Extra Matter

Eat This Newsletter 028

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12 April 2016

The internet ate my homework*

  1. Eat more bread: Bloomberg News explains why agricultural prices have fallen for three years in a row: “We all bought into this thesis of having to feed nine billion mouths by 2050 … Unfortunately, at the moment global grain demand is not keeping up with the rise in production.”
  2. Eat more kale: Why are some food prices seem never to come down: “as some become more aware of global inequality and … exploitation … they are … voting with their pocketbooks for alternatives they believe are more benign and deliver greater value to themselves, their families, and their communities.”
  3. Eat more ice cream: is there anything left to say about gelato in Rome? “Her gelato base contains only milk, cream, sugar and flavors that come from whole ingredients such as saffron, hibiscus flower and lapsang souchong tea, to name a few.”
  4. Eat more cultures: There’s a hooha brewing about food appropriation that I’m steering well clear of, but Rachel Laudan shares her experience: “I tell this story … so that I can use it to talk about how complicated the transfer of culinary knowledge actually is”.
  5. Drink more coffee: I love my Aeropress, but I am such a nOOb: “Head [sic] water to 79 celsius; Add 60 grams of water; Turbulent wiggle for 15 seconds.”

* Honest; it was down here most of yesterday.

Podcasts

Welcome to the Wonderbag Adapting the ancient haybox to fight poverty and promote empowerment

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:42 — 10.6MB)

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wonderbag

At this year’s Amsterdam Symposium on the History of Food I talked to Jon Verriet, who’s been researching the history of the haybox. That’s an insulated container, into which you put hot food, which then keeps cooking thanks to the retained heat. Jon made the point that hayboxes often see an upsurge during times of war and hardship, when they can be promoted as good for the country because they save energy and money. Environmentally-aware types also like them, to save energy as they cook their lentils.

Researching the haybox myself, I came across its modern incarnation, the Wonderbag, which neatly ties those two motivations together. When you buy one, perhaps for environmental reasons, you’re actually paying for two, one of which goes to a poor family to save money, fuel, time, water, everything. I thought that was worth a follow-up, and so sought out Sarah Collins, a South African social entrepreneur who developed the Wonderbag.

Notes

  1. The Wonderbag website tells the story and links through to the Wonderbag Foundation.
  2. The University of California at Berkeley study mentioned in the podcast concluded that the Wonderbag saves 8–21% of the time family members spend cooking, 10–36% of fuel costs, and allows families to spend 36–60% more on food.
  3. Banner photograph thanks to Annie Templeton at Goedgedacht Trust. Cover photo by Edrea du Toit for Netwerk 24.
  4. The haybox through history episode, for convenience.

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Extra Matter

Eat This Newsletter 027

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28 March 2016

Fuzzy, and logical

  1. This paean to Kampot pepper seems full of holes to me. (Not least that guff about “France’s Gruyere cheese,” which is well out of order and out of date.)
  2. I’ve taken an interest in butter since before the very first Eat This Podcast. This comparison of Anatolian and Nordic butter scratches that itch.
  3. Have we had enough of foraged food yet? Apparently not, but all foraged food is not created equal.
  4. Is a rice cooker the smartest gadget in the kitchen? Maybe. (You’ll see what I did there once you’ve read the article.)
  5. But is it smart enough to make any of 15 kinds of crispy rice bottoms?
  6. Shameless self-promotion. Did you know I have this other thing, Pick of the Podcasts? This week, I’m showcasing three podcasts that are up for a James Beard Foundation award. So, that’s shameless squared.
Podcasts

The evolution of food culture in Mali Where eating alone is unthinkable

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:43 — 15.4MB)

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maliWhen it comes to cradles of agriculture, West Africa does not often get a look in. The Sahel is better known as a place of famine than of feasting, but it wasn’t always so, and even today the Bamana people of Mali have a rich food culture.

Stephen Wooten – that’s him in the picture enjoying a meal with his friends and collaborators – is an anthropologist who has been working in Mali since the early 1990s. He gave a great talk at this year’s Amsterdam Symposium on the History of Food, after which we had a chance to talk about food in Mali and how it evolved from gathering and hunting through herding cattle and sheep to settled agriculture, along the way domesticating some important cereals such as millet.

There’s a lot more to the food culture though. Women and men work separately but together to ensure that the community can eat, with a strict division of labour and equally strict sharing of responsibilities.

Notes

  1. The banner photograph, by Stephen Wooten, shows the antelope headdress worn by dancers in the Ciwara performance, a celebration that recounts the mythical origins of Bamana agriculture and that, like Bamana food culture, requires the participation of women and men.

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Extra Matter

Nominated. Again

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jbfa-medal.pngHaving been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award last year, I thought I was chancing my arm trying again, so when I heard late yesterday afternoon, via Twitter no less, that I had again been nominated, I was amazed. Amazed, delighted, excited.

Of course, as I said last year, my secret weapon is my guests. They’re the ones with something worth listening to. I just find them, ask the questions and tidy up a bit afterwards.

I dithered like mad this time trying to select a suitable episode to enter, and in the end decided on a compilation of three different excerpts. So, if you haven’t already heard them, or if you fancy a repeat, do have a listen to:

I’m in pretty good company too.

Congratulations to Gravy (which is also enjoying its second nomination) and Burnt Toast. See you, with any luck, in New York.