Finding a moldy piece of produce creates a familiar kitchen gamble, but the risk depends on what's growing and what it's growing on, experts say.

A recent survey out of Germany found that nearly one in three people cut mold off food before eating the rest, a habit that may not remove all toxins.

Fewer than half of respondents knew that cooking or baking does not destroy mycotoxins, which are produced by certain molds and can be invisible in foods. More than a quarter thought heat could destroy them, while another quarter were unsure. 

SCIENTISTS SAY YOU'VE BEEN THROWING AWAY PERFECTLY GOOD MEAT BECAUSE OF ONE COMMON MISTAKE

The survey, which was conducted by Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, measured reported habits and knowledge, not toxin levels in food or illness.

The report highlighted the limits of relying on sight to judge food safety. 

"Visible mold is reliably recognized and triggers intuitive avoidance," the authors wrote. "But this instinct does not work when food contains toxins without visible mold."

But what to do about moldy food really depends on the item, according to Brian Labus, an infectious disease epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Public Health.

People often confuse ordinary spoilage with the kinds of germs that cause foodborne illness, he told Fox News Digital.

GREEN BANANAS AREN'T NECESSARILY BAD — EXPERTS EXPLAIN THE HIDDEN HEALTH PERK

"Most of the stuff that we're talking about, especially with fruits and vegetables, it's not going to be something that's going to cause a foodborne illness," Labus said. "Those things are gross, but they're not the kind of thing that's going to make you sick."

Firmness is a useful guide when deciding what to do with visible mold, Labus said. 

On a firm fruit such as an apple, he said, mold may remain near the surface, so a person can cut around the affected area. On soft, wet foods, mold can spread more easily through the food. 

MOLD COULD BE LURKING IN YOUR COFFEE MAKER AS EXPERT REVEALS 5 WAYS TO KEEP IT CLEAN

If lettuce or other produce has become mushy, he said, it should be thrown away.

With berries, discard any pieces with visible mold or soft spots, Labus said. Other berries that remain intact and show no signs of mold can be washed and eaten. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidance similarly advises throwing out moldy fruit and any pieces touching it, then washing the rest if they show no mold and are not overly mushy.

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Bread is different, Labus said, because mold can grow into the loaf. If mold appears on a slice, he recommends throwing out the bread rather than removing only the visibly affected part. Germany's risk assessment agency recommends discarding moldy, water-rich produce.

Moldy jam or jelly should also be discarded, Labus said.

Some molds can trigger allergic reactions, and certain molds produce mycotoxins, according to the USDA.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

But if you accidentally eat something moldy, Labus said not to panic.

"It's not like you need to run to the doctor or anything like that," he said. "Spit it out and move on with your day."

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People with mold allergies should avoid taking chances with moldy food, while those who are immunocompromised should be especially cautious with food handling overall, Labus said.

Labus also recommends keeping food refrigerated and buying only what you'll use soon — rather than stocking up on a wholesale-size container of berries.

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Washing hands and preventing cross-contamination in the kitchen are more important food safety steps, Labus added. For example, he said, using the same knife on raw chicken and then on vegetables without washing it can spread illness-causing germs.

Workers and diners at two restaurants were shaken up when a suspected drunk driver plowed a vehicle into the building on Saturday afternoon in Concord, California.

The post WATCH: Suspected Drunk Driver Plows Truck into California Restaurant, Narrowly Missing Diners: ‘Miraculous Nobody Got Hurt’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Three Chili's customers suffered chemical burns after consuming margaritas that mistakenly had a cleaning product in them on Wednesday at the restaurant in Forest City, North Carolina. 

The post VIDEO — North Carolina: Three Customers Suffer Chemical Burns from Contaminated Chili’s Margaritas appeared first on Breitbart.

• Warren Buffett once told Bill Ackman over dinner that he hadn't had a glass of water for five decades.
• Ackman recounted the story on a podcast this week discussing his relationship with the investing legend.
• Buffett, 96, famously drinks five cans of Coke a day and lives on fast food and sweet treats.

Warren Buffett hasn't had a glass of water since at least the 1970s.

That's what the 96-year-old business icon once told Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager recalled during an episode of the Equity Mates Investing podcast that aired this week.

Ackman said that Buffett came over for dinner at his home "years ago," and he'd made sure to stock up on the legendary investor's favorite drink, Cherry Coke.

The Pershing Square founder and CEO said that once they were sitting at the table, he asked Buffett whether he'd like still or sparkling water. Buffett politely declined, opting for his preferred soda instead.

"But I said, you know, 'Don't you drink water?'" Ackman recalled. "And he said, 'Bill, I haven't had water in 48 years.'"

Ackman didn't immediately respond to a request for more detail about Buffett's hydration habits.

Not drinking water might sound unbelievable, but Buffett — who retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO after 60 years in charge last December, and as the company's chairman this September — is famous for drinking five cans of Coke daily.

He quipped in 2015 that he was "one-quarter Coca-Cola," as it accounted for 25% of his daily calories.

Buffett's love of soda goes back decades. During Berkshire's 1986 meeting, he declared that after "48 years of allegiance" to Pepsi, he was switching to Cherry Coke, saying it would be the meeting's official drink going forward.

Coca-Cola has also been one of Buffett's landmark investments. Berkshire hasn't touched its roughly 9% stake in the beverage giant since it finished building it in the mid-1990s. The position cost about $1.3 billion and was worth around $28 billion at the end of December — a roughly 21-fold gain.

Coke is only part of Buffett's iconic diet. He's known for grabbing McDonald's for breakfast on his drive to work, and munching on hot dogs, fries, popcorn, cookies, candy, ice cream, and other comfort foods.

His love of fast food and sweet treats extends to his investments. Berkshire counts See's Candies and Dairy Queen among its subsidiaries, and Kraft Heinz among its largest stock holdings.

Buffett's childlike tastes have led to issues in the past, including a disastrous sushi dinner in Tokyo.

Bill Gates and his then-wife, Melinda, went to great lengths to ensure the investor didn't starve when he joined them on a 17-day trip to China in 1995.

They organized for their hotel's chefs to be taught how to prepare hamburgers and fries, and when they climbed the Great Wall, they made sure to have Cherry Coke waiting for Buffett at the top.

• I dined at Shake Shack, Five Guys, and Smashburger with a $20 budget.
• I ordered similar menu items at each chain — a cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake or soda.
• One chain impressed me most in terms of both flavor and value.

Fast food has long been considered a convenient, affordable meal option, but as the price of food continues to rise, even a simple order of burger and fries can quickly approach $20.

I wanted to find out how far that budget would stretch at some of the country's most recognizable fast-casual burger chains — and whether any of the meals would actually feel worth the price. So, within the same week, I visited Shake Shack, Five Guys, and Smashburger.

I ordered a similar meal at each restaurant and compared the taste, portion sizes, and overall value. Here's how it went.

Shake Shack was my first stop.

Unlike the other two chains I visited, Shake Shack is a publicly traded company. It began as a hot-dog cart in New York City's Madison Square Park before becoming a permanent kiosk in 2004.

Today, the chain has over 700 locations around the world. One recently opened near my house, so it seemed like the perfect time to give it a try.

The ShackBurger was simple but satisfying.

I ordered a single ShackBurger ($7.79), which came with an Angus beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and the chain's signature ShackSauce.

The patty was cooked well and had a nice sear, with thin, crispy edges. The cheese was also perfectly melted over the top.

I especially enjoyed the ShackSauce, which was creamy and tangy, and tasted like a blend of ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.

The crinkle-cut fries were crispy and well salted.

As a side, I ordered the fries ($4.99). These were crinkle-cut, nicely salted, and crispy on the outside.

I usually prefer very thin fries, but these had a satisfying crunch that won me over and paired well with the burger.

I had enough left in my budget to add a vanilla shake.

For dessert, I ordered a vanilla shake ($6.49). Although it had a pleasant, classic vanilla flavor, the consistency was thinner and more watery than I would have liked. To me, it seemed slightly overmixed.

Overall, I thought this was a solid meal for the price.

My burger, fries, and shake cost $19.27 before tax and tip. The meal wasn't particularly inventive, but everything tasted great, and I got a nice portion with dessert while staying within my budget.

Next, I visited Five Guys.

Although Five Guys is now a global chain, it remains a family-owned business. Jerry and Janie Murrell opened the first restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986.

Today, the restaurant has about 1,900 locations worldwide, including approximately 1,500 in the US.

Despite its popularity, I had never eaten there before, so I was curious to see how far my $20 would stretch.

My burger was completely customizable.

Unlike Shake Shack, Five Guys didn't serve its burgers with a standard set of toppings. Instead, I was instructed to build my own from a long list of included options.

I ordered a Little Cheeseburger ($9.25), which came with one beef patty, and I added lettuce, tomato, pickles, and ketchup. It arrived tightly wrapped in foil, which left it slightly squished.

The patty had lightly crispy edges, and I liked how the cheese melted into the meat. However, of the burgers I tried, this one reminded me the most of traditional fast food.

I couldn't quite pinpoint what created the familiar taste, but I think it was the combination of the salty, umami beef and the bun's slight sweetness.

In my opinion, the taste was reminiscent of something I'd get at McDonald's, which made the higher price harder to justify.

The small fries came in an enormous portion.

I also ordered a Little Fry ($5.30), which arrived in a brown paper bag visibly stained with grease. According to the Five Guys website, this is because the fries are soaked in water and absorb less oil when cooked.

Despite being the smallest size on the menu, the portion was massive. Adding an extra helping of fries to each bag has been a Five Guys tradition since the chain opened. This explained the surprisingly large serving and made the price feel like a better value.

They tasted good, but much of their flavor came from how oily they were. I could see myself enjoying them as a late-night indulgence, but they were greasy enough that I worried eating too many would give me a stomachache.

The higher prices left no room in my budget for a shake.

Because the burger and fries cost more than they did at Shake Shack, I couldn't fit a milkshake into my $20 budget. Instead, I ordered a Diet Coke ($3.30), bringing my total to $17.85 before tax and tip.

Although I spent less at Five Guys overall, I also received less variety for my money.

Lastly, I made my way to Smashburger.

Founded in Denver in 2007, Smashburger is owned by Jollibee Group, the Philippine-based restaurant company whose portfolio also includes Jollibee and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Smashburger's online directory currently lists 158 open and upcoming locations in the US, and four in Canada, making it the smallest of the three chains I visited.

I had eaten here before, but it had been years since my last visit, and I had little recollection of my experience.

In my opinion, this burger tasted the freshest of the three, and the fries were delicious.

I ordered a single Classic Smash ($7.89), which came with an Angus beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickles, ketchup, and signature Smash Sauce.

I appreciated that all of my preferred toppings came standard, so I didn't have to customize anything. I also loved the addition of a signature sauce, which was creamy and tangy and gave the burger another layer of flavor.

The beef itself tasted especially fresh, with a clean, pronounced flavor that wasn't too salty or greasy. The patty could have had more pronounced lacy edges, but the seared crust still added a slightly charred finish. The cheese was nicely melted, and the soft, pillowy bun reminded me of a potato roll.

I paired my burger with the SmashFries ($4.19), which were thin, shoestring-style fries tossed in a blend of rosemary, garlic, and olive oil.

I had enough left in my budget to add on a vanilla shake.

To round out my meal, I ordered a vanilla milkshake ($6.49). It was noticeably thicker than the one I received at Shake Shack and came with a spoon.

It had a creamy, milky flavor, but otherwise tasted like fairly standard vanilla ice cream. It wasn't especially memorable, but I enjoyed the consistency.

My burger, fries, and shake cost $18.57 before tax and tip, allowing me to get a complete meal with dessert while staying comfortably within my budget.

Overall, I thought my meal from Smashburger offered the best combination of taste and value.

Before tax and tip, I spent $19.27 at Shake Shack, $17.85 at Five Guys, and $18.57 at Smashburger.

Shake Shack gave me a complete meal with dessert within my budget. Nothing stood out as especially memorable, but it felt like a solid, reliable option at a reasonable price.

Five Guys had the lowest total and provided by far the most fries. However, its more expensive burger left no room in my budget for a shake, and the greasy fries and standard burger didn't feel worth the price. Although I spent less overall, I felt like I received the least variety for my money.

For $0.70 less than Shake Shack, Smashburger gave me a burger, fries, and a thicker milkshake. Its burger tasted the freshest, and the thin, rosemary-seasoned fries were easily my favorite.

Ultimately, Smashburger made my $20 stretch the furthest without sacrificing taste. It offered the best meal, the most distinctive flavors, and the strongest overall value.

Business Insider reached out to Shake Shack, Five Guys, and Smashburger for comment.

• The original brownie recipe was invented at Chicago's Palmer House hotel in 1893.
• It was designed to be transported easily in lunchboxes for the Chicago World's Fair.
• I visited the hotel to try the original brownie, which was rich in both chocolate and history.

When you think of vintage desserts, various ingredients suspended in Jell-O might come to mind. But a Chicago hotel serves one 1893 recipe that will be a lot more familiar to today's tastes: the brownie.

The Palmer House hotel, which is still open today, developed the first-ever brownie in its kitchen as part of the preparations for the World's Columbian Exposition, or Chicago's 1893 World's Fair. The decadent dessert was inspired by a Gilded Age socialite's quest for a treat that could be easily transported.

As a brownie enthusiast, I wanted to try this legendary recipe on a visit to the hotel last year — and I discovered the dessert was rich in both history and chocolate.

The Palmer House Hotel became a symbol of the city's resilience after the Great Chicago Fire.

When the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 decimated the city's downtown, the Palmer House hotel had been open for less than a year.

Its swift reopening in 1873, when Gilded Age wealth rushed to rebuild the city, became a symbol for a city rising from the ashes.

Today, it operates as a Hilton hotel.

The World's Fair came to the city in 1893 to celebrate its grand rebuilding.

Beyond boosting the local economy, Chicago leaders hoped the event would show the world that the growing city had fully recovered from the 1871 fire.

The fair, which was held from May until October 1893, showcased international developments in technology, art, and transportation on the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas and attracted over 27 million people to the city, per Choose Chicago.

The hotel chef created the original brownie at the direction of socialite Bertha Palmer.

The Palmer House owners, Potter and Bertha Palmer, were one of the wealthiest families in the Midwestern city during the Gilded Age.

In 1893, Bertha Palmer served as president of the fair's Board of Lady Managers, which gave wealthy women a voice in constructing and decorating the fair's Women's Building, showcasing the achievements of American women, among other tasks.

As part of her role, Bertha Palmer asked the hotel's chef to create a dessert that would be easy to transport in a lunchbox for the other society women serving on the fair's board.

The Palmer House brownie became a staple of the hotel and lasted long past the World's Fair.

Although she didn't call it a brownie — the name wouldn't come until 1898, per the hotel — Bertha Palmer's dessert, which she directed to be "more unique than a piece of pie or cake" and "like a cookie, but denser and more decadent with chocolate," per the Hilton website, set the foundation for what is today one of America's favorite desserts.

While the chef's name wasn't preserved alongside the dessert's origin story, their creation lives on.

The original brownie recipe, which is available on the hotel's website, uses precise measurements of 60% dark couverture chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and baking powder.

The final brownie is covered with finely chopped walnuts and a glaze made with apricot preserves and unflavored gelatin.

Today, the Palmer House serves Bertha's Brownie, which follows the original recipe.

The brownie made using the original 1893 recipe is available to guests dining at the downtown hotel's Lockwood Restaurant and for those stopping by the hotel café, where it is sold as a grab-and-go dessert.

I tried the brownie while dining at the hotel. It was much fancier than other brownies I've had.

The brownie, which cost $13, was served with a rich chocolate topping, strawberries, and a side of brownie crumbs.

When I took my first bite, I was surprised; it tasted very different from other brownies I've had in the past.

It was chocolatey, rich, and nutty, with a tart-like and fudgy texture that felt almost gritty at times.

Rather than being cake-like, I thought the original recipe leaned a lot more on the dark chocolate. Looking at the recipe's ingredient list, I was surprised by how little flour it actually contained.

Compared to even modern brownie recipes, where cocoa powder is often used to replace melted chocolate, this recipe places greater emphasis on liquid ingredients like dark, cocoa-heavy couverture chocolate, eggs, and butter, and uses a lot of granulated sugar.

The apricot glaze on top also added an unexpected fruity taste to the decadent dessert, making it more dimensional and luxurious than other versions I've tried.

Compared to boxed brownie mixes, Bertha's Brownie felt like an entirely different dessert.

The hotel also offers other brownie-inspired menu items, from pancakes to a cocktail.

In addition to serving the original brownie, the Palmer House has other menu items inspired by the 1893 creation.

The hotel's Lockwood Restaurant serves Bertha's Brownie Pancakes topped with brownie crumbs at breakfast and a rye Brownie Old Fashioned garnished with a mini brownie on its drinks menu.

In all, the dessert felt like a tangible — and tasty — piece of history.

If you asked me to name a fancy dessert, I would probably think of elaborate concoctions like baked Alaska or meticulous recipes like French macarons before a brownie, but the Palmer House brownie might just change that.

More than a sophisticated take on a classic, the recipe is a classic of its own and stands apart from other brownies I've tried.

Eating the brownie felt like biting into a piece of history, and I'll probably be thinking about it until the next time I'm in Chicago.

Multiple customers at a Chili's Grill & Bar reported experiencing chemical burns Wednesday after consuming margaritas that had been prepared with an industrial cleaning chemical that was mistaken for sugar or salt.

The Foothills Health District said the incident unfolded at a restaurant in Forest City, North Carolina.

Three customers consumed the contaminated margaritas, while two restaurant employees also reportedly experienced symptoms after exposure to the chemical, according to the health district.

ROACHES CAUGHT CRAWLING ACROSS POPULAR STEAKHOUSE'S KITCHEN FLOOR IN VIRAL EMPLOYEE VIDEO

According to preliminary findings, the mix-up began Monday when an employee received an industrial degreaser from a contracted worker and placed it in an unmarked container.

The container was then brought inside the restaurant and left in the bar area.

Two days later, an employee preparing the bar for lunch service discovered the unlabeled container and, believing its contents to be sugar or salt, used the chemical to prepare the margarita station, the health district said.

Shortly after the restaurant opened, three customers consumed the contaminated beverages and "immediately experienced discomfort and chemical burns in and around their mouths."

After the customers alerted staff, two employees also tasted the substance and reported similar symptoms.

CHILI'S REVIVES ICONIC RED BOOTHS AND CLASSIC DESIGN IN NATIONWIDE RESTAURANT OVERHAUL

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Chili's said the company took immediate action to support those affected.

"We are aware of an isolated incident at our restaurant in Forest City, North Carolina that resulted in injuries to two of our guests and Team Members. Our team took immediate action to support those affected and avoid any further injuries. We are actively investigating the circumstances related to this incident as the health and wellbeing of our guests and Team Members remain our top priority," the company said.

The company’s account differed from the Foothills Health District’s preliminary findings, which said three customers experienced chemical burns after consuming the margaritas.

After the Foothills Health District launched an investigation, the restaurant's food service permit was immediately suspended.

It was quickly reinstated on Thursday after specialists determined the restaurant met all other food safety standards.

MORE THAN 12,000 POUNDS OF BACON RECALLED AFTER USDA ISSUES HIGHEST-RISK ALERT

The health district used the incident to remind all food service establishments in North Carolina that chemicals must be properly labeled and stored away from food-handling areas.

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"This incident highlights the importance of proper chemical labeling, storage, and handling in food service establishments, as required by the North Carolina Food Code, to prevent chemical contamination and protect public health," Jason Masters, the health director of Foothills Health District, said in a statement.

The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating mysterious freezer and refrigerator malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the U.S. amid concerns the outages may have been caused by a cyberattack.

Army CID’s Cyber Field Office is working with the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to determine what caused the refrigeration failures at military commissaries in August, an Army CID spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

Investigators are also working with French law enforcement to understand a series of refrigeration outages in Europe as authorities examine whether the incidents could be connected.

FRENCH SUPERMARKETS FACE MILLIONS IN LOSSES AFTER CYBERATTACK HITS REFRIGERATORS NATIONWIDE

The story was first reported by Reuters. 

In late August, at least six commissaries, on-base stores where military personnel buy food, suddenly experienced refrigeration malfunctions.

Fort Huachuca in Arizona said in an Aug. 26 Facebook post that its refrigeration units "went into defrost mode" overnight.

"ALL freezers went into defrost mode – ALL frozen food has spoiled," the base said.

AN AI CYBERATTACK COULD TURN OFF AMERICA'S LIGHTS BEFORE WASHINGTON EVEN UNDERSTANDS WHY

Other affected facilities include F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island, Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, Travis Air Force Base Commissary in California and Fort Irwin in California.

In at least one case, refrigeration units were set to higher temperatures overnight rather than simply turning off, Reuters reported. 

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Several weeks ago, a cyberattack targeted hundreds of French supermarkets, with hackers manipulating refrigerators to reach temperatures of 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature spike spoiled large quantities of food and sparked fires across Europe.

The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the cyberattack, describing it as a "large-scale" assault that affected several major food retailers across the country. 

Fox News Digital's Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.

Keira Callaghan says being prepared should be a public health measure, not a privilege, and Chris Rotheram is experiencing prescription anxiety. Plus five more letters in response to the Be Ready campaign

The Be Ready campaign may offer sensible advice in principle (Every Briton should stockpile water and food supplies, government advises, 22 October), but as a midwife working in Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest boroughs in London, I can see first-hand that its practical recommendations risk excluding precisely those families who are already most vulnerable.

For families living in a single room in a shared house, storing nine litres of water per person alongside three days’ worth of essential supplies may simply be unrealistic. When families are already struggling with the cost of food, heating and everyday necessities, buying additional emergency provisions may also be financially impossible.

Autumn has arrived at Vila Vita Biergarten in Porches, where a new Game Season menu is serving up venison, wild boar, partridge and plenty of hearty Central European comfort food.

The post Game season brings wild autumn flavours to Vila Vita Biergarten appeared first on Portugal Resident.

• DoorDash says its planned acquisition of Instacart will create new opportunities for delivery workers.
• The $17 billion deal would preserve both apps, DoorDash said.
• DoorDash also plans to start listing restaurants on the Instacart app.

Gig workers could see changes to how they make deliveries if DoorDash's $17 billion deal for Instacart goes through.

The companies announced the acquisition on Thursday after several years of considering a deal. It would give DoorDash, long one of the dominant names in restaurant delivery, a much stronger position in grocery delivery.

The acquisition would also bring together millions of gig workers who make deliveries for both companies.

Here's what we know so far about how the deal would affect delivery workers:

DoorDash plans to keep the Instacart app

If the deal wins federal approval, DoorDash doesn't plan to fold Instacart's brand into its own.

That means that the apps will continue to function on a stand-alone basis, DoorDash executives said on a call on Thursday to discuss the deal.

"I think Instacart has built a great brand, and it is a very unique brand where their audience is very loyal to that brand," DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said on the call.

Gig workers will be able to take both restaurant and grocery orders

DoorDash plans to cross-list merchants on the two different apps, CFO Ravi Inukonda said.

Restaurants represent one obvious opportunity, he said. "We are going to be able to list our restaurant platform on Instacart, which is going to drive top-line growth," Inukonda said.

Access to more kinds of orders means that gig workers will have "more choice over when and how they earn, whether that's grocery orders on a quiet day, restaurant orders at peak times, or both," the company said in its deal announcement.

DoorDash says the deal could mean 'greater earning opportunities'

Many of Instacart's grocery partners are looking to compete with bigger companies, Xu said on the call. Amazon and Walmart are both expanding their delivery networks, especially for same-day delivery and fresh food, and many smaller chains will turn to the combined company to offer delivery.

That could mean "faster delivery times, more affordable prices for everyone, greater earning opportunities for shoppers," Xu said, referring to gig workers who shop and deliver orders.

Whether those opportunities result in more pay for workers remains to be seen.

Instacart workers make about $13 an hour, while those working for DoorDash average about $11 an hour, according to gig worker pay data from analytics company Gridwise published in March. Both rates were lower than rival delivery services, such as Amazon Flex and Uber Eats.

Do you have a story idea about DoorDash and/or Instacart? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

Gli agricoltori difficilmente si allontanano dalle aziende e dai campi. Se lo fanno è solo per ragioni molto serie. Pertanto, quando i contadini vanno in piazza, rovesciano in strada il frutto del loro duro lavoro, portano i trattori in tangenziale, stanno disperatamente chiedendo di essere visti e ascoltati. Quando la gente piange, angosciata perché non sa come fare a pagare i conti del mese, come sostenere la propria famiglia, pagare le rate del trattore, offrire un futuro ai figli, significa che il vaso è colmo. Trabocca. La trave nel piatto è che non si tratta solo del caro gasolio, non solo del blocco dello stretto di Hormuz, non solo della crisi climatica e ambientale, non solo della siccità, non solo della perdita di fertilità del suolo, si tratta di una crisi strutturale a cui finora nessuno ha saputo dare risposte.

I camion e i trattori bloccano gli snodi stradali spesso senza essere organizzati dalle sigle sindacali, ma spontaneamente: le storie che ne emergono sono autentiche e toccanti. Una tra tutte, quella di chi si presenta con l’asino invece che col trattore perché non ce la fa più a mantenere nemmeno quello: il fieno per nutrirlo costa ormai 45 euro a balla. Ma, più diffusamente, Cia – Agricoltori Italiani- certifica che mentre a settembre scorso, col salire dell’inflazione, i prezzi degli alimentari freschi per i cittadini sono cresciuti del 5,5% rispetto allo stesso periodo 2025, i prezzi riconosciuti agli agricoltori sono drammaticamente crollati: -50% per l’olio extravergine d’oliva, -30% per le susine, -25% per albicocche e uva da tavola, -24% per il latte crudo sfuso. E il delta tra i prezzi di vendita sul campo e al dettaglio è violento: le carote pagate 0,28 euro al chilo sul campo vanno a 1,46 euro al chilo sulla tavola (+421%); l’uva da tavola da 0,58 euro al chilo a 2,99 euro (+416%); le melanzane da 0,62 a 2,75 euro (+344%); le pesche da 0,74 a 2,88 euro (+290%). Allora quando ci si scandalizza di fronte ai sussidi pubblici destinati all’agricoltura – che comunque per la prossima PAC sono previsti in diminuzione del 15-20% perché si preferisce investire nella guerra – si deve anche aver chiaro che quei soldi continuano a fluire verso poche grandi aziende: l’80% dei finanziamenti va al 20% dell’agricoltura. Viene premiata l’agricoltura industriale fortemente meccanizzata, quella ipertecnologica che ha sempre meno bisogno di esseri umani, quella intensiva che non può permettersi la biodiversità perché la sua religione è “l’efficienza” della monocoltura, quella che genera paesaggi agrari semplificati, quella più diffusa in Pianura Padana dove secondo il “Bird Farmland Index” la popolazione di uccelli degli ambienti agricoli, al 2025, è diminuita del 50% rispetto al 2000, mentre la media nazionale si attesta al -33%.

Se ne avvantaggiano le grandi multinazionali e i grandi gruppi della distribuzione e dei trasporti che controllano semi, fertilizzanti e pesticidi di sintesi, meccanizzazione e logistica, lasciando le briciole, quel residuale 20%, all’80% dell’agricoltura italiana, fatta di aziende di piccola e media scala. Cioè a quell’agricoltura che realmente presidia i territori, che contrasta il dissesto geologico, quella più adatta alle terre collinari e montane che sono il 70% del territorio nazionale, quella in cui i contadini abitano sui terreni che coltivano e hanno tutto l’interesse che quei luoghi siano salubri e tutelati. Scrivono gli attivisti Slow Food dalla Campania: “Negli scaffali dei supermercati vuoti non c’è carne, pasta, verdure fresche, uova. Però, mentre assistiamo a tutto questo, nei mercati rionali si trova frutta e verdura prodotta localmente e una prima riflessione da farsi è sulla fragilità di un sistema logistico che può paralizzare un paese intero perché ‘totalitario‘, mentre la produzione e commercializzazione dei prodotti locali continua nonostante tutto”.

A distribuire i fondi pubblici in maniera così poco lungimirante sono le istituzioni politiche, costituite da persone che noi stessi scegliamo per rappresentarci. Alla politica chiediamo responsabilità: cioè capacità di risposta. Ma servono risposte lungimiranti, sagge, non solo emergenziali e non solo di reazione. Una politica che si accontenta del consenso ricavato dalle concessioni ottenute nell’immediato abdica al suo dovere di costruire le condizioni per una trasformazione diffusa della società tutta. Per noi è scoccata da molto l’ora di pianificare strategicamente un sistema alimentare che sia buono pulito e giusto per tutte e tutti. Per noi non esiste un momento migliore di questo per bandire la fame e lo spreco di cibo che, nel modello attuale, vanno a braccetto. Per noi era già ieri il giorno più giusto per iniziare a costruire, invece che inficiare, il futuro delle nuove generazioni!

Non serve far la voce grossa di fronte al disagio diffuso di tanta Italia: le rivendicazioni emergono da gruppi diversi – agricoltori, camionisti, studenti- ma è unica la domanda di cambiamento e come tale va letta. E come tale va trattata: trasformandola in un progetto collettivo. Quando una parte della popolazione percepisce la propria esistenza come una promessa tradita, quando si arriva a considerare il proprio futuro una sfida quotidiana di sopravvivenza, quando si sente di non aver niente da perdere, all’interno di una società che adotta diffusamente un linguaggio, un pensiero, un modello relazionale e una cultura violenta, l’espressione di quel disagio sarà a sua volta violenta.

Serve invece l’onestà di prendere atto, serve l’umiltà di ascoltare, serve la ferma volontà di capire e infine il coraggio di agire. Di cambiare finalmente strada, perché questa va verso il baratro, ormai è chiaro a tutti. Soltanto la biodiversità ci consentirà di adattarci agli effetti della crisi climatica: va sostenuta una produzione alimentare resiliente, in armonia con gli ecosistemi, non energivora, che tutela la salute degli esseri umani e del Pianeta. Senza una immediata transizione agroecologica e al contempo sociale, il nostro sistema alimentare sarà vulnerabile e sempre più in balia delle multinazionali e degli interessi del mercato. La nostra agricoltura perderà ma soprattutto noi perderemo definitivamente la nostra agricoltura. E la coesione sociale. I nostri contadini, e i nostri giovani, saranno sempre più disperati.

Ma la situazione attuale è il risultato di scelte e decisioni che possono e devono essere cambiate: tutte e tutti noi dobbiamo pretendere che ciò accada e che finalmente il bene comune a lungo termine, e non la legge del più forte che si impone nell’immediatezza, sia la stella polare che determina le decisioni che ci riguardano.

L'articolo Agricoltori in piazza, la crisi che va oltre il caro-gasolio. Serve l’umiltà di ascoltare e cambiare strada – La trave nel piatto proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Gli agricoltori difficilmente si allontanano dalle aziende e dai campi. Se lo fanno è solo per ragioni molto serie. Pertanto, quando i contadini vanno in piazza, rovesciano in strada il frutto del loro duro lavoro, portano i trattori in tangenziale, stanno disperatamente chiedendo di essere visti e ascoltati. Quando la gente piange, angosciata perché non sa come fare a pagare i conti del mese, come sostenere la propria famiglia, pagare le rate del trattore, offrire un futuro ai figli, significa che il vaso è colmo. Trabocca. La trave nel piatto è che non si tratta solo del caro gasolio, non solo del blocco dello stretto di Hormuz, non solo della crisi climatica e ambientale, non solo della siccità, non solo della perdita di fertilità del suolo, si tratta di una crisi strutturale a cui finora nessuno ha saputo dare risposte.

I camion e i trattori bloccano gli snodi stradali spesso senza essere organizzati dalle sigle sindacali, ma spontaneamente: le storie che ne emergono sono autentiche e toccanti. Una tra tutte, quella di chi si presenta con l’asino invece che col trattore perché non ce la fa più a mantenere nemmeno quello: il fieno per nutrirlo costa ormai 45 euro a balla. Ma, più diffusamente, Cia – Agricoltori Italiani- certifica che mentre a settembre scorso, col salire dell’inflazione, i prezzi degli alimentari freschi per i cittadini sono cresciuti del 5,5% rispetto allo stesso periodo 2025, i prezzi riconosciuti agli agricoltori sono drammaticamente crollati: -50% per l’olio extravergine d’oliva, -30% per le susine, -25% per albicocche e uva da tavola, -24% per il latte crudo sfuso. E il delta tra i prezzi di vendita sul campo e al dettaglio è violento: le carote pagate 0,28 euro al chilo sul campo vanno a 1,46 euro al chilo sulla tavola (+421%); l’uva da tavola da 0,58 euro al chilo a 2,99 euro (+416%); le melanzane da 0,62 a 2,75 euro (+344%); le pesche da 0,74 a 2,88 euro (+290%). Allora quando ci si scandalizza di fronte ai sussidi pubblici destinati all’agricoltura – che comunque per la prossima PAC sono previsti in diminuzione del 15-20% perché si preferisce investire nella guerra – si deve anche aver chiaro che quei soldi continuano a fluire verso poche grandi aziende: l’80% dei finanziamenti va al 20% dell’agricoltura. Viene premiata l’agricoltura industriale fortemente meccanizzata, quella ipertecnologica che ha sempre meno bisogno di esseri umani, quella intensiva che non può permettersi la biodiversità perché la sua religione è “l’efficienza” della monocoltura, quella che genera paesaggi agrari semplificati, quella più diffusa in Pianura Padana dove secondo il “Bird Farmland Index” la popolazione di uccelli degli ambienti agricoli, al 2025, è diminuita del 50% rispetto al 2000, mentre la media nazionale si attesta al -33%.

Se ne avvantaggiano le grandi multinazionali e i grandi gruppi della distribuzione e dei trasporti che controllano semi, fertilizzanti e pesticidi di sintesi, meccanizzazione e logistica, lasciando le briciole, quel residuale 20%, all’80% dell’agricoltura italiana, fatta di aziende di piccola e media scala. Cioè a quell’agricoltura che realmente presidia i territori, che contrasta il dissesto geologico, quella più adatta alle terre collinari e montane che sono il 70% del territorio nazionale, quella in cui i contadini abitano sui terreni che coltivano e hanno tutto l’interesse che quei luoghi siano salubri e tutelati. Scrivono gli attivisti Slow Food dalla Campania: “Negli scaffali dei supermercati vuoti non c’è carne, pasta, verdure fresche, uova. Però, mentre assistiamo a tutto questo, nei mercati rionali si trova frutta e verdura prodotta localmente e una prima riflessione da farsi è sulla fragilità di un sistema logistico che può paralizzare un paese intero perché ‘totalitario‘, mentre la produzione e commercializzazione dei prodotti locali continua nonostante tutto”.

A distribuire i fondi pubblici in maniera così poco lungimirante sono le istituzioni politiche, costituite da persone che noi stessi scegliamo per rappresentarci. Alla politica chiediamo responsabilità: cioè capacità di risposta. Ma servono risposte lungimiranti, sagge, non solo emergenziali e non solo di reazione. Una politica che si accontenta del consenso ricavato dalle concessioni ottenute nell’immediato abdica al suo dovere di costruire le condizioni per una trasformazione diffusa della società tutta. Per noi è scoccata da molto l’ora di pianificare strategicamente un sistema alimentare che sia buono pulito e giusto per tutte e tutti. Per noi non esiste un momento migliore di questo per bandire la fame e lo spreco di cibo che, nel modello attuale, vanno a braccetto. Per noi era già ieri il giorno più giusto per iniziare a costruire, invece che inficiare, il futuro delle nuove generazioni!

Non serve far la voce grossa di fronte al disagio diffuso di tanta Italia: le rivendicazioni emergono da gruppi diversi – agricoltori, camionisti, studenti- ma è unica la domanda di cambiamento e come tale va letta. E come tale va trattata: trasformandola in un progetto collettivo. Quando una parte della popolazione percepisce la propria esistenza come una promessa tradita, quando si arriva a considerare il proprio futuro una sfida quotidiana di sopravvivenza, quando si sente di non aver niente da perdere, all’interno di una società che adotta diffusamente un linguaggio, un pensiero, un modello relazionale e una cultura violenta, l’espressione di quel disagio sarà a sua volta violenta.

Serve invece l’onestà di prendere atto, serve l’umiltà di ascoltare, serve la ferma volontà di capire e infine il coraggio di agire. Di cambiare finalmente strada, perché questa va verso il baratro, ormai è chiaro a tutti. Soltanto la biodiversità ci consentirà di adattarci agli effetti della crisi climatica: va sostenuta una produzione alimentare resiliente, in armonia con gli ecosistemi, non energivora, che tutela la salute degli esseri umani e del Pianeta. Senza una immediata transizione agroecologica e al contempo sociale, il nostro sistema alimentare sarà vulnerabile e sempre più in balia delle multinazionali e degli interessi del mercato. La nostra agricoltura perderà ma soprattutto noi perderemo definitivamente la nostra agricoltura. E la coesione sociale. I nostri contadini, e i nostri giovani, saranno sempre più disperati.

Ma la situazione attuale è il risultato di scelte e decisioni che possono e devono essere cambiate: tutte e tutti noi dobbiamo pretendere che ciò accada e che finalmente il bene comune a lungo termine, e non la legge del più forte che si impone nell’immediatezza, sia la stella polare che determina le decisioni che ci riguardano.

L'articolo Agricoltori in piazza, la crisi che va oltre il caro-gasolio. Serve l’umiltà di ascoltare e cambiare strada – La trave nel piatto proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

• I followed Ina Garten's recipes for pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie to see which I liked best. 
• The pecan pie tasted like a cocktail, and the apple pie was shockingly simple to throw together.
• I ended up with extra pumpkin-pie filling, but Garten's buttery crust was the real winner. 

I cook and bake a lot, but I'm not a huge fan of making pies. I sometimes struggle to create a buttery, flaky crust, and my fillings don't always have the right texture.

So, I decided to sharpen my skills using three approachable and delicious-sounding recipes from Ina Garten.

Here's how my day of baking went as I attempted to make Garten's pecan, pumpkin, and apple pies.

Before I could make each pie, I had to prep the crust.

I've followed a few Garten pie recipes before, and I remember liking her easy-to-make crust. That memory held true.

I needed to make four crusts: a bottom and top for the apple pie, and one crust each for the pumpkin and pecan pies. It only took me between 10 and 15 minutes.

Garten uses a food processor for her "perfect pie crust," which makes prep easy. I divided the dough into two batches, and I could already tell from the look and feel that the crusts would be buttery and delicious.

With all of the dough resting in the fridge, I was ready to start tackling the individual pies.

I started with the easiest recipe: the maple-pecan pie.

Garten's maple-pecan pie has just 10 ingredients, excluding the crust.

I was excited to taste the combination of maple syrup and bourbon with the pecans. And I liked that she included some fresh orange zest to cut through the richer ingredients, like corn syrup and honey.

The filling smelled incredible while it was baking.

To make the pie, all I had to do was whisk the filling ingredients — minus the pecans — together.

Then I simply added the nuts and gave it a final stir before pouring the filling into the prepared pie crust.

I put the pie in the oven for just under an hour.

To ensure I got an evenly cooked crust, I turned the pie halfway through the bake.

The process was easy, and I loved the enticing smells coming from the oven as it baked.

I was pretty impressed with my first pie.

The flavors of the pecan pie reminded me of an old-fashioned cocktail, thanks to the bourbon and orange.

But the pecans ended up a little chewier than I would've liked. If I make this pie again, I'd probably toast the nuts first for a better texture.

It tasted good, but I should’ve let it firm up in the fridge before serving.

Despite letting the pecan pie fully cool before slicing into it, the pieces fell apart on me.

Next time, I think I'd let it chill in the fridge before serving so the filling can firm up more.

Garten’s pumpkin-pie recipe included a homemade rum whipped cream.

I moved on to making Garten's pumpkin pie.

I was intrigued by some of the ingredients in the filling, like orange zest and rum, but most were pretty standard, including pumpkin purée, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

I was most excited to make the accompanying rum whipped cream.

It sounded like a delicious, indulgent addition to the homemade pie, with ingredients such as crème fraîche or mascarpone and a dark rum.

For this pie, I needed to bake my crust twice.

First, I rolled out one of my crusts and placed it in a pie tin.

Unlike the other two recipes, this one required me to blind-bake the crust before adding the filling. I found some dried lentils and rice to use as pie weights to keep it from puffing up too much.

This first bake helped prep the crust for the liquid-y filling, but it also meant the edges got a little darker by the end than I'd hoped.

I ended up with way more filling than I needed.

The pumpkin filling was easy to make as I just had to whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

I made way more filling than I needed for the pie crust, so I set it aside in hopes I could find a way to use it later. (My partner had a fun idea to use the filling to make pumpkin-pie custards in ramekins.)

The crust may have been darker than I wanted, but the pie was still delicious.

Despite the slightly overdone crust, Garten's pumpkin pie turned out great in terms of both taste and texture.

The filling was sweet but not too sweet, and the subtle hint of orange helped balance the custard's richness. The texture of it was smooth and creamy.

The pie had a perfect custardy texture and a sturdy, buttery crust

The crust was flaky and buttery, yet sturdy enough to hold the weight of the pumpkin filling. Each slice came out of the tin without crumbling.

The rum whipped cream was a unique companion to the pumpkin pie. I liked it much better than regular whipped cream.

Finally, I started on Garten's apple pie.

I saved the most intimidating pie for last.

I've made apple pies many times before, but I was still worried about whether the top crust would turn out right and if the filling would soften enough by the time the crust was done baking.

Garten's recipe for deep-dish apple pie calls for Granny Smith apples, which tend to be more sour and tart than sweet. The filling also called for both lemon and orange juices and zest, plus plenty of spices.

With all of those ingredients and only a ½ cup of sugar in the filling, I was worried the pie might not be sweet enough.

All my worries went away pretty quickly.

The filling was easy to make after I finished peeling, coring, and chopping what felt like 100 apples. The recipe called for 4 pounds!

The dough for my crust was very easy to roll out and transfer to the tin, thanks to the butter and vegetable shortening. It made easy work of assembling the pie.

I couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked, both before and after baking.

After adding my top crust, I cut slits for ventilation, brushed it with an egg wash, and sprinkled it with sugar, per Garten's instructions.

I let the pie bake for about an hour. Afterward, the top crust was golden and looked and smelled incredible.

The crust was definitely the tastiest part of this apple pie.

Garten's apple pie was pretty tasty, but the crust was by far the best part.

The extra sugar sprinkling on top gave it a sweet flavor and crunchy texture. It was so delicious I could eat it on its own.

However, I wasn't the biggest fan of the filling's flavor.

The filling was decent, but it had a little bit too much citrus for me.

I was glad the apples softened well without becoming mushy, but I think I'd precook them a little bit more next time. That would hopefully help concentrate the apple flavor and keep the filling from shrinking so far away from the top crust.

I also might sub some of the tart apples for a sweeter variety, as the combination of the Granny Smiths and citrus made for a pretty tart pie.

All of the pies were good, but I was actually most impressed by Garten's crust.

In the end, all of the pies I made using Garten's recipes turned out pretty good, and they were easy enough to make in one day without breaking a sweat.

I like that she adds citrus zest to each of these pies to really boost their flavors and give them a freshness. The rum whipped cream that went with the pumpkin pie was also delicious, and I think it would pair really well with the pecan pie, too.

However, my favorite part of all three recipes was the pie crust.

It was quick and easy to make, and it worked well with all the different fillings. I'll be using this crust for all my pies moving forward.

This story was originally published on November 19, 2023, and most recently updated on October 29, 2026.

• Meal options aboard Amtrak trains can be hit-or-miss.
• A dessert by a small Delaware bakery quickly became my favorite menu item while traveling.
• Frank & Louie's buttercake has an online cult following among Amtrak travelers.

I've spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours traveling on Amtrak, and, like anyone who travels regularly enough by train, I can tell you that the food isn't always particularly showstopping.

But one menu item during a recent long-distance trip wowed me more than some fine-dining desserts.

In fact, it made my nearly $1,000 first-class ticket worth it — and I'm far from the only one obsessed with the unique regional dessert.

I've traveled long-distance on Amtrak many times, and the food isn't always my highlight

Most of the time, I travel by coach, so I eat little else than whatever snacks I pack and maybe Amtrak's $5 hot dog that I find weirdly enjoyable aboard the train — perhaps the only time I would find a microwaved bun at all appetizing.

On the coach café, microwaved burgers and hot dogs offer a sufficient warm meal if you don't care for anything other than survival and perhaps the novelty of train dining.

On the other hand, the first-class dining car offers much better alternatives, though not particularly worth the $1,000 travel upgrade. While some routes offering flex dining allow passengers to buy a breakfast, lunch, or dinner pass for $20, $25, or $45, respectively, the upcharge isn't always worth it depending on travel plans.

The buttercake dessert on a recent trip changed my opinion on the train dining options

During a June trip from Washington, DC, to Chicago, while traveling in a first-class roomette, I enjoyed the better dining options in the first-class dining car.

After my lunch, the server asked whether I'd like to have dessert. The two options were a brownie and a buttercake. Having tried the brownie on a prior trip, I went with the buttercake, although I wasn't too sure what the name exactly described.

What arrived at my table was a warm, rich, gooey, very sweet, and buttery custard-filled shortcake. I was beyond wowed by it.

After a couple of delicious bites, I looked online to see if other riders felt as passionately about the dessert as I had.

They certainly did.

The dessert is only regionally available on certain routes and has an online cult following

As soon as I looked it up, I encountered an online cult following for the dessert, which is only offered on certain train routes and has limited availability off the tracks.

Frank & Louie's, the manufacturer of the buttercake, is a small family-run Italian bakery and retailer in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Apart from the train routes and a couple of locations in Delaware, the business also sells the buttercakes online, although they can only be ordered by the case. The minimum order you can place is 60 frozen buttercakes, which comes to $299 after shipping and handling.

In May, Amtrak posted an exciting, all-caps message to all buttercake lovers announcing the dessert would now be available aboard the Northeast Regional route. Online users report that the cake is usually available on routes like the California Zephyr, the Crescent, and the Empire Builder.

Aside from the many grams of sugar in the dessert, the buttercake competes in taste with some of the best fine-dining desserts I've tried.

Next time I travel on Amtrak, I might have to plan my route around finding this regional dessert again — or maybe just plan a trip to Delaware.

Porto has been named Portugal’s best destination for plant-based food, narrowly beating Braga and Lisbon in a new national ranking – while the Algarve also performed strongly, with three destinations

The post Porto tops Portugal’s plant-based food ranking, Algarve claims three top-six spots appeared first on Portugal Resident.

• Wendy's was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas, a former KFC employee.
• He named his burger restaurant after his daughter, Melinda "Wendy" Thomas.
• Some fans claim a secret message is written in the Wendy's logo.

Wendy's could be undergoing major changes.

When Wendy's opened in 1969, its menu had just five items: burgers, Frosties, fries, chili, and soft drinks.

More than five decades later, the chain has grown into the nation’s second-largest fast-food burger brand based on sales, according to QSR Magazine.

Now, Wendy’s could be headed for another major change: a potential acquisition.

On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trian Fund Management, which is owned by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, and its partners offered $1.4 billion, or $7.35 per share, to buy Wendy’s and take the company private.

The proposal is still under review by a special committee, so no acquisition has been finalized, but it would mean a major shake-up for the burger chain.

Here are 9 things you probably never knew about Wendy's.

Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas, worked for KFC and the real Colonel Sanders before opening his own fast-food chain.

Before opening his own franchise, Dave Thomas worked as a head cook at a Hobby House restaurant, a chain that would eventually become Kentucky Fried Chicken.

During his time working for the company, Thomas helped improve brand recognition and encouraged Colonel Harland David Sanders to appear in more commercials.

This strategy, along with the design of the iconic red-and-white-striped fried chicken bucket, helped grow KFC's popularity.

Thomas was sent to Columbus, Ohio, to revitalize a few failing KFC franchises, turn them around, and sell them back to Sanders for a big profit, the Greensboro News & Record reported. He used this newfound cash to start his own franchise: a hamburger chain named Wendy's, inspired by his inability to find a good burger during his years in Columbus. 

The first Wendy's opened in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969 with just five items on the menu.

The first Wendy's restaurant opened at 257 East Broad Street on November 15, 1969. By that time, there were already two major players in the fast-food burger industry: McDonald's, which opened its first franchise in 1955, and Burger King, which was founded in 1954.

The chain still stands as the second-largest fast-food burger chain in the US.

Wendy's was different from the other two chains in that it served square-shaped burger patties and chocolate shakes called "Frostys."

Apart from the burgers and Frostys, there were only three other items on the first menu: french fries, soft drinks, and chili.

You might already know that Wendy's is named after Dave Thomas' daughter, but her given name is actually Melinda.

Melinda "Wendy" Thomas was just 8 years old when her father founded Wendy's, and he already had a vision for how she would become the brand's mascot.

Inspired by Sanders' success as the face of KFC, Thomas decided to create a similar image for his brand. 

"He wanted a character, because he worked for the Colonel at Kentucky Fried Chicken and knew how much that persona mattered," Wendy Thomas wrote in a blog post for the company in 2019. "He said, 'Wendy, pull your hair up in pigtails.' So, I did. He got his camera and took pictures of me and my sister and said, 'Yep, it's going to be Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers.'"

"That was it," Thomas continued. "There was no marketing research, no nothing. Just boom. That's it."

One photo of Thomas wearing a blue-and-white-striped dress with her red hair in pigtails became the ultimate inspiration for the chain's logo. While the logo has been altered slightly over the years, the overall idea has remained the same.

Wendy's restaurants used to have their own salad bars where you could completely customize your salad.

Salad bars were added to restaurants in November 1979, and they were popular among customers throughout the 1980s.

However, as more diners opted for drive-thru and carry-out service, salad bars were phased out in favor of more portable salad options. 

Wendy's serves about 300 million Frostys every year.

Wendy's chocolate Frosty is arguably one of the chain's most famous and popular menu items. Introduced as one of five menu items when the chain first opened in 1969, Frostys were only available in chocolate until 2006.

That all changed when the chain launched its vanilla Frosty.

According to a Wendy's press release from 2006, the chain serves about 300 million Frostys every year.

Wendy's changed the fast-food industry with the introduction of its pick-up window.

While other chains have claimed to have invented the drive-thru, Wendy's says it changed the fast-food industry when it introduced its own pick-up window in November 1970.

The window was originally referred to as a "drive-in window" but was renamed "Pick-Up Window" to better reflect the chain's quick-service model. 

According to Wendy's, "This innovation was so revolutionary that customers needed instructions on how to talk through the speaker to place an order."

Wendy's was the first fast-food chain with fewer than 1,000 restaurants to have its own national TV commercial.

According to the company's website, in 1977, Wendy's became the first fast-food chain with fewer than 1,000 restaurants to air a national commercial.

Wendy's now has around 6,000 restaurants nationwide.

One Wendy's advertisement from September 1976, presumably a local commercial, featured an animated Wendy and dancing hamburgers. In the commercial, the cartoon characters described how Wendy's "old-fashioned" hamburgers were cooked to order: "Your choice down at Wendy's, where quality is our recipe!" 

Clara Peller, who starred in Wendy's famous "Where's the Beef" campaign, was reportedly let go after she shaded the company in a Prego ad.

Peller became one of the biggest names in fast food after she began starring in Wendy's commercials, shouting out the slogan, "Where's the beef?"

The first advertisement, which appeared in 1984, claimed that Wendy's hamburgers had larger patties than those of the chain's competitors.

The campaign was so popular that it led to a 31% boost in Wendy's annual revenue, according to the chain. However, things took a turn in 1985 after Peller appeared in a Prego commercial that implied she had "finally found" the beef she was looking for. 

"I'm sorry that the company that I worked so hard for does not want to use me in commercials anymore," Peller said in a statement through her attorney, according to The Sun Sentinel in 2006. 

"The commercial infers that Clara found the beef at somewhere other than Wendy's restaurants," William M. Welter, executive vice president of Wendy's International Inc., said in a statement. "Unfortunately, Clara's appearance in the ads makes it extremely difficult for her to serve as a credible spokesperson for our products."

Peller died at age 86 in 1987, just two years after the dispute.

Some people believe there's a secret message hidden in the Wendy's logo.

After Wendy's introduced its newly designed logo in 2013, a website author claimed to have found a secret message hidden inside Wendy's iconic blue-and-white dress.

ABC News reported that a posting on the website StockLogos.com pointed out that the word "mom" appeared to be hidden on Wendy's collar. Another website agreed, perhaps prompting the chain to issue a statement clarifying whether the hidden message was purely a coincidence or a ploy to get customers to associate Wendy's food with "Mom's cooking."

"We are aware of this and find it interesting that it appears our Wendy cameo has 'mom' on her ruffled collar. We can assure you it was unintentional," Denny Lynch, Wendy's former senior vice president of communications, said at the time.

• Protein products have been taking over grocery aisles, from popcorn to cereal.
• Yogurt is naturally protein-rich, but some brands offer products with added whey or plant protein.
• I ranked 11 different high-protein yogurts and thought Chobani, Ratio, and Oikos were the best.

Protein has entered every corner of the pantry as consumers aim to build or avoid losing muscle.

There's protein popcorn, protein cereal, and even protein water. If a food product did not already contain protein, it does now, thanks to gym bros, social media, and Ozempic.

Yogurt is naturally high in protein, but some brands are taking extra steps to ensure their yogurts — or dairy snacks, as some are labeled — have as much protein as possible.

To see if they actually taste good, I compared 11 different high-protein yogurts from my local store's dairy selection and ranked them from least favorite to top pick.

I ranked the yogurts based on taste and protein content. I considered any yogurt with over 12 grams of protein per serving — the equivalent of two eggs — to be "high-protein."

Other brands, like Fage, also offer vanilla-flavored high-protein yogurts, but I only ranked ones I could find at my local store in New York City.

Do we really need to be this obsessed with protein? Probably not. But if you're looking for easy ways to help meet your nutrient goals — or you just want a delicious-tasting snack — here's how some of the top brands of high-protein yogurts compare.

11. Too Good Blended

Cost: $1.99 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 80 calories

Protein: 12 grams

Too Good Blended is marketed as a low-fat, low-sugar yogurt; it contains 2 grams of each. A container costs $1.99, an average for single-portion yogurts.

It has 12 grams of protein, equivalent to two eggs.

To me, Too Good Blended tasted chalky.

Upon opening the cup, it smelled tart, and I could see vanilla bean powder in the yogurt, suggesting the flavoring was on the more natural side.

However, I thought the taste seemed artificial. The texture was a bit runny, even though the yogurt had some separated whey that needed to be mixed in. Even though it was a bit liquid, this yogurt felt dry and had a grainy texture.

To me, it tasted like chalk.

Rating: 3/10

10. Too Good Zero Sugar

Cost: $1.99 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 70 calories per container

Protein: 13 grams

Also from the Too Good brand, Too Good Zero Sugar offers a similar yogurt, minus the 2 grams of sugar in the Too Good Blended.

With 5.4 calories per gram of protein, this yogurt is the best of the 11 I tried for people looking to increase their protein intake while staying low on calories.

I thought Too Good Zero Sugar wasn't much better than Too Good Blended.

Despite its favorable nutrient values, Too Good Blended was nowhere near my favorite in this ranking.

Compared to some of the other yogurts, it was tartier, runnier, and more artificial-tasting. Although I didn't love the taste, it was still better than Too Good Blended's.

Rating: 4/10

9. Chobani Greek Yogurt

Cost: $1.99 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 110 calories per container

Protein: 12 grams

My go-to before this experiment was Chobani Greek Yogurt, a staple nonfat Greek yogurt. While I enjoy this regularly, after comparing it to so many options, I was surprised to see it rank so low in my ranking.

The yogurt has one of the highest sugar contents in the experiment, at 9 grams per container, tied with Icelandic Provisions and Siggi's. It is also the least protein-efficient for those looking to stay low on calories while increasing protein intake. It has over 9 calories per gram of protein, which is higher than any other protein in this ranking.

Chobani's Greek Yogurt almost tasted like spoiled milk.

This tastes like Greek yogurt, big time. Intensely tartier than the rest, the combination of Chobani's Greek yogurt with its very mild vanilla flavoring almost tasted like spoiled milk to me.

It was also very runny, which I don't always look for when grabbing a yogurt for a stand-alone snack — as a granola bowl base, however, I do prefer to go for something a bit more liquidy. Of course, this comes down to personal preference.

While it used to be my go-to option, I think I'd rather go for some of the other options I tasted.

Rating: 5/10

8. Yoplait Protein

Cost: $1.79 for 5.6 ounces

Calories: 100 calories per container

Protein: 15 grams

Yoplait's Protein yogurt offering was the most surprising to me, nutrients-wise. Being the cheapest of all 11 I tried, the yogurt packs a solid 15 grams of protein while having 3 grams of sugar.

It's also a larger size, at 5.6 ounces per container, so in terms of volume, you get the most bang for your buck.

Yoplait Protein surprised me.

I was skeptical about how Yoplait's Protein yogurt would stack up — I typically consider it a traditional yogurt brand rather than a protein-focused snack. But I was pleasantly surprised.

When I opened the cup, I was instantly hit by a strong vanilla scent that reminded me of ice cream.

While the texture was both thick and airy, it was also a bit grainy, and I thought the yogurt tasted a little artificial and bland compared to some of the other brands.

So while I probably wouldn't seek it out over others on this list, it's still a good snack option.

Rating: 6/10

7. Oikos Triple Zero

Cost: $1.99 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 90 calories per container

Protein: 15 grams

Oikos' Triple Zero name tells you everything you need to know: The snack has zero sugar, zero artificial sweeteners, and zero fat.

It's the only one on this list with both zero sugar and zero fat.

It is also one of the more protein-efficient options at 6 calories per gram of protein.

Despite its nutrient values, Oikos Triple Zero didn't wow me.

Oikos Triple Zero had one of the most unique flavors of the yogurts on this list. When I opened it, I was immediately hit by a slightly funkier smell than some of the other yogurts.

After mixing the yogurt, which had separated a bit, the Oikos Triple Zero had a very rich and full texture. Its vanilla flavoring tasted different than some of the others on this list — it almost seemed smokier.

While I rated it the same as the Yoplait Protein, its nutrient values gave it a boost for me, hence why it's ranked higher.

Rating: 6/10

6. Siggi's Skyr

Cost: $2.39 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 110 calories per container

Protein: 16 grams

Another of my usual go-tos, Siggi's nonfat Skyr — a type of strained yogurt — had some of the highest sugar content on the list, tied with Chobani Greek Yogurt and Icelandic Provisions.

The yogurt is also on the more expensive side at $2.39 for a regular 5.3-ounce container.

Siggi's Skyr was very different from some of the less-yogurt-y options.

Flavored with a visible vanilla bean, Siggi's Skyr had the best vanilla flavor of all the yogurts I tested. While it was very tart and not sweet at all — which surprised me since it had 9 grams of sugar — the vanilla flavor still shone through.

In terms of texture, Siggi's reminded me a lot of ice cream, both in appearance and in feel.

I'll buy this again, but out of the 11, it didn't make my top five.

Rating: 7/10

5. Dannon's Light + Fit

Cost: $1.89 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 80 calories per container

Protein: 12 grams

Dannon's Light + Fit yogurt was my favorite discovery from this experiment. Having never heard of it before, I was impressed by this nonfat yogurt, which packs 12 grams of protein in 80 calories.

While it does have 7 grams of sugar, I found that the flavor in this yogurt justified it.

Even with very low calories, Light + Fit was still tasty, and I really liked its texture.

Dannon's Light + Fit's texture was one of the most memorable. As the name says, this yogurt is indeed light. It was much airier than all the others, which also made it a bit runny.

It was also very sweet, almost falling into the category of dessert-adjacent yogurts that I would put Ratio's in.

Rating: 8/10

4. Oikos Pro

Cost: $2.79 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 140 calories per container

Protein: 20 grams

Oikos' higher-protein yogurt offering, Oikos Pro, is a much more protein-dense offering, having 20 grams of protein in a 5.3-ounce container, or a little more than three eggs. The yogurt also has 0% fat and 3 grams of sugar.

It is also, however, one of the most expensive, at $2.79 for a regular 5.3-ounce cup. It's tied with Ratio for the most expensive in this ranking, being a full dollar more than some of the other options.

Oikos Pro is a perfect post-workout snack.

When you open a cup of Oikos Pro, you smell mild vanilla, which translates into a very tasty yogurt with a flavor that stays on your tongue longer than others.

The texture was also very rich and moist, while not being runny.

This texture also made it the most filling of the yogurts I tested, and it would make for the perfect post-workout snack.

Rating: 8/10

3. Icelandic Provisions

Cost: $1.99 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 130 calories per container

Protein: 15 grams

While not labeled as a high-protein yogurt, Icelandic Provisions' Skyr has 15 grams of protein, placing it in the medium-high tier among yogurts.

It's tied with Chobani and Siggi's for the highest sugar content, with all three at 9 grams.

Icelandic Provisions was one of my favorites.

Icelandic Provisions is a skyr yogurt like Siggi's. It is similar in taste and texture, but I found it a bit sweeter and less tart, with a nuttier flavor, which I really enjoyed.

This rich, full-flavored yogurt was one of my favorites out of the 11.

Rating: 9/10

2. Ratio Protein

Cost: $2.79 for 5.3 ounces

Calories: 170 calories per container

Protein: 25 grams

With a whopping 25 grams of protein — nearly as much as half a chicken breast — Ratio Protein had by far the most protein content of all the products I tested. It was also the most expensive, tied with Oikos Pro at $2.79 a cup.

The product, labeled as a "yogurt-cultured dairy snack" rather than yogurt due to the added vegetable-based fats in its recipe, is also the most calorie-dense, with 170 calories per cup.

While the Ratio recipe does not meet the FDA's definition of yogurt, its fermented nature, dairy components, and use of yogurt cultures earned it a spot on my list.

I will be looking to Ratio next time I need a quick protein-dense snack.

Ratio Protein differs from the others in this list. Its taste is much milder, and it lacks the signature tartness of Greek yogurt.

The texture was also quite unique — I could best describe it as gooey. It's runnier and smoother than the rest, and its taste stays on your tongue for much longer.

To me, this just felt like dessert, and I easily forgot that I was having a meal's worth of protein.

While I gave this and the Icelandic Provisions a 9/10, the protein content and unique flavor and texture made me rank Ratio higher.

Rating: 9/10

1. Chobani Protein

Cost: $2.39 for 6.7 ounces

Calories: 140 calories per container

Protein: 20 grams

Coming in at No. 1 is Chobani Protein, which has 20 grams of protein in a larger 6.7-ounce cup. While it's larger, its calorie content is in line with other yogurts in this ranking, like Oikos Pro, which has the same amount of protein. Like Oikos, Chobani Protein has about the same protein content as a 3-ounce can of tuna.

While the individual cup is pricier per unit, the larger size makes it cheaper per ounce, comparable to Dannon's Light + Fit.

Chobani Protein is one of three zero-sugar yogurts in this ranking, the others being Oikos Triple Zero and Too Good 0 Sugar.

Chobani Protein was by far my favorite.

I was a fan of Chobani Protein before coming into this test — the high protein content and name recognition frequently earned it a spot in my fridge — but I entered this experiment ready to find a new favorite.

I didn't.

Although some of the other yogurts I tasted were surprising and very enjoyable, I still found Chobani Protein to be the best.

It is rich, thicker, and very filling. It has a hint of the signature Chobani Greek yogurt taste while skipping much of the tartness. I enjoyed the taste it left in my mouth the most out of all of the yogurts.

The only downside to this favorite is its slightly artificial taste from the zero-sugar sweeteners used to keep its sugar content low, but if you can move past that, you'll have an amazing post-workout bite or on-the-go snack at your disposal.

Rating: 10/10