Is your vinegar made from petroleum?

YUK! My recent tater salad could have fueled my car! Well not really, but I wonder just how many petroleum based products I'm eating on my salad!

From Reuters: May 18, 2009

Heinz re-affirms its commitment to use only 100 percent all-natural
ingredients in its popular Distilled White and Apple Cider Vinegar, offering
an alternative to petroleum-based vinegars

PITTSBURGH, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Not all vinegars are created equal -- and
not all are created with natural ingredients. In fact, vinegar can be made
from either natural ingredients, such as corn and apples, or artificial
ingredients, such as petroleum. According to a recent survey*, this is proving
important to more than 70 percent of vinegar users looking for all-natural,
high-quality ingredients when making salads or salad dressings. In response,
Heinz is re-affirming its commitment to use only natural, sun-ripened corn and
fresh apples -- never petroleum -- in its popular Heinz Distilled White and
Apple Cider Vinegar.


The majority of vinegar users (89 percent) said they didn't know that their
vinegar could be sourced from petroleum, while 79 percent indicated that if
they discovered their vinegar was sourced from petroleum, they would switch to
an all-natural vinegar. With no current requirements to disclose ingredient
sources on labels, many consumers may not be able to tell how their vinegar is
made. That's why Heinz is taking steps to raise the level of consumer
awareness about all-natural vinegar choices and proudly proclaiming that Heinz
Distilled White and Apple Cider Vinegars are always 100 percent all-natural. 

Read the whole press release

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS132551+18-May-2009+PRN20090518

Japanese Tuna Terrine by Sedona Cantina & Tapas

Japanese Tuna Terrine. Fresh avocado in lime juice with sashimi grade tuna in a Japanese (soy,ginger, wasabi, rice wine vinegar, cilantro) ceviche style marinade. It is then layered, starting with avocado, in a terrine mold and pressed with a brick overnight.
Then, you pop it out, top it with a wasabi cream sauce, and, ENJOY!!! (on rice crackers or egg roll crisps)


Sedona Cantina and Tapas is located in Fayette County:

Turn at the light for fayetteville off of 19. Go straight through town until you get to the stoplight. Continue straight through light on Court st. (also Rt. 16 south) and we are about 1.5 miles out of town on the right.

You too can find other unique restaurants in West Virginia, by going to Wvfarm2u

Chef Brian Ball's take on a traditional Mexican dish

Chef Brian Ball's take on a traditional Mexican Fish Taco was divine:

First he started with a basil infused white tortilla chip

Then he took a granny smith apple slaw and put it atop the basil infused chip

Sandwiching the slaw with another chip
Adding the seared Tuna atop the "taco"

Adding the aioli (aioli: is made by slowly whisking oil into egg yolks and garlic. )

The finished product with sprinkled coriander seeds...a tantalizing taste bud fiesta!!

According to the National Culinary Review: Local is the New Organic

"Chefs are increasingly finding product within 150 miles of their venue" by Laura Taxel.

'It's a fundamental axiom among chefs that to make great food, you need great ingredients. As a measure of freshness and qulity, local has become the new gold standard. So chefs around the country are increasingly turning to products sourced from artisan producers and small family owned and sustainably operated farms located within 150 miles of where they cook.

Noting this shif, the American Farm Bureau, based in Washington, D.C., included farm-to-table cuisine on its list of top food trends for 2009, and local produce earned the No. 1 spot on the National Restaurant Association's most recent "What's Hot" chef survey...'
Laura Taxel, The National Culinary Review. July 2009

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101 Unique Places to Dine in West Virginia