The Food Section

Q&A: Joanne Chen, Student of Sweet

By Anna Papoutsakis

Joanne Chen is the author of the newly released The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats. In the book, her first, she explores the science and culture behind why some of us have insatiable sweet tooths while others do not. The book also pays particularly interest to Americans' love-hate-guilt relationship to sweets and desserts.

There’s no doubt you're an avid lover of sweets. How did your sweet tooth become the inspiration for the book?

I grew up in a family that loved food, all sorts of food including sweets. We always had desserts and afterschool snacks, and I never thought sweets were a bad food or something limited to special occasions. So, when I became an adult, I was appalled that people didn’t feel the same way. I couldn’t believe people would pass up a just-baked pie! Or feel guilty about eating a cookie. So this book was an excuse to explore how our relationships with sweets (and food in general) came to be.

You write about the many ways people experience taste. What’s the difference between a non-taster, taster, and super-taster? How can someone find out what category they fall into?

Super-tasters have a higher density of taste buds than tasters and non-tasters. Our taste preferences are mainly determined by culture and experience, but our density of taste buds influence how intense certain foods might taste. So super-tasters are more apt to think certain vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, are very bitter, or certain sweets, like Rocky Road ice cream, are too sweet. As one scientist I interviewed explained, super-tasters live in a neon taste world, while non-tasters live in a pastel taste world. You can get an idea by taking a quiz on my website, The Taste of Sweet. You can also get strips of PTC paper from science hobby or teaching shops. These test strips will taste bitter to super-tasters and tasters. Non-tasters will taste nothing at all.

Are some sweets perceived as more low-brow than others? Why is a box of Godiva chocolates more coveted than a box of Whitman's? Isn't it all chocolate?

Yes, I believe some sweets ARE perceived as more low brow than others. It all depends on context. Godiva chocolates are considered more high end than Whitman’s because the price points are higher, justified, in part perhaps, by the purity/quality of the chocolate and fillings it’s made with. However, one scientist I interviewed brought up a good point. He wonders why certain wines are deemed better than others—what is “better”? It’s only deemed better because someone influential in a particular circle says so. Of course, in some social circles, Godiva chocolates are low brow, and something else—like Vosges or Michel Cluizel—is consider high brow.

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Agenda: Tequila, Chocolate, and Wine

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Tequila: The Future of Tradition
As spirits go, tequila often gets a bad rap. To educate imbibers about agave (above), tequila's flavor profile, and its rich history, Astor Center (399 Lafayette Street) is presenting a class, "Tequila The Future of Tradition." A discussion will be led by David Suro-Piñera, President of Siembra Azul Tequila and Foundation. along with tequila experts Dr. Rodolfo Fernandez and Claudio Jiménez Vizcarra, all of whom will be presenting in New York City for the first time. Sample a variety of tequilas, learn proper tasting techniques, and finish the evening off with appetizers from Café Frida. The class will take place in Astor Center's Gallery on Friday, May 9th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $45/person.

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MarketWatch: Asparagus, Ramps, Miner's Lettuce, and Crepinettes

By Josh Friedland

Ramps at the Union Square Greenmarket, added to the MarketWatch Photo Pool by Flickr user guessica.

MarketWatch is a monthly report on what's fresh and new at farmers markets in New York and San Francisco. If you've visited a farmers market recently in your own community, tell us what's new in the comments. And, if you have photos, be sure to post them to the MarketWatch flickr pool.

NEW YORK: UNION SQUARE GREENMARKET

News & Notes
As mentioned last month, the construction project at the north end of Union Square has temporarily displaced some Greenmarket farmers and producers. They've been relocated to the busy south end of Union Square, mixed in among the upstart peddlers of beads, incense, used CDs, and other decidedly inedible things. Not everyone is thrilled with the arrangement. "Now you have to schlep through a maze of nonfood vendors to get to the underselling milk; it’s like a frenetic flea market crossed with the long-gone flower district," writes Regina Schrambling on her blog, gastropoda.

The good news is that when the project is finally completed (18 months from now, at the soonest), the Greenmarket will reclaim all of its original space in the North Plaza, which is to be re-paved with hexagonal blocks.

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Agenda: Date Night, Brooklyn Eats, a Day-A-Whey, and Audible Eating

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Sweet Eats to Heady Drinks
The Culinary Historians of New York present Dates in "Medieval Baghdad: Sweet Eats to Heady Drinks." Discover how medieval Baghdadi cooks and wine makers exploited the date, from its versatility as a sweetener to its ability to produce highly intoxicating wines. The lecture will be led by native Iraqi Professor Nawal Nasrallah (author, Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook). The event will take place at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) on Monday, May 5th with check-in and reception at 7:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 8:00 p.m. Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets. $40/non-members and guests, $25/members, $22/students and seniors.

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Agenda: Book Talk, Bake Sale, Greek Easter, and Craft Beer

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Book Talk
Brooklyn's Montauk Club will launch its monthly series, "Facts & Fictions," with readings from authors Alex Prud'homme (My Life in France) and Kim Sunée (Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home). The free event will take place Wednesday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Montauk Club (25 8th Avenue, Brooklyn). For more information, contact montaukreadings@gmail.com.

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Passover Postscript (2008 Edition)

By Josh Friedland

Last week's Passover conundrum, about what to make for a Passover dessert among so many interesting recipes, was narrowed to two final selections. I wanted to make something out of the ordinary, and the results were successful.

Above is a Spanish orange-almond flan, adapted by Joan Nathan from a recipe by Ana Bensadón. Somehow, I averted what I thought would be a complete disaster during the cooking process and somehow produced a pretty incredible dessert, worthy of making not just for the Passover holiday, but any time...you have a dozen eggs to spare! The disaster part came while cooking the flan in the oven, which was a surprise, since I successfully navigated the toughest step in the recipe: making caramel for my very first time (seen bubbling away below).

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Passover Dessert Recipes

By Josh Friedland

Desiring something different than the ubiquitous (but always delicious) flourless chocolate cake, I have been searching for something entirely new to make for Passover dessert this year.

I've had some success in Passovers past making Le Pain Quotidien's Belgian Brownies (above left), rich chocolate mini-cakes that, surprisingly, don't suffer at all from the absence of flour, as well as Joan Nathan's almendrados (above right), Spanish almond macaroons with a hint of lemon.

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Agenda: Sakura in Manhattan, A Spicy World, and the Tuscan Nose

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Sakura Festival
Sakura, the cherry blossom, is the national flower of Japan, and its annual bloom season is a cause for celebration throughout the country and the world. New Yorkers can celebrate cherry blossom season with a Sakura Festival at EN Brasserie (435 Hudson Street). To replicate an evening of dining under pink cherry blossoms in Japan, the restaurant will be decorated in with the blooming flowers. As part of the celebration, a special Sakura Kaiseki menu will highlight seasonal Japanese delicacies, incorporating the delicate blossoms within the dishes. The festival will take place beginning on Monday, April 21st, and will last through to Sunday, May 4th. Sakura Kaiseki menu: $80/person. Reservations: 212.647.9196.

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Agenda: Umami Festival, Kabbalah Cuisine, and Pizza Fundamentals

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Umami: Food and Art Festival
The human tounge senses five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Umami is a Japanese word meaning "savory" or "meaty" and applies to a sensation common in meats, cheese, and other protein-rich foods or to "earthy" foods such as mushrooms and soy sauce, high in glutamates. The Umami Festival comprises a series of tastings, workshops, and performances aimed at bringing together artists and culinarians who use food as a medium. The Umami Food and Art Festival will take place Tuesday April 8th through Friday, April 18th at Roulette (20 Greene Street). For a full list of events, ticket prices, and more information, visit the offical site.

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MarketWatch: Sap for Sipping, Baby Garlic, and Eggs of All Kinds

By Josh Friedland

After a two-year hiatus, The Food Section's MarketWatch returns for its Spring 2008 edition. The new version, launching today, will be published monthly, with reports on what's fresh and new at the farmers markets in New York, San Francisco, and other cities (soon). If you've visited a farmers market recently in your own community, tell us what's new in the comments. And, if you have photos, be sure to post them to our new MarketWatch flickr pool.

NEW YORK: UNION SQUARE GREENMARKET

News & Notes
If you came to the Greenmarket this past Saturday, you might have noticed that the layout has been temporarily rearranged. Producers normally found on the north end of Union Square have moved south to make way for a construction project to restore the pavilion and beautify the North Plaza.

While we have technically entered spring, based on what's on display at the Greenmarket, it might as well still be winter. Apples, potatoes, and root vegetables are plentiful, but anything fresh and green is still scarce. While the temperature has risen just enough to tempt us out of winter, we're not there yet.

Greenmarket Manager Gabrielle Langholtz turned to poetry to describe the state we're in: "T.S. Eliot said it best: 'April is the cruelest month' Hats and scarves come off and customers come out, but farmers are just now putting seeds in the ground. The first harvests haven't really begun yet."

Nevertheless, a few spring specialties have arrived, and more are on the way.

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