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Food and science

I’ve been grappling with the ins and outs of food for some years now, and my current concerns about how we should be eating for the health of the planet and ourselves have led me into some interesting places.

Recently I’ve been trying to understand who to believe in this “studies have shown” game. I thought Ben Goldacre cracked it for me in his TED talk about publication bias. There is another skeleton in the cupboard of health research though, and that of course is the question of vested interests.

A recent study on high protein diets and aging suggests (well, actually shouts) that high protein diets (especially animal foods) in middle age are dangerous, but as soon as you turn the corner to 65, they are necessary. In the interesting detail found in the paper’s funding, we can see that one of the named authors, Valter D. Longo, has equity interest in L-Nutra, a company that develops “medical food”. This medical food, it should not surprise us to learn, is a plant-based meal substitute, so there is a whiff of “follow the money” in the study’s conclusions. He appears to be the study’s designer (most? of the co-authors are his students)

Zoë Harcombe has analyzed this study and given a thoughtful assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. It’s a headline grabbing concept, she says, but the study doesn’t actually prove its case. She’s going to run the mortality numbers herself and see what they show.

London eating

It’s been quiet here at the Iambic Cafe lately, but only because I’ve been so busy frequenting a few of London’s eateries and drinkeries.

Last week for example I made a joyful visit to Ottolenghi whose pastries look as beautiful as ever; the salads (shaved fennel, roasted aubergine and roasted sweet potato) were exquisite. I’d also heard that the Devonshire Arms was worth a visit, so I popped in for a bit of smoked eel and a most delicious mixed salad and will have to make a return visit soon.

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday I spent a happy evening swanning around Covent Garden with several thousand other merry-making shoppers, lapping up free drinks and hors d’oeuvres at shops participating in a seasonal shopping promotion. At the end we found ourself a cozy bench at Cantina Laredo, which promised gourmet Mexican food. The guacamole, prepared at our table, was fun, and the avocado enchiladas were wonderful – full of artichokes, rice and avocado.

 

 

 

Friday I went to the movies with Nancy and Mike and we wandered Lamb’s Conduit Street in search of nourishment. It was my second visit to La Cigala and although it was good I did sense a few standards slipping (along with a couple of plates in the kitchen). In the chickpea and chestnut stew, for example, I may have found the only rancid chestnut (Mike said the rest were fine), and Nancy – and the pair at the adjoining table – who had the goose stuffed with pork and prunes and served with roasted parsnips, found it tough. Good, but tough. Not, she remarked, what you want with a goose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was happy enough with my trio of starters: boquerones – marinated anchovies – with a nice vegetable salad on thinly sliced jerusalem artichokes; a towering tortilla; and padrone peppers. As is the custom there, we did a little celebrity spotting while desserting: meringue with prunes, a stunning orange flan, and a mountain of membrillo (poached quince) with an alcoholic dollop of cream.

 

 

 

And I had a lovely Neopolitan pagnotella – “sandwich” – at Canta Napoli – just flatbread, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.

Greenwashing fast food

Evolving news in the fast food world, including some linguistic bullet-dodging:

  • The Fast food industry now calls itself the Quickservice or Fast Casual industry
  • Low-fat, Low-carb and Low-calorie are being dropped from menus and packaging in favour of Wholesome, Healthy, Fresh, Natural, Local or Premium (I’d guess all these terms are essentially meaningless so can be used interchangeably)

Vegetarians aren’t economically valuable enough to get a place in line so the industry is not including meatless options across the board. But in Canada, maybe we have enough ethnic diners to make some dents..

This news from Washington DC suggests that consumer demand for low pizza prices is being met – at the expense of cooks’ wages. But they’ll need to drop further before unions will be able to find their way into the industry, which tends to draw its staff from a young and poorly educated labour pool.

Luck in London

Yesterday netted me two excellent meals in a row: a great welcome back to London. Lunch was at the Royal Court Theatre Cafe where we lucked into three delightful dishes, for me a fabulous warm salad of Jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms and baby spinach, with a Parmesan crisp to nibble on…

and reportedly delicious others: a pumpkin and goat’s cheese tart crusted with almonds; and a Lancashire hotpot in its own little basin:

We weakened when faced with the dessert menu, and luckily so: the Sticky Toffee Pudding was ethereal

while the almond and fig tart was exquisite, a study in texture and colour:

Later that same day, at Carvosso’s, I struck gold again with the duck leg confit, with roasted figs, green beans and mashed potato

while my companion fell upon her swordfish with glee and said it was absolutely perfect.

Fun in Paris

A lovely weekend in Paris. We travelled up by TGV, which was a swift and smooth ride, and as soon as humanly possible after disembarking we found ourselves a pleasant lunch. For me, some lamb chops

followed by some delightfully crunchy creme brulee.

Supper on Saturday night was prefixed by a trying stroll to the restaurant. Apparently there was a techno-parade heading our way and the streets of the Marais were thronged with Parisian youth seemingly attempting to out-drink and generally out-yob their British counterparts, and we had to pick our way carefully through what had become an open pissoir and vomitorium.

Putting all that thankfully behind us we settled in for a happy return to le Bistrot de L’Oulette where we embarked on a series of unusual delights. My starter was one of the best I’ve tasted: escargots with artichokes; tender and perfect:

followed by oxtail with foie gras wrapped in a cabbage leaf

and finishing with icecream – prunes with armagnac.

Sunday we visited the newly opened Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, which was excellent, stylish and unusual, from the courtyard

to the ceiling;

and even the toilettes were suitably attired:

We hastened then to fortify ourselves with a splendid salad

and then joined many, many Parisians in the Luxembourg gardens

where we found ourselves in a queue to see the greenhouses, which are normally closed to the public (it was a holiday though, so they were open for two days only) and which have a stunning collection of orchids

They have one or two dahlias too…

and lots of fruit:

Even more interestingly, they have bees

in many hives. They were selling the honey the day we were there, but had sold out within an hour; I gather it’s an extremely popular annual event.

We stopped to refresh ourselves with an Italian-style gelato from Amorino:

Foot-weary we managed to limp to a supper engagement at Chez Janou which is seemingly always heaving with custom, and rightly so.

My starter was a many-splendoured salad incorporating avocado, crayfish and pink grapefruit…

After some concentrated walking and shopping on Monday morning, our last lunch was upon us before we knew it. We settled into a cafe near Place des Vosges.

Tarte tatin, a fitting finale:

And finally boarded the Eurostar for the trip back to London. We were lucky to have no trouble getting ourselves back, since one of the tunnels is still closed and there are delays and cancellations which will go on for a while yet.

Food price issues for low incomes; BC Day, blackberries and zucchini

In Our Food, our Future last week, the topic was the impact of high food prices on those with less disposable income, where the proportion of monthly income spent on food is escalating with possibly dangerous results. Some interesting issues raised. The rise in obesity among poor people, because fatty, sugary foods are cheaper than better quality ones. The lack of practical food skills (selection, preparation) among those who need them most: young, pregnant or breastfeeding women, single parents, students. The difficulty of feeding ever-hungry teens on a small budget. And the economic risk of experimenting with cooking or dietary change: if you are on a very tight food budget, with children to feed, monotony is a big problem, because you must stick to foods with a long shelf life (fatty, sugary, highly-processed) that you know how to portion and prepare, and that your family will eat.

It’s been party time in Victoria. Last weekend was BC Day, and the crowds were out in the inner harbour,

the Snowbirds did an impressive flyby.

I didn’t stay for the evening’s open-air entertainment which included Burton Cummings, Feist and Sarah McLachlan, because I had food to think about.

The Himalayan blackberries are in season now, though I suspect people are not picking them because there’s a rumour about (repeated to me with my berry pail at every turning) that they aren’t ripe until the end of August. Ok, so believe that if you wish. I believe with mine eyes and mine palate and mine berry bucket.

During an irresponsible visit to some farm markets, I bought loganberries and giant boysenberries, which for scientific purposes I compared in my berry line-up, in order of size, with a Himalayan and a native blackberry.

Then, because my apples are ripe and my berry pail full, I made pie. Rather good with Udder Guy’s strawberry ice cream.

And for those who say to me “but don’t you get tired of zucchini?” I can only laugh sadly and smugly. There’s soup to be made, chocolate-zucchini cake of course, but also zucchini parmigiana as earlier mentioned, and this wonderful thing which I sampled last April (paired with smoked provolone) at the wonderful La Croce di Malta in Parma. I thought the proprietor was calling it zucchini escabeche, but in fact she was saying Zucchini alla Scapece,

which is a superb Italian cousin; by her account from Sicily. It’s a wonderful substance, featuring fresh mint, garlic and vinegar and – best of all for dinner party purposes – a good long sit on the kitchen counter. I read that its combination of sour and sweet flavour signals its origins in Spanish cuisine, and its roots in Spanish-ruled parts of the country.