Reflection

The most useful information I learned with this course was probably things I realized on my own. With the probing discussions in class, the interesting and thought-provoking readings, and then the blogs and essays that asked us to expand our thoughts, I realized things I had not before. Like how much religion, our personal values and most shocking to me , politics and large corporations control the food industry and therefore what is available for us to eat.
This new information and realization matters because it will help me make food choices in the future, but mostly it has just made me aware of the forces persuading me to eat a certain way that I did not realize was there before.  I feel because i now have this basis and understand the basics of the things tht influence us to eat a certain way, I will be more curious and confident in exploring and reading more articles about food and how we eat.

EE2: Choose Wisely

Sarah Heermann

5/29/2012

Writ EE2

Final essay

Choose Wisely

            The relationship people have with food is more complex than simply a means to gain sustenance. Choosing what to eat has evolved from a fight for survival to standing in front of a kiosk full of choices for a minute and ordering. With so many products out for our picking, what is it that helps us choose what to eat? Such a decision doesn’t happen just randomly, we have food values that influence us.  I never stand in front of food choices and think, “I don’t care at all what I eat; I’ll just order haphazardly from the menu” since I fear ending up with something I will dislike. I will always favor some dishes over others. There are always reasons for picking a meal and where I eat, and I assume it is the same with everyone else. For me, my cultural and religious backgrounds help define the meals I eat and what those meals mean to me. And while those foods make me order more predictably my sense of adventure and curiosity of other cultures pushes me to explore other foods as well. Food connects people not only to their family and ultimately themselves, but also to other cultures through exploration of different types of food and the atmosphere that surrounds where we eat.

            The values I hold are strongly connected to who I believe I am as a person. These values are shown through my actions, and this includes the choices I make with food.  As with most people I consider a close relationship with my family and my cultural background a major part of who I am, therefore I eat foods that are connected to my cultural background to feel connected to my family. In our first reading for the class, “Home Run” by Roy Ahn, he discusses how eating Korean food (he was born in Korea and raised in America by Korean parents) was important to him for strengthening and reconnecting with his culture. He described it as a self-journey, where he not only reconnected with his dead parents but rediscovered himself after he had begun to eat and cook with Korean foods once more.

“Food reinvigorated my innate sense of Korean-ness. I’m not at all certain about the synapses that get fired when human beings experience emotions from cooking and eating the foods of their childhoods. All I can say for sure is that something sublime happened in that mecca of Korean cuisine—the Rockies—where I rediscovered my native food heritage.” (Ahn 12-15)

Here the connection between the inner awareness of oneself, culture, and food is obvious. I share the same connection with my own ethnic background. My personal cultural influence on food choices is German. The town I grew up in is a small agricultural town where roughly 85% are from German ancestry, including my own family. My town’s average dinner plate consists of potatoes, bread and meat (sausage and bratwursts in particular). Growing up on these foods makes me automatically gravitate toward them as a source of comfort and familiarity, and I actually enjoy the monotony of them. I feel connected to my family as I eat them, and eating these foods brings back memories of my family and the feeling of belonging and safety that always accompanies such memories. While eating German food, I can begin to remember my grandmother’s voice, the smell of dill and roses that always filled my grandparents’ house, and the creak of the wooden dinning chairs. Small memories like these seem insignificant at the time, but are some of the fondest memories I have. Remembering these and my ancestry help me feel more confident when I feel lost and unsure of myself, something that happened quite often as a freshman in college. Similar to what Roy Ahn stated in his article, becoming reconnected with your past and knowing where you came from somehow makes you understand more of who you are, and in turn what actions you need to take to remain the same person.  I value eating these traditional German foods as a way to stay reconnected to myself and my family, and to rekindle fond but fading memories.

 Religion also plays a strong part in my food manifesto, and places bread at the top of desired foods for me. In an article we read for class the author of “Eating White”, Nicholson, talks about his mother’s strange eating habit of consuming all white foods. Nicholson had a theory about his mother’s attraction. He believes her religion (Catholicism) and the purity symbolism the catholic religion places on the color white subconsciously attracts her to “purify” her body.  This was an interesting theory, and when the author described his experience of eating a communion wafer I realized my own connection to the same type of food. I love bread, and I use love instead of like for an honest emphasis. Usually the bread at the beginning of dinner consists of about a third of my whole dinner. When I dine out with my family they take one piece and split it amongst themselves and pass the basket to me! And I always remember being this way. It makes me wonder if all of the images and emphasis of importance on bread I saw and heard during church services (that my parents brought me to even as a baby) influenced me into loving bread. Bread is so ingrained into our religion that during the Lord’s Prayer (something said at church every Sunday and nearly every church function) we thank God for providing us our “daily bread”, and it is consumed in communion with high importance. As a child I remember being board during church services and staring at a stained glass window we always sat by. In its center was a golden cup of wine, a bunch of grapes and a large loaf of bread. The sun shining through it made the bread light up, and after staring at that for an hour I was always hungry for bread afterward. Since the majority of my family went to the same church and shared a Sunday brunch afterword, there was plenty of bread available to satisfy my craving.

Although German food has a strong importance to me, growing up in a small town with little food choices has turned food into an outlet and a tool for cultural exploration. Food is a way to physically let a culture become a part of your body, and although you cannot actually get a feel for the entire culture of any group of people by simply tasting the food, it does seem to describe the food cultures prefer well. Whether it is the stereotypes of a culture that we associate with a food that give us a cultural education while eating or the association of that food with a culture that gives us hints while we eat, we gain cultural knowledge by simply eating cultural foods. Cultural exploration through food can be exciting, and tasting unfamiliar foods feels adventurous. One of my favorite restaurants and a recent discovery of mine is a fantastic place called “Linger” where they serve dishes from all over the world. The menu itself is broken up into the six inhabited continents of the world and offers several dish choices from each. I personally gravitated toward the Asian and African choices, as those are the most foreign to me and therefore raised my curiosity the most.  Even though the atmosphere of the restaurant was modern American, through eating an Asian spicy duck entrée and an African lamb dish, I pictured what I believe to be their culture as I ate and feel I became more knowledgeable. At a minimum, I learned that Asians eat duck and rice and Africans eat lamb and squash. The new knowledge I gained may be entirely inaccurate, because not only was the food not purely Asian or African, but no one who is of that culture was there to inform me about it. However, the new thoughts and experiences I gained from eating that food have given me one more memory and experience to draw from when thinking about that culture, and so in a sense I have gained cultural knowledge. A cultural class at the Thunderbird school of Global Management in Arizona recently started an ethnic restaurant as a learning experience for other students. A participant in the project stated   “Your first contact with culture is not through the language or through business, It’s usually through food.”  ("Knowledge Network: Faculty & Research")  The impact food has on a group of people’s image can be profound, as seen in Dupuis’s article where he highlights the negative attitude that most Americans had of eating rice versus meat, when the real issue against rice was its association with the Chinese during a very strong anti-immigration movement. (Dupuis 34-44) The incorrect knowledge or stereotypes one could form from eating ethnic food uninformed could be harmful or negative, since cultural knowledge through eating is self-led. Such false assumptions must happen frequently, and one could argue that most knowledge gained about a culture through food is false, since so little ethnic food is actually authentic.

Authenticity and originality as a whole is a strong American value, and this value is carried over into food as well. I do not like the idea of having the “second best” nor the cold concern for efficiency over safety and happiness of large corporations that leads so many workers and animals to suffer, however, I question what people mean by “authentic” and how they search for it in food. No other place in the world is a larger melting pot of different cultures than in America, and since all cultures blended together, hardly any restaurants in America are truly authentic to one culture. I value new, enjoyable experiences from food, and this includes new and enjoyable experiences even from large corporate and unauthentic restaurants.  For our field projects in visiting a restaurant of our choice I went to Brio, a large Italian food chain restaurant that was placed close to the mall. One of my major interesting findings was how hard the restaurant tried to appear as authentic and one-of-a-kind. It adopted as many stereotypical Italian characteristics as possible. Brio, and all the chains it owns, has menus in Italian offering Italian-like dishes and playing soft guitar and accordion music in the background. According to a marketing website, atmosphere adjustments are done on purpose because they increase sales by giving the customer the impression that this is a fancier and more unique dining experience than it actually is ("MarketingTeacher.com"). If this is the goal then why Americanize the food? Americanizing ethnic foods is very popular among chain restaurants. Just like any large corporation that seeks to gain the approval of the masses, changing their product to appeal to a more “American” taste just makes sense especially when considering profits. According to “La Gazzetta Italiana”, only one-third of supposed Italian food actually comes from Italy.  Freshness and quality after being shipped is also in question. (Janice Therese) Of course under these new considerations few people will ever have “true” Italian food, but even the recipes involved in cooking and methods of production have differed to appeal to a more American taste. Authentic Italian food comes in smaller portions, with much simpler ingredients, uses less cheese and toppings if none at all, and most surprising to me Italians do not use tomato sauce. They focus on freshness, and make meals from scratch so waiting a long time for a meal is a major change. (Ledblimp, 2010) However even with these differences, eating the food in the encouraged atmosphere I felt more connected to the Italian culture than if I had been in Italy eating McDonald’s. Personally, I enjoy the Americanized version better than the true Italian food. Because my tastes for Italian food had been Americanized before actually tasting Italian food, my preconceived notions and expectations skewed the reality of the food. Many view this preference toward the “fake” food as pitiful and may even consider me “brainwashed”, however, I value the food that I enjoy the most. Since I have been raised American and am used to this “fake” Italian, this is my preference.  I do not view any food as better because of authenticity to the culture, since authenticity of anything can be questioned, but I value the taste and overall experience it brings. The ambiance of a true Italian food restaurant is better, but the memories and experience as a whole seem richer with food that is more tailored to your taste.

I choose food that connects me to my family and cultural background in order to keep a sense of who I am and where I come from as well as hold on to precious memories. On the other hand, I enjoy using food as a way to experience the new and unknown, and a tool for gaining cultural knowledge and broadening my experiences. On the same token, I believe there are very few truly culturally honest restaurants left, especially in America, and question the validity of the cultural knowledge one does gain from experimenting with cultural foods. Because of this skepticism, I value food that has meaning behind it and comes with an overall enjoyable experience verses the honesty and truthfulness of cultural knowledge gained and authenticity of the food. These values help me chose my meals, and influence how I eat.

Resources

Ahn, Roy. "Home Run: My Journey Back to Korean Food."Journal of Food and Culture. 9.4 (2009): 12-15. Print. 

. "Situational Influences and Atmospherics."MarketingTeacher.com. CHICHESTER , 2012. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-

Janice Therese, M. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/italian-food-american-history.aspx

Ledblimp. (2010, August). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/forum/threads/11472-Differences-between-Italian-amp-American-style-Italian-food

Nicholson, Geoff. "Eating White." Journal of Food and Culture. 10.1 (12): 21-23. Print. <http://blackboard.du.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/2009.201230/Eating White - Nicholson(1).pdf>.

. "Breaking cultural barriers through food." Knowledge Network: Faculty & Research. Thunderbird.org, 2008. Web. 29 May 2012. <http://knowledgenetwork.thunderbird.edu/research/2008/07/17/breaking-cultural-barriers-through-food/>.

Dupuis, Melanie. "Angels and Vegetables: A Brief History of Food Advice in America." Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. 7.3 (2012): 34-44. Print. <http://blackboard.du.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/2009.201230/History of Food Advice - Dupuis.pdf>.

EE2: Rough Draft

Sarah Heermann

5/22/2012

Writ EE2

Final essay

Cultural Chaos

            The relationship people have with food is more complex than simply a means to gain sustenance. Choosing what to eat has evolved from a fight for survival to standing in front of a kiosk full of choices for a minute and ordering. This new, easier way of obtaining food is safer and convenient, but it also comes with it’s own costs. With so many products out for our picking, what is it that helps us choose what to eat? Such a decision doesn’t happen just randomly, we have taste preferences and food consequences in mind when we choose each meal.  I never stand in front of food choices and think, “I don’t care at all what I eat; I’ll just order haphazardly from the menu” since I fear ending up with something I will dislike. I will always favor some dishes over others. There are always reasons for picking a meal the way I do, and I assume it is the same or similar with everyone else. For me, my cultural and religious backgrounds help define the meals I eat and what those meals mean to me. Additionally, my gender and the stereotypes the American culture place on females also helps govern my food choices.

            The values I hold are strongly connected to who I believe I am as a person. These values are shown through my actions, and this includes the choices I make with food. As with most people, I consider my cultural background a major part of who I am, therefore what I eat is not only a reflection of who I am but also my values. In our first reading for the class, “Home Run” by Roy Ahn, he talks about how eating Taiwanese food (he was born in Taiwan and raised by Taiwanese parents) was important to him for strengthening and reconnecting with his culture. He described it as a self-journey, where he not only reconnected with his dead parents but rediscovered himself after he had begun to eat and cook with Korean foods once more.

“Food reinvigorated my innate sense of Korean-ness. I’m not at all certain about the synapses that get fired when human beings experience emotions from cooking and eating the foods of their childhoods. All I can say for sure is that something sublime happened in that mecca of Korean cuisine—the Rockies—where I rediscovered my native food heritage.” (Ahn 12-15)

Here the connection between the inner awareness of oneself, culture, and food is obvious.  Food is a way to physically let a culture become a part of your body, and though you cannot actually get a feel for the entire culture of any group of people by simply tasting the food, it does seem to describe and define cultures well. Whether it is the stereotypes of a culture that we associate with a food that give us a cultural education while eating or the association of that food with a culture that gives us hints, we gain cultural knowledge by simply eating cultural foods. 

When I eat at an “authentic” restaurant I feel as though I am taking a small trip through a time machine that conveniently gives me the feel of being in that country. I use the word authentic with quotation marks because so few restaurants in America are actually authentic. For our field projects in visiting a restaurant of our choice I went to Brio, a large Italian food chain restaurant that was placed close to the mall. One of my major findings was how hard the restaurant tried to appear as authentic as possible. It adopted as many stereotypical Italian characteristics as possible. Brio, and all the chains it owns, has menus in Italian offering Italian-like dishes and playing soft guitar and accordion music in the background. According to a marketing website, atmosphere adjustments are done on purpose because they increase sales by giving the customer the impression that this is a fancier and more unique dining experience than it actually is("MarketingTeacher.com"). If this is the goal then why Americanize the food? Americanizing ethnic foods is very popular among chain restaurants. Just like any large corporation that seeks to gain the approval of the masses, changing their product to appeal to a more “American” taste just makes sense especially when considering profits. According to “La Gazzetta Italiana”, only one-third of supposed Italian food actually comes from Italy.  Freshness and quality after being shipped is also in question. (Janice Therese) Of course under these new considerations few people will ever have “true” Italian food, but even the recipes involved in cooking and methods of production have differed to appeal to a more American taste. Authentic Italian food comes in smaller portions, with much simpler ingredients, uses less cheese and toppings if none at all, and most surprising to me Italians do not use tomato sauce at all. They focus on freshness, and make meals from scratch so waiting a long time for a meal is a major difference. (Ledblimp, 2010) However even with these differences, eating the food in the encouraged atmosphere I felt more connected to the Italian culture than if I had been in Italy eating McDonald’s.

My personal cultural influence on food choices is German. The town I grew up in is a small agricultural town where roughly 85% are from German ancestry. My town’s average dinner plate consists of meat, bread and potatoes. Growing up on these foods makes me automatically gravitate toward them as a source of comfort and familiarity. Religion also places bread at the top for desired foods for me. In an article we read for class the author of “Eating White”, Nicholson, talks about his mother’s strange eating habit of consuming all white foods. Nicholson had a theory about his mother’s attraction. He believes her religion (Catholicism) and the purity symbolism the catholic religion places on the color white subconsciously attracts her to “purify” her body.  This was an interesting theory, and when the author described his experience of eating a communion wafer I realized my own connection to the same type of food. I love bread, and I use love instead of like for an honest emphasis. Usually the bread at the beginning of dinner consists of about a third of my whole dinner. When I dine out with my family they take one piece and split it amongst themselves and pass the basket to me! And I always remember being this way. It makes me wonder if all of the images and emphasis of importance on bread I saw and heard during church services (that my parents brought me to even as a baby) influenced me into loving bread. Bread is so ingrained into the religion that during the Lord’s Prayer (something said at church every Sunday and nearly every church function) we thank God for providing us our “daily bread”, and it is consumed in communion with high importance. As a child I remember being board during church services and staring at a stained glass window we always sat by. In its center was a golden cup of wine, a bunch of grapes and a large loaf of bread. The sun shining through it made the bread light up, and after staring at that for an hour I was always hungry for bread afterward. I prefer the large, soft sourdough bread to the hard, crunchy French begets. The picture in the window could have influenced this, but I also believe that my town, and it’s strong German background influenced the types of food I eat today.

However, there are several factors that push me away from such foods. Culturally, Americans have come across the dieting period of fearing carbs. The Atkins diet and other similar diets have claimed carbs as the main source of energy to avoid, unfortunately for me this means the foods I love the most and are culturally close to me. Bread and potatoes have now become the enemy, and now we have a strange out-of-bounds relationship, where I feel guilty for enjoying such foods. As a woman, and the typical American stereotyped pressures placed against me, I feel even more pressured to eat healthy and skip the high-carb foods I love.

Resources

Ahn, Roy. "Home Run: My Journey Back to Korean Food."Journal of Food and Culture. 9.4 (2009): 12-15. Print. 

(Ahn 12-15)

. "Situational Influences and Atmospherics."MarketingTeacher.com. CHICHESTER , 2012. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-

("MarketingTeacher.com")

Janice Therese, M. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/italian-food-american-history.aspx

Ledblimp. (2010, August). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/forum/threads/11472-Differences-between-Italian-amp-American-style-Italian-food

Nicholson, Geoff. "Eating White." Journal of Food and Culture. 10.1 (12): 21-23. Print. <http://blackboard.du.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/2009.201230/Eating White - Nicholson(1).pdf>.

(Nicholson 21-23)

P9: Religion and Politics

The prominent reoccurring theme in both the Pollan and Dupuis articles was the extraordinarily strong tie between both religion and politics with food. I had never realized before the connection between religion and food. Of course I had recognized some of the bizarre orders some religions follow, Such as no caffeine and kosher foods, but I did not realize it was so ingrained and common in religion as a whole.  Dupuis’s essay was very descriptive with this aspect. He went into a lot of detail about how the different religions were influenced by “visions” or seeing angels etc. and how these included instructions for eating foods. Shakers were well known for having a strict diet that would control celibacy, and the short-lived Fruitlands that were vegetarian before it existed.  Being religious myself, I understand the strong connection between symbolic foods and their tie to what we believe, but I suppose it was just surprising to me to realize how common this was amongst all religions and it made me come to realize how religion focuses on giving instructions to all parts of our lives that are a basic function of survival.

I found that both articles also discussed the powerful influence of politics in the modern food industry. Pollan’s Unhappy Meals essay went into detail:

“The linguistic capitulation did nothing to rescue McGovern from his blunder; the very next election, in 1980, the beef lobby helped rusticate the three-term senator, sending an unmistakable warning to anyone who would challenge the American diet, and in particular the big chunk of animal protein sitting in the middle of its plate. Henceforth, government dietary guidelines would shun plain talk about whole foods, each of which has its trade association on Capitol Hill, and would instead arrive clothed in scientific euphemism and speaking of nutrients, entities that few Americans really understood but that lack powerful lobbies in Washington.”

It’s always shocking for me to realize how little control we really have over the government and what we eat. This political control has also led us into focusing less on the food we eat and simply consider it food, instead focusing on it and breaking it down onto chemicals and overanalyzing it. This is largely what has caused an obese nation, as we have shifted our attention to enjoying small amounts of it to overindulging on the substances we do not really enjoy. The Food Inc. movie we watched in class also brought to light the political maneuverings of the huge seed company Monsanto.  With a large number of former employees working for the government, laws that should pass to insure safety for animals and consumers do not go through which further points to the flaws within our political system. 

Interesting facts

Eggs: Something I did not realize when I go to breakfast is the health benefits of eggs. Since the yolk was made to give the chick nutrition and protection from diseases, they are loaded with things that are healthy for humans as well.

Yogurt: the other interesting fact I saw was the benefits of eating yogurt. I found that it was said to be healthier than drinking a glass of milk. It supposedly contains more vitamins, calcium and minerals. Now I can feel even healthier enjoying yogurt, which I think tastes better and is more satisfying than milk anyways.

SE5: Are Your Brains Dried Too?

Sarah Heermann

5/15/2012

Writ 1122

SE5

Are Your Brains Dried Too?

Dried fruit has always been a convenient snack to grab on the go, and is typically one that will leave your conscious guilt free; it is fruit after all right? Of all the different varieties and adaptations of dried fruit, none are as popular as the raisin. No other dried fruit can match its convenience and strong association as a healthy children’s snack. But despite the hype of the health benefits and the family friendly mental picture associated with dried fruit and especially raisins, the truth about this popular snack is rather dark.  Perhaps the dried fruit you find yourself snacking on is not the health food you were lead to believe it is.

            I had always thought of dried fruit as healthy, friendly and a positive addition to my diet. Eating healthy, as it does with most people, made me feel good about myself. Eating dried fruit often made me walk a little taller with my nose in the air, but this snobby symptom came to an abrupt halt when I learned about the sugar content of this “nature’s candy”.  Often dried fruit such as raisins contain more sugar than the original fruit! Why such the increased sugar content? When fruit loses its water as it dries, it concentrates the natural sugars already in the fruit, but what makes this problematic is that the sugar then crystalizes. This crystalized sugar becomes harder to digest, and the concentrated sugar makes the body tend to engulf and absorb it all, instead of utilizing the water contained in wet fruit to flush a portion of this sugar out. Raisin’s sugar content is increased by 11.5%, and other fruit such as plums sugar content can be increased by as much as 13.6%. (Vanaman)  Sadly, producers still consider their fruit not sweet enough in its already sugar- infused state. Many dried fruits have unnatural sugar added to them, like fructose and sucrose, especially bitter fruits such as cranberries. (Vanaman)  

            However, the most alarming addition is not the sugar, but the toxic chemical sulfur dioxide used on the fruit to prevent the spoiling and browning of the dried fruit. Long-term exposure causes server illnesses and death. (McCoy)  The food industry appears to have adopted the same motto as the fashion world, “It’s better to look good than feel good”! The appearance of the fruit looks nearly 25% fresher after being treated with the toxic gas, and since freshness increases sales this is likely a fad that will stick. (McCoy)

Although dried fruit has the sneaky hidden blow of added sugar, it does have some health benefits. Dried raisins contain 3% protein and 3.5% dietary fiber, additionally they contain antioxidants. (Frehn) But before you start substituting dried fruit with the real stuff, consider the lower vitamins found in raisins versus grapes. Vitamin c was found to be 50% less in raisins than grapes and vitamin a was as much as 65% reduced. (Frehn)

The benefits of eating dried fruit can be gained by eating fresh fruit, and by doing so you can avoid the added sugar and toxic chemicals. Sucrose and sulfur dioxide are simply last year and out of style. Not only will they make you gain some lb.’s but could cause brain damage too.  If you are going to go through the trouble to be health conscious, you might as well choose something actually good for you. Next time you reach for dried fruit, go for candy instead, it’s just as healthy!

Vanaman, Bonnie. "The Percentage of Sugar in Dried Fruit."Livestrong.com. Livestrong, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/302660-what-is-the-percentage-of-sugar-in-dried-fruits/>.

Frehn, Jenifer . "Eating legumes, brown rice and dried fruit may decrease risk of colorectal cancer." News Medical. Loma Linda University, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110803/Eating-legumes-brown-rice-and-dried-fruit-may-decrease-risk-of-colorectal-cancer.asp&xgt;.

McCoy, Kittie . "The Health Risks of Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits Read more: The Health Risks of Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits." ehow. Demand Media Inc., 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5514704_health-sulfur-dioxide-dried-fruits.html>.

Food Journal Observations

I noticed a lot of our diets are constrained and depend on the amount of time they had to enjoy a meal. The majority of meals were eaten quickly and on the go with little concern for enjoyment and healthiness of the meal and most of the concern on eating something quickly. Most if any meals that were eaten for the enjoyment of companions were during dinner instead of breakfast or lunch.

P8:Food Journal: woes of the sick

Wednesday: I usually wake up about 8 to get ready for school, but Wednesday I woke up an hour early to study an extra hour for a midterm test. As I usually do when I think a cold is around the corner, I took a package of emergen-c right as I woke up. At 8:30 I headed to breakfast before my 9:00 class. I chose something heavier than usual, a wheat bagel with peanut butter and washed it down with nasty sodexo 2% milk, to make sure I could focus on my test that ended at noon, instead of a rumbling stomach. I also grabbed a banana and ate it on the way to class. For lunch I  ate an apple on the way to writ class, and once we were there, we all went out to get a pop chip sample, I chose Jalapeno flavor and so I then went and bought a mango flavored Sobe drink to get rid of the spicy burn.  For dinner I had a salad at around 6:00 at the dinning halls, I chose a spinach base and put on egg, onion, peppers and mushrooms with mustard sauce. I also grabbed a dinner roll.

Thursday: After my emergen-c,  I ate a fruit pafeie at Jazzmans and drank a cup of Americano coffee while preparing for a spanish interview. For lunch I  microwaved a bowl of oatmeal and chopped up an apple and sprinkled it in. I drank tazo green tea from a bag and then ate an orange separately. For dinner I ate at the dinning halls, I had the mystery white fish and long grain wild rice with broccoli. it was alright, but I only ate half the fish! latter that night I watched a movie with my friend and we ate some Act II microwavable popcorn at around midnight. then to celebrate our colds we took NyQuil and went to bed.

Friday: Although I woke up several times before, I did not actually get out of bed until 2 in the afternoon. My cold was really hitting me hard and the NyQuil made me groggy. My friend and I met up and we had lunch/breakfast at Brueggers. I ordered orange juice and their breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese and bacon on a sea salt and peppercorn bagle. when I was back in my room I drank my emergen-c (almost forgot) and went back to bed. At 6 I woke up again and I drnak tazo green tea, a jimmy johns ham sandwich sample the event at nagel was passing out earlier, and an apple. I ate again at 9 with my sick friend, we had chicken noodle soup from Safeway and shared a small loaf of sourdough bread to compliment the soup. we topped it off with some powdered chai tea he brought from South Dakota, and took another shot of NyQuil before calling it a day.

SE4: Family Ties

Sarah Heermann

5/4/2012

Writ SE 6

Family Ties

It was always a celebration for me to visit my grandmother. My grandfather and her lived only five miles away in the same town, but they enjoyed travelling and growing up I only ever saw them once about every three months. Each time we got together, I enjoyed catching up with her, but the best part was the traditional meal that always followed. It was the same meal everyone looked forward to on all holidays, all family gatherings, and any time you were with grandma. This specialty was chicken noodles. Not the watery soup, but the kind made with homemade thick egg noodles with tender chicken, freshly mashed potatoes underneath, all topped with fresh ground pepper. The result was a rich and creamy plate that was the ultimate comfort food. The focus for me though, was always on the noodle. The success of the meal depended on the success of the noodle itself. The perfect noodle added texture yet was still complementary to the chicken and potatoes. Because of this significant connection to my grandmother and the meal itself, noodles have always been a food that I enjoy and look forward to eating. They represent more than just a meal to me. They give me the feeling of comfort and family, and so I naturally became curious about their history. Just as if I were tracing my family tree, I plan on looking at the origins and properties of the egg noodle, and what makes them so good.

“The texture of the noodle is the most important.” Is what my grandmother always said, and in this case the experts agree. Texture and consistency are a main concern regarding egg noodle quality. According to Wiley Online Library, cooked noodles should remain firm and not lose solids in cooking water, and should not become sticky and soggy when standing after cooking (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni) .  The main ingredient that maintains this high standard of crispiness is one called Semolina.  Due to gluten development, it makes noodles firm in bite, less starchy, and resistant to overcooking. The quality of the noodle is often determined by its Semolina percent content (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni).

After this discovery, I became curious about this “father” of the egg noodle, and found that Semolina is actually the soft center of any kind of grain. However, wheat is most commonly used in the egg noodle (Conant). The most common kind of wheat to use for semolina is Duran wheat, a hard wheat variety with very high gluten content and high protein to carbohydrate ratio. Durum wheat is more coarsely ground than other flours and the milling process naturally separates the endosperm (the soft center) from the rest of the grain (Conant).  Semolina is a favorite of noodle makers because of its resiliency to the pasta making process. It retains its shape in cooking, even if overcooked.

While semolina provides texture and quality, the other main ingredient is of course, egg. Egg also improves cooking quality, but its main function is that it strengthens the network that holds in the starch during cooking (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni). This was interesting to me, because there would seemingly be a starch battle inside of every cooking noodle. The egg ingredient fights to hold in starch while the Semolina struggles to release starch. I pictured a battle scene in my head, with the noodle eventually disentigrating in the water just from indecision.  But these ingredients actually work in harmony to achieve an “agreed” upon level of starch, without violence. The different amounts of each ingredient is what makes noodles different tasting from each other, from extremely starchy and high egg content to less starchy and high semolina content (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni). The protein in the eggs also aids in stabilizing, forming, and enhancing the flavor of the noodle, but perhaps the most important role of the egg is the deep yellow the yolk brings to the noodle (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni).  Without the yolk, the noodle would take on a white color or even become transparent. A deep rich color is the most desirable, and according to my grandmother, indicates freshness.

The ingredients of the noodle and what make the noodle high quality was interesting to me. I did not know that the ingredient semolina was involved, nor did I know the role the egg actually played in noodle cooking.  Like learning a little bit of my own family history, I feel a more connected now to the food that has such an importance to me. Understanding more about the noodle and the ingredients involved will help me become a better shopper and cook. Noodles connect me to my grandmother, a sacred tie now that she has passed, and to the rest of my family that still remembers her mastery of the family favorite recipe, chicken noodles. These family gatherings and the meals we shared would not have had the same impact had the egg noodle not been a part of the recipe.

Resources

Conant, Patricia. "The Epicuren Table ." Grain Product Basics. theepicurentable.com, 2006. Web. 4 May 2012. <http://www.epicureantable.com/articles/agrainsemolina.htm>.

Khouryieh, Hanna, Tomas Herald, and Fadi Aramouni. "Quality and Sensory Properties of Fresh Egg Noodles Formulated with Either Total or Partial Replacement of Egg Substitutes." Wiley Online Library. Journal of Food Science, 2006. Web. 4 May 2012. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00060.x/full>.

P7: walk the walk

These articles were very shocking. I always find it very unsettling to hear there are still worker conditions like the ones described in these articles existing  in the world, and much more so that they are in the United States. We are a country that prides itself and stands for freedom and the voice and rights of the individual, at least this are what I have always been taught and brainwashed to think. I never really considered using the word brainwashed to describe national pride until I learned the more truthful version of history of our country. What I mean by this is that when we are little, like grade school or below, we always celebrate the 4^th of July and Columbus day, are told our country is the best, and sing the national anthem. I remember the first factual negative thing I ever learned in school was in the 6^th grade. It was the truth about Columbus treating the natives horribly by murdering and pillaging, before this I thought it was some kind of huge celebration that Columbus arrived as though they had been waiting for him and celebrated his presence. I also assumed, for no reason, that thye spoke the same language and instantly took to a conversation that began “what is your name?” like all meetings do when you are below the age of 10.

I got off an a tangent there but my thought was this: we are brainwashed into thinking everything is perfect in our country and completely miss the fact that things such as slavery exists in the U.S. today. I am shocked I had no prior knowledge of this. Personally the food info. Was gross but I don’t really care when it comes with the fact that workers are losing limbs and are treated as slaves and have to live in the forest and cant afford to buy protection from horrible chemicals that cause them to go blind. Especially when the government has put off investigation for over ten years. My first thought on that is somewhere some very rich guy is having to cough up a lot of dough(not enough though) to keep this on hold. My second is how shameful I feel that a country such as ours and the high ideals we so often talk about are not followed remotely. We are talking the talk but certainly not walking the walk. 

P6: Free but Freethinkers?

Pollan talks about how our relationship with food can determine how we eat it, and in turn controls our weight and healthiness. He made the argument that if we were less conscious about food, enjoyed it for the taste and company, not go back for seconds and not snack, we would be thinner like the French and also enjoy eating more as a whole. Our symptoms/ causes of our unhealthy eating is actually worrying about it too much, and trying too hard to be healthy. Instead of listening to our bodies and scenes such as taste and smell, Americans as a whole tend to over-analyze our food and trust the sciences instead. He says we have “lost our confidence” in food and our sciences, and I believe he is absolutely right. If we listened to our tastes and took smaller portions I think we would be both happier and healthier. We should choose quality over quantity.

I thought his view on the marketing and corruption of the diet was also really interesting. I never considered how much money there was in the diet industry and how much it is controlled and commercialized. They condemn one product or ingredient only to praise another one and start an entire eating revolution.  He put it kind of comically when he described how fascinating it was that an entire country’s eating habits could change overnight. It only takes one article in a popular news magazine, a show on the tv, or a newspaper article before everyone jumps on the bandwagon and begins to diet.