Friday Faves No. 148

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Could triple-decker floating farms (like above) address future food issues? They sure look awesome. "Forward Thinking Architecture’s triple-decker Smart Floating Farms would feature 2.2 million square feet (2.04 sq km) of fish farm, hydroponic garden, and rooftop solar panels to power a floating barge, which could be anchored to the beds of oceans, lakes or rivers. The company estimates that each of its floating farms could produce about 8 tons (7.3 tonnes) of vegetables and 1.7 tons (1.5 tonnes) of fish per year." (Nisa Media)

Underused species of fish to schools is expanding. “'We wouldn’t be able to meet their price point for wild salmon and other fish...The only way we can offer the program is with species that are undervalued.” The CSF also found a bycatch species with a mild flavor kids want to eat – similar to tilapia. “It is not mainstream and we are hoping it doesn’t go mainstream, because the price would go up.'" (Seafood Source)

Is the Democratic Republic of Congo the Switzerland of Africa? Let's hope it can be. "Cheesemakers in this region are thriving, despite having survived decades of tumultuous warfare." Culture)

A formerly downright nasty stretch of Market St. in San Francisco has been getting a food-focused spiff-up.  "A new culinary scene has been born seemingly overnight, the child of a three-way love affair among real estate developers, tech workers and food professionals that many say is unprecedented." (New York Times)

Pacific to Plate allows public seafood markets to set up like farmers markets. "Pacific to Plate streamlines the permitting process so that commercial fishermen can organize under a single permit—just like certified farmers markets—allowing public seafood markets to operate as food facilities and fresh fish to be cleaned for direct sale." (San Diego News)

Texas-based supermarket chain H-E-B strikes import deal directly with Italian trade bodies for specialty foods. (Houston Chronicle)

EU Looks into Insects as Food. This is where food processing really earns its keep. Turn them into textured protein. "How and to what extent the inclusion of insects in gastronomy can impact the general consumption pattern in the population is unclear but (it) holds the potential for a rapid change in future consumption patterns," EFSA's report said. You're going to need some serious marketing with that. Best line of understatement: "Belgian supermarket operator Delhaize in 2014 introduced tapenades based on mealworms in its Belgian supermarkets, but they were not a hit." (Reuters via Specialty Food)

Scientists say Maryland’s gigantic new oyster reef is a pearl that could save the Chesapeake Bay. "Maryland can lay claim to the world’s largest man-made oyster reef. It was finished just days ago, and rests at the watery bottom of Harris Creek on the Eastern Shore, spread across more acres than the national Mall." (Washington Post)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 71

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 

• Food advertising jazz age-style (above) with a 1929 promotion for Runnymede eggs served aboard the Graf Zeppelin (found on the great vintage image site Retronaut).

• Farm Free or Die!  Maine Towns Rebel AGainst Food Rules "Local food activists don't want to eliminate regulation; they just want to self-regulate at the community level among people who know and trust each other." Similar efforts are happening in the UK “Food and farming aren’t just about market economics and just getting people calories in their body; it’s got this huge social and cultural dimension to it.

• Baked ham? New marijuana-fed pork from near Seattle won't get you high, but it's rumored to be delicious — and the pigs aren't complaining. "Asked if feeding marijuana affects the pigs, such as perhaps giving them munchies, Gross said can see no effect on the pigs. Already all pigs do is sleep and eat, he said."

• In other pork news, Iowa-based La Quercia has launched its version of the famous Spanish jamón ibérico, Spallacia, made from acorn-fed Tamworth pigs.

• The trend of donut-love carries on with California's answer to NYC's Cronut: the Mochi Donut. They come in flavors such as strawberry shortcake, cafe au lait, double mango and raspberry custard. And if you don't believe that uber-donuts are a full-on craze, the Cronut now has its own black market.

• Artist Ben Frost uses MacDonald's french fry containers as a pop art canvas to explore the relationship between capitalism and pop culture.

• Counterfeit Food More Widespread Than Suspected "Investigators have uncovered thousands of frauds, raising fresh questions about regulatory oversight as criminals offer bargain-hunting shoppers cheap versions of everyday products, including counterfeit chocolate and adulterated olive oil, Jacob’s Creek wine and even Bollinger Champagne. As the horse meat scandal showed, even legitimate companies can be overtaken by the murky world of food fraud."

• Food Entrepreneur Is A New Breed Of Afghan Business Owner  "I'm very optimist for after 2014, because 10 years ago, woman were not able to work outside of home, especially during the Taliban regime. And right now, we can see lots of the women, that they have their own business. And also, we can see lots of change."

• Pretty auaponics: London-based urban farming business growUP have just shared images of their successfully launched shipping container aquaponics farm in the Marlborough playground as part of the Chelsea Fringe, an alt garden festival.

• After a large die-off directly related to spraying, Oregon residents are planning a funeral to memorialize dead bees and advocate for them.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 68

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 

• Newcastle Libraries has posted a cache of UK historical images, like the fishing photos above, to Flickr. Pictured above: At left, a studio portrait of a Fisherman from Cullercoats taken c.1890. The man is wearing a waterproof coat souwester and cork life-jacket. At right, an 1897 studio portrait of Maggie Brown a Fishwife from Cullercoats. Maggie Brown is wearing her 'best' clothes which include a printed cotton or silk blouse with matching apron. A silk square is worn to fill the neckline of her blouse.
  

• Drink trends: beet cocktails like the Beet Me in St. Louis with beet-infused gin, honey and tarragon, and growing US enthusiasm for port, especially aged tawnies.

• Some forgotten foods of the UK (from cookies to sheep) are making a come back with help from Slow Food UK's Chefs Alliance. Says Carina Contini, of Centotre in Edinburgh: “The special ingredient is always the story. Understanding where ingredients come from and how they got there allows us to connect with our environment and food chain and we love sharing this knowledge with our customers.” 

• On U.S. farms, women are taking the reins says a new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Many are career-changers looking for a different kind of life and a way to make a difference. “We are seeing more beginning farmers coming in and I think the trend is going to continue. Women are [already] outnumbering men in owning smaller farms.”

• The romance version of farming spreads further into pop culture with a boom in farm-lit. "Thanks to the economy, picket fences and scruffy farm hands have replaced stilettos and cute i-bankers in literature aimed at women....And in this era of Brooklyn backyard chickens, farmer's markets-as-social events, Anthropologie aprons and hipsters baking homemade bread, what's more aspirational than running away to a farm?"

• Breaking News from Financial Times summit: rich people still super rich, keep trying to sell them expensive stuff "The good news is that the people who buy the products you make are doing much better than everyone else by a very big margin and nothing in the crisis has changed that,” said Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator on the Financial Times.

• When trademark law goes bad: First Chick-fil-a sued those nice Vermont kale enthusiasts, now the Economic Development Department of the State of New York is suing a New York coffee shop over a  riff on it's I ♥ NY logo. Apparently, local pride is going to cost you.

• We've all been hearing about colony collapse disorder and the crisis of dying bees. In China now it’s gotten so bad they are hand-pollinating blossoms in orchards. A new film called More Than Honey explores the issue (click for trailer).

• Food waste — one of the most persistent issues in our ability to feed the world and husband resources. Worldwide, nearly one quarter of all calories produced are going uneaten (infographic), either from spoilage at production on later. One San Francisco-area teen has taken matters into his own hands and founded the tech platform Waste No Food, which help restaurants make timely donations of their surplus food. Leading area restaurants like Manresa have joined in.

• Detroit's Urban Agriculture Ordinance that passed on April 15 has opened the city for urban aquaponics. Two new facilities are underway for tilapia, catfish and blue gill — although the finer points of regulation still have to be worked out. "The city is in the process of coming up with a process,” for approving fish farms, says Kathryn Underwood of the City Planning Commission. “We don't even have all of the forms quite in place yet for all of things that need to happen. We're riding a bike and building it at the same time.”

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 57

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• From one of our favorite blogs, Laughing Squid "Malaysian artist Hong Yi has embarked on a project to create a piece of artwork out of food for every day in March. The results so far are quite excellent and range from reproductions of classic works to original creations. You can follow her project on Instagram."

• Britons are being urged to eat more wild venison as part of land conservation. "Deer populations are going through the roof, there is a population explosion and they are causing problems." They also happen to be delicious. 

• And you can conserve land in your own driveway with a home aquaponics systems. If Kijani Grows in West Oakland can do it, so can you. Check out this video.

• Jewish restaurateurs are revisiting Chinese dishes — and schmaltzing them up "There’s a Borscht Belt shtick about Jews and Chinese food,” he quips. “My personal joke is that I learned to speak Yiddish in the Chinese restaurant from my customers.” 

• And if you want even more Jewish-Asian fusion, try A Seder Spiced With Indian Flavors.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 44

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• As we have noted to ourselves many times while making our way through through a refrigerated warehouse in the early morning hours, fish and glamour rarely go together — until we saw the Fishwives Club range of wines from South African (right).

• We can never resist a happy cow story: Where Cows Are Happy and Food Is Healthy fits the bill with video of all the big noses and long eyelashes you could want.

• What do you give to the person who has everything? Sea cucumebers are the answer in China. "Much of the demand is driven by the gift trade. One of Bo’s customers, Lin Xiaojian, founder-owner of a welding company, explained he was buying two RMB 590 (US$93) 1-kilogram portions. 'People are spending a lot more on health these days,' explained Lin, before adding that the sea cucumbers were in fact gifts for local officials he’s hoping will give contracts to his firm. 'I used to buy expensive rice wine but these days the fashion is for sea cucumbers … few ordinary people buy them to eat, it’s for gifting to government and army officials to keep good relations with them.'”

• In Bristol, UK "a community-led "fish allotment" scheme to farm fresh fish and vegetables in the city is being trialled in Bristol."

• US Presidential election time is coming soon. The candidates give a taste of their views on food issues, and will have more to say on September 25 when both candidates will be addressing the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 34

 weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 

• Some of our favorite images from Pinterest this week, above. Come on by.

• Like so many coastal areas, fisherman are struggling in Southern California's Orange Country, highlighting the need to preserve culture as well as the natural world. Thanks to regulation in the name of conservation, these hard-working men face extinction: "The last people on earth who want an empty, fishless ocean are the people who make their living off fishing in the ocean."

• "Smart aquaponics" in Oakland, California at Kijani Grows is using tech in new ways: "Gardens that can communicate for themselves using the internet can lead to exchanging of ideas in ways that were not possible before. I can test, for instance, whether the same tomato grows better in Oakland or the Sahara Desert given the same conditions. Then I can share the same information with farmers in Iceland and China.”

• The New York Times OpEd Dirtying Up Our Diets argues that getting natural with microorganisms and unsanitized food might be just what the doctor ordered: "As we move deeper into a “postmodern” era of squeaky-clean food and hand sanitizers at every turn, we should probably hug our local farmers’ markets a little tighter. They may represent our only connection with some “old friends” we cannot afford to ignore."

• The title might be inflammatory, but soem interesting points are raised in the recent Salon article Eating Local Hurts the Planet. How your food is produced really, really matters. Shipping is just the part of the food system that we can see. "Not surprisingly, it turns out that food miles can only be taken at face value in the case of identical items produced simultaneously in the exact same physical conditions but in different locations — in other words, if everything else is equal, which is obviously never the case in the real world."

• The Practical Philosophy of Fish-Killing and The Ike-Jime Man explained for you by International Culinary Center instructor Dave Arnold. It's everything you ever wanted to know, and probably a bit more. (warning — an article for chefs or the otherwise sturdy)

• Chef Marcus Samuelsson talks about his memoir Yes, Chef and his life in the kitchen on the radio show Fresh Air (audio link).