ColumnIs food porn helping or hurting us?

Look around you. There’s food everywhere. Glamorized food. Sexy food. Food that makes you drool. Food that speaks to some primal, internal part of you.

There’s food on the Internet, on the television, there’s probably a photo of a perfectly cooked dish of exotic ingredients popping up on your Instagram feed as you read this. Or at the very least, some latte art.

But with all this attention on food (I’d go so far as to say, obsession with food), we’re still spending less time in the kitchen. We’re still eating poorly. There are still millions of people who go hungry.

I enjoyed reading a recent interview with Alton Brown, the Food Network’s famous chef personality in which he spoke to the spiritual act of serving food. “There is more to the act of sharing food with one another than simply saying ‘Here is some food.’ I do believe that there is a spiritual act in breaking bread and sitting down and being thankful. The pornification of food takes away the importance of sharing it with one another and instead focuses only on the food.”

This idea of “pornification” stuck with me. It’s true: in today’s modern world we objectify food like never before. We choose food porn over actual food. We remove food from its natural habitat – a farm, a table – and make it as sexy and appealing as we possibly can. We joke about the absurdity of putting cakes on rosemary nests and cropping out people to make the food look more visually appealing, and yet we all still keep doing it, perpetuating an image of food that has absolutely nothing to do with what food is for: nourishing us.

While part of the global population is busy watching celebrity chef shows, buying the latest cookbook that they will never use, and debating on what garnish would be more cutting edge – kale or cilantro? – most of the rest of the world can’t even put enough food on the table. Even in our own country we deal with a severe hunger problem. And if they’re not hungry, then there’s the other end of the scale: obesity. Our food makes us sick, and with our conventional methods, we destroy the world in making it.

Maybe our objectification of food, and the proliferation of food porn, is actually at the root of some of our food-related problems.

I choose the word “objectification” on purpose. The ramifications of objectifying food are of course not the same as our culture’s severe objectification of women. But there are certainly similarities to be found.

The objectification of women exacerbates an unrealistic expectation of what a woman should look like.

The objectification of women leads to eating disorders.

The objectification of women helps with huge corporate profit; why else do you see so much advertisement with scantily clad women?

Unrealistic expectations, eating disorders, corporate profit… sound like anything the food world deals with on a regular basis?

The more we objectify food the more detached from it we become. We are detached from the process of growing food, and the work that growing requires, and from the people who grow our food, knowing little, if anything about their everyday livelihoods. We are detached from what food actually looks like; we throw away a perfectly good peach because it isn’t “perfect” looking. We are detached from the real flavor of food. We are detached from seasons.

We’re also detached from the work that is required to prepare food. It’s easy to look at a stylized photo of food. That you can do in a matter of seconds. Put a home-cooked meal on the table? That’s going to take a bit longer.

We have this sexy image of food that’s entirely removed from reality, and entirely unattainable. Sort of like the body image that we as women are told we should try to achieve. Women are photoshopped and so is food. And if it’s not photoshopped, it at least got a fancy outfit of twine and herb sprigs to wear.

We get rid of the dirty, messy stuff. The real stuff. We see a mixing bowl and a spotless counter and nothing else. We see a serving bowl in the middle of a table, maybe a hand reaching casually for it, but no people to eat it, no community. And have you ever seen anyone sharing a great photo of compost? No, but compost is an amazing and beautiful thing. Maybe if we got a little more used to seeing it we could better deal with our problem of food waste.

Brown is absolutely right. There is more to food than just the food. It is about the process, it is about the time put into producing the food and the time put into cooking it. It is about gathering together, food the building block of community.

The more that we objectify food the more neurotic about eating we become. We subscribe to diets that require fancy tools. We choose one ingredient over another, simply because it has a better marketing campaign behind it. We carefully pick and choose what we want for dinner, forgetting that it’s the season and proximity that really should be dictating what’s on our plates.

Talking about food and promoting healthy habits is a part of helping to change the system–to ensure that everyone has access to sustainably produced, real food. But we could all do with a little less objectification.

Related on EcoSalon

Why Are We Food Porn Obsessed? Foodie Underground

Less Food Porn, More Food Please: Foodie Underground

A Critique of Our Obsession with Food Photos: Foodie Underground

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Neil Conway

The post What’s So Wrong With Food Porn? Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnAren’t some food recipes simply overdone?

I love recipes. I love looking at cookbooks. I even write recipes. The internet abounds with recipes, which should make someone like me thrilled. But as time goes on, I have decided one thing: there are few internet food recipes that I like.

A handful are good, but I find myself doing more eye rolling than exclamations of “I want to make that!”

Cooking should be fun. Instinctual even. A recipe should be solid, not trendy. After all, we don’t need more food porn, we need more real food.

Some recipes are overdone – just Google “kale chips” – and others have a cult following that has me wondering if we care about food or if we care about things that just look cute.

And because of that I have come up with the official list of overdone food recipes. Some are recipes we could live without simply because the foods themselves are nothing complicated, and others are recipes for foods we should never make again.

1. [Insert dish here] top With a Fried Egg

Add an egg to anything and it’s delicious. But a recipe with an egg added to it is far from revolutionary. In fact, shouldn’t putting a fried egg on top of something simply be instinctual?

2. [Insert topping 1here ] and [insert topping 2 here] Toast

A homemade tapenade spread on a good piece of bread is one of the tastiest snacks out there. But does it need it’s own recipe? It’s toast, people. Toast. Even your college-aged cousin who is living off of peanut butter and rice knows how to make toast.

3. [Insert leafy green here] and [insert fancy fruit here] Smoothie

Smoothies are delicious–a good way to start a morning. But are smoothie recipes revolutionary? Congratulations, you know how to use a blender. And how to combine flavors!

4. Cakes Baked in Things

A perfectly decent cake, put it in a cute object and you get a ruined recipe. I’m looking at you, mug cakes.

5. Unicorn Poop Cookies

No. Absolutely not.

6. Cookie Shot Glasses

This is sort of like Cakes Baked in Things. Except that you’re baking cookies in the shape of shot glasses. I miss batches of regular cookies.

7. Things on a Stick

Cake pops, brownies on a stick, fried chicken on a stick? Ah yes, because you woke up this morning and thought to yourself, “I know a creative ingredient to add: a stick!” Unless you go and forage some twigs, then maybe we can get excited.

8. [Insert sandwich/wrap/etc here] with Mashed Avocado

“So you take a fork, mash the avocado and add it to your dish. Amazing isn’t it!?”

9. Crazy Cupacke Fillings

“Don’t worry sweetheart, it’s healthy because it’s broccoli in a cupcake!”

Related on EcoSalon

Less Food Porn, More Food Please: Foodie Underground

Why Are We Food Porn Obsessed?

The Glucose Overdose of Cupcakes

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Taryn

The post Overdone Food Recipes We Really Could Live Without: Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

This week’s Link Love we look at porn…food porn, of course, plus why women fake orgasms, celebrity meat and what’s hiding in your cosmetics.

Who doesn’t love looking at porn? Er…Rather, food porn, that is. Millions of Americans apparently love it, and according to the Food Porn Index website, which just launched, most people love unhealthy food porn. [via Eat Drink Better]

Why is supermodel Carol Alt putting the spotlight on raw food and healthy living? [via Well+GoodNYC]

Cosmetics can enhance your natural beauty, but not if they contain these toxic ingredients. [via Ecouterre]

Ladies, ever faked an orgasm? You’re not alone. Like really, really not alone. [via Cosmopolitan]

Celebrity Meat? Do we want to know? Do we need to know? [via Slate]

Link Love: Urban Foraging Gets Easier + Work Out in White + Fiona Apple is Now a Superhero?

Link Love: Best Valentine’s Caramels + Pharrell is Killing it (Amirite, Ladies?) + Ouch: A Rapper Drops the “R” Word

Link Love: An Ode to Toast + Scarlett Johannson in Hot Bubbles + Top Albums of 2013

The post Link Love: The Food Porn Index + Carol Alt’s Raw Secret + Why Women Fake Orgasms appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnMaybe this year should be devoted to kicking our food porn addiction.

I spent my vacation reading. Reading books. You know, those things that have a bunch of words printed on paper and don’t have a touch screen? Yes, those things.

I was deep into “A Fork in the Road”, a lovely collection of food/travel essays, when it occurred to me: good food writing doesn’t have to be accompanied by food photography – or dare I say it – doesn’t even need to be.

These stories were beautiful, and I was inspired to get cooking (and eating) immediately, and yet, there was no food photo in sight. It was refreshing.

Here’s the dilemma we’re currently find ourselves in:

We spend much of our time during the day online. During that time we often come across a recipe or two. How do we determine whether or not it’s good? If there’s a salivating photo to accompany it. Smoothie in a Mason jar? Definitely making that. Simply worded, text-only explanation for how to make your own fermented sauerkraut? Pass. Bare hands holding a warming bowl of soup? Don’t even get me started (and if you want a real snarky take on said subject, read this).

This food porn disease is infectious, and it follows us from the computer screen and into the bookstore. Book covered in food porn? Get it! Book that has – god forbid – mostly words? Forget it.

And then what happens? We don’t cook. We spend so much of our time looking at food blogs, buying yet another cookbook that we’re sure is going to change our lives and watching other people cook food on TV that we forget what all this stuff was supposed to inspire us to do: actually make food. And you know what the funny thing is? When you’re making dinner, you’re probably not going to style it, throw on a sprig of rosemary, and carefully sprinkle some bread crumbs on the side of your plate to make it look rustic before sitting down to eat. Nope, you’re just going to cook and consume. Because when the camera isn’t there, that is what we all do.

I love food porn as much as the next person, but there’s a point where you hit the overdose level and you need a detox. My frequent frustration with food media is this: we let the photos do the talking instead of the story of the food itself. The photos are great, and the food is mediocre.

You know why people aren’t cooking? Because they’re intimidated.

“Oh shit, my vegan chocolate mousse didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to.”

Was it delicious? Yes. Did you forget to put it in a quaint glass jar and tie a strand of twine around it? Well of course that is where you failed.

We need more focus on food and less on photos. Photography is a wonderful and beautiful thing, and when done well, amplifies a story. “The Way We Cook: Portraits of Home Cooks Around the World” is a photography book that comes to mind which does exactly that. And there are plenty of very talented food photographers out there who I respect and admire. But the photos shouldn’t be a crutch to distract us from the matter at hand: cooking and eating, and cooking and eating well.

So you know what this year is going to be about? Telling stories about food and telling them well. Inspiring people to cook more and think about what they’re eating. Addressing all the problems in the food world that really need fixing (and a food problem is not defined as something that ends up on Pinterest Fail).

Get off the computer, read a good food essay and be inspired to make something new. And please refrain from taking a photo of it. But write a paragraph, or an essay and share it with someone.

Related on EcoSalon

Foodie Underground: Why Are We Food Porn Obsessed?

10 Ways to Improve Your Food Porn Skills

Foodie Underground: The Other Food Porn

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: St0rmz

The post Less Food Porn, More Food, Please: Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnDo we have a food porn problem?

It was just another Wednesday night. I was craving dessert, and the only reasonable choice was some coconut milk and melted chocolate combination. (Note: coconut milk and chocolate are two things you will always find in my pantry – you never know when you will find yourself in a dessert crisis situation.) So I melted the two, poured the concoction into small glasses and threw them into the freezer for a quick mousse-like thing. Really, it was more like a thick chocolatey sorbet, which no one is going to complain about. A few chopped hazelnuts on top and it was, well… delicious.

First instinct: take a picture. Upload it to Instagram! Brag about that use of cardamom! And don’t forget the candied ginger you put in last minute.

Why is it that when we succeed in the kitchen we immediately whip out our phones?

I am the first person to admit that I have a serious problem (verging on extreme obsession) when it comes to photographing my food; but that doesn’t mean I don’t also find it annoying. Why is it that we can’t make a dish without documenting it for all of eternity?

Take a few minutes to peruse food blogs and you’ll quickly see that most of the popular ones are well-versed in the skills of food photography. I have nothing against this. If you understand the value of food, you understand the value of aesthetics, too, and most of the time the two go very much hand in hand. But here’s the problem: we’re so enthralled with the images that we could care less about the recipe.

When was the last time you picked up a cookbook or looked at a food blog that wasn’t image heavy? It’s called “food porn” for a reason: it’s selling you a lifestyle that may or may not be attainable in your 45 kitchen minutes every day. Because let’s be honest: you don’t have time to perfectly position that sprig of rosemary next to your handcrafted artisan silverware. You just want to eat.

We all like a little inspiration, but it often goes too far, and if you look at certain food magazines you start seeing a theme. Shot from up above. All white, hand-thrown plates. A jam jar carefully positioned in the corner. A bread crumb on the side.

Real cooking isn’t staged. It’s messy. And if you’re photographing – particularly on your own – you’re mixing in a bowl with one hand and trying to awkwardly hold your camera in the other, because god forbid you put a recipe on the internet without a photo of your hands in action taken with a shallow depth of field.

We love food photos, because in some way, it brings us together. It helps us share a moment with those that are far away. A coffee photo sent to a friend you wish you could have a live conversation with is almost as good as the real thing. But we have to find a balance. The balance between obsessively photographing all that we eat and uploading it at every second and enjoying food for food’s sake. It’s okay to eat without telling anyone about it. In fact, food can be an enjoyable experience even when not shared. If you factor in the global population, most people are just focused on putting enough food on the table, forget getting the right angle on their soy mocha craft-roasted cappuccino.

Here’s a challenge: stop taking food photos, just for one meal and one recipe. Focus on the moment. The essence of cooking. The company around you. The recipe and the photo can wait until later. For now, focus on the beautiful serendipity that comes from putting ingredients together and enjoying the result, without telling anyone about it.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: A Critique of Our Obsession with Food Photos appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnA step-by-step guide to making sure you travel like a food lover.

“You can’t eat yet.”

My tablemates were ready to dig into their meal when my best friend and travel partner Rachel alerted everyone that they had to wait for a few.

“Just one second,” I said, while whipping my phone out to snap a quick photo.

“She does this a lot, you just have to get over it,” my friend said matter of factly, with a slight eye roll.

It occurred to me then and there that most people don’t take a photo of everything they eat. Let’s not go overboard here: I don’t photo document every single thing that ever crosses a plate in front of me. I do however like to have inspiration for other meals, and when it comes to travel it’s all about keeping a visual diary of all the new foods that were experienced. Again, normal for some, not so normal for others.

But there’s just something about the right composition of your passport, a postcard and a double espresso that you don’t want to miss out on. If you have mastered how to pretend you’re a foodie, now you’re ready to travel like one, and this guide will help you do just that.

1. Take the Same Daily Photo

Every day is a little better with good food porn, and this way you have a good visual comparison of what you consumed during your travels. Choose one meal or a specific thing to photograph every day. It could be your morning cup of tea or coffee or simply your daily afternoon snack. Get creative.

2. Order Sparkling Water With Everything

Because espresso never tasted better. Just be aware that when you do so on your flight home you might get a “what is the deal with everyone ordering sparkling water? Do they think they’re French?” from your flight attendant.

3. Keep At Least Two Photographic Devices on Hand At All Times

You never know when you need to take a photo, and sometimes the DSLR is just too obnoxious. You have to maintain a level of class after all, and sitting by your meal with a huge camera in your lap through the entire meal isn’t really the way to do so.

4. When All Else Fails, Use Your Journal.

Keep a notebook and write down meals, ingredients and translations of new food related words. It will be like your own food encyclopedia when you’re done.

5. Befriend a Local and Make Them Order

Forget Yelp and Travelocity and every other restaurant recommendation service out there. Find someone that knows what they’re talking about and ask them for advice.

6. Spend Quality Time in a Local Grocery Store

It doesn’t need to be a fancy market, because in this case, the more basic the better. Some of the best food adventures can be had in the biggest of supermarkets, because you get the chance to find out what locals eat on an everyday basis. You’ll never know what you might find.

7. Always Say Yes

Unless of course this is in regards to an in-flight meal, then go with your own sense of culinary discretion. In other words, you do not need to say yes to that odd looking potato, jello sausage thing with a cold mini sausage served on Lufthansa.

8. Write Down Every Single Meal and Where You Ate It

When you’re later asked for food recommendations by fellow travelers you won’t be stuck saying to yourself, “what was that one cute place by that one river called?” Flipping open to page 6 of your food journal and knowing exactly where to tell them to go is much better.

9. Plan Your Day According to Food Stops

Why stand in line at museums when you can plan your entire itinerary around breakfast, lunch, dinner and frequent coffee breaks?

10. Learn to Say “Cheers” in Every Language of the Places You Are Traveling

Not only will you impress locals, but you’ll seem so worldly when you come home and refuse to cheer in your native tongue. Worldly or pretentious, depends on your friend circle.

11. Forget Your Normal Self-Imposed Food Restrictions

Just say yes to carbs, dairy and more. Because why would you want to miss out on fennel seed salami pizza? You wouldn’t.

12. Select Airlines Based off of Food Selection

Air France? Almost as good as actually being in France. KLM? Always a good selection of hearty European breads. China Airlines? They happen to serve really good Chinese tea.

13. Carry a Spork At All Times

You never know when you might need it.

14. Avoid McDonald’s and Starbucks At All Costs

You’re traveling, no need to be the obnoxious American who can’t ditch their chain food habit.

15. Learn About The Process From Something Basic

Take a class on cheesemaking, or a tour of a winery. Learning the background and history of a local specialty makes it that much more special.

16. Always Choose Cheap Lodging in Exchange For Being Able to Splurge on Meals

Five stars all the time is certainly not an indicator of a good culinary trip, but if you can order that aperitif or go all out and get the dessert without thinking about what it will do to your pocketbook, you’ll be much better off. 10 person dorm room in a hostel? If it means you get an extra bottle of local wine at dinner, by all means.

17. Be Willing to Mark the “Foods and Seeds” Section on Your Customs Card Just to See What Happens

Chocolate does not count.

18. Find a Couple of Key Items That You Always Buy Abroad to Add an Extra Level of Foodie Pretentiousness at Your Next Dinner Party

You can’t deny how much fun it is to say, “try some salted licorice! I stocked up last time I was in Europe.”

19. Get Lost

Leave the map and guidebook at home and let your stomach guide you. Whether you end up at a farmers market you didn’t know about, a hole-in-the-wall candy store or a friendly neighborhood joint, you’ll always be pleasantly surprised.

20. Celebrate the Unknown

You don’t have to always know what you’re eating. Life is more fun that way.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: How to Travel Like a Foodie appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

How one woman quit her stable job to live out of a trailer, travel the country, and discover her passion. [via Women’s Adventure Magazine]

A selection of awesome eco-friendly picnic gear, just in time for summer. [via CasaSugar]

Does breastfeeding until toddlerhood stunt a child’s development? Or are Americans just too sensitive? [via Scientific American]

What NOT to do on a first date. Hint: talking about Dave Matthews Band is up there. [via How About We]

The online tutorial we’ve been looking for: Food Porn Photography 101. [via Small Kitchen College]

Karl Lagerfeld, Snoop Dogg, and a whole lot of electropop. [via Fashionista]

Image: Michael Gil

The post Link Love: Passions and Picnic Season appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnWhat motivates us to share our culinary adventures.

When four different people, who don’t know each other, all send you the link to the same article, an article that poses the question “are your friends bombarding you with food porn?” you know you have a problem.

Been inundated with food photography lately? You are not alone.

As I sat down to the first impromptu backyard dinner of the season last night, the hostess stopped everyone from putting any food on their plates so that we could get a picture of the table first. I had my phone out (of course), because that tablecloth color went so well with the salad. Click. And that grilled asparagus… so green. Click. But for the sake of maintaining my sanity and living in the moment, I did not Instagram. You have to draw the line somewhere.

We love to document, in fact the human propensity to document is the backbone of historical records. We have experiences and we share them. These days, we simply live in an era where sharing photos has become particularly easy, maybe even too easy.

“Do you think more people take pictures of their animals or of food?” asked another friend at the dinner table. “Look at any picture on Facebook and it’s probably someone’s cat or their lunch. Why do I need to know what kind of grilled cheese sandwich you had? I don’t, but we all love to do it.”

It’s true. “Are you going to take a picture first?” is something I hear a lot when eating with friends. I have been known to switch plates and move someone’s glass out of the way just so the photo looks better. Why are we obsessed with food photography?

Food in art has been around for centuries, dating as far back as Ancient Egypt. While we’re no longer painting food scenes in tombs in the hopes that food will become available in the afterlife or committing time to painting still lifes with grapes in the Dutch style, we do love to whip out our DSLRs and iPhones and document the moment for the sake of prosperity.

Not only do we document however, we also consume.

Even a non food lover would have a difficult time not drooling over Instagram Foodies, a site dedicated to pulling together the best of the best in food photos taken with the popular photo sharing app. Ping! You just got a text, and didn’t your day just get a little better because it was a picture of a good dish someone thought you would like?

On a larger level, food magazines are more popular than ever; Food Network Magazine alone announced that it is increasing its ratebase for the seventh time since launching, increasing by another 50,000, to 1.45 million. Take a few minutes to browse the food section on Pinterest and you can easily become overwhelmed. And those food blogs aren’t just there because people write them; as a society we have become enthralled with learning about the behind-the-scenes of people’s kitchens.

“You can find out more, and more quickly, about the history and culture of a nation by looking at its food than in any other way. Food is a direct expression of a country’s spirit,” said food photographer Tessa Traeger.

We all have to eat, and food becomes our common ground. As journalist and academic Simran Sethi once said to me in an interview, “food is universal.”

That is a sentiment that the world of food photography has picked up on in recent times. If you have ever picked up your mother’s copy of Better Homes and Gardens or Betty Crocker you know full well that the pot roasts and casseroles of the 50s and 60s were less than appetizing, and certainly not indicative of a meal you would make at home on a Tuesday night. “In those days, the pictures looked as though they were taken from the top of a ladder, six or eight feet away. And the food was so artificially doctored up that it gave the profession a horrible name,” Photographer George De Gennaro, who began photographing food in the 1950s, once said in an interview.

But that is all changing. Because of the digital world, and easy access to cameras and photo sharing tools, food photography itself is becoming more democratized. Take a look at any food magazine that is on the newsstand right now. You’ll find the pages full of natural looking food, as if the photo was taken on your own kitchen table. A lot more styling goes into placing that knife and the bread crumbs accordingly, but food photos nowadays give us more than just a visual of the food. They make us feel that if we make that certain meal, we’ll also get the ambiance.

The farm table, the linen napkins, the candles in mason jars, the bouquet of lavender and rosemary tied with a piece of twine… our backyard dinner parties will be exactly the same.

It’s called food porn for a reason.

We lust after those moments, a certain lifestyle. Food photos are seductive because they let us forget about reality for a few minutes, the fact that most of us are throwing something together last minute in between one activity and another. We yearn for something slower. A put together meal. A memorable moment. The times that we break bread together as a community, sharing food and conversation. We share our food photos because food is what brings us together, and food allows us to have a connection with our larger social circles.

Food is at our core. As are our relationships. It’s no surprise then that the two go hand-in-hand. That we share our food photos because we’re sharing a moment, a glimpse into our everyday routine, no matter how styled it is. After all, if you’re stuck drinking a cup of coffee by yourself, teleporting a friend to join you is difficult. Texting them a well-framed photo of the rim of the cup and the handle is easy.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones, Instagram Foodies, Anna Brones, Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Why Are We Food Porn Obsessed? appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnBecause sometimes ingredients are meant to go together.

To say that I am obsessed with sea salt could be an understatement. In fact I recently made a commitment to tweak any recipe that I come across to incorporate sea salt, because when it comes down to it, just like cardamom, food sounds sexier when there is sea salt involved.

Although sea salt and table salt have the same nutritional value, when it comes to taste, for adding flavor to many dishes, sea salt is superior and has become the darling of food lovers. It’s flakier, crunchier and has a larger surface area which means you need less of it to flavor your food.

Sea salt’s popularity is nothing new, it has been making the food trend lists for the past several years, but what we’re doing with it is. No longer a simple seasoning, it’s now the finishing touch to everything from your appetizer to your dessert. This much was clear to me when a couple of friends and I topped off a foodie-centric dinner [note to self: always put arugula on pizza] in San Francisco last fall with a panna gelato topped with olive oil and sea salt.

In a food induced haze I remember hearing something along the lines of “we should put sea salt on everything,” come out from someone’s mouth. The path to sea salt obsession is a very slippery slope. One minute you’re gingerly crushing some sea salt on to your salad and the next minute you’re putting it into cakes.

Somewhere in between the salad and the cake situation lies flavored salt making. Because nothing says, “I’m fancy and I love food,” like whipping out a small jar of homemade Sriracha Salt. Citrus Salt, Roasted Garlic Salt, Lemon Salt with Fennel and Chili… you can make just about any type of salt that your heart desires. Feeling extra crazy? You can even buy Merlot Infused Salt. All of which got me thinking about chocolate sea salt.

There’s no doubt that chocolate and sea salt is the food pairing du jour. Chocolate and sea salt bars grace the shelves of even chain supermarkets. Just type in “chocolate sea salt” into Google and see what happens. I can assure you that you won’t leave your computer for hours, and you’ll come out with a weird hunger pang and 18 recipes bookmarked in your “Food” folder. What you won’t find however is a recipe for chocolate sea salt itself.

If chocolate and sea salt are so good together, why is nobody combining them into one delectable seasoning? Someone should do something about that.

So I did. Because there’s nothing difficult about chopping up a bar of chocolate; that would probably make it into chapter 1 of Intro to Foodieism.

Enter an afternoon of chocolate sea salt brainstorming that resulted in asking, “do you think you can sprinkle chocolate sea salt on kale chips?” Laugh all you want, but let’s remember two things about cooking in the Foodie Underground kitchen:

1. We’re here because we love food. Chances are you love kale chips, sea salt and chocolate. Why not put them together?

2. This is not Julia Child’s kitchen. “Quick and classy” is my motto – if it can’t be done in under an hour, it’s probably not worth doing (macarons obviously being the exception).

Given that criteria, if you can whip up a batch of kale chips and douse them in chocolate sea salt you obviously should. Just like you should quickly blend together some hazelnut butter with sea salt, otherwise known as “homemade Nutella that will impress your friends.”

As I have quickly come to learn, sometimes the best way to come up with a recipe is to start with a problem. In this case: if you make Chocolate Sea Salt, what are you going to do with it? Yes, First World Problems are easily found in the kitchen.

The beauty of it is that Chocolate Sea Salt already combines the sweet and savory worlds, meaning that you can use it on pretty much anything. Sprinkle it atop Rosemary Walnut Scones? Yes. Raspberry Almond Tart? Yes. Arugula salad? Yes.

Chocolate Sea Salt might just be the foodie dream seasoning. Bottle it up and give some to your friends, because you’ll want to have some on stock from now on.

Chocolate Sea Salt

Ingredients

• 100% cacao, unsweetened baker’s chocolate
• Flaky sea salt

Directions

• Finely chop the chocolate.
• Combine equal parts chocolate and salt and store in an airtight container.

Rosemary Walnut Scones 

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour (make this a gluten-free version with 1 1/4 cups all-purpose gluten free flour and 3/4 cup coconut flour)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled + cut into cubes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup walnuts

Directions

• Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and rosemary. Add cold butter and mix together until it resembles coarse meal. [Easiest way to do this is in a food processor, but using your hands to do the job works just fine]
• Whisk egg in small bowl and pour half of it into a measuring cup. Add milk until you get 1/2 cup. Add to flour mixture and mix until dough forms large curds.
• Make two round balls and flatten on greased pan. Cut each round into eighths. Add a tablespoon of milk to other half of egg and brush over scones.
• Preheat over to 450F, bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with Chocolate Sea Salt and let cool.

Hazelnut Spread with Sea Salt (adapted from orginal recipe on The Kitchn)

Ingredients

• 1 cup roasted hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Chocolate Sea Salt
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 tablespoons canola oil or hazelnut oil

Directions

• Put all ingredients in food processor and mix until a spreadable consistency – note that it may be slightly runny but will firm up when you put in refrigerator.
• Pour into an airtight container and store in refrigerator.

Raspberry Almond Tart

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups almond meal
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup raspberries

Directions

• Beat together eggs and sugar. Mix in dry ingredients. Melt butter and add to mixture.
• Pour batter into a greased 9.5 inch round baking pan.
• Evenly place raspberries on top of batter.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F, or until golden brown.
• Let cool and sprinkle with Chocolate Sea Salt

That’s only the beginning. Chocolate Sea Salt on panna cotta? Yes. Chocolate Sea Salt on Coconut Ice Cream? Why not. I’ll let you take it from here.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Adventures With Chocolate and Sea Salt appeared first on EcoSalon.

VideoAdventurous travel, one dish at a time.

A two week trip in three minutes, this beautiful food-and-travel video by Perrenial Plate just might make you book a ticket to Hanoi.

As they put it, “WARNING: do not watch if you are hungry and are without easy access to Vietnamese food.”

A Taste of Vietnam from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

We love the art of storytelling, so every weekend we bring you videos that have been making the rounds at EcoSalon. Enjoy!

The post Video: A Taste of Vietnam appeared first on EcoSalon.