When reviewing innovation in food and the culinary industry, the Microplane zester/grater stood out to me as quite the ingenious product. The Microplane is a relatively new tool to the culinary world, but has changed the way many chefs go about their daily tasks in the kitchen. It is certainly a tool that many of us would not want to go without. The Microplane has its roots in Grace Manufacturing Inc., a company founded by Louis Grace and his son Richard in 1967 (Microplane Ltd., 2016). This company got it start from producing small components for computer printers, but quickly realized that they needed to change their game plan upon the arrival of laser printers in the marketplace during the early 1990’s. Initially they decided to shift their focus to develop and produce specialized woodworking tools which contained very sharp teeth with small razor-like edges (Microplane Ltd., 2016; The History of Microplane, n.d.). It was in 1994 when this company underwent even further changes due to a lucky strike of innovation. As the story goes, a Canadian housewife had been in the process of preparing an orange cake and decided to use one of her husband’s wood rasps made by Grace Manufacturing in place of her old traditional grater. She found that the rasp, originally intended for wood, did an outstanding job in zesting oranges. This led to a Toronto based company choosing to market Grace Manufacturing tools as food graters within their woodworking catalog (Microplane Ltd., 2016). From this success, Grace Manufacturing decided to start marketing their wood rasps as food graters for kitchen use in their own catalogues and began to see their business boom with many chefs deciding that they needed to get their hands on one of these tools to see what it was all about (Microplane Ltd., 2016; The History of Microplane, n.d.). Of course, much has changed since 1994. Louis’ grandson Chris joined the company in 2002, helping to expand their products by marketing them throughout the globe. Chris now serves as the CEO of the company and has helps take Grace Manufacturing Inc. to new heights by progressively adding new products to the Microplane product line, such as colourful box graters, herb mills and spiral cutters (Microplane Ltd., 2016; The History of Microplane, n.d.). I find it quite amazing to see how easy innovation can occur, especially when you least expect it. It seems that through a stroke of luck, a product originally designed for use with wood happened to be applied in a different way that worked. The manufactures could have easily decided to look at this as something bewildering to them and tell their customers that these tools were not designed to serve any purpose beyond use on wood products, but instead they chose to grab a hold of this newly found use and market the Microplane in an innovative way. Not only did this likely result in increased profits for Grace Manufacturing, but it also helped to fill a gap in the marketplace for chefs who either had to rely on using less productive alternative graters or mincing food through experienced knife work. But the true beauty of the Microplane is seen in its versatility. Of course, any experienced chef can mince garlic with speed, yet but by having this one simple tool in their chef kit they can use it to do things that knife work cannot accomplish, such as grating nutmeg. For those of us that have used a Microplane, you can likely attest to its versatility and ability to stay sharp. It is also slim and portable, which helps chefs who travel and cater events by allowing them to bring one simple tool rather than an assortment of various sized graters serving various purposes. For me, I find that this tool has helped a great deal with my mise en place by decreasing the number of tools on my workstation and increasing the speed at which I prepare ingredients, such as minced garlic, giving me more time to focus on preparing my dishes. As a child, I can still remember picking up one of those cheaply made hand-held graters my mother kept in her kitchen to grate some cheese only to end up having the cheese slip due to the dullness of the grater and resulting in a horrible series of cuts into the side of my palm. I can now use this tool and its sharp teeth to finely shred parmesan directly onto my pasta, rather than having to rely on one of the dull equipment in my mother’s kitchen that does nothing more than bring back flashbacks and fear of experiencing those childhood cuts all over again. The Microplane is one of the most important tools in my chef kit. I carry it with me whenever I go to a friend’s house to cook, and will likely continue to carry it with me for many years to come. References:
Microplane Ltd. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.microplaneintl.com/ The History of Microplane. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://kitchenproject.com/history/Microplane/index.htm
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In reviewing various diets and dietary restrictions, the concept of a pescetarian diet intrigued me. This form of diet is one that can be defined as a vegetarian diet with allowance for fish and seafood. Most people who choose to adhere to a pescetarian diet typical eat vegetarian meals, while incorporating fish and seafood into there diet a few times per week. Some individuals may also choose to add eggs and dairy to their diet, yet this is often limited or avoided altogether if the reasons for choosing to follow this diet centres around health concerns. Typically, breakfast for a pescetarian could consist of cereal or bread along with some yogurt with fruit. Those who choose to eat eggs may also decide to eat an omelette for breakfast. Common breakfast meats, such as bacon, may also be replaced in this diet by items such as soy based breakfast sausage links. For lunch, pescetarians may choose to eat something quick and easy on the go, such as a salmon burger, sushi, or a salad if they do not want to have fish for lunch. When it comes to dinner, a typical meal may be a piece of broiled fish served with a side of vegetables or rice. If choosing not to have fish for dinner, a pescetarian may choose to eat a vegetarian meal such as pasta with tomato sauce. As a meat eater who typically does not enjoy eating fish, I wanted to challenge myself by following a pescetarian diet for 3 days. When designing my meals, I wanted to try and create recipes that utilize fish while offering the textures of meat along with the great bold flavours I typically enjoy from cuisines such as those of India and Mexico. To make my meals well rounded, I wanted to incorporate grains and vegetables as side dishes. Have a look below at the recipe and photos for my Indian Spice Crusted Pan-Fried Haddock with Heirloom Carrot Quinoa. Hope you enjoy. I know I enjoyed the flavour of this dish and will definitely be making it again at some point in the future. After following a pescetarian diet, I was actually quite proud of myself. Not only did I end up eating more fish and seafood than I normally do, but I also appreciated the tastes of the various dishes I created and felt that I expanded my palate further. This diet also allowed me to gain further practice in filleting and cooking fish, helping to expand my expertise in this area. I also expanded my knowledge of the various types of fish available for purchase, as well as the differences between utilizing fresh fish versus frozen fish when preparing dishes. Eating fish and seafood based dishes allowed me to feel full, but not bloated like I sometimes feel after eating heavier meat based dishes. Overall, I felt like I was eating much cleaner than I normally do, however, I did feel a craving for meat that was hard to ignore at times. This craving became particularly strong when dining out in restaurants that offer more meat based dishes than vegetarian and fish based options. I also found it somewhat challenging to come up with dishes utilizing fish and seafood, likely due to my tendency to prepare meat dishes, but was proud of my pescetarian based creations.
For those of you reading this and considering trying a pescetarian based diet, I would advise you to include a variety of fish and seafood in your meals rather than sticking to one or two particular types of fish. You may also want to avoid many of the less healthy fish and seafood options available, such as deep fried fish sticks or breaded calamari. Of course, eating a pescetarian diet does not mean that you necessarily need to include fish with every meal you eat. I would advise that you also focus on including various dark leafy greens, such as kale, as well as beans to your diet to help increase your daily fibre intake as well as iron intake that could lack due to omission of red meat from your diet. Ideally, I found this diet beneficial, particularly because it provides me with increased omega-3s that I typical lack. This being said, I would most likely not continue on with a pescetarian diet for various reasons. Mainly, I still have a craving for meat and feel that it would be extremely hard for me to cope with this craving and be able to fully stick to this form of diet. Also, many of the dishes I tend to prepare are somewhat difficult to produce by substituting fish for the meat. I find this is mainly due to the fact that fish is a much more delicate protein that does not typically withstand various forms of cooking in the ways that meat does, such as in a stew or stirfry. Also, being a student I find that the cost of fresh fish is pricier than meat, especially in comparison to some larger cuts of meat that may typically go on sale at a local grocer. I find that meat can be easily frozen and prepared later, while freezing fresh fish seems like somewhat of a travesty. Yet, don’t let these comments discourage you from trying a pescetarian diet. All in all, I can now say that after following this diet I will definitely start incorporating more fish and seafood into my diet than I did it the past. When it comes to fresh produce, being able to purchase from a local farmer provides many rewards beyond what is available from the produce we tend to find in large grocery stores. In the spring months, I enjoy having the opportunity to purchase seeds and seedlings to plant in my own garden. I must admit that I normally buy my seeds and seedlings from local garden centres, and have never really taken the time to seek out local suppliers. As such, I wanted to get in contact with a local farmer who specializes on seeds and seedlings. I searched online and located Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. which is owned and operated by Hanna Jacobs (Matchbox Garden & Seed Co., 2017; Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market, n.d.). She is a local farmer who sells certified organic vegetable seeds and seedlings both online and at the Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market in Toronto (Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market, n.d.). I was unable to make it to the Farmers’ Market to try and meet Hanna in person, but managed to speak to her over the phone. The information she provided me with during our call was extremely informative and really opened my eyes on seeds and seedlings. Hanna founded her company back in 2006 within a 1000 sq foot urban farm in downtown Toronto. She eventually expanded her business by moving to a 2-acre rental property in Brampton. After that, Hanna ended up purchasing a 1.5-acre property just outside of Caledon where she now cultivates fresh vegetables, seeds and plants every year. She finds that this is a good size for her and has no plans to expand any larger in the future. Hanna offers her produce for purchase at 3 or 4 farmers’ markets and belongs to a small CSA (community supported agriculture) program as well. Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. offers approximately 100-120 varieties of open pollinated plants in addition to their seeds. Hanna informed me that individuals can purchase seeds through her website at matchboxgarden.ca, but she does not currently mail out any actual plants because it tends to be too involved of a process. Hanna explained that when it comes to farming, she is both and activist and an environmentalist and that this forms the basis of why she chooses to farm organically. She informed me that the way in which farming tends to be done nowadays goes against what nature and the earth wants. The use of tractors to till soil, for example, may seem efficient yet causes great damage to the soil. Hanna believes that to grow healthy plants you need to have healthy soil. As such, she chooses to place more food into her garden for her plants by way of added compost and refrains from tilling it into the garden bed. She finds that this results in much better crops and larger yields within a smaller space. In talking about political and environmental initiatives, Hanna told me that she is a member of Seeds of Diversity Canada. This is a members group whose objectives are “to search out, preserve, perpetuate, study, and encourage the cultivation of heirloom and endangered varieties of food crops…” and “to educate the public about the importance of heirloom and endangered varieties of food crops and the need for their continues cultivation and preservation…” (Seeds of Diversity Canada, 2017). She also belongs to The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, a national movement whose aim is to “conserve and advance seed biodiversity, keep seed in the public domain, and promote ecological seed production” (Seeds of Diversity, 2013). Hanna informed me that this initiative also conducts trials on various seed varieties. Throughout my conversation with Hanna I was learning a great deal about seeds that I did not know about in the past. I’ve never really thought much about the various types of seeds available or what goes into producing a quality seedling, nor did I understand much about the importance of seed ecology. Hanna helped to provide me with further information on this, which I was very grateful for. She has clearly worked extremely hard in promoting and building her business and is doing exceptional work in promoting organic plants. This activity has made me think more about where exactly my seedlings come from. This spring I definitely plan to make more of an effort in searching out organic biodiverse seedling varieties for my garden rather than just picking them up from my local garden centre. I look forward to paying a visit to the Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market this spring to explore their produce and hopefully have the opportunity to meet Hanna in person and thank her again for taking the time to educate me on her products and pick up some of her seedlings to plant in my own garden. References:
Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.matchboxgarden.ca/about Seeds of Diversity. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.seedsecurity.ca/en/about-us Seeds of Diversity Canada. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.seeds.ca/ Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tbfm.ca/ For this blog activity, I chose to pay a visit to my favourite local Asian market close to my home. I find that their meat department is quite vast and always offers great deals on some prime cuts of meat. While having a look at their selection, I came across an appetizing piece of Angus strip loin steak, which comes from beef cattle. I decided to purchase this steak and prepare it for my dinner. I have to admit that my decision to make this particular selection was based mainly on the price, but I also wanted to see if I would notice any difference between Angus beef in comparison to the non-Angus cuts that I have grown accustomed to. Beef cattle are domestic cows that are typically raised for their meat. They are ruminant animals that possess four stomachs which allows for them to be able to eat and digest various fibrous materials that could not be consumed by humans, such as various grains and hay (Beef production 101, 2013). As a result of this fascinating ability, these animals are capable of taking what they ingest and converting it into proteins that can be used by humans in the form of their meat (Beef production 101, 2013). The strip loin cut is a cut of meat that comes from the short loin of the cow (Gisslen, 2015). It can be purchased in its entirety as a larger cut or in smaller fabricated cuts of individual steaks. This particular cut of meat is located along to top side of the cow and consists of supporting muscles that do very little work in comparison to the voluntary muscles located in areas such as the front legs. Because of this, meat coming from this cut is known to be both flavourful and extremely tender. When you purchase beef, it is important to know that it has all been inspected to insure it is fit for human consumption. Beef is also often graded, though this is not a mandatory requirement for its sale. The grades assigned to beef takes into account the amount of fat marbling present within the meat. The more marbling that is present within the meat, the higher letter grade it would be assigned and the tastier it will tend to be when cooked (Gisslen, 2015). Unfortunately, the piece of meat I purchased did not appear to be graded, yet I could tell that it would be a good quality and flavourful piece of meat based on the visible marbling in the cut and the fact that it came from Angus cattle which is bred for meat production due to its increased marbling. The cost of strip loin can vary in price based on various factors, including the grade and where the meat is sold. It is seen to be one of the more pricier cuts of beef with prices often ranging between $14 to $18 per pound, yet one of the great benefits of this cut is that all of the meat can be consumed resulting in decreased waste (The steak breakdown, n.d.). Lately, I have been seeing some good deals on this particular cut, but when I saw it for $7.99/lb at my local market I simply had to buy some. The steak I purchased was just a little over 10 ounces in weight and cost me $5.43. For the best return on my investment I knew that this cut would have to be utilized whole, rather than being diced up for use in a dish such as a stew. Tender cuts of meat are best used in fast cooking methods that make use of dry heat, such as by grilling or pan searing (Aidells & Kelly, 1998; Gisslen, 2015). By using these methods and cooking the meat at a high temperature for a short period of time the resulting product will possess a nicely browned exterior with a moist and juicy interior (Curry, 2012). Having grown up in a family that tends to eat all of their meat well done, I wanted to make sure that this steak would remain tender and flavourful, so I chose to pan sear it to a medium-rare internal temperature of 145°F. I have included my recipe for my steak below along with photos of the raw product, how I chose to marinate it, the finished product as well as the interior after I cut it open. And no meal can be complete without some sides, so I prepared some port mushrooms and mashed potatoes topped with my homemade olive salt (check out my past blog on salts to learn more). I have to say that it was one of the juiciest and most flavourful steaks I have ever eaten. I definitely will never go back to eating my steaks well done no matter what anyone in my family might say. Hope you enjoy. References:
Aidells, B. & Kelly, D. (1998). The complete meat cookbook: A juicy and authoritative guide to selecting, seasoning, and cooking today’s beef, pork, lamb, and veal. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. Beef production 101. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.cattle.ca/resources/animal-care/beef-production-101 Curry, L. (2012). Pure beef: An essential guide to artisan meat with recipes for every cut. Philadelphia, PA: Running press. Gisslen, W. (2015). Professional cooking for Canadian chefs (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. The steak breakdown: Your ultimate guide to cuts of beef. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.foodbeast.com/news/the-steak-breakdown-your-ultimate-guide-to-cuts-of-beef Well after counting down the days, the time has finally arrived for restaurants to start taking their Winterlicious bookings… and I’m VERY excited. For those of you that may not be familiar with Winterlicious, it is a yearly occurrence in the Toronto food scene where participating restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for a period of approximately two weeks. I love being able to dine out during this time, as it allows me to take in the breathtaking atmospheres and indulge in some of the fabulous foods on offer at many of the finest restaurants in the city. So far, I’ve been able to make four different reservations… so I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a great deal of indulging happening this year. I will try my best to post a review for each restaurant I visit so stay tuned. In the meantime, I’d love to share my restaurant review for Antler. It doesn’t appear to be participating in Winterlicious, yet I highly recommend dining there if you get a chance. Enjoy. Restaurant Review: Antler Peter Patlakas Defining Canadian cuisine can prove to be somewhat challenging in comparison to the cuisine of other cultures, such as Italian or Chinese. One might describe a typical Canadian dish to consist of a burger grilled on a barbeque with a side of fries or poutine. Our American neighbours to the south may perceive that we live in igloos, yet they easily forget that Canada is comprised of much more than snow and ice. According to Natural Resources Canada (2016), Canada has 347 million hectares of forests which amounts to approximately 9% of the world’s forests. Canadian Chef Michael Hunter, former Executive Chef of Reds (ChefDB, 2015) in Toronto, has made it his mission to showcase wild regional ingredients in an attempt to define true Canadian cuisine at his newly opened restaurant, Antler, in Toronto. On the menu are various wild game meats, including deer and wild boar, accompanied by regional and seasonal ingredients. After dining at Antler, one can easily say that Chef Hunter’s mission is complete. Antler is located at 1454 Dundas Street West, a neighbourhood that has recently seen the opening of many new restaurants. Chef Hunter’s restaurant is small and cozy, so I would advise that you definitely ensure you make a reservation either by calling them at (647) 345-8300 or through their website at antlerkitchenbar.com. I reserved my table through their website and was pleased to see that they offer a space to write a note, which is great if you want to inform them that you are celebrating a special occasion or that you have a serious allergy they should be aware of. After booking my reservation, I was pleasantly surprised to get a phone call from one of their staff members the next day confirming my reservation. They said they were looking forward to having me, showing that they value my business and making for a great first impression. Upon my arrival, we were able to find ample metered street parking. We were promptly greeted by the hostess once we entered the restaurant and my party of three was immediately seated at a reserved table near the back, just in front of the bar. We were provided with menus printed on paper, making them much more sanitary than traditional laminated ones. Our table was clean, with a simple knife and fork placed on a cloth napkin for each diner and a tea light situated in a mason jar filled with dark blue-black pebbles in the centre of the table. After a few minutes of being seated, a server came and informed us about the daily specials. When we asked her about the price, she said that she did not know and that she would go check for us before asking if we wanted to order drinks. Antler’s drink menu consists of a small assortment of wines available by the glass or bottle. The price point for the wine was well matched to that of the food, ranging from an affordable $10 glass of Jean Luc Colombo Viognier French white to a pricey Collemattoni Brunelle di Montalcino Italian red available only by the bottle at $150. The diners accompanying me chose to skip the wine and ordered the Big Rock Rhinestone Cowboy, which was described to us by the server as an amber coloured lager beer. After looking at their drink menu I decided to order one of the various handcrafted cocktails available, all priced at $15. There were twelve cocktails to choose from which all sounded so marvelous that my indecisiveness kicked into high gear and I told the server that I would need a few moments before I could come to a decision. She left our table saying that she would return shortly for my drink order. It was at this point that Antler’s service momentarily waivered. Less than two minutes after our server had left, another server approached our table asking us if we were ready to order drinks. We told her that we had already been looked after and she apologized before leaving. To me, this eagerness to take a drink order appeared as a desire for the server to earn a tip rather than to please a customer. Eventually, our server returned and I ordered the foraged cedar gin sour made from cedar infused gin, lemon, simple syrup, bitters and egg whites. When my drink arrived, I took one sniff and could smell the delicate aroma of cedar. This fragrance took me back to the times when I would walk through the forest at my cottage just after it had rained and I was delighted by the taste of the drink and its artful presentation in a coupe glass. I asked for shot glasses so I could pour some of my drink for the other people in my party to taste and the server obliged my request. As we sat at our table relaxing with our drinks, we soaked in the ambiance of the restaurant itself with its dim lighting and walls painted in natural earthen hues. The seats along the wall were repurposed church pews, with the chairs across the table were wooden with wicker-like seats. Despite the small space of the restaurant, measures were taken to allow guests to enjoy a roomier feel. Along one of the walls hung a long horizontal mirror, giving the narrow restaurant space a greater sense of depth. A bar-height table was placed along the open front window, allowing the eye to merge the restaurant with the outside street. Above us on the wall hung an animal skull, likely a deer, with some green foliage sprouting from it. The whole atmosphere had a ‘woodsy’ feel to it, including the washroom which had pictures hanging on the doors of deer profiles. Both pictures were similar, and it took a few moments to be able to distinguish that the deer with the antlers symbolized the men’s washroom while the one without the antlers was the women’s. The small but clean bathrooms were located in the basement and not accessible to those with mobility issues. The ceiling height was extremely low, and any man over 5’6” would unfortunately have to duck his head in order to use the urinal. In the dining room, music was playing but could hardly be heard due to the volume of noise coming from the large party of individuals well into their fifth or sixth drinks seated at the table beside us. Our server returned and apologized for the noise, and this was greatly appreciated. She then asked if we were ready to place our order, and in our eagerness to experience Antler’s cuisine we forgot to ask her if she found out the prices of the specials and instead ordered directly off the menu. For appetizers we ordered the wild mushroom tarte Tatin ($10) which consisted of caramelized onions, foraged mushrooms, sorrel walnut pesto and puff pastry. The pastry was perfectly cooked and delicately flaky and the mushrooms were rich in taste and abundance. I could barely taste any caramelized onions, but the sorrel walnut pesto with its pleasant savoury taste and bright green hue made up for this. After seeing the table next to us order the charcuterie board, we decided to place an order for this as well. Our server informed us that it came in two sizes, with the small priced at $18 and the large at $36. We ordered the small and found that it was a perfect size to be shared between the three of us. The board arrived with all of the items presented on a long wooden plank that I wouldn’t doubt had been foraged from the woods and hand prepared for use in the restaurant. On top of the board was an arrangement of foie gras pâté, smoked duck breast, ham hock terrine, thinly sliced beef tongue and a smoked sausage. All of this was accompanied by a homemade grainy mustard and an assortment of pickled vegetables and peppers scattered throughout. Such an assortment allowed us to taste the flavours of various game meats and compare each of them by their flavours and textures. This was an exquisite platter that I would highly recommend to any diner and will easily order again on my next visit to Antler. To top it all off, our server ensured that all of the cutlery was changed and that our table was crumbed prior to our main courses arriving. I really enjoyed that these extra steps were taken so that we could fully enjoy our dinner. As for the mains, my party and I decided to select three different plates to share. All of our selected mains were served on simple but elegant white plates with portion sizes that were large enough to share. Our first choice was the rabbit pappardelle ($24) which consisted of braised rabbit meat, buttered leeks, verjus apricot preserve, parmesan cheese and sautéed greens. This was a spectacular dish. The pappardelle noodles were cooked al dente and the ratio of meat to noodles was just right. The rabbit itself was succulent and well-seasoned. It was slightly difficult to notice the apricot preserve and sautéed greens though, but the flavours of these ingredients came through in the dish itself.
Our second choice was the game burger ($18) which consisted of a burger patty of ground wild boar, bison and deer meat served on a toasted bun with hot mustard, garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, pickles and house smoked cheddar. We asked for onions on the burger and were delighted to see that they ended up plating the burger with a copious amount of homemade onion jam rather than the traditional sliced raw onions. The burger patty was cooked to medium-well and retained a good amount of moisture. It was not at all dry like most of the wild game I have tried in the past. The burger was accompanied by a generous side of seasoned fries. I would definitely come back again simply to enjoy one of these burgers all to myself. Lastly, we also opted for the spice ash crusted rack of deer ($39) which came served on a parsnip purée topped with Swiss chard and braised deer shoulder meat. Upon the arrival of this meal we were provided with steak knives with handles resembling carved antlers, further adding to the theme of the restaurant. The deer was cooked to a medium doneness and was beautifully moist. The spice ash appeared to be a blend of various spices including cinnamon which had been burnt and ground into a powdery consistency and crusted over the deer. It was quite fragrant but managed to preserve the flavour of the meat itself. The dish was well plated and inviting with the warm colours of the accompaniments on the plate evoking images of the changing colours of leaves in fall. Lastly, our meal would not have been complete without dessert. We chose to share a peach tarte Tatin ($10) and cedar infused ice ($6) topped with a blueberry compote. The tarte was flavourful and nicely arranged, but it seemed to lack some of the uniqueness of Antler’s other dishes and came across as a pastry that could be purchased at any bakery within the city. The ice, on the other hand, was an experience in and of itself. The consistency was like that of fresh snow. The delicate taste of the cedar infusion was refreshing when paired with the blueberry compote and lingered pleasantly in the mouth. Antler could have easily taken this dish, portioned it smaller and served it as a palate cleanser between meals. Overall I have to say that I was very impressed by Antler and rate this restaurant as 3.5 toques out of 4. The food was impeccable and the atmosphere accentuated the wild cuisine. Service was better than I expected, but there is still slight room for improvement. Expect to spend between $50 to $60 per person with appetizers, desserts and drinks which is a reasonable value for your dollar given the quality of the cuisine and fresh wild regional ingredients used. After dining here, one can clearly see why this restaurant has been nominated as one of Air Canada enRoute Magazine’s best new restaurants for 2016 (Air Canada enRoute, 2016). If you want to experience Chef Hunter’s vision of what real Canadian food has to offer, take the time to eat at Antler and you will be thoroughly amazed. References Air Canada enRoute. (2016). Retrieved from http://eatandvote.com/en/ Antler. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://antlerkitchenbar.com/ ChefDB. (2015, October 23). Retrieved from http://www.chefdb.com/nm/29916/Michael-Hunter Natural Resources Canada. (2016). How much forest does Canada have? Retrieved from http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/report/area/17601 So, my first semester in the George Brown culinary program has ended and my second semester has just begun. I am really excited to further sharpen my cooking skills and techniques this semester and decided to look back at my last semester to see how I have been inspired. Interestingly, I find that many of the people and situations that inspired me helped to elevate my productivity and drive in the culinary program much in the same way that seasoning our dishes with salt helps to elevate and take them to a heightened level of taste for our palates. Taking from this, I decided to come up with some flavoured salts that are representative of some of these inspirations from last semester. Flavouring salt is quite exciting and simple to do. All you need is the inspiration for your salt, some coarse salt as a base and flavourings to infuse into the salt. There are various ways to add flavour to your salt. One method of doing so is by using the ‘dry’ method, in which your salt is gently pulsed in a food processor along with a dry ingredient for the contribution of aroma and flavour. Salt can also be flavoured using a ‘wet’ method, where the salt is mixed with a wet ingredient and then allowed to dry. Drying can be accomplished in various ways, including leaving the salt out in the sun for a few days, placing it into a very low temperature oven or even using a dehydrator to help extract the moisture. Additionally, salt can also be infused with even more flavour by following the ‘wet’ method using a reduced liquid with more concentrated flavours. Have a look at my ‘inspirational salts’ below and enjoy.
The photograph shows my inspirational salts plated between coarse sea salt. The following are my salts and the inspiration behind them, starting from the left-hand side: Vanilla-Espresso Salt – Inspired by how frequently vanilla beans were used in my baking class as well as how often I needed a coffee to wake me up in the early mornings. I made this salt using a wet reduction of espresso infused with Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste. Tomato Salt – Inspired by the use of tomato in many of the dishes in my first semester culinary courses. This salt was made using the dry method where tomato paste was placed on parchment paper, dried in the oven and subsequently pulsed with coarse sea salt in a food processor. Olive Salt – Inspired by my love for olives but dislike for traditional Greek food (which is rare for Greeks like myself but I’ve learnt not to apologize for my palate). For this salt, I used the dry method and baked sliced olives on parchment paper in the oven for approximately 1 hour on the lowest heat possible. I then added some sea salt flakes and chopped it all up with a knife to allow the salt to maintain a crunchy texture. Sesame Salt – Inspired by my newly found desire to eat Korean food after class. For this salt, I simply lightly toasted some sesame seeds in a pan on the stove and then finely ground them in a food processor along with some salt. Port Salt – Inspired for my love of wine and the art of eating and dining course. This salt involved taking an entire bottle of port and reducing it down until it became syrupy with highly concentrated flavour. This reduced liquid was then combined with coarse sea salt and mixed by hand until the salt was uniform in colour. It was then dried in the oven, followed by leaving in a dehydrator overnight before gently pulsing again in a food processor to break up any remaining clumps. It’s amazing how well my salts turned out and I can’t wait to make some great dishes so I can put these salts to use. The process was fun, and I highly recommend you try making some salts of your own based on what inspires you or the flavours you enjoy most. Hello everyone. I hope you all had a very enjoyable holiday and took advantage of the well-deserved time off. For many of us, the holidays resulted in numerous opportunities to feast on various meals and a great deal of turkey. If you are like me, and not particularly a fan of turkey, it may be that you were saving your appetite for the desserts that would be brought out after the holiday meal. Christmas desserts in my family often consist of traditional Greek pastries which usually include melomakarona (a soft pastry made from flour, olive oil, honey and walnuts) and kourabiedes (a soft butter cookie coated with copious amounts of powdered sugar). These pastries are deliciously sweet but I find that they tend to lack many flavours reminiscent of the holidays, such as peppermint and chocolate. This year I decided to put some of my newly improved baking skills to use and created some Christmas themed sweets as a surprise for my family to enjoy. Firstly, I wanted to create a muffin that could satisfy my entire family so I decided to make a cherry almond muffin. These muffins included the sweet and tart flavour of cherries that appeals to my dad’s palate, the warm aroma of toasted almond slivers which always sends my mom running into the kitchen to sneak a few to herself and the soft crumbly texture of the muffin itself which is greatly appreciated by the elderly members of my family. These muffins were a definite hit. Yet what resulted in even more excitement at my family Christmas was my butter tart platter. Every time we have any sort of family gathering all my relatives long for my butter tarts and devour them within minutes of their arrival. I admit that I sometimes get a little lazy when it comes to making the tart shells and opt for store-bought shells, saving me time when I end up having to bake 5 or 6 dozen tarts. This year I ended up making some pecan butter tarts using my tried and tested secret recipe but I also decided to try and make a ‘crazy tart’ version. This version is the one in the centre of the platter and was made using my own dough recipe rather than pre-made tart shells. It consists of the same filling used for my pecan tarts but is loaded with crushed toasted pecans, golden raisins, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and shredded coconut. I thoroughly enjoyed these tarts yet my family still preferred my original pecan tarts. I guess this only goes to show that you can’t always make everyone happy and should stick to what people say they enjoy rather than trying to change a time-tested favourite. But don’t let this stop you from making a batch of something different that you personally enjoy and hiding them in the back of your fridge for a late-night snack. Lastly, I wanted to create a centrepiece for our Christmas sweet table. My sister had told me that she doesn’t have the patience to bake anything and wanted to buy some Christmas cookies. I told her that it would be simple, fun and cheaper to create a platter that would feature various bite-sized cookies for my family to snack on and managed to convince her to come over and assist me with their preparation. We ended up making gingerbread cookies, white chocolate covered pretzels, rum balls, peppermint meringues and chocolate-orange thumbprint cookies topped with powdered sugar. The cookies were then placed on a platter with some Christmas candies before all the guests arrived. As soon as my family saw them, they quickly swooped in and sampled everything before I even had a chance to tell them what each cookie was. Shockingly, or maybe not so shocking, the rum balls were the first to be eaten by the elderly guests and they quickly went back for seconds. Overall, I have to say that I was impressed with how well all of my sweets turned out this year. It pleased me to see the smiles on everyone’s faces and to receive a great deal of compliments on my baking skills. Next year I’ll have to be sure to create more delicious goodies for my family to enjoy over the holidays and hopefully my sister will have gained further confidence in baking and will come over to assist me again. Enjoy the rest of your holidays and I look forward to hearing some stories about everyone else’s holiday creations when we return to class next week.
When you stop to think about food preparation, what is the first image that comes to your mind? For many, the image would likely be one of somebody in a kitchen seasoning a piece of meat to be grilled or chopping vegetables that will be used in the preparation of a side dish. Of course, the skills of being able to adjust seasonings and correctly use a knife are important for any cook to possess, yet there are many other procedures that extend beyond this. We may easily forget about the importance of pickling, fermentation and preservation. I do have to confess that I often overlook these methods and I found it somewhat challenging to think of how to prepare something in one of these ways. Knowing that these techniques have been used for many generations, I decided to ask some of my family members about the foods that come to their mind when hearing about these methods. Interestingly, it was my mother who mentioned to me about having tried a quite interesting Greek preserve prepared by my grandmother in her childhood using baby eggplants. She then went on to tell me that this was a Greek spoon sweet preparation which involved preserving the eggplants in the way that more traditional fruit would be prepared. Spoon sweets, as they are referred to in Greece, are usually small pieces of fruit preserved in a sugar syrup and served on a spoon placed on a glass dish to guests that visit your home. When I heard that this was one of the rarer forms of spoon sweets, and knowing that I have a huge distaste for eggplants, I decided that I needed to preserve some eggplants for myself using this traditional Greek method to see if it could get me to change my opinions towards it. When it comes to preserving fruit, or in my case eggplant, sugar is one of the most important ingredients. Preserving fruit with sugar can be traced back in our history to times when people would place pieces of fruit into sweet liquids such as honey or reduced juice from wine grapes (McGee, 2004). Typically, a large amount of sugar is used in combination with the fruit to be preserved (Brown & Picard, 1935). The ratio of sugar to fruit may vary depending on the recipe, yet it is common for each pound of fruit to be preserved with ¾ pounds of sugar (Powell, 2001). When you look at my recipe below, you will see that I used an equal ratio of fruit to sugar by weight. The addition of sugar will make the preserve pleasingly sweet, yet it serves an even greater purpose beyond this. By adding sugar, we can prevent any bacteria or yeast from growing in our preserves (Powell, 2001). When preserving with sugar, the first step in preparation often involves cooking the product to be preserved so that the natural pectin it contains can be extracted (McGee, 2004). Sugar is added, which then dissolves and binds with water molecules resulting in the extraction of moisture from within the cells of the product we are trying to preserve (McGee, 2004). An acid, such as lemon juice, is then often added to help prevent any of the pectin chains from being broken down (McGee, 2004). In the recipe below, you will notice that the eggplant was left immersed within the syrup over night before being boiled again the following day. This aids in allowing the syrup to permeate the fruit, helping to plump it up so that it retains its shape (Powell, 2001). You can cook the syrup to a much thicker consistency by boiling it again the next day, which is often the tradition with Greek spoon sweets. It is important that once the process of making the preserve has been completed, you allow the product to cool before placing it into sterilized jars. This is a crucial step, as moulds may end up growing on the product if it is not stored in a sterilized container and sealed correctly (Powell, 2001). Proper sealing can be achieved by immersing the tightly closed and filled jars in a hot water bath that is heated between 180 – 190 °F for approximately 30 minutes (Powell, 2001). Below is the recipe used for my eggplant spoon sweet preparation, along with photographs of the process and the final product. I have also included a photogaph showing how a Greek spoon sweet would typically be presented and served to a guest on a platter accompanied by a Greek coffee and a glass of water. My final product turned out to be a great success and earned my grandmothers seal of approval (which tends to be a rare occurrence). In terms of how it appealed to the five basic senses, I found that it was extremely sweet due to the large amount of sugar used in the preservation. This sweetness was noticeable both within the syrup and the interior of the preserved eggplant. The outer purple flesh of the eggplant did, however, appeal to the bitter sense. Interestingly, the almond also tasted somewhat bitter and seemed to have soaked up some of the raw flavour of the eggplant. I was unable to sense any saltiness, sourness or umami.
When it comes to the taste of this preserve, I found it quite interesting that it had a high level of sweetness and that most of the raw eggplant flavour I had expected was not present. It was a strange play on the senses to eat this preserve and find that the almond contained in the centre had a slight raw eggplant taste while the rest of the preserve tasted very sweet. The smell was not strong, and reminded me of the sweet golden syrup that I used to bake with while living in New Zealand. This preserve kept its original round shape, yet the flesh managed to get slightly wrinkled. The eggplants looked very shiny due to the syrup that coated them. I found that the finished product appeared to resemble a prune on its exterior, yet when cut open, the rich caramel coloured interior reminded me of the figs my grandmother used to bring back from Greece. When eating this preserve, you could hear a slight squishy noise and there was no audible crunch other than a very slight amount that came from biting down on the almond. The eggplants felt somewhat soft to the touch with their exterior being quite sticky from the syrup. If I was to eat this preserve without having known what it was, I would have easily thought that it was some sort of fig jam based on the flavour and appearance. The most unique aspect of this preserve, and the main reason for why I wanted to try preparing it, is that it uses eggplant and prepares it in the way that a more traditional fruit would be prepared for a Greek spoon sweet. Despite eggplant technically being a fruit, it is often considered a vegetable by many and is usually seasoned and prepared as such. It was interesting to see that eggplant can in fact be prepared along the lines of a more traditional fruit. Overall, I found that my preservation of baby eggplants in the style of a Greek spoon sweet was a success. I was a little bit worried at first that the eggplants would totally melt and lose their shape but was pleased to see that they held up to the heavy syrup and high heat. I would, however, likely omit placing an almond inside each eggplant if I were to make this recipe again. I found that despite the almond appearing as a delicate ‘surprise’ within the centre of the eggplants, the raw eggplant taste it soaked up was somewhat off-putting. Also, the process of wrapping each eggplant with string was extremely time-consuming and felt rather unnecessary. A better option would be to place a handful of almonds into the syrup close to the end of cooking instead. This would avoid them from soaking up the raw eggplant taste and save time by not having to tie each eggplant. If you are a fan of eggplants and want to try something unusual, then this recipe may be something interesting for you to try but if you have a distaste for eggplants then this recipe will likely not be for you. I enjoyed this preservation experience and the uniqueness of this dish, but next time I will likely stick to preserving some nice Bing cherries when they are in season instead. References: Brown, F. L., & Picard, O. G. (1936). Home Preservation of Food: Preservation of Foods With Sugar. McGee, H. (2004). Preserving fruits and vegetables. In On food and cooking: The science and lore of the kitchen (pp.291-299). New York: Scribner. Powell, O. (2001). Successful canning and preserving. Applewood Books. The fall season is finally upon us, giving way for many opportunities to visit local farmers’ markets for fresh seasonal produce. I took it upon myself to hunt down some fresh and unique produce of my own by paying a visit to Whittamore’s Farm located at 8100 Steeles Avenue East in Markham. This is a fairly large farm that is located close to the city. During the peak of the summer they offer the ability to pick your own produce, such as fresh strawberries and raspberries. They even have a ‘fun farm’ for children in the spring and summer that is filled with various activities such as mazes, tractor tire climbs and farm animals. Currently, their ‘fun farm’ has been transformed into a ‘pumpkinland’ complete with a corn maze and a pumpkin cannon show on weekends. It is times like this that I wish I could go back to being a kid again and revel in these outdoor activities. With all the excitement that Whittamore’s Farm has to offer, I can’t count the number of times I have driven by this farm with the intention of stopping in to have a look but failing to do so. This year, I made sure that I would not miss out on this opportunity. Upon entering the market area, I was greeted by a wonderful display of fall produce. There was large assortment of vegetables available for sale, yet their available fruit only consisted of apples, pears and strawberries. At first I was somewhat disappointed, but then I took the time to remind myself that it is somewhat late in the fruit harvesting period and decided to have a closer look at what was available rather than to turn around and go home. As I turned a corner, I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge assortment of apples which included many varieties that I have never heard of before. One variety that instantly grabbed my attention was the Ambrosia apple. This apple was priced well above the other varieties at $3.99/lb, so I decided I needed to purchase some of these apples and find out what they are all about and what makes them so special. I selected three apples that had good colouration and felt firm to the touch, made my purchase and returned home to research this apple variety. The Ambrosia apple, or Malus domestica ‘Ambrosia’, is a fairly new cultivar of apple belonging to the Rosaceae (Rose) family (Collett, 2011). This variety of apple originates from the Similkameen Valley of British Columbia and it was here where the first seedling appeared between a row of Jonagold apples on a farm owned by the Mennell family in the early 1990’s (Ambrosia Apples, 2016). The Ambrosia apple most closely resembles a Jonagold apple, yet it is suspected that its parentage is derived from a cross between a Starking Delicious and Golden Delicious apple (Mennell & Mennell, 1999). The name ‘Ambrosia’ comes from the Greek language where it is used to describe the food or drink of the gods in Greek mythology. Ambrosia apples are grown close together within narrow rows to allow for all the apples to be exposed to the sun (Ambrosia Apples, 2016). The fruit typically develops close to the main stem of the plant and is usually harvested between late September to early October. Ambrosia apples have one of the shortest harvesting seasons of any apples, and this likely contributes to their increased market price. The Ambrosia apple is grown on limited acreages within Canada and the United States to prevent oversupply, and growers must apply for a licence before being allowed to propagate and sell Ambrosia trees (Cline, 2009). When you first look at an Ambrosia apple, you can see that it has a light red coloured flesh with some green variation. It feels smooth to the touch and is noticeably firm. Cutting it open, you can see that the interior consists of a creamy yellow coloured flesh that feels wet but is also somewhat firm to the touch. The scent emitted from this apple is light and lacks the overpowering acidy notes of other apples, such as the Granny Smith. As you bite into the apple you can instantly hear that it gives off a loud audible crunch. The Ambrosia apple appeals to both the tastes of sweet and sour, with a pleasantly sweet taste that lingers on your tongue coupled with a very low level of tartness. This fruit does not appeal to the taste of salt, bitter or umami. I found that its flavour was very similar to that of a Golden Delicious apple, likely due to its suspected parentage. This apple did, however, also have a flavour that reminded me of a slightly under-ripe pear. The Ambrosia apple is not an overly unique fruit, yet because it is less commonly found in local supermarkets and is a newer crossbreed of apple. finding it at a farmers’ market makes for a nice treat. The Ambrosia apple would be a perfect apple to use for poaching due to its firmness and low level of tartness. Here is a great recipe for a poached bourbon Ambrosia apple that I recommend you try. It infuses a great deal of warm flavours reminiscent of the fall into the apple and makes for a great dessert on a night in, especially if paired with a vanilla bean ice cream and a glass of icewine. I recommend Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine to complement the flavours of this dessert. Ingredients:
Add the apple cider, bourbon, maple syrup and cinnamon to a saucepot and bring to a simmer on the stove over a medium-low heat. Add the apples, return to a simmer and let simmer for approximately 25 minutes ensuring that you turn the apples halfway through cooking. Remove the apples using a slotted spoon. Discard the cinnamon stick and reduce the liquid in the saucepot over high heat until it has reached a caramel-like consistency then set aside. Place the apples on a parchment lined baking seat with the cut sides facing up and sprinkle the sugar over them. Use a torch to crystalize the sugar or place under a broiler for a few minutes. Top with crushed pecans if you like, or simply serve as is. By visiting Whittamore’s Farm, I learnt that you can stumble across fresh produce items in a market that you may not find at your local grocery store. The quality of these products also appears to be better, with heightened colours and flavours. Taking the time to better understand and expand my knowledge on the large variety of apples available has allowed me to heighten my awareness of the similarities and differences in fruit varieties and how aspects of these can come through in the crossbreeding of fruit plants. This activity also helped me to appreciate the importance of seasonality and market availability when it comes to produce. We all wish that we could have our favourite fruits and vegetables available to us at any point during the year, but by understanding seasonality we can come to an increased appreciation of fresh produce. References: Ambrosia Apples. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.ambrosiaapples.com Cline, J. A. (2009). Commercial Production of AmbrosiaTM Apples in Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Collett, L. (2011). About the apple – Malus domestica. Retrieved from http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lincoln/sites/default/files/about_the_apple.lc_.2011.pdf Mennell, W. J. & Mennell, S. B. (1999). U.S. Patent No. PP10,789. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Tasting new food can often pose as a challenge for many people, yet it is one that can become a true adventure once you take the plunge and try something new. I find that it is a lot easier to work with ingredients that you are familiar with, but every once in awhile discovering a new flavour sets alarm bells ringing and ideas for new dishes begin to come to mind. I am not sure why, but I have never actually eaten a dragon fruit despite seeing it in many of the Asian markets that I’ve visited. I chose to finally pick one up and try it for myself in order to find out what this beautiful looking fruit is all about and get some ideas for how it can be utilized. Visually, a dragon fruit is stunning. I find that it resembles some sort of flower, with a bright pink outer flesh with green tipped ends on its petal-like extensions. The outer casing of the fruit felt firm, but pushing in on the flesh showed that the interior was soft and ripe. After slicing the fruit open, I was greeted by an interior that was full of white soft fruit laced with tiny black seeds. Visually, this reminded me somewhat of the seeds you see inside a kiwi fruit. Feeling the inside of the fruit, I noticed that it was somewhat wet and squishy, similar to the texture of a soft cucumber. I decided to smell the fruit and found that it’s aroma was comparable to that of an unripe banana. When I cut a portion of the fleshy edible interior and began to chew on it, I was able to discern that it had a soft consistency with an audible crunch that came from biting on the small seeds. The dragon fruit did not really appeal to the senses of salty, bitter or umami, yet it did appeal to the sweet and sour senses. Its sweetness was light but not overpowering and this was combined with a slight sourness that was particularly noticeable when biting the seeds. I found this combination of sweet and sour flavours to be quite interesting, as they seemed to be both active simultaneously in my mouth on the sides and front of my tongue. This fruit was quite unique in that the inside tasted the way a fruit would be expected to taste, yet externally it resembles a beautiful flower. It was hard to compare this to other fruits, but I felt that it shared some similarities internally with a kiwi fruit and watermelon. Through tasting it, I learnt how certain flavours can be combined and sensed by more than one of the five basic senses simultaneously. I really enjoyed the dragon fruit and would easily purchase it again. Not only was it refreshing, but it was also pleasing to the eye. One less appealing aspect I did notice, however, was that this fruit tended to leave a somewhat unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth similar to that of unripe fruit. I’m not entirely sure if this is just natural to the dragon fruit, or maybe I simply needed to let it ripen further before consuming it. I will definitely pay attention to this next time I eat this fruit to see if this was just a one-time thing or something common to this fruit. This experience of tasting a new food has shown me that by taking time to understand the textures and flavours of a food on its own, rather than eating it quickly, you can gain a better idea of ways in which the food can be utilized. I thought that the dragon fruit, with its textures, flavours and abundance of pulp inside would make for a great fruit to put into a smoothie and will likely try making one next time to see how well it works. I enjoyed this experience and look forward to hearing about your own new food experiences. If anyone else had a new experience with dragon fruit, feel free to comment on here so we can compare our thoughts on it. |
AuthorHi everyone. I'm Peter, and I have decided to follow my passion and pursue a career in cooking. I look forward to connecting with you all. Archives
February 2017
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