Posts from the ‘Informational’ Category

In the Swim – Seafood

Ironically, when the first settlers arrived in North America the lakes, rivers, streams and coastal waters over flowed with sea life.  Until the mid 20^th century it was harvested with little thought to maintaining the populations, the balances between them or their environments.  Moreover, although some delicious dishes were developed throughout the years, the major portion of this bounty was unappreciated and simply prepared in basic ways, boiled, fried, in stews and chowders, without consideration for the individual flavors or textures.  Several things changed in the years after WWII. Affordable air travel allowed us to try other cuisines; there was an influx of immigrants from countries with strong seafood based culinary traditions; we became environmentally conscious and aware that pollution was taking its toll on all life forms; we learned that a healthy diet prevents illness and gives us longer lives and that seafood is an important part of a healthy diet. Finally, we expanded our palates and our cooking skills to include new, often exotic ingredients, techniques and tastes. Read more

Birds of a Feather – Poultry

As I stated in the posting on The Informed Shopper, Feb. 9, 2013, the poultry industry has done a remarkable job of reinventing itself in the past several decades. Actually, many of the changes were necessary to assure the supply would meet the demand. In the United States alone in 2010 we consumed more than double the amount of chicken per capita, than in we did 1970. It’s the most consumed meat in the U.S. and second in the world, just slightly behind pork. Read more

The meating place – Lamb, Veal, Pork, & Ham

It’s fitting that we’re discussing LAMB this week. A basic ingredient in many cuisines, lamb was for years the roast of choice of many American families for Easter dinner, including my own.  A staple of colonial kitchens, lamb lost ground when the West opened and beef was introduced.  The two species have incompatible grazing techniques and can’t share space. Beef is less labor intensive for a larger product yield, so it became king. Lamb suffered another setback after WWII with the expansion of suburbs at the expense of farm land. Then came the 1960s with the peace movement and the emergence of Animal Rights and “lamb” especially accompanied by “spring baby” became a menu No-No. Actually, growing American appetites and depletion of flocks had already made the slaughter of immature sheep impractical.  By then, however, development of synthetic fibers, and the high cost of labor had taken their toll on sheep herding. For a decade or so New Zealand lamb was prominent in the markets. I often bought it to vary our family menus, but I haven’t seen that in over ten years. Now, lamb is mainly in the meat counter seasonally and then limited cuts, leg, loin chops and ground. More surprising to me is the fact that two of my flyers advertized lamb this week, but only leg and ground and they’re the same price!  If you consult a meat chart, you will see there are about 40 cuts per animal.

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What’s the real beef?

I know, I know, after reading the blog for The Informed Shopper on Meat, you know what to look for in appearance and grading, but what about the cut? That information doesn’t help much when you’re standing in front of the meat counter in the supermarket staring at a vast array of different cuts. Well to get you started, there are some general facts about butchered meats that may make understanding the differences simpler. Of course, it would be great if you have a set of meat charts for reference because every discussion is easier with illustrations. Anyway, here goes—– Read more

Saint Patrick’s Day is Here

No sooner had I finished the last post, than I realized talking about a project I had underway was an ideal way to deal with St. Patrick’s Day and lead into discussing ways to use the shopping information I’ve been handing out in the past weeks.  As a holiday, this one seems to be fading. There used to be tinted carnations, everyone wore a touch of green, drank green beer and ate corned beef, whether home or out. Perhaps it’s because I’ve moved to a less cosmopolitan area, but I was used to having a choice of several different cuts of beef corned, not just the standard brisket and they were featured in fliers well in advance. Now maybe one market runs an ad, or showcases corned beef that week and it’s all brisket, but the price is right up there with steak. Read more

The Informed Shopper – Part III – Seafood – Mollusks

The term “Mollusks” covers a large variety of invertebrates, not necessarily aquatic, with soft, unsegmented bodies covered entirely or partially by a thick shell consisting of one or more parts. They breathe through gills and propel themselves with the aid of a “foot”. Some of the familiar, edible mollusks are clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, snails, abalone, conch and, a European favorite, cockles. Like other shellfish, mollusks must be alive until cooked. Whenever opening a shell is required, I prefer to ask the monger to do it, but be sure he saves the liquid, or liqueur from the shells, because that keeps the meat moist and retains flavor. The first five listed are those most often found on menus in the United States, and so, I will discuss them first. Read more

The Informed Shopper – Part III – Seafood – Shellfish

“Shellfish” is a large category that covers any aquatic animal, including mollusks, which lacking bones, depends on an encasing shell for stability and protection.  Commonly we use the term “shellfish” to refer to those which have jointed legs and are independently mobile: lobsters, crabs, shrimp; probably because their meat is similar to that of fish. So I’m going to talk about them first, one by one, and leave the clams and company until last, possibly another posting if this takes too long. Read more

The Informed Shopper – Part III – Seafood, Fish

No discussion of the information one needs to be an overall informed shopper would be complete without talking about seafood.  This is a huge topic. So to avoid boring you with pages and pages at one time I’m going to separate it into two posts; fish and shellfish.

The seafood industry, especially concerning fresh fish, has experienced as much expansion, if not more, than the poultry one. Faster transportation, improved refrigeration and freezing methods and the advent of Aquaculture (fish farming) have made fresh fish available in markets all over America, not just along the coasts. Moreover, there’s an abundance of varieties to choose from, many unfamiliar just a few years ago, and more arriving, it seems daily. Read more