Green Zebra

North American "Honey"

2012-02-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

By:

Alice Tognacci

University of Gastronomic Sciences

2010 Summer UNH Student

Today, during our field trip in Vermont, we saw a maple forest with plastic tubing system for sap collection. I’ve never seen it before, so I’ve decided to write a paper about the two mains methods of extraction that today are used to produce maple syrup.

Maple syrup is a natural sweetener well known in North America. I’ve tested it five years ago thanks to my ex Canadian roommate, who use to make me pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast.

In Italy, this “honey” is not so common and well-known, for this reason was interesting know more about its production.

This syrup is made from the sap of sugar maple trees and 40 gallons of sap make 1 gallon of syrup.

The maple sap is extracted between March and April, during the “sugaring season”, when the sap goes up to the tree thanks to hotter temperatures of the spring. There are two main ways to collect it. The traditional method consist in make holes in the trunks of the maple, insert spouts into the holes and than hung a bucket from the end of each spout to collect the sap. In this way, the sap slowly fills the buckets, drop by drop.

At this point, farmers have to gather sap, bring it to the evaporator house, where the boiling process can begin and it takes more or less 8 hours, without add any addictive.

This technology remained quite the same until 1970s, when farmers could no longer effort to collect all the buckets and haul the sap to the boiling process. During these years, syrup makers adopted the tubing system, thanks to which the sap comes directly from the tree’s trunk to the evaporator house.

Making syrup was so labor intensive and this innovation helped farmers to facilitate the sap harvest. For this reason, after years, also a vacuum pump was added to the tubing system.

Today, sap extraction using these tools is preferred by most maple syrup producers because the use of buckets system is more labor intensive and requires a larger economic effort than the newer one. Nevertheless, some little farmers continue to use this traditional method and many families use to produce maple syrup at home as it is shown in several web sites, which explain step by step how to make a good and safe maple syrup at home.

This is a strong signal that underlines the important of this “sweet nectar” in North America and some U.S states, as Sugar Momma has taught to us…

WSBE Gourmet Dinner Co-hosts Benefit with Granite State Fish and Seacoast Local.

2012-02-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday March 4th

Welcome and reception 4:30-5pm

Dinner 5-7pm
The evening will entail learning opportunities about the state of the local fishing industry.

Area chefs, fisherman and researchers will be present as guests—join the conversation and learn about the hurdles and opportunities for our local economy. And, the Advanced Food and Beverage Management students from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire will provide an excellent three course dinner featuring local seafood—off the docks to your plate. Proceeds will go towards local fish industry research.

The event will be held at the Thompson School of Applied Science on UNH's main campus in Durham.
Thompson School of Applied Science, Cole Hall, 291 Mast Road, Durham, NH 03824 (Mast Road is off the Main Street rotary)

To purchase tickets: http://guide.seacoastlocal.org/local-fish-dinner

Congressional Hunger Center offers Anti- Hunger Fellows Positions

2011-12-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program Description

The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program, a project of the Congressional Hunger Center, is a unique leadership development opportunity for motivated individuals seeking to make a difference in the struggle to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Each year 20 participants are selected for this eleven-month program. Fellows are placed for half their term of service with community-based organizations all over the country involved in fighting hunger at the local level, such as grass roots organizing groups, food banks, economic development agencies, local advocacy groups and faith-based organizations. They then move to Washington, D.C. to complete the year with national organizations involved in the anti-hunger and poverty movement, including national advocacy organizations, think tanks, and federal agencies. Through this unique program, the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program develops effective leaders with a deep understanding of hunger and poverty at both the local and national level that enables them to find innovative solutions and create the political will to end hunger.

Deadline

The application deadline for the 2012– 2013 program is January 17, 2012.

Selection Criteria

Commitment to social justice

· Demonstrated leadership qualities and skills

· Commitment to anti-racism

· Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

· U.S. citizenship or permanent residency

· Flexibility and ability to adjust to new situations

· Creativity and initiative in problem solving

· Willingness to learn from experts in the field, and commitment to the search for new models in anti-hunger and anti-poverty work

Application Timeline

January 17, 2012: Applications Due
February & March 2012: Interviews with semi-finalists (via telephone and/or in person in Washington, D.C.)
April 2012: Notification of Emerson Fellows Class of 2012-2013
Late August/Early September: 19th Class Fellows begin their service

http://www.hungercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Emerson-National-Hunger-Fellowship1.pdf

Jewish Food With a Twist by Mollie Katzen via JointMedia News Service

2011-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

During brunch one Sunday, my friend pointed an accusatory finger at my meal-a lox and cream cheese bagel, overflowing with onions, cucumbers, and a host of other vegetables-and said that it wasn't 'Jewish.' I looked to see what specifically he might have been addressing, but it turns out he was referring to the bell peppers on top of my lunch. My confusion sparked a debate at that moment--and a question that has stuck with me since: What is Jewish food?

When I was a young girl in upstate New York in the late 1950s, bagels were still considered to be ethnic bread. There were only a handful of bagel bakeries across the U.S., and most were centered in the lower east side of New York City. Our bagels were flown up from the city only on Sunday mornings (in very limited editions), and delivered directly to Mr. Rasnick's tiny grocery store, where they sold out in a matter of hours. And then we had to wait a week for more.
We knew there were only two kinds, plain and poppy seed- and as far as my family was concerned, there were only three acceptable ingredients to eat them with: butter, cream cheese, or lox. Bagels were Jewish, bagels with cream cheese were Jewish, and bagels with cream cheese and lox were Jewish, and that was Jewish food.
It never went further than that for me, until I moved to Berkeley decades later, and began serving the by-then available-everywhere-far-inferior California bagels with a platter of vegetables. And it was then that I received my friend's shocked declaration. I responded that whether or not he thought my food was Jewish, I was, it was, and that was all good enough for me.
That was when I realized that the definition of a non-Jewish food is whatever your family didn't eat.
Jewish food is by its nature subjective. There is not one kind of Jewish food-nor can we boast of a bona fide cuisine. Diaspora Jews have lived all over the world and we have adopted the cooking customs from wherever we've lived. So affected have Jews been by our locale's foods, that it has, at times, influenced religious tradition (rather than the other way around). Sephardic Jews, for example, are permitted to eat kitniyot (maize, peas, beans) on Passover, while Ashkenazi Jews are restricted from it. So Jewish food has always been subjective by geography, but as my friend demonstrated, it is also sentimentally defined by each family.
While often extremely creative and adventurous in many other areas, we humans tend to hold on to the familiar when it comes to food. The meals we grew up with remind us of our childhood, giving us stability in a world that can change at the drop of a hat. We form an emotional attachment to it.
So all of these things-geography, family, and our sense of personal connection- weave together to define Jewish food as whatever our mothers and grandmothers made.
Keeping all of this in mind, I have been having fun incorporating a few ethnic flavor touches into the infrastructure of the foods we're used to. For the more conservative palates in our families, I took three staple Ashkenazi Jewish dishes, and gave them a twist. You might call it goyish, but enjoy it anyway.
Mexican-Style Chicken Soup with Chile, Avocado, Lime - and Jewish Fried Onions
Chicken soup is the diplomat of foods, with some form of it existing in almost every culture. Although we Jews feel like we own it, with just a few little turns of the wrist it can travel around the world and acquire other accents. And it can still be "ours."
Mexicans make beautiful soups, and to give chicken soup a Mexican twist, we don't have to go the route of cooking beans or pressing homemade tortillas (although both are nice). We can take a bowl of chicken soup south of the border simply by adding a squirt of fresh lime juice and a pinch of chili flakes. Float some tortilla chips on top, garnish with sliced avocado, and Mexican-style chicken soup is all yours.
Chai-Spiced Kugel with Cinnamon, Raisins, Saffron, and other Indian spices
For most families, especially those with eastern European roots, noodle kugel is a baked rectangle of noodles, sour cream, cottage cheese or cream cheese, and cinnamon. Not sweet enough to be a dessert, it's more of a fun brunch dish, and best of all-it can easily become chai flavored.
Going beyond the cinnamon already in the kugel, dissolve a few strands of saffron in a tiny bit of water or milk, and stir that into the noodles. Toss in pinches of cardamom and turmeric, and the combination of the spices will start to taste like chai. Bake with a topping of chopped almonds and pistachio nuts, and serve with a dollop of yogurt, and it becomes an Indian-style kugel that you will likely want to make repeatedly.
Morroccan-Style Latkes with Chermoula Sauce and Yogurt
Potato latkes are perfect for this time of year. To give them a Sephardic angle, add some minced jalapeno-or just dump in a 4-ounce can of Ortego brand diced green chilies and a large pinch or two of whole cumin seeds.
In addition to serving with sour cream, consider chermoula-a Moroccan green sauce, similar to a pesto, and usually served with fish. Chermoula can be made by pulverizing fresh cilantro in a processer with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and pinches of cayenne, cumin, and salt. It's very nutritious, almost like topping the latkes with a serving of green vegetables.
***
As you prepare these dishes remember that the one thing people will want to be unchanged is texture. People will accept different flavors, but will tend to expect the mouth feel to be something familiar. That is why these three recipes don't recreate the food, but rather build on the original template of each dish.
So, for those of you who'd like to keep your Jewish food traditional (whatever that means to you), but are yearning for a taste adventure, or even just a slight variation, give the dish a little twist. Keep it familiar, but let it run with new flavors.
Mollie Katzen is listed by The New York Times as one of the best-selling cookbook authors of all time. Largely credited with moving healthful vegetarian food from the "fringe" to the center of the American dinner plate, Katzen has been named by "Health Magazine" as one of "The Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat." She is best known as the creator of the groundbreaking classics"Moosewood Cookbook" and"The Enchanted Broccoli Forest," and has authored 15 cookbooks overall.
JointMedia News Service (JNS) is an independent, objective wire service that provides international and national news and features to primarily Jewish print and electronic media throughout the United States and the English-speaking world.

The 10 Most Impressive Farm to School Programs

2011-11-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

"If you’re not familiar with the term, it means just what it sounds like: programs that bring farm-fresh, local foods to public and even private schools so that kids can enjoy great nutrition. The programs also offer excellent educational opportunities, bringing students to farms, and chefs to classrooms, while at the same time giving local farmers a great place to sell their products. "

NH Farm to School makes the grade.

In New Hampshire, schools statewide are able to participate in the farm to school program, with healthy, locally grown foods in cafeterias, as well as curriculum based on farms, food, and nutrition. NH schools also enjoy agriculture-based learning opportunities in this program. The NH Farm to School program started out small, as a pilot program introducing local apples and cider into K-12 schools in 2003, growing to Get Smart Eat Local in 2006, which introduced local food to 10 districts in the state. Since then, the program’s connections with growers and schools has only expanded, bringing together schools, farmers, and distributors for high-quality local food and a great education to go along with it.

Go to: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/11/08/the-10-most-impressive-farm-to-school-programs/ to read about who else is doing a great job with their farm to school programs and what they are doing.

BestCollegesOnline.com helps guide "college age students towards challenging, satisfying academic programs that will propel their careers into the future." http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/ Our thanks to Tim Handorf for sending us the list of these great farm to school programs.

Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States

2011-11-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

I love pictures - graphs, maps, charts; they have a way with words.
To read more about this U.S.D.A Economic Research Report No. (ERR-128) 38 pp, November 2011 by Sarah A. Low and Stephen Vogel go to http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR128/.

Farmers Markets in Southeast, Appalachia Highly Competitive with Supermarkets, According to New Study

2011-11-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Anthony Flaccavento, founder of SCALE (Sequestering Carbon, Accelerating Local Economies), works to catalyze and accelerate economies which increase community wealth and restore or sustain the ecosystem. The EcoGastronomy dual major is fortunate enough to have Anthony as one of our advisors to the program.

Mr. Flaccavento just completed an assessment of the affordability of farmers markets, compared with mainstream supermarkets, in towns and cities in a portion of the Southeast and Appalachia. The findings, which are summarized in the attached release, are quite encouraging. An analysis of farmers markets in 19 towns and cities across 6 states in the Southeast and Appalachia found the vast majority to be price competitive with supermarkets on an array of food items, including produce meats and eggs. The study, conducted by the consulting firm, SCALE, Inc of Abingdon, Virginia looked at pricing of “every day foods”, including such things as potatoes, squash, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggs, chicken, ground beef and similar items. Data was gathered at 24 farmers markets in towns with populations ranging from 8,000 to nearly 450,000.

The study found that:

· Farmers markets were the same or less expensive overall than supermarkets 74% of the time on the range of items chosen.

· Produce was less expensive at farmers markets three fourths of the time, by an average of 22%;

· Organic produce, where available, was less expensive at farmers markets 88% of the time, by an average of 16%;

· Meats were somewhat more expensive at farmers markets in every case where available, by an average of 10%, when comparing comparably produced meats, by 47% when comparing grass-finished/free range items with conventionally raised items.

· The trend of affordability was strong in communities of all sizes, though stronger in smaller towns.

Farmers markets have dramatically increased in number across all regions of the United States, from about 1,750 in the mid-nineties to over 7000 in 2011, according to USDA. As their popularity has grown, criticism has also arisen as to their affordability for low to moderate income and working people. According to Study author, Anthony Flaccavento, “While this analysis only looked at one region of the country, it was encouraging to find that the notion that ‘local food is only for the well-to-do’ simply isn’t true. Quite the contrary, we found local food to be widely and broadly cost competitive with mainstream supermarkets, in fact generally a bit less expensive.” The study looked strictly at pricing and did not weigh other perceived advantages of local foods, including better taste, improved freshness and nutrition, reduced food miles, or benefits to local farmers and the local economy.

Ecogastronomy Director Named Finalist in the Real Food Awards

2011-11-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Daniel Winans, director of the ecogastronomy dual major and lecturer in Hospitality Management, has been named a finalist in the first Real Food Awards.
The Real Food Awards are sponsored by the Real Food Challenge (RFC), an organization that aims to shift at least 20% - or $1 billion – of university food purchasing from conventional to “real” sources by 2020 through student led campaigns.
RFC is recognizing five categories of people who make real food a reality on campuses: students, faculty, food service managers, cafeteria ‘worker-leaders,’ and food producers. The finalists have demonstrated dedication to excellence in college food whether through improving working conditions, obtaining real food in dining halls or growing sustainable and nourishing food on community farms.
All of the candidates were chosen by students because they represent people who are truly making changes in the food culture on their campuses. The Real Food Awards are the only national recognition for excellence in food service voted on by the customers themselves--a “People’s Choice Award” for the food industry.
Winners will be announced Friday, Nov. 18, and the voting period will close Wednesday, Nov. 9. To vote visit realfoodchallenge.org/programs/awards/finalists.

Outside of the Lunch Box at Dover, NH Schools

2011-10-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

There is so much happening outside of the lunch box! This is National School Lunch Week, October is National Farm to School Month and Monday, October 24, is National Food Day. Honoring Food Day, a symposium of food experts will be held at UNH open to the public; for more information Facebook Food Day UNH.

To celebrate, what’s Dover school food up to? Dover Foodservice is teaming with UNH and Seacoast Local’s newest entity, ReRootEd. ReRootEd is the outlet tackling food initiatives in the Seacoast region and collaborating with those already in action.

Dover Public High School Cafeteria Scene:

Friday, 10/21: UNH Nutritional Science Field Experiencestudents will provide information surrounding national and local food initiatives. Real Food nutrition tips will be shared with the high school students.

Friday, 11/4: The Soup Guy, Dover, NH is back! Dover students will taste a warm, healthful soup made from the hands of an industry expert. If they approve, it could be a reoccurring menu item. For more information about The Soup Guy http://thesoupguy.net/

Friday, 11/11: Hickory Nut Farm, Lee, NH artisanal goat cheese tasting. The goat milk cheeses are made from the ground up, literally. The hay and grains that feed the goats are selected and blended according to our standards and experience. As a reward of good treatment and careful feeding, their milk has excellent nutritional value, producing varied textures and subtle flavor profiles; just what the meaning of the word artisanal is all about. For more information about Hickory Nut Farm http://hickorynutfarm.com/

Friday, 11/18: Tuttle’s Red Barn, Dover, NH. The young farmers who are continuing the tradition of farming on Tuttle’s land will show Dover public high school students the benefits of organic farming practices. A veggie show-and-tell and tasting will take place.

The Food Trust of Philadelphia Internship

2011-10-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Food Trust, a nonprofit founded in 1992, started out by conducting nutrition education classes for inner-city children at Reading Terminal Market, the century-old farmers' market located in the center of Philadelphia. After the Trust opened its first farmers' market at Tasker Homes, a public housing development in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of Philadelphia, the organization began working with communities to develop lasting and stable sources of affordable foods.The Food Trust is searching for a Farm to School Intern. Please review the description below.

Farm to School Intern

The Food Trust’s Farm to School Program seeks to improve children’s health and strengthen family farms through increasing access to locally grown, healthy food in schools, along with providing nutrition and agricultural education. The Food Trust serves as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Lead Agency for the National Farm to School Network. The Farm to School Intern will work with Alyssa Moles, The Food Trust’s Farm to School Coordinator, and her team to build the farm to school movement in the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania), as well as help support local farm to school programs in the Philadelphia area.

The intern will work with our Farm to School team to:

Research and track media hits and news on farm to school programs throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Help research and develop resources to increase farm-to-school knowledge, skills and enthusiasm among farmers, food service personnel, state officials, and nutrition educators.
Research and write articles for The Beet (the Mid-Atlantic farm to school newsletter), maintain the Mid-Atlantic Farm to School blog and develop a presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Collaborate with staff and community partners to support local farm-to-school projects.
Work closely with The Food Trust’s Farm to School team to achieve strategic goals to expand the farm to school movement.

Qualifications:
The ideal intern will have the ability to work with others in a collegial environment to help grow the farm to school movement. Strong research, writing, and organizational skills are desired, and the ideal candidate will have high integrity; a passion for excellence; excellent listening skills; and a commitment to The Food Trust’s mission. Experience with social media is a plus.

Internship Open Date: October 2011. Hours are flexible; 10-15 hours/week preferred
To apply: Email your resume and cover letter to amoles@thefoodtrust.org. Please reference “Farm to School Intern” in the subject line. Please do not call.

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/about/jobs.php

Alyssa M. Moles

Farm to School Program Coordinator

The Food Trust

One Penn Center
Suite 900

1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19103

(215)-575-0444 x189

AMoles@thefoodtrust.org

Opportunity to Volunteer for a Terrific Community Event

2011-09-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Brookford Farm 2011 Quark Festival Volunteer Sign-up

Opportunity to volunteer for a terrific community event - Brookford Farm 2011 Quark Festival, Rollinsford, NH! Volunteers who contribute two hours of service get free admission to the event (and Brookford’s undying thanks.) For four hours of service, you get their boundless gratitude and a free Quark Festival T-Shirt. Four six hours of volunteering, they offer you a T-Shirt and a $6 meal credit at our hot food stand, and for eight hours of volunteer service, they’d like to give you all the above plus two free “Muffin” badges – the coin of our festival realm. If you have any questions, please contact Mary via e-mail (preferred) at brookfordfarminfo@gmail.com, or by phone at (603) 842-4682.

No experience is necessary.

Volunteers needed in the following areas:

Festival Preparation (August and September)

* Advertising

* Fund-raising

* Graphic Arts/ Design

* Sign Painting

Event Set-up (October 7, 8, and 9)

* Picking up tents, tables, and chairs

* Setting up tents, tables, and chairs

During The Festival (October 9)

* Short Order Cook

* Children’s Game Leader

* Parking & People-Moving

* Table Busser/Food Runner

After The Festival (October 9 and 10)

* Breaking down tents, tables, and chairs

* Returning tents, tables, and chairs

Our Food Community Enjoys a Fruitful Exchange

2011-08-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Matteo B., Paulo T., Christine M. and Edo S. (in the tree)

Exchange – trade, swap, switch, give-and-take; change, really, when it comes right down to it. Our UNH EcoGastronomy students visit another country and the University of Gastronomic Sciences(UNISG) in Pollenzo, Italy students visit our country. No student is left unchanged. When you return to your own country you may have a greater sense of independence and confidence, an increased world view, and hopefully, a new love of another culture. Students bring back new ideas and longings to return, and so they make the world a little closer.

The EcoGastronomy program at the University of New Hampshire hosted 10 Italian students this summer from UNISG. These students are pursuing their two-year graduate degree in Gastronomy and Food Communications. The program in Italy is designed to develop specialized skills in food-and-wine tourism management and high-quality foods marketing.

Their EcoGastronomy field study class at UNH allows the students the opportunity of a hands-on curriculum tracing New England food chains and bringing them face to face with the land and people in charge of our food. Dan Winans, Director of the EcoGastronomy program, leads the class.

Sarah Breen, 2011 UNH graduate in Tourism and Planning and EcoGastronomy dual major, began the plans during her senior year capstone project for this year’s New England field study class. The course looked at Production, Marketing and Distribution, and Preparation and Culture. Students immersed themselves in the production of maple syrup, microbrew, specialty foods, heritage poultry, cheese, and lobster fishery.

Marketing and communication experts from Stonyfield, Dole and Baily, and visits to Fore Street and pane e salute restaurants marked examples of the best food and wine tourism and high-quality foods marketing.

Outings to an Inn for lunch and its local suppliers, Strawbery Banke, Harvard Medical School’s Healthy Kitchen project, food entrepreneurship in Hardwick, Vermont, and a lecture on American food culture and history helped the students consider our rich New England food culture.

The students also took classes in Food Science, Advertising as Social Communication, and Economics of Travel and Tourism to complete their summer studies. Despite having English as their second language, the students brought with them a smart and engaging exchange, and it has been a pleasure to integrate them with EcoGastronomy and UNH students alike while they were here. In turn, 22 EcoGastronomy dual major students at UNH will spend the fall semester at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy.

Two of the summer students are returning to New Hampshire to do their final work experience completing their degrees for the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Michela Bunino will do design work for Re.Root.Ed, http://rerooted.org/ a non-profit organization that works towards a future of healthy food and vibrant communities, and Matteo Breda will help coordinate and execute events the organization is planning. The food community enjoys a fruitful exchange.

EcoGastronomy 2011 Graduates

2011-06-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Our newest EcoGastronomy Alumni – Spring 2011

Summary of Senior Capstone Research Projects

Not pictured

Matt Benham – Journalism, Sara Hartley – Marketing, Sarah Breen - Tourism

Emily Goldman - Hospitality Management

Michael Longeri - Hospitality Management

Lauren Gordon - Hospitality Management

Ryan Millian - Hospitality Management

Kayla Oteri - Hospitality Management

Maryn Bonniwell - Spanish

Emily Malnati - Business

Events and Public Relations intern for Maine’s food and wine festival, Harvest on the Harbor

2011-05-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

We (the Greater Portland Convention and Visitors’ Bureau) are offering an internship opportunity based on the waterfront in Portland, Maine. The position is p/t as an Events and Public Relations intern for Maine’s food and wine festival, Harvest on the Harbor (http://www.harvestontheharbor.com/). You would be working directly with me and two of my colleagues. Any and all interested in culinary event planning and public relations, culinary and agri-tourism are encouraged to apply. Any interested in future career opportunities in Maine’s culinary or agricultural communities will find endless professional connections as a result as their work with the CVB. Portland, Maine boasts the most restaurants per capita of anywhere in the United States. The city’s proximity to both agricultural land and fishing grounds aids in Portland’s overwhelming culinary focus on farm to table cuisine. Harvest on the Harbor is also farm-to-table themed this year. PLEASE NOTE: in order to be eligible you must be 21+ (or turning 21 before October 20th) and must be available to work ASAP through the first week of November.

Harvest on the Harbor Internship 2011

Employer Information:
Greater Portland Convention & Visitors Bureau
94 Commercial Street, Suite 300
Portland, Maine 04101
(207) 772-4994

Contact Information:
Allison Goddard
Special Events Coordinator
(207) 772-4994 x 231
agoddard@visitportland.com
colleen@visitportland.com

Dates: Summer/Fall 2011 (p/t with increasing hours leading up to event, f/t 2 weeks leading up to event)

Harvest on the Harbor Internship
o    Assist in pre-planning details of Harvest on the Harbor, including registration, contacting sponsors, creating schedules and timelines, and general follow-up as needed.
o    Serve as a contact for any guest, exhibitor, or sponsor who has questions or comments about the event.
o    Follow-up with and manage exhibitors and sponsors who will have a presence at Harvest on the Harbor
o    Actively participate in team meetings and provide insight on short and long term goals, as well as the overall direction of the event.
o    Involvement in proper follow-up, post-event, including thank-you letters, wrap-up notes, media, and surveys.
o    Provide general administrative help to the department
o    Other event duties as they arise

Additional Duties/Opportunities

Food and Wine
o    Gain knowledge about Maine food products, culinary experts, food artisans, farmers, and fishermen
o    Learn about Maine’s wineries, breweries, and distilleries
o    Arrange programming: cooking demonstrations, seminars, contests, celebrity presentations, and formal tasting events

Public Relations and Media
o    Involvement with promoting Harvest on the Harbor through the press, including print publications, websites, television, radio, and blogging/social media
o    Gain an understanding of the critical role that public relations plays in coordinating a major event.

Event Planning
o    Understand the logistics involved in planning and executing a major event: site planning (tents, tables, electrical, communication); local & state regulations (licensing, safety, insurance); ticketing; hiring and coordination of staff and volunteers
o    On-site management of each event (if applicable) to include various duties and responsibilities.

Advertising
o    Assist in strategic planning for media
o    Assist in the creation of advertisements: writing, layout, computer design
o    Edit, update and possibly create printed materials including invitations, brochures, posters, scripts, and overall event description(s)
o    Assist with website design and maintenance
o    Understand how to build a brand

Sales and Sponsorships
o    Learn how sponsorships generate revenue and benefit businesses
o    Assist in the development of promotions and the drafting of contracts
o    Learn about merchandising

Volunteer Coordination
o    Recruit and manage over 200 volunteers needed to perform various duties throughout the three-day event.
o    On-site training of volunteers during the event to include instruction on wine pouring, ticket-taking, greeting, safety and more.
o    Assist in pre-planning details of Harvest on the Harbor including creating schedules and timelines and general follow-up as needed.
o    Actively participate in team meetings and provide insight on short and long term goals, as well as the overall direction of the event.
o    Involvement in proper follow-up post-event including thank-you letters, wrap-up notes, and surveys.
o    Other event duties as they arise
____________________________________________________________________

Perks
o    Ambassador Pass (to experience all that Greater Portland has to offer)
o    Endless networking with high caliber business leaders
o    Attend meeting with decision makers
o    Get real life, multifaceted experiences

Hours: A minimum of 15-20 hours/week (more hours if necessary to fill credit hour requirements) with a larger commitment during the last few weeks before the event.
Salary: Internship is unpaid but experiences and perks are plentiful.

Qualifications: Seeking a goal orientated individual with the ability to work on a schedule and think outside of the box. Applicants must be dependable, outgoing, confident on the phone, a self-starter, enthusiastic and have a strong work ethic. This opportunity will be of special interest to business, communication, media studies, and marketing majors but is open to all.

Immediate Opening for 2 to 4 People to Work with Hampton Falls, NH Farm

2011-05-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

About: Applecrest attends six seacoast area farmers markets per/week from June thru end-October. I’m looking for 2 to 4 people to help run the program. These can be both part-time and/or full-time seasonal positions. Ideal candidates have a strong interest in agriculture, farm marketing and sustainably grown produce. While these are essentially “retail” positions, direct agricultural work experience is a huge plus….as is an interest in food, diet, nutrition and cooking. Day to day direct contact w/ the farm, the workers, the growing operations and over 130 varieties of fruits and veggies is an integral part of this paid job.

Todd L. Wagner

Applecrest Farm Orchards

133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls NH 03844

Tel: +1 603 926 3721

Cel: +1 603 997 2075

Fax: +1 603 926 0006

Email: farmerwags@applecrest.com

WEB: www.applecrest.com

CHEFS (Charting Emissions from Food Services) Fellowship in Portsmouth, NH!!

2011-05-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP) is inviting applications for our competitive Climate Fellowship program. CA-CP is an action-oriented nonprofit that works with corporations, campuses, communities and science centers to find and promote solutions to global warming. We provide practical solutions that demonstrate the economic opportunities and environmental benefits of climate leadership. CA-CP’s Climate Fellowships pair outstanding students with challenging, important projects that will propel the

toward a low-carbon future. CA-CP

Climate Fellows receive supervision, mentorship, unique networking opportunities, and a stipend.

The Project: Charting Emissions from Food Services (CHEFS)

While agriculture and land use change is estimated to contribute one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, few tools exist to aid institutions in measuring and managing the emissions associated with their dining service programs. We have thus embarked on an innovative venture to create a new tool: CHEFS- Charting Emissions from Food Services. Not only does CHEFS allow users to estimate their dining-related carbon footprints, but we are also 1) creating momentum within corporate foodservice providers to green their own operations, and 2) contributing to the body of life cycle data for food production in North America.

We have completed a first phase of piloting the new tool, but will be undertaking further pilot testing with the online Beta version of the tool throughout 2011. The fellow will be responsible working with the Carbon Accounting Manager to support the pilot schools through the process of using the CHEFS tool, create outreach or user support materials based on the pilot program to further the CHEFS program, and update the CHEFS database with any newly published life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. This effort will include tasks such as providing phone and email training or problem solving support to the pilot schools, distilling the experiences of the pilot schools and writing (and potentially designing) user support or outreach materials, reading LCA studies and selecting the best data for the CHEFS tool, and analyzing the aggregate purchasing data collected by the pilot institutions to answer questions about the average make-up of food service purchases within higher education. The fellow’s efforts will move the program forward significantly, and eventually he or she will see their contribution in a nationally deployed tool.

Project Goal and Desired Outcomes:

Overall goals are to improve upon the existing CHEFS application and supporting materials; to facilitate successful completion of the data gathering and analysis process for our 2011 pilot schools; and to synthesize priority research needs in the arena of dining services supply chains.

At the conclusion of the project, this fellow will:

- Have project management experience

- Relationships with a variety of institutional partners

- Knowledge of the highly specialized field of life cycle analysis, and familiarity with institutional dining service supply chains

- Experience working independently

- Experience with quantitative data analysis

- Portfolio: graphs and other data analysis work, a blog post, outreach materials and templates, and a white paper outlining priority research needs in the dining service sector

Location: CA-CP offices, Portsmouth, NH

Time commitment: Full time, 10 weeks (between May and August)

Compensation: $5000 stipend

Desired Qualifications:

1. Enrolled in a B.S./B.A. or M.S./M.A. Degree Program

2. Knowledge of climate change science required

3. Ability and previous success working independently required

4. Professional phone and email skills required

5. Exceptionally organized and dedicated to following through with individual tasks

required

6. Experience working within a large corporation or organizations preferred

7. Experience with life cycle analysis preferred.

CA-CP Climate Fellowship program eligibility:

Graduate students, exceptional undergraduate students, and recent graduates are eligible. We will encourage, but not require, an academic sponsor or reference for each fellow, and where possible we will ask that course credits are awarded. In order to attract the highest-quality applicants and to enable students to take advantage of these opportunities regardless of their financial situation, fellows will be awarded competitive stipends, provided by CA-CP.

Supervision, Training and Mentoring

This fellow will receive day-to-day supervision and mentoring from Clean Air-Cool Planet’s Carbon Accounting Manager, Claire Roby and from CA-CP’s Director of Program Planning.

Fellows in each session will be expected to participate in two events:

♦Midterm project presentations to CA-CP staff and relevant project partners

♦ A summative evaluation and feedback session at the end of their placement.

These workshops and other post-fellowship communication mechanisms ensure that CA-CP

Climate Fellows will belong to a network of passionate students and professionals,

and will be able to collaborate and continue learning even after the project has ended.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest and resume addressed to Claire Roby at croby@cleanair-coolplanet.org.

SNAP Benefits Accepted at Maine Farmers Market - Market Match Doubles Value of Food Stamps

2011-05-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

Foster's Daily Democrat Article published May 18, 2011

Courtesy photo Colleen Schriefer and Louise Ellison
man the North Berwick Farmers Market booth
where food stamps can be processed.

North Berwick Farmers Market opens
NORTH BERWICK — Last Friday was opening day for the North Berwick Farmers Market, held every Friday 3-6 p.m. at the Town Hall parking lot.

In its third year, the market has grown in vendors and sales every year, said Manager Rebekah Yonan. This year the market is taking Food Stamps for the first time, and is only the second farmers market in York County, Maine, to do so. Sanford's market also accepts the federal subsidy payments.At the North Berwick market, an added aid for people using Food Stamps is a "market match" system where half the purchase is subsidized up to $20 so customers get twice as much value.

Initial funding for the match system is coming from Kennebunk Savings Bank, Hussey Seating and Carpe Diem Coffee.

"The government is putting billions into food stamps and the idea is to try to bring that in locally. The idea is for people to have access to quality food. It's really a perfect match," said Yonan.

Vendors range from vegetable growers to bakers, nurseries to a livestock owner who knits items from her own animals' wool.

Food Stamp users have to bring their Pine Tree card and have it swiped at a processing booth before shopping. Other states' cards, such as New Hampshire, also are accepted.

The market will be open through October.

For more information call 207-676-3356 or visit www.northberwickfarmersmarket.org or on Facebook.

Food Movement is Now an Official College Major - article by Kristin Fuhrmann-Simmons

2011-05-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

EcoGastronomy: Food movement is now an official college major

By Kristin Fuhrmann-Simmons

May 12, 2011 2:00 AM

I am ready to go back to school. I want to study "EcoGastronomy" at the University of New Hampshire.

What is that? In short form, from UNH's website, it is "the art and appreciation of preparing and eating good food."

The course title indicates that the "art and appreciation" of food is tightly linked to our environment, and the mixture of social, economic, political, and ethical issues associated with food production and eating. You instinctively understand that is the study of food and all the things that go with it, from how we eat and enjoy it, to how it is made. It takes that prayer that many of us state before our meals, "Thank you for this food and the hands that prepared it," and digs deeper into the hows, whys, and implications of our reverence.

Started three years ago as an outcropping of the business, life science and agriculture programs, ecogastronomy is a way for students of any discipline to study sustainable food systems.

The program's director, UNH alum Dan Winans, returned to the Seacoast to develop the program after studying at the University of Gastronomic Science in Italy.

"We have a unique opportunity to create our own definition if what ecogastronomy is all about," he said.

The major is unique in the country and program is tightly linked to the Slow Food movement, founded by Carlo Petrini. It has based its mission on the tenets of enjoying food, understanding its harvest and the connection it has to nature. Students choose a course of study in adjunct to their major, and partake in a semester-long program in Italy at the University of Gastronomic Sciences.

I had the opportunity to meet with the graduating seniors in the program, and hear their project presentations.

Sarah Breen developed a project around the logistics of planning a New England food tour.

"Why not have that kind of magic experience here? We have so much to offer!" Breen said, recalling the magic she experienced as a tourist in Italy, soaking in the land and food.

Breen detailed how promoting indigenous products such as maple syrup, seafood, beer and wine would support the economy and culture of New England in a manner that similar programs do in Europe.

Emily Goldman was inspired by the communal eating experiences she had while in Europe.

"The time and energy invested in social dining was rewarding," she said. She and her fellow students experienced first-hand how a meal, prepared in a manner that would allow multiple courses as well as community interaction, became a touchstone through which they could connect, have meaningful discourse and truly enjoy the ingredients they were tasting.

Ryan Miller focused on oenology and the biodynamic production of wine. While in the Piedmont region of Italy, Miller toured San Fereolo Vineyards and revelled in the flavor of the naturally produced fruits and the wines that were created as a result.

The program has events throughout the academic year that showcase ecogastronomy in all it manifestations, from dinners, to wine expos and farmers market booths. (Correction: Students go to these types of events as part of an EcoGastronomy portfolio designed to help students experience many different aspects of the food system.)

Kristin Fuhrmann Simmons is the owner and baker at kristin f. simmons, custom cakes. She may be reached at kafcooks@gmail.com. THANK YOU Kristan for a wonderful article!

Harmonious Menu at UNH Friday, April 29, 2011

2011-04-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

Gourmet Dinner Menu http://www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner

Harmonious Flavors

A Melodic Approach to a UNH Tradition

Featuring:
Chef Sam Hayward
James Beard “Best Chef” Award Winner
Fore Street Restaurant
Portland, Maine

UNH Nutritional Science, Field Experience

2011-04-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Seacoast Community! Mary Brower of Brookford Farm in Rollinsford, NH came to Dover High School to share yogurt on Friday, April 8th. The focus of the partnership with farmers and chefs at Dover Public Schools is to promote healthful, local food. The project provides education first, before naively trying to change habitual eating patterns. The process began as a capstone project researched by Matt Benham, UNH EcoGastronomy Dual Major graduate, and is now in action thanks to a team of five Nutritional Science Field Experience undergrads.

The event was coordinated to promote a simple, organic food option and to provide educational materials that boast the health benefits, like basic nutrition information per serving: calories, fat and protein. The term organic was defined, so students could begin to understand the lasting health and environmental impact of foods grown without the use of harmful fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics or genetically modified organisms. Simply put, raw, local foods taste better!

Brookford Farm provided five gallons of plain, low-fat organic yogurt. For those students who preferred a sweeter treat, a drizzle of local honey was provided as a natural sweetener. Mary also brought pamphlets, posters, and a variety of flours to show the students diversity of products made on the farm.

The high school students were very interactive, as they were able to taste the delicious yogurt and learn information about the farm through pictures, and by chatting with Mary. By the end of lunch, the bucket of yogurt was nearly gone!

The UNH students gathered an outstanding amount of feedback through a survey that they created and distributed during the tasting. The survey responses were quite positive and will provide needed information as to whether or not Brookford Farm yogurt will be added to Dover High School’s yogurt bar. Either way, the event gave our community and high school students a taste of the local food scene. For more information visit www.Brookfordfarm.com or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brookford-Farm/142997449050488

Food for thought… more events coming up at Dover High School:

“Two Angry Moms”, April 14^th

Dover High School will host a film screening this Thursday, April 14^th from 6-9pm. The movie is about two mothers who were not happy with what their children were served at school. The movie focuses on how schools serve mainly greasy, cheap U.S. commodity and processed foods over healthy options, often due to cost.

Before the movie, you will be able to indulge in some fresh, local snacks brought by Chef Evan Hennessy of Flavor Concepts. Also, after there will be a Nutrition panel to answer questions. Dover High School’s resident garden instructor will be available to provide information about the school’s outdoor vegetable garden and partnership with Dover school foodservice. And Slow Food Seacoast will join to provide foodie information. This event is free and open to the community, so we hope you join us!

Chef Evan Hennessy, April 29^th

Later in April, local chef and owner of Flavor Concepts, Evan Hennessy, will be accompanying the UNH students at Dover High School for a cook-in! He will work in the kitchen to whip up a tasty chicken stir-fry that will be given to the students as a 4-ounce tasting. Chef Evan will use all fresh ingredients and locally farmed chicken from Lasting Legacy http://www.llfarm.net/ in his recipe. We hope to “wow” the students into a new menu option. And surveys will be provided as a way to gain feedback. The pressure is on… if the results are high, the menu cycle will include Chef Evan’s stir-fry!

Again, we hope to see you all on Thursday at the film screening!

Good eats!

Vivien Fam, Lauren Goldthwaite, Erin Greenhalgh, Sarah Iske, Kim Mayo

UNH Nutritional Science, Field Experience

UNH Nutrition Students Promoting Local and Healthy Food Options for K-12

2011-04-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ciao! Seacoast Community. As five UNH Nutritional Science Students, we teamed up to complete a Field Experience project at Dover Public School District SAU 11 www.doverschoolfood.com. The focus is to promote local and healthy food options for K-12 students. The Dover-UNH relationship was established three years ago. Pilot projects are put into action to initiate a revamped outlook on school food. We are proud to take part.

For several weeks we have invited local farmers and locovore chefs into the high school café to share food products and culinary expertise with students and staff. Our goal is to educate the high school students so they understand and learn to appreciate the health, environmental and social outcomes of choosing local foods over conventional processed. Cost can be limiting, but we hope to push more local food options into the menu cycle for all K-12. It is doable with a little creativity and community backing. Another important task, we are surveying students for needed feedback before jumping into unsustainable change. And we are using compostable tasting cups and spoons to reduce waste.

Our team will share updates as we move through the next few months to encourage foodservice directors, teachers, parents and community members to do the same in other seacoast public school districts. Information will be posted to the Dover school food website, noted above. Future guests include: Evan Hennessey, Flavor Concepts; Evan Mallett, Black Trumpet; Debra Locke, Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm; and Curtis Gould, The Soup Guy. Stick around—this project could change the lives of many.

Riverside Vegetable Farm, March 4^th

In March, we were fortunate enough to have farmer David Tuttle from Riverside Vegetable Farm create a mock farmers market for students to browse and take notice of the type of produce available this time of year in New Hampshire. Dave was extremely helpful answering all of the questions that the students and faculty asked. Dave brought a sampling of turnips, potatoes, chard, greens (a mix of 13 varieties) jarred goods, and eggs. Not to be underestimated—students were interested in purchasing product! It was a pleasure to work with Dave. For more information on Riverside Vegetable Farm, feel free to browse www.riversidefarmstand.com.

Brookford Farm, April 8^th

This Friday, Dover High School foodservice will host guest Farmer, Mary Brower from Brookford Farm located in Rollinsford, NH. She will present a table of products from the farm during school lunch. A little about Mary… she came to farming after spending many years as a professional cook, followed by a teaching career which spanned alternative and outdoor education programs to high school, post-secondary, and graduate settings. She now coordinates Brookford Farm's CSA program, writes recipes and newsletters for the farm, and is developing outreach programs to Seacoast communities. Brookford is an organic farm that strives for local business from the seacoast.

Mary Brower will share information about Brookford’s farming practices and she will spotlight available produce. Mary will also give a 3 oz. sample of plain, low fat yogurt for the students to taste. Dover high school has a salad and yogurt bar featured one day a week that offers Stonyfield yogurt. We hope the students rally for Brookford! For more information visit www.Brookfordfarm.com or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brookford-Farm/142997449050488

Good eats!

Vivien Fam, Lauren Goldthwaite, Erin Greenhalgh, Sarah Iske, Kim Mayo

UNH Nutritional Science, Field Experience

Make this recipe and call me in the morning

2011-04-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

Nutrition Rx: Cooking as a Strategy to Battle Obesity, Promote Health and Fight Chronic Diseases
Dr. David Eisenberg, EcoGastronomy External Advisor
by Janet on June 10, 2010

I'm a firm believer in the power of cooking. I think it’s truly one of the best ways we can all take better control of our health.
How can you really eat right if you don’t learn to cook?
How can we implement all of today’s dietary guidelines without making our own meals — or at least more often.
But do most people in this country have the confidence they need in the kitchen? Or have we seen culinary literacy decline to the point that people are lost without a heavy reliance on foods in a package or take-out container.
That’s the focus of my article in the Chicago Tribune: Make This Recipe and Call Me In the Morning.
I was inspired to write this article after attending the Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives conference at the Culinary Insitute of America at Greystone. Maybe you remember me writing about this culinary conference for health professionals, which is a joint project of the CIA and Harvard Medical School.

The conference was spearhead by David M. Eisenberg, MD (pictured above), who is the director of the division of research and education in complementary and integrative medical therapies for Harvard Medical School. This doc is on a mission to get America cooking – and he wants physicians to be major evangelists for this movement. He believes cooking — and appreciating good quality food in a mindful manner — may be the best long-term solution to help America battle obesity and chronic medical conditions.

One of the speakers during this 3-day conference was Mollie Katzen, who I also interviewed for my Chicago article. Mollie is undoubtedly one of my earliest food influencers.

Who doesn’t adore her classic Moosewood cookbook…which was the first cookbook I remember buying.

Now she’s written a new book called “Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen “(Harper Collins, 2009). She told me that she was urged to write the book by her grown children who are now living on their own.

She said her kids could recite the names of all these celebrity chefs but they didn’t know how to roast a chicken. Mollie said:

We may be living in a culture that is highly culinary aware, yet this “food as entertainment” trend has not taught people to cook. There’s a skill set that has been lost.

That’s so true.
As a registered dietitian, I think it’s really important to go beyond talking about grams of fat, % of calories and milligrams of nutrients. We can’t just urge people to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains or shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid processed foods without arming them with the culinary skills they need to implement this advice. Culinary training and nutrition education should be joined at the hip. And that’s what this CIA conference was really all about.
Hope you enjoy my article, which is reprinted below:

Copyright (c) 2010, Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Make this recipe and call me in the morning Doctors hope to fight obesity by teaching patients how to cook healthfully

By Janet Helm, Special to Tribune Newspapers

Copyright, Chicago TribuneImagine the day your doctor hands you a recipe instead of a prescription. Or what if hospitals were equipped with teaching kitchens where patients could trade in their hospital gowns for aprons before being discharged.

That’s the vision of Dr. David Eisenberg, who is on a mission to get America cooking. And he wants doctors to be the major drivers of the movement.
Eisenberg, who heads up the complementary and integrative medicine division at Harvard Medical School, forged a partnership with the Culinary Institute of America to help physicians get more comfortable in the kitchen.
The culinary conferences that he helps lead are not simply to encourage doctors to get in touch with their inner Julia Child. It’s to arm them with the knowledge and skills they need to inspire their patients to start cooking – which Eisenberg believes is one of best strategies to battle obesity and chronic medical conditions in this country.
“We need to first teach the teachers,” he said. “A physician’s own behavior is one of the strongest predictors of how they’ll counsel their patients.”
That’s why Eisenberg wants to see physicians roll up their sleeves and start cooking.
Then he wants doctors to transfer their passion for good food to their patients – who he said often feel overwhelmed at the thought of getting dinner on the table.
Culinary literacy has plummeted in this country, Eisenberg said. “Many people simply don’t have basic cooking skills.”
We’ve been going back to our homes for meals, but how we’re preparing food is quite different compared to a generation ago, according to Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst with the NPD Group and author of Eating Patterns in America. The definition of cooking has changed, he said. Now it’s more likely to mean assembling and heating – and probably in the microwave, which has experienced a surge in popularity in the past few years, along with frozen foods.
For the first time, the lasagna eaten at home is more likely to be thawed from the freezer rather than made from scratch. If food doesn’t come in a box with instructions, many people are just not sure what to do.
While they may constantly hear about the virtues of fresh, whole and unprocessed food, and are told to eat more vegetables, whole grains and plant-based meals, people often feel ill-equipped to implement this advice.
Even with the wildly popular television cooking shows, many people are not active in their own kitchens.
Has cooking become a spectator sport? That’s what Robyn Webb is worried about. “Food has become so glamorized, but the basic skills are missing.”
Webb is one of a growing number of culinary dietitians who combine nutrition counseling with hands-on cooking instructions. She works with clients in their own kitchens in the Washington, D.C., area to help them buy and prepare nutritious meals.
“It’s not enough to tell people to eat 20 grams of this or one-half cup of that,” she said. “They need to be able to translate that into food choices and learn how to do it.”
Webb often starts with knife skills, a lesson on how to select cookware and an overview of basic cooking techniques, such as roasting, sauteing and stir-frying. Many home cooks are told to limit sodium, sugar and fat, she said, yet they don’t know how to do that in their own kitchens and still prepare food that tastes good – while being quick, easy and affordable.
Almost everyone is aware of what they should be doing to eat well, said Mollie Katzen, author of the new “Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen.” Now they need to learn the “how” part of the equation.
One approach may be to bring back a defunct high school requirement: home economics. That’s the solution proposed by two health professionals in the May 12 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Many parents never learned to cook and instead rely on restaurants, takeout food, frozen meals and packaged food as basic fare. Many children seldom experience what a true home-cooked meal tastes like, much less see what goes into preparing it,” according to the commentary titled “Bring Back Home Economics Education,” written by Alice H. Lichtenstein and David S. Ludwig.
“A renovated home economics curriculum could equip young adults with the skills essential to lead long, healthy lives and reverse the trends of obesity and diet-related disease.”
They believe a mandatory food preparation curriculum in school will also help young people develop a healthy relationship with food and be less tempted to follow fad diets. They conclude that it may be among the best investments society could make.
Reposted courtesy of Janet Helm, MS, RD, Nutrition Unplugged blog: http://nutritionunplugged.com/

A Chemist, an Artist and a Lot of Fizz

2011-03-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

Bright Ideas: Slipstream By NATASHA SINGER March 5, 2011

BY day, Antonio Ramos is a medicinal chemist at the drug maker Sanofi-Aventis in Bridgewater, N.J., where he helps develop molecules for prescription drugs.

Photos by Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

For their sodas, the couple have experimented with ingredients like star anise, left.

Plums, another ingredient they have worked with.

Two examples of the young company’s products, left.

In the evening, he puts his chemistry skill set to a different use: developing formulas for Brooklyn Soda Works, the artisanal soda company he started last year with his partner, Caroline Mak.
At a commercial kitchen they rent in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, the couple make fruit sodas in flavors like cucumber lime sea salt or spiced cranberry. Last year, the seasonal drinks sold at the outdoor weekend flea market in nearby Fort Greene as well as in a handful of craft food restaurants like Blue Hill in Manhattan.
Last Monday night, the pair were experimenting with new flavor extraction methods and ingredient combinations in the kitchen of their Clinton Hill apartment. Ms. Mak, 30, an installation artist by day, stood on the left side of the stove, heating a medley of fresh ginger wedges, cardamom seeds and pressed apple juice.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ramos, 29, watched an adjacent burner, tending to an experiment inspired by Scotch whiskey. He had placed sliced plums and lemon peel in a tin-foil sieve over an industrial stockpot lined with Scottish burning peat — in the hope that he could infuse the fruit with peat smoke.
The practical knowledge he has gleaned from coaxing potential drug ingredients out of ginger and other plants comes in handy here. “It helps me think about how to extract flavors from herbs,” Mr. Ramos says.
But it is not his experience in chemical extraction alone that has helped turn the pair’s hobby into a soda start-up. Ms. Mak’s artistic inclination to make something entirely new has helped them find a niche in a haute beverage market populated by locally roasted coffees, spiced hot chocolates, craft beers and infused vodkas. Their entry is a nonalcoholic, noncaffeinated adult drink that is not so much a soda as a limited-edition carbonated juice.
Ms. Mak takes the ginger cardamom flavor base off the stove, mixes it with apple juice and pours the liquid into a siphon canister for carbonation. Whereas mass-produced fruit sodas that sell in supermarkets are typically made from fizzy water and juice concentrates, she says, their handmade sodas use only fresh ingredients.
“We thought there was a bit of a gap, especially in the area of nonalcoholic beverage options made from fresh fruit,” she says.
The soda venture may have started as a whim: they wanted to see whether they could make their own ginger beer at home so they could serve Dark and Stormy cocktails at a party. But once they saw a potential commercial opportunity, they proceeded scientifically, using each phase of their business — from seeking initial capital to supplying restaurants — to test and refine their niche-market theory.
First, they tried their soda flavors, like pure ginger and lemon, on their friends.
“Our friends liked it, but we wondered if others would like it,” Mr. Ramos says. “We thought, how can we test it?”
They applied for a table at the Brooklyn flea market. Then they sought seed capital of about $2,000 through kickstarter.com, a site that helps finance creative start-up businesses. “We achieved it in four days, which was stunning,” Ms. Mak says.
With the money, the pair bought equipment like soda kegs. They consulted artisanal beer makers about carbonation techniques. They worked with a program at the Cornell University College of Agriculture to vet their soda recipes.
On their first day at the flea market last April, they sold out by 3 p.m., Ms. Mak says. Soon after came an episode that is the foodie equivalent of a starlet being discovered at the lunch counter in Schwab’s drugstore: the chef at Blue Hill, who lives in the neighborhood, happened by the flea market and tasted the sodas. Blue Hill soon became a wholesale client.
For Ms. Mak and Mr. Ramos, a second career in carbonation was born.
Brooklyn Soda Works has arrived at a time when “made in Brooklyn” foods, from borough-roasted Gorilla Coffee to homemade pies from Four & Twenty Blackbirds, are having a cultural moment. In fact, two local craft beer destinations, Beer Table in Park Slope and 61 Local in Cobble Hill, have each repurposed a beer line to put Brooklyn soda on tap.
But the special selling point of the sodas — fresh ingredients — is also their limitation. The sodas have the shelf life of milk, about two weeks, Ms. Mak says. And the couple have made a deliberate decision to stay with fresh ingredients, keeping the brand limited and fairly local. That means they make frequent deliveries to their bar and restaurant clients. They have no plans, as yet, to sell to chain stores, but they might consider supplying a local artisanal food store.
Even so, the company made money last year, the couple says. But so far, their sodanomics are not enough to retire on.
Their sodas typically sell at the wholesale level for $80 a five-gallon keg. The pair can make more than twice as much per keg at the flea market, where they sell their soda at retail for $4 a glass.
NOW the challenge is to scale up production and increase the number of wholesale clients, all while maintaining quality. The company has just hired its first three employees, to help make and sell soda.
And, Ms. Mak says, they have just signed a new client, Untitled, the Danny Meyer restaurant that is to open this month in the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan. But, she says, she was quick to tell the restaurant that the soda company was not yet at a point where it could supply other Meyer restaurants, like Union Square Cafe or the Shake Shack mini-chain.
At the end of an evening of soda experiments, the couple’s kitchen is perfumed in a haze of peat and citrus peel. Ms. Mak takes the canister of cardamom apple ginger soda that she has just made and conducts a taste test.
“This needs more work,” she says. “The cardamom has been beaten back by the ginger and the apple.”
Mr. Ramos checks on the peat-smoked fruit experiment, taking the plums and lemon peel out of the pan and sniffing them. “It’s definitely peaty,” he says, pleased.
Like single-malt Scotch whiskey, the Brooklyn sodas and their unusual flavors — grapefruit jalapeno honey, strawberry hops pink peppercorn and (go figure) maple bacon — attract a certain beverage cognoscenti. That kind of chemistry between consumer and consumed is no accident.
“It’s an expensive product and we are making weird flavors,” Mr. Ramos acknowledges. “You can dumb it down or you can try to understand your niche and push harder into that niche.”

2010 EcoGastronomy graduate, Matt Benham, passed this article along to us. He is one of the "first three employees" the Brooklyn artisan soda company has hired.

Not Just Movie Night at Dover High School

2011-03-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

Everyone is welcome to a movie screening (Food Inc.) and health information night.
Thursday, March 10, 6-8pm at Dover High School in the auditorium.

Highlights of the night include:

Chef Evan Hennessey* of Flavor Concepts will provide healthful, local food snacks during a pre-movie reception 6-6:20 p.m.

After the movie, a 20 minute panel discussion will take place with a 10-15 minute Q&A session to follow.
The panel members are:

Dr. Joanne Burke

Dr. Burke is the Director of the Dietetic Internship Program, a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, and a Faculty Fellow in Sustainability at the University of New Hampshire. Recent research projects have included looking at food costs and healthy eating as well as collaborating on research that investigates the challenges of those directly experiencing food insecurity.

Mark Covell

Director of Foodservice for Dover Public School District

Evan Hennessey

Chef Hennessey of Dover, NH is very active in the local food industry, giving many demonstrations and talks at various locations such as culinary schools, farmer’s markets, and food & wine retailers. He is also a proud member of Chef's Collaborative, a non-profit organization aimed and bringing farmers and chefs together in order to revive heirloom vegetables, meats and dairy as well as spread the education of sustainable agriculture. He focuses on supporting local farms through use of their products in his cooking. He also participates in cooking events such as the Taste of the Nation and Hampton's Seafood Festival.

Student (TBD)

* Executive Chef Evan Hennessey's Flavor Concepts http://www.flavorconcepts.com/

New Major: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

2011-03-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

The University of New Hampshire has launched this major that reflects the region’s agricultural landscape and the growing appetite for local, sustainable food, products and services. The major, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, combines plant, animal, and environmental sciences with related topics such as nutrition, forestry, aquaculture, and business disciplines such as entrepreneurship and marketing. With a high degree of flexibility to address students’ unique goals and needs, the major offers both Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees.

“This new major is consistent with the convictions we see in our young adults toward sustainable use of resources, knowing where their food and other products come from and how they are produced, and a desire to participate in this most fundamental aspect of life rather than being a passive consumer and bystander,” says Jon Wraith, associate dean of agriculture in UNH’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and co-director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at UNH. “This major aims to prepare students for employment related to New England’s diversified and relatively small-size agricultural operations, as well as to provide them with the knowledge and experiences to pursue other careers or advanced education.”

Becky Sideman, associate professor of sustainable horticulture and coordinator for the major, notes that books such as “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and the growth in farmer’s markets and other local food sources may have fueled students’ interest in sustainable agriculture. Over the past five years, enrollment in her Sustainable and Organic Food Production course has more than doubled.

“Most of these students not from farm backgrounds, but they are genuinely interested in food production,” she says.

The new major, which began in Fall 2010 with 15 students, requires students to complete foundation courses that explore a range of topics underpinning sustainable agriculture and to declare an area of emphasis that focuses their particular interest, from agricultural education to horticulture to food systems. The major requires at least one experiential course as well as a capstone experience, which Sideman says will likely involve students working alongside faculty members in the lab or on the farm.

Experiential courses might include CREAM – Cooperative Real Experience in Agriculture Management – in which students operate and manage a small Holstein herd on campus, or other similar courses under development in diversified organic agro-ecosystem and vegetable crop and horticulture management. Students also will be encouraged to develop internships with agricultural businesses within the state.

The Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems major will take advantage of UNH’s expansive experiment station facilities: the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, the Organic Dairy Research Farm, the Kingman and Woodman Horticultural Farms and the MacFarlane Greenhouses.

Wraith notes that the new major, which complements UNH’s unique EcoGastronomy double major by providing an outstanding ”primary” major for interested students, will fill a need in New England’s diversified agricultural landscape.

”Students have told us that their family’s operation includes some livestock, horticultural crops, and a forested woodlot. This crosses at least three traditional degree programs, but we can now effectively integrate these common aspects of New England agriculture,” he says. “Further, we’re repeatedly told by key partners that entrepreneurship, economics, marketing, and human resources management are critical aspects of the real world that are often not well covered in traditional degree programs.” As opportunities in local agriculture, farmer’s markets, and agri-tourism “skyrocket,” he says, this program aims to prepare students for meaningful careers.

“The new SAFS major represents one key aspect of the ongoing reinvigoration of our agriculture and food systems programs here at UNH. We’re fortunate to be working in a time of greatly renewed interest in agriculture and food, and that’s also reflected here on campus. We want to partner with multiple constituents and disciplines to help lead the way forward,” says Wraith.

For more information, go to http://sustainableag.unh.edu/.

Savor the Elements

2011-02-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmet-dinners

The Mystery of the Coconut

2011-02-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

They lie on the ground unspoken for like so many acorns. As I ride in the back seat of the family rental car I long to stop and gather them up. It’s not that I couldn’t have insisted we stop; it’s just they were a mystery. How do you open them, eat them, drink from them. At a local farm stand we stop to ecstatically purchase our half dozen, half dollar pineapples. The native farmer picks up his heavy machete and the large, smooth skinned, golden nut, whacks off an angular slice, puts a straw in its pure white center, and offers it to me. Not being able to meet his eyes I shyly lower my head and shake “no”, too timid to receive the gift being offered to me. Now the coconut haunts me.

I am on vacation in Panama for two weeks immersing myself in its unspoiled grandeur. The peaceful cohesiveness of the people and their country fascinates me with its absolute simple beauty. The people are poor, but I can’t feel sorry for them. They have no cars, gadgets, or modern electricity and plumbing, although, oddly enough, cell phones are amazingly common. Their small villages invariably include a church, small general store, an open air Atlas beer garden, and a bus stop on both sides of the road. Larger villages had more than one of each of these necessities. In these larger villages the stores, churches, and beer gardens did not seem to compete with each other as their even dispersement allowed for an easy walking distance for the villagers nearest to them. Yes, the cuevas jardine was a necessity for the men to gather in and socialize on Saturday and Sunday nights. In our frequent passes through the villages it was common to see all the villagers gathering together. We would try to guess if the event were a funeral, celebration, or religious holiday.

Neither obesity nor malnutrition seems to plague these hard working people. The lack of noisy machines such as lawn mowers, combines, tractors, and bull dozers is very noticeable. The machete should be declared the national tool. The men use it to harvest, landscape, do general house hold tasks, and of course, open the coconuts. Occasionally you would see an older boy proudly carrying around his own hand me down, all-purpose blade. The shovel follows the machete in popularity. Road work is done by many men actively digging and repairing. No one stands around watching as one person works an expensive piece of machinery. The workers wear long sleeves and pants, gloves, and an open bandana tied on their heads to protect them from the constant sun. They take their breaks together under a large, shady tree. They smile and talk to one another jovially as they drink water from a giant thermal cooler. Because of its resistance to heat and rain, cement is the glue that ties the country together, but the actual cement mixer is rarely spotted. The cement is mixed by hand with a shovel by individuals for building structures, roads, and homes.

In the areas we travelled we saw where the country raised its own food. On many occasions you had long looks at the crops as you patiently, or not, drove behind the ancient dump truck piled high with the workers sitting on top being dropped off at their homes as the truck drove slowly to market at the end of the day. Sugar cane, beans, corn, carrots, onions, beef, dairy, chickens, eggs, wheat, pigs, pineapples, bananas, citrus, plantains, potatoes, coffee, watermelon, cantaloupe, and, of course, coconuts are some of the easily recognizable, abundant nourishment.

The people were surprisingly clean cut. The men and boys all had dark, short hair and shaven faces. Although it certainly wouldn’t be called a beard climate. In the rural areas men wore long work pants and long sleeve work shirts and hats. The women and small girls in the rural areas wore matching brightly colored dresses trimmed with contrasting ric rac trim. Some women, especially women employed in the city, carry umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. The teenagers dress in jeans and t-shirts, and “summer” clothes like shorts and tank tops are surprisingly lacking. Their only vice is VERY tight jeans worn by teens in the larger towns and VERY tight dresses worn by some women in the larger towns and cities.

Transportation is varied but the same throughout the country – bus, taxi, bike, horse, and car with the bus being the predominant mode. Every 15 minutes in the largest city on the west coast, David, double decker buses completely fill with passengers to travel to destinations on the Pan-American Highway all the way to the east coast in Panama City. Colorful, cement bus stops can be found in every corner of Panama. There is no place too isolated or the road too bad where you cannot catch a bus. There are always people at the bus stops. Families, workers, teen agers, everyone gathers and takes the bus. It is truly a mass transit country, which really makes you wish our country had much fewer cars and universal access to mass transit. The “buses” in Panama City are owned by individuals, and I cannot stress how individual these buses are. They are old school buses painted by the owner, some beautifully, some not, and with a variety of additions like gaudy exhaust chrome. Clown buses would also describe the buses accurately; as it seems there is a Guinness world record competition going on to see who can get the most people on their bus. One bus I saw had a man in the bus only by a foot and a hand hanging on to the stair rail. Most other areas of Panama the buses look like small, elongated passenger vans. It is fun to watch the caballeros on horses at the many cattle ranches decorating the hills and valleys. The funniest site we witnessed were the men on bikes with bald tires with 10 gallon plastic containers strapped on their backs going to and from the crop fields. I’m not sure what they are spraying on the plants – pesticide, chemicals, nitrates or just water? – But it seemed so benign compared to our massive chemical trucks or planes when they cover a field with its contents.

Apparently there is not a strict DMV in the country as the people and taxi drivers that did have cars had very expired inspection and registration stickers. The police have daily, regular check points where they stop individuals to check to see if they have a driver license, which many don't. There is a heavy guard like police presence everywhere in Panama. I’m not sure how many are on the payroll, but we saw them in most every kind of store, on most street corners, and many in the parks and public areas. In the run down area of Panama City the police are two to a corner and wearing vests in the evening. In the rural areas they are seen much less, but there are still regular check points in these areas. It seems that the country strongly wishes to deter ANY crime.

We drank mostly bottled water, but I’m pretty sure we could have just boiled the water and then drank it. In the grocery stores it is possible to get almost all of your needs made or grown in Panama. The exceptions being some fruits and vegetables are imported from other Central or South American countries and California. They do offer American brand names, but you can almost always find the Panamanian version.

Overall, the country had a very sustainable, ecology friendly, uncomplex nature to it. This appeared to be because of the lack of modernization and regulations. The country had a 1960s feel to it. The people were much less isolated than all of our individual cars, houses, big screen TVs and online shopping have made us. It made me feel regretful of our country’s incredible progress since the 1960s. I know I also greatly enjoy the convenience of these advancements, but their country really inspired me to think whether in making things easier for ourselves, we didn’t do ourselves any favors. Not an original thought, but one I feel heart fully right now.

Which brings me back to the mystery of the coconut? All I know about the coconut I got from the plastic wrapped, shredded, dehydrated, sweetened version.

http://fruit-crops.com/coconut/

contributed by Colleen Schriefer

Final Reflections

2011-01-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

"Coming out of high school I longed for a way to turn my love of food into a career, but knew that I didn’t want to be confined to a kitchen day and night. I settled on a career in journalism instead, hoping that perhaps I someday could integrate it with my passion for food. That opportunity came two years ago when UNH launched its dual major program in EcoGastronomy. Since then, my involvement with the budding program has had a profound effect on my education and on the way I look at the world, particularly in regards to food, of course, but more generally as well.

I have worked to synthesize my two majors of journalism and EcoGastronomy in such a way that my writing may inspire and empower others to reconsider the food they consume. The effect of such efforts is hardly quantifiable, but I would hope that my writing has helped to connect someone—anyone—with a local producer, or caused them to think more deeply when roaming the produce department. As mentioned before, my involvement with, and understanding of, EcoGastronomy has evolved markedly in time. For a more thorough understanding of just what I mean, I’ve included examples of each stage in this sort of personal-professional development. I began my food writing trajectory as something of an undereducated gourmand, critiquing Seacoast restaurants with plenty of zeal, but few qualifications to do so. From there my food writing took something of a militant turn, and I began churning out moralistic manifestoes on sourcing, preparing, and eating food. It is empowering, of course, to unleash such ideas on the world, even if that world is but a Durham microcosm. I don’t regret these writings, of course, though I now consider them somewhat overzealous and perhaps a tad elitist.

More recently, I’ve sought to connect readers with the artisanal producers and business

owners that, through their dedication to high quality food and responsible practices, are slowly changing the way we eat. Last spring I set out to dispel some commonly held myths about raw milk and shared my findings with the UNH community via The New Hampshire. Last summer, while working with New Hampshire Magazine, I was assigned an article about the state’s dozen or so craft breweries. I visited each, interviewed the brew masters, and sat down to compose a brief history of craft brewing in New Hampshire. When the article was published I began getting feedback from a number of readers who had never realized all the state had to offer. I realized then that my weeks of research and interviews hadn’t merely disappeared into the ether; they had created a link between readers and high-quality, artisan food products. Writing like this may seem more innocuous than my earlier Pollan-esque treatises, but I believe them to be more accessible and less alienating than some of my other work, and thereby I think they are probably more powerful and more effective.

In essence, my experience with the EcoGastronomy dual major has afforded me countless opportunities to become more involved with, and aware of, my food system on both an academic and practical level, an advantageous combination that I believe is far too rare in higher education today. Perhaps most exciting, however, is the fact that our much-needed food revolution – though growing rapidly – is still in its beginning stages, meaning that now more than ever our food system is in need of forward-thinking individuals to build upon the progress made by others. To that I say count me in."
Matt Benham, UNH graduate Fall 2010

Appreciating the Green Zebra

2011-01-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

Tom Wagner aka Tater-Mater

EcoGastronomy was very fortunate to have been contacted by plant breeder, Tom Wagner. Tom has been breeding plants, mostly tomatoes and potatoes, for 54 years. He is the founder of Tater-Mater Seeds, and he's introduced some of the most beautiful tomato varieties that have ever been seen -Green Zebra, Schimmeig Stoo, Schimmeig Creg, Banana Legs. Some of his beautiful potato varieties include Kern Toro, Regis Summit, and Tom Boy. Tom was kind enough to share the development of his most famous variety and this blog's namesake: The Green Zebra. Ta Da!

"The genesis of the Green Zebra goes back to when I first started crossing tomatoes in 1954. I was raised in a large family that believed in keeping what is now called Heirloom tomatoes. We had one that my great grandmother brought over from Graben Neudorf, Germany when she immigrated to this country in 1888. But at that time we all believed that varieties run out, run their course, and new blood was needed. Crossing Sioux with the German tomato (that is what we called it) was not a bad cross, so I kept going and going.

I had Evergreen from Gleckler’s in the 1950’s and it cracked so badly that I could hardly get a fruit into the kitchen without it splitting wide open in my hands. To the rescue I got some tomatoes from a greenhouse grower that went on and on about how this variety he had did not crack. I crossed it with Evergreen and got a hybrid tomato that was boring…a red tomato that cracked! It was only by selfing (saving the seed) that I was able to find a stable selection that was not only green again, but did not crack. Hurray!

Step two: I had traveled to Ames, Iowa to visit the tomato collections at the government station. After a long visit, I walked through hundreds of varieties of tomatoes out in the field being grown for seed increase and found a vine that had green stripes on the un-ripe fruits. The ripes fruits were red with light yellow stripes. I picked one tomato and grew out the plants the next year and got some tomatoes with some stripes –not many---but it too, cracked. I then crossed this striped tomato with a variety from Burgess Seed company that did not crack. The hybrid was a tomato without stripes and it cracked as well. You know the story by now; after several years of selfing I was able to find one plant that had no cracked fruit and still had some stripes.

Third event was when I crossed my improved Evergreen tomato with no cracking with a striped tomato with no cracking and …presto! ..An ordinary red tomato that did not crack. It took several more years of selfing before I found a prototype of my Green Zebra; green flesh and green stripes with no cracking. When I increased the seed during summer and winter grow-outs in the greenhouse, I was seeking more tang in the flavor and that stayed with the eventual release of Green Zebra in my initial catalog in 1983 called Tater Mater Seeds. The rest is history."

If you wish Tom can put you on his newsletter and catalog list. tatermater.proboards.com and tater-mater.blogspot.com

Thanks, Tom!

Welcome back 2010 EcoGastronomy in Italy UNH students!

2010-12-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

In this video: University of Gastronomic Sciences, Emelie Buell, Sara Hartley, Sarah Jacobson, Sarah Jamieson, Shannon Jasie, Michelle Raye, Geraldine Walker, Heather Rusaw, Sofia Ramos, Alanna Duffy, Alice Yen, Kana Otowa, Emily Malnati, Paris, Rome, Torino, Venice, Cinque Terre, Barolo, and England

Remains of the Day

2010-11-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

By ABIGAIL CARROLL Published: November 27, 2010, New York Times

Middlebury, Vt. THANKSGIVING is a culinary commemoration of the “Pilgrim and Indian” feast. The turkey salad, turkey soup and turkey sandwiches that have dominated our lives these last few days, on the other hand, commemorate something else: a lost way of American eating, one in which leftovers played a central role.

During the hearth-cooking era, preparing food was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and early Americans cooked with leftovers in mind. In most households, at least one meal a day was based on the remains of a previous meal. If “hasty” cornmeal pudding was on the menu for supper, breakfast might feature the same pudding sliced, fried and served with milk or molasses. If the midday dinner was stew, supper was likely stew or cold meat and potatoes derived from it, with the possibility of more for breakfast.

In some households, this recycling of meals lasted at least through the late 19th century. The morning of the grisly 1892 Lizzie Borden murders in Fall River, Mass., the family breakfasted on mutton soup and cold mutton from the day before.

Leftovers for breakfast began yielding to bread and pastry in the early- to mid-19th century, thanks to the cookstove, which made baking a more predictable affair. Health fanatics like the Rev. Sylvester Graham, who praised the virtues of fiber and questioned Americans’ addiction to meat, also helped usher in the lighter, grain-based breakfast, setting the stage for the breakfast cereal revolution. By the turn of the 20th century, there was no longer much room for leftovers at the morning meal.

Nor was there much room at lunch. During the country’s industrialization, rigid factory schedules replaced agricultural work rhythms, pushing dinner to evening and reducing the midday meal to a short, informal refueling. No longer able to go home for a hot meal, workers and schoolchildren packed lunch pails with simple, filling foods like biscuits, potatoes, sandwiches and pie. Leftovers also found themselves in lunch pails, but they could be a hassle and sometimes carried a stigma. Increasingly, workers patronized lunch wagons, cafeterias and automats, and children eventually took advantage of school lunch programs.

That leftovers carried a stigma points to their association with class status. Slaves’ diets were often supplemented by leftovers from a master’s table; domestic servants took home leftovers from employers’ tables.

While the middle class did not want to be seen eating leftovers, it also didn’t want to seem wasteful. Consequently, a generation of cookbooks taught homemakers to hide leftovers in sandwiches, disguise them with garnishes, bury them in sauces and reconstitute them as new entrees. “Remaking” leftovers was a celebrated skill, and the woman who could convert cold ham into a dainty sandwich spread, appetizing casserole or tasty soup (or direct her servant to do so) was to be praised.

With two world wars and the Depression, leftovers enjoyed a resurgence. Eating leftovers came alongside victory gardens, home canning and meatless and wheatless days as a form of kitchen patriotism. In 1918, “Foods That Will Win the War and How to Cook Them” encouraged women to turn meat remainders into soup, and cold muffins into toast. By the late 1930s, reliable home refrigerators made storing uneaten food significantly easier. No longer was it necessary to pick at the same dish for consecutive meals until it spoiled. Appliance manufacturers published cookbooks with advice on putting, as Frigidaire advertised, a “lift in leftovers.” In the 1950s, Tupperware became available, followed by Saran Wrap and Ziploc bags, and since the late 1970s, Americans have been “nuking” leftovers in microwaves for instant snacks and meals.

Though technology has eased the task of dealing with leftovers, Americans have come to depend on them less than ever. For many eaters, repurposing leftovers has become all but obsolete, thanks to processed foods with long shelf lives and countless venues for eating out.

So if you find yourself struggling to turn Thursday’s turkey into yet another meal, remember that this was how Americans once ate day in and day out — and be grateful that there will probably be a new menu starting tomorrow.

Post courtesy of Abigail Carroll.

Abigail Carroll is writing a book on the history of the American meal.

Register Now for Intro to EcoGastronomy

2010-11-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

Are you interested in growing food, cooking food, and eating healthfully?

Register NOW for ECOG 401

Intro to EcoGastronomy!

ECOG 401 01 54405 Intro to EcoGastronomy, M, W 08:10 - 09:00 AM and

ECOG 401 R01 54917 Intro to EcoGastronomy Rec T 5:10 - 07:00 PM

ECOG 401 02 54918 Intro to EcoGastronomy, M, W 10:10 - 11:00 AM and

ECOG 401 R01 54917 Intro to EcoGastronomy Rec T 5:10 - 07:00 PM

The Value of a Traditional New England Drink

2010-11-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the University of New Hampshire!

I am Sara Hartley, a senior dual-majoring in Marketing and EcoGastronomy. My EcoGastronomy senior capstone research project is on hard cider!

Specifically, my research is titled "Closing the Gap Between Consumer’s and Seller’s Perceptions of Hard Cider: A Study of the New Hampshire Seacoast Region."

The general underlying question is, “How do individuals on the Seacoast value hard cider, a traditional drink of New England, and how can distributors of the product enforce these values?” In a food world, where the intimacy of food with beverage pairings produces the essence of a meal, it is amazing to see how far we reach to source the beverages. Apples grow best in the sandy clay soils of our own backyard of New England.

With my project I propose a campaign to revitalize the spirit of hard cider and preserve the foundation of hard cider producers in this region.

I am using a survey to collect consumer's perceptions of hard cider. The survey takes 8 minutes, and my goal is to collect 500 surveys. Participation in the survey will be greatly appreciated, and you have an opportunity to win raffle prizes from Farnum Hill Orchards. Please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/cider to participate in the survey. Thanks!

If you are still wondering...what is that crazy EcoGastronomy degree? here is a fun description of the subject:

EcoGastronomy is designed to integrate three broad fields of study and practice: sustainable agriculture, regional cuisine and hospitality management, and nutrition. The goal is to provide a unique and systemic educational experience that will prepare students to flourish in the complex and holistic nature of our food community - from farm to fork to nutrition and health outcomes. Thus, the term "gastronomy," which is defined as "the art and appreciation of preparing and eating good food," is paired with the prefix "eco," indicating that the "art and appreciation" of food cannot be separated from our agriculture, our environment and the myriad social, economic, political and ethical issues associated with food production and eating.

This post is contributed by Sara Hartley if you have any questions.

Don't Miss the December Gourmet Dinner - Local Food and Thinking of Others

2010-11-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner

A Common Table Dec. 3rd and 4th Featuring Guest Chef Evan Mallett of Black Trumpet Bistro
The University of New Hampshire’s Hospitality Management Advanced Food and Beverage Class will host the Gourmet Dinner: ‘A Common Table’ on Friday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 4th. The dinner will take place at Stillings, 20 Ballard Drive, Durham, NH. Hors d’oeuvres begin at 6 o’clock followed by a six course dinner at 7 o’clock.

The dinners are completely student run and serve as the capstone experience for the Advanced Food and Beverage Management course. The events have been held for over 50 years and have a strong historical presence on campus. The Gourmet Dinner is a time to slow down and get back to the table.

The students prepare the food from scratch and buy local when feasible. Area suppliers include: Beach Pea Baking Co., ciabatta rolls; Brookford Farm, green cabbage, carrots, milk, cream, eggs; Garen’s Greens at Riverside Farm, watermelon radishes, turnips; The Gelato Fiasco, local cranberry sorbet; White Gate Farm, pears; Applecrest Farm, apples; New Roots Farm, rainbow chard, chili sauce; Heron Pond Farm, scallions, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, parsnips; Seaport Fish, haddock, Maine shrimp.

Menu

Hors d’oeuvres
BLT Crisp
House-cured Pancetta, Rainbow Chard, Tomato Chutney
Walnut Brittle, Goat Cheese, Poached Pear
Paella Stuffed Pepper
Maine Shrimp, Saffron, Peppadew Pepper
Pig On A Blanket
House-made Chorizo, Tarragon Mustard, Puff Pastry
Appetizer
Oregon Truffle Mac n’ Cheese
Mornay Sauce, Shaved Truffle
Entrée
Shepherd’s Pie
Local Lamb Dodine, Baby Turnips
Intermezzo
Cranberry Sorbet
Clementine, House-dried Cranberries
Main Entrée
Fish and Chips
Line-caught Haddock, Roxbury Russet Apple Slaw
Salad
Blue Cheese Wedge
Great Hill Blue Dressing, Radishes, Bacon Lardons
Dessert
Handmade Donuts
Zeppole, Peppermint Fudge, Tawny Hot Chocolate

Executive Chef Evan Mallett from Black Trumpet Bistro and his assistance with menu innovation, along with Dover Wine’s arrangement of excellent wine pairings.Promising a memorable evening, guests are invited to recapture warm memories of times well spent. Come in from the cold and eat a warm dinner with the company of friends, old and new at ‘A Common Table.’ All leftover food products will be made into “stone” soup by the students Sunday after the dinner and will be given to Cross Roads House in Portsmouth to feed those who also deserve a warm meal.Tickets for ‘A Common Table’ can be purchased online for $60 per person at www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner.

The UNH Department of Hospitality Management combines business fundamentals as well as classes geared toward the service industry sector. Hands-on education proves to be a strong and integral part of the experiential and academic curriculum. The department also offers the first-ever EcoGastronomy Program, which integrates UNH’s strengths in sustainable agriculture, hospitality management, and nutrition to offer a unique academic program emphasizing the interdisciplinary, international, and experiential knowledge that connects all three fields.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state’s flagship public institution, enrolling more than 12,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

Gourmet Dinner - A Common Table, December 3 & 4

2010-11-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

The UNH Hospitality Management Advanced Food and Beverage Class is
pleased to announce the Gourmet Dinner: A Common Table on Friday,
December 3rd and Saturday, December 4th. A time to slow down and get
back to the table, we invite you to recapture memories of times well
spent. Guests will experience exceptional service and thoughtfully
prepared foods made with honest, and often local, ingredients.
Executive Chef Evan Mallett from Black Trumpet Bistro is assisting
with menu innovation and Dover Wine is arranging excellent wine
pairings. Cocktails and hors doeuvres begin at six oclock, followed
by a six course dinner at seven oclock. For more information and to
purchase tickets, please visit: www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner.
Press Release for UNH Gourmet Dinner.

Fairy Rings and Mushrooms

2010-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

To learn everything there is to know about mushrooms would require books, guides, attendance at workshops, shadowing an expert, joining clubs and forays, careful record keeping, and extensive study. Knowing trees and other telltale signs, such as "fairy rings" and "washes", is just as important as identifying good mushrooms from their scary, poisonous counterparts. Once the mysterious mushroom is found the next step is enjoying its wonderful flavor in any one of countless possibilities. From simple sautéing to making precious oils the mushroom has a maddening effect on mushroom maniacs everywhere. Forget wine, knowing what to pair a gourmet mushroom with requires a whole other set of specialized knowledge. Dryads saddle, morels, King Bolete, and oyster mushrooms, to name a few, all have distinct flavors and uses. For now I will leave it to the mushroom connoisseur to entice and dazzle me with their wonderful creations.
Evan Mallett of the Black Trumpet restaurant in Portsmouth is one such expert. He was trying to come up with a name for his restaurant while on a hike near his home. Near the summit of Mount Agamenticus, he stumbled on a meadow full of black trumpet mushrooms, and he took a knee and looked skyward in thanks. A real life epiphany, and there was the name. And luckily for us, Evan Mallett is the guest chef for the UNH Gourmet dinner December 3rd and 4th. What better way to start the holiday season then relishing a spectacular culinary feat.

Post by Colleen Schriefer

Eat-In Held by Youth Food Movement at Terra Madre

2010-11-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Michelle Raye shares about getting involved at Terra Madre and an article worth reading in Time magazine about the event, "The anticipation for Terra Madre and Salone Del Gusto was building since the day we arrived in Bra. As the weeks went on, all of the students at UNISG started to talk about the events that were about to unfold, and how they were going to be involved. As “outsiders” we UNH girls were excited, but at the same time we didn’t really know what to expect. Talking to some of our new UNISG friends we were told about different workshops and events that would be happening that we should definitely attend and we were also offered the opportunity to volunteer at the Eat-In, which was being held on Saturday by the Youth Food Movement.

I was very excited to hear about this, as I had been looking for a way to get involved somehow. After two exhausting but fulfilling days exploring Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, I was excited to wake up on Saturday morning, travel to Torino Lingotto, and volunteer with other students to make the eat-in a success. The eat-in was quite a success! There were over 200 attendees; from Terra Madre delegates, to students, to producers. There were also many prominent members of the media there including TIME magazine, and the Netherlands’ “delicious” magazine writers. I later found out that the event was also featured on the local channel 5 news.

It felt great to be working hard with other students my age, some very talented chefs, and some very generous producers, to create such an inviting and joyous event. The eat-in was about food, yes, but it was about bringing different people from all over the world together to sit down and enjoy each other’s company.

Here’s a link to the TIME magazine article featuring the eat-in, Terra Madre, and Salone Del Gusto. "

Thanks, Michelle!

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

2010-11-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Jumping into the middle of Shannon Jasie's description of Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, she talks about the tremendous inspiration she received from the encounter, "To give my stomach a break and to walk off the infinite samples (from Salone del Gusto), we trekked through Torino to the Terra Madre opening ceremony. The best way to describe this event would be call it the Food Olympics. Each country and continent as a whole was represented with flags, among speeches, songs, and traditional dance. The speeches were translated into a handful of languages, as eager foodies listened with open ears. Carlo Petrini spoke last, filling us with hope and empowering us to be the change our communities need to remedy our food system. The ceremony was quite lengthy, but it allowed for ample time to reflect on the union of people from all over the world sharing one common passion. I couldn’t help but feel like I was part of the start of something huge.

We made our way back to Salone del Gusto, because we somehow managed to work up an appetite listening to inspirational speeches on the topic of food. After visiting the street foods section for a dish of the most flavorful pesto gnocchi known to mankind, I sleepily returned home to dream of pasta and canolis while I recharged for day two.

The following day was primarily dedicated to exploring Terra Madre. We passed through Salone del Gusto once more to fill our stomachs for the day, and found ourselves surrounded with beautiful traditional music from a quartet on a make-shift outdoor stage. Entering the Oval where Terra Madre takes place was overwhelming, to say the least. There were numerous tables displaying Slow Food projects, information booths, interactive activities for delegates and observers, and tons of people. After consulting a schedule, I decided to attend a workshop on Family Farmers against GMO’s.

I had a little time to kill before the workshop started, so I wandered over to a gigantic tapestry filled with black writing. As I approached, I learned that the purpose of this tapestry was to promote biodiversity and attendants of the conference were asked to write a national product produced in their country in their native tongue. My contribution was Maple Syrup—a product that I have been missing this fall.

It was time for the workshop to start, and once again, we put on the translation headphones. The guest talked for a bit about GMO’s, then opened the floor to the participants for discussion. Through translators, a conversation began to unfold in English, Russian, German, and French, all with similar mindsets of the opposition to GMO’s, which was incredible to witness. For the second time during this experience, I felt very privileged to be part of something so big among hundreds of people who shared a similar passion.

This experience has helped to continue to inspire me to work towards a non-corrupt food system. Being surrounded by such passion reinforces the idea that I am not alone in this pursuit. Being submersed in this energy was invigorating and refreshing, and this was an experience that I will never forget as I embark on my food endeavors."

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

2010-10-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Shannon Jasie and Sofia
Ramos in Turino, Italy

Sofia Ramos summarizes her experience at Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto. "Out of all the things I learned and experienced during my time at Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, I think the event that impacted me the most was the opening ceremony. Other people would say the closing ceremony was better, but I didn’t make it there because I was in Milan and Lake Como for the weekend. However, the amount of people who were there amazed me; I couldn’t wrap my head around how many people were so passionate about sustainable food and lifestyles. On top of that, it was incredible to see so many different ethnicities represented in one city in one weekend. I liked listening to the different speakers and their opinions and views about the modern food systems and how their countries have been affected. It was my first time hearing Carlo Petrini speak, and he gave the audience advice on ways to change our eating and lifestyle choices; much of which I have heard before.

The conference I attended focused on issues regarding GMO’s and family living. It was not what I expected, but it was interesting because many people stood up and shared opinions and things they were doing to make steps towards better agriculture. Topics discussed were the importance of family farms, heritage seeds, and safer biodiversity. Again, most of the things I heard were about what is going wrong in our food system, and less about the ways we can overcome long-term environmental damage and health risks related to cross-pollination and pesticide use. I was glad I attended because there were many different countries represented, and they all had similar things to say. At Salone del Gusto I got to try many things, including Iberian Ham from Spain and other cured meats; which I am very interested in. The best food and liveliest section for me was the street food area, because all the young people were there and we were able to try very typical foods from other places we wouldn’t normally visit. I tried baklava from Turkey and vegetable dumplings from an Asian place I can’t remember... oops.

Overall, my experience was a very positive one, it was exciting to be around so many people my age being there for the same reasons. I learned a lot about cuisines and specialties from different countries, along with many new products from regions in Italy as well. The only negative feedback I have is that Terra Madre and Salone could have been less exclusive. This is mainly because the resources and energy used to make this world event happen kind of goes against the basic principles of sustainability. But anyways, Italy is AWESOME so far. "

A Beautiful Night in Italy

2010-10-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Walmart and the End of the Local Food Movement

2010-10-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

Anthony Flaccavento is a commercial organic farmer near Abingdon Virginia, and a consultant on sustainable economies and food systems. He is also an External Advisor for the EcoGastronomy program at UNH. This article is courtesy of Anthony Flaccavento.

I had just come in from picking bell peppers when I read the news of Walmart's pledge to buy at least nine percent locally-raised foods by the year 2015. Perhaps I should have been heartened, since this represents potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in market for local farmers around the nation and world. Instead, the announcement sent me back to the pepper patch, shaking my head and wondering if this wasn't the beginning of the end of the local food movement.

The organic produce we raise -- on what used to be a tobacco farm here in Appalachian Virginia -- goes to our local farmers market, to a handful of restaurants, and to independent supermarkets in Virginia, Tennessee and neighboring states. While we're one of the biggest producers at the Abingdon farmers market, our farm's sales are but a small part of the produce and eggs reaching the shelves of several hundred supermarkets through a farmer-based network called Appalachian Harvest. Developed as a partnership with these regionally-based grocers, Appalachian Harvest has helped small growers reach large markets while securing a pretty good price for their peppers, tomatoes and other items.

Sometimes referred to as value chains, other times called "food hubs," coordinated, cooperative networks of farmers closely linked to regional markets are emerging in many parts of the country. The farmers in these networks are typically small to medium scale, often employing organic or sustainable practices; the buyers are diverse, from restaurants to public schools, universities and retailers. These food hubs, while relatively new, are beginning to take hold, improving the livelihoods of farmers and bringing fresher, healthier foods to many segments of rural and urban communities. In the process, they are also building the knowledge, relationships and infrastructure -- the "community capital" - essential to make farms more viable, food more secure and communities more vibrant and resilient.

How would Walmart fit into this emerging healthy local food system? If experience is our guide, not well at all. The purported greening of Walmart notwithstanding, the core of its business model continues to be market domination of all competitors and cheaply priced goods made possible by poor employee wages and very low prices paid to suppliers. Just ask the Vlasic Pickles company. Or Rubbermaid, or The Loveable. All three welcomed the opportunity to sell to Walmart, relinquishing other markets in order to meet the company's volume demand. But after just a few years, they found the terms of their agreements changing and the prices paid dropping. All three went out of business. If multimillion dollar companies like Rubbermaid and Vlasic can be brought to their knees by the retail behemoth, how should we expect small farmers to fare? Over the past decade, investigations of Walmart and other giant retailers in the United Kingdom and Mexico uncovered considerable evidence that suppliers were strong armed, for example by insisting on volume price discounts even when orders were small. These practices led the Mexican Federal Competition Commission to order Walmart to adopt a Code of Conduct for its dealing with vendors, while Britain's Competition Commission developed new regulations for dealing with suppliers.

If this sounds like progress towards fairer transactions with farmers and other suppliers, think again. In October, 2009, The Independent uncovered a secret memo from top brass at Asda, owned by Walmart, instructing its buyers to take advantage of its market dominance, recognizing that "suppliers are hungry for volume" and to therefore "buy for less." The memo suggested playing "good cop, bad cop" in order to extract payments and concessions from suppliers, including helping to pay for the retailer's costs related to marketing and waste. According to the Credit Research Foundation, this is part of a larger pattern, pioneered by Walmart, to push many of their costs down the supply chain using "charge backs" that cost suppliers as much as 10 percent of their total sales.

Let's be honest: Walmart's entry into organic and sustainable foods is, like everything else they do, all about market share, including the image repair needed to maintain their dominance. It seems misguided that major environmental organizations are enabling Walmart to achieve this end. As Stacy Mitchell, author of Big Box Swindle says, "How is it that activists for the public good are no longer troubled, but actually pleased about, huge concentrations of economic power?"

And that really is the bottom line. Nearly every sector of the U.S economy, certainly including food and agriculture, is increasingly concentrated, dominated by a smaller and smaller group of ever larger, place-less corporations. The local food economy has emerged as a small but rapidly growing exception, where farmers, consumers, and a range of locally rooted grocers and other markets have been diversifying local economies and revitalizing local communities. Demand for local foods from these close-to-home markets far exceeds supply in most places. The last thing local farmers, or the communities they serve need is to abandon these markets and throw their lot in with a root-less and ruthless giant.
Thanks to Stacy Mitchell and the Institute for Local Self Reliance for help gathering research for this article.

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

2010-10-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

Emily Malnati at Salone del Gusto

Emily Malnati writes about her first day at Salone del Gusto, "Following fellow students, we found the entrance gate to Salone del Gusto where officially dressed Italians glanced at our tickets and ushered us in. So began our tour of three giant rooms: one filled with international venders, and two more filled with venders from northern and southern Italy. We arrived early, so many venders were still setting up, but by mid-afternoon the exhibition was filled. Never have I seen so many venders, so many different people, or so many different languages spoken in one place. That in itself was amazing. Trying to push through crowds of people who began to appear more and more primitive by the hour was not so amazing. At one point a man oinked and made a grab for some olive-oil-soaked bread that was in front of another student. I started to feel overwhelmed when suddenly we came upon a gelato booth. Motioning, and mumbling “Assaggio…marscapone?” my first sample of this heavenly concoction melted away my feelings of anxiety. It was smooth, sweet, creamy and simple; undoubtedly the best frozen dessert that I have ever had. [I would go back for a bowl every day over the course of the next three days.]

Wandering around in a smaller group, we asked directions to the opening ceremony of Terra Madre without great success. Per usual Italian organization, several people told us we could walk, while another said it was impossible to get to without bus. Needless to say, we ended up spending the entire day appreciating the vast variety of exhibits. Each booth presented a slightly different offering, and it became clear that each region had their own specialty products. I took mental notes of booths I wanted to come back to speak with, and enjoyed just about everything that every vendor had to offer: cheese, bread, sausage, sundried tomatoes, olives, honey, candy, cookies, gelato, wine, limoncello, beer and much, much more…"

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

2010-10-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sarah Jacobson, Kana Otowa, Sarah
Jamieson at Terra Madre 2010

Sarah Jamieson writes about Terra Madre highlights, "Saturday we arrived slightly late for our U.S.A. regional meeting in Terra Madre. The room was overflowing so we snuck around to the front and sat on the floor, literally feet away from Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel and Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini, among countless other “heroes of the movement”. It was similar to a pep rally because it was so exciting and full of energy. Carlo praised the U.S. for the great job we have done and how we are a model for the world…he alluded to future events and Terra Madres even in the U.S.! We went to a few other workshops, one on safety, health, and taste and another about Slow Fish…where we met Alice Waters! She came in and said a few words and when she left, we snuck out after her and snapped a picture and shook her hand…my heart was pounding.

Sarah Jamieson, Alice Waters,
Kana Otowa

Then at 6:00, Kana and I attended a workshop on quality and price. I was very excited for this one because of my economics angle. The workshop was truly fantastic; it was so worth attending. While many of the workshops were not specific enough or focused only on problems and not on solutions—this one was not like that at all.

Afterwards, inspired by my liver experience (alluding to Sarah accidently trying liver the day before), I tried a plate of anchovies (a dish from Genoa), and they were delicious! I have never even tried an anchovy at home, but these were also very different. They were the entire fish, with a little batter, fried up (I think) and I squirted lemon over them and ate the things whole. Yum!

At last, Sunday, the final day of Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto. It was sad in many ways but a relief in others, we were so tired by Sunday. Overall, Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre were a truly once in a lifetime experience, and I feel so lucky to have been able to go to it. I learned so much, tried so many different kinds of foods, and met a bunch of really interesting people. The event and those four days are something I will never forget."

Ancient Apples in Maine

2010-10-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

All around Maine, ancient apple trees are showing their colors. Somewhere out there, some trees have produced a few rare heirloom apple varieties that MOFGA would like to know about. You may have unknowingly seen them in your travels, perhaps not giving them much thought. But, you should. They are some of many rare local varieties that played a key role in Maine’s small scale diversified agriculture for nearly three hundred years. Listed below are some varieties and their likely general locations. We think we may have located three of them, and we are working with folks in different regions of the state to verify the discoveries.
If you think you know the location of one of these ancient trees, please contact MOFGA Board member, John Bunker. trees@fedcoseeds.com
Variety: Carll Apple Details and likely location: The Carll apple is a classic old variety that originated in Saco. Carll originated about two hundred years ago on the farm of Elias Carll (b. 1787) near the location of the old "Heath Meeting House" in North Saco up Route 112 towards Dayton, perhaps on the Heath Road. All we know is that the Carll Apple was "a superior fruit, highly prized, and sought after for years." There is a small church where the Meeting House might have been. Look for a really ancient tree and you may have found it. Download "Wanted - Alive" poster of Carll Apple.
Variety: Collins Apple Details and likely location: Collins (also called "Cherryfield") is a classic old apple that originated in Cherryfield. Collins originated in 1850 on the farm of Wyman B. Collins and was largely popularized by David W. Campbell. The original tree was still standing in 1907. It was extensively grafted trees in the vicinity of Cherryfield so trees should still be standing in the area. The fruit is large, roundish-conic, yellowish green and washed and splashed on the sunny side with crimson. The flesh is greenish-white, crisp, tender, fine grained, mild and tart. It ripens late, its season being from November to February or perhaps later. Download "Wanted - Alive" poster of Collins (Cherryfield) Apple.
Variety: Franklin Sweet Apple Details and likely location: Franklin Sweet is believed to have orginated in Franklin County. The tree is vigorous and its spreading is productive. The fruit is large, roundish and conical, whitish yellow overlaid with crimson with stripes and spalshes of deeper crimson. This variety was a favorite with many for baking and dessert. Download "Wanted - Alive" poster of Franklin Sweet Apple.
See more wanted posters at http://www.mofga.org/Events/GreatMaineAppleDay/tabid/294/Default.aspx

John Bunker writes about apples for the nursery catalog for Fedco Seeds. fedcoseeds.com
Post courtesy of John Bunker.

Increasing Fresh Foods Available to Students

2010-10-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, October 2, a dozen local volunteers gathered to celebrate Dover's annual Apple Harvest Day in a unique way--making apple sauce to ensure the city's students could enjoy this favorite fall treat. Volunteers from the Dover foodservice team, Slow Food UNH, and UNH's EcoGastronomy program peeled, sliced, and cooked their way through nine bushels of apples donated by local orchards and retailers, yielding upwards of 25 gallons of apple sauce. While some volunteers were seasoned apple sauce makers, others were learning for the first time how to preserve and enjoy their surplus produce, making it a beneficial project for the volunteers as well as the students. The apple sauce in question will be available to students across the Dover school district as part of the district's school lunch program in the coming weeks. This project, which was organized with the help of EcoGastronomy and the Dover foodservice team, is the first in a series of projects aimed at increasing the amount and variety of fresh foods available to students and we hope to see these projects blossom and expand in the coming months.
Thank you as well to our area apple donors: Saunders Produce, Applecrest Farm, Butternut Farm, and Philbrick's Fresh Market!

Post contributed by Matt Benham.

Portions

2010-10-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

The EcoGastronomy Blog will post a series of essays from our Italian counterparts at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. The graduate students visited us this summer and last, and we offer their perspective of our food system and the comparisons with their own.

What is “a portion” in America?

An international concept of “portion” is hard to define. What can be considered as an appropriated average meal composition? There are substantial differences between US and Italy in the way of consuming food and this is one of those.

Above all, and once again, the cultural differences inherited from the past (and wide varieties of food supplies) delineated a more structured dietary setting. Three hundred years ago in Italy and France meals structures were based on four main courses (starter, first, second and dessert).

Nowadays Italians every day life is different: we usually eat one or two dishes per meal, choosing between first and second main course, and even if in all the Italian’s restaurants are still applying the traditional formula, it is rare to see someone having a full meal.

The first dish is typically composed by carbohydrate (pasta or soup), while the second is mainly composed by protein or/and vegetable. According to this concept, it becomes easier to consume a balanced meal, supporting a more cushy distinction of the nutritional values of food.

Having a single course can be really dangerous, especially if there is already a consistent lack of consciousness in everyday consumptions. People generally use combining different food without thinking about their proper nutritional content; for example in the Cafeteria is “normal” to see guys eating a pizza with pasta, but both of them are carbohydrates sources, and it can not be considered an appropriated solution for one meal.

In fact, as I have noticed, in US nutritional problems became a very massive reality that involved mostly young generations. Kids are no more able to understand what they are eating and which could be the consequences of these repeated actions, constantly and for longs periods.

And again to our main point: what “size of a portion” means? How much is it supposed to be? The Italian Minister of Health defined “a portion” as: a standard measurement unit (grams) for an equilibrated consumption of food. Underlining the importance of a “reasonable” dish size, that should be enough to satisfy the consumer’s desires.

In 1957, for example, in U.S. the weight of a typical hamburger was one ounce instead of the six ounces of today. Fast Food restaurants and all restaurants in general had, and still have today, a relevant role in those changing of habits, because they offer big menu without its proportional price increasing. In this way people are use to eat more and more, not thinking about increasing calories intake.

On the contrary in Italy we have got a few restaurant that promote those kind of choices, both traditional and “nouvelle cuisine” restaurants focus their own prestige on taste instead of big amount of food. These restaurants generally offer smaller portions compared to Americans restaurants.

Thanks to the division in different courses, and the time in between them, consumers are pushed to eat slowly and less.

Is it possible to change the US trend (that is becoming an extended issues all over the world)? How?

Certainly the biggest effort has to come from Institutions, they should communicate in a more constructive way in order to redirect people nutritional life style and the future generations’ one.

Advertisements, educational courses and many other possibilities can be choose to interact with the society; everything should be controlled and approved by nutritionists, and the common final goal has to be a more rational and conscious approach to food.

Family should support these changing at home, training themselves and their children to a healthy nutritional behave; at home, in school, in restaurants, and in every day’s life people have to change radically their bad habits, especially if this goes with a sedentary life.

The biggest step should be done from the multinational companies, all the dominance that they have on the market should change in favor of an improve of a healthy life style. Governments should control their power, especially in schools, regulating and providing a good balance of unhealthy and healthy products in these places.

Get Involved! Make Applesauce for Dover School Students

2010-09-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 2, join the Dover school food service team as we cook up a giant batch of homemade applesauce for our students' lunches in celebration of Dover's Apple Harvest Day. We'll be using apples donated by area farms and retailers to cook up a favorite fall treat that will be served to students across the district, incorporating fresh, local produce into our school lunches. Students, alumni, and community members are invited to help as we peel, core, and cook our way through cases of fresh apples. Join us starting at 9:00am in the Dover High School cafeteria and check out all the Alumni Homecoming events taking place at the school. For more information, or if you would like to donate apples to this event, please contact Matt Benham at (603) 455-3303 or jmbenham@yahoo.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

Flavor, Quality, & American Menus

2010-09-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

The Culinary Institute of America—through its Napa Valley, California Greystone campus—and the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are taking on the enormous task of uniting leaders in agriculture, food processing and the culinary arts around a common mission that values scientific and technical excellence on the one hand and artistic and aesthetic accomplishment on the other at its invitation only Flavor, Quality,& American Menus Leadership Retreat. http://www.ciaprochef.com/strategic/pdf/fqam.pdf

This year Dan Winans was asked to share his insights as a chef and Culinary Institute of America grad working at UNH in the EcoGastronomy program The leadership retreat was held September 8-11, 2010, at Culinary Institute of America Graystone located in St. Helena, California. Dan had the opportunity to present “Creating Regional Food Systems: The Convergence of Sustainable Agriculture and Volume Foodservice Operations” to 35 of our nation’s most
influential chefs and food service industry leaders joined by leaders in U.S agriculture, food processing and manufacturing, wine and distribution—as well as key media, representing both trade and consumer sectors.

Dan and Amy also visited the Center For Land-Based Learning - http://www.landbasedlearning.org/ /putah.php, the Wolfskill Experimental Orchards and their National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Winters,CA - http://ucanr.org/sites/wolfskill2/The_land_and_Orchards/?email=yes

View more luscious, mouth watering picures on our EcoGastronomy Dual Major Facebook page.

UNH Community Eat-In

2010-09-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

University of Gastronomic Sciences

A community potluck, in essence, the eat-in, is an opportunity for all members of the local community to gather for a homemade meal. After attending a similar event at Italy's University of Gastronomic Sciences, three UNH students decided to bring the 'eat-in' home to New Hampshire. The three students, all seniors, were so struck by the community spirit and camaraderie of that first Italian eat-in, which drew nearly 300 attendees, that they were immediately inspired to organize a similar event on the UNH campus.

The first annual Seacoast Community Eat-In will take place on Sunday, September 12 at 5:30 pm outside, behind Demeritt Hall, just off Main St. in Durham, offering an opportunity for community members to gather with their neighbors for good conversation and favorite meals at a single long table.

Event organizer Michael Longeri explains that food has a universal appeal and can play a vital role in bringing communities together. "The eat-in is important because the idea of a bunch of people sitting down and enjoying dinner together is something that is becoming increasingly scarce. We all need to take a breath and enjoy each other, whether it is learning something about someone new, or learning more about a friend."

This event is free and any and all members of the greater Seacoast community and beyond are encouraged to attend. Attendees are asked to bring a favorite dish to share. Additionally, the event organizers encourage all attendees to bring their own plates, bowls, and silverware, in an effort to eliminate waste from this event. Please visit http://www.unhslowfood.com/ for more information, or contact Matt Benham at (603) 455-3303.

Our Green Zebra

2010-09-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Perched over the twisting vine, my hands reach for a behemoth heirloom
tomato. I feel the plump juiciness, still warm from the summer heat—
it’s all undeniably big. There is nothing like a summer tomato, really.

Our luscious friend, despite our love, has a mysteriously sexy and dark
presence. A member of the solanaceae family derived from the Latin
Solanum or nightshade plant, it was once thought that a bite could kill.
Now we know better and gorge when the plants offer up their bounty.
No need to act prim—the proper way is to let the juice run down your arms dripping on your legs. It’s a refreshing act.

Tomatoes run the gamut of sizes, petite and perky to billowing; colors, deep velvety rouge, pinkish, limey-green, sunny yellows and oranges. Quirky shapes and names like Green Zebra, Earliana and Oxheart.

Like tomatoes, the sustainable food movement is a mix of people around the world looking for answers. The movement is challenged by big business, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns, diet schemes, lack of education or misguided souls. And it appears that socioeconomic status has little to do with people’s food choices.

Our EcoGastronomy students, again like tomatoes, have a similar coveted and well faceted presence. The dual major draws a diverse crowd who want to see change, who want to eat real food, who want to take part in something bigger—and they will.

Bruised tomatoes will not be catapulted at our opponents. Together we’ll make sauce and eat at the same table.

Amy Winans
Lecturer Hospitality Management and EcoGastronomy

Green Zebra

North American "Honey"

WSBE Gourmet Dinner Co-hosts Benefit with Granite State Fish and Seacoast Local.

Congressional Hunger Center offers Anti- Hunger Fellows Positions

Jewish Food With a Twist by Mollie Katzen via JointMedia News Service

The 10 Most Impressive Farm to School Programs

Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States

Farmers Markets in Southeast, Appalachia Highly Competitive with Supermarkets, According to New Study

Ecogastronomy Director Named Finalist in the Real Food Awards

Outside of the Lunch Box at Dover, NH Schools

The Food Trust of Philadelphia Internship

Opportunity to Volunteer for a Terrific Community Event

Our Food Community Enjoys a Fruitful Exchange

EcoGastronomy 2011 Graduates

Events and Public Relations intern for Maine’s food and wine festival, Harvest on the Harbor

Immediate Opening for 2 to 4 People to Work with Hampton Falls, NH Farm

CHEFS (Charting Emissions from Food Services) Fellowship in Portsmouth, NH!!

SNAP Benefits Accepted at Maine Farmers Market - Market Match Doubles Value of Food Stamps

Food Movement is Now an Official College Major - article by Kristin Fuhrmann-Simmons

EcoGastronomy: Food movement is now an official college major

Harmonious Menu at UNH Friday, April 29, 2011

Gourmet Dinner Menu http://www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner

Harmonious Flavors

A Melodic Approach to a UNH Tradition

MENU

UNH Nutritional Science, Field Experience

UNH Nutrition Students Promoting Local and Healthy Food Options for K-12

Make this recipe and call me in the morning

Nutrition Rx: Cooking as a Strategy to Battle Obesity, Promote Health and Fight Chronic Diseases﻿ Dr. David Eisenberg, EcoGastronomy External Advisor﻿by Janet on June 10, 2010

Copyright (c) 2010, Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Make this recipe and call me in the morning Doctors hope to fight obesity by teaching patients how to cook healthfully

A Chemist, an Artist and a Lot of Fizz

Photos by Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Not Just Movie Night at Dover High School

New Major: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

Savor the Elements

The Mystery of the Coconut

Final Reflections

Appreciating the Green Zebra

Welcome back 2010 EcoGastronomy in Italy UNH students!

Remains of the Day

Register Now for Intro to EcoGastronomy

The Value of a Traditional New England Drink

Don't Miss the December Gourmet Dinner - Local Food and Thinking of Others

Gourmet Dinner - A Common Table, December 3 & 4

Fairy Rings and Mushrooms

Eat-In Held by Youth Food Movement at Terra Madre

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

A Beautiful Night in Italy

Walmart and the End of the Local Food Movement

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

In Their Own Words: Terra Madre 2010

Ancient Apples in Maine

Increasing Fresh Foods Available to Students

Portions

Get Involved! Make Applesauce for Dover School Students

Flavor, Quality, & American Menus

Dan and Amy also visited the Center For Land-Based Learning - http://www.landbasedlearning.org/ /putah.php, the Wolfskill Experimental Orchards and their National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Winters,CA - http://ucanr.org/sites/wolfskill2/The_land_and_Orchards/?email=yes

View more luscious, mouth watering picures on our EcoGastronomy Dual Major Facebook page.

UNH Community Eat-In

Our Green Zebra

Nutrition Rx: Cooking as a Strategy to Battle Obesity, Promote Health and Fight Chronic Diseases
Dr. David Eisenberg, EcoGastronomy External Advisor
by Janet on June 10, 2010