Everything Great is *Nixbased

Every living organism needs a source of food (energy). For some organisms it may be cellulose, lignin, or another chemical compound but we as humans see our energy sources as so much more than groups of chemically bonded elements at fixed masses. We use food as not only an energy source but as a social tool, a personal comfort, and sometimes even a reason for living. These things and others make the way cuisine is viewed by our species unique and should, at least in theory, put a large amount of importance on the quality of ingredients offered at our local supermarkets. It should also put a great deal of importance on each persons ability to take great ingredients and in turn produce a few great, but fairly unique meals. The problem is, neither of these issues seem to receive such importance.

Side note: If using food as a reason for living seems odd, I recommend reading about Bernard Loiseau.

In the past on this blog I have touched on the way a massive amount of the population is eating (see: Fast Food, Fast Death) but more recently I have been paying more attention to an issue or two which run even deeper than bad choices on the part of an obese populous. The food sold in the supermarkets today is over preserved, lacking nutrients, generally processed and often overpriced, to add to that men and women alike are often no longer taught how to prepare a great tasting and nutritionally balanced meal, nor do they often take it upon themselves to learn such skills.

Food Quality

In Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly he reveals tales of pre-packaged food’s only in need of some heating being served in restaurants and old, decaying food items from previous meals being used to prepare meals for brunch specials just to save on the bottom line. It seems the supermarket isn’t much different. Everything is genetically modified, produced for mass consumption, preserved for days of travel with even more preservatives added for extended shelf life, boxed in fancy packaging with misleading pictures on the front and sold for a gross markup above and beyond anything reasonable. What tops it off is that they use so much salt and are so afraid of real natural flavors that everything either tastes like sodium or is bland to suit the generally underdeveloped pallet of western civilization, this “food” tastes like shit and isn’t much better for us nutritionally speaking.

We do have the choice to eat organic, but what “organic” really means depends on the country you are purchasing the items in. In Canada come December 14th, 2008 according to http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/orgbio/stainte.shtml:

• Only products with organic content that is greater than 95% may be labeled as: “Organic” or with the Canada Organic Logo and/or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”.
• Multi-ingredient products with 70-95% organic content may have the declaration: “% organic products.” These products may not use the Canada Organic Logo and/or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”.
• Multi-ingredient products with less than 70% organic content may only contain organic claims in the product’s ingredient list. These products may not use the Canada Organic Logo and/or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”

In the USA the USDA has implemented standards which include four different labels for organic items. The “100% Organic” label means it is a single ingredient item which is totally organic but can still contain added salts, the “Organic” label is for multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100% organic and “Made with organic ingredients” means 70% of the ingredients are organic. The last label is “Contains organic ingredients “ and can be applied when the items ingredients are less than 70% organic. The laws on what can be added to the product before it hits shelves and the practices which are allowed in organic farming seem to be slightly unclear and ever-changing. Another point of confusion is that there are different certifying agents accredited by the USDA and CFIA, agents such as the CCOF use more restrictive standards than some others and it is possible to buy items which are both CCOF and USDA certified in the USA. Though organically grown items and organically raised livestock do seem to be the proper way to go to avoid ingesting chemicals we do not need nor want in our bodies it isn’t an easy switch. Organic food also means higher food costs due to lower yield, more regulation on animals per acre etc. Many lower income households can not afford a price increase on basic necessities, making the option to eat all organically produced foods one left to those more fortunate.

Another increasingly popular option is to buy locally produced food items. This is one that everyone can afford, it is often both more cost effective and a healthier option then the items offered at the large scale grocer. Organic or not, buying local means not only less preservatives being used on your food but supporting the local economy and small farmer. Less preservatives means fresher food, which in turn means more nutritional and better tasting ingredients.

Time to Cook

Now that I have touched on quality of ingredients the second issue comes into play. Everybody needs to know the basics of food preparation and cooking. It really does not take much to prepare a meal that others will enjoy, converse over and possibly even compliment you on. It is common to hear people say they can’t cook, that they mainly eat out or let their other half do the cooking. I don’t really get why. If food is so important and can spark such emotional ties then everyone should be taught at least the basics, we aren’t talking professional chef level cooking here after all.

Like most other things anyone can learn to cook by reading some books, in this case cook books or  web sites and practicing technique as well as different combinations of ingredients. The first step however is the right equipment. It doesn’t take much and you can acquire things over time as you need them, for example you probably won’t need a clay cooker or automatic meat slicer when cooking basic meals and learning what works best, remember the K.I.S.S principle.

What You Will Need

Though it really depends on the type of food you are planning to cook some basics are mandatory:

• 1 chefs knife, as big as you can handle
• 1 boning knife
• 1 pairing knife
• 2 sauce pans, a 1qt and a 3qt
• 2 skillets, a 8 inch and a 12 inch with a lid
• 1 large saute pan
• 1 roasting pan
• 1 stock pot, go large anything over 8qt
• 1 Wok
• various sizes and shapes of baking dishes
• 1 baking sheet
• 1 mixing bowl set
• 1 dry measuring cup set
• 1 liquid measuring cup set
• 1 measuring spoon set
• 2 spatulas
• strainers
• wooden spoons
• standing grater
• slotted spoons

You will also need a few other utensils depending on what you are cooking, but those are the basics in my opinion. To each person this can differ.

When it comes to pots and pans I prefer cast iron where as others prefer stainless steel or copper. However with cast iron be sure to season it correctly before use. As for baking dishes the two best choices are often glass or stone but it can depend on the dish being made. Knives are a whole other beast and one where personal preference is biggest. Japanese and German knives are the most common when talking quality. A cheap set of knives just won’t do if you want to be precise, use less effort and be quick. Global, Misono, Wusthof, Henckels, and Kershaw’s Shun line are all reputable brands and others do exist but I recommend trying any knife before buying it, some manufacturers tend to make some styles of knife better then others depending on a persons preference. For sharpening purposes a few options exist but I do recommend sending them out to a professional to be sharpened. If you are  the adventurous type, doing some research and trying out the options available to you (on some cheaper knives to start) would be a good plan as many options exist from sets of wetstones and  sharpening stones which you use freehand to knife sharpening systems. A honing tool is also required but I will leave you to reading about that yourself. A great resource for knife sharpening information is Knife Maintenance and Sharpening.

Conclusion

Now that the needed tools have been covered it’s time to find some recipes and give it a shot. As mentioned pretty much anything about cooking can be found online and in cook books. Just use Google and don’t be afraid to try new techniques and ingredients. With some experience you will be cooking great meals in no time at all. If you can’t make time to learn this new skill it may be a good idea to examine what you are spending your time doing. Cooking is a life skill, watching T.V, doing extra work to impress the boss or playing that new gaming console is not.

After reading The Germiest Places in America and the recommendations it gives I started to picture a world full of Howard Hughes clones using antibacterial soap and wipes for everything they touch. Yes some of the recommendations are good such as wiping down equipment at the gym and cleaning the remote in a hotel room before using it but in general the article capitalizes on the fear of the cowardly society we seem to have become. Society in general lives in fear, we are too careful. Our bodies were designed to “take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’”. Not to mention not all bacteria are bad. Here’s a quote from the above mentioned article “Tubs typically had more than 100,000 bacteria per square inch!”, sounds bad doesn’t it? What they don’t mention is when the tubs tested were last cleaned, what jobs the users of the tested tubs held and what bacteria were found. They also mention E. coli, what they fail to mention is that the most common “bad” E. coli strain is E. coli O157:H7. Other forms of E.coli are found in our intestines and other areas of our body and actually help us live healthy lives.

We develop the antibodies of our acquired immune system as we’re exposed to bacteria and viruses, if we constantly try to use antibacterial products in excess it stands to reason that we aren’t helping our immune system to strengthen it’s self. I’m not saying their isn’t a time and place for proper hygiene, that’s a given but it seems that some people go overboard. Instead of pushing the whole fear aspect and telling people to use antibacterial products on everything why don’t these authors write more articles teaching people to eat more proabotic and prebiotic rich foods?

Most, if not all of the places listed in the above article are ones the average person should know can carry mass amounts of germs so I don’t even really see the need for such an article though, anywhere mass amounts of people come in contact with or that’s used to clean something which was once dirty is going to collect undesirable organisms/microorganisms fast…is that really hard enough to understand that we need a 10 page article on it?

Why do people eat “fast food”? I’ve never truly understood why people flock to places like McDonald’s or Burger King. We hear daily about the poor quality of food at such establishments and receive a poor quality of service while at them, yet billions of people still flock to their nasty food day in and day out. The idea that people are so shaped and controlled by the mass marketing of such garbage is almost terrifying. Heck it is even to the point that L.A wants to new fast food joints in some parts of the city, are we really to the point where the government needs to step in and control our food choices?

I was speaking with a friend the other day that was at work at the time. She informed me she had purchased a salad from Burger King for 6 dollars and something and even at that price they forgot the dressing. When asked why she went to BK for food she told me she was running late and needed something fast. This whole idea I don’t understand, have we in the western world been so influenced by the main stream advertising that we can’t think for ourselves AT ALL? It takes me around 30-45 minutes to prepare 7 nutritional meals for my day which I am able to carry with me in a cooler anywhere I go using a method designed by Dr. John Berardi over at Science Link Inc. It takes me anywhere from 10-30 minutes to get some horrible food from a fast food chain and costs 10x as much at said chain. How is this fast food? Where is the upside?

Yes some of the fast food chains have a few healthy options such as Wendy’s chicken salad or chili but most people don’t go this route or don’t really know what the healthy choice is. They often rely on the marketing instead of the facts. The fact is “garbage in, garbage out” if you don’t do your research on the things you eat before you eat them your not going to be in great shape. Even at home people tend to eat like crap. They don’t plan ahead.

Have you seen Super Size Me or Fast Food Nation? They are real eye openers for some while others ignore them and many real scientific studies and continue to abuse their bodies. You can eat healthy and it can taste great. When I ask people what they prefer between fast food and a home cooked meal, it is usually the home cooked meal. So if “real food” tastes better, is healthier, quicker, to prepare, cheaper and doesn’t come with the headache of bad customer service and forgotten items what’s stopping you from eating healthy?