lperry

I think this is my personal bias with terminology. I study ancient foodways, and "processing" in the archaeological record is an activity that brings a tool in contact with an animal or plant food. Cutting an apple is "processing" it with a knife. Cooking is also "processing." I think of foods with things removed and replaced as "refined" which denotes a different sort of processing. I have not been using my own terminology consistently here, and I apologize for that. So to summarize, very little food is eaten "unprocessed" by human activity, but the change to refined foods is quite new in our history. I was particularly struck by the quotes "mainlining glucose" and the assertion that our food is essentially "predigested." I couldn't help but remember an old Saturday Night Live where a skit portrayed a restaurant where the servers chewed the diners' food for them.

I think he was deliberate in his "simplified argument" so that it would be in contrast to the thousands of contrary and confusing health claims that bombard us every day. I also find his arguments both sensible and doable, and I don't often see that in other proposals. I also commend him for taking the light a candle approach while so many just curse the darkness. It's too complicated, food culture is so ingrained, he didn't address this topic or this one or this one. Are some of the comments meant to be ironic, or do people genuinely expect a single article in the NYT magazine to answer all our health problems in one go? Here's my two cents - Kudos to Mr. Pollan for starting the discussion with a few sensible suggestions.

AND MOVE A LOT! The traditional diets did not exist in a vacuum, they were (and are) tied to hard, physical labour. I thought about this as well, and I think that he is picking his battle. He gets enough flak for being "the food police." Exercise too? That's crazy talk. -L (who, for the record, ran 20 miles this week.)

I agree with you on this one. I'm pretty sure "natural flavor" in the ingredients list means "crack." If this change was due to health issues, then you are illustrating one of Pollan's main points exceptionally well. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to read to the end of the article. If you have more time, you can read that he is not maligning a single food, but is concerned about our general food lifestyle and its resulting health, social, and economic effects. He even argues that studies about single foods and nutrients are part of the overall problem. I thought this article was a pretty balanced look at the different issues with food science, politics, and the way we eat. Edited for spellage.

OK, I checked out the thread you are referencing, and yikes ! Far be it from me to suggest that anything should ever be required. It might, however, prove helpful. Moving right along, back in grad school I took a class entitled the Anthropology of Food. One of the topics we discussed was how the American diet has become focused on various compounds and vitamins rather than on "food." I found this discussion particularly salient because I had once been accused by a boyfriend of eating "ingredients" instead of "food." Food to him was something opened with scissors or a can opener and subsequently microwaved. In that vein, and, perhaps, because I'm nosy, I often sneak peeks at the carts of various shoppers in Whole Foods type markets. The very name of the store indicates that there is a rejection of processed foods, yet a great deal of what I see in carts (there are, of course, exceptions), is boxed, packaged, processed food, albeit "organic" and "whole grain." I leave stores, in contrast, with a bag full of "ingredients." Based upon much of what I read on these boards, most eGulleteers are in that category. So therein lies the interesting issue for me. There seems to be a backlash against processed foods, particularly among people of the middle and upper classes. Yet there also seems to be a need, perceived or otherwise, for "convenience" above and beyond, for example, freshness or home cooked meals, things that I hold in high esteem. The few people that I have asked about the organic and whole grain packaged items deny that they are eating processed foods. They consider them "whole foods," just as the sign outside reads. So is the problem a lack of time to cook? A lack of prioritization of quality food? Is my microcosm representative of yours? It's all very curious.

Pollan presents a history of how and why we began eating "nutrients" instead of "food." He then distills all the evidence into a few basic concepts, and a single take home message.... Link Interesting, I think. -L

You want the Ball Blue Book. It explains all the processes and why you need to do them, lists supplies and shows you how to use them, and it has charts with cooking times for just about everything. It also has a lot of old recipes that are hard to find. My copy dates from the 1950s! Happy canning, -L

Meyers are fantastic. I did a two liter jar last year and the remainders are now in my refrigerator. (There was a long thread somewhere about the refrigeration issue, so I erred on the side of caution.) -L

Cheap reds take well to being mulled with spices and a bit of fruit juice. You can also make sangria with more fruit components than usual and it will be drinkable. I've made agar gelled salads with sweet wines with good success. At least your friends are trying! -Linda

Don't thank me yet, I may have been wrong about pectin content . The blueberry recipes I have all call for a kilo of fruit, 800 grams of sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice. If you cook this mixture to 10 degrees above boiling, it should jell without added pectin. It would be my guess that a huckleberry will be easier to jell because it is more acidic. At least they tasted more acidic when I was a kid. And you can just weigh the whole frozen mass and chuck it into the pot with the sugar and lemon. I've done it many times. Blackberries and such are the low pectin berries, and you can add homemade "pectin" (basically apple jelly) to help them get a good set. Green apples off a neighbor's tree have served me well. The ratio from Ferber's book is 1.5 kilos of apples cut into quarters, 1 kilo of sugar, a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1.5 liters of water. You make this just like you make other jelly by cooking the fruit in the water, extracting the juice, then cooking the juice with the sugar and acid components to the jelly point. Hope this helps and good luck, -L

I've made lots of blueberry jam, and you can make it from frozen berries. The large amount of sugar is probably to counteract the near absence of pectin in the berries. I assume there is lemon juice added as well? Both these things are necessary to make the jam jell properly. If you are feeling adventurous, you can add homemade pectin (from apples) to help jell the jam. -L

Did you have time to read the thread I linked above? It really does help. Cal, or slaked lime, is not used to make masa arepa but is used to make masa harina. Masa arepa is precooked with heat. The Venezuelans on the thread explain it very well. It also links to a nice blog entry. I work in Venezuela and will be there again in February. Areperias here I come! -L

It really isn't all the same. Masa harina is not precooked. Masa arepa is. Here's another link to the food network. Arepa recipe and explanation of masa arepa. I think part of the confusion is that some people who do not have access to arepa flour substitute masa harina. Corn cakes made from masa harina will be delicious, but they will not be authentic arepas. You need this product or one similar: Harina PAN at Latinmerchant.com. Another source of confusion is that both maize products tend to be translated as "corn flour" or "corn meal." Hope this helps. -L

Just to make sure you get what you need for arepas, you do not want masa harina, you want masa arepa. The most common brand is P.A.N., although Goya makes one too. I think the Goya is yellow. Here's a thread that helps explain. Click. -L

I've never used muslin, but cheesecloth works great. Because the tin seals, I don't think you need to worry about a moisture barrier to keep the cake from drying out, although you may want to line the tin with parchment so the metallic taste doesn't leach into your cake (voice of unhappy experience). -L

I've sprouted them just like you described - let them go just until they send out the first root. Except for soybeans that can mold very easily, I think that everything can be sprouted with a soak and rinse regimen. Lentils are good too. I'm afraid I lack recipe ideas. I just throw them in green, potato, and pasta salads. I've never cooked them, although now I'm wondering if I should. -L

I baked my fruitcake yesterday using Alton Brown's "Free Range Fruitcake" recipe from Food TV. I really like this one because there is just enough batter to hold together the fruit. I calculated the volume of fruit and use what I like (as suggested above). Plus, my fruit macerated for about six weeks this year. It got rum bath #1 last night, and I'll continue to feed it for a week or two. Hopefully it will be mellow enough by Christmas. -L

Score at the Harris Teeter on Duke Street!!!!! Thanks so much for the tip - they have lots of things that I have been wishing I could find. I just never went in because it's out of the way for me, but now I know it's definitely worth the trip!

These look an awful lot like arepas, a corn-based round bread made in northern South America. I suppose it is easier for most Americans to find grits in the store. They do sound good!

I will admit, you have to shop around. More times than not I have gone through an entire tasting in a small winery only to purchase a t-shirt instead of a bottle of wine. However, there are some good ones out there that do compete with wines from the west and win medals (that are usually prominently displayed.) Tarara winery is one that's close to DC that has some good wine that is, I will concede, pretty pricey. I had a nice chambourcin at the Shenandoah winery this summer, however, that I recall was very reasonable. In comparison to Europe, the American wine industry is very young, particularly outside of the west coast. It also had to pull itself back up after prohibition. Then there is the added difficulty of marketing wine varietals with names that are not immediately recognizable. It's going to be a tough climb for these guys, and I want to support them. When I go to a local winery, I'm not looking for the best bottle of wine I can buy. I go to have a lovely experience with friends while supporting local winemakers. I like buying a bottle of wine directly from the hands of the person who crafted it. This may or may not appeal to you. If it doesn't, then don't do it. Head to Total Wine and buy something that you will like. Then maybe you won't be so cranky.

Thanks for posting this- I spent a semester on sabbatical at the University of Missouri in Columbia and went to the Blufftop Bistro several times. *Pause for moment of nostalgia.* I thought the chef did a really nice job of pairing the food with the wine. Then, of course, there's that incredible view. You can even get there on the Katy rails-to-trails bike path. It's great to hear they are still around.

That counts, but you don't get as many points as someone who lives in, say, North Dakota or Florida.

It seems so strange that pumpkin access could be limited. My Grandmother had volunteer plants in her yard every year and couldn't give all the pumpkins away! I've never bought a can of pumpkin (although I have eaten pies made with canned....). -L

Oh dear. I think that these people did not have a good pumpkin. I agree with Abra's suggestions for sugar pie or sugar baby. I always roast them cut side up. This technique may take care of the "watery" problem. Maybe we need a pie bakeoff?

Bake it. And yes, it will be worth the effort. When you are finished with the pumpkin, try a sweet potato pie with roasted sweet potatoes. You'll never buy another can. L