Moldy jam at Sqirl

[curls]

https://la.eater.com/2020/7/13/21322591/sqirl-mold-jam-jessica-koslow-workers-unhappy-unsanitary-toast-los-angeles-news

Edited July 15, 2020 by curls
updated link (log)

[pastrygirl]

Nasty.  After the first batch or two went moldy they should have fixed the problem.  More sugar, more acid, longer processing, smaller batches, store it in the freezer, etc,  not just accept that oh its low sugar, mold is normal 🙄

Edited July 15, 2020 by pastrygirl (log)

[SLB]

The whole thing is *baffling*. 

[blue_dolphin]

8 minutes ago, SLB said:

The whole thing is *baffling*. 

 

I agree.  Especially with her jam cookbook scheduled to come out next week. 

The timing made me wonder if someone really had an ax to grind but there seems to be enough truth to be very disturbing. 

[curls]

Followup article with additional information from the owner, Jessica Koslow. Still so hard to believe that they thought this practice was acceptable and safe. https://la.eater.com/2020/7/13/21323422/sqirl-jessica-koslow-statement-moldy-jam

[teonzo]

This seems like a business suicide. Especially the owner's message copied in the first link ("we dont use commercial pectin...").

Every professional chef should know about mycotoxins, it's the basic stuff anyone who works in a professional kitchen is expected to know. Every commis is expected to know the basics of sanitations and risks. Let alone the head chef and owner. Saying she ate the remainings of some jam that got mold on the surface is just like shooting herself in the feet, it means admitting she opened a business without knowing the due procedures.

Plus all the other stuff. "We don't use sweeteners" and "we use about half the sugar you'll find in a typical supermarket jam" can't be read on the same post. "A low sugar jam is more susceptible to the growth of mold"... not exactly, to reach gelification point you need to reach the same Brix concentration, which means almost the same sugar content in the final product, which means almost the same aW, which means almost the same risks.

People should triple and quadruple check what they write before posting while dealing with this kind of mess.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[gfweb]

Re the charge that recipes "were appropriated without credit to past employees". 

 

Most contracts in my field have a clause saying that anything you invent while in the employ is property of the employer.  And recipes are not patentable. And I've never seen attribution of a dish's inventor on any menu.

 

Is this particular accusation of Ms Koslow nonsense?

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

Re the charge that recipes "were appropriated without credit to past employees". 

 

Most contracts in my field have a clause saying that anything you invent while in the employ is property of the employer.  And recipes are not patentable. And I've never seen attribution of a dish's inventor on any menu.

 

Is this particular accusation of Ms Koslow nonsense?

I think so. 
 

I’m also not that concerned about whether the second kitchen was officially licensed. Assuming there was hot water, it’s not the space but what people are doing in it. 
 

I believe her that the pic with 3 spatulas and a ladle was the scraped off mold bucket because who uses 3 spatulas like that, but if they’re getting a full layer of mold that can be scraped off they’re definitely doing some things wrong.  That being the mold scraped off the jam rather than the original bucket doesn’t make it better. I might scrape off a tiny spot around the edge, but it takes time for that much to grow. 
 

 

 

 

[eugenep]

I read the headline for this post and got excited at the thought of fermented jam. 

 

Like - WOW - it must taste super good with deep complex flavor after fermentation/mold. 

 

I wonder if that's what gives it that extra punch and keeps customers coming back for more. 

 

Nice article though - interesting to see scandal in the food world (like the equivalent of insider-trading but for restauranteurs) 

 

I found the infamous image online: 

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by eugenep (log)

[heidih]

@eugenep  Ooohh creepy or abstract art. Yes the timing is odd and the appropriation charges don't make legal sense.