food

Glenfiddich's Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve. The last bottle goes up for auction on Tuesday.

UPDATE: This One Really Is The World's Most Expensive Whisky, We're Told

7:48pm December 19, 2012

by Brent Baughman

A bottle of Scotch recently sold for $94,000, which obviously is a lot. But one went for $460,000 just two years ago. We awarded the record to the wrong whisky in an earlier version of this post, according to the folks at Guinness World Records.

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The contents of a box of some of the new foods containing caffeine collected by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Not Just For Coffee Anymore: The Rise Of Caffeinated Foods

8:45am December 19, 2012

by Allison Aubrey

Are we getting "Jack'd"? A surge in new caffeine-containing foods leads to new questions about just how much caffeine we're getting in our daily lives. Some advocates are calling for labeling, and they raise concerns about children's and teens' consumption.

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Archaeologists believe that ancient farmers used pots made from these pottery shards to make cheese â a less perishable, low-lactose milk product.

Science

Archaeologists Find Ancient Evidence Of Cheese-Making

12:19pm December 17, 2012

Scientists have detected milk fat on 7,000-year-old pottery vessels from archaeological sites in Northern Europe. They think it's the earliest evidence of cheese-making, and they argue dairy products gave early farmers an evolutionary edge.

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Beers made by Trappist monks at St. Sixtus Abbey's Westvleteren Brewery in Belgium are sought by connoisseurs. For the first time, the monks are exporting the beer overseas, including to the U.S.

World News

A Sign From Above? Needing New Roof, Monks Sell Rare Beer In U.S.

8:39am December 13, 2012

by Teri Schultz

Westvleteren 12, a Belgian beer often called the best in the world, officially hits U.S. store shelves for the first time Wednesday. But fans of the beer may want to act quickly: The Trappist monks who brew it are only selling enough overseas to raise money to pay for a new roof and other renovations.

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Freshly picked Arbosana olives from the Texas Olive Ranch in Carrizo Springs, Texas.

National

U.S. Olive Oil Makers Say Imports Aren't Always So 'Extra Virgin'

8:40am December 10, 2012

by Allison Aubrey

Across the U.S., olive oil production is expanding. But domestic product accounts for only a small sliver of olive oil sold in the U.S. American producers say their foreign competitors aren't playing fair. One issue: mislabeling.

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Called a boyo or bulema, this Turkish-style pastry was traditionally made for the Jewish Shabbat. Today, boyos are mostly reserved for holidays like Hanukkah.

National

At Hanukkah, Pastry Reminds Portland Jews Of Their Mediterranean Roots

7:29pm December 08, 2012

by Deena Prichep

The cheese-and-spinach-filled food called a boyo was once served on the Shabbat tables of Jews who lived in the Ottoman Empire. Today, the Turkish-style pastries are mostly reserved for the holidays.

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NPR's Lost Recipe project helped Pavlos re-create her great-grandmother's jumble cookies.

Arts

In A Family's Lost Cookie, Lots Of Love, And Molasses

2:09pm December 07, 2012

by NPR Staff

Listener Laurie Pavlos tried re-creating her great-grandmother's "jumble" cookie recipe — transcribed by her great-grandfather in 1914 — with little success. So she turned to the Lost Recipe project, and got some help re-creating the molasses-rich cookie from cookbook author Nancy Baggett.

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Dairy farmer Bob Andrews feeds heifers in the same barn his grandfather used. He says today "the harder you work, the further you get behind."

Politics & Government

Milk Producers Peer Over The Dairy Cliff

9:09am December 05, 2012

by David Sommerstein

The expiration of the farm bill has left dairy farmers without a milk pricing program — and a safety net. While all farmers are watching closely, milk producers face an environment where cow feed costs more than cow milk.

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British Burger Is Hot, Red Hot

9:09am December 05, 2012

A new burger in Britain is topped with chillies that pack 40 times the heat of the average Tabasco sauce. The Fallout Burger is on sale at Atomic Burger in Bristol. It registers a million on the Scoville Scale which scientists use to determine chili heat.

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Books
Arts

'Inventing Wine': The History Of A Very Vintage Beverage

1:40pm December 04, 2012

In his new book, author and oenophile Paul Lukacs traces the 8,000-year history of our original alcoholic beverage — from ancient times, when wine was believed to be of divine origin, to the sauvignon blanc you find in your supermarket today.

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