Bubbly, Beautiful (and Foraged) Bounty

Humans began to farm and it was all downhill from there.

Or so would say many foragers like Zaac Chavez who argue that the most environmentally friendly (that is, low-impact) way to eat is not to grow but to find. Agriculture necessarily depletes natural resources; even most organic farming is water intensive, alters animal habitat, and thus, many would argue, exploits the earth.

But it’s all too easy to forget about that in a day and age in which most locavore and environmentally conscious folks are just happy to have any alternative to the factory-farmed, mass-produced nonsense available commercially.

This summer I’ve met many curious and passionate food artisans who present such an alternative. There seems to be something special for them about bringing the delicious and nutritious up from scratch; it’s this quality, I think, that moves artisans to persevere through many botched batches of home brew and less-than-tasty homemade ice cream. At the very least, every recipe that doesn’t quite make it to market reflects an admirable bravery in its creator that makes food artisans different from the rest of us lay people. (Speaking of bold, Jonathan Soma, creator of Brooklyn Brainery, reported earlier this summer at Public Assembly that no amount of mayo can redeem a batch of pulled pork ice cream. So take that as a warning, in case you were thinking of giving it a shot. Author’s note: he should have seen that coming, no doubt.)

With so many creative minds at work, it’s easy to get caught up in all the whimsey and to lose site of the bigger picture. If you believe, as I do, that the work of food artisans can play an important role in transforming the American food system, what makes it so? What are the broader implications of their experiments and market appeal?

Meeting the creators of Brooklyn Soda Works and reading about their many carbonated adventures got me thinking more deeply about artisanal alternatives. Specifically, the couple’s dabbles in foraging for herbs and roots with which to flavor soda reminded me that, for many artisans, producing food is not just an exercise in creativity but a way to feed communities while reducing human impact on the earth.

When I asked about how they come up with so many unconventional flavors such as Grapefruit, Jalapeno & Honey and Cardamom Cream Soda, the artists/chemist duo told me that they are always trying to think outside the box to create the most flavorful sodas possible while using as many local, organic ingredients as they can.

And it was this attitude that inspired Brooklyn Soda Works to get in touch with Evan Strusinski, a professional forager who sells foraged food to restaurants in New York City. Using some of his foraged foods and some of their own, the couple created Japanese Knotweed and Honey Soda, Angelica Soda, and Foraged Rootweed Soda. In all of their foraged flavors, Brooklyn Soda Works allows the natural, potent flavor to shine through. To a pallet accustomed only to hyper-processed sodas with no distinguishable flavor this is apparently a little jarring at first because the flavor is so rich, though I imagine the experience is ultimately empowering. There is a sort of rush that comes from sitting back and letting the Earth provide what she will. In doing so, as I learned from the folks at Brooklyn Soda Works, you might just find a rich an exciting flavor that you might never have discovered otherwise.

And so the food artisans of NYC remind me not of the power of human creativity in discovering new (and age old) ways to make every bite and sip an ecologically sound adventure.

But for now, working chard and playing chard in NYC,

Yona Tali Roberts Golding

Food Warrior

Summer, 2012

NYC

Would you like Tempeh on your Big Mac?

Now here’s a question that I found myself asking recently: what do pickles, those sour and delicious treats that can be found in just about every deli and Subway across the nation, have in common with tempeh, a traditional Indonesian staple made from soy that most Americans have never even heard of (“temphuh?? tiemphey??”).

Quite a lot, actually, as I discovered after visiting Barry’s Tempeh in their tempeh making kitchen in Long Island City and the Pickle Guys in their shop on Essex street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. When I spoke with Barry, David, and Gordon, partners in operating Barry’s Tempeh, they told me about their love of the product. Actually, they pretty much convinced me that this versatile fermented soy product is basically a contemporary equivalent to mana from heaven.

The problem? According to David, not enough Americans have even heard of the stuff. As far as he knows, he and his partners are three of only a handful of artisans in the country making tempeh. This is too bad considering that, according to the crew, tempeh is the most nutritious of all soy products (especially as prepared by Barry, who learned to work with tempeh in a yoga ashram). And though they make tempeh in the traditional way, they also love to use it in nontraditional ways. David listed some of his favorite things to make with tempeh: tempeh tajin, tempeh tamale with smoked tomatillo, tempeh fruit salads, and tempeh curries.

Pickles, on the other hand, are all over the American market and have been for a decades. The Pickle Guys take pride in their traditional pickle recipe. A century or more after pickle shops began opening up in this area, Alan Kaufman, the owner of this pickly operation, is still pickling away using traditional Eastern European recipes (and has been for over 17 years).

Like Barry, David, and Gordon, The Pickle Guys think the world of their product. They explained to me the slow and meticulous process by which artisans produce their pickles. And like the guys at Barry’s Tempeh, the Pickle Guys love to experiment. In their shop I found pickled peppers, mangos, watermelons, tomatoes, carrots, olives,pineapple, and green beans, and turnips colored with beet juice.

Maybe someday the taste of tempeh will be all over the American pallet just like that of the pickle? Maybe the McDonald’s drive-thru workers of the future will ask, “do you want tempeh on the big mac?”

Or not.

(wait, can you get pickles on a Big Mac??)

Either way, workin’ chard and playin’ chard in NYC,

Yona T. Roberts Golding

Food Warrior Intern

Summer, 2012

NYC