Know your Farmer, Know your Food

Today in class I learned a lot about some of the different aspects of organic foods and more specifically organic farming. I thought I did a decent job with my research that I put into with the presentation but there were a couple of key elements that I left out. One specific part that Chef pointed out that does not really apply to the chain supermarkets selling organic produce. The “know your farmer” phrase can and still does play a major role in some of the most highly respected restaurants in the US and buying organic can mean that I am purchasing a superior product than that of a conventional item. I learned that through proper practices in organic farming the soil becomes rich in nutrients and will end up producing a better and more satisfying product.  And, the word "organic" on a label does not always mean that the farm is using proper practices to develop nutrient rich soils.

            Also in class today I learned a lot about the difference between composed salads and the regular salads that I would see served at a lot of the chain restaurants in Indianapolis. I was one of the people that took the practical final and had no idea about any of the base, body elements (probably because I never had Chef England) that any salad served at a restaurant is supposed to have. My thoughts before were always lettuce and then you throw some raw vegetables on top and overload with dressing. Appetizing? Absolutely not. So, producing these salads today gave me such a better perspective on how a true salad should be composed and how there should be thought and careful critique as an end result. I really enjoyed setting up the room today and I was very appreciative to see the time that all of us put into trying to make each plate look good.  At the very least, it was certainly better than any house salad I have forced myself to eat at our (insert chain restaurant name here)!

Preservation of Seasonal Foods

Man has been preserving food since the beginning of time. Curing and drying were the most common ways to preserve fruits, vegetables and meats. In the Medieval days they used a method called dry-salting where the meat or fish was buried in salt and they also did brine-curing where meat was soaked in salt water. Today we have more hi-tech methods of food preservation such, as vacuum packing, and irradiation, which is exposing food to ionizing radiation. Yesterday in my Garde Manager class Chef England brought in a load of vegetables from his garden, there were three types of tomatoes and some peppers. We had the opportunity to preserve these vegetables using three different preservation methods. The preservation processes we used were drying, pickling, and canning. I helped with pickling the peppers; I can’t wait to taste them. Since I have been a student at Ivy Tech I have been introduced to the new movement of” buy local” and grow your own food. I have never grown any thing in my and I find this exciting and I would like to start my own small garden. I have also started buying from local farmers personally and I have encouraged my employer to add local products to our menu.

            I think that the reason for a lot of the health issues and obesity in this country is due to the fact that when America became industrialized we became a country that needed convenience. As technology has grown the quality of our food has decreased, we need to get back to the basics. I want to get down on my knees and get my hands dirty growing and preserving my own food and teaching others to do likewise, instead of eating at fast food restaurants and grabbing the prepackaged meal.

It was a busy night, discussing making cheese, preserving seasonal foods, and trying to catch up on everything left over from our charcuterie. I learned quite a bit and am really looking forward to putting it all into use in my career and at home.

                        The first part of last night dealt with the discussion of making cheese. This was my responsibility. I gave a short PowerPoint presentation on the history of cheese, the history of rennet – a  crucial ingredient in making cheese – and briefly covered the production process. I would have discussed that more, but I had arranged with a professional cheese maker to come in and discuss the actual methods they use in production. According to Chef, their company – Swissland Cheese – is one of the largest privately owned cheese makers in Indiana. I was very impressed with their operation, and also with the level of interest shown by most of my classmates. (I have to admit I was also very impressed with their “chedda feta blue” cheese!It was funny to me, when I walked them out afterwards, how impressed they were with my presentation. They were also very impressed with the other presenter, and her presentation on preserving seasonal foods.

            The other person's presentation covered the different methods used in preservation, such as canning, pickling, drying and jellying to name a few. It was very interesting to learn just how easy it was to do many of these. I knew about jellying, as I make jams and jellies at home nearly every year, but I learned a lot about canning other foods, like the use of a pressure cooker being necessary for the canning of low acid foods. Now, I know what to ask for at Christmas!

            I would love to say the most important lesson I learned was related to any of these subjects, but unfortunately that was not the case. The most important lesson I learned had to do with people. I learned that one negative attitude can ruin the pleasure of learning.  As a leader, it is a true challenge to harness peoples positive energy.  However, on a more positive note, I also learned that most of my classmates are supportive, encouraging, truly friendly, and that they honestly enjoyed our discussions yesterday.

Smoking...Food

I learned that the white smoke is a suspension of water droplets. Once a meat forms a pellicle the water droplets then have something to cling to. After I sat and thought about the research I had done on smoking and the use of liquid smoke, it really made a lot of since to me as far as the smoke being water droplets which contains the smokey smell and flavors in them that adhere to the product being smoked. This is the same process they use to manufacture liquid smoke. I also learned that there has to be two openings or flutes when smoking. The purpose of this is to have a continuous air flow and to prevents standing smoke which would cause carcinogen that are harmful to us. I did not know that machine smokers also use liquid smoke. I was surprised to find out that most of the smoked foods that I had eaten was the product of liquid smoke. I also learned that the pellicle is actually a good bacteria that forms around the meat. The purpose of the pellicle is to give the smoke something to stick to, drys the outside and keeps inside moisture and to prevent the fat from reaching the outside, which can cause spoilage.

When doing a platter for presentation I learned that it is very important to use gelatin. The gelatin will provide a nice glossy look to the platter and it will help to hold the foods shape. I personally have never used gelatin before so I am looking forward to learning how to use them correctly to help with my platter presentation. As far as the platter its self, I believe most of the class is still having a little difficulty determining the difference between some vegetables and starches. I think the class is finally starting to catch on to having a theme as well as a flow to the platter presentations. To me it's a little difficult sometimes because it's all about how each person views and interprets the setup.