Chef's Blog

This is a worthwhile article that I thought was worth sharing. Unfortunately I forgot to copy the source...

Wide-spread food contaminations, such as the current scare over tainted tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, seem to be getting more and more common. One problem is that so much of our food supply passes through large processing and distribution centers, meaning that an isolated problem, such as a single piece of contaminated equipment, can translate into nation-wide outbreaks.

As the 2006 spinach crisis demonstrated, organic products are not immune to this issue. And as the demand for organics increase, so does the risk of contamination. Even with the rise of industrial-scale organic farms (another story entirely!), huge national brands like Earthbound Farms rely on produce from dozens or even hundreds of individual farms to supply their needs. All of the produce is "pooled" and then washed, packed, and shipped from central distribution centers. So when contamination occurs, it can take weeks or months to trace the problem back to its source. Sometimes the source is never identified.

Here are some tips you can use to minimize your risk of food contamination:

Buy local, ideally, direct from the farmer. Growers that sell direct to their customers aren't immune to contamination but they are infinitely more accountable, and they know it. If a few people buy spinach from a farmer's stand and get sick, it's going to take health authorities (and the local newspaper) about five minutes to identify the source. Also, the fewer people and machines that handle the food in between the farm and your table, the fewer the opportunities for contamination.

See www.localharvest.org to find growers and farmer's markets near you. Also, check this great interactive Seasonal Ingredient Map from our sister site Epicurious.com to find out what's fresh in your area of the country right now.

Practice safe food handling in your own kitchen. It doesn't make the newspapers but by far the biggest cause of food-borne illness is improper handling in the home. A few simple habits can greatly reduce the risk of food contamination in your kitchen.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly (for 20 seconds) with warm water and soap before handling food. That includes unpacking groceries.

2. Clean sink, counter tops, cutting boards, and other kitchen surfaces with disinfectant daily.

3. Wash or replace sponges, brushes, dishcloths, and dishtowels FREQUENTLY. Sponges and brushes should be run through the dishwasher every time you run it. Dishcloths and towels should be laundered after two days.

4. Immediately and thoroughly clean anything that comes into contact with raw meat (your hands, counters, cutting boards, sink dish towels, etc.).

5. Washing produce with "vegetable wash" will not kill salmonella or e. coli bacteria. Only cooking can reliably kill these bacteria. But there are steps you can take to make your salads and raw vegetables safer.

Washing produce with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide (the kind you buy at the drugstore) might be of some benefit. I find it easiest to put the hydrogen peroxide it in a spray bottle and leave it under the sink. When I bring home produce, I put it in my (clean) kitchen sink and spray it to saturate. After five minutes, I rinse the produce, let it air (or spin it) dry before storing. The hydrogen peroxide rinses away without leaving any residual taste or odor and can also help retard spoilage.

6. Keep cold foods cold and warm foods hot. Bacteria grows fastest in the "danger zone" between 40 degrees F (the temp of your fridge) and 140 degrees F (serving temperature for hot foods). Don't let hot food cool to room temperature before putting in the fridge...that's too long in the danger zone. To keep hot food from heating up your refrigerator, let it cool at room temperature for one hour before refrigerating. Dividing large quantities into smaller containers will also help it cool faster.

Cal Mex vs. Tex Mex

Ok, ok, I’m a Californian through and through. I admit to a certain partiality towards California-style Mexican cooking. I have gotten into several arguments with people over the years with those on the other side of the proverbial gastronomic fence. Gastronomic snobbery is nothing new. Each region generally prefers its own traditional style. And like Americanized Chinese food, Mexican food is evolving, taking on the influences of the environs of which it is served. The bottom line never the less is personal preference.

Mexican food is widely diverse in both current usage and history that deserves investigation. Starting with native the Mayan and Inca foods, then incorporating new Spanish spices and foods, we finally evolve to Americanized versions of Mexican dishes. Like Mediterranean Cuisine, much of popular native Mexican cooking has its roots in simple, sustainable, peasant fare. It is more productive to sustain a crop of beans than to manage a herd of cattle or goats. Therefore protein from beans is more predominant in this culture's lower class fare. Likewise you'll find a greater usage of goat cheeses, because dairy cows require more resources to sustain.

Recipes referred to as "native" should only contain ingredients that were available to the native Mexicans. Traditionally this includes corn, tomatoes, goat and fish. Calling a dish or recipe "authentic" usually means it is something that has been prepared traditionally in Mexico. Claiming something has "authentic" tastes or flavors, is a cute way of saying that the spices used in flavoring the dish are authentic to Mexico. According to Mexican government cheeses used in Mex Americana cooking are intrinsically foreign to traditional Mexican cooking. The focus in all regions of Mexican food like California Cuisine is on fresh.

As with most California fusion styles, California Mexican cuisine tends to be a little healthier, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients such as fish, avocados and more vegetables. Beans are generally whole and not refried. Tacos tend to be crispy. Garlic is use more liberally than in Tex-Mex.

The cheese enchilada with a meat sauce seems to be the quintessential Tex-Mex dish. Tex-Mex in general has an emphasis on cheese and ground beef, and strips of meat used in dishes such as fahitas. In 1972, food aficionado Diana Kennedy published The Cuisines of Mexico, where she differentiated between authentic Mexican cuisine and the kind of fare served north the border. The Americanized food included Mexican versions of traditional Texas fare like chili and steak strips or fajitas. Other dishes like nachos and chimichangas were also created to cater to American tastes. Kennedy referred to the Americanized dishes as Tex-Mex.

The burrito, which means "little burro," is good example of a traditional Mexican food with an American slant. Mexican food aficionados inform us that "refried beans" are not the authentic "well fried" beans of Mexican tradition. Other spices and ingredients like beef and pork are Anglo additions. Additionally, the burrito is reported to have first been sold in Los Angeles at the El Cholo Spanish Café in the 1930s, and spread Southwest some twenty years later, eventually going worldwide. The Americanized burrito might have originated closer to Los Angeles than Texas but today both Cal Mex and Tex Mex claim it as their own. There are other differences between Cal and Tex, mostly revolving around varietals of ingredients and of course flavors, which are of course subjective.

The Cuisine de Cal style of cooking tends to lean more towards the auhentico side of the cuisine wars especially when it comes to cheeses. Crispy tacos may appear on some menus, however fresh steamed tortillas are the norm. Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese make way for Queso Mexicano such as Asadero, Cotija, Fresco, Oxaca and others. Add to this the use of native Mexican spices, freshly prepared rice and beans, and the highest quality meat and seafood and you can begin to envision the Cuisine de Cal difference.

Newsflash

Cal Mex vs. Tex Mex

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