Denny's Maple Bacon Sundae Reviewed

Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

America is obsessed with bacon. No longer is it just a side with eggs or the 'B' in a BLT; bacon and bacon flavoring have managed to find their way into chocolate, into mayonnaise, and even into vodka. As the slogan of America's Pork Checkoff Program says, "Bacon makes it better."

Denny's is no stranger to bacon, having served it up at breakfast for decades with their Grand Slams. However "America's diner," along with support from America's Pork Checkoff Program, has stepped up its bacon offerings with the new, limited-time menu called "Baconalia!: A Celebration of Bacon." The crispy and salted pork product invades Denny's like never before, with items like Bacon Flapjacks, Bacon Meatloaf, and the BBBLT. But the most peculiar and talked about new offering is the new Maple Bacon Sundae. Here's how it rates:

The Claims: Denny's Maple Bacon Sundae starts with a layer of maple-flavored syrup, topped with a layer of vanilla ice cream, topped with a layer of diced hickory-smoked bacon. All of this is topped by an additional set of the same layers.

The Price: $2.99. (Prices may vary at participating locations.)
The Verdict: C-. I should preface this review with the fact that I love bacon; bacon does make things better -- that is, in most cases. Bacon is a very salty thing, and that saltiness should be offset by a contrasting flavor when using it as an ingredient in a recipe -- which it often is. It is particularly tasty when combined with sweet things -- bacon-wrapped dates or bacon chocolate, for example -- and at breakfast, when it optionally comes candied or served with maple syrup.

With that said, with everything Denny's Maple Bacon Sundae has going for it, and as much as I was excited to try this creation, it didn't quite live up to my hyped expectations. Rather than make "a classic ice cream sundae more awesome" (as it says in the menu description), the bacon in this dessert tastes and feels out of place, almost as if the bacon slipped in there by accident, and not on purpose. It's baffled me why this is; it should be more awesome. Perhaps the bacon is too salty to be swirled in the ice cream. Perhaps the contrast between salty and sweet is too great in this case. Or perhaps bacon is good with sweets, but only if that sweet is not a dairy product. Many recipes for bacon ice cream are actually for candied bacon ice cream; maybe the caramelized sugar coating around bacon is necessary to serve as an intermediary between pork and dairy. Denny's may have tried to remedy this issue with the layer of maple syrup, but the ice cream melts so fast that the maple syrup seeps into the ice cream or to the bottom of the glass, away from the bacon. The result is the meat just sitting in the ice cream without being fused with anything substantial enough to cushion the clash between salty and sweet dairy.

Nice try, Denny's. The Maple Bacon Sundae may have fallen short from the expectations of someone living in our bacon-obsessed American culture, but you definitely get an A for effort.

Scientists Create the No-Fry Fryer

Purdue University scientists have created a healthier alternative to frying with an oil-free fryer that, they claim, still manages to achieve a deep-fried flavor. Their radiant fryer eschews oil for elevated temperatures to create "fried" food with fewer calories and lower fat content.

A demo of the prototype will be performed Wednesday at the Indiana campus by associate professor Kevin Keener, who will be cooking up chicken patties and hash browns in the invention as well as in a traditional fryer for comparison.

In the vein of Shakespeare's rose adage, foodies are left to wonder if no-fry "fried" food will taste as sweet -- and many argue that deep-fried food cannot be dubbed "deep-fried" at all without the fundamental addition of oil.
What do you think about the concept of a no-fry fryer? Spill it in the comments.

Coffee's Role in Your Sex Life

Photo: Amazon

If you're reading this over a cup of joe, you're likely a modern, optimistic existentialist -- so says Jill Hernandez, author of one of 18 essays in the newly released book on the storied beverage, Coffee, Philosophy for Everyone: Grounds for Debate. The oft-coveted and controversial drink -- the subject of debate on ethics, environment, economy and even virility -- has been on philosophers' minds since the first seeds were consumed for their energizing effect in Ethiopia centuries ago.

Today, the coffeehouse is an innocent commonplace establishment, but when roasting began in the 15th century, the dark brew was sinful imbibing seen as an alternative to beer, and an addictively good one. "Why this Satan's drink is so delicious," exclaimed Pope Clement VII upon his first sip. By the 17th century, public coffeehouses, or "penny universities" as they were known in Britain, became popular meeting places for activists planning the French Revolution and the Boston Tea Party -- Voltaire, Johann Sebastian Bach and Sartre, among them, says Mark Pendergrast in his essay, "Black Puddle Water or Panacea." Our days' ambitions may seem paltry in comparison but many of us won't tackle morning emails without a shot.
The nerd fodder continues into modern commerce with essays entitled "More than 27 Cents a Day: The Direct Trade (R)evolution," which examines fair-trade operations, and "Is Starbucks Really Better Than Brand X?" Here, you'll learn barista jargon, the meaning behind acidity, body and viscosity, and how the robusta bean differs from the arabica. "Third wave" drinkers -- that is, Stumptown Coffee-goers -- will also be happy to see coverage of counter coffee culture.

As for health, coffee has been linked positively -- as a possible prevention of Parkinson's, liver cancer and type 2 diabetes (maybe not-so-much with an extra dollop of sweet crema) -- and negatively -- as a possible cause of indigestion, premature old age, and impotence. Yes, virility from coffee is debatable, though it may work wonders for the mind. But The Guardian reporter Stuart Jeffries says impotence may be "overstated."

There was a Women's Petition Against Coffee in 1674, cites Jeffries, that prompted men to argue for the benefits of the drink, saying it "makes the erection more Vigorous, the Ejaculation more full, adds spiritualescency to the Sperme." Meaning, it "increases sperm motility," notes Jeffries. But like all good vices, there's much ground for debate.

Sneak Veggies Into Your Kids' Meals

by Tom Henderson (Subscribe to Tom Henderson's posts)
Jul 27th 2011 3:00PM

Credit: AP

Can't get your kids to eat their veggies?

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have a cunning plan. They suggest you discreetly add broccoli, zucchini and all that other green stuff to kids' meals.

Reuters news service reports their research found kids get more vegetables that way. And, while most of us might detect puree of broccoli on our macaroni and cheese, the little rubes don't even seem to notice the difference.

"We think of it as not deception, but recipe improvement," Barbara Rolls, one of the researchers, tells Reuters. "In this group of kids, we got most of them meeting their daily vegetable requirements -- that's pretty amazing."

Although the study was done in day care centers, researcher Maureen Spill tells Reuters parents could easily pull the same stunt at home. All they need is a blender.

Rolls says the technique can even work on older but equally stubborn children ... like husbands.

Adding pureed vegetables into adults' meals meant they ate more veggies and fewer total calories, she adds. Most of them couldn't taste the extra veggies, either.

According to Reuters, researchers fed prepared meals to 40 kids ages 3 to 5 one day a week for three weeks. The meals looked the same each day -- zucchini bread at breakfast, pasta with tomato sauce at lunch and a chicken noodle casserole at dinner.

One day's worth of meals was prepared normally -- with a typical veggie in each entree. On the other two days, researchers added pureed cauliflower, broccoli, squash, zucchini and tomatoes to triple or quadruple every dish's dose of vegetables.

After each meal, researchers weighed the food to determine how much kids ate. The preschoolers were also allowed to eat non-doctored side dishes and snacks during the day -- including fruit, cheese and crackers.

Compared to the day when they ate standard meals, Reuters reports, kids almost doubled their total vegetable intake on the day they ate high-vegetable dishes.

"I would urge parents to try to get vegetables into their kids' meals wherever they can," Rolls tells Reuters. "This is an additional strategy that you put on top of exposing kids to real vegetables, eating the vegetables with the kids, (and) being persistent in exposing them to vegetables."

How Much Sugar Do Americans Consume Daily? (Hint: Way Too Much)

In a country where candy displays are perched next to cash registers at every retail outlet imaginable and drinking soda is a birthright, it can hardly be surprising that Americans consume a large amount of sugar. But 22 teaspoons a day? That's hard to swallow.

Yet the statistic is true. U.S. adults consume 22.2 teaspoons of sugar daily -- or 355 calories, reports UPI. That wildly exceeds the daily recommended amount, says Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst. He says average-sized women should be consuming no more than 6.25 teaspoons; men 9.4.

Not only is the sugar bad for your waistline, but diets high in the sweet stuff have been shown to contribute to high blood pressure, increased triglycerides and cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association says.

As is usually the case with dietary matters, a little moderation goes a long way.