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January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

Chefs help conserve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

I believe we have Nibbled both of these articles, but I think they could stand another few minutes in the limelight. One describes how self-described “farmer-scientist” Dr Brian Ward of Clemson University — with a little help from his friends — is bringing back from near extinction a peanut variety called Carolina Africa Runner: Luckily, …

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January 14, 2015January 14, 2015

Nibbles: American goats, Ancient dogs, Colorado sheep, Beer vs Wine, Vitis breeding, Southern cooking, Pennsylvania farming, Cherokee seeds

A distinctly US flavour to Nibbles today, for some reason. A map of every goat in the US. Texas is the goat hotspot. Not there with dogs yet, but at least we now know when they arrived. How about sheep, though? Interestingly, there are more wineries than breweries in Texas. Saving the winegrape, molecule by …

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1. The COUSIN project aims to conserve (trans situ, no less) and use crop wild relatives in Europe.
2. That “use” part can be tough.
3. But that doesn’t stop the fine people at Aardaia. At least where aardaker (Lathyrus tuberosus) is concerned.
4. From alternative potatoes in the Netherlands to alternative beans in Indonesia. All in the cause of diversification.
5. No need to find an alternative to amaranth in the American SW. Not with devoted chefs on the job.
6. The Iraqi Seed Collective is taking seeds from American genebanks to that country’s diaspora in the US, and eventually back to Iraq itself. Maybe chefs will help.
7. Good thing there are genebank backups, eh?
Published on July 9, 2025