Good morning, it’s Thursday.
On a whim today, I googled “can you inherit taste from your parents” and discovered two fascinating facts:
- Your DNA dictates the number of taste receptors on your tongue and some genetic variants can make you receptive or highly sensitive to certain foods – you’ve probably heard of so-called “supertasters“, who have a higher density of taste buds and therefore experience tastes (especially bitter foods) extra intensely.
- What your mother consumes while you’re in utero can set your baseline food preferences after birth. Flavors are absorbed by babies through amniotic fluid.
Your palate does develop over time, and so your DNA doesn’t have the final word on taste. Whatever you’re exposed to growing up is likely to inform your food preferences. You can influence your palate through exposure and over time, likes and dislikes can change, which is why we aren’t all limited as adults to consuming little more than chicken fingers and french fries.
I’ve written before about some of the limitations my mom placed on me, food-wise, while growing up. I wasn’t allowed a lot of sugar or processed food, because she as far ahead of her time. We also traveled quite a bit when I was young, living in Israel and Japan, most notably, which I’m sure helped instill an early love of Middle Eastern and Asian flavors that I still have today.
When it came to so-called “forbidden” or just generally less healthy foods, I usually ate them with my dad. This included some things that were a no-no in a kosher household – like pepperoni pizza. I also learned from him to love chocolate – especially chocolate covered peanuts and raisins, which were a big favorite of his.
But when it came to snacking, above all else my dad loved potato chips. He always kept a bag of them around and was pretty traditional in his choices – Wise original in the blue bag. I distinctly remember the iconic owl logo, which has been updated from a sort of stylized thing to a more cartoon-like character.
Dad ate these pretty religiously and I followed suit, though these days if I’m going to indulge – and I don’t often – I prefer ridges and I like to add them to my sandwiches, especially tuna or chicken salad. Classic. Apparently, sandwiches made JUST with potato chips is also a thing, and may or may not have its roots in Ireland, but I haven’t ever tried this.
The potato chip origin story is complicated. The City of Saratoga Springs long claimed the title as home to the invention of the crispy, fried version of spuds back in 1853, but that story has since been debunked as an urban legend. We do know, however, that the first mass produced potato chips were made in Ohio by an entrepreneur named William Tappenden.
As an aside, today is NOT National Potato Chip Day, which falls on MARCH 14, not today, MAY 14. But since I’ve gotten this far down the rabbit hole, I think I’m just going to leave things as they are and call it (ahem) a day. I am missing out on Underground America Day as a result, which is a little sad, but there’s always next year.
Another really not great day is on tap, weather-wise, with rain – potentially heavy at times – in the forecast for the bulk of the day, coupled with unseasonably cool temperatures with highs reaching only into the mid-50s. Looking ahead, though, we’re in for a serious weather roller coaster, because I’m seeing some highs in the 80s and even the 90s on tap…typical upstate spring.
In the headlines…
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, delivered a warning on Taiwan to President Trump as the two leaders began their summit in Beijing on yesterday, saying that the issue, if handled poorly, could lead to conflict and “an extremely dangerous situation.”
Some experts argue the U.S.’s focus on the Middle East — including the munitions it has used in Iran — could make it more difficult to prepare for a potential confrontation with China.
Trump signaled in his opening remarks at the bilateral meeting in Beijing on Thursday local time that he wants to do business with China and emphasized his friendship with Xi.
Trump finally got a new Federal Reserve chair after the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the central bank’s next chair in a largely party line 54-45 vote. His allies aren’t so sure he’ll get his interest rate cuts any time soon, though.
Only Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania crossed the aisle to vote in favor of Warsh’s nomination. It was the most partisan vote for a Fed chair nominee in history.
The U.S. government has started to refund some of the roughly $160 billion collected from tariffs that the Supreme Court deemed illegal, plus interest, turning what was once a prized windfall for President Trump into a liability on the federal balance sheet.
The Senate blocked Democrats’ seventh attempt to halt the war in Iran, as Republicans banded together almost unanimously to beat back the first such effort since Trump blew past a 60-day deadline to seek congressional authorization to continue the fighting.
Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Democrats to roll back several policy changes made under Trump to the nation’s consumer protection laws, ranging from how medical debts are collected to overdraft fees and military consumer protections.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said yesterday that he quietly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-U.S. war with Iran. But the UAE later denied any secret visit had occurred.
Florida may have violated the Constitution when it donated a valuable property in downtown Miami for President Trump to build a presidential library that is likely to include for-profit businesses, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Miami.
The Trump administration will withhold $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid payments from California, Vice President JD Vance announced, saying the state had failed to combat fraud in the public health insurance program.
Midsize U.S. cities held steady in population over the past year, even as the national population grew at one of the slowest rates in history, according to new numbers released today by the Census Bureau.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said LIRR commuters should plan to work from home if the train service shuts down for a strike. Five unions representing a majority of the rail workforce could walk off the job as soon as Saturday.
As the deadline before Long Island Railroad workers strike nears, Hochul is facing pressure to step in.
The MTA’s lead negotiator said a deal to avoid a strike was within reach, as the transit agency put a $134 million offer on the table that would pay workers “all of the money that was requested,” and that the unions have budged from their previous demands.
The campaign of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who is facing his first primary fight in his nearly 20 years in the job, announced it is engaging a $2.1 million digital and television ad campaign, which will run across New York through the June primary.
New York State’s daily legal weed sales topped $5 million for the first time in history, new data showed — but experts estimated illicit sales could be a whopping 10 times higher.
New York lawmakers are clashing with powerful business interests for a third straight year over legislation that would require less packaging for products, ban the use of certain chemicals and raise new revenue for municipal recycling.
Several state lawmakers are making a late push to pass bills regulating some of the biggest names in technology before the legislative session ends next month, focusing on topics such as artificial intelligence and social media.
The U.S., Canada and Mexico are figuring out how to stage a World Cup together. New York and New Jersey can’t.
Shakira, Madonna and BTS will headline the first halftime show at a World Cup final, FIFA announced, in a meshing of Latin, pop and Korean music that reflects the global community of soccer fans.
A slate of projects to revitalize Valley Stream’s downtown got a $10 million boost with the award of a state grant yesterday, while Patchogue landed $4.5 million to strengthen a link to its waterfront, during Hochul’s visit to Long Island.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial plan to open city-owned grocery stores is set for an explosive City Council hearing – as a new, immigrant-led business group is building a $1 million-plus war chest to oppose it.
Mamdani is urging the state’s top financial regulator to block Western Union’s $500 million deal for Intermex, a money transferrer that mostly services immigrants sending remittances back to Latin America.
In a letter to the state Department of Financial Services, Mamdani argues that a combination of the companies, both large players in New York City, could lead to higher fees and worse service for customers.
A group of 13 unions are pressuring New York City Council members not to override Mamdani’s veto of the controversial “educational facility buffer zone” bill.
Critics pushed back on Mamdani’s proposed city budget as it emerged he planned to cut $1 million from veterans services and events including a ticker-tape parade for former service men and women.
Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer of New York-based financial giant Blackstone, met with Mamdani at City Hall in a closed-press sit down described as “productive.”
Mamdani announced a slate of changes aimed at at expediting the construction and leasing process for affordable housing.
Assembly Member Micah Lasher, who is running for an open House seat in Manhattan, has enlisted a top progressive consulting firm with ties to Mamdani and one of his top advisers Morris Katz to cut ads for his campaign.
Julie Menin, the City Council speaker, and Shaun Abreu, a councilman from northern Manhattan, will each introduce bills geared toward curtailing surveillance pricing.
Harvey Weinstein took a turn for the worse yesterday, complaining of chest pains as a Manhattan jury began deliberating whether he was guilty of raping actress Jessica Mann at a Midtown hotel.
A man who rammed his car into the global headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish movement in January pleaded guilty to federal charges of damaging religious property.
More than a week after he was placed on a ventilator, unable to breathe on his own, the former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani addressed the public last night, returning to the airwaves and saying that he felt “100 percent.”
A Chinese American living in the Bronx was convicted by a federal jury on charges that he ran an unofficial “police station” in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government.
A former New York judge was arrested and accused of defrauding investors of millions of dollars, including by acting as a lawyer who offered fake investment opportunities in New Jersey real estate.
NYU student government leaders are objecting to Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and author, as the graduation speaker at Yankee Stadium — calling it “deeply unsettling” — and in a letter, asked university officials to reconsider before the ceremony.
New York Metro Weather, which is run by meteorologist John Homenuk, said on social media that “a significant warmup is heading for NYC starting this weekend, and it could continue into next week as well.”
An NYPD chief has been transferred after agreeing to give the city back thousands of dollars he was paid for hours he never worked.
Was a bear roaming around Regent Street in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday? The state Department of Environmental Conservation didn’t find one, but says that it wouldn’t be unusual at this time of year.
After six years, the overnight Clover Patch camp for children with disabilities, nestled in the woods by a river in Glenville, and closed because of the pandemic, is reopening.
A state Supreme Court judge is allowing the family of a victim of the 2018 limo crash in Schoharie to amend their wrongful death lawsuit against Mavis Discount Tire, which did brake work on the vehicle in the months before the disaster that killed 20 people.
For 11 years, Kathryn Zox was the “Voice of God” for UAlbany’s outdoor undergraduate commencement ceremony. She is passing the mic to Alyssa Lotmore, community engagement and philanthropic officer in UAlbany’s College of Integrated Health Science.
For the second time in a week, Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford was questioned on his proposed changes to development rules to allow for demolition of historic homes in the architectural district and weaken the Design Review Board’s authority.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
