Read any book or blog about saving money and stopping eating out is usually the first recommendation. It's difficult to get exact statistics about eating out, but the National Restaurant Association says that in the US, 24% of meals are eaten out of the home.So does this mean that 76% of meals are good, healthy and wholesome home cooking?

One of the main dangers when cooking chicken is the risk of salmonella

"I have six kids and cannot risk their health on a product such as Totino's pizza and General Mills inability to inform the public of a recall in a timely manner," says Tracy S. "As a mother I have placed my children in danger every time I cooked a pizza for them and fed them this deadly bacteria, E. coli."

I have been asked whether Dane Cook is as deadly as AIDS, or as dangerous as breast cancer, or as emotionally crippling as autism. That I cannot answer. Let history be the judge. Is there no justice in the world? Not when Dane Cook continues to make movies.

I was brought up surrounded by food, and I quickly learned that having “seconds” was a compliment to the cook. It was also a privilege. People are usually surprised by the amount of food I can pack in without seeming to gain a pound. I am, in fact, underweight.

Surströmming ("soured (Baltic) herring") is a northern Swedish delicacy consisting of fermented Baltic herring. Surströmming is sold in cans, which when opened release a strong smell. Because of the smell, the dish is often eaten outdoors. However, opening the can under water somewhat lessens the smell, as well as keeping the person opening it from getting soaked in brine, as the fermentation often builds up a considerable pressure inside the can.The herring is caught in spring, when it is in prime condition and just about to spawn. The herring are fermented in barrels for one to two months, then tinned where the fermentation continues. Half a year to a year later, gases have built up sufficiently for the once cylindrical tins to bulge into a more rounded shape. These unusual containers of surströmming can be found in supermarkets all over Sweden. However, certain airlines have banned the tins on their flights, considering the pressurized containers to be potentially dangerous. Species of Haloanaerobium bacteria are responsible for the in-can ripening. These bacteria produce carbon dioxide and a number of compounds that account for the unique odor: pungent propionic acid, rotten-egg hydrogen sulfide, rancid-butter butyric acid, and vinegary acetic acid.One proposed explanation of the origins of this method of preservation is that it began long ago, when brining food was quite expensive due to the cost of salt. When fermentation was used, just enough salt was required to keep the fish from rotting. The salt raises the osmotic pressure of the brine above the zone where bacteria responsible for rotting (decomposition of proteins) can prosper and prevents decomposition of fish proteins into oligopeptides and amino acids. Instead the osmotic conditions enable the Haloanaerobium bacteria to prosper and decompose the fish glycogen into organic acids, giving it the sour (acidic) properties.Historically also other fatty fish, like salmon and whitefish, have been fermented not unlike surströmming, and the original gravlax has resembled surströmming.