Crisps (aka Potato Chips) Running Out! Due to Shortage of Sunflower Oil

Crunch time? Fears crisps could run out as supermarket shelves pictured almost bare as the country's supply of sunflower oil dries up due to Russia’s invasion on Ukraine and forces Walkers to change recipe

• Comes after warning that the UK only had a few weeks' supply of sunflower oil
• Manufacturers are now searching for alternative ingredients to negate shortage 
• It is found in hundreds of products including ready meals, crisps and biscuits
• PepsiCo has said it is now using rapeseed oil in production of its Walkers crisps
• But the price of rapeseed oil has soared '50 to 70 per cent' in recent weeks

Supermarket crisp shelves have been pictured almost bare as the country's supply of sunflower oil dries up. 

The oil is used by many major crisp brands - including Walkers - to fry or bake the snacks.

But with Ukraine and Russia accounting for around 80 per cent of the world’s sunflower oil exports, the war has left it in short supply.

And a combination of shortages and potential panic buying appears to have already started after pictures at Tesco and Asda stores in Cambridge today showed empty crisp shelves. 

It comes as the UK's biggest cooking oil bottler, Edible Oils, last week warned that Britain had only a few weeks' supply of sunflower oil left as the ongoing conflict was disrupting exports. 

Manufacturers of foods that use sunflower oil - which includes hundreds of supermarket products - are desperately searching for alternative ingredients to negate the shortage.

Other products containing sunflower oil include mayonnaise, bread, and biscuits. 

PepsiCo, the manufacturer of Walkers, has confirmed it is 'temporarily' switching from sunflower to rapeseed oil in the production of its crisps - insisting customers will not be able to taste any difference.

The company also owns Pipers crisps and Doritos. 

Bare shelves in the crisps aisle of a Tesco in Cambridge earlier today amid a shortage of sunflower oil

Food manufacturers have been left searching for alternative ingredients to negate the current shortage. Pictured: A Tesco supermarket in Cambridge

Almost empty sunflower oil shelves at Tesco in Cambridge as people stock up due to a shortage caused by the war in the Ukraine

The biggest cooking oil bottler for UK shops has said it only has a few weeks' supply of sunflower oil left

A spokesperson told the i: 'Due to widespread disruption to the supply of sunflower oil, we will be adjusting the blend of oils we use to cook some of our crisps.

'We currently use a blend of sunflower and rapeseed oils and may at times need to switch to refined rapeseed oil, depending on the supply situation over the coming weeks. This will not impact the quality or taste of the crisps.' 

But prices of rapeseed oil have already risen '50 per cent to 70 per cent' in recent weeks, with businesses likely having to pass the price onto consumers if a downturn does not arrive soon.  

Kim Matthews, commercial director at Edible Oils, told the BBC last week: 'At the moment, Ukrainian farmers should be sowing the seeds now for the harvest in October and November. 

'Clearly that's not going to happen…. we're probably going to miss the season so we could be impacted for 12-18 months.'

He said it is unclear as to when supply will return to normal, pre-war levels. 

Sunflower oil can be found hundreds of products on supermarket shelves, including ready meals and chips.

President of the National Edible Oil Distributor's Association Gary Lewis said rapeseed oil prices have risen '50 to 70 per cent' since Russia's invasion.

And grocery expert Ged Futter has predicted that food inflation will be 'in excess of 15 per cent' with the ripple effects from the war leading to 'scarily high' price rises.  

Empty crisp shelves at an Asda supermarket in Cambridge today as shoppers rush to stock up on products containing sunflower oil

Crisp shelves were also running low at a nearby Marks and Spencer today, with PepsiCo confirming it is temporarily switching to rapeseed oil in the production of Walkers crisps

Around 80 per cent of the global supply of sunflower oil comes from Ukraine and Russia, but the ongoing conflict has disrupted supply

A notice on the Sainsbury's website says today: 'Due to the current conflict in Ukraine, it may be necessary to substitute sunflower oil for other oils in some products.

'Rapeseed oil is the most likely replacement, but other oils may be used. Customer safety is very important to us, and we've taken care to ensure that there is no allergen risk from any of the substituted oils.'  

It comes as the cost of groceries is now 5.2 per cent higher than it was this time last year, with more shoppers having to turn to cheaper products and supermarket own-brand labels. 

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insights at data analysts Kantar, said last week: 'More and more we're going to see consumers and retailers take action to manage the growing cost of grocery baskets.

'Consumers are increasingly turning to own-label products, which are usually cheaper than branded alternatives.

'Own-label sales are down in line with the wider market but the proportion of spending on them versus brands has grown to 50.6%, up from 49.9% this time last year.'

The Coconuts Recipe Corner: Pascale’s Kitchen: Tantalizing coconut treats - Alfajores de maicena con dulce de leche

 

Pascale’s Kitchen: Tantalizing coconut treats -

Alfajores de maicena con dulce de leche

I was quite surprised to say the very least. I’m used to people telling me they aren’t fans of poppyseed, but coconut?

By PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN, Jerusalem Post,  MARCH 24, 2022

https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes/article-702212

Alfajores de maicena con dulce de leche (credit: PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN)

The recipe, which hails from Argentinian cuisine, is for alfajores de maicena con dulce de leche, which you may have seen on many a bakery or café. These sandwich cookies – filled with dulce de leche, then rolled in coconut flakes – are my favorite food coming out of Argentina. 

They can be baked ahead of time and stored in the freezer, and the dulce de leche can be kept in the fridge. This way, when guests pop over, you can quickly assemble this fantastic treat in just a few minutes.

Makes 30

Ingredients 

Dough:

• 200 gr. butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ¾ cups cornflour
• 1 1/3 cups flour, sifted
• 1 packet baking powder

Filling:

• 1 small jar of dulce de leche
• Topping:
• 100 gr. coconut flakes

Directions

Add the butter, eggs and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a flat beater. Mix well. Add the cornflour, flour and baking powder. Continue mixing the dough until it softens.

Sprinkle a bit of flour on your work surface, and then roll out the dough. Cut out circles with a diameter of 3 cm. or 4 cm.

Place the circles on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 6 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 180°. The cookies should remain white. Remove and let cool.

Place half of the cookies with the flat, smooth side facing up. Add 1 teaspoon of dulce de leche on each one, then close with another cookie on top.

In a small pot, melt two tablespoons of dulce de leche with a little hot water, and mix well. Pour the coconut flakes into another bowl.

Take each “sandwich” and roll the side with the filling first in the melted dulce de leche, then in coconut flakes.

Level of difficulty: Medium.Time: 30 minutes.Status: Dairy.

Enjoy

The easiest way to open a Coconut is to whisper it a joke & it will crack up with laughter

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https://disqus.com/home/forum/the-coconut-whisperer/

Pro-Israel ‘Gun-Toting Grandma’ Takes On Rashida Tlaib

 By Pesach Benson, United With Israel

 Apr 6, 2022

 

  

“You cannot hate a group of people and expect to serve a community,” said Janice Winfrey, who is challenging Rashida Tlaib in upcoming elections.

 

Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is facing a serious challenge for her House seat from a pro-Israel Democrat affectionately referred to as a “gun-toting Detroit grandma” in a recent feature by the New York Post.

Since declaring her candidacy for Michigan’s 13th congressional district in February, Democrat Janice Winfrey has raised an impressive $200,000. Detroit-area political consultants describe that as an impressive amount for six-weeks, suggesting the 62-year-old long-time Detroit City Clerk is a viable challenger to Tlaib.

The Democratic primary is scheduled for August 2.

In an interview with Jewish Insider (JI) published on Tuesday, Winfrey accused Tlaib of being “more interested in political gain than she is in serving our constituents.

Winfrey also stressed her opposition to the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

“I don’t say [Israel is] a perfect country, but I do know it’s an important country to Americans. I do know that, without Israel, we’re much, much weaker and vulnerable,” Winfrey said. “So how can we not support Israel?”

“I don’t care what your dislike is with the Jewish people, you don’t just wipe out a whole country, a whole group of people — that’s never the answer,” she said.

Winfrey also voiced support for the two-solution without pressuring Israel to make concessions.

“We must have confidence in Israel’s ability to determine what is best for her own security and well-being,” Winfrey said.

“While I support the U.S. conducting Middle East peace talks, the United States should not infringe upon Israel’s sovereign right to pursue peace accords best aligned with her national interests. The United States has a role to facilitate in peace talks, but not dictate them.”

A position paper issued by Winfrey slammed BDS, the United Nations and the International Criminal Court for “efforts… intended to weaken and delegitimize the Jewish State,” saying they will “stop at nothing to compromise the shared Israeli-American values.”

Winfrey also challenged antisemitism in the Democratic party.

“You cannot hate a group of people and expect to serve a community or a nation or people period if you’re anti-anything,” she noted. “As an African American woman, it angers me to my soul that you hate another group of people just because [of who] they are… It grieves my soul and I will work against it, and I have always worked against it all my life.”

She also pointed to crime as a weakness for the Democrats, and for Tlaib in particular.

Crime “needs to be handled in a better way,” she said, adding that her neighborhood was locked down because of a shooting the same morning she spoke to JI.

Winfrey recently told the New York Post that her district has become so unsafe, she bought herself a .22 caliber pistol.

“I can’t go to the park by myself anymore and that is concerning to me,” she said. “I would like not to have to carry the gun. I don’t want the gun in my house. I have a 2-year old granddaughter. It’s locked in a safe in a closet on the top shelf. I don’t like it. We don’t believe in that, but I have to feel safe.”

Winfrey has served as Detroit City Clerk since 2005.

Tlaib, who amplifies the Palestinian narrative and has been repeatedly accused of antisemitism, is a member of The Squad, a group of Democrats, including Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who face accusations of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias.

Tlaib supports BDS and calls Israel an “apartheid” state. She and Omar were barred from entering Israel in 2019 over their support for BDS.

Tlaib also supports defunding police, saying policing is “inherently and intentionally racist.”

 

 

It Took Joanna Gaines a Year to Get This Biscuit Recipe Right

I think it’s safe to say that we all have those recipes that we just want to perfect. For me, it’s chocolate chip cookies. I’ve tried so many recipes, including this internet-famous one, but I’ve yet to find one that’s absolutely perfect. It’s just one of those kitchen quests that I’m obsessed with mastering. In her new cookbook, Magnolia Table, Joanna Gaines reveals that the one recipe she was set on mastering was the perfect biscuit.

“It took me a year of Saturdays to get these biscuits just right,” she wrote. Joanna explained that every week, she’d tweak the formula and have her family judge the result. In the end, she used a few slightly unconventional tweaks to get this Southern biscuit right: eggs get mixed into the dough and the biscuits are baked in a tray all touching one another. Joanna explains that this contributes to the moisture and lightness of her biscuits.

After reading about that yearlong saga and how beloved this recipe was, I had to try it. But I was curious if I could master these seemingly impossible biscuits in a single afternoon. Let’s see!

The famous recipe

• 4 cups self-rising flour, plus more for your work surface
• 2 large eggs, beaten, plus an additional egg for brushing
• 1½ cups cold butter, cubed
• 1½ cups buttermilk, plus an additional tablespoon for brushing
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Initial thoughts

Like Joanna, I also whip up a batch of biscuits every weekend, so I know what goes into a basic recipe. However, I noticed that her recipe, unlike most, included eggs. It also used self-rising flour, which I don’t typically have on hand. If you don’t have any in your pantry, you can make your own self-rising flour using what’s already in the cupboard. The rest of the recipe, though, looked very familiar, especially the buttermilk, which is what I think gives all the best biscuits their flavor. Once I ran to the store for some self-rising flour—I wanted to make these exactly the way Joanna would—I was ready to roll.

Getting started

Following the directions in Magnolia Table, I started by whisking together the flour, baking powder and baking soda (yes, there is a difference). Then I cut in the cubes of cold butter using a pastry blender. It’s important to make sure that butter is cold; that’s what makes for extra flaky biscuits and the flakiest pie crust, too (we tested it!).

Then, using a wooden spoon, I stirred in the two beaten eggs and 12 ounces of buttermilk. This bound the dough together nicely, though Joanna says you can add more buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, if needed. Once the mix was prepped, I stashed it in the fridge per Joanna’s instructions. She advises at least 30 minutes, though it can sit overnight. This was an unusual step for me, but taking that break gave me the time to do the dishes.

Prepping to bake

Once I took my dough out of the fridge, I turned it out onto a well-floured countertop and formed it into a mound—it easily stuck together with all the eggs and buttermilk to bind. Then, using my hands, I pressed the dough out into a large round, about a half-inch thick. Using a 2¾-inch biscuit cutter (this seemed like a specific recommendation to me, but my basic set had this size), I cut out as many biscuits as I could. Then I reformed the scraps into another round and cut out some more biscuits. In the end, I got 20, just as the recipe suggested (when does that ever happen?). When I make biscuits, I typically fold the dough over itself a few times to help achieve flaky layers, so I was surprised that Joanna’s recipe skipped this step, but I wanted to follow this recipe to the letter, so I moved on (though not without some skepticism).

Then I popped these all onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (We love this pan from Taste of Home’s new line of bakeware.) Joanna writes that these should all be touching one another as they go into the oven. She explains this is what helps keep them light and moist. I wasn’t going to argue with that, so I lined them up according to the directions. Then I whisked together an egg with a tablespoon of buttermilk and brushed it over the top of each biscuit.

After that, the biscuits were ready for the oven: 400ºF for 15 to 20 minutes.

The big reveal

TASTE OF HOME

On Joanna’s show Fixer Upper, I always appreciate the big reveal, and when I opened up the oven after 20 minutes, that’s exactly what I got. The biscuits came out of the oven golden brown and steaming with the aroma of butter—an ingredient Joanna loves. The biscuits looked like absolute perfection, and I could hardly wait to try one. I scooped a steaming biscuit off the pan and topped it with a generous drizzle of honey. In an instant, I had gobbled it all up. These biscuits were amazing—super light yet rich with all those great butter and buttermilk flavors. I can’t believe I ever doubted the recipe and its methods!

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/joanna-gaines-biscuits/

Airhead Hollyweird Actresses Push Cryptocurrencies to Gullible Females

'We've watched bros earn a lot of money...we deserve it too': Gwyneth Paltrow, Mila Kunis and Mark Zuckerberg's sister are accused of encouraging women to invest in cryptocurrency and NFTs at woke Zoom summit without explaining risks

• Hollywood stars appeared at Zoom summit pushing the benefits of NFTS - digital artworks which don't exist in real life
• Paltrow claimed women deserved to make just as much from cryptocurrency and NFTs as men, who've adopted investing in both more readily
• Kunis - who is worth $75 million - said women should be more open to taking risks
• The summit, held by cryptocommunity BFF, failed to answer several key questions about how NFTs worked and whether they make a good investment 
• There's no suggestion either woman had bad intentions, but experts warn that most NFTs are worthless, and that the trend may already have peaked 
• And while the most famous cryptocurrency - Bitcoin - has shot up in value, most copycats are worth nothing and seen as a poor investment  

Hollywood stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Mila Kunis have been accused of pushing cryptocurrency investments on women without explaining the risks involved.

Paltrow, famed for her acting and wacky Goop brand, joined Kunis for a January Zoom seminar held by 'women and non-binary centered crypto community' BFF.

There, the millionairesses encouraged 5,000 female viewers to break into the traditionally male-dominated world of cryptocurrency; digital currency, and NFTs; digital artworks. Experts have warned that buying crypto and NFTs is more akin to gambling that a safe investment. 

During the BFF Zoom, first reported by The Washington Post, Paltrow, who wore a businesslike turtleneck and thick-framed glasses, gushed: 'We have watched a lot of these bros get together and earn a lot of money. We deserve to be in this space just as much.'

Later, Kunis, who has an estimated net worth of $75 million, chimed-in with: 'We are so conditioned as women to be risk-averse. I want to take risks and I want to see what happens.' 

Kunis said she'd been inspired to invest in cryptocurrency and NFTs during COVID while stuck in the house with her actor husband Ashton Kutcher.

She said: 'I kept hearing about this world of web 3 and NFTs and crypto in my house for about 10 years, and I was like well, it's COVID, so if you can't beat them, join them.'

Also present at the event was Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi Zuckerberg, who told the excited crowd that she too had recently become an NFT convert. She even likened the digital artworks to Chanel handbags or paintings by Michelangelo.   

Gwyneth Paltrow and Mila Kunis are both pictured at the BFF crypto summit, where the millionaire stars espoused the potential benefits of cryptocurrency and NFTs without going into the risks involved in investing in either 

Also present was Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi, pictured, who likened NFTs to a Chanel handbag or Michelangelo painting, despite experts warning that many are worthless 

Zuckerberg, a former Facebook executive who's worth $200 million, said: 'I was skeptical, I was confused. Fast-forward to now, I now own more than 100 NFTs!' 

'Things have value because of a backstory sometimes it's the person who created it.

'Sometimes it's just your personal taste if I came over and I drew on your ceiling you would not be happy about it but if Michelangelo did it voila, priceless work of art. 

'So an NFT applies to digital assets that are unique and have value they can be anything it doesn't just have to be art.

'It can be a music clip, a video, a super special recipe, a book, it can be a ticket to a conference or a concert, or an event, but because the asset is created on the blockchain (cryptocurrency ledger) you know 100 that it's authentic.

'Let's say you're buying a Chanel bag. Like you want to make damn sure that that bag is authentic before you spend thousands of dollars on it but with digital assets the proof is right there.'  

NFTs - non-fungible tokens - are original pieces of artwork which exist only in digital form, and which can be bought, traded and sold using cryptocurrency. 

They have proven more popular among female buyers than cryptocurrencies themselves, the most famous of which is Bitcoin.  

The most expensive ever NFT,  an artwork called The Merge, which depicts two spheres, sold for $91 million in December last year. It was bought from artist Pak by a consortium of almost 29,000 buyers. 

But many NFTs are essentially worthless, with those that end up selling for millions usually receiving a great deal of online hype - often from celebrities.  

Investment experts warn most NFTs are a waste of money, and some believe the trend for the digital artworks has already peaked. 

Cryptocurrency offers an online, anonymous method of digital payment - the most famous form of which, Bitcoin, has shot up hugely in value since launching in 2009.

A single Bitcoin is worth over $43,000 as of April 6, but its popularity has spawned copycat cryptocurrencies, many of which are as worthless as most NFTs.  

Cryptocommunity BFF was co-founded by Brit Morin, pictured, who says she wants to encourage woman into the traditionally male spheres of crypto investments 

Attendees received a digital friendship bracelet, similar to this one, which can currently be resold for $3,000, and which offers advance access to an upcoming BFF NFT sale

The most expensive NFT ever sold is an artwork called The Merge, pictured, which was bought for $91 million by 29,000 buyers in December 2021 

There is no suggestion that Paltrow, Kunis or Zuckerberg were trying to mislead potential investors. 

Paltrow is so enthusiastic about crypto that she's even a member of a private 25 person group on messaging app Signal whose female members share 'Alpha Chat' - tips on which NFT projects could be worth investing in, and which are frauds.

Reese Witherspoon is also a member of the group, as is BFF co-founder Moj Mahdara. Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher also recently launched a cartoon series that offers NFTs, suggesting they're equally committed to the concept. 

But the Post found that many questions about the risks of investing in NFTs during the BFF Zoom chat at which Paltrow and Kunis were speakers went unanswered. BFF co-founder Britt Morin pushed the event as promising to answer whether NFTs 'are all a scam' 

Morin enthusiastically pushed the potential payouts from crypto during the same Zoom, highlighting an NFT collection recently sold by by Christie's for $69 million, while saying: 'This is the type of wealth that's possible for people that are participating in this new ecosystem.' 

NFTS: The future of art, or a bubble that's about to burst? 

What is a NFT?

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist's signature which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.

What do they look like?

Most NFTs include some kind digital artwork, such as photos, videos, GIFs, and music. Theoretically, anything digital could be turned into a NFT.  

Where do you buy them?

At the moment, NFTs are most commonly sold in so-called 'drops', timed online sales by blockchain-backed marketplaces like Nifty Gateway, Opensea and Rarible.

Why would I want to own one? 

There's an array of reasons why someone may want to buy a NFT. For some, the reason may be emotional value, because NFTs are seen as collectors items. For others, they are seen as an investment opportunity.

When were NFTs created? 

Writer and podcaster Andrew Steinwold traced the origins of NFTs back to 2012, with the creation of the Colored Coins cryptocurrency. But NFTs didn't move into the mainstream until five years later, when the blockchain game CryptoKitties began selling virtual cats in 2017. 

During the event, a livechat box saw moderators answer some questions - but other important queries were ignored.

One woman asked about an NFT collection called the Bored Ape Yacht Club, saying: 'What gives a monkey that value? What makes it worth $500,000?' only to be ignored. 

Other viewers appeared to have fallen hard for Paltrow and Kunis's pitches, saying: 'Truly feeling part of history right now =)),' and 'They're going to explain everything.' 

Morin did close the event with a seemingly magnanimous gift for viewers - offering all attendees a free digital friendship 'bracelet' currently reselling for at least $3,000.  

Anyone who does sell the bracelet receives early access to BFF's NFT collection which launches this month, and hands over 7.5 per cent of the proceeds should they choose to sell the cyber garment. 

Another crypto expert called Faith Love told the Post that promising women the prospect of great riches was 'just bait.'

Others have said that the tactics used are similar to those deployed by so-called 'girlbosses.'

They've been blasted for hailing financial successes while using sexist power structures originally created by men to keep women out of the boardroom. 

BFF, which organized the glitzy Zoom, has refuted claims it is trying to perpetuate such issues.

Spokesperson Rakia Reynolds told the Post that the term 'refers instances where women-centered empowerment efforts, especially related to tech, have allowed bad actors with toxic traits and supremacy-formed intentions to block access and take up space.'

She added: 'BFF is trying to achieve the opposite of this.'