‘Everything tastes better’: Guardian readers on their culinary discoveries of 2020

From turning up the heat with exotic chillies to the ubiquitous and ultimately rewarding rise of sourdough, readers share their ingredients of the year

Discovering – or rediscovering – the joy of cooking has been one of the few bright spots of a year spent largely at home. We asked 43 of Australia’s leading chefs, cookbook authors and bloggers to share their favourite ingredient of the year. Their answers ranged from the humble and comforting (flour, mince, red lentils) to ingeniously umami (kombu, chilli bean curd, prawn oil), with native Australian ingredients also making many a No 1 spot (wattleseed, karkalla, cunjim winyu).

Now it’s our readers’ turn to share their finds.

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Yotam Ottolenghi’s Boxing Day recipes for using up Christmas leftovers

Boxing Day BLT, veg samosas with cranberry sauce, and Christmas pudding eccles cakes with marzipan – stylish ways to use up excess food

The thing about Christmas day, as no one’s stomach needs reminding, is that there is always so much food. It is, however, a truth universally acknowledged that the whole point of cooking a great big bird – not to mention enough vegetables to feed twice as many people as are actually eating them – is to be able to enjoy the leftovers the day after. For all the ceremony, and the focus on the food served at the right time in the right place at the right temperature on Christmas Day, does anything, truly, beat the likes of a soft-bun sandwich filled with all the good bits? Gravy sauce for dipping into (and a sofa for sinking into) optional.

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Add vitamin D to bread and milk to help fight Covid, urge scientists

Widespread deficiency shows that current government guidance on supplements is failing

Scientists are calling for ministers to add vitamin D to common foods such as bread and milk to help the fight against Covid-19.

Up to half the UK population has a vitamin D deficiency, and government guidance that people should take supplements is not working, according to a group convened by Dr Gareth Davies, a medical physics researcher.

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New Products – Hormel launches Skippy PB & Jelly Minis; Nestle takes…

New Products - Hormel launches Skippy PB & Jelly Minis; Nestle takes Maggi into UK noodle pots; GreenSpace Brands rolls out plant-based dairy range This week, the more eye-catching new products announced to market include Unilever rolling out a vegan version of its Hellmann's mayonnaise in the UK and Nestle taking its Asian-inspired Maggie snacks into noodle pots. US manufacturer Hormel Foods is combining its Skippy PB peanut butter with fruit flavoured jellies in a new baked snack product launch Skippy PB & Jelly Minis.

‘Worthless’ Subway ‘Footlong’ sandwich settlement is thrown out: U.S. court

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday threw out a class-action settlement intended to resolve claims that the Subway sandwich chain deceived customers by selling "Footlong" subs that were less than a foot long. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago called the settlement "utterly worthless," even as it rewarded the customers' lawyers for convincing Subway it was better to make the case go away than fight.

Study finds city’s south side is a food desert

The lack of a major grocery store and having fewer convenience stores nearby makes Warren's southside neighborhoods more food insecure than the rest of the city, according to a recently released study by Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership. Examining 91 items from a U.S. Department of Agriculture thrifty food plan survey list, stores on the city's southeast side did not have 68 percent of the items, according to a study on food access conducted by TNP over the past year.

Age-related macular degeneration could be arrested by switching to low-glycemic diet, study finds

A study in mice finds that development of age-related macular degeneration could be arrested by switching from a high-glycemic diet to a low-glycemic . For the same amount of total carbohydrate, high-glycemic diets release sugar into the blood stream more rapidly than low-glycemic diets.

Miami’s Little Havana has been named a ‘National Treasure’

Little Havana is a place where many of us grew up and for me, the source of the fondest memories of my life: Visiting the "Army/Navy" store on Calle Ocho and then having churros across the street; riding my bike to Shenandoah pool; eating pan de gloria from the bakery across the street from the Wing Ditsy ; playing basketball at Brian park; Kung Fu movie double features at the Tower Theater; riding my bike down 27th avenue all the way to the Grove; eating freshly baked Cuban bread from Ayesteran; bowling at the Coliseum; block vs. block street football games on 10th street; the marzipan from Perezsosa Bakery.

Mind the Food Gap: Who Does Farm-to-Table Serve?

She explains that the restaurant she and her partner opened in the renovated mill at the center of Saxapahaw's development boom, the one they describe as a "central gathering place for the community," aims to build a model that's economically viable for everyone - including farmers and their staff. "We're here supporting the locals, and they come in and support us," she says.