Monthly Archives: July 2015

How To Make Chocolate | Lucky Peach

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It’s easy to forget that chocolate is a fruit. It’s born on a tree and undergoes several steps that transform the bitter, astringent seed into the rich, flavorful bars that we know.

Let’s take a little time to ponder the botanical story of chocolate and retrace the journey from its tropical origin. The cacao tree (officially, Theobroma cacao; theobroma translates as “food of the gods”), was classified in 1753 by Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus. The most recent genetic research points to the upper Amazon rainforests of South America—near present-day Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru—as its origin. It grows only within a narrow latitudinal band, between 20˚N and 20˚S of the equator. From its origins in South and Central America, cacao cultivation now spans the circumference of the globe within its tropical range. West African countries, namely Ghana and the Ivory Coast, currently provide about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa supply.

The cacao tree is fairly small, commercially bred to grow roughly 9 to 12 feet high. Like grape vines, cacao must often reach six to seven years maturity before producing a full yield of fruit. Its fruit, the cacao pod, develops from flowers that blossom directly from the trunk and thicker branches of the tree, reaching maturity in five to six months (thus sometimes allowing for two harvests per year). Each individual bean is comprised of an outer shell, the germ, and the nib. Conveniently, one pod’s worth of beans produces a 100-gram bar of chocolate.

via How To Make Chocolate | Lucky Peach.

 

The Science of Dry-Aging | Lucky Peach

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A little something from Harold Mcgee, one of the foremost food scientists out there…

This feature comes from “Lucky Peach #2: The Sweet Spot.” Pick up a subscription here.

Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are the building blocks of living things, but they don’t have much flavor in their natural state. They are bland to begin with. That’s why we cook them, why we season them, why we transform them—to make them more appealing to us.

But sometimes we can get our food to make itself more delicious, by treating it in a way that creates favorable conditions for the enzymes that are already in the food to work together in a certain fashion.

Enzymes are molecules that exist in foods—and in microbes intimately involved with food—that can transform those basic, bland building blocks. They’re nano-cooks—the true molecular cooks. Dry-aging, ripening, and fermentation are all processes that take advantage of enzymes to make foods delicious before cooking.

Most meat, by contrast, is prepared for the market very quickly. The animal is slaughtered, the various parts of the muscle system are separated and packaged, and then they’re distributed. That’s about it.

Dry-aging beef means that once the animal is slaughtered and butchered, portions of the carcass are allowed to rest in very carefully controlled conditions (cool temperatures with relatively high humidity) for a period of time—often several weeks, and sometimes up to a couple of months.

via The Science of Dry-Aging | Lucky Peach.

Bun Nation Under God | Lucky Peach

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Some background about the miraculous bun that makes every burger better.

This feature comes from “Lucky Peach #10: Street Food.” Pick up a copy here!

If you’re looking for something to eat and seeking retreat from the scorching heat of the street in Salmiya, Kuwait, you might find yourself ducking into Al Fanar Mall. And in that mall you might end up eating burgers at the Shake Shack. And as your teeth sink into the soft bun of a ShackBurger, you will think, Just like home.

via Bun Nation Under God | Lucky Peach.

A Philosophy of Herbs – The New York Times

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There are two ways of seeing herbs in error. In my gastronomic memory, the blunt and mostly bald symbol of the first way is the altruistic Signore Giocondo Cavaliere, of the village Amalfi, region Campania, population 5,428 (or so). On a blue May day, three other naïve Americans and I invited him, along with Gennaro, the chauffeur; Giulio, who ran the fish market; Nino, who staked the peas; and an assortment of others to lunch in the white stucco villa we were borrowing.

Things went well through the crisp toasts with oiled acciughe, blistered friggitello peppers from the garden. But when handed a bowl of spaghetti with peas, pancetta, pecorino and mint, Signore Cavaliere allowed a look of mild distress to nest on his damp brow. He twirled a few polite noodles around his fork in silence until, after several minutes, the rattled man had to unburden himself.

‘‘I understand,’’ he whispered directly into my ear, in slow and serious Italian, ‘‘that in America you cook … experimentally.’’ He paused. Our eyes met for a critical moment.

‘‘But here’’ — he waved to include the table, the loquat trees shadowing the high balcony, the citrus air, the deep sea — ‘‘we do not cook in such a modern way.’’

I admitted to him in honesty that I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

‘‘Mint!’’ he almost shouted at me. ‘‘Mint! Can’t be served with pasta!’’ I felt horrible for him, watching him redden. ‘‘Mint is for fish!’’ And his wet head fell into his hands.

via A Philosophy of Herbs – The New York Times.

From the Farmers’ Market to the Freezer – The New York Times

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When the Manhattan chef Marc Meyer opened Rosie’s in the East Village in April, reports focused on the Mexican restaurant’s upscale tortilla-making station in the middle of the dining room.

But the more interesting feature may be the one hidden in the basement — a walk-in freezer left behind by the building’s previous tenants.

“The minute I saw it, I thought, ‘I’ve got to be taking advantage of this,’ ” said Mr. Meyer, who over the next few months plans to fill it with seasonal fruits, tomatoes and tomatillos, all bought from local farmers at their lowest price and at their sun-ripened prime.

While dedicated home cooks buzz over pickling, canning and curing projects, Mr. Meyer has joined a growing number of chefs who are quietly employing another time-tested method of preservation: the freezer.

Other techniques rely on sugar, brine or bacteria to conserve foods, said the chef Paul T. Verica of Heritage Food & Drink in Waxhaw, N.C., but freezing doesn’t change the way things taste.

via From the Farmers’ Market to the Freezer – The New York Times.

N.C. Barbecue Restaurant Responsible for 216 Cases of Salmonella – Eater

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Those planning on grabbing some smoked meats in the barbecue-crazed town of Lexington, N.C., this week may want to steer clear of Tarheel Q. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, the barbecue joint is linked with a Salmonella outbreak that has affected 216 people to date, including a 20-year-old woman who is 27 weeks pregnant. That number includes people from 15 North Carolina counties and five different states.

The connection was made after the North Carolina Department of Health tested samples from the restaurant’s barbecue and a patient who had ingested its food, concluding both tested positive for Salmonella. Most of those who began experiencing symptoms dined at the restaurant between June 16 and June 21.

Not only did the restaurant have to close as a result, but it’s now facing seven separate lawsuits from customers who allege they became ill after eating there. Ron Simon, of Texas-based law firm Ron Simon & Associates, has filed six lawsuits on behalf of its clients and states, “The injuries range from pretty serious to serious enough to be hospitalized for several days.” Simon also confirmed plans to file more lawsuits in the near future.

Although the restaurant originally had plans to reopen on Sunday, it remained closed through Monday. While several diners were hospitalized, there have been no deaths in connection to the outbreak. The trouble comes a few weeks after a popular Charlotte restaurant was linked to several sick diners.

via N.C. Barbecue Restaurant Responsible for 216 Cases of Salmonella – Eater.

Greek villagers’ secret weapon: Growing their own food – Business Insider

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Ilias Mathes has protection against bank closures, capital controls and the slashing of his pension: 10 goats, some hens and a vegetable patch.

If Greece’s financial crisis deepens, as many believe it must, he can feed his children and grandchildren with the bounty of the land in this proud village high in the mountains of the Arcadia Peloponnese.

“I have my lettuce, my onions, I have my hens, my birds, I will manage,” he said, even though he can no longer access his full pension payment because of government controls imposed six days ago. “We will manage for a period of time, I don’t know, two months, maybe three months, because I also want to give to our relatives. If they are suffering, I cannot leave them like this, isn’t that so?”

The production of food and milk gives villagers in many parts of Greece a small measure of confidence — and a valuable buffer. But that doesn’t mean the financial cut-off doesn’t cause headaches. Some in Karitaina have to pay 40 euros in taxi fares to get to and from the nearest banks just to withdraw 60 euros, the maximum daily amount for those with bank cards.

The bus to Megalopoli, the town with the bank, was shut down — a victim of austerity. Many of those who used to drive are now too unwell to do so. The majority who live here are retirees, shrouding the town in eerie quiet broken only by the constant birdsong and the sporadic shouting of people arguing about the financial crisis at a vine-shaded café in the town square.

via Greek villagers’ secret weapon: Growing their own food – Business Insider.

 

Greece

Whole Foods Sued For Misleading Sugar Claims

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When it rains it pours:

Whole Foods is in trouble again.

The supermarket chain, still reeling from the revelation that it had systematically overcharged customers for packaged foods for years, is now facing a federal class-action lawsuit for using the term “evaporated cane juice” as a euphemism for sugar.

The plaintiffs allege that Whole Foods called sugar “evaporated cane juice” on the label of its Gluten Free All Natural Nutmeal Raisin Cookies in an attempt to make consumers believe that the cookies “do not contain as much sugar as they in fact contain.” Their suit was originally filed in a Missouri state court but is now before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

For a while, it seemed liked every food manufacturer interested in appealing to health-minded customers was citing “evaporated cane juice” on its ingredient label. It sounds healthier, and certainly more “natural,” than plain old “sugar” — even though there’s no actual difference between the two.

Whole Foods Sued For Misleading Sugar Claims.

DOH Announces Chilly Regulations About Freezing Raw Fish Before Serving – Eater NY

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It’s not all bad news, thankfully — tuna and shellfish are okay.

The New York Department of Health and Mental hygiene just announced new regulations that will require restaurants to freeze many types of fish for a minimum of 15 hours before serving them raw, to kill off bacteria. The Board of Health approved these regulations in March, and they will go into effect next month. Presumably, these new rules were change how a lot of restaurants — especially sushi bars and any places serving crudo or ceviche — store and prepare their fish. It will no doubt also inspire some major menu changes throughout the city, especially at the pricey fish restaurants.

As the Times points out, many high-end restaurants freeze their best fish as a safety precaution. Sushi Zen vice president Yuta Suzuki tells the paper: “We purposely deep-freeze at negative 83 degrees, and we use one of those medical cryogenic freezers.” The amount of time the fish should be frozen to meet the code depends on the temperature and the storage method. The NYT notes that shellfish, fresh-water fish, and “certain types of tuna” are exempt from the rule. And James Versocki, a rep for the National Restaurant Association, tells CBS: “Most grade sushi that restaurants serve are not impacted by this…You know your yellow and bluefin and tuna, they’re allowed to be served raw because they don’t generally have these parasites in them.”

DOH Announces Chilly Regulations About Freezing Raw Fish Before Serving – Eater NY.