Dante

oh- how wonderful! I've wanted to find info on a lot of these techniques for some time now. Thank you so very much for sharing this! Sincerely, Dante

No one complains that they can't eat Doritos because they're sensitive to MSG... ::grumblegrumble:: Yeah- I do find that rather annoying. Jeffrey Steingarten’s “It Must Have Been Something I Ate” has a nice chapter that largely debunks the MSG sensitivity myths. Rather like lactose-intolerance (the “in” food-related malady some years ago), many more people claim it than actually have it. The studies hardly ever get presented in full context because the scary stuff sells better. Ok, so I've had to really think about the gourmet/artisanal movement because I wrote a paper on the commodification and "artisanization" of beer in the United States for a final for one of my classes last semester. What a delightful topic! (I dont know how it is in other countries; Im only speaking from my experience and minor research). Always good to keep within your range of actual knowledge. Much of food has gone through a process of "democratization". This term, as used by Michael Schudson in Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion, refers to the process by which these products become standardized, reliable, and easy to ingest (sometimes termed as McDonaldized). In essence, spreading to the Masses rather than staying within the purview of the few. Demos = “people”. Ideally, a product should require less expertise or skill on the part of the user <snip further details for space> Indeed so. Making things less intimidating lies at the heart of most advertising. A less kind person would say that you have to dumb-down, or water-down things in order to make them have broader appeal. Hence, in food, for example, watered-down versions of ethnic cuisine have more mass-appeal than more authentic variations. Not necessarily a criticism, there are some aspects of certain ethnic cuisines (in particular, certain {but not all} forms of offal) that I find shuddersome by my own wimpy American standards. However, it is important to note that while such traits make products democratized in terms of its consumers, they often lose the traits that differentiate themselves from each other, leading to an un-democratized market. This is where the gourmet movement comes in. Exactly. Almost paradoxically, that market then tends to develop more appeal due to its perceived exclusivity, so it gets progressively democratized, leading to further developments and new frontiers that are later assimilated themselves. (I could toss in some blither extrapolated from the ideas of Guy DeBord re: the Spectacle’s need to assimilate new material in order to perpetuate itself and stave off stagnation, but that would wander a bit too far off topic, methinks) I think the increased movement of people, such as military service personnel, business travelers, etc, has an effect because people are introduced to foods and products especially the same kinds of foods, but produced at different levels (macro vs. micro) that were to them in the United States. Indeed. The military was one of the primary sources of this phenomenon in the past, but easier, more convenient (ie:”democratized”) transit has sped things up and broadened them considerably. The media also plays a role in this as well. These people come back and start to demand these products at home. Its relatable to the kind of response of dissatisfaction towards standardized, commodified products that have become familiar. (see above re:”Spectacle” blither) In a weblog post from November 2006, anthropologist-cum-economist An interesting combination, two fields more related than one may initially think. Grant McCracken outlines the reasons he sees for the artisanal movement. Among his suggestions are a preference for things that are human scale or hand made, unbranded, personalized and authentic, as well as a preference for the new connosieurship. Itself a natural reaction brought about by the perceived stagnation caused by commoditization- the overly-familiar. We get bored, and through that, standards get raised a bit. Of course, there’s also the self-perceived prestige gained by partaking of such exclusive products. Either way, its still homo faber Wow…there’s a term you normally don’t see used in everyday conversation… for those in a service economy; its easier to conflate meaning in gourmet goods than commodities. As such have more of a mystique around them. To a certain extent, the producers are themselves able to be the ones who build relationships with retailers, bartenders, and consumers Yeah, I’ve also seen a shift to more one-on-one, consumer/producer relationships on both private consumer {ie- shopper} and professional consumer {ie- restaurant} levels - more desire to know where one’s food comes from and to interact with its producer. I have to say, though, that my own perceptions may be skewed due to a shift from a major metropolitan area (Washington DC Metro Area) to a more comparatively-rural area (New Hampshire), so my conclusions there aren’t to be trusted because my data are skewed. He states that it is a roomy connosieurship. Unlike French wine, there are no rules and regs[sic] that constrain how something is served, how long it must breath[sic], or the food with which it may be eaten. Rules and regs that really owe more to tradition than reality (except maybe for that asparagus thing…), and which have fallen by the wayside in some circles. But yes, I know what you mean. It owes more to intimidation-factor due to perception of rules. In a way, these resources lower the threshold for connoisseurship, effectively democratizing beer in an alternative way; instead of making beer milder to appeal to the masses, connoisseurship has been made milder to help bridge the gap by helping to alleviate any lack of skill or knowledge. Everyone wins! Which, IMHO, is the way to go. One can do this progressively, in stages, with one’s audience, gradually bringing them deeper and deeper in to connoisseurship and thereby raising the standards of the industry itself in stages as well (which helps the industry out not only in the raising of standards of product but also, let’s not deny it, in terms of profits gained). Some people might just think you're crazy or stuck up or European! I remember talking to my mother on the phone a year or two ago and her saying “Do you realize that we’re food snobs?” to which I replied “Well, yes, did it take you this long to figure it out?” Ok, I hope that informative and not too confusing. Not in the least. All makes perfect sense to me… Sincerely, Dante

Name: Murcia al Vino (Drunken Goat) splendid! one of my faves. Name: St. Andre this one I can't recall having had before...must seek out. Name: Morbier and Morbier is one of my all-time faves. I tend to default towards it, which has led me to intentionally avoid it of late in order to keep from cofusing too heavily on it. When I do cheese boards I don't want to repeat myself too often, you see. Sincerely, Dante

, it went when I got home with the groceries to find Mummy dead in the living room. We called the doctor, got tubes unplugged, called the undertakers ... maybe an hour. you need time to move through the grieving process (you're in a major metropolitan area, yes? Doubtless you've probably got grief-counciling groups out there {of you feel the need for such}- the best ones tend to be run by Hospice programmes). But you're going to be out of sorts, and for all intents and purposes you're going to be running like someone else is in the driver's seat- that's just the way it tends to go. You need time to move through it and process when necessary. If cooking is truly a part of you, you can't lose it- more than likely its just on hold for a while because that's not where you need to be right now. Sincerely, Dante

My question is, how do other cooks (male ) feel about woman in the kitchen? Now, my, personally, I've never had any issues with the general idea of women in professional kitchens (I've only had issues with one before, and that was a professional/personality clash, nothing to do with gender on my part). I've never seen anything in the way of babying or harassment, and i've worked in a few mosh-pit-esque kitchens (when I read "Kitchen Confidential", I spent most of the time nodding my head in agreement). Granted, it might have had something to do with most of the women I've worked with being much much scarier than the men, but I had a number of women in my class in school and personally, I had no issues, tho I'll admit that perhaps a few of my male classmates did (something that I found incomprehensible). Dunno, me, I'm gender-blind in such areas (and in pretty much all others, except for...preference). Sincerely, Dante

And if anyones gone to community college for a degree in culinary arts whats your suggestion? I went to the Academy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing, NJ, which is part of Atlantic Community College. I like to think I got a good education out of it. When I was at the Vo-Tech in the area I used to live in, I took a couple of groups of students to some of other cooking schools in the area, and everyone (myself included) found themselves more impressed with ACA than with the others. But perhaps my experience was atypical? Sincerely, Dante

quite lovely! Thank you for sharing! Every so often, I find myself seized with the urge to make an entire Mexican meal from scratch. We have wonderful local sources for tortillas and salsa, so a lot of the time I "cheat" and buy those rather than make them myself, but once in a while I like to do it all from the straight ingredients. Sincerely, Dante

I've occasionally recharged by going to a food festival (seeing what the area has to offer always inspires me). Farmer's Markets can be nice inspirations too. Try just going out somewhere and basking in what resources you have available to you. My other recharges in the past have been largely accidental- stumbling on to some new paradigm that drags me in and veritably forces me to explore it. Sincerely, Dante

Not q-u-i-t-e the same thing but the local food co-op has free wine and beer tastings about every week or so. Frequently more than one tasting at a time. I have, purely by accident, mind you, caught a light buzz while shopping before... Sincerely, Dante

you said: A church cookbook that has a Jello salad recipe that calls for canned cherry pie filling, lemon Jello, a can of canned pineapple bits and (yes, this is true), a can of drained, sliced green olives with pimento stuffing. Wow... that's, like 1950's-era style, what with the canned pineapple and olives... Sincerely, Dante

You don't give any hint as to your location. no, I didn't. Sorry. New Hampshire. Here in Calif. Smart & Final carries the complete line of Torani syrups as well as Coke syrup in the cartons as mentioned above. 'kay. After all the links and such everyone else has so kindly provided me with, cola's the only one left on my list. There are other suppliers who sell to small mom and pop businesses and have the syrups used for snow cones in gallong jugs. Google snow cone supplies, shave ice supplies, Hawaiian shave ice supplies, etc., for your area. thanks ftor the tip. shall do. Sincerely, Dante

Here you go: <snip link> My favorite brand as they're made with real fruit and sugar. an added bonus... You can look around the site for diet versions as well. kewl! Thanx very much! Sincerely, Dante

Most soda syrup is sold in 5 gallon bag-in-a-box. You should be able to buy those from any restaurant supply such as GFS. yeah- I had thought that that was the route I needed to take. I don't know that I'd use enough to justify a 5 gallon bag, tho, so I'd wondered if more managable sources existed. However, you can make soda pop using soda flavorings, dextrin, and carbonated water. Both the flavorings (3 oz bottles) and the dextrin are available at beer home brewing shops. Hmmmm...there's a thought, and the local health-food store does carry brewing supplies. Edit to add this link: [url=http://www.leeners.com/sodapop.html]http://www.leeners.com/sodapop.html Hmm...interesting. Thanx! Couple of the local brew-pubs also make their own root-beers... Sincerely, Dante

What Tracey said. I often see these in liquor stores, high-end groceries and, of all places, TJ Maxx and the like. yeah- that I can do for Italian and/or French soda, and that's useful for me. Thank you and thanx to Tracey too! but... When I was a kid, you could buy Coca-Cola syrup at the drug store as a remedy for stomach ailments. Maybe you still can? this was more what I was looking for. We have a real old-style drug store (that is to say, not yeet absorbed by Eckerd or Rite-aid) in one of the neighboring towns, so I may check there. good tip- thanx! ETA: depending on where you are, there might be an independent bottler who makes private-label soft drinks. They'd be more approachable than one of the huge mass-market bottlers. yeah- and we've got a couple of those up here too. "Micro Sodas" they call themselves. Sincerely, Dante

Thanks so much Do you know what goes into Ras al Hanout? Anybody? no definitve blend exists. I cobbled mine together from a variety of sources, but I use a mix of black, white, red and green peppercorns, cinnamon, clove, dried rose petals, allspice, nutmeg and my personal curry blend (powdered ginger, cumin, coriander, fennel seed, fenugreek, cardamom and turmeric) there's also baharat- another blend from northern Africa with varying ingredients- I use allspice, cinnamon, clove, cumin, cayenne, black pepper, coriander, cardamom, paprika, allspice and nutmeg. Essentially a peppery curry blend. Sincerely, Dante

Thanks! I know the term, but I always forget the actual ingredients of a creol trinity. it's really just a morepoix with bell peppers in place of carrots. and, yet, oddly, some "Creole" places outside of N'awlins still don't seem to get it correctly... Sincerely, Dante

Packaged foods that promote health and make health benefit claims. Like more Dannon Activia's. Viola! You become healthy by buying certain products. people, of course, tend to forget that such products tend to only contain trace elements of the health-promoting additives that they advertise. (like they tend to forget that vitamins are added to products like fruit juices because by the time they reach the customer, the natural content has largely faded away or settled out). Sincerely, Dante

Dante, yes? [speaking of cheese & beer together] and i was just thinking that when composing my last post... [ that was one of the most popular panels at the recent ACS conference. (Gee, I wonder why???) Here is a link to a good article about it in the Boston Globe last week:] excellent! Thank you for sharing this! I was just talking with the guy who runs the cheese section of the co-op about the ACS conference. I picked up the Vermond Shepherd Cheese that won an award, [The guy who ran the panel thinks that beers are much more cheese-friendly than wine] and interewting idea, and one I've really not thought consciously of, tho I've naturally served the two together in the past- I don't limit myself to jsut the classic cheese/wine pairing model. And let us not forget Burlington's home to Magic Hat Brewery (which is also a fun place to visit, I might add, and they carry some special brews there that you can't get elsewhere). (we have so many good microbrews up here, and brew-pubs too) hmm...yeah- the Bonne Bouche was a recent discovery of mine (first encountered it at flavours of the Valley in May), it completely impressed me. Yeah- anything by Cobb Hill's quite lovely too.The Bayley Hazen Blue and Brother Lauren I'll confess to not being extremely familiar with. I'll have to work more consciously on beer/cheese pairings on my own... [You also mention "any decent soft goat cheese"] actually, I did not personally, I was quoting from the lady I was replying to, but, anyway... [For fresh goat logs, I think most are not too interesting, but the one made by Tournevent (they also make the Chevre Noir) is called Biquet and is the best I've ever tasted] That one I've not sampled. The co-op gets Chevre Noir, so if they don't stock the Tournevent I can get them to special order it. Sincerely, Dante

Does anyone out there know of a source for soda syrup (as in that which is mixed with selzer for soda fountains) for the private individual, as opposed to souces for professional restaurants? Sincerely, Dante

My top ten favourite food movies: <snip list> and excellent selection! I've seen and enjoyed every one of those (I'm a bit of a movie buff in addition to being a foodie) has anyone mentioned the dinner scene on the train in "Jeanne D'arc of Mongolia"? An amazing mix of elegance and over-the-top excess. The waiters singing a requiem while bringing out the roasted sawn in full plumage was what really got me. Also the waiter's remembering everything after taking an order that took about three or four minutes to recite, even when he was pretending to not pay attention to all of it- that was fun. has anyone besides me seen (or, for that matter, even heard about) that movie? I also feel the need to mention the movie "Waiting", if only because I believe I've worked with clones of about all of the cast at some point or another. Sincerely, Dante

Well, the one noteworthy one that springs to mind is the Creole Trinity- similar to a mirepoix, but composed of onion, celery and bell pepper. I'll think on it and see if I can conjure any more- menu-planning done- gotta hit the co-op for ingredients now. Their Producer's Fair is today. Sincerely, Dante

Hey that's what the quote in my signature refers to! yes yes yes!!! and, oddly enough, I believe I just replied to another of your posts elsewhere... I love cheese, and as I've realized with beer, the more I focus on "rating" or taking notes, the more I pay attention to all the little details and complexities. interesting. I can see that. If you're in the area and haven't been to the public market, you're nuts! I'll have to make a note of that if I find myself in the vicinity Yesterday, I had some cypress midnight moon (goat) at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg; very tasty! They always have cheese and meat that you can munch on with your beer, and they're all dee-lish. Other cheeses outside of the usual suspects I've really enjoyed include (but are not limited to): - aged goudas - I think I favor Prima Donna, but maybe it's Rembrandt I must confess that I've never explored goudas all that thoroughly. The local food co-op stocks a good selection of them. - sage derby - some are better than others in my experience, so tend towards a certain...mealiness? - bel chimay with beer - made by Belgian Trappist monks, they wash the rind of the cheese with their own beer; the beer is also tasty, btw Hm...never trieed that one... - manchego I admit I use this one more for cooking them by itself, tho I did recently sample a pretty decent one. - mimollette irish vintage cheddar both lovely. when I was last in New Orleans (November), I found a sheep's-milk Cashel Blue. most excellent. - brillat savarin - it's like buttah! i used to like st. andre's when it was first introduced in this area (and when it was the first triple-creme cheese I had eaten), but I've found that it's never ripe when it's in the store now except sometimes in the mini-wheels, and those mini-wheels are bad news (at least for soft cheese).. so i stopped buying it. however... who can beat a cheese named after a french gastronome? indeed. That one, with Monte Enebro, Le Chevre Noir, Forme d' Ambert and a Vermont cheese simply called Abbey make up the regular offerings on the cheese board at the Canoe Club in Hanover, New Hampshire (with Red Hen Bakery bread, a pices of honey comb and fig-almond tart). i can go there, just order that and feel perfectly happy. pretty much any decent soft goat cheese you must seek out Lazy Lady cheeses, then, if you haven't already had the experience. Blue Ledge Farm of Leicester, Vermont, too. and there's a not-half-bad local Camembert by Blythdale Farm too. Mmmmmm... cheese! ::sighs:: right there with ya! Sincerely, Dante

I don't know that I'd put raw milk into a baby's bottle, but for otherwise healthy adults I simply don't see the issue. The Weston A Price Foundation (http://www.westonaprice.org/ ), which always has a booth at the annual Flavors of the Valley food show up in Vermont has much to say on the benefits of raw milk. I mean, when we get into our cars every morning or go on a ski vacation we don't agonize over the risk of getting killed. Put a glass of raw milk or a hunk of Camembert in front of us, though, and we start screaming bloody murder, even though proportionally far more people die in car accidents or in ski mishaps every year than from drinking raw milk or eating unaged, unpasteurized cheese. you've got a point there. of course, cheese, being an safer target than, say, driving, is much easier to persecute. Jeffrey Steingarten has a good (and highly entertaining) piece on raw milk cheeses in "It Must Have Been Something I Ate". Sincerely, Dante

Illegal and raw milk gets *complicated*. It's usually not flat out illegal to sell raw milk in a state. It's more the inspections and compliance rules are set up so that it's inconvenient enough that it might as well be illegal. This is not good for encouraging compliance with the law, since raw milk really is better for some purposes (like cheese!). over here in New Hampshire, we can get raw milk cheeses with no problem, or at least I can find them plainly labeled at the local food co-op where I do all of my shopping. This is not a particularly good thing for adults in search of tasty cheese. On the other hand, it's a good thing for babies and children, since they're pretty vulnerable to a wide range of milk borne pathogens. On the gripping hand, the restrictions are a patchwork of laws (different in each state), and getting them changed to something saner is hard work. agreed. Vermont seems to have more than its share of over-regulation when it comes to food (last Summer, as an act of protest, a restaurant did a special pizza using chicken from down the road from them- http://www.ruralvermont.org/archives/002761.html ), but, because VT has a rep as a "dairy state", cheese seems to go largely unmolested. Sincerely, Dante

Putting everything in a McDonald's wrapper. Bob Blumer's probably done that... :laugh: In all seriousness.. so because i couldn't think, i decided to do a little research on the interwebs. This was the first thing i found talking about 2007... splendid! Thank you. Just the sort of thing I wanted to see! I checked this out and the links from that page to a couple of related topics. Most informative. I'll admit that I didn't see much that I didn't already know about but that in and of itself serves as a validation. (OK- on the A to Z linked off of that, seeing bacon listed did surprise me, as did gelato) * Hamburgers and hot dogs go haute -- More chefs tackle these favorites, from Thomas Keller and Joe Bastianich (Mario Batali's partner) to Rachael Ray, who is rumored to be planning her own burger joint. <laughs> I've maintained for years that *anything* can become "gourmet" with the correct approach. Oddly enough, my most-requested dish is a tuna casserole. I see highlight number 2 as really just an extension of the artisanal/gourmet food movement that's been growing for the last few decades, so I don't think I can call it a "trend'. agreed. perhaps more an established movement that just gets more refined with time? The gourmet movement seems to be gaining momentum lately, especially with movements like the slow food movement becoming more visible to the general public. something that I find delightful. The Localvore and Slow Food movements have been picking up steam up here in New Hampshire and Vermont over the past couple of years. I must confess that I bristled a bit when I found the one bit off of one of the links calling a movement away from fresh/seasonal ingredients a "return to flavour" or something along those lines. Perhaps the author doesn't have very good stuff around where s/he lives? I'm still trying to figure out some things, but there are all sorts of reasons I see for the gourmet thing.. I'm not going to go into them right now because that's a whole other story, but I could if people wanted to hear it. please do! I, for one, would be interested. Also, I couldn't read that Miami Herald piece, nor could I. Wouldn't even turn up on a Google search...most frustrating. but I feel like I've seen a growing popularity of bottled iced teas, especially lower sugar varieties from Honest Tea and Ito En. and Tazo and the like. VTea has produced a most-interesting reishi mushroom tea (with maple syrup and lemon). A "Mycobrew", as they like to call it. The drop in sugar in some of these might be a result of the (somewhat ineffective) "health food" thing that's always around, and I see other brands like Nestle and Liptons trying to make new lines which just seem to attempt to cash in on that "gourmet" trend these teas also fit in, in the same way that Budweiser Select tries to compete with more conventional (microbrewery-produced) craft beers. and yet the big companies like that never do seem to get it correct when they try. Sad, really. Sincerely, Dante