Food Empires

A couple weeks ago on a wet and drippy Wednesday evening a friend and I went to hear Andrew Rimas speak about the cultivation of food in urban societies throughout history. Having caught an NPR segment on his and fellow author Evan D.G. Fraser’s book, Food Empires: Feast, Famine and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations, I was curious to hear what he’d have to say.

The talk was hosted by Cambridge Forum, a public affairs program that puts on (free!) weekly events in an effort to provide education and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics.  I stumbled on to these events as a bright-eyed and penny poor 23-year-old and have left star-struck on more than one occasion, not least of which was hearing Howard Zinn speak. Patricia Suhrcke, the Forum’s iconic director (she’s been there forever!), opened the forum. In true Cantabrigian fashion, a rowdy cry went up from the sweater and clog-clad audience when the microphone malfunctioned but peacefully died down as it boomed back to life. The moderator introduced Rimas, a journalist turned historian, who provided a brief overview of their book before answering questions.

The book considers processes or “food empires” that urban societies have established to feed themselves throughout history. To supply urban dwellers with food farmers grow more than they are able to eat and establish mechanisms for storing, transporting and selling their surplus to hungry buyers. With these capacities in place, food empires are born. Urban life prospers and as populations grow, the empires gradually expand to incorporate additional lands and trade options. However, as the authors show, food empires have rarely been sustainable owing to the fact that they were based on three erroneous assumptions:

• Over-confidence in the planet’s fertility, even in face of deforestation, erosion and soil depletion.

• Anticipation of continued fair weather to cultivate bountiful harvests.

• Excessive reliance on specialized “cash crops” which damage the local ecosystem and are generally incapable of providing adequate nutrition to the population.

Fertility can be used up, climates change and the cultivation of specialized crops can damage the local ecosystem. Realization of these factors has spelled disaster for various food empires across time. Harvests dwindle, trade slows, and the system gradually implodes. People depending on the empire to furnish their daily sustenance are left wanting and famine takes hold, leaving the populace more susceptible to illness.  As the authors point out, the parallels with modern society are striking and should give us pause. Modern American society operates under the same fallacious assumptions as well as a fourth:  Expectation of the continued flow of cheap energy (fossil fuel) sources.

The content was enticing enough but the event didn’t live up to its potential. The speaker’s style was a little hard to take and we jumped ship during the Q&A. Rimas clearly has a high opinion of himself. Based on a read of his book, it may be warranted since he is clearly a diligent researcher and gifted  writer. Even so, he would have been better served through a more humble approach. More often than not, less is usually more.

*Almost* Flour-Less Chocolate Cake

Lately, I’ve been playing with sugar. Muscovado sugar. And doing my homework too. 

Pretty much everyone these days has gotten wind of the fact that processed food, especially ultra-refined white sugar, is terrible for you. I was a little late getting the memo. I spent the better part of my twenties chowing on low-fat junk food and slurping splenda-sweetened coffee, which I imagine is probably even worse than sugar. Then one day I picked up a copy of Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, and wised up to the state of things. Nowadays, I do my best to avoid processed foods, limit my sugar intake and drink my coffee with just a splash of soy milk. Don’t get me wrong. You won’t catch me cutting sugar out completely. Life is way too short for that! I just try to curb the mindless grazing and make my sweets count. It doesn't always happen, but I try.

Except for a few recipes, I substitute raw sugar whenever something needs a little sweetening. That was, until I caught wind of another option: Muscovado sugar. Dark brown with an incredibly rich flavor, muscovado sugar has got to be what brown sugar used to be before someone dreamed up the clever idea of simply coloring refined white sugar with drops of molasses. Muscovado sugar is made exclusively from reduced sugarcane juice, which solidifies as it dries. Since it is entirely unrefined, it retains all of the nutrients found in sugar cane and is especially high in calcium, iron, minerals and potassium.

I’ve been sampling it around the kitchen, dabbing it on berries (so good!) and spooning it on oatmeal (my current breakfast of choice), with much success. I’d read that muscovado sugar was especially tasty in baked goods, so I decided to take it for a spin to see what I was working with. I gave it the master test and made a chocolate cake. And not just any chocolate cake, mind you. The richest chocolate cake I’ve come across yet: Molly Wizenberg’s Winning Hearts and Mind Cake. This cake is really quite something. Chocolately as all get out. So chocolatey that it doesn't even need anything else, not frosting, ganache or even a dusting of powdered sugar. Smooth and almost creamy, it holds its own all by itself. That was before. I really didn’t really think it was possible to improve upon something so delicious but I stand corrected. Subbing in muscovado sugar lent the cake a deeper flavor, which made it all the more decadent a treat.  If you’re in the mood to play with some sugar yourself, I highly recommend giving muscovado sugar a try (especially with this cake!)

(Note: Click colored text for the recipe and other information)

Meyer Lemonade

Old man winter of the northeast is certainly no friend of mine. Like most bitter enemies, he's picked up on my biggest weakness (being a westcoaster a long ways from her warmer home!) For the better part of the year he taunts me with bitter cold and prods me with gusty winds, ice pellets, sleet, and snow. The old man and I go way back; the score stands at 9-0 with him winning every round. The winter of 2004 stands as the most memorable defeat: The year that the wind chill was so bad that my eye lashes froze on my walk to work. Picture a shivering twenty-something with ice-crystal crusted lashes from profusely watering eyes. It will take a lot to top that but this year, with our 80-plus inches of snow (not quite a Shaq of Snow, but so close!), has come close. As always, I counted myself lucky once February was over. Once March rolls around, things invariably begin to look up. Temperatures hover in the balmy 30s and I can nearly excuse away the wayward flurries and blistering cold nights. After all, he can’t stay forever, right?  And as April nears, my day dreams turn to strappy sandals and alfresco dining. But this is all part of his plan, because just as we let our guard down, he strikes again. So, you can see why I was so unbelievably miffed to find myself wading through near ankle deep snowy slush last week, on a certain first day of April! I should really know better by now. Without fail, winter gets me every time.  The old man has it out for me. 

Feeling battered and in need of something to restore my hope that spring (and summer!) will eventually come to the rescue, I mixed up a batch of the only antidote that seemed up to the task: Fresh-squeezed lemonade, which I like to think of as sunshine in a glass. Besides, having acquired a sack of dainty meyer lemons on sale (and feeling quite thrilled about my very first meyer lemon purchase!), I’d been looking for an excuse to use them and figured this would be as good a time as ever.

Boasting a bright yellow color and a dainty petite frame, meyer lemons are sweeter and less acidic than their conventional counterparts. Juiced up and mixed with simple syrup and water over ice, they lent a gentle floral flavor to the glass and gave a fun twist to the time-honored classic. Even their peel tastes slightly sweet, so the recipe requires less sugar than you would expect. Here’s the thing though. Without the tangy bite imparted by conventional lemons, it just didn't seem quite right. Turns out that lemonade might not have been the best use for my little stash, but lest anyone be quick to cast judgment, the shortcoming is entirely my own. Surely, refined beauties like these have a higher calling than the likes of such a humble beverage.  Next time I will find a more worthy cause for them. In any case though, they provided some welcome relief as I waited out old man winter’s last hurrah.

Meyer Lemonade

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups meyer lemon juice

3/4 cup turbinado or raw sugar

1 teaspoon lemon peel 

Create a simple syrup by simmering the sugar and water in a small pan over medium heat until the granules are completely dissolved. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Add juice and lemon peel to the simple syrup and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Strain off pulp and lemon peel and refrigerate.

To serve, combine equal parts of the lemon mixture and water over ice.