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food / travel

food / travel

Butter Beware, Olive Oil Is Conquering French Kitchens

Spanish, Italian, Greek, Provençal: in the land of butter and cream, olive oil is all the rage! Buoyed by the wave of the Mediterranean diet, demand has soared in recent years. But production is threatened by drought in Spain, the world's leading producer.

PARIS — It's more than just a fat. Nor even a seasoning or condiment. For its growing number of aficionados, olive oil is an object of desire, if not of worship.

"It's all anyone around me ever talks about," laughs Emmanuelle Dechelette, a former public relations professional turned olive oil sommelier. "My friends, my husband's friends, everyone consults me or asks me if I can find them this or that particular cuvée. Sometimes I feel like a 'drug dealer.'"

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After completing a diploma course in New York, in 2016 Emmanuelle created an international competition, Olio Nuovo Days , which has gradually established itself as one of the benchmarks. Producers flock from all over the world to take part, from France, Spain, Sicily, Greece, Tunisia and Lebanon, as well as Japan, Chile, Brazil and South Africa.

"Right now, without my oil La Couvée, produced in Slovenia and 2023 champion for the Northern Hemisphere, I feel like I couldn't live," says the sommelier, who likes to savor this juice simply, on a toasted baguette, a fine tomato or with fresh goat's cheese. For her, if a dish isn't flavored with olive oil, it's missing something. The elegant Dechellette consumes it without moderation: "When you say olive oil, you mean olive, not oil. It's a fruit, so it's not fatty!”

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Is There Anything Eating Pickles Can't Cure?

Fermented foods — from sauerkraut to kimchi to yogurt — are known to protect intestinal health, improve mental health and even help prevent cancer. But scientists say we need to be careful about overstating the benefits.

WARSAW — They include sauerkraut, dill pickles, pickled beets, and kimchi … but also kefir and sourdough bread. These foods — traditional to Polish, Korean, and West African cuisines — are trending across the world thanks to their diverse health benefits.

Pickles, or fermented foods, are technically defined as "food or beverages produced by the controlled growth of microorganisms and the transformation of food ingredients by enzymatic action." Aside from the traditional pickled vegetables found in jars, the benefits of fermented foods can also be found in any foods which are made using lactic acid fermentation — even bread made on a fermented base, such as sourdough.

Research shows that fermented foods can not only strengthen gut health but also boost mental health and well-being, improve mood, and help foster a healthy immune response.

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Italian Coffee, Full Circle: Starbucks Marks Five Years In Italy

It has been five years since Starbucks first opened in Milan, where the company's CEO first got the idea that the world wanted quality coffee. Today they set their sights not on retreat but expansion. The path ahead in this mecca for "caffé" for the Seattle-based coffee shop is a rosy one.

MILAN — It's been five years since Starbucks' debut in Italy, and there is still a line to enter the Reserve Roastery. Inside the former Post Office building in Milan, the brand is celebrating an important anniversary, which tastes like 100% Arabica coffee, and a bet won: they have managed to sell coffee to Italians. Not just any coffee, but a flat white.

This is perhaps the greatest achievement in the company's partnership with the Percassi Group, which is responsible for developing a network that will reach 37 or 38 stores by the end of the year (the next eagerly awaited stop: Naples).

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In the meantime, to celebrate, a rich schedule of events has kicked off (until Oct. 1st). On the program are tastings, workshops, blues concerts and events during Milan Fashion Week. It's all organized to give an idea of the connection achieved between Italy and the American brand.

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Inside The Search For Record-Breaking Sapphires In A Remote Indian Valley

A vast stretch of mountains in India's Padder Valley is believed to house sapphire reserves worth $1.2 billion, which could change the fate of one of the poorest districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

GULABGARH — Mohammad Abbas recalls with excitement the old days when he joined the hunt in the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district to search the world’s most precious sapphires.

Kishtwar’s sapphire mines are hidden in the inaccessible mountains towering at an altitude of nearly 16,000 feet, around Sumchan and Bilakoth areas of Padder Valley in Machail – which is one of the most remote regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Up there, the weather is harsh and very unpredictable,” Abbas, a farmer, said. “One moment the high altitude sun is peeling off your skin and the next you could get frostbite. Many labourers couldn’t stand those tough conditions and fled.”

Abbas, 56, added with a smile: “But those who stayed earned their reward, too.”

A vast stretch of mountains in Padder Valley nestled along Kishtwar district’s border with Ladakh is believed to house sapphire reserves worth $1.2 billion, according to one estimate. A 19.88-carat Kishtwar sapphire broke records in 2013 when it was sold for nearly $2.4 million.

In India, the price of sapphire with a velvety texture and true-blue peacock colour, which is found only in Kishtwar, can reach $6,000 per carat. The precious stone could change the socio-economic landscape of Kishtwar, which is one of the economically most underdeveloped districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

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food / travel
Clotilde Briard

When French Restaurants Go Vegetarian, From Michelin Stars To Le Burger King

From temples of gastronomy to fast-food restaurants, it's easier than ever to find items on the menu without any meat or fish as restaurants are increasingly responding to a growing demand for vegetarian and vegan options.

PARIS — Vegetarian and vegan alternatives are gaining more and more ground on French restaurant menus. This phenomenon is spreading across a wide range of establishments. According to the Food Service Vision firm, out of the around 630 Michelin-starred restaurants in France, 145 of them now offer a vegetarian or vegan menu.

On the table service side, according to the same firm, 11 of the 12 largest French restaurant chains included vegetarian options in their autumn-winter menus, while in fast-food restaurants, 11 out of 14 chains offered vegetarian options as well.

"The big names in gastronomy, from Alain Passard to Alain Ducasse, were quick to embrace this change," says François Blouin, Food Service Vision president-founder. "The leading chains also quickly took into account the rising demand. Today, all levels of the market are affected."

Indeed, the trend has expanded beyond those who only consume vegetarian or vegan meals. According to a study by CHD Expert-Datassential conducted for the latest Sandwich & Snack Show, over 40% of French people had consumed at least one meal without meat or fish in a week.

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food / travel

Gùsto! How · What · Where Locals Eat (And Drink) In Montreal

The food and drink scene in Montreal is just as vibrant and diverse as the city itself. It's a delightful fusion of French and North American influences, resulting in a unique gastronomic experience that draws food enthusiasts from far and wide. From fresh bagels to more hearty meals — to be expected in a city where the average annual temperature stands at a modest 7.1 °C (44.8 °F) — you will find plenty to discover, be it across a plethora of restaurants or sampling local specialties in Montreal's thriving food markets.

But if you're planning on making your Canadian culinary journey a francophone one, be aware: In a twist that often confuses visitors from France, meals have different names in Québécois French. Lunchtime is "dîner’"(not "déjeuner," as in France), while dinner time is "souper" (not "dîner"). And snack-time is "collation" instead of "goûter." You'll thank us later!

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Green
Jazmín Bazán

Patagonian National Park, A Fragile Beauty At The End Of The World

The Patagonian National Park is a spectacular and unique landscape that illustrates the outstanding beauty of nature. But it is at risk of becoming a victim of the climate crisis.

SANTA CRUZ — The northwestern corner of the Argentine province of Santa Cruz is the setting for the Patagonian National Park, an exquisitely neglected part of a region that has become a byword for escapism.

The songwriter Atahualpa Yupanqui called this windswept plateau, with its elevated floodplains and wetlands, the "night watchman of the Americas." Every day the sun shakes up an explosion of earthy colors here before night returns to cast over them a veil of subtle, indefinable mystery. In this merging point of glaciers and the eternal snows of the Zeballos peak, water in so many forms, a Yellow Cliff (Cerro amarillo), prehistoric artworks, volcanic cones and a star-lit sky, only one thing is certain — that nothing is still in this ethereal part of the earth.

Around the Lake Buenos Aires plateau, the park hosts a unique ecosystem of rare and endemic species such as the hooded grebe, and was the home of several prehispanic cultures that left their petroglyphs. The park has three entry points, with camping sites, bathing facilities and even catering options in peak visiting periods.

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food / travel
Raquel C. Pico

Kitchen Drama: Why Haute Cuisine Makes For Such Juicy Film And TV

Chefs and restaurants are increasingly taking over visual pop culture. Why can't we stop watching these sizzling storylines?

MADRID — Fernando and Alberto were saved by food. Or, rather, they were saved by their talent for turning ingredients into gastronomic works of art.

The story begins in 1974. Fernando is a dedicated sous-chef in a French restaurant in Barcelona and Alberto, his brother, is a cook, more interested in political struggles than in soufflés.

A confrontation with the police drives them to flee the city, take refuge in the small town of Cadaqués, Spain, and take charge of the kitchen in a surrealist restaurant whose owner's one obsession is to get Dalí to dine at one of his tables.

This story is not exactly real – Dalí is, of course, and so are his culinary tastes at the time in Cadaqués – but it all serves as the basis for a culinary comedy, one of this summer's Spanish film highlights, Waiting for Dalí (Esperando a Dalí).

Anyone who sees the film, directed by David Pujol, can linger on many things — its obsession with Dalí, the romantic plot, the eternal summer feel of its shots — but, above all, they will remember the food. The film shows the brothers cooking, choosing the best raw materials and discovering delicious tastes in the port's bars, and we also see them plating dishes with an almost avant-la-lettre art of culinary sophistication.

It is no coincidence: behind the fictional food by the sibling chefs is the truly inspired Ferrán Adrià, former head chef of celebrated restaurant El Bulli.

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Ideas
Yannick Champion-Osselin

Too Soon? Ukraine's War Crime Tours And The Limits Of "Dark Tourism"

It took decades to transform Hiroshima and Auschwitz into authorized destinations that welcomed visitors to explain the sites of unspeakable horrors. Ukraine is encouraging people to see such places as Bucha and Irpin, where Russia is accused of war crimes. Exploring the line between the morbidity of dark tourism and the value of historical memory.

Seventy-seven years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, instantly killing 70,000 people and poisoning tens of thousands more, the city has become one of the top family tourist destinations in Japan. Already so far in 2023, more than 1.1 million people have visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, coming to interact with the location and its collection of raw witness testimonies, as well as see the human shadows imprinted upon the remaining walls where people were instantly obliterated by the blast.

The interest in the site was virtually immediate in the wake of the bomb, first with scientists and journalists arriving to document the unprecedentedly scarred Japanese city — and eventually human rights activists and curiosity seekers bearing witness to such massive and momentous death.

The first public display of atomic bomb materials in Hiroshima came four years later, with visitors drawn to what came to be known as “A-Bomb Dome”, an Exhibition Hall that had survived despite being directly under the blast. Indeed, the Dome was bound to become the centerpiece of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park as the ruin’s preservation was eventually made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The story of Hiroshima over the past seven decades exemplifies the evolution of what is known as "dark tourism," where a recent site of death and destruction eventually becomes an institutionalized historical destination.

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food / travel

Gùsto! How, What, Where Locals Eat (& Drink) In Lisbon

Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal, offers myriad delightful culinary experiences. Portuguese cuisine is known for its fresh ingredients, bold flavors and a rich mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic influences. From the sweet Pastéis de Nata to the savory Francesinha, local markets, neighborhood eateries or seafood restaurants will have everything you need to try!

A walk through this hilly city will definitely make your stomach growl, so take the time to stop and enjoy a savory port wine with some delicious petiscos, the Portuguese version of tapas!

Here are Worldcrunch’s recommendations to try the best of Portuguese cuisine.

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food / travel
Mario Tozzi

Slaves To Sunset: My Santorini Getaway With The Smartphone Masses

The Greek islands have always been the dream destination of many, with their crystalline waters and wild flora. But there is one attraction that captures the attention of the masses, who clamber on top of one another for the chance of capturing it: the sunset. In the economy of attention and social media, how does sunset tourism affect the enjoyment of our vacation?

SANTORINI – Anyone who has visited the Greek islands knows that each one is truly a world apart, in terms of origin, tradition, history and more recent historic evolutions. The standardized luxury of Mykonos has little to do with the rustic tranquility of the small island of Folegandros, which I visited for the first time in 1982, renting a small house at the top of Chora, without electricity and with the only available water coming solely from a bucket from the nearby well.

There were no cars because there were no paved roads, and without a proper port, we had to be brought in by a rowboat that met the ferry offshore. Those times are gone now, but the smaller islands hold onto landscapes and states of mind that remain intact.

I've also experienced the inevitable Meltemi wind and the crystal-clear waters that change according to the local rocks, from the white marbles of Paros to the light gray tuffs of Milos.

But there is a common denominator that unites them all; and in recent years, it has become the master of tourists distracted from the local realities: it is the slavery to sunsets.

Now, there's no doubt that we all love sunsets, with that red disc that becomes huge an instant before being swallowed by the sea, a prelude to the more sophisticated twilight. But its intimate nature is under constant attack from hordes of frenzied tourists whose sole purpose is to capture that moment in a photograph and immediately share it with those who remained in the city, not quite as lucky as they are.

Let's be clear: we all have the right to enjoy it. But how much can we truly appreciate a sunset when everyone is crowded on the same wall, or confined within the same taverna?

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Economy
Nathalie Villard

Twisting Open The Secrets Of Portugal's Cork Empire

In the hands of the same family since 1870, the world's largest producer of corks almost disappeared in the early 2000s. Today, this gem of Portuguese industry has not only reconquered its historic market, but has made cork the darling of many other sectors.

PORTO DE SANTA MARIA DA FEIRA — In the courtyard, mountains of bark await their turn before moving onto the conveyor belts. Scanned from every angle, they are distributed according to the thickness of their cork layer, before an artificial intelligence system scans them with cameras and tells robots where to drill, turning the bark into small cylinders. Nearby, a dozen human operators perform the same work by hand and eye. "Their expertise is unique, and we reserve it for our best customers," explains Carlos de Jesus, marketing director for cork company Amorim.

Once cut into perfect-looking corks, they undergo a final test. Conceiçao Loja, bending over bags ready for shipment, spots some with micro-defects. "Does it change the quality of the wine? No. But if you're a prestigious château, you expect everything to be perfect," proudly says the technician with 37 years' experience under her belt.

It's impossible to miss the factories along the 25 kilometers that separate Porto, Portugal from Santa Maria da Feira, Amorim's stronghold. Similar to the one we surveyed on this March morning, they're everywhere, churning out over 6 billion corks a year, which is half of the world's entire production. But wine and champagne houses, the company's long-standing customers, are not the only ones to benefit: from shoe soles to surfboards, insulation panels to rocket noses, stadium floors to ship decks, Amorim cork is everywhere.

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