Tuesday, 11 September, 2012

Class began with a focus on vocabulary:

ag·ri·cul·ture   [ag-ri-kuhl-cher]

noun 1. the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming.

hor·ti·cul·ture 

noun 1. the cultivation of a garden, orchard, or nursery; the cultivation of flowers, fruits, vegetables, or ornamental plants.

ter·roir  [ter-wahr; Fr. ter-war]

noun 1. the environmental conditions, especially soil and climate, in which grapes are grown and that give a wine its unique flavor and aroma: the high quality of the region’s terroir.

trophic level 

noun Ecology any class of organisms that occupy the same position in a food chain, as primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.

Maillard Reaction

chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar. E.g. "browning" during cooking which adds complex flavors.

Bechamel -- "White sauce" or "cream sauce"; butter, flour, milk (and salt & pepper); the beginning point for many sauces.

Haggis -- traditional Scottish dish consisting of heart, liver, and lungs of a calf or sheep (and spices).

offal -- organs or other non-muscle parts of an animal.

After practicing vocabulary the class returned to the article on the Middle Eastern church celebrating it's culture through food. Mr. Zartler made that claim the statement, "There's no such thing as Syrian food or Jordanian food or Palestinian food. It's all Middle Eastern food," is an example that traditional foods are a product of geography. Other examples include salmon being a staple of the diets of the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest; bison (buffalo being a staple of the natives of the plains, e.g. Arapaho, Apache, Commanche, etc.).

The last in-class activity involved reading "Chapter Five in which Carrots Win The Trojan War" from the book How Carrot Won the Trojan War. Students took notes on interesting facts and significant new information about carrots AND what areas of knowledge (e.g. geography, biology, horticulture) were accessed in the article.

Homework: students were given this blog address. They are to come to this blog and find their other homework assignment which is this:

Make a list of at least twenty questions you have about food; food and how it relates to culture; cooking; agriculture; and the economics of food. Bring these questions to class on Thursday.