Editor’s note: One of the best ways to ensure a supply of local meat is to go whole hog or at least half-a-hog. We know, however, that things do not always work as imagined. Learn from Ron “Ronnie Suburban” Kaplan’s experience described below.
When a friend suggested that we share a locally-raised Berkshire hog and that he would make all the arrangements – including delivering my portion directly to my door – I jumped at the chance. I’ve been dabbling in charcuterie for several years and had become more than eager for such an opportunity. But the idea of approaching a local farmer directly intimidated me, for some irrational reason. Perhaps it was due to the fact that in my job selling ingredients to large-scale food manufacturers, small customers are generally viewed as nuisances. The last thing I wanted to do was become a nuisance myself to some dedicated local farmer who, if not for being inconvenienced by my puny order, could be busy doing far more important work.
In addition to getting some stellar, nearly-legendary meat, I would also be buying locally, which was a nice, added bonus. Supporting the production of local food isn’t always as easy for me as I wish it were. Living in the far northern suburbs of Chicago – with booked-up weekends – and having a full-time, Monday to Friday job, opportunities to buy local don’t always come a’knocking. While I’ve purchased a CSA (community supported agriculture) share and try to buy local whenever I can, many of the best opportunities for locally-produced foodstuffs are just too far off the beaten path for me to enjoy with frequency.
A couple of weeks before the delivery date, the farmer sent me a fairly detailed, multi-page order form, asking me to specify my butchering preferences. Seeing such detailed questions helped set my expectations. In filling out the form, I did my best to communicate my preferences, explaining – in the margins beyond the provided blanks – that I wanted everything as minimally-processed as possible: skin on, bones in, parts whole. A follow-up e-mail from the farmer gave me a reassuring opportunity to answer a few questions pertaining to details about which I wasn’t particularly fluent or articulate.
As I awaited the delivery, I wondered what the outcome would be when I applied my well-tested recipes and methods to such distinctive, high-quality pork. Would the sausages, bacon and pates that I’d made so many times taste different, better? Would the items I’d never made before end up being worth the effort? I certainly hoped so, and as the fateful date approached, I brushed up on my notes and recipes, restocked my supply of casings, curing salts, starter cultures and other supporting ingredients, and made sure that I had plenty of storage room for the bounty that I was about to receive. I knew I’d be getting close to 100 pounds of assorted pig parts and – in the old-world tradition – I planned to work through as much of it as I could on the day it arrived. I had a friend on-call who had agreed to help me. Once the goods showed up, I’d call him and he’d be at my house 30 minutes later to help.
However, the reality was not really close to what I’d expected. So many of my requests to the farmer had gone unfulfilled. First, instead of fresh pork, which the farmer offered to provide, everything was frozen solid (I advised my on-call friend to go enjoy his Saturday). Frozen meat meant, of course, that I’d have to thaw it just to work with it – and keep it frozen until I was ready. Ironically, the one space I didn’t clear out was my freezer, so I immediately had to scramble to do so. As I sorted through the parts, I was repeatedly disappointed by what I encountered.
Both the belly and the ham had been skinned, and the long bone in the ham had been cut off, along with the shank. Since I’d planned on dry-curing the ham, the absence of the skin and the extra section of bone were real blows. And since I hot-smoke my bacon, the missing skin on the bellies would make it more likely that they’d curl up during smoking. The skin generally protects the belly from such peril and also prevents the exterior of the belly from drying out or becoming too hard while smoking.
What I learned after the fact is that the farmer had sent the hog to a processor that was not set up to scald the skin. As such, they completely skinned it instead. Of course, I wish this had been communicated to me by the farmer at some earlier point in the process. All those pages and subsequent questions and still, it wasn’t until after the delivery was made that I learned that some of my basic requests were never even possible. That’s frustrating, to say the least.
But other, more-easily-managed requests were also ignored. The shoulder had also been cut into several small sections, rather than being left intact, as I’d requested. Given the fact that ignoring this particular request actually required more work than honoring it, this was especially perplexing. Instead of being left as a whole slab, spare ribs were curiously cut into almost-useless, 3-rib-mini-slabs. Similarly, country-style ribs were cut as single ribs. No portion of the head or trotters was provided. There was no liver or tripe. I received one kidney, along with portions of the heart and tongue. Hocks, oddly, were split into 3 sections that were left partially attached to each other – again more work than simply leaving it whole, as I’d requested.
On the positive side, the meat was truly delicious. Double-cut pork chops (one request that was honored) were well-marbled, had a nice amount of fat on the outside and were succulent – both on the grill and in the oven. Fresh Italian sausage I made from some of the scraps I received was remarkably flavorful. Bacon turned out very well, too, with only minimal curling. I was also able to render nearly a quart of leaf lard out of the portions of fat that contained it. As for the ham, I decided to give it a go without the skin. After a several day dry-cure in salt, I now have it hanging in netting – since there is no bone from which to hang it – and am hoping for the best.
So, all in all it was a mixed experience. My total cost was just under $270. Even though the yield was significantly smaller than the hanging weight, considering the high quality of the meat – and the chance to support local producers (both farmer and processor) – the cost was completely reasonable. My regular butcher carries very good pork and this Berkshire was no pricier than what he sells. On the other hand, his pork is raised in Iowa, which isn’t much less local than Wisconsin, where our hog was raised. His standard cuts are more recognizable and he fulfills customer requests with a religious-like devotion.
In the end, while I may not have placed a nuisance order, the net result was about the same. I say this because I felt like it was not a natural or easy fit between myself and the providers. The large gaps between us left me feeling less than satisfied with the experience, and made me feel that my needs simply could not be met. I’m certain that in order to make this supply line eventually work, I’ll have to make some adjustments. But I’m equally sure that if local providers truly hope to reach the full capacity of their potential market, they’ll have to do the same.
I haven’t given up, though, and will go at this again very soon. Next time around, however, I plan to research and question the processor much more thoroughly. And even if it means purchasing the hog and hiring the processor separately, that’s what I’ll do. I’ve already obtained a few promising leads from friends who’ve been down this path, so I’m hopeful that I can get what I want out of future transactions. For those who are content buying their meat from unknown sources at the grocery, all this must seem beyond ridiculous. But for those who share my passion for food and cooking – and who desire the very best ingredients available – this is what we do, and the extra steps are not a burden but actually a labor of love.
Just wanted to provide some updated info since my story is running this story again. This winter the hens stayed in their coop. They did not move to the greenhouse. I always worried about the impact of the temperature fluctuations in the greenhouse. On a sunny day, it can get pretty warm in there. They were fine in their coop. I did use a 60 watt light bulb during the day because my coop is very dark. My hens do not like to go about in the snow, and so they spent much of their time in their coop. Also, on really cold days, and we had quite a few this winter, I did not even open their door. The light bulb helped to keep water from freezing on milder winter days. I also have a 250 watt red heat lamp bulb purchased at a local hardware store with a special light fixture designed for high wattage. I used it on single digit nights. I am not saying this is the right thing to do. Most people will tell you it is not necessary. I only have two birds and my coop is not well insulated so I worry. 5 birds can provide group warmth. Two birds face more of a challenge when it is near 0. Some people say it is dangerous to use a heat lamp due to the possibility of fire. I double check that the light is secure before I turn it on and sleep fitfully. By the way, any light used at night must be red. White light disturbs their sleep patterns and they get cranky. Every coop, every site, every owner and every breed of chicken is slightly different. Ask around and find a winter method that will work for you. I have a friend whose coop is in her garage with outside access through a window. I think that is a great set-up for winter although I imagine heat is a problem in the summer. I suppose the best method is to really research coop design and plan for great insulation.
Also, two new local resources I discovered this winter…
Backyard Chicken Run is the first. John Emrich will make home deliveries of organic chicken supplies.
Secondly, Jen Murtoff runs Home To Roost, an urban chicken consulting service. Jen is not a vet, but she is very knowledgeable and can help in many ways. j.murtoff@sbcglobal.net. She has experience with many breeds of fowl and that can be tricky to find in Chicago without spending a fortune.
Paul Kahan is one of our favorite restaurateurs. We think his Blackbird offers one of the best values in better dining, and if you think dinner is a good deal, try lunch. It’s not that we are stalking him with the Local Calendar. It’s just that he’s around. He was around last week at FamilyFarmed Expo talking whole animal and admitting to some problems making mayo. This week he’s making soup for the penultimate Soup and Bread event at the Hideout. Tonight’s Hideout event benefits Inspiration Cafe, a place we like even more than Blackbird.
Like we say, we like Blackbird. And we like deals. And we like pretty much all of these places. You have an outstanding opportunuity get to sample places like Blackbird, Vie, Mado , Prarie Fire (pretty much a who’s who of Local Beet fav’s) during Chicago Chef’s Week starting next Monday.
It’s not all fancy-schmancy though. Blackbird is a long way away if you live in a food dessert. Learn about the issue of food deserts and how to survive on supermarket fare on Thursday with Mari Gallagher and Phil Lempert at the Save-a-lot, 7240 Stony Island Ave, 11 AM – 6PM.
There’s a whole bunch besides Paul on our Local Calendar below. Please let us know what’s missing (and expect updates during the course of the week).
WHAT TO BUY NOW
Very limited supplies of local food left to purchase this time of year. Look, and you will find apples and potatoes. I recently spied three varieties of Michigan apples at Angelo Caputo’s in Elmwood Park. There are intermittent supplies of local greens (rocket, chard, lettuces). Eat local sprouts and mircogreens.
This is truly the time for canned, dried and frozen items. Tomato Mountain and River Valley Ranch are good sources.
As we noted last week, just because there is barely any local produce, it does not mean that there are not lots of other local foods to get from all our great cheeses, to meats, grains, beans, nuts, milk, eggs, etc. There’s even local tofu at some markets.
Let us know what other local goods you are still seeing for sale.
WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS
These stores specialize in local foods:
WHAT TO DO
MARKETS AND EVENTS THIS WEEK
Wednesday - March 17
Check out Paul Kahan and the rest of the crew at the Hideout for Soup and Bread – 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago – 530 – 8 PM
Wisconsin vs. the World – Cheese Contest - Monona Terrace – Madison, Wisconsin 6-8 PM
Thursday - March 18
Crawford Farm dinner at Vie – 4471 Lawn Ave, Western Springs, IL
Meet the folks behind Harvest Moon Farms and learn about their CSA – Lush Wine and Spirits (Roscoe Village) – 2232 W. , Chicago – 6 – 8 PM
Green Acres Cook Off and Bell’s Brewery Tasting – Green Grocer Chicago – Green Acres Farm is coming upstate to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with Bell’s Brewery! Self-titled Mid-Life-Farm-Wife, Donna O’Shaugnessey, will be leaving her hormone-free, pasture raised friends in Frankfurt for the night to pan sear some sliders and stir fry some pork. Pair all of that with a dark glass of porter or stout, and your eyes will be smiling Irish heritage or not! Never in all the four counties has eating ethically tasted so good! Slainte! Whet your appetite, and check out Donna’s blog. – 1402 W. Grand, Chicago – 5 PM
GreenTown: The Future of Community Main Conference – College of Lake County – 19351 W. Washington St., Building C – Lower Level, Grayslake, IL – 7 AM to 6 PM – See here for details
New! – Get shopping tips with with Mari Gallagher and Phil Lempert at the Save-a-lot, 7240 Stony Island Ave, Chicago -11 AM – 6PM.
New! – Screening of Fresh and discussion with Greg Cristian on sustainable food practices. – Loyola Information Commons, 6501 N. Kenmore Ave, Chicago - 5 PM
Saturday – March 20
Ebenezer Luthern Church – 1650, W. Foster, Chicago – 9 AM – 1 PM
Empty Bottle Farmer’s Market – 1035 N. Western – 12 – 5 PM
Purple Asparagus Family Dinner – at Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen, from 2:30-5:00 PM
Celebrate National Corndog Day with Gus at Weiner and Still Champion - 802 Demptster, Evanston
Maple Syrup Festival – North Park Village Nature Center. 5801 N Pulaski Rd (between Bryn Mawr and Peterson Aves)
Sunday – March 21
Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin – 39W830 Highland, Elgin – 1 – 3 PM
Logan Square Farmer’s Market – Congress Theater 2135 N. Milwaukee, Chicago 10 AM – 2 PM
Maple Syrup Festival – North Park Village Nature Center. 5801 N Pulaski Rd (between Bryn Mawr and Peterson Aves)
Monday - March 22
Pig Butchering class at Mado – 1230 PM – 1647 N. Milwaukee, Chicago
Tuesday - March 23
New! Farm Forum sponsor by the Geneva Green Market – First Congregational Church of Geneva, 321 Hamilton Street Geneva, IL – 830 AM – 1 PM
MARKETS AND EVENTS COMING
Wednesday - March 24
Culinary Conversations with Food Women – In celebration of Women’s History Month, Judith Dunbar-Hines will lead a lively conversation with five women who own and operate Chicago area food businesses to learn about their journey in establishing, operating and marketing their successful local food businesses. Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand will remain open until 8pm to accommodate post-event shoppers! Scheduled participants include: Nicole Bergere, Nicole’s Crackers; Jessica Volpe, Pasta Puttana; Jenny Yang, Phoenix Tofu; Meg Dhamer, Pigtales Twist; and Elizabeth Madden, Rare Bird. – Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand – 66 E. Randolph, Chicago – 6 – 8 PM - Call 312.742.TIXS (8497) for reservations or click here to register online.
Friday - March 26
Tiny Mahler Orchestra performs La Bonne Chanson” at 73o in Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston on the Northwestern University campus. Expect some neat food.
Saturday – March 27
Chicago Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m (Directions) – The theme is still Greens, Eggs, and Ham (we think).
Portage Park – Irving Park and Central, Chicago - 10 – 2 PM
Sunday - March 28
Winter Farmers Market at North Shore Unitarian Church, Deerfield - 21oo Half Day Road, Deerfield, IL – 10 AM – 2 PM
Logan Square Farmer’s Market – Congress Theater 2135 N. Milwaukee, Chicago 10 AM – 2 PM
SOLD OUT! – Choucroute Garnie Alscatian stuffing at Mado – 1647 N. Milwaukee, Chicago – 6 PM
Tiny Mahler Orchestra performs La Bonne Chanson” at 7:30 pm at the Heaven Gallery, 1550 North Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd floor. Expect some neat food.
Saturday - April 10
Chicago Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m (Directions) – The theme is Cheese
Winter Farmer’s Market, Chicago/Beverly – Beverly Unitarian Church (the Castle) – 10244 S Longwood Ave, Chicago – 9 AM – 1 PM
SOLD OUT! – BaconFest Chicago – Chef’s participating here – Ticket info here.
Tuesday - April 13
Geneva Green Market, NFP Green Chatter Matters – Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan – Inglenook Pantry, 11 North Fifth St, Geneva IL – 7 pm
Tuesday – April 20
City Provisions Supper Club – Earth Day Dinner
Thursday- April 22
Go Green Day Management Earth Day – Flair Tower – 720 N. Franklin, Chicago
Saturday – April 24
Chicago Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m (Directions) – The theme is Cheese.
Portage Park – Irving Park and Central, Chicago - 10 – 2 PM
Mark is leading one of his exciting and paradigm-shifting permaculture design courses this coming April at Riveredge Nature Center, just north of Milwaukee, WI. See the details and sign up at: http://www.riveredge.us/default.aspx?id=163
The “Woodland Harvest” project at Riveredge, which Mark has designed, will be the classroom for this course. This project is a unique design on approximately 10 acres illustrating sensible, sustainable principles relevant to any scale. See more at: http://www.riveredge.us/default.aspx?id=231. Wellspring Farm, one of Wisconsin’s longest-running CSAs, is adjacent to the property and also forms a backdrop for the course.
About the Course:
With the use of 5 webinar classes, students will begin their course from home during the weeks prior to their week long intensive training. These evening web-based classes taught by Mark Shepard held on March 28 & 31, and April 7, 11, and 14th will prepare the student for their week long educational experience into permaculture design principles. Each webinar class will last approximately two hours starting at 6:30 PM. This will provide 10 hours of instruction even before you set foot in Riveredge. The remaining 62 hours will be covered in the students’ seven days on site. This means that you will be able to receive your full certification training in one week rather than two.
As knowledgeable as Mark is, we know that the average student cannot sit in class for seven straight days, 8 ½ hours a day, and absorb everything (even if they could stay awake). Therefore, we will do our best to break up the days with hands-on activities and different aspects of permaculture design.
Dates
Webinars: March 25 & 31 and April 7, 11 & 14 from 6:30-8:30pm (required)
Class: Saturday, April 17 – Friday, April 23 from 8:30am-4:30pm
Fees
Before April 1st: $995 for 72 hour course (Includes a light lunch and snack. Lodging extra.)
After April 1st: $1,100 for 72 hour course (Includes a light lunch and snack. Lodging extra.)
Where
Riveredge Nature Center
4458 W. Hawthorne Rd.
P.O. Box 26
Newburg, WI 53060-0026
Questions? Call 800-287-8098
After listening to men in suits discuss financing options at the Family Farmed Expo Financing Farm to Fork Fair, hearing Brenda Palms Barber rhapsodize about bees and ex-felons was a breath of fresh air. Her not-for-profit company, Sweet Beginnings, trains ex-cons to tend the some of the least-beloved insects in the animal kingdom. For those of us in the know, however, bees are a foundation of much of our agricultural economy. And in the North Lawndale neighborhood where they buzz about their business making Beeline honey and cosmetics, they work with their human partners to provide jobs for those with criminal histories who have faced an even tougher time finding jobs in a post 9/11 world of stricter background screening.
As one of several “Urban Success Stories,” CEO Palms Barber is a dynamic and inspiring woman to observe. As she described how she’s used honey to reduce recidivism (in an area where more than half the released criminals return to prison, her program’s rate is in the single digits!), the notion of bringing the farm into the city seemed plausible.
Next to her sat Harry Rhodes of Growing Home, which operates two certified organic farms in Chicago. Growing Home trains and employs homeless people to raise crops, subsequently helping ease the food deserts that plague major regions of Chicago and other cities. By replacing what many Chicago residents consider local food (inexpensive junk food or fast food found nearby) with healthy produce, Growing Home may also impact the malnutrition- and obesity-related health problems that plague many inner-city minorities.
The term food desert is misleading. Certainly there is “food” available in these areas. What the term means is that inexpensive and healthy food is hard to find for many people. Too, poor nutrition/cooking knowledge among residents of deserts combined with little economic incentive for fresh produce vendors to sell in the area provide the one-two punch that drives desert inhabitants to eat food that is bad for them.
The term itself was popularized by Mari Gallagher. At the seminar, she elaborated on her consulting firm’s research showing causality between the distance a neighborhood sits from healthy, affordable food and the rates of nutrition-related disease. Some of us are lucky enough to be able to walk to a weekly farmers’ market. But as I sat in the audience listening to Mari, I considered how much time is the longest I would want to drive to buy fresh produce. 30 minutes? 45 minutes? At what point do I not bother any more? What if I had to take a bus and haul grocery bags on public transportation? What if it was late at night? I can appreciate that placating whiny children with a burger and fries or pizza can quickly become the simplest solution.
I’m fortunate that I don’t personally have to worry about it. But listening to these speakers talk got me thinking about the economics of healthy food. It’s been pointed out that our malnutrition and starvation problems are because we can’t get the food to where it need to go, as opposed to just not growing enough. Since our nation built canals and railroads two centuries ago to move crops from farms to cities, the (oversimplified) assumption has been that cities are for working and living and the country is for growing.
Growing Home and Sweet Beginnings need not be self-supporting to be successful. Their missions are to help those in need and support their communities. Can a farmer profitably grow crops in the city or suburbs? Most farms depend on mechanization and economies of scale combined with inexpensive labor to eke out a profit selling food.
In my next article, I’ll discuss the economics that rural organic farmers face, especially when urban boundaries sprawl outwards and drive real estate prices higher than crop prices can justify.
Freezing, canning, drying, pickling, and cellaring are all methods for making plentiful local foods last through the hard fall and winter months. Eating locally does not need to be a hobby during market season. Preserve and store so you can eat locally all year long. The reasons for eating local do not diminish with the temperature.
There are simple ways to make the harvest last, like throwing some food in the freezer. There are also complicated ways to preserve summer’s bounty (have you ever tried canning tomatoes?). Some methods take investment and space, like buying a spare freezer. Other methods require ingenuity, like finding a cold spot for a root cellar. In this article we’ll introduce the concepts, techniques and issues related to food preservation and storage. Look forward to future features on these topics as well as blog posts and forum discussions. We look forward to your questions and comments, and we want you to share your experiences.
Mother Nature does not fool around with Chicago. The calendar flips a page, the weather flips a switch. Oppressive humidity leaves while clouds and rain move in. The end of the summer is harvest time, the peak of local food supplies. As consumers, we can find local food as accessible and as affordable as it will be all year in mid September. Likewise, the farmer’s markets are so full you cannot eat all that is there. As harvest time ends, we enter an extended period, from November through to May, where the Chicago-based locavore will need to draw upon storage in order to stay local. You’re at an advantage if you can do something with the seasonal bounty to make it last throughout the colder months.
Preservation and storage need not begin at harvest time. Peas, broccoli, blueberries, available mid-summer, freeze well. Nevertheless, the bulk of saving starts as summer ends. Local is more accessible and affordable during peak times. Take advantage of the $16 bushel of tomatoes. It is also at this time of year that the best keeping crops, the apples and potatoes and onions meant for the long-term, come into the markets. Plus, you probably don’t have a cool spot in your house the middle of summer. Thus, now is the time to focus on preservation and storage.
Good storage and preservation begins with the right produce. Certain varieties of fruits and vegetables are bred for storage. In addition, potatoes and onions need to be “cured” to enable them to last. Ensure you start with the right stuff. Summer apples like Lodi and Transparents are not meant to keep (unless made into sauce), while colder-weather apples like Rome Beauties or Granny Smiths store very well. Likewise, some tomatoes, especially the plum types, are better for canning. Talk to your farmer about storage. Ask them about which apples, pears and onions are best for storing and preserving. No one knows what foods keep in storage better than the person growing them.
There are several methods to preserve and store the harvest. Different methods work best for different types of foods and different methods produce different kinds of dishes. A pickled green bean is very different from a frozen green bean. Don’t pickle everything unless that’s what you want to be eating.
Some methods require specialized equipment, skills, space, or simply an investment of time. The desire to freeze is tempered only by the amount of freezer space you own. The desire to can is often tempered by free time.
Food can last two ways: It can be kept at the right temperature and humidity to slow it from spoiling or it can be treated in a way to eliminate the bacteria that cause spoilage. Listed below are the most common methods of food preservation and storage.
The US Department of Agriculture sums up freezing with this statement, “You can freeze almost any food.” They also add that freezing works because “freezing to 0 F inactivates any microbes–bacteria, yeasts and molds–present”. Finally, the USDA notes that freezing “prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and food borne illness.” Not only does freezing work, it is easy. After minimal processing, the freezer does all the work. On top of all that, vegetables frozen at the peak of their freshness have more nutrients than many vegetables on the grocer’s shelves in Winter.
Freezing keeps fruits and vegetables closer to fresh than through canning. Compare a canned green bean to a properly frozen green bean and you will taste a difference. While any fruit or vegetable can be frozen, the best vegetables to freeze are those that are eaten cooked. Vegetables eaten raw like cucumbers and lettuces are not good candidates for freezing, although you can freeze something like a cucumber after juicing it. A few vegetables like onions and potatoes are better stored than frozen. The rule here would be, if you can store in a cellar (so to speak), store it there. On the other hand, there are certain vegetables that are especially suited to freezing including peas, sweet corn and various beans. Corn frozen immediately is generally going to taste fresher and sweeter than corn left around for days. Most fruits freeze well too.
Freezing is an excellent tool for preservation but for one key fact, it requires freezer space and electricity. The ability to freeze much depends on the ability to invest in freezer capacity, and just as important, having space for freezer capacity. Room for a freezer may be especially limited for apartment dwellers. The good news, freezers themselves are not exorbitant. Chest style freezers can be had for less than $300 and full size freezers can be had for less that $500 based on a recent visit to Sears.com. Energy-effiicent models will not introduce a significant increase to your energy bill.
Freezing vegetables require one small bit of preparation. Vegetables must be blanched, a process of quickly boiling and then cooling the vegetables. Blanching deactivates enzymes in vegetables that cause vegetables to mature, i.e., get tough or otherwise have off-flavors. (Instead of blanching, vegetables may also be briefly nuked in your microwave.) Fruits do not need to be blanched, but can be packed by themselves: “dry pack” or in a sugar syrup. Packing in syrup may lessen freezer burn, but it is not necessary. Fruits can be frozen with their skin on, even whole. Two good rules to follow when freezing anything : 1)spread items on trays to initially freeze; the flow of cold air over the food will enable the items to freeze faster and prevent them from freezing in blocks. 2) do not put hot foods straight in the freezer, such as just blanched veg; this will warm up your freezer.
Do not forget that another way to store items in the freezer is to convert them to ice creams, sorbets and ices. It is not much work to make a watermelon granita. This can provide nearly the experience of eating watermelon long after summer ends.
Other freezing resources:
Cold storage, whether in true root cellars or not, is the another way to store food. We use “cold storage” as a catch-all phrase to cover foods that can last with decent care and not much else. Cold storage may seem the easiest step of all as no processing is required–in fact many foods for storage, like onions and potatoes, are processed or “cured” for storage by the farmer. The apparent drawback to cold storage, obviously is: who the hell has a root cellar these days? There are ways around that, and besides, there are some items that do not need real cool conditions to last. Food can last a surprisingly long time with good storage habits.
There are two classes of foods that can be stored. First, there are foods that need a cold setting (ideally between 32 and 40 F) and moist environment to stay vital. Then, their are foods that need a dry environment and generally should be kept around 50 F (or higher). Onions, garlic and winter, or hard squash, fall into the latter category. They need to be kept dry. Onions should also be kept dark to prevent sprouting. Fruits and vegetables to be stored the other way, the cold way, include most root vegetables (turnips, rutabagas, carrots, parsnips, horseradish, beets, etc.); cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, sunchokes, apples, celery and grapes. As discussed, make sure to choose the right types of apples and potatoes for storage. If in doubt ask the farmer. Many sources suggest wrapping tomatoes in newspaper for storage. Also, items like celery and grapes will last a long time in good cold conditions, but taken up a few degrees will quickly fade. Other items, like apples and potatoes have more wiggle-room when it comes to conditions.
Finding storage for onions and squash is easy because they do not require cool air. Most homes in the North are plenty dry for these things. It’s the other fruits and veg that are harder to store. The first step to home storage is to identify a place or a way to keep food in that 32 to 40 range. The obvious location that stays in that range is a refrigerator, an excellent tool for long term storage. There may be other places in your house or apartment. An un-heated attic works very well. Food can also be placed in containers just outside the house such as in a window well, the stairs leading to a basement or an apartment porch. The residual heat of the house is usually enough to keep food from freezing, but if food is kept in containers, it can also be moved inside on truly cold days. A little ingenuity can find the cool spot.
A cool spot works only so well. The other critical step to keeping foods edible is to keep them moist. Traditional root cellars were dank. Modern takes on root cellars need the dankness added. This can be done by keeping pans of water in your improvised cellar, using wet burlap, or by placing the items in sand. Items kept in the refrigerator are especially vulnerable to dry conditions.
If there is one step to cold storage it is to visit your food. The best storage methods will not protect all. An apple here, a potato there, will spoil, and as the cliche knows, one bad apple will spoil the whole bunch. It important to keep a vigilant eye on the food put-away in cold storage.
Cold storage resources:
Canning is the antithesis of freezing. It requires a significant amount work. Foods for canning must be chopped and peeled and stemmed and seeded. Before getting to canning, recipes must be followed, food prepared. Then, there is the work creating a good and clean environment. Jars must be sterilized. It seems scary and mysterious. Those recipes have to be followed or canning can produce un-wanted results. Canning, however, also allows for storage without the investment and space of a freezer. A few items like tomatoes may come out better canned than froze. Canning also allows the Chef to extend their harvest with all sorts of pickles, relishes, chutneys, jams and jellies. These foods add variety and vigor to a bland winter diet.
Food can be stored in cans (glass jars) because of steps taken to inhibit bacteria growth and steps taken to seal food off from all the bad things floating unseen in the air. There are two ways of canning: hot water canning and pressure canning.
Bacteria growth can be inhibited by the acids in foods or by introducing acids such as the vinegar in pickling solutions. In high acid situations, a hot water can is enough. When foods are low in acid, typically most vegetables, something else is needed to control bacteria: heat. The pressure in a pressure-canner makes water boil at a temperature over 212 F. This higher temperature kills bacteria. After this, proper use of hot water or pressure-canners will produce sealed jars. What started safe will remain safe.
Canning resources:
Drying allows food to last by making it harder for bacteria to prosper. Bacteria needs water. Dried foods are not fully safe from spoilage. After drying it might still be necessary to freeze or seal the foods or at least kept in good storage conditions. Good candidates for drying are tomatoes, plums, and hot peppers. Many herbs can be dried for future use.
Home drying can be done with a dehydrator, a microwave or an oven. Like canning, dried foods, at least some dried foods, need some work before the actual preservation. Dried tomatoes should be cored and halved, although opinions differ on the need to seed tomatoes when drying. Fruits need to be pitted. Fruit leathers take more work.
Drying resources:
Canners and freezers are wonders of modern innovation. Traditionally, many foods were preserved through fermentation. Fermentation flips the principles already discussed on their head. Canning, drying and freezing thwart microorganisms. Fermentation fosters them. Good bacteria’s and yeasts that can make food last. Fermentation is used to create products like pickles, kimchi and sauerkraut. Still, once fermented, products are often then processed, via canning or freezing, for additional storage.
Like fermentation, there are other ways to prolong food life without fully preserving it. In other words, if you pickle or jam, the new food will last a good long time in the refrigerator, but it will not last outside the fridge, let alone forever in the fridge. There are traditional cooked dishes that also serve to semi-preserve foods. For instance, the Sicilian caponata mixes eggplants and other summer vegetables in a sweet-sour-salty recipe that can be used in various ways on the table. Pestos, combining herbs, nuts and cheeses, are another way of making things last.
Other ancient methods for preserving foods used oils or vinegars. Oil makes a decent barrier to spoilage. In older times, meat was often preserved under fat. Now, we can keep roasted peppers or dried tomatoes around for longer periods by keeping them in oil. Flavored oils and vinegars may not keep a food, but they will keep the essence of a food. Likewise, fruits can be kept in alcohol. The most treasured method of saving fruit is to juice it and then make that juice last by making wine.
There are many ways to preserve the bounty of the harvest. Which way you chose will depend on what you want to preserve as well as the ways you have to save it. The more you eat local, the more you are going to want to eat local after the harvest ends. Over time, you will find preservation methods that work for you. You will invariably learn new ones. It is impossible to know how much to store and preserve without living through a Fall, Winter, and Spring with limited fresh foods. Try. Try using the methods discussed here. The reasons that have you eating local now, should have you eating local then. So give it a try.
Robert Gardner is Editor at Large for the Localbeet.com. Melissa Graham is the President and founder of Purple Asparagus and blogs at having-company.blogspot.com.
This week’s culling of eat local links centers on the recently held FamilyFarmed Expo held in Chicago.
No one more diligently captured the comings and goings at the Expo than Tammy and Bridget of Chicago Bites. Here’s their report on Consumer Day. For a more detailed account, see their Twitter feed. They also rounded up all of the various on-site Twitter-ers, so you can re-live the Expo in bursts of 140 characters.
Martha Bayne, who always makes us pine for Washington Island went all new media with the Expo. Go to her blog to start and then follow the links from there.
Piecing together tweets and live blogs only gets you so far, and Chicagoist has some photos too. Organic Nation also posted some pics to a Flickr account.
Xan did not leave the Expo convinced.
And Owl and Bunny posts some related links (thanks for including us) and promises more.
Update: A volunteer reports back.
So, when the Owl hoots, we’ll update. We’ll also update as we find other Family Farmed Expo links. We had a blast, and we hope you get a little Internet thrill reading about it.
Today is the last day to submit written testimony to the Illinois Department of Public Healthy on the Obesity Prevention Initiative Act.
Those wishing to participate in these hearings may sign in to testify at each location. Please limit oral testimony to three (3) minutes. Please provide a written copy of your testimony.
If you choose to submit testimony, the IDPH has asked that you consider the following questions:
* What are examples of effective programs and interventions to address obesity?
* What policy, program, and coordination solutions exist to address the obesity epidemic in Illinois?
* How can Illinois work more effectively to combat obesity?
Please send your testimony to DPH.MAILUS@illinois.gov with “Obesity Initiative” in the subject line. The deadline for written testimony is March 15, 2010.
The following is my letter written on behalf of Purple Asparagus.
March 15, 2010
VIA EMAIL
Illinois Department of Public Health
Re: Obesity Initiative
Having attended the public hearing in Chicago on the Obesity Prevention Initiative Act, the panel has clearly been inundated with statistics about the obesity problem that plagues our city and our state. Attendees offered many cogent and insightful solutions for this persistent and devastating health crisis ranging from training health professionals to stage interventions to increasing physical activity opportunities for all Illinois residents. What was conspicuously absent were ideas for increasing access to fresh local produce.
Purple Asparagus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to bringing families back to the table by promoting all things associated with good eating. For the past five years, we have provided nutritional education in schools, at community centers, farmers’ markets, and health fairs in which we teach children and families how to incorporate fresh and seasonal produce into their diets in a joyful way.
In our experience, the parents who attend our workshops do not lack the will to combat the obesity problem that plagues their communities and families. No, instead, they lack the resources, both the money and the access to fresh, local foods.
We strongly feel that a good portion of any funding in an anti-obesity campaign should be provided to initiatives intended to increase access to good, fresh, and local food in the food deserts that are far too prevalent in our city and state. To do this, we recommend the following community based solutions:
• Replicating New York City’s Green Cart program where mobile food vendors are provided licenses to sell as long as they do so in identified food deserts, preferably ones in which the vendors reside.
• Replicating the Wholesome Wave’s double value program for farmers’ markets that has turned out to be such a resounding success at the 61st Street Farmers’ Market.
• Creating non-profit food incubators in underserved communities to develop food entrepreneurs from within the communities themselves. To correspond with this initiative, the Department of Public Health should work with Business Licensing to ensure that the regulations governing these incubators are clear.
By increasing access to good, fresh, and local foods, while increasing physical activity and nutritional education, our communities will make great strides to combating the pernicious scourge of childhood obesity.
Very truly yours,
Melissa Graham
President/Founder
Purple Asparagus
Recently, I wrote about how rewarding it can be to drink local wine when I participated in Black Star Farms’ virtual tasting. For that event, I ordered wine from Black Star Farms’ website and had it delivered to my home. But is it just as easy to find great local wine if you walk into a Chicagoland store and buy it off the shelf? I will attempt to answer that question. First, I will source a sampling of local wine sold retail in Chicagoland. Then, I will taste these wines with Drew Goss, wine guru at West Town Tavern, and report back to you. In other words, we’ll find and taste the wine for you – so you know exactly what to buy. Sound good? Stay tuned for the results of our tasting.
My lonsman at the Oak Park Temple have an in with the Logan Square Farmer’s Market. This year some of the folks at OPT (not me even) thought, how could we make our forthcoming sedars for the Passover holiday more local. They realized that a lot could be had from the Logan Square Market including bitter herbs, eggs, and lamb shanks. Oddly enough, as most horseradish is grown in Illinois, there is none of the tear inducer to be had. There will be volunteers from Oak Park Temple at the market the next two weeks helping shoppers make their sedars as local as possible. I specifically will be the volunteer this Sunday from around 1230 until the market wraps up. I’m there not just to help you make your sedar more local but to help you live your life more local. Stop by. Bring questions. Meet. And make all your meals, not just your holiday meals as local as possible.
Logan Square Farmer’s Market – Congress Theater 2135 N. Milwaukee, Chicago 10 AM – 2 PM
Meet the Beet at the Logan Square Farmer’s Market is just one of many, many eat local activities this weekend. The Local Beet will be at the FamilyFarmed Expo and Chicago Food Policy Council Summit all day Friday (with hopefully some live blogging). Tonight, we will be enjoying Localicious. Saturday, myself and Melissa Graham are speaking. Green City Market goes on Saturday. And then also on Sunday, the Market Watch’s Robin Schirmer throws another winter farmer’s market. Don’t show up at the wrong place. Our very full Local Calendar can be found here.
I just returned from FamilyFarmed.org at the UIC forum a few hours ago. Sadly, I’m home way too early, but I have commitments tonight and was unable to stay for the third session, the networking reception or the closing session.
This was one of those conferences where I would have preferred to be in three places at once. Besides the celebrity appearances (Bill Kurtis hawking his grass-fed beef, Brenda Palms Barber discussing Chicago-made honey, Marc Shulman talking about Eli’s Cheesecake), the halls were filled with people of all walks interested in starting a food- or farm-related company, and investors and consultants with ideas on how they can help these people launch their businesses. One track of sessions focussed on farming and food businesses as a community venture, another one on the food business and a third on farming and how farmers can obtain capital.
Some of my long-standing questions on how anyone can afford to get a farm off the ground were answered. More than ever, it was made obvious to me that a good farmer must be a good businessman (or woman) as much as a caretaker of the land and livestock. “All farmers are managers of change,” said one of the speakers. Whether they manage the change in public taste from conventional to organic to local to seasonal foods, or the natural change from seed to seedling to plant to produce, farmers do not work in a static environment. A slow one, perhaps, but not one that stands still. And in order to make a living, they have to be acutely aware of costs, funding sources and risk. I’ll be writing more on this subject soon.
Alicia Ontiveros hosts a Monday night (8 p.m.) chat on ecology called, appropriately, EcoChat (www.ecochicago.blogspot.com). For her inaugural show using a chat/video conference tool called Vokle, she invited Jim Slama, of FamilyFarmed.org to speak about the conference (taking place today, tomorrow and Saturday), as well as other farmers (conventional and otherwise) and an audience of chatters who were largely polite, despite the fact that there was a mix of gung-ho big Agra representatives as well as slow foodies and organic food fans.
My role was to help moderate the chat, although there was little for me to do. I approved a few questions and tried rallying the audience into asking more. Unfortunately, I think we were bedeviled with technical issues. We lost Jim 20 minutes into the program and Alicia was unable to bring him back. Another speaker was unable to get her video working, although her audio was fine. And the chat room, well, was as chaotic as a chat room can be. Although there was no swearing, slamming or scamming going on, there were a couple civil conversations transpiring on top of one another, making it extremely difficult to follow the thread of any single line of reasoning.
It was terrific having so many experts and interested parties in the same virtual room talking about organic vs. conventional farming in a polite, rational manner. I think once the computer/networking kinks are worked out it’s going to be an even better show. I found myself wishing there was a chat room tool that allowed a person or two (or three) to maybe color code their conversation so that if their sentences were interrupted by 10 other people talking about something else, it would still be easy to follow their dialog visually.
What I was most pleased about was the fact that the entire conversation was calm and cordial. Although there were several strong advocates for “factory farming” techniques in the crowd, those who disagreed with them did not do so in an angry manner, and there was no contempt apparent from either side against the other.
I wish Alicia all the best in this new venture and look forward to following many more EcoChats in the future.
Several committee members of the Morton Grove Farmers’ Market met yesterday at the parking lot at 8930 Waukegan road to visualize how the Market would be set up starting May 29. At first, we had planned to park the trucks and the stands in rows to kind of guide shoppers down the aisle. The endcap of each aisle would be a community table with some sort of entertainment or educational focus. As we gauged the space, though, it made more sense to park the trucks in a large square, with the stands on the inside. More like an Italian piazza, we felt this arrangement would offer more of a sense of community. Shoppers can spot each other across the square, the musical entertainment can be heard by everybody, and, once inside the Market square, the interior space would be well defined. It would also be more spacious and protect patrons from drivers in the parking lot better.
Although there was still snow on the ground covering up some of the parking spaces we will soon occupy, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the logistics and anticipate what issues might arise. With the snow still there, however, opening day still seems safely in the future. I know that’s just part denial/part illusion. In truth, there are still many decisions that need to be made in advance of the Grand Opening at 10 a.m. on May 29.
Still, one happy milestone is that our first vendor video has been posted. To demonstrate to our patrons that all our vendors either grow or process their food on their property, we plan to make a short video of each vendor at their farm, factory or bakery showing that they do indeed do what they say they do where they say they do it.
We’re looking for ways to make our market unique and set us apart from the surrounding suburbs, many of whom already host excellent markets. Posting the videos is one way we hope to entice visitors. The other way is by offering a drawing every week for a basket filled with either a local business gift certificate or fresh produce from the vendors. We’ve already received a number of drawing slips from patrons of Kappy’s, a restaurant at Harlem and Dempster in Morton Grove, who has generously offered to donate 10 percent of their patrons’ bills each Wednesday night in March if the patron mentions the Market to the cashier. Again, the level of generosity by Morton Grove businesses in these tough economic times has been heartwarming and encouraging. All of us on the committee have been motivated by the level of cooperation we’ve received from civic and private organizations.
If you manage a market or want to start one, come early, come often to the FamilyFarmed EXPO! On Friday, March 12, as part of the Food Policy Summit, I’ll be joining experienced market managers Dennis Ryan (61st Street Market) and Karen Stark (Geneva Green Market) for a 10am to 11:30pm breakout session titled, Food Access/Farmers Markets: Best Practices for Growing Community Markets, and billed as:
An interactive conversation covering all aspects of a successful farmers market, from the initial planning phase to a sustainable market place, which benefits your community, and the farmers and food artisans who sell at the market. Topics will include:
Dennis, Karen, and I come from different farmers market models and hope to have some insights to share with you. But consider the enumerated topics a starting point—the real agenda will be driven by you, so come with your questions, your own best practices to share, and an open mind.
************************************
On Saturday, March 13, from 1pm to 4pm there will be a Farmers Market Forum, an opportunity for market managers and farmers/producers/vendors to learn some of the nuts and bolts about farmers markets. This is being sponsored by an ad hoc group of market managers and others interested in creating a statewide farmers market association in Illinois, and will cover:
************************************
From 10am to 5pm on Saturday, March 13, the EXPO will include a Local Food Festival complete with chef demos, kids’ activities, and over 100 farmer, producer, and artisan exhibitors offering information, samples, purchase opportunities, and CSA applications. But any self-respecting market manager or wannabee will surely recognize it as a chance to engage in their favorite pastime–trolling for vendors. So come armed with your market brochures, business cards, and community’s demographics, and hope to catch the attention of those on hand.
More about all of these opportunities at FamilyFarmed EXPO. See you there!
The first ever Tweet And Taste was held last night. Tweet And Taste is a virtual wine tasting, in which wine lovers from all over can taste selected Michigan wines at a designated time and simultaneously share their thoughts on Twitter with others tasting the same wines. Last night’s program was dedicated to three wines from Black Star Farms: 2007 Arcturos Pinot Noir, 2007 Arcturos Barrel Aged Chardonnay, and 2008 Arcturos Dry Riesling. All three wines were made from grapes grown on either the Leelanau or Old Mission peninsulas in Michigan.
By the end of the night, the statistics were staggering: Tweet And Taste attracted a whopping 66 participants from many places, including Michigan, Chicagoland, and Savannah, Georgia. The participants included a master sommelier, the winemaker for Black Star Farms, and numerous wine bloggers. In all, more than 800 tweets were exchanged.
Most participants rated the pear-forward, green apple tartness of the Dry Riesling as the best of the group, with the fruity Pinot Noir coming in a close second. The lightly oaky Chardonnay was well-received, although many in the group expressed that they were not Chardonnay fans in general.
Why is local wine relevant? Because it expresses the place from where it came. Last night’s Pinot Noir, in particular, demonstrated its origins, as people commented that, although the wine was undoubtedly an expression of the pinot noir grape, it did not taste like any pinot noir anyone had ever tasted: “Not Burgundian, but not high octane like a lot of California Pinots. More New Zealand-ish, maybe?” “[T]his [Pinot Noir] expresses the flavors of the region, our vineyards [are] young but fruit is bright and sensual . . .” “I don’t quite get rich enough fruit for it to be N[ew] Z[ealand]. I do get a feeling of fall in the level of fruit though.” Taking the comments together, it was the general consensus of the group that the wine, which was lighter and more ruby in color than most pinot noirs, was an expression of the shorter ripening season in upper Michigan. It’s an unique wine that proudly and unapologetically expresses its Midwest origins.
The full transcript of last night’s discussion can be found here. If you didn’t participate in the tasting, but still would like to try Black Star Farm’s wine, you can visit their website for ordering information. Plans are in the works for more Tweet And Tastes in the future.
Did you participate in last night’s virtual tasting, or have had Black Star Farms’ wines? If so, let us know here what you think.
