You've seen the headlines: Parmesan cheese made from sawdust. Lobster rolls containing no lobster at all. Extra virgin olive oil that isn't. Fake foods are in our supermarkets, our restaurants, and our kitchen cabinets. Award-winning food journalist and travel writer Larry Olmsted exposes the pervasive and dangerous fraud perpetrated on unsuspecting Americans. Real Food/Fake Food brings readers into the unregulated food industry, revealing the alarming truth: what we think we're eating is not what we're really eating. Olmsted examines how this shocking deception extends from high- end foods like olive oil, wine, and Kobe beef to everyday staples such as coffee, honey, juice, and cheese. It's a massive bait and switch where counterfeiting is rampant and where the consumer ultimately pays the price. But Olmsted does more than show us what foods to avoid. A bona fide gourmand, he travels to the sources of the real stuff, to help us recognise what to look for, eat, and enjoy. Genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy, fresh-caught grouper from Florida, authentic port from Portugal. Real foods that are grown, raised, produced, and prepared with care by masters of their craft. Part cautionary tale, part culinary crusade, Real Foold/Fake Food is addictively readable, mouth-wateringly enjoyable, and utterly relevant. Larry Olmsted convinces us why real food matters.
“Do not take another bite or swallow another sip of anything before reading Real Food / Fake Food.”*
“It's unnerving that so many people don't know what authentic olive oil or port wine tastes like because they've been undersold on some offshoot knockoff and no one is raising a flag--until now.” —Ming Tsai, author, chef, and host of PBS’s Simply Ming
“Larry Olmsted’s meticulously researched tour de force is chilling for what he uncovers about the food industry.” —Dan Dunn, author of American Wino: A Tale of Reds, Whites, and One Man’s Blues
“This is the health equivalent of Ralph Nader's exposé Unsafe at Any Speed. The content blows the doors off the kitchens.” —*Michael Patrick Shiels, author of Invite Yourself to the Party
Where's the Kobe Beef?: More than 99.9 percent of the so-called Kobe beef sold in this country is Fake.
Parmesan-Gate: Most Parmesan cheese sold in the United States, grated or whole, cheap or expensive, is Fake.
The Restaurant Scam: Restaurants can claim any food is “organic” or “dry aged,” “heritage breed” or “wild caught.” Even names of farms and types of fish are misrepresented to justify higher prices.
The Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Racket: Though widely considered the healthiest fat, 75 to 80 percent of the extra-virgin olive oil sold in this country is Fake, and some is even dangerous.
The Sushi Fraud: DNA testing was used to compare the fish that menus offered with the actual species brought to the table in New York City sushi restaurants. In the largest study, 100 percent of the restaurants had lied.
The Seafood Swap: A third of the seafood sold in this country is intentionally mislabeled.
