(William_Potter/iStock/Getty Images)

G7 ag ministers urge end to food export curbs as prices surge

Nations warn against 'speculative behaviour'

Hamburg | Reuters — Global food exporting countries should not restrict food exports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut world supplies, agriculture ministers of the G7 group of nations said on Friday. The impact on markets escalated this week as a growing list of food producing countries restricted exports, keeping vital supplies within their borders. […] Read more


Vietnamese pho.

Southeast Asian foods — Part 1: Vietnamese pho

First We Eat: There’s a good selection of Vietnamese ingredients in many stores as they strive to serve a large refugee population

We are so fortunate in Canada to have arrivals from around the globe to teach us about seasoning our tables. Lucky for us, food is one of the best tools for welcoming people and sharing experiences. The foods of Southeast Asia — Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam — are worlds apart from what those of us […] Read more

Jyubeen’s version can be made with palak (spinach), mustard greens, amaranth, chard, or other greens. The creamy paneer is spooned into the spinach mixture at the last minute, where it melts into the sauce. Serve with basmati rice. Serves 4.

South Asian favourites — Part 3: Vegetables take centre stage

First We Eat: The combination of warm spices and vegetables makes for tasty cuisine

I moved to Vancouver from rural Saskatchewan when I turned 18, landing in an Edwardian house with two roommates on the East Side. I’d grown up on my Germanic mother’s honest meat and spuds, but the West Coast was a popular destination for immigrants, and I lucked into a South Asian enclave — shops and […] Read more


Aerial view of AGT Foods’ pulse plant at Aberdeen, Sask. (AGTFoods.com)

AGT building oat milling plant in Saskatchewan

Regina pulse processor AGT Foods plans to bulk up its portfolio in the plant-based ingredients business with a new oat milling operation in central Saskatchewan. The company on Thursday announced it would start construction “immediately” on the new operation, to be housed in an expansion of its existing processing plant just east of Aberdeen, about […] Read more

To find locally raised lamb, read the menu at your favourite restaurant and ask who supplies the kitchen, visit independent butchers or farmers’ markets, and browse the internet using key words like “local lamb” and your province’s name.

South Asian favourites — Part 2: Learning to love lamb

First We Eat: Lamb consumption is on the rise in Canada so it may be easier to find a local producer

My Saskatchewan-raised mom never served lamb while I was growing up. She hadn’t eaten it as a child or young woman, and as a result, I didn’t learn to love lamb until I was in my 30s and living in Calgary. Sheep have been a presence in Alberta since the late 1800s, when thousands of […] Read more


File photo of a Loblaw-owned Real Canadian Superstore location in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Loblaw beats estimates for quarterly revenue

Reuters — Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos. beat market estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as demand for groceries and other essential items stayed strong. The pandemic-led trend of cooking at home has sustained even as COVID curbs have eased, continuing to help sales at grocery stores that benefited during last year’s lockdowns. Companies such as […] Read more

Greenleaf Foods, a subsidiary of meat processor Maple Leaf Foods, last month began providing its plant-based Lightlife Chick’n Tenders to convenience chain 7-Eleven in Canada. (Dave Bedard photo)

ADM releases alternative protein outlook for 2022

MarketsFarm — Major U.S. agribusiness ADM released a report Tuesday identifying the seven biggest trends in the alternative protein market, ranging from creating new protein sources from fungi to making plant-based meat substitutes more affordable and palatable to the general public. The seven trends in the report were: introduction of novel protein sources, using microbial […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan)

Canary seed prices likely to be good in 2022

MarketsFarm — Prices for canary seed spiked to all-time new highs and then pulled well back as the Prairie winter set in, according to David Nobbs of Purely Canada Foods in Saskatoon. Nobbs explained prices were on a rollercoaster in 2021, starting out at around 30 cents per pound only to climb through the 30s […] Read more

Umami dates back to 1907, when a Japanese chemist discovered that kombu seaweed formed crystals of glutamate — an abundant amino acid — for a taste neither sweet, sour, salty or bitter, but savoury, rich and meaty.

Becoming a better cook — Part 2: The taste of umami

First We Eat: This Japanese word has various translations such as ‘savoury’ or ‘deliciousness’

The four tastes — sweet, salty, sour, bitter — underpin every dish we eat. Smart cooks reach routinely for a bit of honey, a smidgeon of salt, a splash of lemon, or a drop of bitters to balance a dish, and fat too, like butter, oil, or whipping cream. Asian and Latin cooks add pungent […] Read more