5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

A wine is a terrible thing to waste.

And with a little know-how from Jordan Salcito, the wine director of Crown Restaurant in New York City and creator of Bellus Wines, you too can learn to read between the lines - and vines - to get the most out of every pop of the cork.

Five Questions to Demystify Wine: Jordan Salcito
FULL POST

Tsukiji market, on the often-neglected Tokyo waterfront, is the largest wholesale fish market in the world, as well as one of the busiest - and most visited - food markets anywhere.

The main part of the market is open to visitors from 9 a.m., leaving the earlier, hectic trading period solely to the professionals the market caters for - apart, that is, from a handful of public observer spots that are usually snapped up before the sun rises.

Whatever time you go, keep an eye out to avoid the many electric delivery carts and, as the signs on the market walls warn, don't go when you have a cold, don’t wear sandals and keep the flash on your camera in the off position

Read the full story on CNNGo: Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market in action

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• This breaking news just in from the EU: prunes are not laxatives. - The Telegraph

• From burgoo to kissing crust, 50 words every food enthusiast should have in their vocabulary. - Huffington Post

• One woman's journey to turn her home kitchen back into sacred territory. - Hungry for the Truth

• Old McDonald had a farm? McDonald's is now advertising their food as farm-to-table. - Nation's Restaurant News

• 100 million Americans will pay someone else to cook for them on New Year's Eve. - Eater

Where did the iconic Santa Claus imagery we have all come to know - red suit, pleasantly plump, flowing white beard, rosy cheeks - come from? Turns out, Coca-Cola's advertising program was more than a little helper in the modern interpretation of Saint Nick.

Eatocracy talked with Phil Mooney, the Coca-Cola Company's Vice President for Heritage Communications (also known as the “in demand Santa man”), to get the lowdown on the how the jolly man came to life.
FULL POST

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

It's the most wonderful time of the year - December 15 is National Cupcake Day!

If you're Christmas cookie-d out and weary of holiday decorating, treat yourself to a cupcake tree, with gobs and gobs of creamy frosting on top. Now, that's our kind of tree trimming!

Nothing says the holidays like baking up a batch of cupcakes and sprinkling them with seasonal sprinkles and sugar. Crumble candy canes on top of your peppermint cupcakes or make them into snowman sculptures - you can be even more creative here than you can with cookies!
FULL POST

Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
FULL POST