Gandhian drink ☮
How is one beverage winning without even competing in an industry that's shrinking?
Good morning and happy new year! It feels great to be back on the keys after a break. Thanks for reading — we are grateful you take out 5 mins every week with us. Our recovery from the holidays has been as rough as the economy but hey, at least it isn't Friday the—oh wait.
Still, superstitions are fun…and of course very real…So here are our weirdest rituals. Feel free to adopt any that sync with your worldview.
Dhaval: While playing tennis, bouncing the ball thrice before every serve.
Tarun: No eggs on Tuesdays.
In the food world
🍽 End of an era
Noma, the three Michelin stars Danish restaurant, that expanded the imagination of Scandinavian food beyond Ikea meatballs, is closing its doors to the public in 2024. Head chef, René Redzepi, cited the “unsustainable” operation of fine dining as the reason. After serving the last course of its $500 tasting menu, Noma will be converted into a lab focussing on recipe creation and experimentation.
🔥 Got gas?
This week saw a gassy back and forth at the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Richard Trumka Jr., a CPSC commissioner, hinted at banning gas stoves due to their potential health/environmental hazards, sparking huge controversy on social media and The Capitol. However CPSC chairman, Alex Hoehn-Saric, provided a sigh of relief to all stir fry lovers by rubbishing these claims.
🍝 Energy efficient pasta
Giorgio Parisi, an Italian physicist and Nobel Prize winner, was a victim of heavy criticism. After discovering “the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems”, his research delved into something more complex — an energy-efficient method to cook pasta. The method involved bringing water to a boil, turning off the burner and cooking the pasta for a minute longer than recommended. Top chefs urged Parisi to stick to physics because the resultant pasta would be rubbery and disastrous.
Trendy food for 2023
There’s no shortage of tempting tastes and intriguing elements to try in the new year. The ever-shifting patterns of what people love to eat, make exploring food trends for 2023 a thrilling prospect.
Sometimes a dish must be more than simply delicious; it should also be in vogue. Will healthful, comforting ingredients dominate the menu of new food trends? Or will NyQuil chicken trend again?
To help the budding influencer go viral on TikTok, we created a model to predict the food trends of 2023. However, after testing we knew something was fishy — a single, misplaced negative sign that flipped every prediction. It’s all fixed now :)
Up-cycled pulp: With nondairy milk alternatives being as omnipresent as the Sussex’s, there’s a growing movement to turn the pulp left behind into high-fiber flours that can be used in everything from pizza crusts to cookies.
Kelp: This nutritious and environment-friendly seaweed breathes the essence of the ocean and can really amp up the umami of stocks, salads, chips, and burgers.
Non-boozy booze: Mixologists around the world are shaking and stirring zero-proof spirits with unique herbs, spices, and fruits to create buzz-worthy mocktails that stand up against their boozy counterparts.
Ultra exotic fruits: What’s not to be excited about (after Googling them) the texture of cherimoya and the vivid purple juices of pitaya? Think of the reaction when you show up at a party with a rambutan galette or longan mousse.
High on food: Brownies and gummies are so 2022. If you want to be part of the cool kid’s group in 2023, it’s time to indulge in marijuana-infused stocks, roasted veggies, and butter. There’s even CBD-enhanced ice cream and cocktails.
Dr. Pepper — Winning without competing
In the pantheon of sodas, Dr. Pepper is the odd one out — it doesn't have the popularity or sales of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, it can't be used in a standard cocktail, and it doesn't fall neatly into a category like a cola or root beer.
First sold by drugstore owner Wade Morrison and named after Dr. Charles Pepper, the father of the woman he loved for extra brownie points, the peppery soda has marketed its blend of 23 flavors successfully as a quirky alternative. It’s the fourth most popular soda in the US after Coke, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew.
From a scrappy underdog, it's now the hero in the Keurig Dr. Pepper brand. Its dollar share grew by 9% from 2003 to 2021, compared to a 26% drop in the carbonated soft drinks category overall. Here are some of the reasons behind this growth:
Distinct flavor: Dr. Pepper stands out like the blue tick on Instagram with its unique taste when compared to its rivals Coke and Pepsi. Moreover, not having any competition in the segment, helps it gain market share.
Not a cola: Dr. Pepper pulled off a legal coup in 1984 when a US District Court ruled that it wasn’t a cola. This opened up PepsiCo and Coca-Cola bottlers — who initially shied away fearing non-compete agreement violations — to Dr. Pepper, increasing their sales.
Non-confrontational: Coke and Pepsi are famous for making restaurants pick sides. Dr. Pepper’s Gandhian approach of non-confrontation implied no such obligation, growing their restaurant presence.
Quiz
Given Coke and Pepsi rule the carbonated soft drink industry with their plethora of drinks, we wanted to see if you can identify to which brand do these drinks belong to. Treat yourself to your favorite fizzy delight if you get all correct!
Gatorade
Dasani
Minute Maid
Sierra Mist
Schweppes
*Answers at the bottom
Cooking tips
Use a potato peeler to cut thin onion slivers for salad toppings or as a condiment to make that frozen patty and bun worthy of a Michelin star!
Citric acid powder aka Sour Salt is one of the only way to add tang to a dish without increasing its moisture or liquid content. Boooo lemon juice and vinegar.
If licking remnant honey off a measuring spoon isn’t something you particularly enjoy, then coat the spoon with a dab of neutral oil prior to pouring the honey.
Did you know?
Till 2016, all Jimmy John’s employees had to sign a non compete barring them from taking jobs at restaurants (for 2 years) that made more than 10 percent of their revenue from sandwiches.
Shredded cheese contains cellulose derived from wood pulp. Cellulose is used as an anti-caking agent.
Blackberries are high in vitamin K which is a natural muscle relaxer. Some women eat them to alleviate labor pains.
Up-cycled pulp recipes
Being a Simmer reader tells us that you like to stay informed about the food industry. You deserve to stay ahead of trends and we would like to help in any way we can. Here are three recipes that use one such trend — up-cycled almond pulp:
Nut pulp granola: This nut pulp granola is crunchy, sweet, and spiced with cinnamon and ginger.
Savory almond pulp crackers: An easy cracker recipe to re-purpose the almond pulp leftover after making almond milk!
Almond pulp hummus: A dip made without beans and easier to digest.
While this simmers…
Do not let your friends/family/colleagues/neighbors/stalkers miss out on all the fun. Share the awesomeness here!
Was this mail forwarded or link sent to you? Sign up here!
Reply to this email with your feedback/suggestions. Alternatively, you can find us on Instagram at @chefhusband1607 and @taruntriedit.
Answers
Gatorade - Pepsi
Dasani - Coke
Minute Maid - Coke
Sierra Mist - Pepsi
Schweppes - Coke