And…(and this pales by comparison but it’s still fun) looking at a new spice at the theodorerichard food blog. Mustard seeds. Bought some nice brown organic ones at the Berkshire Co-Op and can’t wait to try.

Have a good year..

Photo by Jim Davis, article by DC Denison of the Boston Globe

If you have been buying locally grown produce your decision has done more than improve the quality of food on your table. One of the “ripple effects” has been a dramatic increase in the number of farms even in the small state of Massachusetts. This is a growing movement away from the mega-mart and towards the local farmer. Fueled by people waking up to where the real quality and often organic produce can be found. … and that is, right around the corner. This trend has been covered in an excellent article by DC Denison of the Boston Globe. It provides an excellent example of one of the long term consequences of a collective “I’ve had it and am not going to take it anymore” type of mindset. And that one consequence is the rise of local farming.

Anyway the key statistic is that although the size of the individual farm had decreased from 85 to about 67 acres, the number of farms in Massachusetts had increased by 27% in the five year period from 2002 to 2007  for a total of 7,691 (and for our small state I’m very impressed by this number). And this trend is expected to continue through 2012 when the next census is due to be completed.

In addition to the farms being in state, the other significant change is in how this fresh local produce is being sold. There are of course the farmer’s markets which eliminate the mega-middle man and all his accouterments such as a large air conditioned building (which is no problem to me … I’m a big fan of fresh air, natural lighting and the social atmosphere of the farmer’s market). But there’s also a trend for consumers to purchase a share of the crop. For instance Dave Purpula’s Farm in Middleboro, MA (lovingly named Plato’s Harvest) sells subscriptions for $675 each. Each subscriber gets herself a weekly box of fresh produce from the farm. Admittingly, I would guess that it probably cost more than the mega-mart but instead of coming all the way from Mexico or wherever it comes from right up the street. … ocean freight and fumigants not required.. As the Organic Test Kitchen Community is well aware. It’s all about quality, purity and environmental responsibility. I just shake my head when people question this… this is food, the stuff we put into our and our children’s bodies….and it’s worth every penny.

This is just another example of the many ways that going organic or at least local reaches out in many directions creating a greater good.

Related Posts are are:

• PA’s Dept. of Agriculture has a program to help convention farms transition to organic farms
• Organic Consumers found to have high expectations… ah Yeah
• How often do you go to the supermarket/farmer’s market?
• Sustainable Farming Practices Are What Makes Heritage Acres’ Small Family Farms Competitive
• Organic Food’s Positive Social Consequences

So I’m told that they are the only USDA Certified Organic Coffee Roaster in New Hampshire. Thank God we have at least one up there. And, being a processor you need to do more than just purchase organic green coffee beans. As part of the organic standard they are required to be certified USDA Organic by undergoing an annual audit.  … But the fact that they are organic means more than just producing awesome aromas and having to close your eyes while savoring their blends. Much more. You see, for coffee the environmental and health  considerations are ratcheted up a notch from where they usually are. I know, I know, coffee as compared to other organic foods has low residual levels of pesticides since it’s the internal bean that’s consumed (and some feel that the high temps of the roasting process destroys anything left… although I haven’t

seen the before and after chemical analysis to know if this is true or just a combination of speculation & wishful thinking). The big issue really is that coffee is basically a third world crop where growers tend to raise their families in intimate proximity to the farm. Also, the rules for pesticide and herbicide usage can get pretty loose and fancy-free in some of these countries. .. So.. we have a direct exposure issue and then there’s the run off … and then there’s the potential drinking water supply issues etc etc. Definite issues in every case? No. A definite concern? Absolutely. .. This just isn’t a visual I feel comfortable with. Anyway, with coffee, more so than with most products, I feel that I’m doing the world as well as myself a favor by going organic.

So much for the “malarkey theory” of organic food.  … Now what about the the coffee in and of itself? First, we need to know how fresh is fresh and does it make a difference? Well this morning I sauntered down to the corporate coffee cafe and took a peek at a pound of French Roast. Noted that the expiration date is a mere seven months from now. This of course would make Justin and Emeran just about pass out (my father would say what’s the rush). These guys, like every coffee connoisseur, states that after a week forget about it, it’s morphing into instant.  … A week vs. seven months. … But they do qualify this statement by saying that the coffee changes, evolves, as soon as roasting is complete. First, in a universally good way.. you need to give the newly born roasted beans about 24 hours to degas and otherwise settle down before they can be truly appreciate in their full coffee flavored purity. But they continue to change, age and as a general rule, get as my old friend Ray Kavanaugh would say, “not-good”. But like anything there are exceptions .. Justin mentioned that one coffee he found tends to become better with age to his palette.. but I doubt he was talking seven months worth of aging.

In addition to these post birth from the roaster issues, there are also considerations beyond the organic pedigree for the prenatal green coffee beans. For instance, Emeran mentioned how the industry is continuing to evolve where in the past it was generally assumed that a one year shelf life for the green beans were acceptable where now things are beginning to turn where three months is starting to become the more prevalent standard of excellence. And then of course there’s the trend towards micro-lots where they will separate the better grade high altitude coffees form the the other “not so good” beans instead of bagging everything together was was traditionally done. … And, even the bags themselves. Where jute tended to be used exclusively is now giving way to the use of so called “GrainPro” Bags  which help maintain freshness.

But getting in the finest beans (Emeran generally looks at cupping data to make her choices…BTW her staff recommended the Brazil Blend for it’s ashy notes.. Awesome! So good I finished the bag before taking the earlier pic) and keeping them fresh is only part of the beautifully complex world of coffee roasting. Since coffee is a natural product it will obviously not only vary by grower and farm but also season to season from such things as a particular year’s unique climate (here wine has the upper hand where a vintage from 2007 could be excellent … with green coffee, after three months… not a pretty picture). So the raw materials of the roast, the green beans, are a constantly moving target and  it takes a bit of artistry to combine and roast them to achieve a consistent and almost decadent product. Making a low end product is easy.. High end is hard. And high high end with ingredient variations like coffee… now we’re starting to drift into artistry. And I’m not being dramatic. It literally takes years of apprenticeship before one is considered a Master Roaster. In fact, one business in the next town over makes it known to new roasters that they would like to see at least a ten year commitment to the company before starting out. … These are important people you want in your bunker .. And here’s a small snippet as to how they go about their craft. .. When fresh beans arrive Eneran & Justin will roast small batches and after a day taste test the coffee. Depending upon the attributes found they will make their adjustments in order to produce a consistent flavor and aroma profile for the various blends.  And for those not yet introduced to the world of coffee tasting.. there’s an entire vernacular to learn and understand … they’ll mention taste notes such as chocolatey or blueberry (that’s right blueberry) … if you’ve ever heard a wine tasting described you’ll know what I mean. According to Emeran coming into a coffee shop and asking for French Roast is like going into a bakery and asking for bread. .. Indeed. .. A word of caution to the uninitiated. Get into the world of freshly roasted coffee at your own risk. By this I mean that you really don’t know how bad your current on the shelf for seven months coffee is. But once you learn, it will ruin you for life.  .. Take my father. He has been drinking this horrible mass marketed $2.99 a pound stuff forever. .. And he’s happy with it. It’s a disaster but he doesn’t know any better so he’s satisfied. .. That’s one hand. … On the other, however, is that I really don’t see him savoring his coffee. He just chokes it down and calls it a day. A nice piece of home-baked chocolate cake … this he savors.. 

So bottom line is that if you haven’t as yet taken the plunge I highly recommend that do and pick up some really fresh roasted coffee. It has a depth and complexity you’ll never find in the cheapo or even the corporate specialty coffees. Fresh is best in coffee, it truly is. And looking at the price, I can buy Corporate French Roast for about $11 a pound or purchase freshly roasted beans from someone such as A&E for just about the same money (with shipping & handling it may or may not be pricier, and if so, not by much). To me this is a total no-brainer. Superior product for the same to a few cents more per cup, no pesticide issues, feeling the love, etc etc. .. And if you were wondering, my father did ask Justin (seriously he did) if he got his coffee from the poo of some animal (if you don’t know what I’m talking about rent the movie ”The Bucket List” or read this New York Times Article, BTW Justin said no) …  I think he meant this as a good thing, a gourmet thing, but who knows. He has been known to slide in a zinger under the radar to avoid detection.  . .

Hope you enjoyed this post and that it gets a few people interested in the Fresh Roast Revolution. If you think this is any good please pass it along to your friends or family members who insist of torturing you with the black coffee swill of the past. Spread the word about Organic Test Kitchen.com  …  Best, Theo

• The Newman’s Own Organic Pet Food Home Page
• PDF with Information On The New Holistic Organic Pet food Formulas

Related Posts:

• Review of Newman’s Own Sweet Dark Chocolate Bar
• Organic Chocolate Lovers Cookies
• Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

So here’s the deal. The new rule which takes effect June 2010 is that “30 percent of the animals feed must come from grazing and that ranchers must have a plan to protect the soil and the water quality”. … Better … Much better (although I would like to see this eventually jump to 50%). .. And another great thing about this is that there are definite, tangible improvements to the environment when you buy organic. That, plus the benefits of clean food, makes the added cost worth it and the money well spent.

 Anyway went down to the Salvation Army to see if they had a decent paring knife for sale. The reason being great price, helping a good cause and recycling a once loved kitchen tool instead of manufacturing a new one. Now usually when I say this I get the eye roll (especially from the snobs who would never consider such a thing). Well, struck out with the paring knife (my father donated a lame one which has been sharpened to the point where it works pretty well). But found this beautiful J.A. Henckels Professional Meat Cleaver. High carbon steel to hold a razor edge, great weight, great feel. Checked Amazon and this has a list price of $90.And I got this thing for $1.99! Insane. Of course it was dull but hitting it with a sharpening stone quickly brought it back to life. And you know somewhere, sometime, someone who loved to cook bought this cleaver and now it was just sitting around being useless. I kind of like the fact that it’s been brought back to life and doing what it was meant to do. .. Anyway before it sounds like I’m getting all emotional over a meat cleaver just want to mention that I also picked up a hardcover first edition “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo .. for a buck! .. Insane!

 Send this post to a friend if you think this is useful and a good way to conserve resources while helping a good cause (especially if they’re a knife store snob). Some related posts are:

• A Great Inexpensive Place to Get Good Kitchen Knives
• Paring Knives
• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing

“But they’re in such small amounts that they’re harmless.” Ya right, based on your untrustworthy conventional nothing ever to worry about opinion. No thanks. So the motto is don’t trust what they say but rather trust what you think. This entire conventional world is one big lab experiment and you don’t want to be the rat. Hmmm. .. Conventional vegi’s sprayed with chemicals to kill bugs vs organic vegi’s that have never seen a chemical. Do you say “Don’t worry about it, it won’t kill ya” or do you say “Well there’s a lot of unknowns. It’s only a little more to get the kind without chemicals. Given the possible huge downside of ingesting insecticides maybe I’d be a smarter person if I got the all natural stuff (and besides it tastes better anyway)”.

 Well I like to think that those who visiting this little organic community are smarter than the average bear and choose right by choosing organic. 

 Please share with a friend if you like this post. Some related posts are as follows:

• Being Organic Means Being Environmentally Conscience
• Positive Social Consequences Of Organic Foods

 What I got was a high carbon steel knife for about five bucks. I’m guessing it use to belong to some chef sometime in the past. Sure it needed sharpening, but I took care of that and right now I can almost loose a thumb it is such an effective knife. But think..not only did the darn thing cost only five bucks but it was a perfectly good tool that was recycled. No need to mine, smelt, manufacture, transport with all the unnecessary energy and pollution involved. And if this weren’t enough you’d be contributing to a very worthwhile organization at the same time. It really doesn’t get any better than this. But the key in finding such bargains is to check-in every so often until what you want shows up. Now the Gourmet Shop Knives are very fine, don’t get me wrong. I just like the idea of how pleased the original owner would be if he knew that his knife is still contributing to excellent meals for an entirely different generation.

Related Links:

• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing
• Paring Knives
• Sharpening Chefs Knives And Other Knives

Related Posts:

• Being Organic Means Being Environmentally Conscience
• Whole Foods BYOB Policy Page