Super(?) foods | Restaurant Psychology | Recipe: Sweet Potato Fly
Issue No. 28
In this week’s edition, what makes superfoods so super? Nothing, actually. Read Jackie’s reflection on why we should redefine the term. And how do you make a sweet potato fly? Just throw it out the window!
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When I hear the term superfood, I instinctively do a Liz Lemon-sized eye roll. Oh brrruther! Superfood is a PR invention that confers specialness on particular foods because of their nutritional density. Far from a scientific term, it was created by the odious United Fruit Company around World War I to convince Americans to consume bananas. Touting their health benefits, the once-exotic fruit became a staple, and the super strategy caught on. As explained by Harvard’s The Nutrition Source at the School of Public Health:
Superfoods often translate into super sales that have created a billion-dollar industry. According to a Nielson survey, consumers are willing to pay more for foods perceived as healthy, and health claims on labels seem to help….According to Mintel research, in 2015 there was a 36% increase globally in the number of foods and beverages launched that were labeled as a “superfood,” “superfruit,” or “supergrain,” with the United States leading those product launches.
The fact is that most foods in their unprocessed state deserve to be called superfoods, in that they are nutritionally dense. Açaí berries might be bursting with antioxidants, but so are beans and spinach and sweet potatoes and whole wheat. (And why am I so concerned about my antioxidant intake in the first place? Hint! Marketing again.)
Only when futzing with food- processing — wheat into white flour, onions into Funyuns, and corn into cola — do we create foods whose nutritional value is not worth the effort of chewing.
My personal health is on my mind when I eat, but I also try to make room for the many pleasures and comforts of food. I’d love to expand the idea of superfoods into something that considers not just nutrition, but the many ways in which food impacts wellbeing. Superfoods can soothe heartbreak (a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie), connect back to cultural identities (pasta with very garlicky, long-simmered tomato sauce), express love (a still-warm loaf of sourdough), cure hangovers (huevos rancheros from The Taco Truck around the corner from my house), or satiate with relative ease after an exhausting day (an apple and peanut butter with a side of sauerkraut).
Ali Van, one of the artists currently at the residency, made a soup to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. This warming concoction was inspired by a typical Chinese dessert soup, and contained a clear pink broth made from boiling a mess of dried fruits and ginger, served over sweet potatoes. It was transformed into something divine by the artist's loving intention while preparing it; the whimsy of trying my first-ever dessert soup; the soothing bite of ginger on my fighting-off-a-cold throat; and the crisp weather on the morning when I tried it. The soup had about 10 different fruits in it, some of which I’m sure are sold as superfoods. But the nutritional value was far from its defining feature. It was the complex tapestry of circumstances — emotional, environmental, sensory, and otherwise — that made it super.
love,
Jackie
You don’t need to eat superfoods to be super. Just share this newsletter on your social media and you’ll be our hero 😍😍😍
TRUTH OR SCARE
Should I be afraid of M-e-t-h-y-l-c-e-l-l-u-l-o-s-e?
A couple weeks ago Jackie wrote about the insidious ways U.S. agriculture tries to shape nutrition in the country. Ever since I’ve been on the look out for big ag propaganda (If you spot something suspicious, share it with us! 🙋). I didn’t have too look far. During the Super Bowl, the high holy day of TV commercials, Fox aired an ad about vegan meat by the questionably named Center for Consumer Freedom:
I won’t link to the commercial here cause it’s just propagating unscientific scare-tactics (Although Impossible Foods posted their own parody of it). The ad implies that synthetic meats are bad news because they contain a “chemical laxative” called methylcellulose. The chemical compound is also found in some laxatives. But guess what? Methylcellulose is found in plenty of things people eat — and it’s good for you! As CNET reports:
But that ingredient merely puts plant-based burgers in the company of "baked goods, fried foods, desserts, candies and soups" according to a book by food scientist Fernanda de Godoi, PhD. It's a commonly used, hypoallergenic food ingredient that is a source of dietary fiber, something the NIH laments Americans get too little of, and is an ingredient that "is associated with digestive benefits, such as increased stool bulk," according to the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
Animal beef and pork contain no methylcellulose, or any other kind of dietary fiber.
As for the Center for Consumer Freedom, CNET explains that it is a lobbying group “led by Rick Berman, who 60 Minutes described as Dr. Evil for being ‘against Mothers Against Drunk Driving, animal rights activists, food watchdog groups and unions of every kind.’” He also has consulted for oil executives. (hat tip Heated)
—Matt
Fresh links
🍴The Trouble with Table 101 | Planet Money
Why do we sit where we sit in restaurants? Planet Money has that figured out and more in this episode on how the space inside a restaurant influences our behavior. Some psychological secrets:
Heavier cutlery can get diners to spend more
Playing fast music can get customers out faster
And people like to sit at tables in corners or up against walls instead of feeling exposed in open space.
In the episode, restaurant design expert Stephani Robson gives a makeover to the casual Indian restaurant Adda in Long Island and the results impress. Listen here for more on the psychological tricks that get you to spend big when dining out.
👩🍳👨🏾🍳What to Do When the Deck is Stacked | James Beard Foundation
Women and chefs of color discuss unequal access to capitalization in the restaurant industry. The bank loans and private backers that help white male chefs don’t extend to others, despite their impressive resumes.
Nowhere is this greater illustrated than in the case of Bravo Top Chef finalist and former co-host of The Chew, chef Carla Hall, who famously launched a Kickstarter to finance her restaurant Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen in downtown Brooklyn. If a chef with that level of celebrity and gravitas isn’t being courted by financiers, what chance do up-and-coming chefs have?
White, male “rebel” chefs have been mythologized in pop culture. And investors want white male figures around in their kitchens. For those not among that demographic, investors create more hurdles like proving financial literacy with exquisitely detailed business plans. The icing on the cake is that from a business perspective, all these obstacles are actually financially counterproductive, since evidence shows “underrepresentation of women and minorities in management drastically reduces profitability.” 🤷🏻♂️
😳The Joy of Cooking Naked | NY Times
Take a wrong turn on the way to Jackie’s kitchen on the Florida gulf coast — and you can encounter a whole other type of cooking. In the nude.
NY Times food writer Priya Krishna spent some time at the Lake Como Family Nudist Resort, just 20 miles north of Tampa, and learned all about baking, browning, and sizzling au natural. The Sunshine State attracts many of the country’s 10 million nudists. Those in the lifestyle love the uninhibited, creative freedom that comes with cooking naked. But there are rules:
For all their enthusiasm about eating, cooking can pose some challenges. Ms. McMullen has learned to take a big step back when taking food out of the oven, to avoid being clipped by a hot rack. Her husband mostly refrains from frying, and wears an apron when he does. When grilling, he keeps a good distance from the flame.
Some put on T-shirts for putting together certain meals. Splatter from frying can leave scars on exposed skin, and there’s a whole buncha exposed skins where nobody wants to experience burns when cooking nude. The American Association for Nude Recreation even includes safe to cook recipes in its newsletter.
There is one rule all the guests at the restaurant (called Bare Buns Cafe) or bar (called the Butt Hutt) in Lake Como must abide by, for hygienic reasons. Always bring a towel to sit on.
Sweet Potato Fly
Howsabout a fizzy, slightly sweet soda that isn’t a sugar bomb? A sweet potato fly is a wild-fermented soda carbonated through yeast and lactic acid bacteria, which is present on the skins of sweet potatoes and also floating around your kitchen. It’s similar to kvass, another wild-fermented fizzy drink from Russia made with beets and/or bread.
Ingredients + Special Materials
2 cups grated sweet potato
2 quarts water
1 cup sugar
grated ginger, turmeric, or other herbs or spices (optional)
1/2 gallon mason jar with lid (or 2 quart jars)
fine mesh strainer
funnel
clean plastic bottles with caps
Step-by-step
Add grated sweet potato, sugar, any flavorings, and water to the mason jar, seal lid and shake until sugar dissolves.
Unscrew the lid but leave it covering the jar, so no dust or dog hair can get in but any CO2 built up during the fermentation process can escape. Allow jar to ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days.
To prevent mold or yeast formation on the surface, give the contents of the jar a daily shake. Screw on the lid first, shake, and then unscrew the lid again.
Strain the solids out (save them to add to bread, savory pancakes, or brownies) and drink as is.
(optional) For a drier, fizzier drink, pour the liquid into a plastic bottle. Leave about 2 inches of headspace. Seal tightly and allow to carbonate at room temperature for several more days. When the bottle feels rock solid, know it’s fully carbonated. Transfer to fridge to cool before drinking. When ready to drink, slowly open and enjoy!
Looking for something to bake for an Oscar party? Try Jackie’s orange and chocolate cake. Looking to get baked while at the Oscars? Try what the late, great Robert Altman did in 1993.
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Sunshine + Microbes team
Jackie Vitale is the current Chef-in-Residence at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and co-founder of the Florida Ferment Fest. Her newsletter explores the intersection of food, culture, environment and community.
Matt Levin is a freelance reporter based in Colombia. He edits Sunshine + Microbes and contributes other scraps to each issue.