Notice I didn’t use the word “corn” in the header, primarily because the data I have is for organic agriculture generally. Organic farming is the hardest of all to summarize since organic practices vary so widely. In fact there’s very little agreement these days as to what “organic” actually means. Originally organic was a holistic […]
READ ONThe thing I love so much about the paragraph from Omnivore’s Dilemma I quoted earlier is the insinuation that the sheer versatility of corn somehow makes it bad. As though processed foods, consumer packaged goods, and ugly retail architecture would all just disappear — or better still, would never even have been invented — if […]
READ ONWhy do we grow corn? I mean, I don’t eat a whole lot of corn on the cob. Do we really need that much? It’s a fair question, for indeed worldwide, we grow a ton of corn. More than a ton, in fact, much more. 700 million metric tons according to recent UN figures, with […]
READ ONBecause, as I’ve written numerous times before, the pastry maker is the natural enemy of the organo-nut. Just about everything we pastry types touch is tied to technology in one way or another: milling (flour), refining (sugar), shipping (chocolate), the list goes on. Even the tools we employ are often highly technological. We also produce […]
READ ONSeems there’s a new vending machine being tested in Europe that makes pizza by hand…er, sprocket. It kneads and rolls the dough, adds toppings and bakes it — all while you watch. Sounds really fun, actually. I’d love to see one. Of course the real pizza makers in Italy aren’t terribly impressed. I like this […]
READ ONI’ve received quite a lot of feedback on this the last several days, from both physicists and bakers (interesting combo) from as close as Indianapolis and as far away as New Zealand. Oddly, no real consensus emerged among them, even within the (albeit small) groups. While it’s indisputably true that condensation (a heat-bringing process) occurs […]
READ ONAnd by overwhelming response, the consensus is that yes, there was a time when simple (or simpler) farm cream was widely available. Granted, most of the people who’ve sent me email the last day or two are from places like Vermont and Wisconsin, but even so, it seems clear that local dairies did once provide […]
READ ONTo a man with an icing spatula, everything looks like buttercream. Actually the idiom has to do with hammers and nails, but the principle is the same: whatever you carry around with you tends to color the way you look at the world. That’s as true of us “foodie” types as it is anybody else. […]
READ ONDid I mention you’ll need some durum flour? You will, and it can be hard to find. You can of course order it online, or just use all white flour instead. The loaf you’ll get will have as much right to be called “Pugliese” as mine — ’cause neither one of them will be made […]
READ ONThat was fast. Not one, but TWO complaints that I referenced veal on a blog ostensibly devoted to pastry. I guess I’m not surprised (though I am shocked at the speed of the responses), since I’ve noticed that several vegetarian blogs link to me (big dessert hounds, those vegetarians). Here’s an excerpt of one that […]
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