Food & Drink

Opponents of Philadelphia’s controversial sweetened beverage tax, stymied so far in their efforts to defeat the levy in court, are getting some support in the state legislature.

On a recent Friday, James Dreher was hard at work stirring dozens of pounds of ground beef with a small paddle.

Ry’Anna Moore leaned over a stainless steel surface as Chef Kevin Sousa eyeballed cup after cup of heavy cream.

After school, 16-year-old Maleeke Reid works at a community gardening program in Homewood. He gets paid $5 per day for tending the vegetable gardens and attending classes, where he and his friends sometimes joke about being fed “vegan food.”

In an effort to put Pennsylvania on the map as a beer destination, the state is giving grants to 13 brew-centric projects across the commonwealth.

Seven Pittsburgh chefs and establishments have been named semifinalists for this year's national James Beard Foundation awards.

Whitfield, the restaurant inside the Ace Hotel in East Liberty, houses semifinalists in two categories: Casey Renee for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and Executive Chef Bethany Zozula for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic region.

A carton of organic eggs can cost more than double the price of regular eggs — so, what are you paying for? When it comes to the treatment of livestock and poultry, there are some murky areas. Many in the organic industry pushed for a new rule, issued at the end of the Obama administration, aimed, in part, at ensuring that the green and white organic seal on the egg carton means the chickens actually spent time outdoors.

The annual Pennsylvania Farm Show is right around the corner, and for many attendees a visit to the food court will be at the top of the agenda.

Most drivers who hit roadkill leave the carcass on the ground, but several thousand Pennsylvanians in 2017 wanted to make the dead animal their next meal.

'Tis the season for a hot beverage that warms from the inside out.

For many residents of the coal region, that means it's time to heat up a batch of boilo.

The sweet citrus drink has remained a popular beverage for cold winter days, even as other traditions from coal region's eastern European immigrants have faded.

Jean Halloran is director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union. That’s the policy and lobbying arm of Consumer Reports magazine — the people who test EVERYTHING, then tell you about it. Halloran’s been looking at GMOs with a critical eye, and Kara Holsopple spoke with her recently about them.

Kara Holsopple: How much of what’s sold to consumers in the produce aisle is actually GMO?

When entering Knead Community Café in New Kensington, Pa., guests are greeted by a host at the door.

Few things have as big an impact on our environment as the food we eat. Agriculture accounts for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. And beef production, in particular, uses copious amounts of water, when compared with other foods. So, some environmentally conscious meat lovers have been working in the lab, to create a vegan burger that bleeds like beef, without all the downsides.

They’re serving these so-called Impossible Burgers at select restaurants around the country, so we went to check it out at Pittsburgh’s high end burger place, Burgatory, on the Waterfront.  

The first new candy bar to carry the Hershey's name in more than two decades is set to hit shelves next month.

The Hershey, Pennsylvania-based candy maker says Hershey's Gold will go on sale Dec. 1. It's described as a caramelized cream bar embedded with salty peanut and pretzel bits. Hershey's says the bar is a response to trends that it says show "the rising popularity of crunchy multi-textured candy."

There, not a dozen yards from the road, was an enormous downed oak tree and, growing from it, about 50 pounds' worth of orange-gold chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms.

It was, she said, the "mother lode." So Bischoff, 42, pulled over and got to work. "I had a pry bar. Some of those sections were like two feet across. They were huge!" It was enough not only to fill her refrigerator but also to sell (for an amount she declined to disclose) to friends, strangers on Facebook, and even a local restaurant.

Pennsylvania is giving its breweries a boost with a new marketing initiative designed to highlight local beer producers.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has posted this year’s earnings, and they’re higher than ever.

Despite overhead cost increases, the PLCB says the revenues are a sign the industry is healthy.