Summer Vacation Time

Well, the CC is off to culinary adventures in the Philippines (more Spanish influences!)

Back in a few weeks!

Garcia da Orta

People frequently ask the CC what he finds so endlessly fascinating about Spain, and the simple answer is that due to their complex society and insane wealth, they produced the most interesting personalities in science and art on the entire planet for their time.

The expulsion of the Jews due to the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1492) caused a massive upheaval among the highly intellectual community of Jews in Spain. They either converted (conversos) or fled.

The Orta family fled to nearby Portugal — little did they know that the Inquisition was coming there next.

Garcia de Orta was born in 1501 or 1502. He was trained as a physician, and practiced medicine in Lisbon. With the growing power of the Inquisition, he fled to India in 1534 and settled in Goa serving kings, governors and viceroys.

He was clearly successful. He was even granted a lease to the then worthless islands of what is now modern-day Bombay (!) though he never lived there.

His culinary claim to fame is his masterpiece Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India (Conversations on the simples and drugs of India) which is the unique book that tells us about the culinary knowledge of pre-New-World India.

It's written in the Galileo-style of conversations between the author and an imaginary colleague, Ruano, and basically walks us through all the known culinary spices and herbs in alphabetical order.

It should be noted that there wasn't a strict distinction between cuisine and medicine in those days (courtesy of Galen) and there is considerable evidence that he was a polymath speaking sufficiently in half a dozen local Indian languages (besides the usual Greek, Latin, Arabic which was expected of an educated man of his generation.)

While his life was not tragic, his story does end tragically. He died in 1568 but was "convicted" posthumously of "Judaism" and his remains were exhumed and burned in an auto da fé in 1580.

What's unique about his work is his independence of "received wisdom" of Greek, Latin or Arabic authorities. It's a strict example of the scientific method where claims have to be demonstrated not just stated as truth.

"Don't try and frighten me with Diocorides or Galen because I am only going to say what I know to be true."

His empirical work on tamarind stands in stark contrast to the "received wisdom" of Arabic writers which considered them as "dates". By restricting himself to empirical observation, he markedly advanced the science of food in the Indian subcontinent.

For all the tragedy, it is useful to know that he was well received in his time, and respected for his unique orignality.

Dealing With Invasions

This is arguably an excellent idea: Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It.

With its dark red and black stripes, spotted fins and long venomous black spikes, the lionfish seems better suited for horror films than consumption. But lionfish fritters and filets may be on American tables soon.

An invasive species, the lionfish is devastating reef fish populations along the Florida coast and into the Caribbean. Now, an increasing number of environmentalists, consumer groups and scientists are seriously testing a novel solution to control it and other aquatic invasive species — one that would also takes pressure off depleted ocean fish stocks: they want Americans to step up to their plates and start eating invasive critters in large numbers.

“Humans are the most ubiquitous predators on earth,” said Philip Kramer, director of the Caribbean program for the Nature Conservancy. “Instead of eating something like shark fin soup, why not eat a species that is causing harm, and with your meal make a positive contribution?”

Lionfish, it turns out, looks hideous but tastes great. The group had to hire fishermen to catch animals commonly regarded as pests. Mr. Heffernan said he would consider putting them on his menu and was looking forward to getting some molting European green crabs to try in soft-shell crab recipes.

Last summer, the Nature Conservancy sponsored a lionfish food fair in the Bahamas, featuring lionfish fritters and more. They offered fishermen $11 a pound — about the price of grouper — and got an abundant supply.

Active Dishonesty in Food Blogging

Of course, food bloggers aren't saints. They are trying to make a living off of it. The CC happens to be an exception.

However, one must be intellectually honest. One shouldn't delete criticism ever. The answer to criticism is a response not censorship.

However, most are not capable of doing so largely because they don't have the intellectual chops.

One such is a David Leibovitz whose blog the CC used to love until he realized that he is in the business of deleting criticism.

Sorry, David, but criticism is good for you. It takes you away from the adulators, allows you to learn new things, and enhances your reputation. Rising to a challenge is part of being intelligent. You're an EPIC FAIL when you squash criticism rather than rise to it.

The CC posted on this particular posting, and the comments (mild as they were) were deleted.

The proof of the offending comments being deleted (they are long gone!) is presented below:

Bold Radical Idea

Whenever the CC flies — which he loathes with a vengeance only reserved for the worst of the worst of food — he frequently muses why there isn't a category whereby you could fly Coach and get the food catered from First Class?

Surely some people would be willing to pay a premium for not eating plonk, right? And it can't be that much more work given that this is just an extension of the "special meals" category (which exists currently, one may add!)

Fancy restaurants do this all the time — they open a (very) lucrative "casual bar" that features their greatest hits without the obsequious service and stratospheric prices.

It surely fits into all the right economic categories:

Unbundling? CHECK.
User experience? CHECK.
Predictability of demand? CHECK.

This has to be one of the most obvious of ideas.

So what's the freakin' holdup?