cheese
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Hitting the Books: What really goes into your artisanal cheese
In American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey Through the Artisan Cheese World, author Joe Berkowitz takes readers on an incredible journey through the heart of the modern cheese-making/cheese-enjoying industry. In the excerpt below, Berkowitz visits an artisanal cheese facility in Northern California, bonds with “the girls” who make the milk, and learns how green making orange can be. Just as I’m about ready to give up, I find a sloping gravel path riven through a grassy hill that leads to Point Reyes Farmstead Creamery.
Cheese was the best part of TAG Heuer's smartwatch event
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997910{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997910, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997910{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997910").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Sure, Tag Heuer unveiled a smartwatch today with the help of Google and Intel. But the real star of the show was CEO Jean-Claude Biver and his love of cheese. Literally. Who cut the cheese? Jean-Claude did.
Scientists discover why mozzarella is the ideal pizza cheese
Pizza is essentially the perfect food. Well, so long as you aren't lactose intolerant or have problems with gluten. We realize that those are pretty big caveats, but stay with us for a second -- it'll be worth it: NPR spotted a study of why different cheeses diverge in looks and taste when baked. Seriously. In a paper called "Quantification of Pizza Baking Properties of Different Cheeses, and Their Correlation with Cheese Functionality," researchers found that, among other things, the reason why mozzarella is so unique of a topping has to do with the way it's prepared. The cheese bubbles and browns because of its inherent elasticity due to stretching. In contrast, cheddar isn't as ideal because it isn't very elastic, thus it doesn't bubble as well. The same apparently goes for Edam and Gruyere, too.
Put those goats to use in Tropico 5's 'The Big Cheese' DLC
Mmm, cheese. Tropico 5's first DLC pack is called The Big Cheese, and it involves actually making cheese in El Presidente's very own artisan factory, The Creamery. The Big Cheese is available now for $4, or free for those who pre-ordered the game via Steam or purchased a physical boxed copy. "'The Big Cheese' DLC, available today, challenges players to create and promote an artisan cheese brand by introducing a new production chain with The Creamery: a new building that enables you to make the most of Tropico's local goats and llamas," Kalypso says in a press release. "Put on the chef's hat and face international competition in an epic quest to create the best cheese in the world!" Update 1.04 is live today as well, enabling saves in multiplayer and squashing some bugs. We can't have bugs in the cheese factory, after all. [Image: Kalypso]
Lab-grown 'real' cheese made without milk
Real vegan cheese. An oxymoron, but maybe not for long. A group of biohackers, which is a thing now, reckon they can make cheese without milk. Better still, it apparently tastes like proper, legitimate cheese, and not some vegan-friendly substitute mess. The SF-based iGEM group say it's made from baker's yeast. The team is able to make cheese proteins using genetic sequences found in mammals, inserting the DNA blueprints into the aforementioned yeast, and it's all vegan-compatible because it doesn't need animal products to make the proteins.
iPhone cheese dock, just in time for the holidays
So you're having a holiday party this week and want to throw in a little Apple flavor to the whole thing. If you're Ally Fontaine, a reader over at iPhone Savior, you apparently take an iPhone dock and stick it in a big block of Pepper Jack to make an iPhone cheese dock. Weird? Yes. Festive? Very. Tasty? Indeed. I like it, though I hope she washed the dock before it went in there. Apparently there's a space carved out for the hardware, and the app on screen is Santa's Little Helpers, a risque little pin-up app (I'd have gone with Apple's Remote, maybe let cheese-eaters change the Christmas music at the party). There's a Steve Jobs bobblehead in the back, crackers to go with the cheese around the block, and those aren't tomatoes all sliced up there -- they're McIntosh apples, of course. Clever. If you have an Apple-inspired holiday treat (maybe some decorated cookies, some ornaments or a special wreath), be sure to send us a pic on our tipline -- we'd love to see it. Happy holidays!
SpaceX Dragon's secret payload revealed: Le Brouere cheese (video)
It looks like the Air Force isn't the only organization with its secrets. While we still don't know the exact nature of the testing the X-37B space plane underwent during its seven months in orbit, we have learned what, exactly, the SpaceX Dragon was carrying during its time spent in low-earth orbit. That's right: a wheel of Le Brouere, a French variant of the Swiss Gruyere, a hard yellow cheese made from cow's milk. It's also a reference to a Monty Python sketch -- but you probably knew that already. You've seen the launch, so how about checking out the sketch that so amused Elon Musk? Well, you're in luck -- it's after the break.
The Tattered Notebook: Mask of the betrayer
You know, there's something decidedly ironic about playing a rat in an MMORPG, particularly in a themepark grinder like EverQuest II (and before anyone burns me at the stake, it's a good themepark grinder, I'm positively in love with it). The parallels are almost too perfect. Rats chase cheese and players chase digital carrots, running around a pre-defined maze with numerous boundaries, roadblocks, and invisible walls just like your average lab rodent. Luckily EQII camouflages these minor irritations better than most games, even on fairly grinderific content like the city betrayal quest series. Yes, I've returned to playing my ratonga after a week of cheating on him with a shiny new shadowknight, and I've finally managed to move his furry little butt away from the abusive stylings of Freeport to a comfy little four-room rat hole off the side streets of South Qeynos. Turn the page for more on his journey and thumb through his gallery below. %Gallery-98135%
Grating cheese on a G5
Ah, the once mighty Power Mac G5. It used to be the envy of film editors and art designers everywhere. With a 1.6 GHz CPU, a whopping 256MB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive, it was once the tower-iest of PC towers. Just seven short years later, it's reduced to grating cheese in some nondescript office environment. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Actually it's just the case doing the grating -- you have to admit, with all of those tiny holes for ventilation, the case works pretty well. It does make a mess, though, and there's quite a bit of cheese still left on the unit. It may not be able to run 10.6, but the old G5 will spruce up your salad if you so choose. Thanks, sivil!
So very disturbing: Bring me Steve Jobs' (cheese) head on a plate
Ken over at TheCooksDen has sculpted an edible Steve Jobs' head out of two blocks of mozzarella and some pepper. It's actually pretty impressive in a Hannibal Lecter kind of way. Ken, who admits he's a Mac fanboy and a foodie, thought that there was no better way to show his appreciation for his much-loved Apple products than to create a tasty sculpture in the form of Apple's venerable leader. Well all right then. He doesn't stop with just Steve's head either (as if you were worried about that). Ken offers three other recipes – all using Steve's head in some way – to show off your Apple gastronomy. The concoctions include the Apple Cheese Plate, the Spicy Steve Nachos Supreme, and my favorite, the iPad Thai. The full ingredients list and cooking instructions are on the site. So, what are you waiting for? Get cooking! [TUAW is not responsible for any loss of lunch/nightmares incurred due to viewing the photo above. Yikes. -Ed.]
Friday fakes: The best of the bogus
TUAW presents to you the best of the obviously fake device shots we've seen in the last couple of weeks. On occasion they're beautiful renderings that are worth a second glance, other times they're out of focus shots that tipsters swear were taken quickly at a meeting on the Apple campus. In any case, they're a lot of fun. Let's begin with this gem from the French blog Le Journal du Geek. In a post titled "Encore un peu de MacBook Touch?" ("Again a little MacBook Touch?"), we see what looks like a page from an Apple website: This fake is fabulous! It shows the device being about the size of what everyone would like to see, with about a 10" diagonal display. They give it a plausible name instead of the lame "iPad" moniker, the power button is located away from the middle of the device, and the faux photos show it being used with a dock, as a music keyboard in GarageBand, and flipping from landscape to portrait. Very cool, and they even endow the MacBook touch with drool-worthy specs on the website.
Wrath Dailies: Cheese for Glowergold
I don't get the cheese in game. It's everywhere. I get that there are people operating a cheese shop in Stormwind as part of their cover, but everything else? There's something about Dalaran and its cheeses.My particularly favorite cheese at the moment is Gouda Cheese which originated from the Netherlands. It's better than the cheese they sell and produce in Dalaran. And it's also, you know, real.But enough about this "reality" thing. Let's focus on the cooking daily quest where you have to make your own cheese platter.Quest Giver: Awilo Lon'gomba (Horde) or Katherine Lee (Alliance)Reputation: Kirin TorReward: 150 rep, 9.9g at level 80, a Dalaran Cooking Award, a Small Spice BagMinimum Level: 65Required Chain: Cooking at 375 or above.Read on after the break for our walkthrough of the quest, complete with a few tricks you can do to get it done quickly and easily.
Raid Rx: Analyzing your healers Part 2
Raid Rx is designed to encapsulate and cure the shock and horror that is 25-man raid healing. Ok, so it's mostly horror... Anyways, if you're a big fan of X-TREME Whack-A-Mole (or are being forced into it against your will) this is the column for you. Interweb friends, I am sorry I've been MIA so long. It was an accident, I swear! I have missed you. /sniff Last time, creatively called Part 1, we went over healing analysis philosophy and all the tools you'll need to be sure you're seeing the whole picture. This time? My little whelps, we are going to start in on the big one: WWS healorz style. Grab a snack and join me after the break as I cover exactly what you should have in your grubby little hands before even pretending to know what's going on in WWS.
Karmic retribution: Pac-Man gets eaten (DIY)
If you eat food, which is a given, and you aren't a vegan or lactose intolerant, you probably know that cheese is the best food ever. (The previous statement is a well-known fact, and is not up for debate.) Of course, cheese-based foods (well, all foods, for that matter) are always better when they relate to video games.Today's spotlight food relates to Pac-Man. No, we're not talking about Babybel cheese ... that would be too obvious. Instead, Jocelyn from Snack-or-Die found this neat recipe, which details how to make Pac-Man and pellet-shaped crackers. In case you're wondering what they taste like, think Goldfish snacks.If you have even the least bit of culinary skill and own the proper hardware, you owe it to yourself to make these crackers. The recipe makes the process seem pretty easy, and they look mighty tasty. Cooking Mama, eat your heart out.
Adventurers beware, mysterious rodents in FFXI
Hopefully you all like rodents, because if you happen to log into Final Fantasy XI anytime before January 14th you'll be greeted to the mysterious rodent-like beastman of Vana'diel. Said beasties could be "divine disciples" or "unsavory swindlers" and the only way to find out seems to be to brave the wide world. Ending their announcement with a wish of good fortune, the team behind FFXI don't seem to have the desire to divulge any more information beyond that. Seems pretty cryptic to us, but when you're basing your entire new years concept on the Chinese zodiac I suppose that it calls for a little exotic flavor.I'd like to think that these rodents are kind creatures sent to give us all cooking advice, but I suppose not all of them are going to be friendly. Would it be too much to hope for a Master Splinter-type of rodent to train players? It might not be, considering that the year of the rat is just around the corner anyhow. Our only word of advice is to bring along a big chunk of cheese with a nice, strong aroma. [Via Ten Ton Hammer]
MIT graduates recreate nacho fountain from Talladega Nights
This contraption doesn't look as slick as a PS3 bbq, nor is it an ideal option for gamer sustenance, but it sure packs a punch for true nacho fanboys. Chris Vogt and Schuyler Senft-Grupp, two MIT Engineering alums, fulfilled a "mission from the Nacho Gods," to build "the beast," which was directly inspired by a nacho fountain seen in Talladega NIghts. All it took was 4 gallons of water, 6 feet of copper tube, 1 plumber's torch, 4 hose clamps, 4 plastic bowls, 1 aluminum water heater drip pan, 1 emergency drill pump, 1 power drill, various PVC bits, some string, 2 heating plates, 1 wooden spoon, several bags of chips, and of course, 6 gallons of cheese. Three days and six hours later, "the beast" came to life, overflowing with nacho goodness for Vogt, Senft-Grupp, and a posse of fellow nacho-lovers to worship / devour.
Satoru Iwata: biggest Japanese industry cheese of '06?
The latest issue of Japan's Weekly Famitsu contains gory details of the magazine's annual Japanese industry awards, and it's little surprise that renowned industry savior Satoru Iwata is cited as the figure who made the greatest impact on videogames in 2006. NCL's friendly President (there's a French brand of cheese called Président, you know) received 201 votes to pip Ken Kutaragi, of all people, to the title. What "Big Ken" was even doing in the listings we fail to fathom, but there you have it. And here you have Famitsu's top five Japanese industry cheeses: Satoru Iwata (Nintendo) -- 201 votes Ken Kutaragi (Sony Computer Entertainment) -- 181 votes Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker) -- 126 votes Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo) -- 41 votes Hideo Kojima (Konami) -- 33 votes
Extended warranties - Are they worth it?
These days, if you go out to buy anything from a weed-whacker to a car, you are going to hear an extended warranty pitch. Cheese (salesmen lingo for service plans) makes everyone a lot of money. Back in the old days of Circuit City when the salesman were on commission, these service plans paid 15% commission (I used to be one) so if you sold $500 in cheese, then you walked away with 75 bucks in just warranty, let alone any accessories you sold with it. Digital Home Canada has a great write-up on how exactly they work and who they pay. They are recommending not to buy 'em, but we here at HDBeat are saying don't throw the idea right out the window by looking at the plan and seeing if it works with how you are using the product. For example, if you are buying a DLP that has a lamp life of 4000 - 5000 hours and the set is on for 12 hours a day (12 hours a day x 365 days = 4380 hours in a year), then it might make sense if the cost of the warranty is anywhere near the cost of a lamp. But if that DLP is only on for the occasional movie or sports game, then it probably doesn't make sense. All we are saying is understand how the TV technology works before you decline that salesman. Keep in mind you usually have a few weeks to come back and buy this service plan, so take some literature and read up about it.What do you think about extended warranties? Did you buy one for your HDTV?NOTE: There has been a lot of discussion in the comments about how some retailers do not cover the lamp, but Best Buy's and Circuit City's service plans does cover the bulb.
