RomaNostalgia

So, it has been almost two months since my Food Studies trip to Rome (since then I have also travelled to Chicago to indulge in Giordano's deep dish pizza and to the Cake Boss in Hoboken for beautiful tiramisu...but more on that in later posts!). There has been just too much to process and take in, and quite frankly, too depressing to write about because I miss everything so much. At this point, RomaNostalgia is an understatement. It hurts. I've tried to enjoy gelato since returning to the States, and it is just not the same. Artichokes just aren't the same color in America (or wherever they're imported from) as they are in Italy. To try and order a caffe corretto (or coffee with sambuca) at any American coffee shop would be completely futile. Enough gloating, though. I learned so much about myself, American and Italian culture during this trip that my perception of consumption from art to anchovies has completely changed.

My first exposure to specifically Roman culture was through the lens of Federico Fellini's film Roma (1972). As an English and cultural studies major, I am drawn to how language becomes a focal point to create discourse and history in terms of specificity and place. Particularly during this trip I was drawn towards the devout and rather frantic respect for preserving Italian cultures and traditions. The language used to describe wine and coffee production is a relevant focus in terms of food studies. While I did previously understand Italian culture in terms of deep reverence for food and art, exposure to Fellini turned that notion on its head. I specifically love the scene towards the beginning of the film that directly focuses on food. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8664833614753586960#

Particularly in this clip there is a contrast between the juxtaposition of the appetizing presentation of food with a voiceover that completely deconstructs any notion of good taste. While there is deep reverence for appearance of food with emphasis on the pasta dishes, the voiceover forces a perception of disgust. I simultaneously viewed Italian consumption in terms of the contradiction between respect for tradition and pushing personal preference. My focus shifted away from the pasta dish to the complimentary beverage on the film clip: wine. Wine has become in American culture a signifier of cultivated taste, yet there are laws in Italy that dictate the legitimacy of wine origin and production. During a wine tasting I first noticed that the Sommelier repeatedly used the phrase “You must respect…” in terms of the vintage of the wine and the sequence of drinking the wines in terms of age. While winemaking has been going on for centuries, the regulations and laws as well as sommelier presence started in the 1960s. The tradition of the sommelier is from France which complicates even further the notion of wine as a distinctly unique cultural signifier. While tasting a Prosecco, 2 white and 2 red wines the sommelier listed the wine company, wine name, grape variety, fermentation technique and length of time as well as the region. He repeatedly engaged with us by saying “You need to respect…”

The sommelier described different means of examination for every wine.
Sensory: Includes looking at the wine and analyzing the color in terms of vintage.
Olfactory: Includes smelling the wine, swirling the glass, then smelling again.
Taste: Finally, tasting the wine can also be thought of in terms of multiple sensations including
Sweetness
Acidity
Saltiness
Bitterness

Essentially, respect permeates the mindset of consumption for wine, from the most expensive to the cheapest “vino tabula” or common table wine. Although this form of tasting can get tedious (and distracting when trying to scribble down all the details!) there is a different type of tasting that occurs when activities such as thinking and analyzing and not only chewing and swallowing are involved. We were offered various cheeses with honey as well as foccacia bread with olives all of which altered the taste of the wines, enhancing and changing the perception of flavor.

The contradiction explained previously in Fellini’s Roma in terms of food presentation versus a critical and disgusted voiceover is apparent in Italian food consumption. We similarly see this tension between upholding traditions and challenging the institution of wine tasting. Particularly, while rules such as drinking the wine in sequential order from earlier vintage to later vintage and drinking specific wines out of specific glasses, the consumer is given the choice. The sommelier can offer suggestions, but ultimately one can pair whatever food with whatever wine they want. In turn, the sommelier can show a consumer the traditional pairings and ways, yet the sommelier must also respect the consumer’s palate, even untraditional methods.

This notion of rispetto, or respect, transposed to the Italian breakfast tutorial we had with the gracious bar waiter Sergio. Before Sergio noted that it is most appropriate to use a hot cup for hot coffee, I never realized that was part of coffee production and consumption. The rhetoric of respect surrounded this description. Furthermore, Sergio specifically said that the “Tea temperature has to be respected…” Specifically, an appropriate temperature is 23 degrees Celsius or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This was a significant similarity that directly connected to the sommelier’s explanation of wine consumption and production.

Analyzing both coffee and wine and comparing how they function in American and Italian culture amplified my understanding of consumption. There are drastic differences between each, such as coffee is not enjoyed on the go in Italy prominently like in America. There appears to be more of a respect in terms of all consumption that permeates Italian culture from coffee and wine to food preparation and ritual as well as art and other cultural signifiers. My personal experience in America compared with my time spent in Rome and Cilento reveals a lifestyle more focused on locality and quality which is also comparatively cheaper. The Italian culture is indeed characterized and preserved through this notion of respect. While Fellini’s films such as Roma and Amarcord challenge Italian culture as previously perceived, a sense of deep respect is still engrained in specifically Italian food culture. While standards remain, consumers still maintain agency in terms of preference. The traditions embody an alternative form of history that offers a new insight into culture and lifestyles. In contrast to American consumption which is constantly mobile, this rhetoric of respect encourages more time for both thought and enjoyment- an important lesson I have particularly absorbed from Italian culture.

Addio Pittsburgh!

The day is finally here. I am travelling to Rome. But, first, as I sit here in the Pittsburgh International Airport with more than enough time to consider the fun to come, there are questions Dr. Julier asked us to think about:

How do we 'see' culture?
How does the history of this place shape the food culture?
What is the food voice that you hear?
What do Italians say about their own culture?
What are you looking for in Italy?
Where do you think you're going to find it?
How does being an American affect your perception?

As I sit here typing, munching on a chicken and cheese burrito from the fast food restaurant "Currito," the inherent internationality of American cuisine is blatant. The catch phrase for this particular food stop is "Burritos without Borders" and the menu reflects this- Teriyaki burritos to Nutella snacks to mango salsa are some of the varieties available. As an American, living in Pittsburgh, I consider myself very fortunate to be exposed to such a great international influence in terms of cuisine. Even within my own family life I grew up with food being directly referred to in terms of nationality.

My paternal grandma always made haluski and pierogies while telling us to get our "dupas" out of the kitchen. My maternal grandma always made eggplant parmesan and ravioli for New Year celebrations and Christmas, while constantly sending all different kinds of pasta to our house to eat after school. My maternal pap's Irish heritage continually led to having ham and cabbage with potatoes while attending our weekly meetings for Ancient Order of Hibernians. My mom and dad always made a hodgepodge of food, from pasta e fagioli to 'man slaw' to potato salad. I grew up consuming culture, as that is the primary way that I understand 'seeing' culture. While American food culture appears homogenized at times, I really appreciate the international crossroads that constantly resurface for American consumers.

I am interested in tracking the international influence on Italian cuisine and the extent of it, as well as the Italian perception of the 'sacredness' of cuisine. While America includes a melting pot of cultures, I expect to see more Italian solidarity in terms of food. Who knows what gelato flavors could lead to!

Another aspect of food studies that will be interesting to track is how food is closely associated with place. My own travel experience domestically includes trying gooey butter cake in St. Louis, crab cakes in Baltimore, and See's candies in Seattle. My Italian phrasebook includes a food section that in some instances directly associates food with place. Some examples:

Minestrone alla genovese- minestrone flavored with pesto (A Genoese sauce of basil, pecorino cheese, garlic and pine nuts soaked in oil)

Tortellini- small pockets of dough filled with minced pork, turkey, ham, eggs, cheese and spices served in a broth or meat sauce

Abbacchio al forno- oven baked spring lamb- A Roman specialty

Cannoli- Rolls of pastry filled with ricotta (A Sicilian specialty)

Panettone- Fruit cake made of fine flour mixed with eggs, sugar, butter and candied fruit peel (Specialty of Milan)

Panforte di Siena- A hard sweet from Siena

Caciocavallo- An Italian cheese from the South, of elongated shape similar to provolone

Mascarpone- A kind of cottage cheese from Lombardy, made with cream

Provolone- Hard, round cheese from Southern Italy

Stracchino- Buttery, non-fermented cheese from Lombardy, made of cow's milk

Even though some of these dishes are readily available and main-streamed in America, like tortellini and cannolis, I am interested to compare my previous experiences with these dishes and compare and contrast the Roman versions. More experiences to come... Arrivederci a tutti! Buon cibo!

One sip...

...and I had found a world completely new, when love walked in with you.

I can never taste coffee the same again after having La Prima's light and dark roasts at last week's fieldtrip to the Strip District roasting facilities. I can pinpoint the significant points in my life that have changed my consumption and perception of coffee. After deciding to not use sweeteners in my beverages about 5 years ago, I began to think more about the body and acidity of the coffee, quite simply I would ask myself, "is this coffee bitter- or can I taste different notes?"

Enrico's Tazzo D'oro in Highland Park was my first significant experience as my mom has taken my sisters and me there since it opened 11 years ago. The barrista's not only pull the best espresso shots I have ever experienced, but they are just as beautiful, with either an intricate leaf or floral image adorning the top of the epicurean embodiment. I don't mean to fetishize food so intensely; however, I have literally dreamed about having a Tazzo D'oro latte after going through a month's withdrawal.

Another significant experience with understanding coffee tones came about three years ago after having French press at the Bee Hive in South Side with my coffee-savvy friend Alex. While I have had Oolong tea and other coffee at home made by my dad with his Bodem press, this coffee I could drink black. And I want to drink it black- the cream and the sugar only conceal the various flavors available to my taste buds.

Finally, after experiencing La Prima's fruity, vibrant light roast and the nutty, woody dark roast, Chatham's Cafe Rachel and their Fair Trade coffee no longer cut it for me. While it has become a privilege and lifestyle for me to consider the various qualities of good coffee, I have also had the opportunity to learn about the politics of coffee. Dr. Julier invited two graduate students from her class at the University of Pittsburgh to present their ongoing research project with Building New Hope.

Building New Hope is a non-profit organization based dually in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Granada, Nicaragua. Since 1992, BNH has supported and operated grassroots development projects in Central America. Their main goal is to "support and partnership to communities in development in Central America, particularly in El Salvador and Nicaragua" which includes a wide range of programming from an organic coffee import project, a veterinary clinic, alternative schools and literacy programs.

This various range of support is constructed through making the coffee trade more fair and friendly to farmers and suppliers:

"The organization has been paying above fair trade prices for the cooperative's coffee since 2002. The coffee is roasted in Southwestern Pennsylvania and sold by coffee shops, fundraising groups, and other vendors throughout the region and country. After paying the farmers, the profits from the coffee project, along with support from private donations, goes toward development projects in El Porvenir and other parts of Nicaragua. In El Porvenir (literally, "the future") BNH has provided funds for a partial-road, scholarships for post-secondary students and a supplemental teaching salary. Coffee revenue also funds approximately 50 percent of BNH's programming based in Granada, Nicaragua including the alternative schools and veterinary clinic" (from their Executive Summary)

My next goal in becoming more aware of the politics of coffee and fair trade includes finding out if my favorite coffee suppliers indeed do partake in the sale of BNH's coffee, yet another reason for loving that latte of mine.

Smörgåsbord of Food and Fun!

While spending lots of time during Spring Break on campus, or venturing to the Elbow Room for a pineapple BBQ burger, Chatham hosted a really exciting foods event. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, the first annual 2010 Local Food Showcase included a reciprocal turnout of growers and buyers.

Anderson Dining Hall became a showcase center filled with unfamiliar faces from Friendship Farms, Penn's Corner Farm Alliance, Turner Dairy Farms as well as familiar faces of Parkhurst Dining Services, Dr. Julier and Dr. Wardi. As we navigated through the interesting and delicious exhibits we had the opportunity to taste raw milk, hummus, dip mixes, jams, as well as scrumptious pastries from Enrico's biscotti company.

Friendship Farms was an interesting guest to consider in terms of a local producer and seller. They have a unique bakery and farm story located in the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Their baked goods are focused on hearth baken breads, scones, muffins, granola, and other pastries made from unbleached flour and organic flours and grains. The store, and they brought these products to the showcase, includes homemade jam, sauces, salsas and canned products grown and processed at the farm.

They also sell "all-natural" angus beef produced from cattle born and raised on Friendship Farms. The cattle are specifically bred for quality traits and are carefully nurtured as they are rotated around the farm pastures to consume a combination of alfalfa, clover and orchard grass. They are never treated with hormones or gived articially derived feeds.

Finally, Friendship Farms has a native plant nursery that specializes in containerized trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers native to Wester Pennsylvania. This particular business venture is a positive model for local production and consumption, as Friendship Farms is fully aware what is in their products because they control the means of production. This showcase was yet another enlightening food experience that demonstrated the relative financial ease and lifestyle change of considering local.

I'll pass on the MSG.

This spring, I precociously began my spring break with an attempt to do laundry in my residence hall washing facilities. After a random major flooding of my first load, I was rescued by my mom as we went to the laundromat on Ellsworth. While waiting for my drenched accoutrements to rewash and dry we stopped at the Tokyo Japanese Grocery in the same center as the laundromat, with a Coldwell Banker office squeezed in between. There were certain products I was intrigued by, including bags filled with white powder labelled "Monosodium Glutamate." Infamously abbreviated by my mom since childhood, "MSG" is requested to not be in our food at any Japanese and Chinese restaurant we've frequented. While the use of MSG is frequently referred to as the "Chinese Food Syndrome" on various internet sources, its original use was indeed in Japan: "A Japanese company called Ajinomoto - only recently found guilty of price-fixing MSG on the world market, is today the prime maker of MSG. Japan is also where taurine and CoQ10 are now used to treat heart disease, and ginger and taurine-rich sushi are eaten alongside MSG sprinkled food. These foods have protective effects against an MSG reaction. However, even the Japanese have found recently that MSG fed to mice can lead to blindness." (http://www.msgtruth.org/whywe.htm) This use of preservatives is indeed frightening.

In a store that had so many single portioned items such as beautiful filets of salmon, meticulously bagged bok choy and perfectly shaped red bean pastries I was shocked to see bags of MSG. According to the Mayo Clinic's online information database:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that's "generally recognized as safe," the use of MSG remains controversial. For this reason, when MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that it be listed on the label. MSG has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — include headache, flushing, sweating, facial pressure or tightness, numbness, tingling or burning in face, neck and other areas, rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations), chest pain, nausea and weakness. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/monosodium-glutamate/AN01251)

Another source reveals more dangerous consequential links between MSG and health:

A study by Johns Hopkins University suggests that monosodium glutamate can induce asthma in some individuals as well. Other studies show that MSG can cause damage to brain cells and the central nervous system. Some studies suggest it has direct correlations with Alzheimer's disease. (http://www.ehow.com/about_5432119_health-risks-monosodium-glutamate.html)

While there is no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and the previously listed symptoms, I have definitely experienced the wrath of this "flavor enhancing preservative." If I forget to ask for no MSG at Lulu's Noodles or Spice Island Tea House, after I'm finished my forehead gets tight and I get a full head pain that is excruciating. Clearly there must be some link. Furthermore when I do get food sans MSG, there is no obvious taste difference. So what's the point of including it? It is merely a preservative, and is not just included in Japanese and Chinese food. In fact, distinctly defined "American" food is just as much permeated with it from KFC to Burger King including ALL chicken, sausage, parmesan, ranch dressings, croutons, dipping sauces, gravy and soups in the fast food industry.

There is a difference between the way American and Chinese restaurants use MSG:

Chinese food, for the most part consists of fresh vegetables quickly cooked. MSG is added at the end as a condiment. It can be NOT added at the consumers request. Most Chinese restaurant owners also know what else on the menu contains natural MSG - soy sauce for instance is naturally loaded with free glutamate. Wait staff at a Chinese restaurant will often steer the MSG sensitive patron away from dishes containing soy sauce as well as MSG. At Asian restaurants, they know what is in the food because they put it there. Most American restaurants today purchase their foods from large US food companies that have what are called "Food Service" divisions. In American restaurants, most wait staff and often the cooks don't know what is in the food, because the soup base probably came from a can, those cute little jalapeno poppers came from a brightly colored bag in the freezer, and very little is actually "fresh". And, unfortunately, most American food scientists use the fact that soy sauce, and hydrolyzed vegetable protein naturally contains free glutamate to give their free glutamate containing products what is called "a clean label". So even cooks and wait staff don't even know what they are reading on the labels. The people who create the foods supplied to American restaurants have absolutely no compunction about hoping you don't know that MSG is in your food when you are consciously trying to avoid it. (http://www.msgtruth.org/whywe.htm).

Ang Lee's film Eat Drink Man Woman really made me reconsider the artisanal aspect of a culture's food. Chu, the professional chef and single father of the film, attempts to strictly adhere to a fresh, meticulous Chinese cuisine for his family. The ritual of Sunday family dinner reiterates the traditions of keeping family together as well as cuisine techique. This evolving culture and cuisine reflects Western intrusion through food, as the youngest daughter Jia-Ning works at a Wendy's fast food restaurant. The experience at the Japanese grocery, with lots of plastic miniature figurines of food and individually packaged and preservative filled products contrasts so greatly with the opening scene of the film where Chu is intimately connected with his craft, skinning the chicken, de-finning the fish, folding the dumplings. Inevitably, reflection of Japanese and Chinese food reiterates a postcolonial condition that Westernized ideals of commodification and preservative use has permeated both cultures food products. The "West" of Europe and America cannot be simply guilty of this, as the first MSG product was engineered in Japan. For now, for the sake of avoiding a headache, I'll stick to freshly prepared foods and skip out on the MSG.

Strip trip!

When my Gram was a young girl in Pittsburgh, she spent alot of time around the produce yards of the Strip District. The Merlina family, consisting of seven brothers, my Gram and her sister Marie and their parents, worked and owned alot of the distribution areas, providing restaurants and homes around the city with a vast array of vegetables and fruits. The strips of distribution buildings haven't changed much since then, but what I have known them as since childhood includes merely new distribution companies.

La Prima Coffee Roasters takes up a space on the strip on Smallman street. As a fieldtrip for the class Producing Food, Producing Difference, I had the opportunity to learn more about the production of coffee. The morning began with a coffee tasting- including one lighter, fruitier, more vibrant roast and a much darker, woodier, nuttier roast. Sam, an associate of La Prima who closely works with the engineering of flavors and marketing, explained that coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world next to oil. While Starbucks, Caribou, Seattle's Best and local coffee houses such as Tazza D'oro, Kiva Han and Jitters dominate the university landscape of Pittsburgh, I never imagined it would be the number two international commodity.

Sam also discussed the flavor and body of coffee in terms of wine. While wine is prominently produced and consumed in first world countries (Champagne from France, Chardonnay from California, Reisling from Germany) coffee is produced between the tropics of cancer and capricorn, primarily where alot of the third world countries are located. This is one significant difference because the politics of coffee span from fair trade practices for farmers and laborers whose product eventually makes it to first world countries. Furthermore, the body of the coffee is described in terms of acidity. This is determined by how long the coffee is roasted for. Light roast coffees have more acidity and a brighter flavor because the oils are still in the bean. Dark roast coffees are literally more roasted/burnt beans that can have a charred or woody flavor. La Prima prefers lighter roasts, as Sam claims the dark roast beans have everything roasted out of them, including flavor.

We had the opportunity to watch the beans being roasted in the two "San Franciscan" machines, which turns out to be a rather mesmerizing process. Particularly the beans are poured into the roaster and spin for approximately 13 minutes. Once then are ready, they trickle out into a tray in the front of the machine, constantly spinning in a circle to cool until they are placed in buckets for distribution.

While the La Prima aspect of our Strip trip was really educational and amazingly scented with the roasting coffee beans, we also visited Enrico's biscotti shop. This is yet another one of my favorite places to buy lisanti (soft cherry walnut biscotti) and shell pastries filled with ricotta cheese and orange zest. The next stop included Reyna foods which sells delicious chicken burritos and non-alcoholic sangria. After stopping at Lotus foods to partake in the nostalgia of sharing leechie fruits with my dad and sisters as well as Pocky and Botan rice candy, we lunched at Chicken Latino, a fairly new Peruvian restaurant. The chicken burrito was served with an amazing cilantro sauce, as well as fried plaintains- the perfect sweet salty end to another Strip trip!

Crap, Corn?

Last evening I trekked out to Eden Hall Farm with Jenn, Amber and Quayla for a film screening of King Corn with the director Aaron Woolf. Before the film we chowed down on salad with lettuce and radishes harvested seconds before eating, along with some delicious local cheese.

The only beverage choice available was Coca Cola. After learning about food systems for the past year, drinking soda, even sparingly, sends me on a guilt trip. I have already given up soda and sweeteners for drinks. This article was single-handedly responsible for causing me to think about the dangers of sweeteners: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/22/060522fa_fact_bilger. Later on this year in Dr. Wardi's World Literature class, the politics of drinking Coca Cola were amplified. In the film "A World Without Water" http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3930199780455728313# I learned that Coca Cola has literally bought the water supplies beneath Rajasthan, India, massively affecting water table levels and putting farmers in peril. Drastic amounts of water have been taken to produce Coca Cola for consumers around the world, so this water is permanently torn from the biosystem and is never replenished. This has been just one journey of knowledge to learn about my own consumption.

Aaron Woolf's film "King Corn" took me on yet another journey of consumer enlightenment. The film is structured in a similar manner to Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, documenting the journey of an acre of corn that best friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis plant and harvest. While this film shocked me on many levels, the most depressing aspect included the instance when Ian and Curt sit in the field, tasting a raw corn cob that "tastes like crap." Essentially, this corn, as a majority of the corn in Iowa, is inedible until it is processed. Contrary to popular perception, American corn is not for consuming whole, but as high fructose corn syrup. It is impossible to escape this entity as it is responsible for satiating our sweet tooth, even if we're unaware. A trip to a supermarket revealed that high fructose corn syrup was in practically everything.

Ian and Curt attempt to make high fructose corn syrup. After cooking their corn kernels for around 18 hours, they proceed to add ingredients including obscure chemicals that have images of a skull and crossbones along with a hand dipped into the liquid that reveals a skeletal hand. Yum! While there are so many other points this movie makes such as the decreased nutritional value of products and the inevitable epidemic of diabetes in America, I really appreciated the film as yet another journey to considering where and how our food comes to the table.

While this film includes political awareness that can instigate action, Aaron does not have a definitive answer of how to cause change. Part of his solution is his Urban Rustic grocery store in Brooklyn. This interesting business venture includes working with local farms to sell produce in season. While many vegetables are frozen to satiate a palate craving a tomato in December, Woolf emphasizes the importance of shifting taste to what makes sense locally (such as winter crops root vegetables celeriac or black radishes). This film on a microcosm affected how Jenn, Quayla, Amber and myself think about consumption. Even if we opt for water over soda, or a salad over McDonald's, effect on the local level matters.