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Tuesday

The Revival Of Lamb Ham: A Colonial Tradition Renewed

"This lamb ham is sweet, buttery and smoky, with just a hint of lamb flavor," says Sam Edwards, one of the Virginians who is bringing back the colonial style of curing lamb. Courtesy of Sammy Edwards hide caption

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Courtesy of Sammy Edwards

The Salt

The Revival Of Lamb Ham: A Colonial Tradition Renewed

British colonialists brought lamb ham to America, where a sugar-cured, smoked variety became popular. Easier-to-cure pork ham eventually took its place, but now two Virginians are bringing it back.

Monday

Our Food-Safety System Is A Patchwork With Big Holes, Critics Say

An FDA field inspector in Los Angeles checks imported shrimp, February 2009. More than a dozen federal agencies play a part in keeping food from making Americans sick. Critics say that leads to a lack of coordination, a patchwork of rules and holes in the system. FDA hide caption

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FDA

The Salt

Our Food-Safety System Is A Patchwork With Big Holes, Critics Say

Nebraska Public Media

More than a dozen federal agencies play a part in keeping food from making Americans sick. Critics say the system has gaps, and we'd all be safer if federal food safety efforts were under one roof.

Grocery Stores Are Losing You. Here's How They Plan To Win You Back

A little booze can't hurt: The Hy-Vee grocery chain has added a Market Grille to several of its locations in the Midwest and Great Plains. You can order drinks and dinner before or after you do your grocery shopping. Courtesy of Hy-Vee Market Grille hide caption

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Courtesy of Hy-Vee Market Grille

The Salt

Grocery Stores Are Losing You. Here's How They Plan To Win You Back

Grocers are losing customers to smaller markets, convenience stores and online shopping. The competition is forcing chains to innovate with in-store restaurants, delivery service and more.

Sunday

Cheez Whiz Helped Spread Processed Foods. Will It Be Squeezed Out?

A Cheez Whiz ad from 1952. Courtesy of Kraft Foods hide caption

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Courtesy of Kraft Foods

The Salt

Cheez Whiz Helped Spread Processed Foods. Will It Be Squeezed Out?

Turns out, the history of Kraft's dull-orange cheese spread says a lot about the processed food industry — and where it might be headed as Kraft and Heinz merge.

Cheez Whiz Helped Spread Processed Foods. Will It Be Squeezed Out?

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Saturday

Not Just Sugary-Sweet, Hard Cider Makes A Comeback

The Wassail cider bar, which recently opened in New York City, offers a dozen ciders on tap and another 80 or so in bottles. Noah Devereaux for Wassail hide caption

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Noah Devereaux for Wassail

The Salt

Not Just Sugary-Sweet, Hard Cider Makes A Comeback

Cider is the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage in the United States. Much of that growth is driven by big industrial producers, but smaller cider-makers are looking for a larger bite of the apple.

Not Just Sugary-Sweet, Hard Cider Makes A Comeback

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Making Cheese In The Land Of The Bible: Add Myrrh And A Leap Of Faith

A Palestinian Bedouin girl milks a sheep in her family's makeshift camp in the West Bank. Herders live close to their animals, their main source of income. Emily Harris/NPR hide caption

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Emily Harris/NPR

The Salt

Making Cheese In The Land Of The Bible: Add Myrrh And A Leap Of Faith

Spring in the West Bank means Bedouin herders' ewes and nanny goats are full of milk — and cheese making abounds. The traditional method relies on a few simple ingredients and a long cultural memory.

Making Cheese In The Land Of The Bible: Add Myrrh And A Leap Of Faith

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Guess What Makes The Cut As A 'Smart Snack' In Schools? Hot Cheetos

Frito-Lay reformulated Flamin' Hot Cheetos, a perennial favorite among school kids, to meet new federal "Smart Snack" rules for schools. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

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Meredith Rizzo/NPR

The Salt

Guess What Makes The Cut As A 'Smart Snack' In Schools? Hot Cheetos

WBEZ Chicago

Frito-Lay has reformulated Flamin' Hot Cheetos to meet new federal nutrition standards for school snacks. That's been a big hit with school kids, but the rules' creators say the snack is still junk.

Guess What Makes The Cut As A 'Smart Snack' In Schools? Hot Cheetos

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Friday

Did That Restaurant Pass Its Health Inspection? Now Yelp Will Tell You

A health inspection grade is posted outside a Manhattan eatery. In several cities, Yelp users can now find out how a restaurant scored on its health inspection well before they walk through the door. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Salt

Did That Restaurant Pass Its Health Inspection? Now Yelp Will Tell You

You might not see health inspection information until you're opening a restaurant's door. But if you're in San Francisco and some other cities, you'll see it when you check out an eatery's Yelp page.

Was Your Seafood Caught By Slaves? AP Uncovers Unsavory Trade

A 3,000-ton cargo ship at Thajeen Port in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, 15 days after it set sail from Benjina, Indonesia. The company that owns the ship said it is not involved with the fishermen. "We only carry the shipment and we are hired, in general, by clients," said owner Panya Luangsomboon. "We're separated from the fishing boats." Wong Maye-E/AP hide caption

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Wong Maye-E/AP

The Salt

Was Your Seafood Caught By Slaves? AP Uncovers Unsavory Trade

Some of the seafood that winds up in American grocery stores, in restaurants, even in cat food may have been caught by Burmese slaves, a yearlong investigation by The Associated Press finds.

Was Your Seafood Caught By Slaves? AP Uncovers Unsavory Trade

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Thursday

Think Nobody Wants To Buy Ugly Fruits And Veggies? Think Again

Not so ugly, eh? Supposedly imperfect produce rescued and reclaimed for consumption by Bon Appetit and Better Harvests. Far left and far right: Courtesy of Ron Clark/Better Harvests. Center three images: Courtesy of Bon Appétit Management Company hide caption

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Far left and far right: Courtesy of Ron Clark/Better Harvests. Center three images: Courtesy of Bon Appétit Management Company

The Salt

Think Nobody Wants To Buy Ugly Fruits And Veggies? Think Again

As much as a third of the produce grown on some farms is rejected because it doesn't meet beauty standards. But it's still tasty and healthy. One big firm is now telling growers: Give us your uglies.

Is Colorado Primed To Become The Silicon Valley Of Agriculture?

A drone built by Agribotix, a Boulder startup, flies over a farm in Weld County, Colo. The drone has a camera that snaps a high-resolution photo every two seconds. From there, Agribotix stitches the images together, helping the farmer see what's happening in a field. Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media/KUNC hide caption

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Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media/KUNC

The Salt

Is Colorado Primed To Become The Silicon Valley Of Agriculture?

KUNC

Colorado's food and ag industries have been growing two to four times faster than the state's economy overall. The state's economists are ever more hopeful about cornering the market on ag innovation.

How Snobbery Helped Take The Spice Out Of European Cooking

A 16th century woodcut shows the interior of a kitchen. In medieval Europe, cooks combined contrasting flavors and spices in much the same way that Indian cooking still does today. Paul Lacroix/Wikimedia hide caption

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Paul Lacroix/Wikimedia

The Salt

How Snobbery Helped Take The Spice Out Of European Cooking

Complex, contrasting flavors are a hallmark of Indian cooking. They used to dominate Western food, too. What changed? When spices became less exclusive, Europe's elite revamped their cuisines.

Wednesday

Heinz And Kraft: Before They Were Food Giants, They Were Men

Henry J. Heinz Library of Congress hide caption

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Library of Congress

The Salt

Heinz And Kraft: Before They Were Food Giants, They Were Men

Henry Heinz was big into pickles before ketchup came along. James Kraft gave the world American cheese. (Ironically, he was Canadian.) Now, two companies that revamped how we eat will become one.

Heinz And Kraft: Before They Were Food Giants, They Were Men

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