Morsels from the editor's desk

In the past week, two friends have announced they're off sugar. Given one is a surgeon and the other glowing with gym-fuelled health, you tend to notice what they do (actually, the surgeon's detox is aimed rather wider, taking in alcohol, caffeine and dairy as well). Also, both are men, and men, I hazard, are less prone to diet fads.

Sugar does represent much that is bad – highly processed, white as death, nutrition-free and energy-dense – and it's easy to believe it's the one to avoid, along with bread, pasta and rice. We use coconut sugar and panela (the same as rapadura) because they seem minimally processed. But what is the deal with sugar?

The National Health and Medical Research Council is strengthening its warnings on sugar (despite fierce opposition from sugar-state Liberal National MP George Christensen), but they're still pretty unalarming. In its 2003 guidelines, the advice was to consume "only moderate amounts", mainly because of tooth decay and a possible link to obesity in children.

The new guidelines (eatforhealth.gov.au), to be released in February, are stronger. Limit intake of added sugar, they say. High sugar intake is "associated with some adverse health outcomes", and sugary drinks with weight gain and diabetes.

Sugar is not linked with cancer, the guidelines say, although obesity is. There is no evidence sugar has a role in attention deficit disorder, but there is a link with reduced bone strength.

Also, in 2012, we learnt of a study of 249 Canberrans by Dr Nicolas Cherbuin at the Australian National University, which found (as reported by news.com.au) that blood-sugar levels at the upper end of normal were enough to affect brain volume, in turn affecting memory and cognitive skills. He blamed sugary drinks and white flour, among other foods.

I'm with anyone who bans added sugar from their diet, mainly because it means you're buying fresh, raw ingredients. But there are probably other things that need to go first; alcohol is near the top of the list. The new guidelines say a drink a day (1½ or two for men) probably reduces your risk of heart disease, but probably also increases the risk of breast and bowel cancer (even at very low levels, one skinny champagne flute a day) and oesophageal cancer.

So with all those alerts, let's kick off the year with a glut of dessert recipes on one of our favourite topics, semifreddo.

Dine with Shakespeare

Flint in the Vines at Shaw Vineyard in Murrumbateman is giving away a double pass to Shakespeare in the Vines on Sunday, January 20, and a wine and cheese hamper, to a reader of Food and Wine. The show is Twelfth Night, from the Melbourne-based touring company, Essential Theatre (pictured is Don Bridges, playing Feste). You can eat in the restaurant before or after, with a two-course option from 4pm, or a three-course dinner afterwards. There are also cheese and antipasto hampers and a bar selling Shaw wines. Beanbags, too, we’re told, for lounging while you watch. Katie Dawson from Flint offers a double pass with a bottle of wine and a cheese platter (worth $135) to the first reader to emailfood.wine@canberratimes.com.au ("flint giveaway" in the subject line) after 6am and before 9am.

Ripe for the picking

The Banana Bag was suggested by the PR people as a gift idea for Christmas, which didn’t seem a majorly exciting prospect. But as something you might buy yourself, it makes more sense. We’ve had one for a year now and while it sits around annoyingly taking up space most of the time, at this time of year it comes into its own, since it does seem to be a good way to store bananas – keeping them away from other fruit so they don’t make everything around them over-ripen, and helping to keep bananas longer. How exactly? Not sure. The PR people say "exact insulation and air circulation", keeping the skin warm enough that it doesn’t blacken. Price is $9.95 from bananabag.com.au.

Balcony-growing workshop

The Canberra Environment Centre holds a workshop on balcony and small-space gardening tomorrow evening, January 17. The centre says many vegies grow well in pots, including leafy greens, tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers and beans. Free, 6pm-7pm, at the centre on the corner of Lawson Crescent and Lennox Crossing near the National Museum. You need to book, 6248 0885.