Do you maintain a gluten-free diet? You might want to check out this blog I've just discovered: Mom, What's For Dinner? The author, Christi Silbaugh, specializes in creative recipes for that dietary need. Here's her scratch-made ice cream that combines chocolate with--oddly enough--avocados! You can find her recipe at the link.

Link -via Tasteologie

An analysis of the world’s rarest and most expensive coffee
by Massimo F. Marcone, Ph.D., C.Chem., Chimiste (PQ) Adjunct Professor, Department of Food Science University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

[EDITOR’SNOTE: Kopi Luwak (sometimes spelled Kopi Luak) is a rare and prized variety of coffee. It was the subject of the 1995 Ig Nobel Prize in the field of Nutrition. Professor Marcone’s work, described here, advances our understanding of Kopi Luwak. Title image by Praveenp.]

No coffee is perhaps in shorter supply and has a more distinct flavor and history than “Kopi Luwak” from Indonesia. With an annual production of less than 500 pounds and a price tag of 500-600 dollars (Canadian) per pound, it commands the undisputed reputation of being the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world. This is indeed a unique coffee, as it is processed through the digestive system of a palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). This three-to-ten pound arboreal animal uses its keen sense of eyesight during the night to smell and seek out only the ripest reddish coffee cherries to eat. The coffee cherry fruit is completely digested by the civet, whereas the actual coffee beans are excreted in their feces, being deposited in civetries. These are ultimately collected and washed by local coffee collectors. The internal fermentation and action by different digestive enzymes add a unique flavor to the beans. This flavor has been described as earthy, musty, syrupy, smooth, and rich with both jungle and chocolate undertones.

The author displays some coffee beans.

Curiously, Kopi Luwak is not the first nor the only food that-- prior to human consumption-- makes a passage through the entire, or partial, digestive tract of an animal.

In fact humanity’s oldest known sweetener, honey, is produced in part from nectar that bees have swallowed, transported,and regurgitated.

Bird’s-nest soup is another such food. Often referred to as the “Caviar from the East,” it is produced from the saliva of a swiftlet (a small bird native to Southeast Asia). Bird’s-nest soup is consumed in many parts of the world, with the United States being one of the biggest importers.

Yet another is Argan oil from Morocco, which is produced from the nuts eaten by goats that have climbed into acacia-like trees during their herding. The locals remove the pits from the feces, and grind these carefully harvested nuts to extract their oil. This unusual and expensive oil is used in cooking and also in massaging. It is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.

(Image credit: Flickr user michele molinari)

Recently, I published a study entitled “Composition and Properties of Indonesian Palm Civet Coffee (Kopi Luwak) and Ethiopian CivetCoffee.” (The study appears in the journal Food Research International, vol. 37, no. 9, 2004, pp. 901-12.) It describes an exploration in Eastern Africa-- specifically, Ethiopia-- which ultimately culminated in my finding a new potential source and type of Kopi Luwak. This particular African coffee has properties similar, but not identical, to those of the prized Kopi Luwak from Indonesia.

The paper also documents a series of newly developed analytical methods that can be used to determine the authenticity of this coffee, both for coffee beans that are green and for those that have been roasted.

Armed with these analytical methods, I tested a series of coffees purporting to be authentic Kopi Luwak (obtained in the United States and directly from Indonesia). The results of the preliminary test show that 41% of coffees tested either were not Kopi Luwak or were adulterated with other non-Kopi Luwak type coffee beans. My study, even though it is not extensive, is a first indication that further monitoring maybe need to protect individuals throughout the supply chain. Such monitoring is especially needed to protect the consumer who wishes to count him or herself among the elite few who have consumed the rarest and most expensive beverage in the world.

The author and an Ethiopian coffee plant.

_____________________

This article is republished with permission from the September-October 2005 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!

Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.

So what are you waiting for? Eat up! The National Confectioners Association, a trade group representing candy manufacturers, have scientifically proven that eating candies is totally not bad for you and even won't make you fat:

Some findings from the study:

1.) "Frequency of candy consumption was not associated with the risk of obesity, overweight/obesity, elevated waist circumference, elevated skinfold thickness, blood pressure, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, or insulin resistance."

2.) "Increased frequency of candy consumption among adults in the United States was not associated with objective measures of adiposity or select cardiovascular risk factors, despite associated dietary differences."

Sounds legit! Break out the M&Ms! Colin Lecher of PopSci explains: Link

Taco Bell's line of taco shells made with Doritos flavors are, of course, awesome. That's why Taco Bell has been able to sell half a billion of them. Not everything in life (e.g. cars, houses, in-laws) comes in delicious Doritos flavors, but tacos do. There's just one problem with Doritos Locos Tacos: they're not the healthiest of foods.

Let's fix that. Inspired by a tweet by Robb Allen, I'll show you how to make these tacos into vegan smoothies.

I made two smoothies, one for each of the two flavors in which Taco Bell offers these culinary delights: nacho cheese and cool ranch. Both flavors used the same smoothie ingredients:

• 1 cup of organic soy milk
• 1 cup of diced pineapple
• 5 large strawberries
• 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries
• 1 whole banana
• 1 teaspoon of Chia seed

Chia seed or salvia hispanica is, yes, the same plant used to make Chia Pets. While it can be used for household decoration, chia seed is also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acid, protein and fiber. It's a popular ingredient in vegan cuisine.

Is this a vegan dish? Well, let's say that the Taco Bell Doritos Taco Smoothie is veganish. Certainly a majority of the content of each smoothie consists of vegan products.

Your own smoothie ingredients may vary. Although I resorted to frozen blueberries, it's best to use, whenever possible, fresh fruit and entirely organic products. Remember that your goal is to eat healthily.

Okay, let's get started. Wait until your wife isn't home, swear your children to secrecy and then add the smoothie ingredients to a blender.

Next, add the taco and blend.

Pour the smoothie mixture into cups, add garnish and serve. The nacho cheese flavor, I found, nicely complements the soy milk.

Now let's try the cool ranch flavor.

The cool ranch flavor was even better than the nacho cheese! The ingredients seemed to match each other perfectly, as though this is why Doritos had been invented in 1964.

What's next? In order to get a truly fresh smoothie, I should take my blender and the ingredients to a Taco Bell and try to make one on-site.

Readers, what culinary monstrosity should I make next?

Because there's no such thing as too much Nutella, Lisa Douglas invented the Nutella cocktail. First, soften Nutella in a microwave oven and dribble it along the inside of a glass. Then add 1.5 shots of Frangelico liqueur, 1 shot of Godiva chocolate liqueur and 4-5 shots of chocolate milk. Drink immediately and repeat the process as long as necessary.

Link -via Tasteologie

Machinarium is a beautifully-designed game by Amanita Design (the folks who brought us Samorost). This cake is a faithful reproduction of the robots in the game, with details so fine that it appears the lights are glowing. They're not -that's just the artist's skill with edible paint. This delightful cake was made for a 6-year-old's birthday by Sweet Disposition Cakes in Australia. Link  -via Cake Wrecks 

You've already enjoyed normal, healthy tacos. Now it's time to enjoy a heavy dessert. Christi Johnstone lightly baked chocolate shells and draped them over kitchen spoons to harden. Then she filled them with ice cream, chocolate sauce, M&Ms and sprinkles.

Link -via That's Nerdalicious!

Over the years, the event grew from a few food bloggers posting recipes to thousands of participants Tweeting, pinning recipes on Pinterest, making songs, poems, and short films.

It's not surprising, because, as you know, yummy Nutella goes with everything. Well, almost everything. There's one thing that doesn't mix well with Nutella and its fans: lawyers.

Sara Rosso wrote on World Nutella Day's website:

On May 25, 2013, I’ll be darkening the World Nutella Day site, nutelladay.com, and all social media presence (Facebook, Twitter), in compliance with a cease-and-desist I received from lawyers representing Ferrero, SpA (makers of Nutella).

Seven years after the first World Nutella Day in 2007, I never thought the idea of dedicating a day to come together for the love of a certain hazelnut spread would be embraced by so many people! I’ve seen the event grow from a few hundred food bloggers posting recipes to thousands of people Tweeting about it, pinning recipes on Pinterest, and posting their own contributions on Facebook! There have been songs sung about it, short films created for it, poems written for it, recipes tested for it, and photos taken for it.

The cease-and-desist letter was a bit of a surprise and a disappointment, as over the years I’ve had contact and positive experiences with several employees of Ferrero, SpA., and with their public relations and brand strategy consultants, and I’ve always tried to collaborate and work together in the spirit and goodwill of a fan-run celebration of a spread I (to this day) still eat.

I have hope that this is not a goodbye to World Nutella Day forever, for the fans’ sake, and hopefully it will live on in one form or another in the future.

Nutella dissing its fans? Now that's just plain nuts: Link

Add this to the list of amazing cityscape art we've featured on Neatorama before: Still Life by Petter Johansson of PJADAD, made as an advertisement for Atelier Food. Link - via Dezeen

These cookies would be perfect for a graduation celebration! Beth Jackson Klosterboer molded these mortarboard caps around the undersides of a muffin pan. She stuffed them with M&Ms and made tassels with white modeling chocolate.

Link

Faced with the daunting prospect of having to sit through hours of commencement speeches, Dominique Zamora of Foodbeast came up with the perfect solution: she put a flask in her graduation cap.

Luckily, the process for making this thing is painless enough. Just pop off the top button with a pair of pliers, Velcro in the bladder (I took mine out of the Wine Rack Bra, secure the whole mess with bobby pins and drink up.

Head on over to Foodbeast to see how you can make your own (we're not responsible if you get thrown out of your graduation ceremony, mmkay?): Link

Oh, alcohol. The cause of and solution to all of life's problems.

It's never occurred to me that tea could be a pie flavor, but it has to Sarah Baird, a writer and cook in New Orleans. Her pie filling recipe includes ground cloves, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and the contents of chai tea bags.

Link

(Photo: Sarah Baird)

The diet can wait until...well, let's not kid ourselves.

Sarah J. Gim used already made glazed donuts and slow churn ice cream to make the sandwiches. She froze them, then dipped them in melted chocolate and served them to undoubtedly thankful people. You can find process photos and her recipe at the link.

Link -via Nag on the Lake

Fried S'mores is an easy recipe that goes something like this:

1. Make s'mores.
2. Dip in pancake batter.
3. Fry.
4. Stuff your face.

If you'd like the complete recipe, Carleyy has it for you at Instructables. Link  -via Daily of the Day

Here's the perfect bait to catch the elusive Loch Ness monster. Behold the Lox-Ness Monster (Nessie can't possibly resist!), made by Sandwich Monsters. 'Tis but one of 17 fantastic photos of wonderful sandwich creations you can gawk at over at Instagram: Link or checkout the gallery over at Walyou

You could just say out loud "Happy birthday!" or "You're fired!", but creative people find different ways of communicating. Victoria Hudgins shows you how, step by step, to bake your special message to a special someone inside a cake.

Link -via Foodiggity

Pop Chart Lab offers this chart of cocktails featured in your favorite stories as a fine art print. There are 49 recipes in all, as drunk by James Bond, Hunter S. Thompson, Ebenezer Scrooge, Rocky Balboa, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Jay Gatsy, and more.

Browse the whole thing in full size size at the site. Link -via Nag on the Lake

The brother and sister cooking duo Bob and Carlene Deutscher prepared a luxurious Mother's Day breakfast. Their crêpe batter contains cocoa and apple cider and the filling has strawberries and heavy cream. This is how breakfast should be on every day of the week!

Link -via Tasteologie

Nurse, cut these truffle intestines out and serve them up to those hungry partiers, STAT!

Annabel de Vetten of Conjurer's Kitchen (previously on Neatorama) created this creepy abdominal surgery cake, which is adorned with real surgical tools like hemostats and scalpels to add to the realism.

A parfait is traditionally topped with a strip of bacon cherry, but the MIOR cafe in Osaka, Japan turns the dessert into a full, balanced meal by adding a slice of strawberry cake. Pro tip: now add the cherry.

Link

It's a marriage made in sugar heaven! The genius bakers over at Dominique Ansel Bakery have combined donut and croissant into a new culinary creation. Behold, the cronut (or if you want to appear more sophisticated, cwaahh-nut):

Each one of these puppies is made from pastry dough that's been sheeted, laminated, proofed, then fried like a doughnut and rolled in flavored sugar. But that's not all: Cronuts-to-be are also filled with a not-so-sweet Tahitian vanilla cream, given a fresh coat of rose glaze, and bedazzled with rose sugar. Got it? Good. Let's briefly examine the sheer implausibility and engineering genius that goes into each one of these things.

First off, call your friendly neighborhood pastry chef and ask him or her what happens when you try to fry croissant dough. It's not pretty. Even if the laminated layers don't separate instantly and part ways in the hot oil six ways to Sunday, chances are that yeast-leavened dough will have a lumpy, sad, and uneven ascent before it ever gets to the golden brown stage. Ansel says it took around ten recipes and adjustments to multiple variables of time and temperature before he found a special trick to sheeting the dough, then learning to fry it in grapeseed oil at one specific (and somewhat secret) temperature.

Hugh Merwin of Grub Street New York has more on this new culinary marvel: Link

And that has got critics pouncing, as ABC Good Morning America reports [self-starting video]:

Since Taco Fusion, a Mexican restaurant known to offer unusual game meats like ostrich, camel, and bison in its tacos, added lion meat to its menu of "Safari Tacos" on May 2, the restaurant has had to field hostile calls from critics who are up in arms over the menu choice.

"[People have been] coming into the establishment and throwing punches," the restaurant's manager Brad Barnett told "Good Morning America." "They say they are going to bomb us, burn us down, blow us up."

"They threatened to kidnap Brad [Barnett] and the owner," another manager, Bayardo Alvarez, told ABC News.

But Taco Fusion is fighting back:

Fast forward to 2013: Paranoia has set in as some folks have had their reality challenged. They say that we’ve “crossed the line” by serving Lion. But let me ask you this, did you cross the line when you ate Beef, chicken, or Pork this week? [...]

How is a cow that is injected with hormones, crammed in a dark pen it’s whole life, and then unceremoniously slaughtered any better than a hormone free- free range animal that was raised for meat consumption? One is “majestic” and the other is overweight? One is a fierce predator, the other is a weak link? What exactly is the criteria for which animal has more importance? [...]

Who decides which animals are worthy? If the argument is that a Lion is “Majestic” so you shouldn’t breed them for meat consumption- then what is the lesson here That only the majestic pretty girls get treated well and the ugly ones go to the slaughter pen? How pompous and idiotic does that sound?

POLL: So, what do you think, Neatoramanauts? Is it wrong to eat lions?

• Yes - It's wrong to eat lions
• No - Why are lions any different than other animals that we eat?
• I don't know! Just show me the poll results!

Here's a list you might want to bookmark for the hot months ahead: 33 Super-Cool Popsicles To Make This Summer. Shown is the Grapefruit And Strawberry Greyhound Poptail, made from grapefruit juice, strawberries, and vodka. There are other cocktail popsicle recipes, plus fruity concoctions, dessert popsicles, and even vegan ices, with links to the recipes. Sure beats freezing Kool-Ade in an ice tray! Link -via mental_floss

Katrina recommends getting one 1.5 quart carton of ice cream, but I'd suggest two because you'll probably eat one while preparing this dish. It's surprisingly simple to make: just ice cream, flour and sprinkles. Mix them, pour the batter into a Bundt pan and bake.

Link -via Foodbeast

I'm heading down to Guatemala because that's where you can get this pizza shaped like a donut. It's on sale at the Domino's establishments in that country. Fill the hole with chicken wings? I was thinking about bourbon-flavored meringue. But that's just me.

Link -via Foodbeast

Photographer Beth Galton explored what popular foods look like from the inside:

This series was inspired by an assignment in which we were asked to cut a burrito in half for a client. Normally for a job, we photograph the surface of food, occasionally taking a bite or a piece out, but rarely the cross section of a finished dish. By cutting these items in half we move past the simple appetite appeal we normally try to achieve and explore the interior worlds of these products.

You can view more photos in the series at the link.

Link -via Junk Culture

Bacon--it's nature's font of miracles! Pearl Cantrell of Richland Springs, Texas is 105 years old. How did she live so long? You already know the answer:

"I love bacon, I eat it everyday", says Pearl, "I don't feel as old as I am, that's all I can say", she explains.

Still feisty and full of life, Pearl has been through a lot, and has plenty of reasons to complain or even give up. After mothering seven children, outliving three of them, losing a husband, and enduring decades of physical labor, she still has a smile on her face.

"I would go to the field and work till dinner, then come home to fix dinner, then I would go back out to the field and work again until supper", Pearl tells us.

But Pearl's daughter, Anno, says complaining is the last thing you'll ever hear her mother do.

"She's taught us to work hard and to get up every morning and think about living. She's never thought about dying", says Anno.

Link -via Glenn Reynolds

(Image: KRBC)

You can make Twix bars at home! But Averie Sunshine went even further. Her recipe has the standard shortbread, caramel and chocolate. But it also has a layer of peanut butter mixed with confectioner's sugar.

Link -via Tasteologie

"How could you eat something that adorable?" That's what my wife asked me as I loaded this picture. Good question. Sugar High's fondant cake toppers are works of art to be preserved, not eaten.

Link -via Between the Pages

The bars are made from the famous Irish Tayto cheese and onion crisps mixed with Irish chocolate - all in one bar.

A winning combination or a controversial mix? The jury is out but the response has been overwhelming.

Taste Ireland CEO Eamon Eastwood is the holder of the elusive chocolate bars and decided to raffle them off in a Facebook campaign.

"I couldn't believe the reaction, it went off the richter scale with almost half a million impressions," said Mr Eastwood.

The last five bars were given away Friday. Link -via Arbroath

If you didn't get one, you can make your own. Link