Sea Salt vs. Table Salt: Which is healthier? [Epi-Log] Food Forward: The group donates unharvested produce to food banks. [LAT] 10 Best Sherries: The drink of grannies and vicars. [Independent] Bock, Bock! Americans turn to backyard chickens for food. [AFP] Plastic Bag Ban: It may be expanding throughout San Francisco. [KCBS] Brain and Belly: The psyche behind making food choices. [Reuters] Brisket Time: Step-by-step instructions for the Rosh Hashanah beef. [WP] Saucy Lawsuit: Grocery store's tomato sauce display falls on woman. [NYDN]... More

Muy Grande Tamale: 42 feet long and 1,200 pounds. Seriously. [ABC] Food Stamps: More Americans receive them now than ever. [Time] Hibernating Ice Cream Trucks: Where do they frolic to in the winter? [VV] Norman Borlaug: Nobel Peace Prize winner and food scientist dies at 95. [NYT] Suds Forecast: Climate change may be hurting hops quality. [New Scientist] Real-Life Garfield: A London cat is on an exclusively lasagne diet. [DE] Smart Choices: A new food-labeling campaign. [CBS] Chef-Owned Restaurants: Who actually controls them? [SFC] Baby Hater: Waiter leaves a not-so-nice message on a family's bill. [Daily Mail]... More

Twookbook: Rocco DiSpirito's new cookbook will rely on Twitter feedback. [CT] Fat Duck Tummyache: The Fat Duck's food poisoning outbreak in February is all mapped out on a timeline. [Guardian] Festivals: From cranberries to popcorn, food festivals across the U.S. [Epi-Log] Jessica Seinfeld: Federal judge rejects lawsuit against her cookbook. [NYT] GastroBus: New L.A. street food with pub food (minus the beer). [LAist] White House Farmers' Market: It's a go, starting Thursdays this fall. [WP]... More

Offal in SF: A guide to the different kinds of offal being served at Bay Area restaurants. [SF Gate] How to Tip on Wine: The regular 20% tip may not apply on expensive bottles of wine ($200 and up). [Between Meals] Britain's Breweries: Microbreweries are on the rise in the UK, even though beer sales are falling. [The Independent] New US Food Safety Website: Foodsafety.gov is the new website "designed to streamline food safety information for consumers." [Seattle Times] Fat Duck Food Poisoning: The source of their outbreak may have been raw shellfish contaminated with human sewage. [Guardian]... More

Spotted Richard: Spotted Dick to be renamed to avoid the snickers. [BBC] RIP Sylvia Schur: Food editor and developer of Cran-Apple dies at 92. [NYT] 15 Percent: The ambiguity of tipping. [Epi-Log] Bill Clinton: Former president to give welcome address at the NYC Wine & Food Festival. [DB] Save the Bluefin Tuna: Europe unites to protect the fishy. [Independent] Next Food Network Star: Melissa D'Arabian turns klutzes into cooks. [SeattlePI] The Jerk: Similar to barbecue, jerk starts with a dry rub or marinade. [WP] LA Street Food: What's missing from the scene. [LAist] Is Zagat Doomed? Tim and Nina Zagat can't retire yet. [NYP]... More

Meatmare: A terrifying dream afflicting vegetarians. [The Food Section] Dining Hall Activism: A burgeoning movement on campuses. [The Nation] Cheaper Groceries: Prices for dairy, meat, fruits, veggies and bread have all fallen this year. [AP] Dog Food for Humans: The history of eating dogs. [NYT] McLosers: McDonald's lost an eight-year trademark battle against a Malaysian curry restaurant over the use of "McCurry." [Reuters] Oreos + Creme Eggs: Kraft pursues a $16.7 billion takeover of Cadbury. [Slate] Gordon Ramsay: He has two more cookbooks, Cooking for Friends and Gordon Ramsay’s Maze. [Examiner] Craft Beer in a Can: First twist-off wine bottles, now this. [NPR] Solong Summer Fruits: Last hurrah with tomatoes, plums, and figs. [SFC]... More

Deep-Fried Butter: Competes against fried sweet potato, fried peaches, and fried pork loin in this year's "Big Tex Choice Awards" at the Texas State Fair. [DN] Beer Science: People in labs work on great beers with longer shelf lifes. [WSJ] How Not to Cookbook: An exhibit in Scotland devoted to kitchen lessons learned the hard way. [NYT] Blueberry and Buffalo Wing Festivals: And others across the U.S. [Epi-Log] Dumpster Cuisine: A gourmet feast for 500, cooked entirely from food chucked out by supermarkets. [DM] Beer o'Clock and Goon Bag: Two new food words in the Collins English Dictionary. [Time] Cupcake Crash: Remember what happens after a sugar rush: a crash. [Slate]... More

Good Roast Chicken in Paris: Eight recommendations on where to get poulet roti in Paris. [Gourmet] Pepsi Pink...Linguine: If you find something like pink linguine in your can of Pepsi, there might be a dead frog in it. [CNN] SweeTango, a New Apple Variety: SweeTango is being released in select cities this coming week as the successor to Honeycrisp apples. [The Seattle Times] Did Nate Appleman Diss San Francisco?: Michael Bauer analyzes chef Nate Appleman's parting words about leaving San Francisco for NYC. [SF Gate] Developments in Airline Food: Airlines are offering better food in coach to generate food sales. [WSJ] Modern-Day Baking Clubs: An overview of the popularity of Internet-based baking clubs that bring together thousands of amateur bakers... More

Tesco Rain Dances: Random weather messes up grocery store biz. [NYT] Sky Is Falling: Maybe the worst year for Cali's Central Valley farms. [WSJ] The Best Wurst Museum: The Currywurst Museum opens in Berlin. [Yahoo] Online Cooking Clubs: Home cooks from all over swap stories and photos on blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. [WP] Meal Plan Café: Occidental College student makes duck confit and butter-poached lobster from dorm kitchen. [LAT] Top Pudding Prize: Results for the Remy Martin Coeur de Cognac's "Best Dessert" category. [Independent] Eat-Ins: Slow Food Chicago organizes healthier school food rallies. [CT] Basque: San Sebastian is one of Europe's great food capitals. [Telegraph]... More

Cooking with Magnets: The stove isn't the focal point at Alinea. [Gizmodo] Zapping Veggies: How a microwave affects the nutrients in a veggie. [NYT] Squirrel Hunting: Squirrel season kicks off this week—grab a gun! [BFP] Jamie Oliver's Cafeteria: The celebrity chef inspires new UK school lunch standards, including fewer deep-fried foods and fizzy drinks. [Independent] Prisons > Hospitals: Apparently the food for jailbirds is better than what's served to patients. [BBC] Goat-Off: The 36th Annual World Championship Goat Cook-off is this weekend in Texas. [Go San Angelo] Doomed Dairy Farms: A sad time for cows and cow lovers. [SLO]... More