Interesting part in Omnivores Dilemma talking about the use of food additives in "organic" food...xanthan gum and absorbic acid being the ingredients in Pollan's crosshairs. This makes one wonder...is it wrong for me to take gorgeous, local, organic ingredients and gel, froth, and foam them? If quality of ingredient is the most important thing, where does that leave us? Most in these parts would ask why we don't just leave them alone...which nine times out of ten seems like a fair argument. Where do you stand on all this food additives in organic foods argument?
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3 comments:
First of all: Bacon crackers? Count me in.
The protagonist of the film 'Boxing Helena' would argue that if have something very beautiful you should manipulate it from its' natural state in order to make it love you and, in turn, make it more beautiful. So there's that...
There's a new argument against what Michael Pollan is saying in his book and it goes something like this (except written by people much much smarter than I am): The only people who can really be intellectually shamed into eating local, natural foods are people within a 100 mile radius of the Golden Gate; you know, the people to whom the rest of the world responds to arguments with, 'Cut your hair hippie!'
Intellectually shaming others since 1979,
Dr. K
I think it's okay to make different choices about additives for different dishes.... Perhaps you're doing something that relies on a refined and additive enriched product. If not, though, I would like to do with out. Give me local, simple, and whole every day. Sort of idealistic, I know.
after reading the omnivore's dilemma, i found myself asking the same questions you did...up here in northern california, it's a given to use organic, local, and properly raised product...but to manipulate them in the ways we do, is that what people want? i never thought of the additives derived from corn in the way i do now...are we cooking for our customers or ourselves? hopefully we have struck a balance between the two.
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