Lynne Kiesling
A couple of nifty food notes have crossed my path today. First, an incredibly handy list of places to find duck fat french fries around the US, including the fabulous Hot Doug’s in Roscoe Village in Chicago. Yummmmm, encased meats! Interestingly, the hat tip for this article goes to John Hodgman’s Twitter feed. I love when Twitter is substantive!
On a related note, at New Year’s Eve dinner one of my friends claimed that duck fat has similar health benefits to olive oil and other unsaturated fats. I was skeptical but hopeful, as I am a huge fan of duck. Turns out she’s right, and I’ve even found a 1991 New York Times article on the French (quelle surprise!) research substantiating the claim:
In a paper presented to a convention of duck and goose producers in France last spring, Dr. Renaud suggested that goose and duck fat may improve cardiovascular health. Only clinical studies can determine the benefits of the fat from web-footed birds, but chemists agree with Dr. Renaud, who said in a recent telephone interview, “Goose and duck fat is closer in chemical composition to olive oil than it is to butter or lard.”
A more recent New York Times article, from June 2008, lists some of the foods that are relatively easily accessible that you should be eating but probably aren’t. These include beets (YUM), swiss chard (yum), frozen blueberries (YUM!), canned pumpkin (YUM), and sardines (yuck). The article also helpfully lists ways to prepare these foods. After first reading this article over the summer I bought a tin of sardines, and they still sit in my pantry, awaiting the appearance of my steely nerve to get me to try to choke them down. I think I’ll follow the article’s advice and mulch them into a purée with mustard, onions, and lots of pepper. My idea was to grill them, but it got to be winter before I steeled my nerves to do so.