Techdirt. Stories filed under "cooking" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "cooking"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Simple Kitchen Techniques Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101006/17101711318/dailydirt-simple-kitchen-techniques.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101006/17101711318/dailydirt-simple-kitchen-techniques.shtml
  • A perfectly fried egg is cooked in a small pool of olive oil over medium-high heat. But in this particular demonstration, the perfect egg might be a bit more runny than some people like their eggs. [url]
  • Freezing water might not sound like a tricky task, but if you want optically-clear ice cubes without any annoying bubbles or haziness in them -- there are a few tricks to it. When water freezes slowly, fewer air bubbles get trapped inside -- so cool your water down slowly in an insulated container. [url]
  • There are plenty of tips on how to properly cook a hard boiled egg. Start with room temperature eggs, cold water and remove them from heat about a minute after the water boils... but there are no guarantees on how easy those eggs will be to peel. [url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101006/17101711318     Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Cooking Up Some Mystery Meat Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111104/04444816632/dailydirt-cooking-up-some-mystery-meat.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111104/04444816632/dailydirt-cooking-up-some-mystery-meat.shtml
  • Squirrel stew is a dish cooked up by an adventurous meat eater and hunter with some gourmet culinary training. Tasty free range squirrels are available everywhere, too. [url]
  • Sous-vide cooking sounds like a fancy version of a product developed by Ron Popeil. Cooking meat for long periods of time at relatively low temperatures is a pretty simple recipe if you have the right equipment. [url]
  • A self-cloning lizard species was discovered last year -- on the menu in a restaurant in Vietnam. Natural and organic cloned meat sounds much better than the GMO kind, doesn't it? [url]
  • To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20111104/04444816632     Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Ancient Food Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110809/12495315458/dailydirt-ancient-food.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110809/12495315458/dailydirt-ancient-food.shtml
  • It looks like homo erectus might have known how to cook. And they might have even saved money on car insurance, too.... [url]
  • Thousands of years ago, Romans probably shipped live fish around in boats -- since they didn't have refrigeration. But maybe not, someone will have to build a replica of a floating Roman aquarium to see if the hypothesis holds water. [url]
  • A 5,000 year old iceman has been found with stomach full of deer meat and cereal. This guy also apparently suffered some blunt force trauma to the mouth, but the CSI team suspects his killer is long dead. [url]
  • To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110809/12495315458     Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Making Food, Not FUD Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110726/17163815266/dailydirt-making-food-not-fud.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110726/17163815266/dailydirt-making-food-not-fud.shtml
  • Make your own frozen dinners: 46 meals for under $100. Remember to label everything really well -- because you're probably not going to know what you're eating a couple weeks into your stockpile. [url]
  • The Momofuku Culinary Lab is apparently a secret place that tries to do a lot of food science. Yummy, yummy food science. [url]
  • This project needs a bit more science, but if it achieves its goal of creating ice cream clouds and snowfall, Willy Wonka would be proud. It might be more practical to try a sorbet experiment... [url]
  • To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110726/17163815266     Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Better Food Through Science Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110517/16172114305/dailydirt-better-food-through-science.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110517/16172114305/dailydirt-better-food-through-science.shtml
  • The all-American hamburger might be improved upon if the meat was quickly dipped in liquid nitrogen before being deep fried. Perhaps a dry ice slurry would be more practical, though. [url]
  • The USDA has revised its recommended cooking temperatures for various meats. But only the chefs at America's Test Kitchen actually measure their cooked meats at home... [url]
  • Using a solar-powered pizza box oven to cook food sounds pretty impractical. A solar-powered microwave oven sounds like a better idea. [url]
  • To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110517/16172114305     Mon, 25 Apr 2011 08:12:23 PDT Kraft Threatens Cooking Teacher With Trademark Claim For Teaching Students To Cook Beyond Kraft Mac & Cheese Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110423/00501214012/kraft-threatens-cooking-teacher-with-trademark-claim-teaching-students-to-cook-beyond-kraft-mac-cheese.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110423/00501214012/kraft-threatens-cooking-teacher-with-trademark-claim-teaching-students-to-cook-beyond-kraft-mac-cheese.shtml it's called the Kraft Dinner or KD for short, where it's apparently even more iconic than in the US (where it's still pretty iconic). Either way, Kraft is upset. That's because a cooking instructor in Calgary, who had set up a free cooking class for students called "Kick the KD," is apparently violating its trademarks (via Rob Hyndman) -- and, yes, the company trademarked "KD." I don't know how different trademark law in Canada is compared to the US, but this seems like a pretty specious claim. First of all, there's no use in commerce. It's a free cooking-class put on by a non-profit. Second, there's no likelihood of confusion going on here, because it's not like anyone hearing about the Kick the KD is going to think it's associated with or sponsored by Kraft when the whole point is to get people to think about actually cooking their meals, rather than just breaking out a box of "KD" (I'm picking up the lingo). Now, of course, you can understand why it might upset Kraft that there's a class being taught to students about how to cook beyond the near instant simplicity of its Mac & Cheese, but that doesn't make it a trademark violation. Still, the class's instructor doesn't want to fight Kraft, so he's changing the name. Trademark bullies chalk up another win.

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    ]]>     morons-in-a-hurry http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110423/00501214012     Thu, 2 Dec 2010 07:40:12 PST Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over Turkey Cooking Instructions Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101129/13311212045/copyright-infringement-lawsuit-over-turkey-cooking-instructions.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101129/13311212045/copyright-infringement-lawsuit-over-turkey-cooking-instructions.shtml sued competitor Goode-Cook for copyright infringement, claiming that the following bit of turkey care instructions violated its copyright:
    Our turkeys arrive at your door ready to eat. Refrigerate immediately. The turkey will keep in the refrigerator for 6-8 days. If you do not plan to use it in that length of time, it should be frozen.

    We recommend that our turkeys are eaten chilled or at room temperature -- just slice and enjoy!

    If heating is required, follow these instructions: place turkey in a Reynolds® Oven Bag, which can be bought at your local grocer. Do not add flour to the bag. Cut 6 to 7 small slits in the top of the bag. Heat at 300 degrees for 6 minutes per pound.
    What's unclear from the complaint (which we've included after the jump) is whether or not Greenberg actually registered the copyright on this. If it did not, it would greatly limit the likelihood of this lawsuit getting anywhere. It's also not clear if Goode-Cook copied the whole thing or part of it, as the "exhibit" is not included. It actually took a bit of searching, but I think I found the actual website for Goode, and I don't see those instruction anywhere (in fact, there's an entirely different set of instructions), but it's possible that the originals were taken down following the lawsuit.

    Of course, the bigger question is whether or not the text above is actually copyrightable. As has been discussed numerous times, you can't copyright a recipe, but might be able to protect "substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions." The question is whether the statements above qualify as "substantial literary expression," beyond just the basic factual description. There might be a few parts where it strays into such territory, but it seems like a very thin amount of copyright coverage there. Furthermore, is there really any argument that the use of this text in any way harms Greenberg? That seems like an even bigger stretch. This seems like a lawsuit based on anger rather than a legitimate copyright claim.

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    ]]>     eat-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101129/13311212045     Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:30:00 PST Home Cooking Is Killing The Restaurant Industry! Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100223/0032548261.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100223/0032548261.shtml prepare food at home (for much lower cost!) it hasn't changed the fact that sometimes people still go out to dinner. It's an apt analogy. People go out to dinner for a variety of reasons, despite cheaper (and potentially healthier) fare at home. Basically the overall experience makes it worthwhile as a social experience. That applies equally to movies and eating out. I was reminded of this recently. A whole bunch of you sent over Gizmodo's post about the old Dead Kennedys cassette tape mocking "Home Taping is Killing Music" by leaving the second side blank so "you can help":
    This image (or a similar one) shows up every couple of years and makes the blog rounds. So, at first I wasn't going to bother posting it, but then the Freakbits guys pointed me to various "offshoot" slogans and images, including the following one that's so good it needs to be shared widely:
    Yes, folks, home cooking is killing the restaurant industry. Why won't Congress and the USTR deal with this pernicious problem?

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    ]]>     something-must-be-done http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100223/0032548261