflicting opinions among medical and nutritional authorities regarding required daily intakes.

More Great Street Food Vendors in Portland

Gourmet has also posted their top picks from Portland’s bustling street-food scene, which include Potato Champion, Northwest Hot Dogs, and the Cora y Huichol Tacqueria. Eight Great Street-Food Vendors in Portland, OR by Marisa Robertson-Textor

Portland's Street Carts are a Dining Destination

"Portland, Oregon, is leading a delicious dining revolution," writes Nancy Rommelmann for Bon Appetit.

Click through BA's Art of the Street Cart slideshow to check out some of Nancy's top picks for small food trucks and mobile carts in Portland.

We can't wait to explore these street carts while we're there for the 2010 IACP Annual Conference!

Social Media is helping DiSpirito Write a Cookbook

Chef Rocco DiSpirito is writing his new cookbook with input from his Twitter and Facebook fans. The media-savvy chef is turning to these social networks to gather opinions on which dishes he should include in his new healthy food makeover cookbook in the hopes of making his book more relevant to his readers.

'Gastronomica' Reissues the Julia Child Issue

Serious Eats reports that Gastronomica magazine has reissued the “The Julia Issue." Long-time Gastronomica readers will remember the Summer 2005 special issue featuring ruminations by Jacques Pépin, Paul Child, Alex Prud’homme and others on the iconoclastic American chef Julia Child. And while this special issue long ago moved into the realm of hard-to-find collectors' item, they’re bringing it back now in honor of Julia and the renewed appreciation of her genius in the wake of "Julie & Julia". www.gastronomica.org/julia

Obama Administration Launches Food Safety Web Site

The Obama administration has rolled out a new Web site designed to streamline food safety information for consumers: www.foodsafety.gov.

The site will put food-related information from all federal agencies in one place, including recall and contamination alerts and tips on how to safely handle food.

The Web site is a joint effort between HHS, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

Hawaii Gets Farm-Friendly

Top chefs from the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement have been redefining fine dining in the islands since the early 1990's by supporting small, local farmers. The San Francisco Chronicle offers some highlights of the latest crop of farm-friendly tables in Hawaii. Read more