Balance of Food

Ethnic food aisles should be seen as an opportunity without stigma

If we consider "ethnic food" to be insulting as a concept, then the ethnic food aisle in the grocery store should hang out with the dinosaurs.

Or does the ethnic food aisle serve some useful purpose, no matter how awkward the concept is in late 2019.

As a white person of a certain age, I wouldn't profess to know the damage the concept of "ethnic food" entails in some communities. I grew up some time ago in a small town where the "exotic" food was Mexican, Italian, and Chinese.

When mainstream grocery stores first put in an "ethnic food aisle," they were seen as progress to carry foods from different countries not traditionally stocked at the store.

If a grocery store had 12 aisles, 11 of them were for "regular food", "American food". There would be part of an aisle devoted to Italian since Italian food didn't fall into ethnic or regular. Italian food essentially was defined as spaghetti, red sauce, and green cans of grated "parmesan" cheese.

I live in a large city where there are a lot of "ethnic" supermarkets. There are no "ethnic" aisles in these supermarkets. Supermercado became a word in my vocabulary for primarily Mexican supermarkets. I have frequented East Asian, African, South American, Eastern European, and Middle East markets without leaving the city limits.

I also frequent "mainstream" markets with ethnic aisles. They are my favorite part of the store. The cool foods are in the "ethnic" aisle.

I do get the perception of the color of skin associated with "ethnic" foods. Though Scandinavian foods fall into ethnic and the people are pretty white. British foods end up in the ethnic section. Mexican food is making its way outside the ethnic food aisle.

"Ethnic food" can also be foods that Americans don't generally understand. Let's be honest: Americans aren't the most enlightened people when other cultures are involved.

This is my argument for an "ethnic food aisle" in a way. The aisle is a way to say "these foods exist. Travel a bit by going down the aisle."

If grocery store data showed that people were avoiding this aisle because of the "strange" foods, that would be a compelling case for not having an ethnic food aisle.

The logical alternative would be to scatter those same foods in different areas of the grocery store so consumers would go down every aisle. Some foods could easily fall into categories in other aisles. Other foods might struggle to find a logical spot.

The "ethnic food aisle" has changed as American tastes change. Some foods have moved away to other aisles.

"If you go to the ethnic food aisle, that is sort of the last bastion of racism that you can see in full daylight in retail America," said chef David Chang on his Ringer podcast in July.

The stigma of feeling different because of different foods is a real pain experienced by second-generation immigrants and others.

The Canadian sketch troupe Tallboyz had a sketch on its CBC television show this fall about a restaurant set in a secondary school cafeteria complete with lunch shaming.

The food would be outstanding but served with a bullying or shameful factor that would take you back to awkward childhood moments.

Tim Carman's story in The Washington Post points to a different reality. Sales of international food items did better when there was an ethnic aisle in the grocery store. Customers knew where to find the foods because they knew where to go.

The United States (and Canada) are countries where the grocery store experience is more multicultural. Sometimes that comes with pitfalls such as the "ethnic food aisle." Many countries have more of a homogeneous shopping experience. 

A compromise might be to keep the convenience of an "ethnic food" aisle but reduce the stigma of the foods in the aisle.

Educating consumers about the foods might be a nice way to bridge cultures. A museum type experience where people can press a button to hear a story about the foods in front of them. A tap of a smartphone to a QR code can lead someone to a Web page that explains the food. Consumers can take pictures (subject to grocery store policy), go home and do a Web search and find out more about that food.

Explore an atypical supermarket on a rainy weekend afternoon. Look at labels; there may be a foreign language as well as English on the label. Buy something and create a weeknight meal tied to that food or culture.

Shedding the walls of "ethnic food" is easier when we experience something different than what we used to having. If you love ravioli, try pierogies or pot stickers. If you like a club sandwich, try a shawarma. If you love fried chicken, try Korean fried chicken.

Traveling the world in food doesn't require a passport or shots. All food and no food is ethnic food.

photos credit: me (2); Tallboyz/CBC (2)

Salt Fat Acid Heat provides impactful cooking advice

Most cooking shows are about how to cook a specific recipe with a few tips along the way. Good Eats and the new Good Eats: Reloaded are grand exceptions though consumed a bit about the science of how cooking happens.

Salt Fat Acid Heat is a 4-part series on Netflix from Samin Nosrat, author of the book that inspired the series. The series helps you to understand cooking breaking things down to the 4 core elements.

The series takes us around the world as each episode is devoted to a region suited to the element:

Salt	Japan
Fat	Liguria, Italy
Acid	Yucatan, Mexico
Heat	Berkeley, CA

 

Salt

Nosrat tells us salt is prevalent in every world cuisine. We seek salt not just in crystals but in foods that contain salt, such as olives, cheese, pickles, and capers. Salt also provides umami to dishes. She shows us how in Japan, they make salt from seaweed.

Nosrat teaches us there are 3 basic decisions where salt is concerned:

• when to salt (Salt meat in advance and do on all sides. Season meat on the bone the minute she gets back from the butcher.)
• layering salt (Use less salt on the meat if you are going to marinade with salty ingredients. You can get other flavor benefits from salty ingredients.)
• how much salt (The less time food spends in the water, the saltier the water has to be.)

The third decision gets us back to a battle we have had over time about the absolute need to salt the pasta water.

What's Tempting: Salting the pasta water

What's Tempting: Salting the pasta water Part II

Taking seasoning advice with a grain of salt

Many cooking shows told of the need to have a lot of salt in the pasta water, but no one explained the concept as well as Nosrat did. In our earlier experiments, perhaps we didn't use enough salt to be able to tell. If you do something because a TV chef tells you to do something, you aren't really learning but doing. With Nosrat, you are learning why to do something.

Fat

Nosrat shares with us that fat provides flavor and texture as well as amplifying other flavors. The key is how to harness its magic.

She points out fat has 5 distinct textures: creamy, flaky, crispy, tender, and light. Fat transforms simple ingredients into a great meal.

We see the collecting of olives that are turned into olive oil. We see the foccacia become buttery and crumbly thanks to the olive oil.

The parts of the pig are on display and how the fat from the pig produces wonderful pork products with that glorious fat. We learn about the milk from the red cows that is sweeter and fatter ultimately turned into Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

We see in a simple ragu dish of the number of fat options, including soffrito (olive oil), beef, pork, and beef fat. Nosrat let us know that fat can transform simple ingredients into a great meal.

Acid

Nosrat teaches us that acid brightens food and balances flavors in dishes. The episodes focuses quite a bit of sour oranges and sweet lemons.

Fermentation also adds acid to dishes such as pickles, vinegar, and red wine. Browning also produces acidity. Marinating a food in acid is more effective in a short-term burst and produces distinct results as opposed to cooking in acid.

Nosrat points out that atypical foods such as coffee, chocolate, bananas, and honey qualify as acidic. She tells the story of her first Thanksgiving dinner in the United States and working cranberry sauce into other dishes to get that acid effect.

Heat

Heat takes us to where Nosrat got started at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA where she was taught to pay attention to the food not the fire. There were no settings on the ovens so you had to learn to use other senses.

We see steaks cooked at Chez Panisse over a fire with the steak cooked more than halfway on first side and browning all over not just doing it for grill marks.

This also happens when Nosrat cooks buttermilk marinated roasted chicken. Since the heat is in the back of oven, put the legs toward the back. When the legs are relaxed, the chicken is done.

Nosrat makes a rice dish with her mother: Persian-ish rice with tahdig. The dish involves steaming and frying, producing the rice at the bottom that is crunchy in a very good way.

BalanceofFood.com television coverage

Even if you are watching an episode of one element, the other elements make cameos in the other segments. Fat will be in the Salt segment while salt plays a part in the Heat segment. We learn in the Heat segment that the same saltiness comes from 1 tsp. of Morton kosher salt and 2 tsp. of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

The cuisines are defined by the fat and salt that they use.

Nosrat shares her own personal story having grown up in Iran and working at Chez Panisse. Her ability to speak Spanish and Italian (she used to live in Italy) help her help us gather more information. She is very personable, curious about food no matter how spicy or unusual. There is a lot of laughter and all of that laughter feels natural and warm.

She talks about how you don't need fancy ingredients to cook good food. The salad she makes in the Heat episode is white beans with a bunch of roasted vegetables, a few herbs, and a simple dressing. Most American kitchens aren't serving that kind of a meal. Salt Fat Acid Heat is trying to change that dynamic.

video credit: YouTube/Netflix
photo credit: Salt Fat Acid Heat

UHT milk provides longer shelf life but nutrition and taste are lost

If you need a long-shelf life for your regular milk, you might be excited that you are seeing expiration dates longer into the future. We are seeing this especially in organic milk.

However, those longer shelf-lives come as a result of the milk going through the process of ultra high temperature (UHT) or being ultra-pasteurized. Are the advantages of organic milk being compromised by being UHT?

I learned the different pasteurization techniques via Alton Brown on an episode of Good Eats. The conventional process is 145°F for 30 minutes. Brown referenced HTST pasteurization (high temperature/short time), which is 161°F for 15 seconds. UHT is 280°F for 2 seconds and then cooled quickly.

Brown noted that low and slow is the way to go because it produces better flavor and body.

Nutrition is more important than taste, but a better tasting milk means more milk will be consumed, especially by children. Drinking milk is also about health above and beyond calcium and protein.

Scouring the Internet won't take you long to find articles about the evils of UHT pasteurization, such as altering the milk protein structure is altered and that UHT milk has less folate and could have reduced Vitamin B₁₂, Vitamin C, and Thiamin.

From the Weston A. Price Foundation:

According to Lee Dexter, microbiologist and owner of White Egret Farm goat dairy in Austin, Texas, ultra-pasteurization is an extremely harmful process to inflict on the fragile components of milk. Dexter explains that milk proteins are complex, three-dimensional molecules, like tinker toys. They are broken down and digested when special enzymes fit into the parts that stick out. Rapid heat treatments like pasteurization, and especially ultra-pasteurization, actually flatten the molecules so the enzymes cannot do their work. If such proteins pass into the bloodstream (a frequent occurrence in those suffering from "leaky gut," a condition that can be brought on by drinking processed commercial milk), the body perceives them as foreign proteins and mounts an immune response. That means a chronically overstressed immune system and much less energy available for growth and repair.

If you like raw milk or want to have the milk as little pasteurized as possible, UHT milk goes to the other extreme.

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The UHT process doesn’t add nutrition to the process. UHT milk isn’t safer than regular pasteurization. The primary advantage to UHT is that grocery stores can increase profits. Less milk to throw out and more people will buy milk with a longer shelf life.

You can drink regular milk past the expiration date. Unless you take a long time to consume a container of milk, you almost never have to worry about spoilage. And if you need a long-term, shelf-stable milk, you can buy non-dairy milk.

Your food can be “too safe.” The U.S. has allowed irradiation of ground beef since 1999. Health Canada approved irradiation of ground beef last year but that information must be declared on the label. Irradiated ground beef might be "safe" but I wouldn't want to eat that beef.

We praise Europe’s food process, but the UHT wave comes from Europe. You might remember the Parmalat milk from the 1990s. Finding UHT milk is much easier in Europe, but then again, raw milk is easier to find in Europe.

If I’m going to drink milk, I want to get as much complete nutrition as I can in that glass. UHT milk makes buying and drinking milk less worrisome to some people, but provides no worthy reason where nutrition is concerned.

Organic or conventional, you still have to eat fruits and vegetables

Eating vegetables have many barriers: Texture, raw vs. cooked, cost, taste. Pesticides are a concern but they shouldn't prevent you from eating vegetables.

A dietitian friend of mine had a social media post that said people were not eating enough fruits and vegetables. I would argue that fruits aren't as much of a concern, but we all agree that we aren't eating enough vegetables.

The next part of the post puzzled me: the Dirty Dozen, Clean 15, and other lists were scaring people away from eating fruits and vegetables. I responded online that people weren't being scared away from fruits and vegetables because of the lists.

To clarify, the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 type lists break down which fruits and vegetables should be bought as organic vs. conventionally grown. The lists are also helpful in what isn't on them. They suggest buying organic for certain fruits and vegetables. If a fruit or vegetable isn't on that list, then the lists tell us you don't have to be as concerned. The lists should increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables by giving consumers information to make safer and better choices.

The reply was that people were scared and this study was the proof.

"We surveyed 510 low-income shoppers to learn about their attitudes about organic and conventional fruits and vegetables (FV) and what would happen if we provided them with information about organic and conventional growing practices from a variety of sources. In general, participants preferred organic FV; however, cost was a significant barrier to purchase them. Informational statements about organic and conventional FV did not increase participants' likelihood to purchase more FV. In contrast, messages naming specific FV with pesticides shifted participants toward 'less likely' to purchase any type of FV regardless whether organically or conventionally grown. The results provide insight about how low-income people view FV and how communications may influence their purchase intention."

The study focuses on the impact of communications on purchase intention. The flaw in the study is that the information is incomplete and without context. Let's look at 3 major areas of concern:

• People are scared of the idea of pesticides without knowing a whole lot. Let's start with a dose of reality: conventional-grown produce has pesticides. Organic produce can and often has pesticides. The difference is which pesticides are used, how much of the pesticide is being used, and whether or not those pesticides are outlawed in other parts of the world.
• Farmers markets sell produce that often is grown to organic standards without being certified organic in part due to cost and tedious paperwork. Produce at those markets are usually cheaper than certified organic products in a grocery store. Some farmers markets take food assistance funds (food stamps) as payment.
• The study doesn't address hydroponic vegetables grown in warehouses without a speck of pesticide.

"In general, participants preferred organic FV; however, cost was a significant barrier to purchase them." We hear this quite often that "organic" means "too expensive." Sometimes, this is true but the marketplace has shifted quite a bit. Trader Joe's, for those who are near one, and even conventional stores carry organic foods at more reasonable prices.

The U.S. consumer complains about high food prices. In a world comparison, U.S. food prices are pretty low compared to similar countries but U.S. wages have been stagnant in terms of buying power for 40 years. The cost difference between conventional and organic may seem too high for some consumers but may depend on accessibility to cheaper organic food.

You have to develop your own system for buying fruits and vegetables that fit your nutritional, physical, and psychological concerns. You might want to support local farmers. You might not care where your fruits and vegetables got their start. The marketplace is large enough for all types of decisions.

You might enjoy rinsing and cleaning your fruits and vegetables and figure this is the price you pay for buying relatively cheaper produce. You can choose to follow the clean organic lists such as the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 for some produce and be more open in other areas of produce.

You might not have enough time or money to do anything more than shop in one huge place where organic is a pipe dream. Everybody in all these scenarios and more have an obligation to themselves to consume fruits and vegetables.

Frozen or canned fruits and vegetables can be a wonderful option for consumers. With canned fruits and vegetables, rinsing canned fruit (for ingredients that aren't juice) and vegetables (too much sodium) is a really good idea. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be an amazing supplement when in season whether growing them yourself, getting them at farmers markets, or at the local supermarket.

The ultimate reason you will eat those fruits and vegetables is taste. People who pick organic or farmers markets usually find that the taste of fruits and vegetables is better. They might pay more but they are more likely to eat those fruit and vegetables. Nutrition only counts if you eat what you buy.

For those 510 low-income people in Chicago (a significant scientific flaw in the study for using 510 people all from one location: Chicago), we have good news. You can use food assistance funds in select farmers markets. There are beautiful hydroponic vegetables growing in warehouses in your city without a drop of pesticides.

The United States makes food shopping rather difficult because of the Wild West mentality that food companies can try to sneak things past you that you don't want in your family's food supply. Being diligent has to be a part of the food shopping process. You have to learn about what is out there and make your own smart decisions that work with your core values. And yes, you have to eat your fruits and vegetables.

photo credit: this site

Food Evolution tries to show us GMOs aren't all bad

I've seen a number of films that profess the wonders of growing organic. Being anti-GMO is part of the drill.

Food Evolution is a film that tells us GMOs are good. The truth lies somewhere in between but is that closer to this new film?

As part of a lunch-and-learn series this month, we will see the film broken up in 2 different sessions followed by a discussion on the topic.

The films I've seen want the truth. Food Evolution wants the truth. As we've learned about freedom on this food blog, truth seems to be in the eye of the beholder. While the definition of freedom will always have different hues, truth should be black and white.

There may be a section of anti-GMOs proponents who are also against genetic engineering of any kind. Most of the anti-GMO crowd can handle what happened to the rainbow papaya in Hawaii, where inserting genes from another plant helped bring back the plant to life. Given that GMOs work in a similar way to genetic engineering (GE), you might wonder about splitting hairs but this argument isn't as much about the technology but how that technology is being used. In other words, genetic engineering has some validity; Monsanto's use of said technology doesn't have validity.

Golden rice, adding beta-carotene (Vitamin A) to rice, as well as developing disease-resistant and drought-tolerant crops are examples of genetic engineering that have great potential, with the emphasis on potential to be a positive force in improving nutrition around the world.

'Fed Up' speaks to limited truth along with whining and exploitation

'Farmland' is propaganda, but Katie Couric doesn't help 'Fed Up' credibility

What's Tempting: GMO-free Cheerios

BalanceofFood.com film coverage

These films have a point of view. How that point of view is presented speaks volumes about their own case. If you have the truth on your side, using propaganda techniques doesn't help your cause. BalanceofFood is a journalism blog so we don't like propaganda even if we agree with the message.

We will have a review of the film later this month as well as a wrapup of the discussion early in April.

video credit: YouTube/Abramorama Inc

New Year's resolution for dietitians: be nicer to each other on social media

"Twitter archives also show that the clique has ganged up on colleagues who criticize the conventional food system: questioning their credentials, accusing them of taking money from special interests, and hounding conference organizers and academy chapters that have worked with them.

"Victims say the campaigns are typically sparked by philosophical disagreements, and not scientific ones, as instigators claim. The predominant organizer of these campaigns, who tweets in a personal capacity, declined to speak to The Post about them, referring questions to the academy (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)."

Social media battles are all too commonplace. Despite being experts in their field, dietitians don't always agree. A recent article in The Washington Post gave us an insight into some of the food industry battles.

As much as I love dietitians, their conflicts of interest can be a real problem. So some of these social media arguments stem from a need to defend their territory. The other dynamic, given that most dietitians are female, is that women usually have a worse experience on social media, such as Twitter.

The Washington Post article particularly noted the attacks received by those who raised concerns about GMOs and the conventional food system. At BalanceofFood.com, we heartily challenge the current food system, especially in the United States and Canada. They are also the only major countries that don't label GMOs.

Here are some tips for dietitians to avoid the temptations of being a social media bully:

• List your conflicts of interest in your Twitter bio. If you aren't proud of it and can't list them, maybe you should reconsider them.
• If you are certain of your beliefs, state them calmly. You will look like the better person with a calm or subtle reaction.
• Food issues are always going to be up for debate. Listen more and you might be surprised what you can learn.
• If your employer or other conflict of interest puts pressure to react badly on social media, remind them that their reputation decreases in prominence with online bullying.
• Don't be tied down to conventions that you don't see concerns that might fall out of the nutrition norm, such as the environmental impact.
• Remember that your vocation is designed to help people eat better. If your fight isn't about that, remember what is truly important about being a dietitian.

With my interest in food and nutrition, some have asked why I didn't want to be a dietitian. I like the concept of a dietitian: what they know and the good they can bring. But too many of them seem caught up in serving other masters rather than trying to inform. Guess I could say the same thing for journalists sometimes.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association) did come out recently with a social media guidance in the academy’s Food and Nutrition magazine. Members are presented with a Pledge of Professional Civility that promotes constructive dialogue and avoids personal attacks.

Dietitians have the knowledge and power to help improve the way people look at food. Conflicts of interest, perhaps a financial evil, often cloud the perception and reputation of the dietitian vocation. Dietitians who are forcibly negative to their fellow dietitians make this perception even worse.

Dietitians: help out your profession and tone down your social media reactions. Feel free to respond with your own thoughts. A thoughtful discussion will bring out your considerable nutrition knowledge, something that regular people may not know dietitians have in their repertoire.

photo credit: source

Vending machines in France show new way to get produce from farmers

Farmers grow food. People eat food. Getting farmer food to consumers requires creative planning.

Let's look at the pros and cons of delivering fresh food to consumers:

Farmers markets

• Advantages: Get to meet and talk with customers. Get a fairer price for the produce.
• Disadvantages: Farmers have to be salespeople or hire people to sell their produce.

Grocery stores

• Advantages: Willing to buy a lot of food.
• Disadvantages: No personal touch. Won't take "less than perfect" produce. Stores don't pay farmers too well for their produce.

In France, they are trying a different direction: fresh produce in vending machines. Farmers are using vending machines as a way to get fresh local produce to consumers at a price point they need and without the labor cost of selling the food.

What's Tempting: Finally tasting raw milk

What's Tempting: Raw milk from a vending machine

We explored this topic with getting raw milk from a vending machine in Europe. These vending machines are much easier to operate. The idea of getting fresh oysters in a vending machine is the latest use of this technology. The food is replaced each day so freshness isn't an issue.

The personal touch is lost but the farmers' major requirements are met with the vending machines.

BalanceofFood.com world food policy coverage

How are the vending machines helping out the consumers?

They aren't restricted to farmers markets days and hours. They are getting fresher produce than in a supermarket. They establish a relationship with a farmer, even if there is little personal contact. If farmers pass on the savings to the consumer, they will get better produce for a good price.

The major drawback, besides the personal touch, is not being able to touch the produce to get a better sense of what you are buying.

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While I like the personal touch of farmers markets and being able to see and touch the produce, after I was stuck buying regular mushrooms earlier this summer because I couldn't access the farmer in that moment, a vending machine would have been ideal.

The vending machines are similar to the automat machines, the machines you find in Europe that sell fast food sandwiches and other snacks. The machines came over from Germany, where you can also find these vending machines. The machines also take credit cards, another advantage for consumers.

Like most solutions, farmers will have to employ a variety of options that work best for their bottom line. That also includes farmers shoppes. The vending machines offer distinct advantages, especially to farmers who are shy about selling and consumers who are shy about having to strike up a conversation to get great produce.

You can find out more about these machines from outside sources: here, here, and here.

photo credit: George Nelson/Munchies.Vice.com

Preserving the integrity of Belgian frites

French fries are not French, as any Belgian will tell you. Belgian frites, a distinct product separate from French fries, is under attack from the European Union, based in the Belgium capital of Brussels.

The EU concern stems from the formation of acrylamide, a chemical reaction when starchy foods reach a temperature above 120° C (248° F).

Belgian frites are cooked at a lower temperature in the initial stage to actually cook the frites. In the second step, the frites are cooked at a higher temperature for crispness. The resulting Belgian frites have a crispy exterior and a soft interior.

Here are the basics that we know about acrylamide:

• While damage from acrylamide has been found in animals, science has not seen damage in humans.
• There is no link between acrylamide and increased risk of cancer.
• The longer you cook the food, the more chance you have of increased acrylamide in the food.
• Blanching the food (placing briefly in boiling water) prior to frying reduces the sugar by half, leading to lower acrylamide levels.

The last point is the European Union "solution." The pro-frites crowd see this as blasphemy.

"It is important to be mindful not to take measures that have unintended and far-reaching consequences for our rich gastronomic tradition," Ben Weyts, Belgium's tourism minister wrote in a letter to the food policy commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis. "Our fries owe their flavour to the craftsmanship of our chippies, who fry chips raw and then fry them a second time. I understand that outside our country they have different cultures. But we have our own cultural tradition. It would be a shame if the European Union prohibited it."

One option Weyts gave to CBC Radio's As It Happens is to lower the temperature on the finishing step for the frites. That temperature would still be higher than the mark where acrylamide begins. That seems to be a useless compromise as the current temperatures give the frites their special quality and don’t significantly reduce acrylamide levels.

Frites would be "safe" relatively speaking from acrylamide, but wouldn't be as tasty or culturally significant.

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The EU solution is considered "safe" in the same way that banning all medium-rare burgers in Canada is "safe." Then again, the carcinogens from overcooking meat aren’t considered. Using fresh potatoes instead of frozen actually increases the acrylamide concern.

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You would have to eat a lot of Belgian frites to even run into an issue. Acrylamide levels could prove significant, but the science isn’t at that point.

If portion control is a concern, you should definitely split a petite frites. In Belgium and surrounding areas, the smallest portion is rather huge. If you get a grand frites, have several friends and even strangers to help you out.

If you are into cooking potatoes in the Belgian frites manner, one key step is not to put potatoes in the refrigerator.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

BalanceofFood.com world food policy coverage

The European Commission proposal would only recommend blanching the potatoes to reduce the intake of acrylamide. “The commission is preparing a new regulatory measure to oblige food business operators to apply a code of practice to reduce acrylamide in food, as it is carcinogenic,” said an European Commission spokesperson.

The good news is there won’t be a Belgian frites ban but you have to hope the frietkot (frites stand) is doing them the old-fashioned way instead of following new regulatory measures where the primary impact is to reduce the quality of the frites.

photos credit: me

What's Tempting: Making Italian pasta your own

Amatriciana. Carbonara. Gricia. Cacio e pepe.

This is not a new Italian singing group. These are the 4 primary pasta dishes centering around combinations of bacon, cheese, and pepper.

Amatriciana adding a tomato sauce with guanciale, red pepper flakes, pecorino romano, and pepper
Carbonara adding an egg to pancetta, pecorino romano, and pepper
Gricia bacon, pecorino romano, and pepper
Cacio e pepe pecorino romano and pepper

These are the basics of these sauces. Ask any Italian nona and you will get variations within variations. Some will swear an amatriciana sauce gets onions; some will swear that there are no onions. Carbonara can get peas but mostly don't.

Bacon comes in 3 different names: lardo, pancetta, and guanciale. Lardo consists of thin strips that don't add much flavor or taste. Pancetta is cured Italian bacon. Guanciale comes from the jowls of the pig and is much harder to find.

Adding new cultures to our food regime can awaken sluggish, repetitive takes on food. Most people have had Italian food, so the country's food is not new. However, most Americans have had variations on Italian-American food. For most people, this is a little new.

The great things about these Italian pasta dishes is that the foods are not complicated, hard to find, or unusual. You might find after trying these dishes that Spaghetti O's is no longer your sweet spot for Italian food.

After traveling to Italy last fall, I wanted to replicate the experience I had with these pasta dishes. I dragged home several pounds of Italian pasta. I scoured out to the farthest reaches of Chicago to get really good pancetta. I looked for bucatini, pici, spaghetii alla chitarra, and other similar pastas. I hunted for the best tomato puree that I could find. I brought back really good red pepper flakes from Italy.

In Rome, Florence, and scattered places in Tuscany, I found many outstanding plates of pasta and some okay plates. The good plates have meaty, salty goodness; sweet but not too sweet tomato taste; the burn of red pepper flakes; and the salty goodness of a fine percorino romano. I had one cacio e pepe that was so intense I struggled to finish a medium-sized plate.

I also had plates with lardo that you could barely see and definitely not taste. I had dishes that were supposed to have the spice of the red pepper flakes and found no spice in the dish. I was shut out of a few places that perhaps had wonderful plates that I may never taste.

After considerable practice, I could honestly say I could not compete with the best plates I had. I could do better than some of the plates I had in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.

I experimented with different variations as to how much pasta water to add or red pepper flakes to throw into the sauce. The best guanciale I had might have been in Toronto and not Rome. The pancetta I found in Chicago was very nice but didn't compare to what I had elsewhere. The tomato products varied in consistency and most were too thin. It's easy to use pasta water to thin a sauce but most of the sauces I had were too thin to start.

The pastas were good but none really excelled in taste. The best spaghetti I found in Windsor, Ontario in the city's Little Italy neighborhood. But I found ones better than I have had at home.

The best plates in Italy had rich beautiful sauces that needed wine or Coca-Cola to cool the heat from the red pepper flakes. The consistency was ideal and the meat was plentiful. I had a few meals where I cooked the food in a limited kitchen setup. I couldn't duplicate that well in the kitchen in Rome but would be curious what I could do in a real kitchen in Italy. The fresh porcini mushrooms were really amazing.

The bucatini I had in Italy was supreme. The bucatini I had here didn't work out too well. A hearty spaghetti will do just fine.

You also have to consider that if Italy is your destination, Italian food labels are more precise, listing percentages on the ingredient list. European Union standards are much higher than in the United States. Italians really care about the quality of their food.

The top picture is my attempt back in the United States. The other picture was from a really nice place in Rome.

Two things in the good dishes aren't on the recipe: love and patience. The Italian nona does add a lot of love to the dishes. Patience requires knowing that your dish will take time to make and knowing when to do what to do thanks to patience.

Traveling and eating would be something I could do for the rest of my life. The memory of those meals can get you through until the next trip. Bringing back that education can help you try and match what you found. Even if you don't match what you found on your travel adventures, trying is also part of the fun. You may find that your meals at home will be better as a result.

photos credit: me

What's Tempting: Corned beef on a Friday during Lent

We've gone 11 years since St. Patrick's Day on March 17 was on a Friday. If you aren't Catholic, specifically Irish Catholic, you might miss the significance of a Friday with St. Patrick's Day.

The Fridays of Lent, including Good Friday, as well as Ash Wednesday, are days where Catholics are supposed to abstain from meat. Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional meal on St. Patrick's Day.

The sacrifice of going without meat for 7 days in the springtime is not a terribly significant sacrifice. But if your desire for corned beef and Irish heritage is stronger than your faith, religion, or desire to sacrifice, then you have a dilemma.

Fortunately for North American Catholics, cardinals actually weigh in to allow Catholics to make an exception. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago is giving general dispensation to Catholics concerning March 17. The cardinal does note that Catholics who eat meat should substitute another form of penance. If a cardinal did not weigh in to help out Irish Catholics, that would be news.

Corned beef a sin?

As a lapsed recovering Catholic who thought the rules were strange at the time, the idea of moving a meat-free day made sense. If there is a situation with a Friday, such as travel or you are in the hospital and they don't tell you beef broth is in the soup, move it to another day. Take 2 days without meat in lieu of 1 day if karma is a concern.

If you still don't trust the divine world of a Catholic cardinal, bothers you to eat corned beef, celebrate St. Patrick's Day well past midnight local time and start the corned beef after the bewitching hour. You celebrate the holiday with corned beef but you actually eat it on a Saturday.

You could have celebrated with corned beef late Thursday night. Have the corned beef in your mouth before midnight or chew it but swallow the meat at 11:59:59.

You could accidentally forget that it was a Friday as you were eating the corned beef, but the idea is that if you know it was wrong in your heart, you aren't supposed to do it.

Temptation of the Week: Eating meat on Fridays in Lent

You can be smart about March Madness, St. Patrick's Day, great food and drink temptations

In case you thought this was only about corned beef and the Irish, come hear the story of caguama.

In Mexican society, caguama, or sea turtle, is a popular dish because the sea turtles are supposedly a tonic and an aphrodisiac. During Lent, Mexicans eat the sea turtle, believing it qualifies as fish when the sea turtle is meat. There was a push in 2002 to get Pope John Paul II to declare that sea turtles were meat instead of fish.

Reptiles fall into the meat category even if they sometimes live in the water.

BalanceofFood.com religion coverage

"Judge not, and you will not be judged." (Luke 6:37).

I'll play it safe and not judge people based on what they want to be with their religious take on food whether that be Yom Kippur, Ramadan, or meat on Lenten Fridays. Just like you need to follow your own Balance of Food, you need to follow your conscience in how that works.

If you are an overall good person, sneaking a little corned beef on a Friday isn't that high of a priority. Decisions from cardinals can help ease the guilt of potential sin. But you have to go by what is in your heart.

After today, you have 6 more years to wonder what to do before March 17, 2023. That should be plenty of time to debate this dilemma once again.

photo credit: VeryCulinary.com