food

We all know eating vegetables is a good way to improve health. And for many years, the focus has been on just eating more vegetables, be it fresh, frozen or canned.

Fun fact about the newsroom at WFPL, the NPR member station in Louisville, Ky., where I work: It is fully stocked with lots of candy. Mini-chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, Jolly Ranchers — the list goes on and the candy bowl is constantly being refilled.

Then last week, a gigantic bag of gummy bears appeared. Which led to this question from our digital editor, Jonese Franklin: "Do gummy bears really come in different flavors, or do we just think they taste different because they are different colors?"

Looking for a diet that is simple to follow? You might want to give the Mediterranean diet a try.

It's not so much a prescriptive meal plan as it is a well-balanced pattern of eating. Think lots of whole grains, vegetables, beans, nuts, olive oil, fish and smaller amounts of dairy, poultry and even a little red wine (if you like).

Contaminated food is taking too long to be removed from store shelves, according to a report issued by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The report says the Food and Drug Administration "did not always have an efficient and effective food-recall process that ensured the safety of the nation's food supply."

Federal investigators reviewed 30 of 1,557 food recalls between 2012 and 2015.

Nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves are probably ramping up in importance in your spice cabinet right about now — the classic flavors of the winter season. But while you might be shopping for local ingredients for your favorite recipes for eggnog or maple-glazed ham, the odds are that the spices you're using were imported from the other side of the world.

Lior Lev Sercarz thinks spices should be local, too.

Ask any Swede and they'll tell you that a smörgåsbord table without herring is (gasp) unthinkable. While there are other foods they may rattle off as equally important — gravlax, cured ham, meatballs and rice pudding — it's these tiny, pickled fish that are the backbone of the elaborate buffet, which likely traces its roots back to high-society gatherings in the 1500s.

If I spot a blade of interesting-looking grass, my first inclination isn't to wonder what it tastes like. But a group of researchers in Australia recently stumbled upon two new species of grass with a peculiar flavor that some liken to a favorite snacking combo: salt and vinegar chips.