Cravings: Basalt goes black, practice proper chicken handling

BASALT GOES BLACK

Basalt restaurant in Waikiki delivers drama via the color black in baked goods from dinner rolls to bao buns.

The most striking is the pancake stack — jet black with a topping of black-tinged mascarpone and whipped cream. Berries and a guava-strawberry sauce provide a bold red contrast.

What a conversation starter if you could make them at home, eh? And you can, using a handy mix sold at the restaurant. Just add an egg, some buttermilk and butter.

Charcoal powder provides the color, but no taste. “It just makes them look sexy,” spokesman Lance Rae said.

Charcoal is credited with health benefits, although the science on that is unproven. It is said to absorb toxins in the body — sort of the way a charcoal filter removes impurities from water — and thus could do such good deeds as improve digestion and lower cholesterol.

The restaurant’s charcoal pancakes have been a favorite since it opened in 2017, so popular that breakfast hours had to be extended to 2:30 p.m., chef Keith Kong said.

The mix makes six 6-inch pancakes, but I made smaller ones and got twice as many. They turned out with a nice, soft texture and not too sweet. The only problem was that some tasters were expecting chocolate and felt betrayed.

The mix sells for $6, only at Basalt, at Duke’s Lane Market & Eatery, 2255 Kuhio Ave. Basalt’s charcoal-tinged pan de sal dinner rolls are also sold there, for $4 for four.

— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser

DON’T RINSE THAT CHICKEN!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is warning against rinsing raw poultry.

The results of a study released last week showed that in 60 percent of cases, bacteria from poultry remained in the sink after washing or rinsing. Bacteria remained in 14 percent even after the sinks were cleaned. And 26 percent of participants transferred bacteria from the raw poultry to lettuce washed in the sink later.

“The public health implications of these findings should be of concern to everyone,” Dr. Mindy Brashears, the USDA’s deputy under secretary for food safety, said in a statement. “Even when consumers think they are effectively cleaning after washing poultry, this study shows that bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and foods. The best practice is not to wash poultry.”

Also important to note, however, is that even in cases where poultry was not washed or rinsed, 31 percent of participants still managed to get bacteria from the raw poultry onto their lettuce. The USDA attributes this to cross-contamination when hands, sink and utensils were not properly cleaned.

The USDA suggests:

>> Prepare foods that will not be cooked, such as salads, before handling raw meat or poultry.

>> Sanitize any surface that potentially touched raw meat or poultry, or their juices. Use hot soapy water and then a sanitizer.

>> Wash hands immediately — scrubbing for 20 seconds — after handling raw meat or poultry.

For more food safety information call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 888-674-6854, or go to AskKaren.gov.