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Uber Eats might start showing ads, too
You might soon see ads while you're looking for dinner in Uber Eats. The company recently posted a job listing, first spotted by TechCrunch, for an Uber Eats Ads Lead, and a spokesperson confirmed that Uber is exploring bringing relevant ads to Eats. So, while you're deciding where to order from, Uber could be tossing a few paid suggestions at you.
Barsys Smart Coaster tells you how to pour the perfect cocktail
Mixing a cocktail requires skill and precision -- or the Barsys Smart Coaster. The new device is a small disc that connects to the Barsys app. To mix a drink, you simply place a glass or pitcher on the smart coaster and select the drink you'd like to make. The app will tell you which ingredients to add and the coaster will change colors indicating when to start and stop pouring each ingredient.
Amazon Fresh deliveries are now free for Prime members
Amazon is ditching its $14.99 a month Amazon Fresh fee for Prime members. Prime subscribers in the 2,000 US cities where the fresh food delivery service is offered can use it for free and take advantage of new one- and two-hour delivery windows. Shopping from Whole Foods is also an option here, and it's subject to the same quick delivery times. You can sign up here but you'll have to wait for an invitation -- as Amazon says, "We expect this will be a popular benefit."
Lab cultured 'steaks' grown on an artificial gelatin scaffold
Most of the alt-meat we eat nowadays, including products like the Impossible Burger, are actually plant based. A number of startups are still working on ethical meat that's grown from animal cells, giving you a real burger without the cruelty and climate change issues. Those can be mushy because they lack the collagen present in real muscle tissue, so there's no way to create steaks. Now, Harvard University researchers have found a way to simulate real meat by growing cow and rabbit muscle cells on a scaffold made out of gelatin.
How a Harvard class project changed barbecue
"A hundred inches of snow that winter, it was really quite terrible." There are several factors to overcome when trying to cook a 14-pound slab of brisket during the winter. Not only do you have to contend with freezing temperatures but you also have to keep your grill or smoker from getting too wet with moisture from the snow. On top of that, you have to keep the fire going for several hours, or you've just wasted a pricey cut of beef.
Food Network's cooking classes begin on Echo Show and Alexa devices
At Amazon's big Alexa event last month, Discovery revealed its Food Network Kitchen service, which is now live across its iOS and Android apps and Alexa-powered devices. It includes live, interactive cooking classes featuring the network's star chefs, on-demand courses, recipes and Food Network TV shows as well as grocery ordering and delivery for all the ingredients you'll need to prepare the dishes you see on the service.
Pizza Hut is testing pies with plant-based 'Incogmeato' sausage
Now that KFC has generated a frenzy over plant-based meat substitutes, it's the turn of sibling brands to generate some buzz. Pizza Hut has revealed that it's conducting a Phoenix test of a new Garden Specialty Pizza with Morning Farms' Incogmeato (yes, really) Italian "sausage" as a topping. On top of that, the pies will be served in unique Zume-made round boxes. They're not just for show. The circular shape uses less overall packaging than a square box, keeps the pizza hotter and is industrially compostable. In other words, you can feel better about the pizza's environmental impact well after you've finished the last bite.
Amazon sellers are shipping long-expired food
Whole Foods thrives on freshness, but Amazon's online store? Not so much. CNBC reports that Amazon's third-party sellers are all-too-frequently shipping food that has long-since expired, including products like year-old Hostess brownies and Teavana goods discontinued in 2017. At least 40 percent of sellers had over five complaints about expired food, according to findings from data firm 3PM. And in cases where multiple vendors are selling the same product, it's not always clear who you're buying from or whether or not it's fresh.
Le Creuset's Star Wars cookware is available to pre-order
If you've been itching to get your hands on that roasting pan with Han Solo encased into the lid, now's your chance. Le Creuset unveiled a selection of Star Wars cookware earlier this month and said it would go on sale in November. But you don't have to wait to stake your claim for a $395 Darth Vader French oven or $25 Porg pie bird as pre-orders are now open.
You might want a centrifuge to make this cocktail
After a long morning of sweating through the first glimpse of New York City's 90-degree summer, I found myself inside a West Village bar called Existing Conditions. Its shiny leather banquettes, expensive art and mood lighting proved that the area now belonged not to the writerly bohemians of old but the Instagram influencers of new. Fortunately, as a microinfluencer, I fit right in. But I hadn't arrived two and a half hours before the bar opened out of mere enthusiasm. After following a trend of bartenders (excuse me, mixologists) using centrifuges to craft cocktails, I wanted to taste one for myself. As well as -- let's be honest -- steal the recipe to make at home.
Walmart's direct-to-fridge delivery service now available in three US cities
If taking groceries from the front door of your home to your kitchen is too much of a hassle, Walmart wants a word with you. Following an early announcement in June, the retailer's direct-to-fridge InHome Delivery service is now available in the US. Today's launch includes three cities: Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Vero Beach, Florida.
The Pakt Coffee Kit is a nearly perfect pour-over solution for travel
For the last three years, I've tried in vain to put together a travel coffee kit for CES. Because we're in Las Vegas for so long, I really want the comforts of home in the form of a good cup of coffee. Sorry, Residence Inn, but the stuff in the lobby is terrible. I usually piece things together with a small hand grinder and an Aeropress. Since this isn't an all-in-one setup, I either leave pieces behind or have to deal with heating water in a pot and trying not to spill it -- or buying a kettle that I'll just leave in the room. Thankfully Pakt, a company that makes travel gear that helps you pack efficiently, came up with a stellar solution.
Astronauts bioprint beef in space for the first time
Lab-grown meat is no longer confined to Earth -- Aleph Farms and partners have successfully grown meat in space for the first time. The experiment, conducted aboard the Russian section of the International Space Station on September 26th, used a bioprinter from 3D Bioprinting Solutions to produce a cultivated beef steak. Aleph's growth technique replicates cows' muscle tissue regeneration process, just in artificial conditions -- the only big change for spaceborne creation is the faster maturation, since you can print from all sides at once instead of coping with the limitations of gravity.
Le Creuset's Star Wars collection includes a $900 dutch oven
Le Creuset is no stranger to working with Disney, but their latest collaboration is sure to cause a disturbance in the Force. In November, the French cookware maker plans to release a series of Star Wars-themed products. Le Creuset shared the news in a tweet on Friday morning. Make sure to watch the accompanying video with sound turned on. One word of warning before you get too excited, however. The end of the video includes a small but important disclaimer: "Cookware does not emit sounds or illuminate." Bummer.
McDonald's will sell plant-based Beyond Meat burgers in Canada
McDonald's has revealed its answer to Burger King's plant-based Impossible Whopper. On September 30th, the fast food giant will start serving the P.L.T. or Plant Lettuce Tomato burger in 28 restaurants in Southwestern Ontario. It created the new item using plant-based patties from Impossible Burger rival Beyond Meat, which also has an ongoing partnership with KFC to test its plant-based chicken.
Food Network's cooking instruction service lets you ask Alexa for help
Discovery wants to be your one-stop shop for cooking classes, and it's enlisting Amazon's help to make that happen. The broadcaster has unveiled a Food Network Kitchen service that offers a mix of live classes from celebrity chefs, on-demand classes, TV shows and recipes. It'll be available on a raft of Amazon devices (including Echo Show and Fire TV gear) in addition to the virtually obligatory Android and iOS apps, but the real attraction may be the deep tie-ins with Alexa -- Food Network Kitchen may effectively become the go-to option for cooking on Alexa-equipped devices.
Amazon's new Alexa-enabled smart oven doubles as an air fryer
Move over June, there's a new smart oven in town. On Wednesday, Amazon announced a new smart oven at its fall hardware event. Not to be confused with the AmazonBasics Microwave the company unveiled last year, the Amazon Smart Oven functions as a combination microwave, convection oven, air fryer and food warmer.
Impossible Burger is now available at east coast grocery stores
After launching last week at grocery stores in Southern California, Impossible Foods' plant-based package of ground "meat" is heading east. Starting tomorrow, September 25th, all 100 Wegmans grocery stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina will sell the Impossible Burger. Additionally, Fairway Market in New York will offer the Impossible Burger at its 74th and 86th Street locations in Manhattan. Both chains will sell the company's 12-ounce package for $8.99.
McDonald's is using Alexa and Google Assistant to hire new workers
McDonald's has launched a new voice experience for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, but it's not for hungry customers looking to order a couple of burgers. It's called Apply Thru, and the company says it's the world's first voice-initiated application process. To summon it, job seekers simply need to say "Alexa/OK Google, help me get a job at McDonald's" or "Talk to McDonald's Apply Thru."
In search of upcycled food that actually tastes good
I wish I could say that I only recently encountered the trend of transforming used grain into something edible, but then I'd be ignoring evidence of me eating dog treats made at a microbrewery a few years back. The worst part is that I tell Zagat on camera that "these are some of the best I've had," full-on admitting that I've consumed pet food before. My tastes don't usually run so beastly. But those treats didn't contain much more than grains, oats, honey, peanut butter, and the like, so no judgment, please. When Hops & Grain started making these things a few years ago, it was called recycling food waste. Because no one wants to eat anything deemed waste, another term is now in vogue: upcycling.