The Food Section

Q&A: Joanne Chen, Student of Sweet

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.

There’s a lot of fear about high fructose corn syrup. Should folks be wary?

The jury’s still out on that issue. One UCSF doctor I interviewed, Robert Lustig, believes that we should be. HFCS contains slightly higher levels of fructose than plain sugar. Fructose is processed differently and he believes excess intake (which happens when we drink several cans of soda a day) could compromise liver function and wreak havoc on our insulin system. A study out of the University of Florida last December also voiced concern about fructose. But other scientists disagree, including those with the Centers for Science in the Public interests. I believe everything in moderation is the safe way to go.

Let's play a little word association. I will name a sweetener, and you'll tell me the first thing that comes to mind:

Sugar? Innocence
Saccharin? Old ladies
Honey? Breakfast
Maple Syrup? Sticky
Stevia? Green

After writing The Taste of Sweet, how has your relationship with sweets changed?

I eat sweets more frequently and freely, but I eat less of them at each sitting. Researching the book as really helped me appreciate the tastes and flavors of every bite and listen to my satiety signals. If the taste has dulled, that means it’s time to put it away and eat it later. Also, I’ve learned to take a moment and analyze my cravings—is it something crunchy that I want? Or warm? Or creamy? Then I zero in on that, rather than wasting time (and calories) on a fat-free muffin, only to make myself a brownie sundae 15 minutes later.

Finally, how do you stay so svelte?

I’ve found that when I stopped denying myself the foods that I liked, I stopped obsessing over them and I gained better control over my eating habits (and even lost a few pounds in the process of writing the book). Also, I should add, I was never a fan of heavy fatty foods. So, I’m the kind of person that orders a salad for an entrée with dressing on the side —and then gets the chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.

Illustration: iStockphoto.

Q&A: Jaden Carda, Pint Size Chef and "Mini Minimalist"

Jaden Carda is the three-year-old Internet sensation behind the "Mini Minimalist," a video homage to New York Times writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman. In a single take, Jaden recites an almost verbatim rendition of Bittman's instructional video on making chocolate ganache. Jaden's memory and delivery is even more amazing considering that he was born in Thailand and has only begun to master English during the past eight months, when his family moved to Arvada, Colorado. We talked with Jaden's producer (and father) Joel Carda about the budding chef.

In the video, your son appears to mimic Mark Bittman's video for making chocolate ganache nearly word-for-word. How did he do it?

I download children's podcasts for Jaden on my iPhone from Sesame Street, NickJr, and PBS, which he loves, but of course I also download podcasts for myself. Most of my podcasts bore him but he returns again and again to "The Minimalist." Who would have guessed that Mark Bittman would be like catnip for kids?

Some of the comments on various blogs were almost as funny as the video. A couple of concerned parents suggested that he was showing signs of autism. Others were worried that we force him to watch Bittman in lieu of play-dates. He was hailed a prodigy and a genius. Like all biased parents, I think he is cute and smart and would love to believe that he is a genius but the truth is that he is none of the above. All kids are sponges and it is cute and surprising when they imitate adults. We just don't expect that kids would find something like that interesting and when they do, it strikes us as funny. For better or for worse, technology allows kids access to all kinds of unexpected information. Lucky for me, he'll soon be making some great meals.

Many parents also commented on the "Bitten" blog that their kids love to watch the podcast too. The unveiling of the mysteries of cooking may be part of the attraction but just think about some of the recent topics and the appeal to kids becomes apparent: chocolate, an octopus, and Mr. Tomato Head. It could also be that Bittman, who looks a bit like me and cooks a bit like my wife, feels like a parent to him.

He's sitting on the floor wearing pajamas and cooking with imaginary ingredients. Will we see him in a chef's jacket making real truffles any time soon?

I don't cook much but his interest in the podcast, and the simplicity of the recipe, inspired me to make the truffles for real with him. We're going to tackle short ribs this week too. I've already got video of the pretend version, "So rico, so sexy!" I'll post it once I get a chance to put subtitles on it.

What's next for your child prodigy? More Bittman? Batali? Bourdain?

My wife is Thai and along with expertise in Thai cuisine, she excels at Japanese, Indian, and Mexican food so I assume his first apprenticeship will be with her.

Related:
»The Mini Minimalist: Chocolate Ganache [YouTube]
»The Minimalist: Chocolate Ganache [New York Times]

Eating Your Colors

Tattfoo Tan (below right) is the Malayasian-born artist behind the newly installed mural on Front Street in DUMBO. The mural is life size replica of a placemat he created as part of his Nature Matching System (NMS). The colors in the placemat are inspired from actual food colors and serve as a reminder to eat properly.

Free NMS placemats are available at Foragers Market (56 Adams Street) in DUMBO. To request an artist-signed copy, contact tattfoo@tattfoo.com (shipping and handling charges will apply).

What was your inspiration for the NMS project?

NMS was developed as a reminder to consume our daily recommended doses of color. The shades of color displayed at farmers’ markets are more than skin deep, reflecting the inner potential of every fruit and vegetable; intense colors might even be called nature’s nutrition labels. They get many of their colors from phytonutrients, compounds that play key roles in health and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. The more colors come together at a meal, the better. Sadly, marketers of junk food apply the same technique used by nature to pollinate seeds in order to sell their nutrition-deprived products. Color is a device that can either do good or be deceptive and even ensure the "pollination" of unhealthy eating habits. The colors on the placemat are all actual food colors, taken from photographs of various fruits and vegetables. Match your meal to the placemat -- it is truly a rainbow connection.

The mural is expected to be taken down in January of 2009. What will happen to it afterwards?

It is temporary, like most of my public art projects. It is ephemeral and could be seen as a public intervention and not a monument. I hope that NMS will remain in the memory of people touched by it and will serve as a constant reminder to eat fresh and colorful fruits and vegetables.

Students at Brooklyn's P.S. 307 helped paint the color panels that appear in the mural. How was it working with the schoolchildren?

The kids at P.S. 307 are amazing. I wish to start their education about healthy eating while they are young. NMS is a fun project to do with children, combining art, science, and education.

Would you even consider mass-marketing the placemats to bring awareness of "eating your colors" to a wider audience?

Sure. I'm waiting for the right museum or producer to take on the project.

Food is present in much of your work. Is there a common thread?

Food and eating are universal. It transcends cultural and geographical boundaries. It is part of our daily needs and rituals, as seen in [my projects] The Residue of an Omnivore or Cuisine du Jour. It nourishes the mind and body. How many times does one visit an art gallery compared to a restaurant? How cool is food as an art medium? I think it is, like in Bread Rock and Eat Draw Play.

Want more of Tattfoo? The artist’s next project, Share-A-Prayer, will appear at the Queens Museum of Art as part of the upcoming exhibition "'This Case of Conscience':  Spiritual Flushing and the Remonstrance." For the project, he collected prayer requests from various religious establishments in Flushing, Queens. The prayer requests are placed on soda can and snacks which are then available in vending machines. The exhibit runs from April 6 to June 29.

Images: Tattfoo Tan.

Q&A: Lauren Fleischer, Plush Meat Maker

Lauren Fleischer, the creator of Sweet Meats, crafts soft, huggable versions of steaks, pork chops, ribs, and other fine cuts. We recently interviewed her about the inspiration behind her products.

Why plush meats?

I like meat. A lot. I have ancestors and relatives who are/were butchers on both sides of my family. My last name even translates to "butcher" from German. When we were kids, my little sister and I would take weekly trips with our mom to the Karl Ehmer butcher shop in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. We would tear into the bag the second we got in the car. The entire ride home we would bite out shapes to make bologna "masks" and eat entire strings of cocktail frankfurters.

How did you come up with the idea?

I had had the idea to make unusual plush objects a long time ago. They were something I used to collect. Then, about three years ago, I saw a video and an online exhibit for Jennifer Lew, who makes things like plush videotapes and lines of cocaine (razor included) as fine art. That gave me the push to actually begin. I started with a plush ham and a pack of cigarettes, neither of which I ever finished.

What do you think is their attraction?

I've explained my own attraction to meat but I think there are many reasons other people love them. Meat, especially red meat and pork, is often seen as a vice these days and people love to be subversive. There's also an instinctual, biological urge to grab a piece of meat. Meat is one of those foods, like chocolate, that people have intense cravings for and of which they will go out of their way to find the best piece, unlike, say, milk or cabbage. Also, cuddling up to something that is normally bloody and cold is pretty funny.

Who is your market?

Mostly punks, hipsters, artists and Western Europeans. Sweet Meats, however, can be marketed to enormous range of demographics. They are vegan, kosher (even the pork) and your pet (or new baby) will gladly chew on them.

For more information about Sweet Meats and to view the entire line of plush meats, t-shirts, and toys, visit sweet-meats.com.