Another excellent article by my guest writer Matt Williams….

When you think of expensive delicacies, what comes to mind?  Most people would invariably say something like lobster, caviar, sushi or foie gras; foods that are challenging to eat and not always accessible to the human palate.  It is often taken for granted that across the globe, every culture has its own version of these foods, things that are appreciated only by the discerning few who have acquired a taste for them.   It is also taken for granted that these foods are only for those who can afford them, and are therefore a symbol of class and social standing.

But would it surprise you to know that all of these foods began as the poor man’s food?  That’s right, raw fish, fish eggs, goose liver, and bottom feeding crustacean all began as food enjoyed (perhaps enjoyed is too strong a word) by those who couldn’t afford cooked fish, fat birds or plump animals to put on their dinner table.   They were the staples of peasants, fishermen and herders who were forced to sell their wares to make ends “meat” and could only eat what was left over.   This included the organs of their animals, their unfertilized offspring, or things that other people simply didn’t want to eat.

But in time, as our collective knowledge of the world expanded and the globe became a smaller place (thanks to exploration), things began to change.  The wealthy and affluent of society began to demand new and more complex foods to snack on.  Many of these came from overseas, the results of trade, colonization or conquest; but a good deal also came from their own backyards.  Having grown tired of things that tasted good and filled their bellies, they began to turn to foods that were a challenge in and of themselves.

Take lobster for example.  At the time North America was first being colonized by Europeans, lobsters were abundant, often washing up on shore to form piles up to two feet high.  Since they were so plentiful and easy to harvest, lobsters were a frequent meal for poor families near the coast.  Fishermen also subsisted on them because they were plentiful and not sought after since they were bottom feeders.  It wasn’t until the 19^th century that restaurants began serving lobster to wealthy patrons who had quickly acquired a taste for them.  This affinity for the crustacean soon had a devastating effect on the population, causing prices to rise substantially.  Hence why they are so expensive today!

Haggis is another good example.  Generally assumed to be Scottish in origin, haggis is a dish reserved for adventurous eaters.  Containing sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oats, spices, and traditionally cooked in the animal’s own stomach, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that haggis was a food eaten only by those who were for forced to!  Although its origin is shrouded in mystery, it is generally assumed that herders prepared haggis from what was left over from their herds once all of their meat had been handed over to the aristocrats to whom they owed service.  It has since come to be a symbol of Scottish heritage and is served in pubs and eateries, especially on Robbie Burns Day.

Foie gras has a long and complicated history as well.  Though it traces its origins to ancient Egypt, where geese were forced fed to enlarge their livers, the practice of eating foie gras waned after the fall of Rome.  It remained in effect only amongst a small segment of the European population – the Jews.  Under Kosher law, Jews were forbidden to cook with animal lard.  And while Mediterranean Jews were able to rely on olive oil and Asian Jews on sesame, European Jews had neither available to them until the 19^th century and after.  Poultry fat, that obtained by overfeeding geese so that their livers would be enlarged (and well suited for cooking) was thus employed.  During the High Middle Ages, as gentiles gained a taste for goose liver, they were forced to travel to Jewish ghettos in their towns to seek it out.  By the beginning of the 17^th century, the practice had become much more widespread, with foie gras being appreciated by nobles and wealthy merchants all over Europe.

Let us also consider sushi.  In ancient times, sushi was the food of choice amongst fishermen and commoners in South-East Asia.  Originally, the practice of making sushi involved placing raw fish in with cooked rice, vinegar or salt to keep it preserved.  This was done mainly for the sake of ensuring there was food to eat during the winter months when tsunamis made fishing impossible, and heavy rains made wood fuel difficult to procure, and hence too expensive.  Since that time, sushi came to be the delicacy of choice for the aristocracy of Japan, especially during the Shogun period.  But rather than eating their fish preserved with vinegar and salt, aristocrats enjoyed it fresh and raw on patties of rice with seaweed and ginger.  This custom was considered a mark of high class and was practiced by the nobility alone by the time Admiral Perry sailed to Japan.  With the opening of Japan to the world in the 19^th century, it has expanded to become a delicacy that is enjoyed worldwide.

Much the same can be said of sheep’s eyes, caviar, frogs legs, truffles, calves’ brain, or escargot.  All began as staple foods for the poor since they were nutritious, easily procured and not exactly sought after.   They were, in effect, the stuff no one else would eat.  But in time, some more than others (and earlier too) these foodstuffs became expensive or rare treats, served only in high-class establishments to discerning clientele.  As legendary chef Elzar put it: “Hey, that’s what rich people eat, the garbage parts of food.”

But why the change?  Perhaps this represented an act of rebellion on behalf of the wealthy towards their privilege, the rich doing a little slumming by putting things in their mouths no other rich person would.  Or, it could have been an act of appropriation, the wealthy laying claim to something that was uniquely “common” since they had grown tired of lording their ample diets over the lower classes.  Or it could have been a necessary move by the wealthy to ensure that their tastes remained distinct.  As pasteurization, refrigeration and improved transportation greatly enhanced the diet of people everywhere, the wealthy must have felt that their dietary world was being invaded.  Thus, they relocated, to lower ground!

Today, the world of cuisine is a challenging and diverse place, presenting many opportunities for enjoyment and disgust.  For those who live in a metropolitan environment and can afford it, just about anything can be ordered and eaten.  And those who do so can always defend their actions by claiming they are adventurous, or just by saying “it’s a delicacy.”

Want to see It’s a Delicacy Part II?

Mmmmm. A tasty subject that I can get behind!

Gelato first appeared on the scene in the ancient Roman Empire when snow was brought down from mountain tops, stored underground mixed with flavorings. It didn’t become mainstream, however until just after the Renaissance when refrigeration techniques and special recipes were developed to combine the ingredients for maximum effect. As with many of the best things in life; red wine, sports cars, fine food and coffee, the birthplace of modern ice cream was Italy.

Gelato was the predecessor to ice cream. After the Italians perfected the recipe, Caterina de’ Medici shared the love with France and the rest, to be trite, is history. If Caterina were around, and not covered in worms and dirt, I would kiss her.

So, the main differences between gelato and ice cream then? Gelato has less fat, less sugar, and a more concentrated flavor. It is made in smaller batches that refrigerate and spoil more quickly.

This, keep in mind, is if ice cream is made with real cream; most of the brands in the supermarket are not made with real cream, but rather modified milk ingredients. Food technology being as it is, milk powder, often coming from New Zealand is reconstituted in food factories in the U.S. where a bunch of other non dairy ingredients like seaweed and hydrogenated vegetable oil. In Canada, many ice “cream” manufacturers use a butter-oil sugar blend. Like its name implies, it is made using a combination of fat and sugar; specifically, 51% sugar, classifying it as a confectionery (candy) product, and thus exempt from many of the import tariffs levied on milk products; making it much cheaper to manufacture; and yet, these frozen desserts are increasing in cost. Read your labels.

I digress. Traditionally made ice cream makers use cream and/or egg yolk as the stabilizer to stop it from freezing solid. Gelato makers use a more finely tuned technique of finding the perfect balance between the sugar and water content.

The truly best gelato comes from Italy! Even immigrant Italian families, using traditional Italian recipes, in Italian bowls, and Italian freezers adding bits of ground up Italians, cannot possibly compare. Must be those magic Italian dairy cows!

The Story of Beer, by guest writer Matt Williams
Did you know that beer is one of the world’s oldest beverages?  At roughly eleven thousand years of age, it is almost as old as agriculture and civilization itself!  This should not come as a surprise, seeing as how the prerequisites for making beer – the cultivation of grains, clay containers, and cool storage places for it to sit and ferment – all are markers of early civilization.  Since that time, it has grown to become one of the most popular “adult” beverages in the world.  It’s total global consumption is four times that of wine, and even in societies where alcohol is forbidden (places like Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and many Islamic African nations), it is considered an indispensable part of social interaction.  Like it or not, beer is a part of our social and cultural makeup and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

But how and why beer came to be is still the subject of debate.  The first recorded indications of beer are from ancient Mesopotamia, dated from ca. 4000 BC, where clay tablets with cuneiform writing informed scholars of the importance of beer to the people’s daily lives.  It was considered equal only to bread making, and was done primarily by women.  The best that historians can gauge, at some point in Sumerian history, someone must have accidentally dropped a loaf of bread into a clay urn and forgotten about it.  The bread then fermented to form Wort, the mash that is created when natural sugars in grain are allowed to combine with yeast to produce alcohol.  When they returned, the mixture must have then been sampled, with deleterious effects!  From then on, beer was in indispensable part of Sumerian society.  In fact, other cuneiform records indicate that beer was rationed in Sumerian (and later, Babylonian) society.  Peasants were entitled to three liters a day, the aristocracy was entitled to four, and priests rang in at the top of the hierarchy, drinking a whopping five liters a day.  (On a possibly related note, did you know that the average life expectancy was in the mid-twenties?)

Much like agriculture, beer making then spread throughout the Fertile Crescent, to North Africa, and then Europe.  Egyptians are known to have produced both, possibly indigenously. Like the ancient Mesopotamians, they combined baked bread with water to produce the alcoholic Wort.  And like their predecessors, they considered it to be the nectar of the Gods.  Priests drank the lion’s share of it, mainly to assist in their spiritual practices.  The Greeks and Romans drank it heavily, and continued to do so even after the invention of wine.  Wine became the drink of choice of the aristocracy, but beer remained popular amongst the plebeians, and was seen as the choice of the “barbarian hordes”.   By this, of course, they meant Europeans.  Many Roman sources claim that the German tribes were especially fond of beer, which they fashioned from wheat and fruit.

Aside from the mention from Roman sources, oral traditions tell us much about beer making in Europe.  Modern archaeology now places the introduction and spread of beer through Europe at about 3000 BC.  This was carried out largely by Celtic tribes, who were themselves renowned agriculturalists.  Beer was brewed mainly on a domestic scale, and alongside the basic starch source, the early European beers contained fruits, honey, numerous types of plants, spices and other substances such and “special” herbs.  As already mentioned, wheat was also a favorite among the later Germanic peoples when making their brew.  “Whitbear” and “HeffeWeizen” (Wheat beer) remain staples of the German brewing industry to this day.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, beer once again became a favorite amongst social drinkers and alcoholics alike during the Middle Ages.  Often, creative brewing processes led to bad batches of beer that caused people to hallucinate, get sick and even die.  This was attributed to “beer witches”, who were then burned at the stake.  It was not until sometime later that brewers began to understand that perhaps it was their choice of ingredients.  As a result, mushrooms and herbs (like wormwood) were no longer added.  Instead, brewers began to rely increasingly on a flowery plant known as hops.  These, when combined with wort, were known to give beer a crisp, bitter taste, and even helped it to keep longer.  The first recorded mention of hops in Europe was around 822, by a Carolingian Abbot and again in 1067 by the great historian Abbess Hildegard of Bingen.  The Trappist Monasteries of Belgium began using it exclusively by the 15^th century, and in 1516, the Bavarian Purity Law was passed stipulating that beer be made using only water, hops, barley (or wheat), and yeast.  This tradition remains in effect to this day, though many breweries are returning to their “noble” roots by adding fruit and other flavorings to their product.

Several other developments took place during this time.  Traditional beer was known as “Ale”.  Ale relied on top fermenting yeasts, a fermentation process that took place at warmer temperatures, and was not strictly controlled.  This resulted in a beer that was fruitier, maltier, and more complex to the palate.  Several types of beer, which we are still familiar with today, emerged all over Europe.  The best known amongst these are “Pale Ale”, “Auburn Ale”, “Stout”, and “Porter”, which are still served in large quantities to this day.  In addition, by the late Middle Ages, a new type of beer was being made.  This beer was fermented at lower temperatures, resulting in bottom fermenting yeast, and the result was a crisper beer, best when served cold, and generally more refreshing.  This new form of beer was known as “Lager”.  Several types of it emerged since the Middle Ages, which included “Marzen”, “Bock”, and “Pilsner”.  These all gained widespread popularity all over continental Europe while the British Isles remained havens for more traditional Ales.  For beer drinkers, the debate still rages over which is better, lager or ale.  (It should also be noted that at this time, beer became more and more the task of men.  Whether this was due to the myth of “beer witches” or the realization that beer was big business, men gradually supplanted women as the brew masters.  For shame!)

Another major development in the history of beer occurred shortly thereafter: the Industrial Revolution.  Beer produced before this time continued to be made and sold on a domestic scale.  With the introduction of steam engines and automation, however, the production of beer moved from artisanal manufacture to industrial manufacture, and domestic manufacture ceased to be significant by the end of the 19th century.  The development of hydrometers and thermometers changed brewing by allowing the brewer more control of the process and greater knowledge of the results.  Louis Pasteur’s research was another boon, in that the newfound knowledge of bacteria allowed for the development of yeast cultures, filtration, and pasteurization.  All of this meant that beer could not only be made on a large scale, it could also be counted on to keep longer, which allowed for large scale export.  By the end the 19^th century, beer became a business without borders, with major breweries exporting from all over the world.

Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. As of 2006, more than 133 billion liters (35 billion gallons), the equivalent of a cube 510 meters on a side, of beer are sold per year, producing total global revenues of $294.5 billion (£147.7 billion).  It remains an industry run for, and targeted overwhelmingly to, men, but women are becoming increasingly involved in both the production and consumption aspects once again.  Craft brewing is also becoming fashionable again, as the growth of brewpubs and microbreweries clearly indicates.  Who knows what the future holds?  How will future technological or social developments affect our attitudes towards beer?  One thing remains clear though: beer is and probably always will be an indispensable part of our culture.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer

http://www.alabev.com/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lager

http://www.alabev.com/history.htm

http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/raley_timetable.shtml

http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/beer.htm

http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/beer/history_of_beer.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wort

http://www.thebeerguy.ca/

Free range chickens

Finding myself standing in front of a large, brightly lit cooler with dozens (pun intended) of packages of eggs to choose from, I am confounded by the difference between free range and free run eggs. In my lazy attempt to be a good consumer, I try to go for the one that subjectively sounds the best, and promise to go home and do my homework. I am sharing my results with you.

Free Range eggs are what we imagine in our minds; chickens, free to roam the great outdoors, spread their wings, eat grass and lay their eggs where they darn well feel like it. Free Run eggs are a modified version of this. They are raised in large barns where they have the freedom to roam about, are given access to the outside for an allotted period every day, and provided with nesting boxes in which to lay their treasure. By this definition, it seems, most hobby farmers with a few laying chickens produce Free Run eggs. Understandably, Free Range eggs are much more expensive to produce because spoilage is higher and more effort is needed to collect the eggs which are likely less uniform in size. Free Run eggs are slightly cheaper as the chickens are more tightly controlled.  Chickens in battery farms are tightly packed in with very little room to move; their eggs, once laid, are funneled down a conveyor belt to be processed in a big factory. This is the cheapest method; less manual labor, more automation, higher yields, more uniformity.

Consumers can become misled easily, into thinking that buying free run or free range eggs are healthier. The “free” part simply refers to the quality of the chicken’s life; while ethically important, doesn’t address the composition of the eggs, or the presence or absence of antibiotics, which is a huge issue. Antibiotics are a necessity on battery farms where disease can wipe out hundreds of chickens in one fell swoop. All chickens are routinely given antibiotics whether they need it or not leading to antibiotic resistant strains of disease that have huge implications for humans who are unknowingly ingesting antibiotics with their scrambled eggs. To avoid antibiotics, look on the label of the egg carton and it will say something like, “chickens were raised without antibiotics”. Another big issue in battery farms; and likely in some free run/free range farms is the growth hormones fed to the chickens. Typically, an unadulterated chicken will mature into egg laying around 10 to 12 months. Battery farmed chickens are finished their egg laying life by that time! Battery chickens only live around 2 years because their bodies are totally used up. Organs are forced into service before they are fully mature and their little bodies burn out fast. When a chicken is no longer able to lay eggs, it is sent to the poultry processing farm, then onto the supermarket for us to eat. To avoid this, look for labels that say grown without hormones or antibiotics. Just because your package says free range or free run, doesn’t automatically mean without growth hormones or antibiotics.

What about Omega 3 fatty acid? Eggs that contain high amounts of Omega 3 are laid by chickens who are fed 15-20% ground flax in their diet. This means that an Omega 3 chicken produces eggs with 10 times the amount of Omega 3 than their non-flax brethren. Omega 3 is a polyunsaturated fat is important for the healthy development of your brain, eyes and nerves, and many of us eating a western diet low in fish and other rich sources of this nutrient could use the little extra help that Omega 3 eggs can offer us.

In conclusion, free range and free run refer only to the conditions in which the chickens are raised and not to their nutritional content. If you would like eggs free of growth hormones and antibiotics, look for eggs that say this on the packaging. Also, be a little bit critical when you see “organic”. Many people take this to mean “no growth hormones or antibiotics”, but unless the package specifically states this, the term organic may simply mean that the chickens were given organic food to eat.

Did you know that it is almost impossible to find true ice cream in your supermarket aisles? I first learned of this problem when I was shopping with a friend who was pregnant and suffering from gestational diabetes. Her doctor told her that she could have ice cream as long as the first ingredient listed on the container was cream. You’d think a product with “cream” in its title would be made mostly of cream; and you’d be right, but what you may not realize is most of these products don’t have “cream” anywhere in the title. In addition, most aren’t even called ice cream when you look at the fine print on the container; they are called a “frozen dessert”. When I see this, I am immediately suspicious, forcing my skeptical eyes towards the ingredient label. Most of the time, the first ingredient is Modified Milk Ingredients (MMI’s).

So what are MMI’s? They are derived from milk and consist of products such as butteroil, whey, casein, and if you are lucky, powdered milk. Miss Tuffet would be rolling over in her grave if she knew how her precious whey was being used. Whey is a byproduct of cheese manufacturing; the liquid that remains after the milk has been curdled and strained. I’ll leave that for the spider thanks! Butteroil is 50% sugar. Casein is isolated milk protein. Most MMI’s are imported from Australia or New Zealand for a cheap cost as they are not considered “fresh milk” and are therefore not subject to the same import tax. In Canada, a food can be labeled as “Made in Canada” if 50% or more of the cost of product manufacturing takes place in Canada. What does this mean? Well, if you get your modified milk ingredients from New Zealand, your chocolate chips from the United States and your mint flavoring from China, but mix the ingredients into a frozen dessert in Canada and pour them into a Canadian made container, you can label it as a “Product of Canada”. For more information on “Made in Canada” products, check out the CBC Marketplace special.

How do they make frozen dessert taste creamy? They add various guar gums and carrageenan and other stuff to give the dessert its trademark creamy texture which, rather than being creamy, is more gummy.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia have isolated the specific compound in germinated brown rice that could reduce nerve damage in patients with diabetes. In 2007, these same researchers had found a then, unidentified lipid in pre soaked (germinated) brown rice that was more beneficial to diabetes patients than unsoaked brown rice or white rice. The germination of the brown rice was activated by soaking it in water overnight before cooking it.

The lipid responsible is called acylated steryl glucosides (ASG) and it helps the body maintain more normal levels of blood sugar. ASG’s do this by increasing the levels of enzymes that have been decreased by diabetes such as ATPase and HTase. ATPase is responsible for helping to maintain nerve signal transmission. Nerve damage is a huge problem in diabetic patients that can lead to blindness and limb amputation. HTase breaks down homocysteine, a chemical made by the liver that can kill cells and cause vascular damage.

Now that that ASG has been identified as the beneficial component, scientists are beginning to work on a supplement with this specific compound that can be taken in pill form.

The study was funded by Fancl Hatsuga Genmai Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of the Fancl Group out of Japan. Their primary business is cosmetics and nutritional supplements. I am always skeptical about funding for research that will financially benefit the funder; however, with dwindling government support for scientific research, private industry funds a lot of research that may not otherwise be done.

For the full press release, visit the Medical College of Georgia Website.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Association (CSIRA) out of Australia is a world leader in the science of biofumigation; using plants that are naturally toxic to bugs, as green manure. This technique avoids or limits the use of pesticides that can make people sick. The Third International Biofumigation Symposium, hosted in Canberra this year, has just wrapped up. Countries from around the world shared their research into various methods of using green manure as an alternative to pesticides. Plants from the Brassica species, including horseradish, mustard and rape seed contain isothiocyanates (ITC’s), the compound responsible for imparting the Brassica species with their trademark “hot” flavor, are toxic to certain soil pests and pathogens. Not only is this technique healthier for us, but its low costs and increased crop yields really benefit third world countries who are struggling to produce enough food for their people.

Check out articles like this one at the All Things Eco Carnival.

The press release can be found on the CSIRA website.

I love Scarlet runner beans. They both look beautiful and taste yummy. At times, I would over eagerly rush into my garden to see my newly formed “babies” and to savor their delicate flavor fresh off the vine. It came as a shock to me to discover that Scarlet and other runner beans should be thoroughly cooked before eaten due to the presence of lectin phytohemagglutinin, a chemical that causes red blood cells to clump together. This same hemagglutinin is responsible for giving the influenza virus its heartiness. Phytohemagglutinins also stimulates cell division and changes the cell membrane permeability to proteins.

Poisoning can occur by eating as few as FIVE raw beans. Symptoms show up about 3 hours after ingestion and include nausea, vomitting and diarrhea. Eight hours after ingestion, the symptoms should abate with no medical intervention necessary.

As is the case with many plant toxins, scientists have found a way to use phytohemagglutinin to their advantage in medicine. It is used to stimulate the production of T-cells and to track nerve signals in the brain.

Continue to grow and admire your Runner beans, but be sure to cook them thoroughly before eating them.

A copy of this article and other great gardening articles can be found at Her Gardening Blog.

A recent study done by Professor Elliot at the University of Calgary in Alberta Canada. Elliot investigated more than 300 food items, not including chips, soda, or chocolate bars. These products had labeling designed to appeal to parents as being a good choice for children. What Elliot found was quite disturbing. Although 63% of the 367 products tested claimed certain health benefits on the label, 89% of all the foods tested were deemed to be of Poor Nutritional Quality (PNQ) due to high fat, sugar or sodium. Many of the products tested were breakfast cereals; they were guilty of the too high sugar content.

No more than 35% of daily calories should be derrived from fat with the exclusion of nuts and peanut butter (according to CSPI – Center for Science in the Public Interest) presumably because they have a significant amount of protein. They should have no more than 35% added sugar by weight. This one is a bit trickier to measure because sugar naturally occurs in milk and fruit. Food manufacturers need not disclose the amount of naturally occuring sugar on a product label. This is where the study could potentially be slightly faulty. Of the 89% of PNQ’s, some may have been wrongly accused due to non disclosure of naturally occuring sugars.

As a parent who needs to make 2 lunches every school morning, this comes as a surprise and a disappointment as pre packaged items save a lot of time in the chaos of teeth brushing, dressing, hair combining and arguments that occur in getting children out the door. I am naive enough to believe that companies couldn’t blatantly lie about being healthy, but by whose definition are they basing their health claims? As ever, we must get back to the basics, stick to the outer aisles of the supermarket, and READ ingredient labels. In the wise words of Michael Pollen, author of the Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, any product that makes a health claim on the package is likely unhealthy.

See Full Press Release in the UK Journal of Obesity News or on Eureka Alert.