The Perfect Scoop

Amco Houseworks' Serrated Ice Cream Scoop features a serrated edge for cutting into hard ice cream and an unusual faceted aluminum surface which is designed for an easy release. Dishwasher safe.

$9.99 at Amco Houseworks.

New Books: People's Pops

The gourmet ice pop trend continues with a new book, People's Pops, by Nathalie Jordi, David Carrell, and Joel Horowitz (the team behind the New York City pop business of the same name), due out this June.

People's Pops follows on the heels of last summer's Paletas (also published by Ten Speed Press) with 55 recipes for pops and shave ice arranged seasonally and by ingredient, from spring (think rhubarb and elderflower or cucumber and violet) to autumn (cranberry and apple or pumpkin pie with whipped cream).

The recipes are interspersed with mouthwatering ice pop porn and tips on everything from how to make and serve the pops to starting your own pop business if you are so inspired.

bone luge

bone luge (noun): A method of drinking alcohol whereby spirits are poured down a length of a roasted marrow bone into one's mouth.

The bone luge -- which has emerged as something of a meme, with its own website where afficianados may document their drinking experiences -- is said to have originated in Portland, Oregon, in 2010.

Food Art: Designer Sushi

Created by the international advertising agency I&S BBDO, "design nori" is a series of laser-cut seaweed for rolling sushi featuring designs that evoke the patterns of cherry blossoms, water drops, and tortoise shell (among other objects). The project was commissioned to encourage the sale of nori following the 2011 tsunami, when seaweed consumption fell among the Japanese.

While "design nori" is currently only available for sale at limited locations in Japan, larger-scale production is possible in the future.

My Pizza: Test Drive

Baker extraordinaire Jim Lahey of Sulivan Street Bakery and Co. has followed up his brilliant My Bread with a pizza-oriented sequel, My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home.

With a single recipe for pizza dough (see below) as a starting place, the book is more or less a pizza topping book, with recipes for pies topped with everything friom leek and sausage to a wintry combination of brussels sprouts and chestnuts. There are also a handful of recipes for soups, salads, and desserts, including gelato and some especially delicious-looking chocolate chip cookies.

po·ta·to move·ment

po·ta·to move·ment (noun): A practice emerging in Greece whereby municipalities coordinate direct sales of potatoes and other agricultural products from producers to consumers. Consumers benefit from deep discounts over retail prices, and producers benefit by being paid immediately for their goods.

An article in The Guardian described how the potato movement works in practice:

As devised by [agricultural marketing professor Christos] Kamenides and his students, it's a simple system. Their brainwave was to involve Greece's local municipalities, lending the movement a degree of both organisation and official encouragement that it might otherwise have lacked.

So: a town hall announces a sale. Locals sign up for what they want to buy. The town hall then tells Kamenides the quantity required and he and his students call local farmers to see who can supply it. They show up with the requisite amount of produce at the appointed place and time, meet their consumers, and the deal is done.

Sweet Shrooms

Life-size chocolate-filled mushrooms capped in organic fair trade chocolate and encased in a vanilla candy shell are shaped to mimic the contours of real shiitakes.

Three mushrooms, made to order, for $32 at andiespecialtysweets.

A Palette for Your Palate

Pantone color swatches, recreated as fruit-filled tarts.

Video: The Wine Opener of Your Dreams (or Nightmares)

This multi-geared Rube Goldberg contraption for opening and pouring a glass of wine is anything but portable. Via Coudal.

"Magnetic Tongue" Has a Taste for Canned Tomatoes

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have developed a "magnetic tongue" that can replicate human flavor detection with an artificial sensor.

The sensor could be used by food manufacturers to adjust their production methods to maximize flavor.

According to New Scientist, the researchers used the artificial tongue to analyze the chemical composition of 18 different types of canned tomatoes by examining hydrogen atoms with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy:

Statistical analysis correlated collections of these compounds with flavours like saltiness, sweetness, and bitterness, as ranked by trained tasters. The "magnetic tongue" tastes tomato liquid practically straight from the can. Manufacturers could sample tomatoes during production with this sensor and quickly adjust their methods to create better tasting products.