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When Garden Meets Grapes: Elevating Vegetable Dishes with Perfect Wine Pairings

Melding the varied flavors of vegetable-focused cuisine with the nuanced profiles of fine—and even budget—wines can transform a simple meal into an extraordinary dining experience. From the earthy undertones of roasted vegetables to the vibrant zest of fresh herbs, each vegetable dish holds a unique flavor profile that, when paired with the right wine, can be elevated via enhancing flavors and overall meal complexity. The art of wine pairing, once thought to be reserved for meat and seafood dishes, has evolved to embrace vegetable-forward cuisine. Understanding how to pair wine with vegetarian dishes is an art that can elevate your dining experience to new heights. Here, we delve into the nuances of wine pairing with vegetarian food, considering ingredients, cooking methods, and seasoning. Whether you are hosting a dinner party or enjoying a quiet meal at home, these tips and examples will help you choose the perfect wine to complement your vegetarian dishes. Understanding the Ingredients Vegetarian dishes often feature a variety of vegetables, grains, legumes, and plant-based proteins. Each ingredient brings its own flavor profile, from the earthy tones of mushrooms to the sweetness of roasted bell peppers. When pairing wine, consider the dominant flavors of the dish. For instance: Mushrooms: Earthy and umami-rich mushrooms pair well with Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. For example, mushroom risotto’s creamy texture and deep umami flavors of a well-made mushroom risotto are beautifully complemented by a Pinot Noir, whose earthy undertones enhance the dish’s richness. Tomatoes: The acidity and sweetness of tomatoes complement well with Sauvignon Blanc or Chianti. The savory and slightly tangy tomato sauce used in eggplant parmesan pairs excellently with Chianti. Its bright acidity and red fruit flavors balance the dish’s robust flavors. Greens: Leafy greens like spinach and kale, with their slight bitterness, match nicely with crisp whites like Pinot Grigio […]

Technology can address food wastage challenge in India’s foodservice industry

Food wastage remains a critical challenge for India’s foodservice industry, not only eroding restaurant profits but also intensifying environmental concerns in a country where millions suffer from undernourishment and malnutrition. Leveraging technology offers a dual advantage by mitigating food waste and promoting sustainable practices, thereby enhancing efficiency and supporting long-term industry growth, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Parthasaradhi Reddy Bokkala, Lead Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Many restaurants struggle with operational inefficiencies that lead to excess food preparation. This includes challenges in accurately predicting customer demand, which can result in over-preparation of meals that ultimately go uneaten. Moreover, small- and medium-sized restaurants often have limited resources and experience, making it difficult for them to negotiate with vendors for better pricing or to find quality services that can aid in waste reduction. “In addition, financial challenges are particularly acute for smaller eateries, which often lack the capital to invest in waste-reduction systems or processes. Additionally, the dynamics of the food delivery market, such as shifting consumer preferences, create challenges in maintaining predictable and efficient inventory management.” This unpredictability often results in food waste as restaurants may prepare items that do not sell. Given the increasing oversight by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), restaurants face a dauting task to minimize wastage and losses. Francis Gabriel Godad, Consumer Business Development Manager at GlobalData, adds: “The evolution of technology has ensured that even smaller outlets can benefit from it. For instance, Zomato launched a new initiative, Food Rescue, which will help restaurants address the challenge of food wastage to some extent. This initiative allows customers living near restaurants to purchase these cancelled food orders at significantly reduced prices. The feature not only helps in minimizing food waste but also provides an economical option for consumers, thereby contributing […]

Breakthrough Victoria invests in company turning waste into animal feed

Breakthrough Victoria is announcing a $2.5 million investment in Viridian Renewable Technology Pty Ltd, a pioneering Melbourne based company, addressing food wastage and creating a circular economy through sustainable insect protein manufacturing. Viridian is already operating its first commercial plant in Derrimut and will significantly increase factory capacity in the following 12 months, creating 15 direct jobs and producing 1,300 more tonnes of protein ingredients every year. Future plans include building two more plants in Gippsland that will be situated in food and agricultural industry hubs to support local businesses. Viridian also has links to Victorian universities and engineering businesses and intends to collaborate on future research projects to directly benefit Victoria’s innovation sector. The company specialises in developing and deploying technology aimed at creating insect-based protein ingredients for pet and animal feed with a nutritional quality greater than many traditional protein sources and a considerably lower environmental impact. Viridian also produces fertiliser products used across Australia to support regenerative agriculture. Australians waste about 7.6 million tons of food each year across the food supply chain. This represents a huge economic cost, waste of natural resources and around 3 per cent of our greenhouse emissions. At the same time, we need new ways of producing enough high-quality protein to feed ourselves, our pets and our livestock. Viridian addresses these challenges by building highly automated insect protein factories that can substitute traditional proteins in pet food and animal feed with affordable, consistent and nutrient-rich products, providing a commercial solution to this global issue. This approach reduces the amount of food materials wasted in landfill and the emissions associated with food, feed and fertiliser products. Insects require minimal land, water and feed to produce protein-rich biomass, making them an incredibly efficient food source. The company’s innovative technology elevates this efficiency further with […]

Genevieve Muir’s Coast of Gold bursts into Australian market

An Australian brand centred on authentic West African flavours is making massive waves in the premium foods and condiments market, with the official launch of the award-winning Coast of Gold Shito Pepper Sauce range. Arguably the most loved sauce in Ghana, Shito (pronounced Shi-Tow) is a unique blend of hot peppers, herbs, spices and seafood, slow cooked to perfection. Known for its smoky heat and rich flavour profile, it pairs well with a variety of dishes such as rice, grilled meats, vegetables and even snacks. Boldly bursting into the Australian market with Gold and Silver accolades from the 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards, Coast of Gold’s Shito Pepper Sauce is now available in a sweet, smoky and spicy Hot variety (Silver award-winner), Medium heat, and via a 100 per cent plant based Mild (Gold award-winner) recipe. The range has also received international acclaim via a Gold Star at the 2024 Guild of Fine Food Awards in the United Kingdom. With all three individual varieties also available in a taster pack and as a value bundle, Shito Pepper Sauce is the hero product of the Coast of Gold brand, which is sold online and delivers nationally and internationally. Rapidly capturing the attention of specialty food stores since its recent launch, the range is also now sold through more than 70 retailers across New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland. With plans for rapid wider distribution soon across the nation, Coast of Gold was originally founded during the Covid-19 lockdown period in the home kitchen of Ghana-born Sydneysider, Genevieve Muir. After more than a year of perfecting the recipe via countless test batches made with the input of her family members scattered across the globe – aunties in Ghana, uncles in England, cousins in the Netherlands, the USA, and even […]

New plant for Fonterra’s Edendale site, creating 70 new jobs

Fonterra is set to invest $150 million to build a new UHT cream plant at its Edendale site in Southland to meet growing demand through its Foodservice business. Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell shared the news while in Malaysia today on a senior New Zealand business delegation with the Prime Minister. Fonterra has a thriving Foodservice business in Asia where demand is growing by integrating dairy into traditional foods such as laksa and milk tea. In Malaysia, Fonterra is looking to build on solid foundations where half of New Zealand exports to the country are already dairy. Miles Hurrell says the investment is part of the Co-operative’s strategy to grow further value by expanding its Foodservice business in Asia and increasing production capacity for high-value products. “Demand for UHT cream continues to strengthen. Globally, we’re expecting demand to increase by more than 4 per cent year on year between 2023 – 2032*. “This is the second announcement we’ve made in as many weeks about expansions at our sites to cater for growing demand. “We believe prioritising our Ingredients and Foodservice channels will create more value for Fonterra and this expansion is a good example of the direction the Co-op is heading,” says Mr Hurrell. The new plant will initially create upward of 50 million litres of UHT processing capacity with the capacity to grow beyond 100 million litres by 2030. Fonterra COO Anna Palairet says the Edendale site is well set up for future growth with decarbonisation work well underway along with a good supply of high-quality cream in the region. “The additional processing capacity will allow us to manufacture more UHT cream products and grow value for farmers.” And she adds, the investment is also good news for the South Island economy. “Adding to the six new roles created through […]

BASF and IRRI join forces to reduce carbon footprint of rice

BASF and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have entered into a scientific collaboration to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice production. Running by the name “OPTIMA Rice” (Optimising Management for Reduction of GHG in Rice), the collaboration with IRRI supports BASF’s commitment to enable the reduction of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions by 30 percent per ton of crop produced by 2030. The joint effort is planned for multiple rice seasons in the Philippines and will take place in Laguna, where both organisations maintain research centres for rice. Rice is one of the five most widely produced cereal crops globally and is consumed by about three billion people every day. Although it is grown all over the world, Asia accounts for the largest share of its production. However, because of its geographic expansion and typical manner of wetland cultivation, worldwide paddy rice production contributes about 10 percent of total GHG emissions from the agricultural sector, mainly coming from continuously flooded wetland rice fields. Due to this large carbon footprint, it is estimated that rice production has the greatest potential within agricultural crop production to reduce GHG emissions. BASF and IRRI therefore plan to explore multiple topics related to climate smart farming in rice. These include direct-seeded rice varieties, nitrogen stabilisers, nutrient and residue management, novel chemistry tailor-made for rice farmers, and water-saving technologies such as alternate wetting and drying management (AWD). In addition, IRRI has begun further improvements to its ecophysiological model ORYZA, to include new computation algorithms for estimating GHG emissions, for application to the project. BASF will use its AgBalance™ tool to estimate the GHG emission intensity and will work with IRRI on field tests of their products to obtain high-quality agronomic and GHG data. Both BASF and IRRI aim to further develop and apply models […]

EDITION Hotels partners with Josh Niland

EDITION Hotels has partnered with one of the leading sustainable chefs in the world, acclaimed Australian restaurateur and multi-award-winning chef and author Josh Niland, to helm the signature restaurant at The Singapore EDITION. The ethically sourced seafood concept will be Niland’s first restaurant outside of Australia, an elegant home for what a sustainable, modern-age, seafood-focused steakhouse is today, with the edition of sensational meat and vegetable dishes. Having burst onto the food scene in 2016 with his revolutionary and now wildly popular approach to the way we cook, transport, age and store fish, Chef Niland has worked at some of Sydney’s greatest restaurants as well as at the UK’s legendary three Michelin starred The Fat Duck, before opening Saint Peter, his first restaurant in Sydney with his wife and business partner Julie Niland in 2016. The Fish Butchery, a retail market concept selling sustainable fish species, was later introduced in 2018. Charcoal Fish, a beachside takeaway concept offering restaurant-quality fast food, and a second Fish Butchery both followed in 2019. Earlier this year, the couple opened a second restaurant, Petermen, on Sydney’s Northern Shores. Niland is the author of award-winning ‘The Whole Fish Cookbook’ and ‘Take One Fish,’ which also received worldwide acclaim. He has just released his third book, ‘Fish Butchery,’ in August 2023. With nods to stylish Old-World elegance and tradition, The Singapore EDITION’s signature restaurant will reflect Chef Niland’s globally recognised passion for seafood and focus on creating a circular economy within the restaurant and lobby bar to mitigate waste while heightening the guest experience. In his restless pursuit of excellence, his unique creations will feature the finest ingredients from world-class producers, growers and artisanal suppliers to present a menu of fish cut to order, including rib on the bone, crown roasts and cutlets. Chef Niland’s menu […]

Fortude helps Beak and Johnston nail recipe for success with Infor M3

Beak and Johnston, an Australian family-owned fresh food manufacturer that produces innovative, value-added meal solutions, has partnered with Fortude, a global digital technology solutions company, to transform the manufacturing operations at its Greenacre plant. While Beak and Johnston is no stranger to Infor M3 having previously adopted it at their Arndell Park Facility, the manufacturer chose to partner with Fortude for the Greenacre plant roll-out because of the firm’s deep domain expertise and strong implementation track record in the food and beverage industry. “Our investment in Infor M3 is a strategic move towards becoming the top convenient meals provider of choice for all Australians. Fortude’s food and beverage industry implementation experience coupled with its extensive suite of extensions and integrations has enabled us to boost the performance of Infor’s core solution. With Fortude’s support, we have been able to streamline our operations and minimise food waste through effective master demand forecasting and inventory management. We also have been able to establish complete traceability which enables us to ensure compliance and food safety in our operations. We are delighted to have a partner like Fortude that understands our industry and growth ambitions very well,” said Ben Taboada, Group IT Manager, Beak and Johnston. Fortude’s implementation has helped the Australian food manufacturer boost its inventory visibility, overcome integration issues, simplify the stock valuation process, and eliminate supply chain inefficiencies. Fortude also introduced the Infor Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to support Beak and Johnston’s core manufacturing activities through complete traceability and accurate shelf-life management capabilities for its fresh food products. “The growing consumer demands for convenient and healthy meal solutions points to a booming frozen food industry. However, limited product shelf-life and dynamics of the fresh food industry, pose serious challenges for fresh food manufacturers,” explains Cameron Greening, Senior Vice President (Sales) ANZ, […]

3D food printing on the menu for summer scholar

A Lincoln undergraduate has had a taste of a new concept in food production after completing a 10-week summer scholarship using 3D printing technology on campus. Sahiti Peddisetti, who is about to begin her final year of a Bachelor of Science (Food Science), was tasked with creating 3D reconstructed food products from low value cuts of meat and additional natural ingredients, such as plant-based protein. The pilot study involved producing new foods in a range of shapes, textures and colours via a 3D food printer, allowing her to experiment with different ways of reshaping the materials into desirable products. Sahiti’s supervisors, Drs Hannah Lee and Damir Torrico, say the project has important implications for sustainability, as increasing available protein in foods can reduce waste and fully utilise existing animal and plant-based proteins by improving their functional and nutritional value. The reconstructed foods that Sahiti created used tough, low-value meat cuts, with the addition of pea plant protein isolate and gelatine. “Our findings have shown that the tenderness of different 3D printed, cooked beef cuts follow the same trend as normal, cooked beef cuts,” Sahiti said. “For example, beef blade tends to be less tender than beef rump, in both normal and 3D printed conditions. “From a sensory perspective, the 3D printed, cooked beef samples were identified as ‘dry’ and ‘easily melting’ with a ‘strong beef flavour’. This was directly related to the meat preparation and cooking methods, which involved freeze drying of meat and conventional methods of cooking. “In the future, we would like to use techniques that can easily transform meat cuts into puree, ready to use for printing. This way, we wouldn’t lose the meat’s original qualities.” The pilot study leads into a research project with Massey University, which will involve Dr Lee and other Lincoln academics developing […]

Fifth generation Australian farming family launches story & recipe book Sharing their story of resilience, heartbreak and passion for real food. After the enduring heartbreak of the worst drought in Australian history, relief was on it’s way in the form of rain, but the storm turned to hail destroying 4 million avocados along with hopes and dreams. When things seemed that they could not get any worse, bushfires struck and the real fight to save their farm began. Julia Foyster grew up in Germany. Twelve years ago she decided to backpack through Australia with a friend. She joined ‘Willing Workers on Organic Farms’ and worked and lived with farming families in exchange for board and accommodation. She harvested coffee beans, picked, packed and sliced mangoes, worked on a horse riding farm, and eventually ended up on her now husband’s farm picking and packing avocados, mangoes and limes. A decade later they are married with two kids. In the first few years, Julia drove tractors, helped run the packing facility, helped to establish new orchards and investigated new crops to grow. Julia says: “It wasn’t until my first of many floods that I realised the severe emotional toll on my new family. Witnessing the destruction of our watermelon crop revealed what it truly meant to be married to an Australian farmer. “No one really talked about the financial loss or the emotional strain. Everyone just threw themselves into working even harder to make up for the loss. We replaced our watermelon crop hoping that we would still be able to grow another but just before we could harvest, another flood hit. “I realised it wasn’t enough for me to stand by and watch things unfold. I had to do my part to help my family financially and the idea for Tweed […]

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