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In an increasingly homogenized food system, chartreuse stands out, both because it has three centuries of history and because it is bizarre. Compounded from a secret blend of hundreds of herbs, sugar, and alcohol, the liquor is sweet, pungent, bitter, and complex. Carthusian monks sworn to vows of silence produce it. Its story is interwoven...
When an alcoholic spirit is aged in a wood barrel, an interesting process takes place. Because wood is porous, over time a small amount of the liquid inside a barrel will pass through the walls and evaporate. This is an extremely slow, but over the course of years the amount adds up. While more water...
I read a recent report about Canadian super pigs with great interest. They sound pretty intimidating — a result of hybridization between wild boar and domestic pigs, these porkers are big and smart enough to survive brutal winters. They build snow forts. They are eerily smart. Their numbers are growing, and they will soon be...
A couple days ago Alanna and I were discussing an interesting difference between diet and exercise. While people certainly have opinions about exercise, there seems to be noticeably less emotion attached to them than their views on diet. Exercise is a tool, while diet is a way of life. I know, I know, I’m saying...
What do you call a farm this is bigger than a factory farm? A mega farm? For years now pork producers in China have been building production units that resemble high rise prison blocks more than anything agricultural. While American factory hog farms average about nine thousands animals each, the Chinese ones can hold hundreds...
I love a good winter winter squash, but I don’t have many go-to recipes other than roasting one or making soup. For kabocha squash, however, neither of these is ideal. What is a kabocha? Developed in Japan, kabocha squash look like little pumpkins, except that they are usually pale to dark green. (I’m also aware...
When it comes to grass fed beef, one major source of confusion is the role of hay. If grass fed cows should only eat grass, what’s this hay stuff? How does it fit in? Luckily, it’s easy to understand once we get our terms straight Like the grass in grass fed beef, hay is actually...
Clarifying a confusing topic On paper it sounds perfect. The chuck is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef out there, which is why it makes such great pot roast or stew. But while a few parts of it are tender enough to eat as steaks, most notably the chuck eye, as a whole...
I sometimes imagine myself a few years in the future, standing in Price Chopper looking at a full display case of lab grown meat. In this vision I am shaking my head skeptically even as I watch people buy pounds of the stuff. “It’s a gimmick,” I mutter. “They must be subsidizing the cost somehow....
In a tragedy that could have been far more tragic, our dog Oban was hit by a truck earlier this month. He was unconscious for five minutes, and he also suffered a deep gash to his chest. Either the head injury or the cut could easily have killed him, but two weeks on he is...