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From Serious Eats

Dispatch from Slow Food Nation: Looking Forward

As a person who volunteered Friday-Sunday, I, too, went and came away conflicted. I don't think I've ever been to an event attended by so many people that pleased everyone, or even most. SF is a hard crowd, most especially seen by the local media coverage this past week end.

I am a little confused by your first bullet point though. Having worked for various food producers and farmers at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market off and on for the last 10 + years, I have seen less and less people buying and more and more looking. And many farms have dropped out of that market because of it's downturn in sales since the move.

Also I don't take offense to Mr. Kummer's quoted comment and it appears, after reading all of your posts on SFN, that you don't really either. I read his point to mean that SFN will be a failure if most people walk through, buy a little, look a little and go home and cook their delicious foodstuffs, and stop there.

The truth is that none of us know who took what away, who learned something new, who became inspired to do more, and who went to Civic Center day after day just for the biscuits and the star chef watching.

I say it's all part and parcel of an event of this scale, and what each of us do with our conflicted feelings to better educate Slow Food or anything else is made all the better with our energies, no matter how they've been formed.

Thank you for exceptional coverage. Glad to know at least one of the people I was working so hard for appreciated it.

shunafish at 2:22AM on 09/03/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

I really wish a food site as well trafficked as Serious Eats would not continue to advertise mis information.

The origins of the red in this cake come from early American cocoa, not food coloring. The Red Velvet Cake as we know it today is really a Devil's Food Cake in an unrecognizable disguise. Please read further historical information about this cake on the site What's Cooking In America.

While I agree that cakes make with egregious amounts of food coloring, in any color, are shocking to look at, and interesting because of it; I have to, as a baker, call to question, and remind you, the recipe for the RVC of today has no relation to its origins.

This cake that is now fast becoming a trend, is one dimensional in flavor, and not delicious, unless you love white cake that appears red.

shunafish at 12:23AM on 08/17/08

From Talk

Dinosaur Plums?

Floyd Zaiger is the inventor (& namer) of all stone fruit hybrid pairings. Naming these hybrids, just like all other naming, is tricky & patented business.

When other growers rename named fruit it confuses consumers.

The word pluot is actually the name of only one sort of hybrid, it is not an umbrella name for all stone fruit paired hybrids. There's also apriums, plumcots, and apriplots.

shunafish at 12:02AM on 08/17/08

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Recent Comments | Response to Comments

From Serious Eats

Dispatch from Slow Food Nation: Looking Forward

As a person who volunteered Friday-Sunday, I, too, went and came away conflicted. I don't think I've ever been to an event attended by so many people that pleased everyone, or even most. SF is a hard crowd, most especially seen by the local media coverage this past week end.

I am a little confused by your first bullet point though. Having worked for various food producers and farmers at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market off and on for the last 10 + years, I have seen less and less people buying and more and more looking. And many farms have dropped out of that market because of it's downturn in sales since the move.

Also I don't take offense to Mr. Kummer's quoted comment and it appears, after reading all of your posts on SFN, that you don't really either. I read his point to mean that SFN will be a failure if most people walk through, buy a little, look a little and go home and cook their delicious foodstuffs, and stop there.

The truth is that none of us know who took what away, who learned something new, who became inspired to do more, and who went to Civic Center day after day just for the biscuits and the star chef watching.

I say it's all part and parcel of an event of this scale, and what each of us do with our conflicted feelings to better educate Slow Food or anything else is made all the better with our energies, no matter how they've been formed.

Thank you for exceptional coverage. Glad to know at least one of the people I was working so hard for appreciated it.

shunafish at 2:22AM on 09/03/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

I really wish a food site as well trafficked as Serious Eats would not continue to advertise mis information.

The origins of the red in this cake come from early American cocoa, not food coloring. The Red Velvet Cake as we know it today is really a Devil's Food Cake in an unrecognizable disguise. Please read further historical information about this cake on the site What's Cooking In America.

While I agree that cakes make with egregious amounts of food coloring, in any color, are shocking to look at, and interesting because of it; I have to, as a baker, call to question, and remind you, the recipe for the RVC of today has no relation to its origins.

This cake that is now fast becoming a trend, is one dimensional in flavor, and not delicious, unless you love white cake that appears red.

shunafish at 12:23AM on 08/17/08

From Talk

Dinosaur Plums?

Floyd Zaiger is the inventor (& namer) of all stone fruit hybrid pairings. Naming these hybrids, just like all other naming, is tricky & patented business.

When other growers rename named fruit it confuses consumers.

The word pluot is actually the name of only one sort of hybrid, it is not an umbrella name for all stone fruit paired hybrids. There's also apriums, plumcots, and apriplots.

shunafish at 12:02AM on 08/17/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

I agree with everyone who prefers the cooked frosting. That's original to the cake. Here's my favorite recipe, if anyone wants to try it:

FROSTING

1 C milk
5 Tb flour
1 C butter
1 C white ugar
1 tsp vanilla

Boil together milk and flour until thickened. Let stand until cool. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add milk and flour mix and beat very well. (The longer you beat it the better it gets.)

smd1227 at 4:49PM on 01/23/09

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

Red Velvet Cake IS a chocolate cake with a reddish color. My late grandmother used to make a red velvet cake and it contained NO red food coloring or beet juice or anything like that. Her recipe has been lost and we haven't been able to duplicate it. It was the best red velvet cake I've ever eaten. Not like todays so called red velvet cakes, with their shocking red color. Her's was red AND chocolate. Wish I could find something akin to her recipe.

PyesAngel at 7:24PM on 12/27/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

That sounds like a lot of oil...a cup and a half. You may need to adjust your baking time. Overbaking can dry a cake out. If you are using dark coated pans, cut the bake time by five or so minutes.

kjjackson at 3:29PM on 12/10/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

Hey can somebody please help me! This thanksgiving I decided to make this much talked about cake. And to my dissatisfaction after three tries I've frosted what appears to be a very dense three layered cake that didnt rise very much at all. The texture is like that of a pound cake, while the flavor is good and there was some moisture, the crumb is dry is this the intended flavor and texture. I made this from a traditonal way with the vinegar and baking soda combination almost identical to the receipe above except my recipe also called for 1 teaspoon of vanilla, a cup and a half of vegetable oil and 20 ounces of cake flour. I had never eaten one before while my guest said the flavor was good everyone thought it should have had more moisture. What could I have done wrong?

ablkmind at 7:29AM on 11/30/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

Chari: Red velvet cake is not really a chocolate cake. Though most recipes include a modicum of cocoa, I've rarely encountered a red velvet with a marked cocoa flavor.

Shunafish: To wit, there was no misinformation here. I made no claims anywhere in this article as to the origins of the red in the red velvet. In a follow-up article to address our readers' questions and comments (http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/02/red-velvet-cake-history.html), I did, however, address those origins. What I wrote in that second article seems largely in line with your own thoughts on the subject (re: old-fashioned, non-alkalized cocoa, etc., though I and my research tend to disagree with the claim that red velvet is a direct descendent or another form of Devil's food cake). Regardless, thank you for submitting the link and for your input.

Pjracz10: Unless there is something very unique about your brother's mother-in-law's recipe, I can't imagine why it would be such a challenge. Seems like you should definitely try it some time - the only thing you have to lose is some flour and time, but it seems that you stand to gain much more. :o)

Amanda Clarke at 12:42AM on 11/12/08

From Serious Eats

Dispatch from Slow Food Nation: Looking Forward

Jen, lovely post. I think your prescription for a better SLN are all good ones. I especially love the community service event suggestion.

I truly hope The Powers that Be are listening.

grubreport at 2:54PM on 09/03/08

From Serious Eats

Dispatch from Slow Food Nation: Looking Forward

Actually, my reaction to this summing up is "quit making Slow Food about San Francisco or any of the other cities in which it might turn up."

It needs to be national and educational, and although you may go to SF for the convention/show, you should be carrying the clean food, sustainable agriculture, real food message to every part of your world.

Children are growing up not knowing milk comes from cows. Many of them eat manufactured food from morning until bedtime. There are grownups who don't know anything of nutrition and have children whose nutrition is their responsibility.

There are many rumors about the US food supply and Slow Food aficionados need to learn the truth and spread it. Is the meat full of hormones? Is the milk tainted with them, too? Does the government still fulfill its role of keeping the citizens safe on the food front, or is no one minding the store?

There's still time to fight for decent food, and that's where the energy needs to go, IMO.

Judith in Umbria at 8:45AM on 09/03/08

From Recipes

A Red Velvet Affair

I remember the first ime I had Red Velvet Cake, I was 9 or 10 years old and my brother's mother-in-law made it for the holidays. It truly was love at first bite. It became my favorite cake heads up. My brother's mother in law told me that it was very difficult to make and at times she had to remake it 2 to 3 times over to get it right? Is this something that anyone has heard of, that it has to have this certain texture or consistency or the whole thing is ruined? She gave me the recipe (still have it) but never made it because of what she said.

pjracz10 at 7:49PM on 08/25/08

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About shunafish

Website: http://eggbeater.typepad.com/

Location: Northern California

About: Quirky, seasonal-fruit inspired pastry chef, writer, and instructor.

Favorite foods: Delicious ones.

Last bite on earth: Foie Gras.