Donna Maurillo, Food for Thought, Oct. 21, 2009: Kitchen tested...

Someone recently asked me if I'd ever heard of Cook's Illustrated. She had just discovered this wonderful publication.

[StoneyGirl]

Cook's Illustrated is a great magazine - lots of good information; but a bit pricey. I guess "really good" magazines are pricey so it's definitely worth it.

[Yep]

well maybe no one responded to the idea of a tax on sugar is because it's the wrong question and the debate is being framed incorrectly. Sugar has been in soft drinks forever but the obesity epidemic is a more recent phenomenon. The reasoning by a lot of experts is that sugar is meaningless in the debate since the real culprit is high fructose corn syrup which is a cheaper alternative than sugar for the soda companies and has been in widespread use for the last 20 years. Corn fillers, which are subsidized by taxpayers for the benefit of ADM and other agricultural conglomerates are being used to SuperSize meals that Americans were fine with before they came on the market. Look at the calorie meters for a burger at Carls Jr it will blow you away. It's not just an American problem since France for the first time in it's recent memory is reporting an explosion of obesity among their youth in that country. Interestingly enough France is the 2nd largest market for McDonalds after the United States. A tax on fast food and items laden with corn/corn syrup(soda/chips) would have been the correct way to minimize the obesity epidemic in this country but I guess the sugar industry doesn't have the power the corn lobby does

[jarbee]

StoneyGirl wrote:

Cook's Illustrated is a great magazine - lots of good information; but a bit pricey. I guess "really good" magazines are pricey so it's definitely worth it.

They are great and an online subscription is a good deal that includes some video demonstrations. My only complaint is they are a little too East-coast oriented.

[Donna]

"Yep," you certainly bring up some valid points, especially about fast food. And you're right about the lobbyists. If you want to know who has legislative influence, just follow the money trail.

Donna