Food FYI: Dying cows, old cookbooks and a welcome addition

DROUGHT, NOT GMO

Did you get one of those Facebook flashes a week or so ago claiming that a special genetically modified grass in Texas had started producing cyanide gas, which was killing hundreds of cattle? The estimable ag blog Grist tracked down the real story. In the first place, the grass in question was a conventional hybrid, not a GMO. And although it did produce poison -- prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide -- that was a natural plant response to severe drought conditions, not the result of any chemical company shenanigans. Still, too bad for the cows.

SAGA OF THE AGA, REVISITED

Remember that British couple who while renovating their home discovered a hidden, fully equipped early 20th century kitchen? There was a passing mention in a couple of the stories about an old cookbook that was part of the trove. Food historian Cynthia Bertelsen found a copy of the book and wrote about it on Gherkins & Tomatoes.

BABY BLOGGER?

Popular Berlin-based food blogger (and upcoming author) Luisa Weiss left her thousands of fans hanging last month when she wrote that she was tired of waiting for her pregnancy to end. For weeks, no news (though Facebook friends were kept updated). Finally, on Tuesday morning she announced to the rest of the world, posting a photo of baby Hugo. Cute little rascal.

ALSO:

Canned beer makes a comeback

Food events: Great wine, good cause

Online Paso Robles wine country trip planner

-- Russ Parsons

Illustration: From "Ideal Cookery Book" by Margaret Alice Fairclough, first published in London in 1908 by George Routledge and Sons, Limited

Seedless cherimoya? Not quite yet

“Seedless cherimoya, the next banana?” read the headlines of a story that has circulated on the Web since Monday, referring to the discovery of a gene for seedlessness in a fruit related to cherimoya by Charles Gasser, professor of plant biology at UC Davis, and three Spanish colleagues. The prospect sounds inviting, because the cherimoya is supremely delicious, but contains numerous hard black seeds (whence its name, which means “cold seeds” in Quechua, the Inca language).

Seedless cherimoyas have been around for decades, but have not become common, either in home gardens or commercial orchards, because the trees are not very productive; the seeds are necessary for normal fruit development, so seedless fruits are small and misshapen. Researchers in Japan have also figured out how to make standard varieties of cherimoya seedless by controlling pollination and applying natural plant growth hormones called gibberellins, but this approach has not proved commercially practical.

Gasser’s group does not yet have a seedless cherimoya, but a seedless form of a more tropical relative, sugar apple. This was found in Thailand and brought to Spain, said Gasser on a recent visit to his office. Seedless sugar apples are common in backyards, but previous varieties have been malformed, with mediocre flavor. This one, however, is full size, with good flavor, said Gasser, whose article appeared online Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; the seed coats appear to develop just far enough to induce the fruit to develop normally, but no seeds develop.

His colleagues in Spain, where cherimoyas are grown commercially, are working to breed a seedless cherimoya by crossing their seedless sugar apple with a normal cherimoya. The trait for seedlessness is recessive, so it will take several generations, but Gasser is confident that a seedless cherimoya-like hybrid will result. (This is all through conventional breeding, not genetic modification.)

Most interestingly, Gasser has identified the same mutant gene for seedlessness in Arabidopsis, a species of cress that is the standard model organism used for studying plant biology. Because sugar apples and cherimoyas are in the magnolia family, which is among the most primitive of flowering plants, “that means that we can probably control this gene to induce seedlessness in basically all flowering plants,”  Gasser said.

Cherimoyas, which are cultivated on about 300 acres in California, will likely become more popular if seedless varieties become available. But they probably won’t ever be as abundant as bananas and pineapples, two other fruits that lost their seeds during domestication. Cherimoyas require labor-intensive hand-pollination and are strongly climacteric, passing quickly from firm to ripe to squishy and brown, so they’ll probably remain an expensive delicacy best suited for local sale.

-- David Karp

Photo: Thai seedless sugar apple, related to cherimoyas, are being used by a team of Spanish researchers to hybridize a seedless cherimoya-like fruit. Credit: Emilio Guirado

The Wellesbourne brings old-English style to West L.A.

Monday night marked the private opening party for a new West L.A. bar -- from a group known as Medium Rare Entertainment -- called the Wellesbourne. The 3,000-square-foot space was designed by the hugely busy Kristofer Keith of Spacecraft to resemble a 19th-century English manor.

An abundance of varnished dark wood accents, elegant wallpaper, shelves stocked with weathered books, paintings of the English countryside and a 30-foot-long bar stand in weird contrast to a foosball table in the game room. I suppose modern drinkers wouldn't want to play tiddlywinks or blindman's buff, but a vintage billiard table would have been more appropriate. (I may just be saying that because I am a known pool shark. Seriously! I will beat you. Actually, when I talk like that I generally end up losing, so....)

Anyway, the drink list revives the old-fashioned vibe with its abundance of old man-friendly cocktails (all priced at a reasonable $9). You can suck down a creamy Brandy Alexander, enjoy the fruity tang of a Harvey Wallbanger or consume a more than reasonable amount of sugar by tossing back a milky-green Grasshopper garnished with fresh mint.

The last drink was definitely my favorite, until I looked up its calorie count online. (Yes, I do that now that a big part of my job involves drinking.) I'll do you a favor and not tell you what it is so that you can keep enjoying this mint-chocolate marvel guilt-free.

Farmers say 'solar' equals 'sellout'

 
A kind of family feud has erupted in San Benito County's rich slice of Central California farmland over plans to build a massive solar-power facility in a valley shared by 20 ranchers and organic farmers and some of the rarest creatures in the United States. Read more: "Solar farm sparks heated debate in California's Panoche Valley."

Photo: Kim Williams, who raises grass-fed pastured chickens, says San Benito County officials are "selling us and a unique landscape out." Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Say 'Cheese!'

 

Here's a sneak peek at what's coming in this week's Food section:

It's been a tough road for small dairy farmers -- between the economic downturn, water shortages, and the cost of hay, cattle feed and gas skyrocketing. Karen Bianchi-Moreda wondered whether her family farm in Sonoma would make it. Then she found cheese. She converted an old building into a cheese-making facility and tested recipes until she came up with Estero Gold: It is a nutty, buttery, golden-hued cheese with rich Alpine mountain character and a sliceable, firm texture that has found a second home in the tasting rooms of local wineries. Read on about local farmers who are turning their businesses  around by embracing artisanal cheese-making.

Photo: Paul Bianchi and daughter Karen Bianchi-Moreda with one of the family cows, at the Valley Ford Cheese Co. Credit: Rose Halady / For The Times.

This crop of pears requires the kid-glove treatment

 

While the weather has careened in the last week from broiling to chilly and sodden and back to warm -- and summer produce, such as peaches, peppers and eggplants, continues to be offered at farmers markets -- a change is in the air, independent of the temperature. We're seeing more and more typically autumnal crops, such as pears, apples, squash, chestnuts, pumpkins, pomegranates and even the first few persimmons.

Especially worth searching out is the most celebrated and luscious of pears, Comice, which originated in the Loire Valley in 1849. In the United States, most Comices are raised around Medford, in southern Oregon, for the gift-fruit market; they are hardly grown in Southern California, but Jeffrey Rieger of Penryn, a relic of a formerly flourishing pear district in the Sierra foothills, will bring his fruit to next Wednesday's Santa Monica farmers market.

But you'll have to handle this fruit with kid gloves. David Karp explains why in this week's Market Watch report.

Photo: Comice pears. Credit: David Karp

Food task force celebrates at Vibiana with chefs, farmers and great food

Hundreds of people ate and drank at Vibiana, the former Roman Catholic cathedral, on Wednesday evening to celebrate the work of the Food Policy Task Force -– a group convened last year by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to consider how to make locally produced food better serve all the people of Southern California.

The mayor spoke at the event, noting that Los Angeles is a city where children go hungry, too few people use food stamps and the obesity rate is too high. He said the Food Policy Council -– a more permanent follow-up to the task force -– is going to address some of those issues. [Read more here about the task force's efforts to create a regional food system that would allow low-income residents to buy locally produced food.]

“We have to recognize there’s no place for hunger in a state like California,” said A.G. Kawamura, the state food and agriculture secretary. “Agriculture is not something we can take for granted.”

No one went hungry Wednesday night.

Betting the farm ... on the farm

As investors tire of Wall Street's roller coaster, more of them are plowing their money into land -- farmland.

Few people understand this shift better than farm manager Carl Evers.

On a recent morning, Evers steered his pickup truck through a Central California almond grove, his drawling sales pitch at the ready. Evers is co-founder of Farmland Management Services, which runs about 30,000 acres of nut groves, fruit orchards and wine grape vines for a Boston investment firm. Sunburned and stocky, tugging down his wide-brimmed hat, he talked about how farmland -- and the food it produces -- is the safer bet these troubled days. Read more in today's Business section:

Photo: Carl Evers checks almonds near Bakersfield. His company manages about 30,000 acres of farmland for a Boston-based investment firm. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times. 

The premiere of 'Drinks With Alie & Georgia' on Food2.com

In more cocktail news: The two lovely ladies behind the not-as-lovely McNuggetini, Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark, make their debut on the new website for the Food Network, Food2. (FYI, Ward writes for The Times.) The first video of their new Web series, "Drinks With Alie & Georgia," features the Peanut Butter & Jealous: muddled raspberries, raspberry vodka, raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice and, of course, a peanut butter and honey rim. Alcohol, tongue-in-cheek ingenuity and vintage dresses at their best.  

-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: Food2/"Drinks With Alie & Georgia"

Central Asian melons adding new flair to the marketplace

Here's a sneak peek at one of the stories in Thursday's Food section:

When you think of melons, do you think cantaloupe and watermelon? Then you are in for a treat. David Karp, our resident expert on all things fruits and veggies, examines a most unusual melon harvest: Immigrants from such places as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and China's Xinjiang region yearn for the melons of home. Some grow the varieties here, which has led to some delicious cross-pollination. Read on here.

Plus, check out David's photo gallery look at melon harvest, and look over his weekly farmers market report, which gives you the inside track on what's arriving at local stands.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch

Photo: The Hami melon harvest at Sandstone Marketing's fields in Huron, on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Credit: David Karp / For The Times