Superfruits Shammy

It is October and it is National Superfruits Month—and it is all marketing gimmicks!  You'll probably here some radio ads this upcoming month to purchase superfruits. Superfruits was a term coined in 2004 to describe fruits with exceptional nutrient properties and was created to market these fruits.  More specifically, they are very high in the antioxidants anthocyanin and procyanidin.  They help to regulate free radicals in our blood stream that can potentially damage healthy cells.

I always love to try new things, especially exotic foodstuffs.  Goji berries from the Himalayas, acai from the rainforests, and pomegranates are just to name a few.  It can be quite expensive to add them to our daily diets.  With more and more pomegranates being farmed in California, the price has dramatically decreased over the past decade, which is good for the consumer.

To me, it is always about being an educated consumer and understanding what a superfruit really is.  Most of us have already been consuming superfruits our entire lives!  Cranberries are readily available in the fall and its juice is available year round.  Blueberries can be procured at almost any local market in the summer months.  I always prefer to eat what is grown near me and not from the other side of the equator.  Blueberries and cranberries are my preferred superfruits that are cost effective and pragmatic to procure and they do not need any marketing gimmick.  I always prefer to minimize my carbon footprint. 

Monterey Market in Berkeley

To this gastronome, Monterey Market in Berkeley is the ultimate local independent market.  I wish there was a market like this in the Midwest.   Run by a Japanese-American family, the variety, freshness, and quality are unsurpassed. Granted, California does have quite a good climate for growing things—it's alive.  If one happens to be in Berkeley, one should definately check out Monterey Market.

On a trip to Berkeley last year, I spent hours observing the assortment of local bounty—in January. The day before, I had been at Big Sur and some of the local foragers were talking about how big the chanterelles were this season.  I was dumbfounded and giddy that they actually had fresh yuzu citrus.  The following pictures are some things that were in season at the time...

Wild Mushrooms

Citrus

Food & Cookbook Resources

Gastronomy- (1) The study of food (2) The science to art of good eating

A few resources that I constantly use to research gastronomy are listed below.

The Food Timeline
A great timeline on the history of man and food going back to caveman times.  Great resource and definitions of foodstuffs and when they became important to mankind.

Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
A collection of classic cookbooks on American cookery archived by the Michigan State Library.  It has provided me many sleepless nights and hours of enjoyment.  Browse through this collection for your gastronomic enjoyment.  Most of the offerings are available to view in PDF.

Los Angeles Public Library Menu Collection
A collection of searchable restaurant menus by cuisine, date, and restaurant.  Check it out to view vintage menus.

Biodynamic Cider

It is Autumn so I am tired of tomatoes and am now inspired by apples and pears.  The majority of apples and pears for America are grown in the Pacific Northwest.  The majority of apples and pears in France are grown in Normandy and I would hope most Americans know where this is.  Cider is one of the best values and underated beverages out there.  I am now quite fond of the ciders produced by Eric Bordelet in Normandy.

Inspired by the late Didier Dagueneau, a champion of biodynamics and master of sauvignon blanc, Sommelier Eric Bordelet left his job at a Parisian Michelin 3-Star Restaurant to pursue his family heritage of orchards and cider in Normandy.  In the early 1990's he began applying biodynamic practices to about 15 hectares of apples and pears he farms. Some sections of the orchards have 40-50 year old trees.  There are about twenty different varieties apples and about 15 of pear all ranging from savory to sweet.  Eric Bordelet Website Click Here

The fruit is allowed to cure or dehydrate for about 4-5 weeks before it is pressed.  The result is some of the best and most complex cider I have ever tasted.  There are several different bottlings from dry to off dry and the more expensive ones are probably made with the fruit from the older parts of the orchards.  With apple, pear, caramel, hay, & honey like notes it is lower in alcohol and lightly effervescent.  I could drink it all day with Brie cheese. 

Old Chicago Wine Lists

The following are a few vintage Chicago restaurant wine lists and I wish the prices were the same.  1947 Chateau d' Yquem for $10!!!
You can view old menus at the LA Public Library archives.

The Buttery at the Ambassador East Hotel in the Gold Coast...Circa 1960's.

Barney's Market Club on Randolph Street.  Circa 1940's.

Allgauer's Nufer Restaurant on North Ridge Ave.  Circa 1940's.

DDT Day

I am not here to say if DDT is good or bad, should be banned, sprayed, or eaten—just keep it away from the grapes.  It reaffirms to me that unnatural things are bad and biodynamic concepts are good. 

It is a lot like the mercury in tuna argument and lead paint is bad for kids.  It's all about balance and moderation.  If all you feed babies is organic carrots, their skin will start to turn orange.  Some of the following is hilarious, absurd, and ironic...and I like bugs.

This is a 1947 Time Magazine advertisement "DDT is Good for Me."

Let's spray some DDT on the kids in the swimming pool.

DDT is harmless to humans.



Time Magazine Article on buying WWII surplus DDT.

How to Understand French Grapes and Where They Come From

The following is how I taught myself to understand French grapes and where they come.  American wines are labeled by grape variety.  French wines are labeled by the area in which they come from which generally implies a certain wine style and/or grape(s).  The French government has a system called Appellation d'origine Controlee (AOC) which regulates what grapes may be grown where.  There are derivatives of this system and it is constantly changing.

I first learned by breaking France into the following 6 major regions: Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, Burgundy, Alsace, and Champagne.  I then learned which major grapes grow in each respective region.

Loire Valley—Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc

Bordeaux—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon

Rhone Valley—Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Roussanne

Burgundy—Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chardonnay

Alsace—Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris

Champagne—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

There are many other grapes that are allowed to be grown in each respective region, but these are the major ones I learned first.  When I first starting learning about these major regions I pulled out a map of France and stared at the map and drawed on it until each region was stuck into my brain.