News from the food universe that are informative, will make you laugh or simply scratch your head.

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Finally the search is over. I have been looking for a  kitchen timer  to hang around my neck or clip to my clothes for ages. It’s not that our kitchen lacks timers, oh no, but I somehow manage to ignore their beeping sound when I’m in a different room SURELY FOR JUST A SECOND (read: when I’m at the computer) – pots and pans have been burned on a regular basis. Since the German market didn’t come up with anything I liked, I was surprised to find various options on Amazon.com. Surprise turned into excitement when the Amazon site offered to ship this little gadget to Germany and it showed up on my doorstep within 8 days (I used the cheapest shipping option/AmazonGlobal Expedited Shipping). The neat little  Polder timer  received a green lanyard and has become an  instant darling: Super easy and clever handling, you can even lock the buttons to avoid changing the alarm inadvertently.  No. More. Burnt. Food.

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In Organic We Trust is about to hit the cinemas (theatrical release January 22, 2013) – a documentary that follows director Kip Pastor on a personal journey to answer commonly asked questions about organic food: What exactly is organic? Is it really better, or just a marketing scam? [watch teaser on Vimeo], [movie website]

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20 Foods you secretly can’t explain You may recognize them all, but do you really know what they are? Give yourself a quick refresher so that next time, you won’t have to break out an iPhone to decipher the menu. [First We Feast]

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Beaucoup de Bocuse As France’s original celebrity chef, Paul Bocuse built a Michelin-starred culinary empire and established the most prestigious cooking competition in the world. And yet, one goal still eludes him. Now he’s turned to America’s top chefs to help make it a reality–even if it means breaking from his own haute traditions. [Wall Street Journal]

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Symposiums, Conferences, and Traveling Chefs: Necessity or Narcissism? An evolution of the more traditional and commercial food festival has given way to a newer kind of culinary event that puts the chef center stage to discuss his or her ideas. [Eater]

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I tweeted about this video back in December, but since the message is really important, here it is again: What’s a Food Industry to Do? by Yoni Freedhoff – His take on what the food industry can do, why they’re not going to do it, and what we can do about it. [watch on YouTube]

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Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa? Ethical consumers should be aware poor Bolivians can no longer afford their staple grain, due to western demand raising prices. [Guardian]

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Bon Appetit – welcome to Under the Table, in which Francis Lam goes behind the scenes to meet the craftsmen and professionals who make food happen in unseen, surprising ways. The Ramen Dynasty: Inside the Sun Noodle Factory [watch on Bon Appetit]

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Ask The Food Lab: On Browning Ground Meat In Recipes [Serious Eats]

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Immortal Venice: Harry’s Bar Five Days of Food, Final Part: The Cipriani Legacy Thrives in the Floating City with Cocktails Fit for Hemingway and Capote [watch on Nowness]

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