Taiwan Expatriate Food BlogTaiwan Expatriate Food Bloghttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2009-07-06T12:39:34ZSquarespaceAtemoyas & Cherimoyashttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/30/atemoyas-cherimoyas.htmlWebmaster2008-12-30T15:59:54Z2008-12-30T15:59:54ZUrgent! Affordable Italian Cheese. Spread the Word!http://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/28/urgent-affordable-italian-cheese-spread-the-word.htmlWebmaster2008-12-28T15:15:18Z2008-12-28T15:15:18ZFormaggio Parmigiano (Italian) = Parmesan Cheese (English)The cheese situation in Taiwan has been getting better, but decent cheese at non-CEO prices is hard to find, especially outside of Taipei. That's why I am so happy to share this wonderful news with my readers: freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano are now available at RT Mart (大潤發). The cheese, manufactured in Italy for RT Mart's owner (a French company called Auchan), comes in 100g resealable packets which cost only NT$49 each. The only catch is]]>Tasty Taiwanese Lettucehttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/28/tasty-taiwanese-lettuce.htmlWebmaster2008-12-28T06:26:45Z2008-12-28T06:26:45ZA review of Taiwanese Sesame Pastehttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/27/a-review-of-taiwanese-sesame-paste.htmlWebmaster2008-12-27T12:53:14Z2008-12-27T12:53:14Z
PROS
1] Geek appeal. The first thing I noticed about Fufann Sesame Paste was the use of Gwoyeu Romatzyh (tonal spelling of Mandarin) in the brand name: "fann" is 4th tone fan (four tones: fan, farn, faan, fann). I granted them five points for being wise enough to use the best romanization ever devised.

2] Hygiene. The second thing that caught my eye was the ISO-2200 HACCP certificate for food hygiene. That was enough for twenty more points.

3] The taste test will have to wait until I open the can

CONS
Brimming with virtue, I came home with my can of health-promoting sesame paste, but my joy soon turned to suspicion. Looking more closely at the label, I started to notice discrepancies.]]>Wannabe Nutella recipehttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/25/wannabe-nutella-recipe.htmlWebmaster2008-12-25T00:38:36Z2008-12-25T00:38:36ZGoodbye, Sk---! Hello, Nutella!http://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/23/goodbye-sk-hello-nutella.htmlWebmaster2008-12-23T17:18:19Z2008-12-23T17:18:19ZAflatoxinhttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/14/aflatoxin.htmlWebmaster2008-12-14T12:09:26Z2008-12-14T12:09:26ZNote that aflatoxin exposure can lead to liver cancer, so this is no laughing matter (Better safe than sorry, as they say). Wikipedia notes that "Virtually all sources of commercial peanut butter contain minute quantities of aflatoxin,[2] but it is usually far below the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommended safe level."

Does this apply to Chinese peanut butter as well? I wonder.

]]>Are you sure you want that peanut butter?http://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/12/14/are-you-sure-you-want-that-peanut-butter.htmlWebmaster2008-12-14T10:46:15Z2008-12-14T10:46:15ZI have never been terribly fond of peanut butter, but I occasionally have some with my homemade bread. Because Taiwan is very humid, local peanuts are susceptible to the growth of mold (Hwangchiu dwusuh), so I prefer to buy a foreign brand. The only brand commonly available in Taiwan is Sk----, but a few days ago I was very surprised to find that it is manufactured under license in China. To their credit, the local branch of Uni-----, even list the street address of the Chinese manufacturer.  That's fine. If you trust food grown and processed on the other side of the Taiwan Straits, well ... be my guest. The only problem is that some foreign consumers do not read Chinese. They may mistakenly buy a jar of "American" peanut butter and wind up feeding something quite different to their children or themselves. Caveat emptor!

After thinking the matter over, I decided to buy a local brand supposedly made in Canada. At the time, this jar was only half the price of the American brand (Sk----'s price has been dropping: I wonder if this has anything to do with its place of origin). After buying one jar of Gin-- Peanut Butter, I decided to check out the "Canadian" manufacturer, but I came up with nothing. I am wondering if Gin-- is a misspelling of "Virginia." Virginia peanuts are a variety grown in Canada. I am now wondering: am I eating "Canadian" peanut butter made in China?



Please note that I am not trying to make trouble for Taiwanese peanut butter manufacturers. All I have are some nagging doubts and unproven assumptions. That is why I refer to Sk----, Uni----- and Gin--. The pictures will make it clear what I am referring to.

 

]]>Atemoya Season!http://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/1/14/atemoya-season.htmlWebmaster2008-01-14T11:46:17Z2008-01-14T11:46:17ZJackfruit Updatehttp://www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/jackfruit-update.htmlWebmaster2007-08-12T06:53:09Z2007-08-12T06:53:09Z