Caviar a health food? Not likely, though according to an article in today's Chicago Tribune, black foods could be the next culinary item to grab the palate of Americans who put healthfulness high on their list of dietary preferences.

Foods like black soy milk, black vinegar and black rice already have developed an enthusiastic following in Japan, ostensibly because their anti-inflammatory properties may offer protection against heart disease and cancer.

No mention is made of licorice, but we always can hope that studies eventually will show that we should be eating more of it than we already do.