There’s something about the words “yak cheese” that instantly grabs my attention. So when I ran across the title of Harold McGee’s recent column touting the grunting subject, I was already there.

Unfortunately, the piece didn’t do as much yakking as I was expecting... But instead I found a nice reminder about the need for even-keeled transparency in how we present our various products and concepts du jour. The takeaway? Don’t try to oversell the goods. Find a product’s true merits and stick to those guns. And if you have a stinker—as one of my esteemed colleagues likes to say—don’t put a dress on a pig. Glamorized or not, it’s still a squealer.

In the piece, McGee shows that both yak cheese and organics have their (albeit niche) merits, but when promoting them, we should stick to what science currently has to say on the subjects.

That’s a little universal nugget of wisdom that bears repeating from time to time.

As most folks who follow food news already know, Starbucks is in the midst of a revitalization program (known as the “transformation agenda”) in the wake of founder Howard Schultz reassuming CEO duties for the coffeehouse chain.

One recent bit that caught my attention is the impending launch of three new drinks: a health-oriented smoothie-type drink made with whey powder and fruit, another described as Italian-inspired and icy, and energy drinks—both at retail (through its partnership with PepsiCo, which brought us those canned espresso drinks) and at the chain level, with the latter reportedly including customizable options. The drinks will be available this summer.

Should be interesting to see what catches on. Starbucks is all over the place these days. Although some folks have their doubts about whether these and other noncoffee beverages will catch on at a chain originally known for its coffee, I think they might have real legs. The very regular youthful clientele at the local Starbucks units ’round these parts certainly aren’t sipping cappuccinos and bold, black coffee—their drinks of choice are sweet, creamy and sipped through a straw. And, as they prominently carry them around town, having a ’Bucks cup in hand seems just as much a part of suburban youthful cool cachet as the omnipresent iPod.

Of course, that whey-protein smoothie is probably right up Mom’s alley. And I can’t wait to see the barista approach to customizable energy drinks. Certainly looks like they’re aiming for some of Jamba’s business with those items.

Never a dull moment in the world of beverages.

OK. So maybe I underestimated the level of dedication espoused by those who have gone through the rigors of establishing a certified-organic food-manufacturing business. After all, it’s not like “natural” foods where pretty much anything goes (unless it’s one of the few items governed by a federal agency or consumers take issue with it via the courts). Organic certification can take some serious effort—and capital.

So as I cheerfully sauntered around All Things Organic the other day, I chatted up my glorious idea that organic might suffer a bit in the coming years as more generally green products—but not necessarily certified as organic (although incorporating major aspects of such)—come down the pike ... you know, sustainable, fair trade, goofy carbon footprint and all ... and did they see their businesses skewing into that direction at all in the coming months and years?...

Perhaps not the best time and place for my inquiries. Mostly I was met with blank stares. And a bit of hostility.

Granted, the organic community is a bit up in arms—more so than general food manufacturers, from what I can tell—over the whole food/ingredient price crisis. But all the more reason to branch out into similar products that might incorporate existing organic consumers and other more-mainstreamers, all without the expense of organic certification, I argued.

But subjects like accountability and credibility came up over and again. Consumers can put their finger on organic (well, the top two tiers, anyway...), and they’ve responded. Most manufacturers see the current woes as a hiccup in the greater scheme of things.

Maybe I’ll keep tabs on this one for a bit and then reapproach once the fires die down.

That said, as I recently chatted with Grace Marroquin (of the organically famous, eponymous company), it really isn’t enough to just be organic these days. You need to toss in fair trade. Or gluten-free (a hot topic on the ATO floor this year...). Or vegan. Or healthy—you know, particularly healthy, intentionally skewed in that direction ... organic nutraceutical country. I think that last one has serious legs.

After all, if people are going to be shelling out more dough than ever before for their daily bread, it might as well come with value-added options aplenty and as much cachet as it can swing.

As you may have heard me rant in the past, one of the aspects of existence I find truly endearing is our apparent predilection for unavoidable contradictions and hypocrisies—and my neck of the professional woods (notably journalism ... and, quite often, science), is certainly rife with ’em.

Granted, in the former, especially when prognostication comes into play, a plethora of parameters can affect the spin. Take the following two stories (published within a day of each other): one predicting that we’ve hit the peak for green products due to increasing food costs and another proclaiming organic’s longevity despite increasing food costs. 

Personally, I tend to think that the agricultural, processing and handling aspects that comprise organics—not to mention the ideals at play—will (and are) integrating themselves across the board.

On that note, tomorrow I head downtown Chicago for the annual All Things Organic show, and one of the items on my discussion agenda is organic manufacturers’ vision for the future—primarily their thoughts on whether or not the need for organic certification will become diluted as more of its ideals spread into generally green and sustainable food choices.

Stay tuned.

Since FDA is reticent in taking further steps to define “natural” foods, perhaps that task will be left to the courts, or at least mob rule (maybe that’s redundant...). In one recent example, as noted in today’s food section of The New York Times, the use of the term “all natural” in connection to Pinkberry frozen yogurt has come to an end, primarily because the popular frozen dessert includes several (recently disclosed) ingredients, including artificial flavors and colors, that would likely prevent it from ever reaching the frozen-food section of Whole Foods.

As noted by Pinkberry CEO Ron Graves: “In the company’s early days, some of its point-of-sale material contained the words ‘all natural’—which was an honest mistake by the founders. The yogurt used was ‘all natural,’ which was the source of confusion.”

A food-science professor notes in the NYT piece that although several of the ingredients in the yogurt can be considered natural, others clearly cannot.

Pinkberry settled on the case (which also contested whether or not the stuff was actually yogurt, which it is ... at least now...) as opposed to riding it out in the system, but it appears that the challenge worked, effectively helping natural taking another step toward definition in the public eye.

As a native Chicagoan, pizza long ago cast an indelible mark on my edible soul. To escalate matters, I unapologetically snub what people call “Chicago style” pizza (that obscenely gooey, artery-clogging mess of cheese and bread) for more-traditional, sparsely—but flavorfully—topped, cracker-thin types. Toss in the fact that I worked in the pizza business for a handful of years (the family-style Sicilian restaurant where I worked in college menued several types) and that places me into a rather volatile, highly opinionated group when it comes to za. (Best in the city: Marie’s. Best in the suburbs: Phillies. Best in my town: Angelo’s.)

So when I read a piece in the weekend Financial Times on a writer’s quest for the “best” pizza in Rome the other day, I was instantly catapulted into familiar territory. To wit, the writer begins with: “Asking a native Italian to name the best pizzeria in their country is like asking a Texan where to find the best barbecue in their state...” Then, after asking his tennis partner, Marco, where the best pizza is in Rome, he notes: “I might as well have insulted his mother. With an indignant scowl, he shot back, ‘The best pizza in Rome is 180 km south, in Naples,’ which is Marco’s home town.” Luckily (for me), the FT piece mostly focuses on Rome’s pizza—thin and crispy—rather than straying into Napoli territory, where they prefer their pies thick.

Pizza is always a hot item: Economic downturns just shift more business from the local pizzeria to the supermarket’s frozen-food section. We’ll have an article on frozen za in an upcoming issue of Food Product Design, so stay tuned for that (and for some insight into the foodservice end of things, check out a recent article from CULINOLOGY®).

Pizzaholics of the world unite!

As I noted the other day in my Culinology blog, I love cookies. And, as I’ve said in the past, I also have a thing for bacon. And although I never seriously thought that the two would meet, I should know by now that anything and everything is possible in food.

As noted in a recent piece in The Dallas Morning News, bacon has been on the upswing over the last year or so (you just can’t keep a good meat down), and it’s getting to the point of obsession with folks even adding the crispy belly slices to sweet concoctions like cookies and ice cream. Other baco-goodness noted in the article: deep-fried, bacon-wrapped mac-and-cheese and a blog mention that wins today’s creative title award, Mr. Bacon Pants ... it also mentions a company that claims to have bacon-cooking robots for sale, although I’m not sure if it’s a joke or not...

Either way, sounds like a good idea to me.