Australia’s distinctive food culture

On February 5, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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PROFESSOR Barbara Santich who initiated the graduate degree of Food Studies at the University of Adelaide is reported in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Living section that Australia does have a distinctive food culture, but it’s “about innovation and variation” rather than a particular set of recipes. According to Santich, people were relieved of the weight of tradition, they were liberated and said OK, nobody is going to die if I put sultanas in the scones. British cookbooks of the 1920s and 30s had three or four recipes for scones whereas Australian cookbooks of the same period had twenty. Read Lissa Christopher’s report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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Marmalade Ashes

On February 3, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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THE ABC’s Bush Telegraph reports in Food on Friday section about the National Australian Marmalade Ashes competition. The eleven winners in Australia will face the eleven British Marmalade Competition winners later this year. Read last years report on the inaugural event in the Guardian.
Further information can be found here about the World’s original marmalade award.

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Small changes make a difference

On January 19, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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CAROLYN Steel, architect and author of Hungry City used to think about the city through its built environments, now she thinks about it through food. She wants us to to see cities that have food at their centre. For Steel this is one of the most urgent tasks facing the potential 5 billion or 61 percent of people that will be living in cities by 2030.
‘Because we don’t see food’s influence, we leave it up to Coles and Woolworths and Tesco,’ says Steel. ‘We no longer value food.’. “Steel believes that this invisibility leads to unrealistic expectations of cheap food – and allows us to ignore the land and water degradation that result.
“80 percent of global trade in food now is controlled by just five multinational corporations. And if we look to the future, it’s an unsustainable diet.
Further information from Carolyn Steel’s “Hungry City” web site
Journalist Alan Saunders from ABC’s “By Design” poses the question “How can we change things? “Small changes make a difference, ‘sharing food, knowing where your food comes from and cooking it seasonally and locally. Listen to interview

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Arboreal Archaeology

On January 17, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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FOR well over a decade the adventures of Livio and Isabella Dalla Ragione have been recorded by the Italian Press and in 2005 the New Yorker recorded their story of ‘fruit exploring’. The Dalla Ragiones were spurred on by knowledge that in Italy as in USA there is no Government repository with encyclopedic collections of apple and other fruit varieties of the countryside.
For decades after WW11 Livio had been searching out the forgotten fruits. To help preserve these varieties he bought a property on the border of Umbria & Tuscany and started growing them, and so an arboreal archaeologist was born.
Read article in Gastronomica of 2010.
The New Yorker article by John Seabrook “Renaissance Pears”, saving the favourite fruits of the Medici is also a fascinating story of the Dalla Ragione’s search and reintroduction of many of these fruits. Isabella believes that to help preserve these fruits it is necessary to create a market for them.
The Earth report gives a compelling argument explaining why these ancients fruits should be nurtured and reestablished.
Anyone interested in visiting their property can find the directions on their web site.
In fruit palettes there is an interview in the series Eating Art with Isabella.

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Preserving memory

On January 10, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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BARBARA Massaad founding member of Slow Food Beirut, author of several books has just produced her third book in her journey of preserving memory. “Mouneh” is the winner of the Gourmand Cookbook 2010. She is also an international delegate of the Terra Madre Community. In her words, ‘the very best memories connect us to time and place and are often stimulated by the tastes and smells of childhood, but the reality for many of us is that we no longer enjoy such a strong connection to our culinary roots’.
Read further.

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The fifth quarter – waste not want not

On January 10, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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THE fifth quarter or the quinto quarto is the offal of butchered animals. The offal generally amounts to about a fourth of the weight of the carcass. Until modern times the division of the cattle in Rome was made following this simple scheme, the first quarter was to be sold to the nobles, the second quarto to the clergy, the third to the bourgeoisie and the fourth quarto to the soldiers. The proletariat could only afford the entrails, which became known as the quinto quarter.
“Offal the fifth quarter” is said to be the only book currently in print dedicated exclusively to offal, drawing on recipes and traditions from all over the world
Read The Guardian review

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Food sovereignty versus food security

On November 28, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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WHAT is the difference?
Food security simply aims to ensure that people have sufficient
food to eat. It is not concerned about how this food
is produced, nor the means by which people might
attain this fundamental right. By contrast, food
sovereignty requires not just that everyone is properly
fed, but that the food system that feeds us is just and
sustainable.
Read further from the World Development Movement’s campaign on the speculation of food.

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Some food waste facts

On November 18, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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TRISTRAM Stuart who wrote the informative book “Waste, Uncovering the Global Food Scandal” is the guest speaker and event organiser of the free meal for 5000 in London on the 18th November. Thousands of people will be fed a free lunch on food that is made entirely out of fresh ingredients that would otherwise go to waste: wonky carrots, misshapen potatoes and other fresh surplus produce. Read further from the dedicated web site of Feed 5000K

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Cider in the news

On October 25, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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LOCAL apple growers have a unique opportunity to be involved in the growing industry of cider production. Recently at the inaugural Australian Cider Awards, Australian ciders were awarded half a dozen medals. There were 93 entries of which one third were imported. According to NSW Department of Primary Industry technical officer and cider enthusiast David Pickering, with the use of ‘local varieties like Antoinette, Belle Cauchoise, Blanchet, Clozette and French Crab we clearly have an opportunity for those who want to explore French cider styles.
See list of entries and awards.
Read ABC Landline article and The Age

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Biodynamic farmlet

On October 11, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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HOW about a tree change? there is a chance to purchase five acres of certified biodynamic land holding approximately 300 Hickson and Imperial Mandarin Trees and 20 Lime Trees in a peaceful and secure location, 35 minutes from Perth.
Biodynamic farming practices are of an organic nature, not relying on bringing artificial fertilisers on to the farm. For more information contact carmelb@mimsbrook.com

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