http://ucanr.org/blogs/food/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed UC information on the creation and consumption of food. en-us UC ANR http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:02:30 PST Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:02:30 PST UC ANR A new federal voucher that gives low-income women access to a range of fruits and vegetables could provide unique new marketing opportunities for California growers. In 2009, the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) began distributing monthly cash vouchers to low-income women with children to buy fruits and vegetables. The program reaches almost half of the infants and one-quarter of children under 5 years old in the United States. A team of UC...
]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:02:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6791&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jlbyron@ucdavis.edu(Janet Byron) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6791 Agricultural innovation and technological advances have been harvested from UC Davis over the last century. As advances are achieved, our growing global population applies pressure for researchers to achieve more. California is a top world-wide producer of agricultural products, and California researchers work hard to find new and better ways to produce food. The UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) does much to contribute towards this effort. The recent...
]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:44:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6747&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cmwebb@ucdavis.edu(Chris M. Webb) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6747 A Food Blog post last week highlighted the great work of UC CalFresh, the UC Cooperative Extension nutrition education program that reaches more than 220,000 people a year, helping low-income families make healthy food choices, stretch food dollars and increase consumption of California’s agricultural products. The University of California has an array of healthy living outreach efforts. In addition to CalFresh, one program that you might not expect involves the UC Davis School of Medicine....
]]> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:10:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6708&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed alec.rosenberg@ucop.edu(Alec Rosenberg) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6708 The USDA is gearing up for the 2012 Census of Agriculture, the complete count it makes every five years of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The agricultural census provides a fascinating look at farming demographics: How old are they? Where do they live? What do they grow? Most experts believe the census will show a trend towards the green – not just green as in sustainable, local and small-scale - but also green as in greenhorn. It seems more people from non-farming...
]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:30:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6665&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed denelson@ucdavis.edu(Diane Nelson) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6665 To meet the needs of today’s time-pressed consumers, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisors collected the most pertinent food budgeting and healthy eating concepts together in a new curriculum that can be presented in four one-hour sessions. The curriculum is taught by UC CalFresh, a nutrition education program that helps recipients of federal food assistance (formerly called Food Stamps) make the most of their benefits. Typically, participants are offered an...
]]> Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:06:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6659&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6659 Adapted from an article by Eileen Ecklund in Breakthroughs magazine.Scaling up — that’s always the sticking point with organic farming when it faces the question of whether it can feed the world’s hungry millions. But a group of UC Berkeley scientists say that continuing on our current path of industrial agriculture is simply not sustainable, given its enormous water, energy and chemical inputs, together with the new challenges posed by climate change, such as temperature and precipitation...
]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:07:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6629&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed annguy@berkeley.edu(Ann Brody Guy) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6629 Chocolate lovers take note: Tickets are available for the Feb. 4 “Chocolate” extravaganza at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis. The day will begin with an exclusive gourmet class, designed for foodies, epicureans and aficionados of ultra-premium chocolates. The morning class is currently filled, but names are being added to a waiting list, and a larger venue is being sought to accommodate the strong interest in the class. Leading the gourmet class will be...
]]> Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:37:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6621&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pjbailey@ucdavis.edu(Pat Bailey) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6621 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) – a way of buying fresh produce and other foods directly from farmers – is growing rapidly in California’s Central Valley, according to a newly published study in the California Agriculture journal. Membership in the CSAs surveyed for the study increased from an estimated 672 in 1990 to 32,938 in 2010. The growth in Central Valley CSAs is one part of a bigger movement toward stronger direct relationships between farmers and consumers, said Ryan Galt, UC...
]]> Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:36:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6609&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ehightower@ucdavis.edu(Eve Hightower) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6609 Nowadays, there are apps on our mobile devices that will do virtually anything. They help us get organized, give us the news, entertain us, help us plan trips and allow us to connect with friends. One thing that has become apparent as I peruse the online app store for my latest download is that there are many, many apps devoted to food, nutrition, health and most importantly - weight loss. The apps count calories, suggest healthier foods, encourage exercise, plan meals and provide useful...
]]> Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:54:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6571&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed bkroche@ucdavis.edu(Brenda Roche Wolford) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6571 One morning more than a decade ago I tried an “eating meditation” in Silverlake, about an hour’s drive from UC Riverside. We were about ten people – more Buddhish than Buddhist – in a dark and quiet room, seated on stiff chairs around a menacing-looking table. Each of us was handed a strawberry and told to await instructions. I had never participated in an eating meditation before. I wasn’t even sure what was involved. Did one eat and eat, and meditate at the same time with eyes closed? I had...
]]> Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:07:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6529&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed iqbal@ucr.edu(Iqbal Pittalwala) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6529 Oh January 1st, how I hate you.  If you’re like me you’re still recovering from the month long holiday food hangover.  With three months until spring and swimsuit season on the horizon, you’re feeling the pressure to lose the winter coat!  As always, you make that infamous New Year’s resolution: TO LOSE WEIGHT!  How many people do you know, including yourself, who swear that this is the year… “Gym membership here I come!” “I will not touch another carb for the rest of the year!” “No sweets...
]]> Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:26:31 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6455&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed smacnab@ucdavis.edu(Shelby MacNab) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6455 On this Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, it’s nice to sit with a cup of tea and a seed catalog, dreaming about a spring and summer garden. For 2012, I’ve decided to focus on heirloom varieties for my home garden. Spoiler alert for my family: there are packets of heirloom seeds tucked in your Christmas stockings, with extras for Memere and Pepere (who are grandparents and also grand gardeners). “Heirloom” is an interesting term, and like the word “sustainability,” it means...
]]> Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:34:47 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6464&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed rmhaydensmith@ucdavis.edu(Rose Hayden-Smith) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6464 Over the years, I’ve heard quite a few people, including my parents, talk about getting an orange in their Christmas stocking when they were children. Apparently, this custom dates back many years. It was a special treat, in a time when oranges were expensive. An interesting book called “Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden” by Douglas Cazaux Sackman tells the story of how oranges went from being an occasional treat to a mainstream part of the American diet. In fact, Los Angeles...
]]> Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:08:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6435&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ramabie@ucdavis.edu(Rachel A. Surls) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6435 Davis Wednesday afternoon farmers' market can be quiet in December, so what better time to learn a little about what's going on back at the farms? Every farmer I talked with today had delicious treats to sell and a story to tell. Here are a few: Did you know that Gridley is the kiwi capital of America? There used to be a kiwi festival and a kiwi queen, but that all got too expensive for Gridley's kiwi farmers quite a few years ago, Frank Stenzel reports. He's getting ready to start pruning his...
]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:12:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6400&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed paleff@ucdavis.edu(Penny Leff) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6400 Walking through a field lined with row upon row of different vegetables — many ready for the picking — can be an exercise in abundance. When you're faced with the prospects of a huge, just-picked Japanese cabbage or spicy green lo bok pulled fresh from the ground, suddenly vegetables might seem like less of a chore and more of an adventure. I had a chance recently to visit Tchieng Farms with Richard Molinar and Michael Yang, both of UC Cooperative Extension Fresno County and the Small Farm...
]]> Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:17:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6362&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed bldawson@ucdavis.edu(Brenda Dawson) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6362 Adding to a growing list of campus-produced products, Russell Ranch has introduced a new UC Davis product -- Russell Ranch Dried Tomatoes. Russell Ranch Dried Tomatoes are grown at UC Davis' Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility, a 300-acre farm west of campus. The organically grown tomatoes are part of a century-long study of agricultural sustainability at the ranch that compares the long-term effects of different ways of farming. Research at Russell Ranch focuses on soil and water...
]]> Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:58:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6265&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed ehightower@ucdavis.edu(Eve Hightower) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6265 UC’s Food Stamp Nutrition and Education Program, or FSNEP, has officially changed its name to University of California CalFresh Nutrition Education Program, or UC CalFresh for short. In 2008 the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service changed the name of the food stamp program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Last year, the California Department of Social Services updated to CalFresh, the name of the state program that issues monthly electronic...
]]> Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:34:47 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6333&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pskanrice@ucdavis.edu(Pamela Kan-Rice) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6333 I have this huge grapefruit tree in my garden. It is at least 30 feet high and just as wide.  It must be at least 70 years old and yields hundreds of pounds of grapefruit annually. The variety is an old standard variety called "Marsh." Marsh grapefruit were introduced in Florida in 1860 and it has been in the industry ever since. It is relatively cold hardy variety and has survived many hard freezes here in northern California. Even though our grapefruit tree gives us a lot of fruit and it has...
]]> Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:19:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6318&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed pmelam@ucdavis.edu(Pamela M. Geisel) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6318 On a recent Sunday night I went to see Charles Bamforth, the University of California's only professor of brewing, speak at Sudwerk Riverside in Folsom, hosted by the Sacramento Chapter of the UC Davis Alumni Association. The standing-room-only banquet room had an empty seat next to a winemaker and a food scientist; a married couple who came back early from a weekend in Santa Cruz for some edutainment and local brew. Bamforth can pack ‘em in on most of his speaking venues. Bamforth teaches in...
]]> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:43:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6308&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed sjklahorst@ucdavis.edu(Suanne Klahorst) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6308 Each fall I am delighted by the vibrant color of the pomegranates on display in the produce section of the market. I succumbed to their ancient beauty a few days ago, and purchased two. They added their glistening jewel tones to the fall leaves and dried corn cobs that graced our Thanksgiving table. “Help yourself,” I told our guests. “Please enjoy eating them, that’s what they’re for.” But no one took advantage of the offer, and the lovely pomegranates languished in our post-holiday fruit...
]]> Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:23:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6274&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed postharvest@ucdavis.edu(Mary E. Reed) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6274