The Straight-Shootin' Julia

I stumbled on this YouTube clip of Julia Child from a 1995 interview in which she briefly talks about McDonald's french fries and how much she used to like them. That is, until the fast-food chain stopped frying them in animal fat -- "they've been kind of limp ever since," she opined.

I agree. I remember McDonald's french fries from the early 1970s, and they were crisper and tastier back then.

While I'm taking you on a nostalgic journey with Julia, I should mention that if you want to watch old episodes of "The French Chef" (the PBS series that introduced her to millions of Americans), you can access such episodes via this link at Philadelphia radio station WHYY.

If you happen to be visiting the nation's capitol, you can visit the kitchen that Julia Child cooked in for over 40 years. It's housed within the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Where the Meat Is Safer

From a food safety standpoint, this is pretty depressing news. From an article in today's USA Today:

In the past three years, the government has provided the nation's schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn't meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants, from Jack in the Box and other burger places to chicken chains such as KFC, a USA TODAY investigation found.

. . . McDonald's, Burger King and Costco, for instance, are far more rigorous in checking for bacteria and dangerous pathogens. They test the ground beef they buy five to 10 times more often than the USDA tests beef made for schools during a typical production day.