+++SCOFF! - The free email newsletter on good food and drink. - ISSUE EIGHT, OCTOBER 2005. For a printable colour version of this newsletter (in a ‘pdf’ file), see: http://www.gastronomail.com/archive.htm . Please forward to all your friends and colleagues so they can register to receive their own copy by visiting our web site: http://www.gastronomail.com . We never pass on email addresses. Further information at the end of this issue. ++Issue Eight Contents: 01: An A-Z of Scoff: the alphabet of food wisdom - ‘H’ is for ‘Hygiene’: Are wooden boards clean? 02: October offer - Two for One at Brighton Moshi Moshi. 03: A Change of Pace. - Review: Slow, the magazine of the Slow Food movement. Reviewed by Hattie Ellis. 04: Recipe: Aubergine Fans - by Lilian Lopez. 05: The drink spot: The Beer Academy - The Beer Necessities, by Dan Jellinek. 06: Titbits and crumbs: Sustainable Food Guide – for the workplace; Museum of Burnt Food - celebrating culinary disaster; Clear labelling – campaign. 07: The food spot: Lessons in the school kitchen Amanda Grant on the topic of the moment: healthy eating for kids. 08: How to: Get the best out of rice - techniques and flavours, by Sophie Orloff. [Contents ends]. +01: An A-Z of Scoff: the alphabet of food wisdom - ‘H’ is for ‘Hygiene’. Everyone knows the importance of basic hygiene in a kitchen, but some related issues are less clear cut, such as the pros and cons of using wooden chopping boards and wooden spoons compared with plastic items. But can such traditional cooking materials really be dangerous? With wooden spoons, there is some evidence to suggest they may become porous over time and could therefore become unhygienic, so they should perhaps not be kept for very long periods of time. With wooden boards though, current thinking is that they are fine if kept clean. The basic rule is to keep all boards — and worktops — clean and dry, and ideally to keep a separate board for raw meat and fish. Colour coding in chopping boards is a way of reducing the risk of cross contamination, though for home cooks such a complex labelling system (typically yellow for cooked meats; red for uncooked meats; white for bread and dairy products; blue for fish; green for salad and fruit; and brown for vegetables) is not practical. The Food Standards Agency (see www.eatwell.gov.uk/keepingfoodsafe/) does not advise people to use chopping boards made of any particular material because “we don’t know of any conclusive evidence to say whether plastic or wooden chopping boards are safer for general domestic use when people follow basic hygiene procedures”. The agency notes that some chopping boards are marketed as having antimicrobial properties, but says it is still important to observe the basic hygiene advice with these boards — so there would seem to be little advantage in using them in the first place. What is more, wood is a more attractive, natural material that does not blunt your knives so quickly. +02: October Offer: Get noshi at Moshi. Moshi Moshi is the original UK conveyor-belt sushi bar with branches in London and Brighton. It has an ethical approach to sourcing its fish and other food by, for example, removing bluefin tuna from its menus; only using environmentally sustainable salmon farms in Loch Duart; using free- range chicken and eggs; and cutting out additives. This offer applies only to the Brighton branch: apologies to those readers who can’t make it down. Book a table for you and at least one other person from Tuesday to Friday until the end of 2005, quoting Scoff!, and you will eat and drink for free, receiving a discount for your equal share of the bill. For example, a booking for a table of four will receive a 25 per cent discount. You cannot eat alone and it is not applicable with any other promotion. Moshi Moshi Brighton is at Bartholomew Square, BN1 1JS. Tel: 01273 719195 or email: brighton@moshimoshi.co.uk . +03: Change of Pace - Slow: The magazine of the Slow Food movement. - Reviewed by Hattie Ellis. It is worth joining Slow Food to help fund this wonderful international movement, but in my opinion it would also be worth paying the £35 annual subscription just to receive the group’s quarterly magazine, Slow. The quality of articles does vary a little, but the breadth and authentic flavour of the magazine as a whole is exceptional. Slow shows how food is a rich part of many different lives, not the shiny superficiality of over-processed consumer food magazines. To start with its look, this is a beautiful publication printed on environmentally-friendly paper with a spacious design that is attractive and clear. You sit down to the 135 pages of variously interesting articles, to be digested over time. There are no recipes in Slow but it tells you a great deal about food. Having just become a member of Slow Food, I have only seen the latest issue, number 50, which has a particular focus on Tokyo (I am now going to collect back issues). The Japanese half of the magazine includes a paean to soba noodles, a piece about the recent occurrence of BSE in Japan, the unfolding tale of a particular sushi bar, tales of street life, wonderful photography, discursive pieces, lyrical alongside factual pieces. Elsewhere the magazine has the story of how Rwandan refugees feed themselves on forest foods in the Congo basin; the fight to save American apple varieties; the importance of the French gastronome Brillat-Savarin; an interview with a native American agricultural activist and so on. At the end are details about Slow Food events around Britain and elsewhere. The contributors are as diverse as the subject matter, including, in this issue, a zoologist, a molecular biologist, a musician and composer, an art historian and an anthropologist, as well as journalists, dedicated food writers and writers of the calibre of Michael Pollan (author of The Botany of Desire). The magazine stands as a counterpoint to the bland homogeneity of so much food publishing, exemplifying the approach Slow Food exists to celebrate. For more information on Slow Food and to join see www.slowfood.com . +04:Recipe: Aubergine Fans - by Lilian Lopez. This is a dish which can serve as either a starter or an excellent lunchtime main course, accompanied by new potatoes. It can be prepared a day in advance, and served either warm or at room temperature. Choose quite plump little aubergines (but not dwarf). If you want to make the more substantial version including goat’s cheese, you will need to buy either flat discs or a log shape to slice. 4 small firm aubergines 4–5 unpeeled garlic cloves 4 large tomatoes 2–3 salad onions 1 log goat’s cheese (optional) basil leaves, parsley, olive oil, salt Take a sharp knife and slice the aubergines from the bulbous end towards the more pointed end, but do not cut right through. Sprinkle salt liberally between each slice and set aside for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper. Preheat the oven to 190 C, 375 F, gas mark 5. Lift the aubergine fans into a roasting tin, then cut the tomatoes into fairly thin slices and place the slices in between the arms of the aubergine fans. If desired, push a goat’s cheese slice into every other space, otherwise just use tomatoes. Scatter the chopped onions, and put the garlic here and there. Drizzle with olive oil, season with pepper and bake for about 50 minutes. Five or 10 minutes before the end of cooking, scatter on a few torn basil leaves and some chopped parsley. If the aubergines seem dry, drizzle some more oil on during the cooking time. +05: The Drink Spot: The Beer Necessities - by Dan Jellinek. Beer has an image problem. Think of wine, and you think of sophistication, good food, and good company. Think of beer, and you think of drunkenness, kebabs and town centre hooliganism. The desire to shine up this image was the driving force behind the foundation of the Beer Academy, an educational lobby group funded by the brewing industry whose ambitious stated aims include that “within 20 years beer could achieve the same social and gastronomic status as wine”. Tim O’Rourke, beer historian and brewing consultant, believes the declining popularity of beer is linked to the fact that poor storage and handling by publicans leads to variable quality at the pump. “If you walk into a pub and see nine fonts, you know five are bad — but which ones?” O’Rourke is a lead trainer on the Beer Academy’s educational courses, which can be attended by anyone, from publicans to food writers and simple beer enthusiasts. The foundation course kicks off with a run-through of the brewing process, which is surprisingly complex given that beer is made from a very few ingredients: malted barley, water, yeast and hops. “There is not such a connection between beer and nature and farming in people’s minds as there is with wine and vineyards,” says O’Rourke. “When you think of the beer brewing industry you think of large, austere Victorian buildings. But in fact beer comes from lovely natural ingredients.” From a flavour point of view the key ingredients are the hops, which provide both the bitterness of beer and most of its aroma (as well as improving the foam, and acting as an anti-bacterial agent). The secret of beer is in its bitter-sweet balance, says O’Rourke, and the different varieties of hops such as Fuggle or Kent Golding offer different characteristics, a little like grape varieties for wine – although hops are not fruits but a modified stem containing seeds, closely related to cannabis. The Beer Academy courses teach their students to taste beer as one would taste wine: to look at its colour, give it a good sniff, wash it around the mouth to gauge its ‘mouthfeel’ and then swallow to ascertain the taste and then the aftertaste or ‘hang’. There is even a flavour wheel devised to help tasters describe the sensations they experience, although O’Rourke admits that its more lurid descriptive spokes do not do the image of beer many flavours: they range from floral and caramel to papery, nail varnish remover, and ‘catty’. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the big name brand lagers like Carling or Budweiser have the least smell and flavour, since these are not drinks to savour but ‘session beers’ to guzzle while watching the footie. Budweiser though does receive some rather backhanded praise from O’Rourke: “It is awesomely consistent, brewed in state of the art facilities, in a money-no-object, tightly controlled brewing process where nothing is left to chance. You can tell: to make something that tastes of that little is really difficult.” O’Rourke maintains that beer is at least as varied as wine when it comes to finding a match for every meal. Its bitterness, which tends to hit a few seconds into the sip, is certainly a point of difference with wine; but with a vast range from strong porters to pale ales and sweet fruit beers there is a match for every dish. In general it is best to match stronger beers with stronger tasting foods, pilsner with spicy food, and paler beers with lighter foods. Interesting combinations — which can be tasted on the course — include Bavarian wheat beer with ryebread and German salami; Indian pale ale with cheddar cheese on a digestive; and sweet cherry beer with chocolate cake, which creates instant Black Forest gateau in your mouth. The course should certainly help to place beer in a more attractive light, as a sophisticated drink of variety and versatility. The academy has begun its work well. * For courses in your area see: www.beeracademy.org . +06: Titbits and Crumbs. - Sustainable Food Guide Environmental Practice at Work, a small publishing company, has produced an excellent, free online guide to sustainable food, aimed at anyone with an interest in food and food production. Sections include environmental, social and economic issues: http://www.sustainablefood.com/guide/ - Museum of Burnt Food Celebrating the art of culinary disaster: we’ve all been there. Marvel at the thrice-baked potato, King Tut’s tomato and a bagel in need of carbon dating: http://www.burntfoodmuseum.com/ - Clear labelling Food labelling can be hard enough to understand at the best of times, but for people with sight problems tiny print, poor colour contrast and confusing layouts all-too-often render it impenetrable. Manufacturers need to be more aware of the issues raised by this interesting campaign: http://www.clearlabelling.co.uk/ NOTE: Scoff! is giving away books on food and wine to readers who send in their favourite link, if published. Email to: dan@gastronomail.com. +07: The food spot: Lessons in the school kitchen - by Amanda Grant. I have spent the past 10 years researching and writing books about what to eat during pre-conception, pregnancy, breastfeeding, weaning and toddler-hood. I was therefore horrified when I first saw our local primary school menu, just before our eldest child started there, and learned that the food was processed and then heated on site with very little, if any, fresh produce. Of course, this issue is now squarely on the national policy agenda, thanks in no small part to Jamie Oliver, but it is a problem that is still far from being solved. So how do you, as a parent, go about making it better? Eighteen months ago, I helped form a action group made up of parents from eight local schools. My first piece of advice is to get the governors and head teacher on side. To do this, we did a survey at every school to show that we were representing all the parents and we also had a petition at the local farmers’ market, to show the local council we were serious about change, with displays of what the children were being fed and healthy dishes that could be produced for the same money. Every school now has a healthy snacks policy, banning foods such as crisps and chocolate. One school has a fruit and veg tuckshop which was well received because the children run it themselves. The work of the Soil Association’s ‘Food for life’ is excellent. We want to see more locally sourced ingredients, as much as possible organic. Three-quarters should be made from unprocessed ingredients and meals should meet the nutrition targets set by the Caroline Walker Trust (see www.soilassociation.org). The big sticking point for us, as with many other schools, is that the food is still bought in under the contract of a catering firm. While the catering manager has made changes, getting less processed food on the menu, we want to get cooks on site, employed by the school, who would be more interested in what the kids eat and could be used in so many ways. There could be all sorts of events during the school meal that would make it more sociable and fun, for example, by having adults coming in to eat with the children. I have given a number of talks to the children in groups of 100, about key issues such as understanding the difference simple things can make, such as eating breakfast, drinking water and snacking on fruit. I was amazed by how responsive they all were and by the positive reaction from the children and their parents, who were delighted that their children now choose to drink water rather than just fizzy drinks. I am also a great believer in getting children into the kitchen. They need to be able to touch, smell and learn about food, and one of the best ways to do this is to let them get cooking. NOTE: Amanda Grant’s book Kids’ Kitchen, written to get children cooking, is published by Mitchell Beazley. Scoff! readers can order it at the special price of £13.60 (rrp £16.99) by calling 01903 828503 and quoting PUB283. 08: How to: Get the best out of rice - by Sophie Orloff. Rice can be flavoured to complement or dominate a meal. Use one and three-quarter (1.75) times liquid to rice. For six people use 460g rice to 800ml of stock or water. Start all recipes by frying onions: 1: Kichidee - The original kedgeree. Add 2 tsp of seed spices to the frying onions eg cumin, crushed coriander, fennel, and mustard. Replace 150g of Basmati rice with the same weight in red lentils. Add to the frying onions with about 60g of butter. Add vegetable stock, boil it, and then reduce to a simmer. After 8 mins or so add the rice, return to the boil, cover and put on lowest heat for 20 mins. Stir and cover leaving it to stand with the heat off for 10 mins or so. 2: Wild - Use long grain and wild rice in the same way as for kichidee, replacing 150g of long grain with wild rice. After frying the onions, add the wild rice and stock, then after about 8 mins add the long grain and some thyme. This is great with red meat dishes. 3: Lemon Saffron Rice - Infuse stock with about 10 strands of saffron. Add rice (Basmati or long grain) to the frying onions with 60g butter allowing the rice to get hot. Add the stock which should sizzle. Bring to the boil and chuck in a roughly sliced lemon. Give it a stir, put on a good fitting lid and turn the heat as low as possible. Leave it undisturbed for 15 mins. Stir, put the lid back on, turn off the heat and leave it for another 10 minutes or so. 4: Thai Jasmine Rice - Use groundnut oil to fry spring onion and or shallots adding finely chopped lemon grass and two sliced red chillies. Sesame oil at the last minute is tasty. 5: Mushroom Risotto - Use three times the liquid to rice i.e. 1.3ltrs, with some wine in the stock. Add some chunky cut mushrooms to the fried onion with plenty of butter (at least 90g). Add the liquid in three batches, as it is absorbed. Add the final 450ml stirring all the time, once it boils cover tightly, turn it right down and leave it for 15mins. Stir in fresh Parmesan and eat. NOTE: Sophie Orloff runs Foodfood, at 15 Station St, Lewes: fresh- cooked food to take home. ++End notes. +HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR REGULAR ‘SCOFF!’ To subscribe to this free monthly bulletin, Send a blank email to scoff-subscribe@gastronomail.com Please encourage your friends and colleagues to subscribe! To unsubscribe at any time, email: scoff-unsubscribe@gastronomail.com For further information on subscription see: http://www.gastronomail.com . +ACCESSIBILITY NOTE: This newsletter conforms to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) Standard, which makes email publications easier to access for people with impaired vision using text-to-speech devices. For details see: http://www.headstar.com/ten . +COPYRIGHT 2005 Gastronomail Ltd. If you would like to reproduce stories from this newsletter, we generally allow this as long as a full credit is included, with our web address and a description of our newsletter. For permission please email jo@gastronomail.com . +PERSONNEL: Food Editor - Dan Jellinek dan@gastronomail.com Drinks editor – Johnny Ray johnny@gastronomail.com Consultant Editor – Hattie Ellis hattie@gastronomail.com Marketing Director – Jo Weatherall jo@gastronomail.com [Issue ends.]