Eat This Podcast
Talking about anything around food

Just that which is deserved Talking to a pastry chef about her art and craft

12 November 2018 Filed under:

Is dessert a pointless overindulgence, or perhaps the most interesting and creative part of a good meal out? I know what I think.

What is there to say about dessert? Utterly pointless, because by then I’ve usually eaten quite enough, thank you. And yet, utterly irresistible too, because I do have a bit of a sweet tooth. So I am usually quite happy eating out when someone suggests Let’s get just one and four spoons.

And yet, the ability to create some of those magnificent concoctions fills me with admiration, especially lately as dessert seems to have become more and more creative. So I was really glad that I persuaded one of the top pastry chefs in New York to take a bit of time to chat. Charmaine McFarlane told me about her inspirations, some of the challenges she faces, and how much she loves a silky-smooth custard.

Notes

  1. Charmaine McFarlane does have a website but she is much more active on Instagram and Twitter.
  2. Dessertworthy, which Charmaine mentioned, seems to me an entirely good idea.
  3. The cover photo may look like some sort of fancy omelette, but it is actually Charmaine’s grapefruit panna cotta, with semolina and olive oil cake, wild red juniper and grapefruit marmalade, citrus crumble and fennel chips. I wish I could tell you what it tastes like.
  4. Banner photo by Mantra Media on Unsplash
  5. Playing us in, Dinah Shore. Playing us out, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians.

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Dead, dead, and never called me mother

10 November 2018 Filed under: Tags:

The thing about a sourdough mother is not that it needs looking after but that it brings forth life. And it doesn’t need a cute name to do so.

Why, do you suppose, a sourdough starter is often called a mother? A podcast on sourdough seemed to think that it was because it needs daily care and attention, looking after and cosseting. If that assuages your filial guilt, OK, but it is completely bass-ackwards. It’s a mother because it gives life to its offspring, the loaves that come forth from the mother starter. How can anyone think otherwise?

And another thing. Does everybody else in the world name their starter, generally with a cute, punning name like Bread Pitt? I made my first starter around 30 years ago and never had the slightest urge to name it. Despite being nameless, it is still going strong. My other starter, also nameless, is older by far than my own mother and, like her, is also going strong.

As for the title …

Eat This Newsletter 087 Remember, remember

5 November 2018 Filed under: Tags:

Fraudulent cheese? Not enough fish? Organic fraud? Anti-Asian bias? Potentially kosher pig? Shocking news.

  1. The packet says “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese”. What would you expect to be inside? Me too, along with “85–90% of consumers”. But a court disagrees.

  2. Quick follow-up on last issue’s all about noodles. Australians love Asian food, so why doesn’t it win as many awards as Italian?

  3. The (US) Food and Drug Administration’s latest statement on the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak, as interpreted by The New Food Economy.

  4. Latest use it or lose it story – eat this rare pig. Pilpul of the week: is a pig with an uncloven hoof still unclean?

  5. Fishy news: There are places where even the most sustainable practices possible cannot support all the people who want to fish there.

  6. The Rye Baker reflects on his tour of the Baltics. Maybe next year …

  7. I’m a total sucker for this stuff. Aerial photos reveal the hypnotic geometry of farming.

  8. Fraud in organic farming? I’m shocked, I tell, you. Shocked!