You’ve probably been around Jell-O at some point in your life, and observed how they jiggle and jostle in an amusing (though not always appetizing) way. You probably haven’t seen Jell-O like this, wiggling around in slow motion filmed at 6,200 frames per second. It’s rather astonishing to see the familiar cube of gelatinous deliciousness seem to splash outward like falling fluid, only to rebound and reform in midair. A veritable flubber ballet.

(via Gizmodo)

Is America ready for a fast food encased in off-the-shelf junk food? The answer is, horrifically, likely yes, as a rumor circulating around various food blogs, indicating that Taco Bell is in the midst of testing a new taco shell made entirely from Doritos. In these chilling images from Grub Grade, the construction-cone orange nacho-cheesier shell can be seen in all its seductive glory. Sightings of the taco have come in from Toledo, Ohio and Wichita, Kansas.

There is no official word as of yet about an nation wide invasion rollout of the cheesy chip shell, nor any information about what flavors will be available. Like the KFC DoubleDown, it’s sure to grab some media attention, though I am more concerned about the precedent it sets. I don’t think my mind could take the prospect of a Cheeto Burger or a Funyun Cobb Salad, but if the Dorito Taco is a success, who knows where it will stop?

Since there is no hope of stopping this gastronomic train wreck, I’m hoping that TacoBell will embrace it and other recent stories on their food with a slogan along the lines of: “The Dorito Taco: 36% meat, 100% Doirtos.”

Read on and be horrified as a man braves the Dorito Taco, on film.

This cannot possibly be real. No device made by man could possibly pick up and redeposit ketchup and mayonnaise with such ease — nay, grace. This must be some kind of misinformation campaign, or more viral marketing for that Limitless movie.

Assuming that the Internet doesn’t break my heart again, this appears to be an actual product called the SWITL. I don’t know what that means or if it stands for anything, but here’s some awkwardly Google-translated promotional text from the website promoting this fantastical new product.

First! Sol-gel Kuzusazu move work? Revolutionary “machine Sukuiage transferring” development! Original shape even without a breeze moves mayonnaise and ketchup

Suittohando The robot hand was soft work can be handled until now could not handle.Scoop without changing the form of ketchup and mayonnaise and other work, can be moved intact to another location.

Developed the world’s first robot hand, a wide range of industries and technologies and seeds, is also expanding its application fields.

The makers of the SWITL apparently developed it along with other related products for arranging sticky foodstuffs such as bread dough in factories. (more…)

Artist Uli Westphal has amassed a remarkable collection of photographs documenting the “mutatoes,” the anomalous fruits and vegetables that he found at farmers markets. These often strange-shaped and sometimes stranger-tasting foodstuffs awoke Westphal to illusion that he experienced at main stream markets.

The complete absence of botanical anomalies in our supermarkets has caused us to regard the consistency of produce presented there as natural. Produce has become a highly designed, monotonous product. We have forgotten, and in many cases never experienced, the way fruits, roots, and vegetables can actually look (and taste). The Mutato-Project serves to document, preserve and promote these last remainders of agricultural diversity.

The writers at Edible Geography take it further, seeing the project as a startling reminder of how the human food system now hinges on so very few varieties of plants, with many other varieties simply dying out from their lack of use in industrial agriculture.

Though you could leave the politics of farming aside, it makes these photographs less of a goofy display and more of a sad procession. These are strange plants, surely, but they are beautiful in how they stand out from the hum-drum existence of the supermarket. It’s disappointing that we have, as a species, apparently become so picky that we can no longer appreciate a curiously-lobed pepper. Personally, I think they look delicious.

(Uli Westphal via PFSK)

Like so many before me, I was once hungry in college. With term papers looming and the dining hall already closed for the night, food had to come from somewhere. That was the night I learned to make ramen in my coffee maker. At first I was nervous, pouring the hot water over noodles in my bowl, covering them, and letting it steep. Eventually, I became more adventurous: cooking the noodles in the carafe; putting the seasoning packet in the basket that normally holds the filter; adding an egg.

This was cheap food prepared in as cheap a manner as possible. But I had touched just the tip of the iceberg. It turns out there are plenty of foods you can whip up with a Mr. Coffee and some bravery. Our favorites are below. Keep in mind that when cooking with unconventional methods, you run the risk of producing sub-par food and maybe exposing yourself to the dangers of undercooked food. Attempt at your own risk, read with an open mind.

All hail the Cookizza.

(via Videogum)

Although we do admit that our first reaction was something along the lines of “Huh, that might actually wor- WAIT NO NO no no no no shutupshutup we are better than this.”

(via That’s Nerdalicious!)

Each year, the U.S. throws away 27 percent of its edible food. Not only could that wasted food feed 20 million hungry people each day; it also represents a tremendous waste of energy. According to one recent study, all of that thrown-away food consumes 350 million barrels of oil yearly, as determined by the cost of growing and processing it, packaging it, and shipping it.

That’s 2% of the energy we consume in total each year, which might not sound like a lot, but compared to the amount of energy at stake in respect to other conservation methods, it’s substantial.

Back in 2007, Amy Sedaris challenged her fans to put googly eyes on food and submit the items in a contest. And submit they did, with over 400 entries.

These were the eventual winners, but we’re quite taken with Angie Naron‘s googly-eyed breakfast, which, much like 1970s stop-motion animation (The Year Without a Santa Claus comes to mind for some reason), manages to be at once adorable and kinda creepy.

The above is a picture of the dining area at Vetutius Placidus‘ thermopolium (or snack bar). The ancient eating establishment was buried under a massive wave of scalding ash during the eruption of Pompeii in the year 79. The Independent says:

The thermopolium, one of the best preserved sites in Pompeii, has been closed to the public for years in order to protect it from further damage. But following months of detailed excavation and preservation work, all visitors will soon be able to go inside and get an idea of a typical ancient Roman lunch establishment.

Is anyone else really hungry?