This blog will describe the work of OWU Health and Human Kinetics (HHK) 347 Travel Learning Course for Spring 2013. Dr. Christopher Fink will be teaching the course and Dr. Kimberlie Goldsberry, Dean of Students will serve as trip assistant during the travel component in May. Eight students will learn and do qualitative research on the food philosophies and traditions in the US and Italy.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The Power of Ingredients
One thing that struck me on this most recent visit to Cleveland's wonderful West Side Market and North Union Farmers Market is the role that ingredients play in the experiences we have at farmers markets and public markets such as this one.
Many of the stories that we heard from Mary Holmes and from Marilou Suzsko were certainly about traditions, quality, and community. But, underneath those stories was really the latent, bubbling power of ingredients.
It's relevant here to look at the etymology of the word grocer. It comes from the Old French and Latin words grossier, and grossarius, which mean, quite literally, dealer in quantity. As such, it was common for the grocer to deal in things that we could store for some period of time, such as (especially in more recent centuries) flour, sugar, spices, coffee, etc. In our current food environment, many of us rely on the grocery store not only for these items which we buy in some degree of bulk, but also for all of our fresh goods: vegetables, meat, dairy, cheese, and so forth. What is the effect of this? On one hand, we are able to have access to a wide variety of foods that would not have been possible in another time, but how connected are we with these foods, their producers, and their use?
The students had an opportunity to talk with a few of the vendors at the North Union Market, where they were able to discuss the value these producers place on the quality of their products, as well as providing guidance on the usage of these items in a variety of dishes. One mushroom vendor was truly a wealth of knowledge about the botany, etymology, and culinary uses for his wonderful fungi.
Marilou told us a story about a time when she was in the West Side Market in search of Speck, a Hungarian (or Italian, depending on its preparation) cured pork product, for use in a soup recipe. She found that her favorite vendor was out of this ingredient, and when she was asked how she planned to use the Speck, the vendor suggested a cured pork skin product as a substitute. This is one story of thousands that could be told about the relationship between the vendor at a farmers market or public market, the shopper, and the ingredient. When we lose this, do we not lose much of the culture, flavor, and tradition that we love about food? I fear that this is the case.
There are certainly other public markets where ingredients aren't nearly as important as prepared foods, and while these are a joy to visit, and result in some serious expansion of food horizons, it occurs to me that the triangular relationship between consumer, vendor, and ingredient is key to our values about food, and often rests with markets such as those we visited last weekend.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Cleveland Road Trip
On Saturday, February 23, 2013 our class embarked on one of two field trips to observe public markets in Ohio. Our first trip took us to Clevland to explore one of the North Union Farmers Markets in Shaker (http://www.northunionfarmersmarket.org) and the well known West Side Market (http://www.westsidemarket.org). We were fortunate to meet farmers and vendors who were generous with their time and knowledge.
Our lunch was highlighted with Mary Holmes co-founder of the North Union Farmers Markets and Marilou Suszko, a journalist and culinary educator who recently co-authored a book about the history of the West Side Market speaking and responding to questions. We gained great insight into the certification of markets, operations, and cultural history which enhanced the observations being made as part of our research.
One special activity of the day was to partake in a West Side Market tradition of a 35 cent glass of buttermilk with salt and pepper. Each of took part, but reviews were mixed. Below are photos from our road trip:
Our lunch was highlighted with Mary Holmes co-founder of the North Union Farmers Markets and Marilou Suszko, a journalist and culinary educator who recently co-authored a book about the history of the West Side Market speaking and responding to questions. We gained great insight into the certification of markets, operations, and cultural history which enhanced the observations being made as part of our research.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Italian Treat in Class
In honor of La Festa di San Valentino (Valentine's Day) happening this week, Dr. Goldsberry brought in a traditional Italian dessert - Torta di Miele (Apple Cake). We ate it so quickly that we do not have a full photo to share! But we have attached the recipe for any of followers to try it out.
Sampling a dessert today in class was perfect as we discussed themes from our grocery store observations. We are pulling together our data to help tell the story of groceries/markets in the United States. It is amazing the things you can discover about places we take for granted everyday when you take the time to look a bit closer.
Sampling a dessert today in class was perfect as we discussed themes from our grocery store observations. We are pulling together our data to help tell the story of groceries/markets in the United States. It is amazing the things you can discover about places we take for granted everyday when you take the time to look a bit closer.
Torta di Miele - Italian Apple Cake
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the
pan
3 medium apples
2/3 cup (80 g) flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 whole eggs plus 1 egg
yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar (or
maple sugar)
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Powdered sugar for dusting
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ and
butter a 9” round cake pan.
2. Peel, core, and slice the apples
into thin slices, by hand or with a food processor.
3. Melt 6 tablespoons (3/4 of the
stick) of butter in a large skillet. Pour into a glass measuring cup and
set aside. (Or just melt 6 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and set
aside.)
4. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons
of butter in the skillet.
5. Add the apple slices to the skillet and cook, stirring
occasionally, until soft. This takes about 10 minutes.
6. Combine the flour, baking powder,
and salt in a small bowl.
7. Beat the eggs and egg yolk well
in a large bowl.
8. Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon
zest, and 6 tablespoons melted butter and mix well.
9. Stir in the flour mixture.
10. If your apples seem a little
watery (as mine did), put them in a strainer and then stir them into the
cake batter.
11. Spoon the cake batter into the buttered cake pan and smooth
the top.
12. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until
it is browned.
13. Put the pan on a wire rack for 5
minutes.
14. After 5 minutes, put a second
wire rake on top of the cake and invert it so the cake is on the wire rack.
Leave the cake on the wire rack until it is completely cooled.
15. Just before serving, dust the
cake with powdered sugar. (You could make it extra fancy if you put a
stencil on top and then dusted it with the powdered sugar!)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Good News!
So, the project that we're working on - called Granai della Memoria - or granaries of memory - is an actual, honest-to-goodness research project. Consequently, we have to go through the process of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval at Ohio Wesleyan for the project. The students and I talked a little bit about this a few weeks ago, but I recently submitted our materials to get that process started, and we're already approved!
Great news for the students, and for our project!
The project itself was conceived at the Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (University of Gastronomic Sciences - UNISG) in Pollenzo, Italy. So, I know that you're wondering, "just what is a Gastronome?" As you can see (by clicking on the link), my friends at UNISG have you covered. UNISG was begun by Carlo Petrini and his colleagues, who also founded Slow Food. Not familiar with Slow Food? Here is a great resource to get you up to speed.
If you'd like to know more about the broader Granai project, please click here. Slow Food USA is also doing something kind of similar, called Stories from a Slow Food Nation.
We've been pretty heavily involved in Slow Food principles already, and a portion of our class will be traveling to Cleveland in a few weeks and getting to know folks from Slow Food Northern Ohio, as well as some students from Case Western Reserve University who have recently started the process of forming an on-campus chapter of Slow Food. Very exciting stuff - and certainly more updates will be coming.
Cordiali saluti da 9B Pfeiffer (warm greetings from 9B Pfeiffer - my office)...
Tra poco (More soon)-
CF
Great news for the students, and for our project!
The project itself was conceived at the Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (University of Gastronomic Sciences - UNISG) in Pollenzo, Italy. So, I know that you're wondering, "just what is a Gastronome?" As you can see (by clicking on the link), my friends at UNISG have you covered. UNISG was begun by Carlo Petrini and his colleagues, who also founded Slow Food. Not familiar with Slow Food? Here is a great resource to get you up to speed.
If you'd like to know more about the broader Granai project, please click here. Slow Food USA is also doing something kind of similar, called Stories from a Slow Food Nation.
We've been pretty heavily involved in Slow Food principles already, and a portion of our class will be traveling to Cleveland in a few weeks and getting to know folks from Slow Food Northern Ohio, as well as some students from Case Western Reserve University who have recently started the process of forming an on-campus chapter of Slow Food. Very exciting stuff - and certainly more updates will be coming.
Cordiali saluti da 9B Pfeiffer (warm greetings from 9B Pfeiffer - my office)...
Tra poco (More soon)-
CF
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Who are we?
Folks may have been wondering who we are - so I thought it was time to offer a formal introduction. Dr. Chris Fink is our fearless academic leader. You can read more about him in his formal biography on the Ohio Wesleyan website. (An exciting note - he just received tenure this week! Woo-hoo!) As you know, my name is Kimberlie Goldsberry and I will serve as the trip assistant and you can learn more about my role at OWU by visiting here.
I am most excited about sharing information about the students in our class. They have already been learning a great deal about qualitative research methods and are exploring their own food philosophies. This weekend they are venturing out to local groceries and supermarkets for their first observation experience. So, who are these brilliant minds . . .
I am most excited about sharing information about the students in our class. They have already been learning a great deal about qualitative research methods and are exploring their own food philosophies. This weekend they are venturing out to local groceries and supermarkets for their first observation experience. So, who are these brilliant minds . . .
- Brianna Barnes, Senior from South Point, OH
- Tucker Fontanella, Junior from Stafford Springs, CT
- Kaitlin Lentz, Senior from Somerset, OH
- Emily LaTourneau, Junior from Arlington Heights, IL
- Mary McNeal, Senior from Delaware, OH
- Jenna Periandri, Freshman from Spencer, OH
- Sara Scinto, Freshman from Mentor, OH
- Kathryn Sponseller, Junior from Berea, OH
Now that the introductions are over, look for more posts about what we are learning in class and the progress on our research!
Until our next post! Ciao!
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