Saucin'

Daniel Delfin ______________________________________________________________________________________ At a young age, I always enjoyed the process of creation. I always held pride in what I'd put my heart into making. Great cooking requires creativity and passion and best off all, you get to eat it at the end. _______________________________________________________________________________________ I am currently employed with Freshii, a rapidly growing healthy-fast food restaurant, as a supervisor. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I believe that cooking should come from deep within. It should be a gateway that expresses your tastes with another person, mentally and physically. The dishes you create should be reflective of who you are as a chef. ________________________________________________________________________________________ During my newly formed blogging experience I hope to of course be inspired from the culinary content and insightful information that other bloggers have to offer. If I can push someone to try something new in the kitchen, or even out of it, then this blog will be that much more worth it. _________________________________________________________________________________________ “Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.” – Francois Minot _________________________________________________________________________________________ Author Name Unknown. Culinary Quotes. Chattering Kitchen. Line 28. P. Jun. 2011. Web. 17 Sep. 2015 http://chatteringkitchen.com/culinary-quotes/ _________________________________________________________________________________________ TasteToronto is a blog that I've been following on Instagram for quite some time now. I recently found out that they had an actual site that lists many popular Toronto spots and dishes. I love that their posts never cease to leave me drooling all over myself. I'd love to emulate the vast amount of quality and delicious looking food that they share. The only thing I could really change is the diversity of the food showcased. I'm confident I can find some good looking health dishes in Toronto. It would widen the blogs demographic to the more health conscious foodie.

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Pork Belly

All rights reserved to Gordon Ramsay for photo and recipe used

Fortinos 

Location: 2911 Major MacKenzie Dr W, Vaughan, ON L6A 1R8 [phone] Hours: 8AM-10PM

This week’s chosen animal is pig; specifically, the chosen cut is the pork’s belly or, popularly known as bacon. There are plenty of reasons as to why I would like to discuss about pork belly but mainly because it reminds me of my mother.  Pigs are widely known as pork and is classified under the Suidae family which consists of pigs, hogs and boars. Dating back around 4900BC, pigs were domesticated in China and also in Europe by 1500BC (Vann, 2009). Based on the belief that pigs were unclean since they ate just about anything and also waste, there was a fear of disease spreading if it were improperly cooked and was banned in Jewish, Christian and Muslim religion before 1000BC (Vann, 2009). Domesticated pigs, often referred to as swine are raised for meat such as pork, ham, bacon; leather from their hide; and from their coarse hairs, called bristles, are commonly used for paintbrushes. Adult swine are classified by genders. Adult male swine are known as boars; females as sows; and piglets for young swine. Pigs are a very intelligent species and is often argued that they are as smart as dogs. A typical pig contains a large head and long snout. The snout is used to dig into soil to find food in the ground. Just like dogs, pigs have an excellent sense of smell. They are naturally very hygienic animals, (sounds odd since they roll in mud) and have designated sites for defecating and urinating far from their sleeping and feeding areas. Near their nests, pigs have rubbing sites, most often trees, which are used to help in grooming when other pigs are not available to assist them. Pigs do not have sweat glands and are prone to heat stress. By wallowing in mud, it covers their bodies and also applies an extra protection from flies and prevents sunburns.The cut chosen (pork belly) comes from, well, obviously the belly part of the pig just below the spareribs.

The purchased meat of $35 for a 10 lb piece averages around $3.50 per lb. Although I did not personally purchase the meat, I have frequently explored this specific market. I feel the price for this cut is average among other markets and is acceptable.The best way to utilize this cut for optimum return in my opinion would be roasting the pork belly. Reasons as to why roasting is the best possible way is because you get a nice texture on the skin from roasting and it also keeps the meat under the skin nice and tender.

There are many different cooking methods that can be applied to this cut for many different style cuisine and recipes. Listed below are the best ways to a cook a pork belly.

Boil or Poach – Usually found in Asian Cuisine, mainly Korean and Vietnamese cuisine for rice wraps or main course/dish meals.

Braise – Found widely around many cuisines. Braising is a long slow cook time that develops plenty of flavour and is perfect for turning tougher meat, fork-tender.

Roast – Provides the most flavourful, juicy and tender results.Grilled – Quick and easy cook time with thin slices. Perfect for parties and barbecues.  

Smoked or Cured – How bacon is usually made.

Slow Roasted Pork Belly

Ingredients

·         1kg pork belly ·         Sea salt and black pepper ·         1 fennel bulb, trimmed and roughly sliced ·         4 fresh bay leaves ·         3 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed ·         1 tsp cardamom pods, bashed ·         4 star anise ·         1 tbsp fennel seeds ·         Olive oil ·         325ml white wine ·         500–750ml chicken stock (depending on the size of your pan) ·         1 tbsp wholegrain mustard Method          

Serves 4

1.      Preheat oven to 350F. 2.      Score pork belly skin diagonally into diamond pattern. Season generously with salt & pepper, rubbing well into skin. 3.      Put fennel, bay leaves, garlic, cardamom, star anise and half the fennel seeds into hot roasting tray with a little oil and heat for 2 minutes until aromatic. Push ingredients to side of tray, add pork skin side down and cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Turn pork over, season skin again with salt and sprinkle remaining fennel seeds. Pour wine to deglaze pan, scape bits from bottom off (be careful not to get skin wet). Bring up to boil, pour stock just up to the layer of fat just below the skin and allow to boil again. 4.      Transfer tray into oven and cook for 2.5 hours. 5.      Transfer meat to warm plate and let rest. Meanwhile, spoon off any excess fat in the roasting tray or drag a slice of bread along the surface of the cooking juices to absorb it. Heat the tray on the hob, adding the mustard. Mix in with a whisk, then taste and adjust the flavours as necessary. Remove the star anise and cardamom pods and pour the sauce into a jug. Serve the rested pork with the sauce alongside. Gordon RamsayUltimate Cookery CourseBy Hodder & StoughtonText © Gordon Ramsay 2013ReferencesVann, Mick. (2009, April). A History of Pigs in America. Retrieved fromhttp://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2009-04-10/764573/Mississippi State University. [MSSTATEwfaTV]. (2011, January 11). Part 1, A Pickup Load of Pigs: The Feral Swine Pandemic - Natural History [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTIxox-46AwThe Humane Society of the United States. (2009, November) More about Pigs. Retrieved fromhttp://www.humanesociety.org/animals/pigs/pigs_more.html?referrer=https://www.google.ca/Hodder & Stoughton. (n.d). SLOW ROASTED PORK BELLY. Retrieved fromhttps://www.gordonramsay.com/gr/recipes/slow-roasted-pork-belly/

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Vegetarian, Nutrition & Diet

Vegetarian meals normally consist of vegetables, protein replacements like tofu/soy and other times eggs, dairy products and fish. Some meals that might be common to a vegetarian would be buckwheat pancakes with bananas for breakfast, a falafal pita with a greek salad for lunch and maybe a Korean inspired soon tofu combination dish. 

Here’s a simple recipe that I came up with that you could follow for a quick vegetarian snack:

6oz Spring Mix 6oz Baby Spinach 2oz edamame 2oz cucumber sliced 2oz carrots 2oz sweet corn 1/4 Avocado Dressing - Honey Dijon 1/4 Dijon Mustard 1/4 Canola Oil 1/4 Honey 1/4 Red white vinegar For a week I attempted to eat as if I were a vegetarian. I strayed away from meats and stuck to salads, fruits, hearty vegetable soups, oats, cereals, and to treat myself meatier foods like fish. I also enjoyed dairy products such as milk and cheese. It was rather hard to keep to the diet, but I would say that I did feel better after the week. Felt a bit cleaner if you will. What kept me on track with my goal to abstain from meat was the idea that it was not only for school, but mainly for my health. Eating a mainly vegetarian diet can be a lot more gentle on your bodies system in comparison to a lot of the treated meats that we obtain in grocery stores. Although I did feel great after my week of being a vegetarian, I would not continue being a vegetarian. Finding tasty and meaty protein replacements was rather hard. I don’t mind tofu at all, but I don’t think I can part with chicken, steak, pork, lamb etc. I wouldn’t mind trying to be a vegetarian for a month a year for a bit of a cleanse from my meaty diet, but I doubt I’d be able to abstain from meat for long.

Overall it was a very insightful experience and I would recommend those reading to give this a try!

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Blog Assignment #1 – Food Theory II – Chef Woods

The innovator I've chosen to write about is WikiCells.  

BACKGROUND

WikiCells is a group of scientist and designers that stormed up the idea that if grapes, apples and such could be held by edible shells, then so can other foods. They have created edible membranes made up of other foods like pumpkin soup held in a spinach membrane. They also made other models like lemon juice in a lemon membrane and coconut sorbet in a mango shell. These are only a few of the edible shell harbored foods that were showcased at a Paris food conference.  

To get down to the science of things, "WikiCells consist of a natural food membrane held together by electrostatic forces and containing a liquid, emulsion, foam, or solid food substance possibly within an edible or biodegradable shell. WikiCells use special membrane technology that permits the fabrication of thin delicious membranes with significant water diffusional resistance and adjoined shells that allow for stability of the WikiCells over long periods of time" (Edwards, Ph.D 2012)

WikiCells first product sent out to the commercial industry was ice cream. It is was a chocolate fudge skin containing vanilla ice cream and a cookie dough membrane containing chocolate chip ice cream. The cells are also packaged in an edible/biodegradable box made from bagasse or tapioca (Arumugam 2012).

HOW IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED

This is an innovation because food wrapped in an edible shell, on a grand scale was only accomplished by mother nature.  WikiCells has created a platform for a vast amount of new food transportation and consumption methods.  

WikiCells was created by David Edwards, a Harvard professor, alongside other assisting scientist and designers. This was funded by Wyss Institute. To put the composition of WikiCells in a more understandable way, the first layer of skin is a soft skin like a prune skin. It is made up of three components, tiny natural food particles like fruit, nuts or seeds, a nutritive ion-like calcium, and a natural molecule like chitosan or alginate (algae). When you mix these three components together they form an electrostatic gel that keeps water inside the food or drink. The outer layer is the protective shell and can either be washed and eaten along with its contents or peeled off and used as compost as it is completely biodegradable (Spector 2012).  

IMPORTANCE

A majority of packaging is not recyclable and constitutes 32% of household waste  (Advances in Edible Food Packaging to Tackle Waste Management Issues 2013). Not only does this innovation make movements towards lowering or eliminating the problem of plastic containers, it also opens doors for new culinary methods. With other creations like a tomato membrane with gazpacho soup or grape membranes holding wine, it isn't crazy to say that these foods could have uses in a restaurant. WikiCell Machines are available to those who have the funds to purchase one and can produce entirely edible or biodegradable foods at your home, restaurant or business.  

PERSONAL THOUGHTS/REFLECTION

I can not provide any personal thoughts on this product as I have not tried it myself, but I am confident that I would enjoy experiencing it in the future. Although currently out of a majority of the populations financial reach, I believe that this new method of storing and eating foods has a wider potential of uses not yet seen. I believe this product only has a bright future head.  

References

Advances in Edible Food Packaging to Tackle Waste Management Issues. (2013, March 15). Retrieved January 28, 2016.  

Arumugam, N. (2012, December 26). Best Food Innovations Of 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2016.  

Edwards, D. (2012, January 26). WikiCells: Bottles That We Eat. Retrieved January 28, 2016.  

Spector, D. (2012, August 21). This Space-Aged Edible Packaging Eliminates The Need For Plastic. Retrieved January 28, 2016.  

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Blog Assignment #4

The raw vegetable that I chose for this blog was Napa Cabbage.

I will be fermenting this Napa to turn it into Kimchi.

The main body of research that I used to ferment my cabbage was Lisa Turner’s, “5 Steps to Successful Fermentation”.

Here are her 5 steps:

“1 START SIMPLE. Salted vegetables is probably the easiest project for beginners. Salt inhibits the growth of bad bacteria and encourages lactobacilli growth. Basically, the process involves chopping crunchy vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and carrots, salting them liberally, pounding them to release their juices, and packing them in a crock or jar. (See our recipes for simple sauerkraut and kimchi at right).

2 KEEP IT CLEAN. The key to fermentation is to encourage the growth of good bacteria while preventing bad bacteria and mold. Make sure hands, tools, workspace, and containers are clean before you begin, and keep fermenting foods away from compost or other sources of bacteria. Use clean utensils when stirring and tasting, and be sure not to “double-dip” to avoid bacterial contamination.

3 WATCH YOUR TEMPERATURES. The ideal temperature for fermentation is 65–72°F. Too cool, and beneficial bacteria can’t grow and thrive. Too warm, and spoilage sets in. Generally, fermentation readily occurs at room temperature. If you’re not sure, invest in a simple thermometer and test your fermenting area.

4 SEAL OUT AIR. Beneficial bacteria thrive in an oxygen-free environment, so your fermentation procedure should keep oxygen away from food. Some fermenters rely on specialized equipment with fancy vacuum seals and other accessories. But people have been fermenting for centuries with nothing more complex than a Mason jar. Two key factors: First, be sure your food is completely submerged in brine. This allows lactic acid bacteria to develop and prevents the growth of harmful bacteria. Second, seal Mason jars with a lid, but be sure to allow at least one inch of head room for expanding gases. Some fermenters prefer to loosen the lid once per day to release built-up gases.

5 PITCH IT IF IT’S FUNKY. Here’s the thing with fermented foods: if you did it wrong, it stinks. Literally. Your fermentation should have a light, clean, fresh smell and taste, with a little tang. Telltale signs that something’s wrong: slimy texture, pink hue, browned or dried out vegetables, funky odor, white or creamy film, or mold. When in doubt, toss it out.”

(Turner 2015)

In terms of the recipe that I used I had a bit of a mix of Lisa Turner’s kimchi recipe and Maangchi’s more traditional Kimchi recipe.  I couldn’t find a few of the Korean ingredients such as saeujeot (Korean salted fermented shrimp), water drop wort (minari) and Asian chives (buchu) that were listed on Maangchi’s recipe, but I covered all of Lisa’s ingredients and added what else I could from the traditional one. Luckily the buchu and minari were easily replaced with more green onions.  The saeujeot however was left out of the recipe. You will see in the pictures later that I had a shrimp paste on my ingredient board, but I decided against using it as to not alter my kimchis flavour.

Here is Lisa Turner’s recipe

Makes about 2 quarts (12 servings)

This traditional, fiery Korean condiment is served as a side dish with meals to aid digestion and add interest. You can serve it with any grilled meat or fish, toss with noodles, add to grilled cheese sandwiches, or use on hot dogs or burgers as an intriguing relish. Vary the spiciness by reducing the Korean red pepper powder (you’ll find it in most Asian markets). You can also use Korean chili paste, or substitute any spicy pepper powder or paste.

1 head Napa cabbage

¼ Cup salt

1 cup packed, grated carrots

1 large bunch scallions (about ¼ Lb.), sliced into ½ -inch segments

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. Grated ginger

2 tsp. Sugar

¼–⅓ cup Korean red pepper powder

1. Halve cabbage lengthwise, remove core, and chop leaves into 2-inch pieces. Dissolve salt in two quarts water, stirring to mix well. Soak cabbage 4 hours in salted water.

2. While cabbage is soaking, combine carrots, scallions, garlic, ginger, sugar, and pepper powder in bowl; mix well.

3. Remove cabbage from water, and rinse thoroughly to remove salt. Squeeze out excess water. Using rubber gloves, combine cabbage with veggie-spice mixture, working mixture into cabbage until well combined. Pack mixture into quart jar, pressing down firmly to release juices. Liquid should just cover top of cabbage.

4. Cover jar with lid and let stand at room temperature, away from sunlight, 4–7 days. After 4 days, taste every day or so. When kimchi has reached desired level of fermentation, refrigerate. Kimchi can ferment for 3 weeks to allow flavors to fully develop.

Per serving: 45 cal; 3g pro; 1g total fat (0g sat fat); 10g carb; 0mg chol; 2410mg sod; 3g fiber; 4g sugars

(Turner 2015)

Here is Maangchi’s recipe

Ingredients

Makes about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of Kimchi For salting cabbage:

6 pounds napa cabbage (3 to 4 heads of medium napa cabbage)

½ cup Kosher salt

For making porridge:

2 cups water

2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (brown or white sugar)

Vegetables:

2 cups radish matchsticks

1 cup carrot matchsticks

7 to 8 green onions, chopped

1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)

1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional

Seasonings and spices:

½ cup garlic cloves (24 garlic cloves), minced

2 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 medium onion, minced

½ cup fish sauce

¼ cup fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the salty brine, chopped

2 cups hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)

Directions

Prepare and salt the cabbage:

If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them off.

To split a cabbage in half without shredding the densely packed leaves inside, first cut a short slit in the base of the cabbage, enough to get a grip on either half, and then gently pull the halves apart so the cabbage splits open.

Cut a slit through the core of each half, 2 inches above the stem. You want the cabbage leaves to be loose but still attached to the core.

Dunk the halves in a large basin of water to get them wet. Sprinkle the salt between the leaves by lifting up every leaf and getting salt in there. Use more salt closer to the stems, where the leaves are thicker.

Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours. Turn over every 30 minutes, so they get well salted. From time to time you can ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbages if you want to.

After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water. Giving them a good washing, to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash, split the halves into quarters along the slits you cut into earlier. Cut off the cores, and put them in a strainer over a basin so they can drain well.

While the cabbage is salting for 2 hours, and in between the times you’re turning it over, you can make the porridge:

Combine the water and the sweet rice flour in a small pot. Mix well with a wooden spoon and let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool off completely.

Pour cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, fermented salted shrimp, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well with the wooden spoon until the mixture turns into a thin paste.

Add the radish, carrot, and green onion, plus the Asian chives (or more green onions) and the water dropwort if you’re using them. Mix well.

Make kimchi:

Spread some kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf in a quarter is covered with paste, wrap it around itself into a small packet, and put into your jar, plastic container, or onggi.

Eat right away, or let it sit for a few days to ferment.

On fermentation:

The kimchi will start fermenting a day or two at room temperature, depending on the temperature and humidity of your room. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment. Once it starts to ferment it will smell and taste sour, and pressing on the top of the kimchi with a spoon will release bubbles from beneath.

Once it starts to fermented, store in the refrigerator to use as needed. This slows down the fermentation process, which will make the kimchi more and more sour as time goes on.

(Maangchi 2014)

They both had identical recipes with the exception of the salting process and porridge that Maangchi makes. I decided to follow Maanchis process for the salting and paste process, but looked to Lisa’s for extra tips and specifics on fermentin

Sources:

Turner, L. (2015). 5 Steps to Successful Fermentation. Retrieved November 10, 2015, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.eztest.ocls.ca/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=bb76674e-ec14-4298-8c9d-81d692c418ed@sessionmgr4001&hid=4111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#AN=108397642&db=hxh

Napa cabbage kimchi. (2014). Retrieved November 10, 2015, from http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tongbaechu-kimchhttp://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tongbaechu-kimchi

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Sensory Evaluation & Final Notes

Salty: The Kimchi was pleasantly salty. The salt is the main part of the fermenting process and was very evident.  It was not overly salty.

Sweet: The Kimchi had a bit of sweetness to its spice. There is brown sugar as well as sweet rice flour in the recipe. The sweetness was rather mild and savory.

Sour: The kimchi had a sour taste after it was fermented for a couple of days.  It’s not unpleasantly sour, it’s very enjoyable.

Bitter: I sampled the kimchi before I fermented them. There was a slight bitter after taste likely because of the raw napa. After it was fermented the bitter taste went away.

Umami: In my opinion the kimchi had a slight sense of umami. The fermenting process made the kimchi a lot more rich and savory than it was before.

Taste: The Kimchi was sweet, spicy, sour, salty and slightly savory all at the same time. The spiciness and sourness definitely were the prominent flavours with the sweetness not too far behind.

Smell: The Kimchi was very strong in odor.  It smelled of garlic and spices, but mostly just sour, especially after it began to ferment.

Sight: The Napa was rather bright before the fermenting process, but it began to grow into a deeper, darker red afterwards.

Hear: The napa had a slight crunch to it when it was pressed into the jars with a squish sound as the juices flowed out to create a brine with the spices that would become its fermenting juices.

Touch: The kimchi was soft in texture as well as wet. It could be pressed to release more juices.

Final Notes

Overall I was pretty happy with my final product.  I didn’t expect it to take as long as it did to make, but I’m happy I got to experience the whole deal. It was interesting to see how the colours, flavours, textures etc. change as the kimchi fermented. 

I made some mistakes with my kimchi.  During the first jarring stage I didn’t press down the cabbage to create a brine that would ferment the cabbage.  I found my mistake pretty quickly and condensed the 3 jars I made into 2 stuffed jars, so no harm was done.  I also wish I had gotten some of the saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp) to make more of a traditional kimchi.  The minari and drop wort would have been good additions as well.  I will for sure try out the recipe again if I pass by a korean grocery store.

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Here’s the finished product posted separately because I had to compress the photo.  This photo was taken with a different camera and had to be altered because it was too large to upload. This is the kimchi after 2 days of fermenting. I’m looking to ferment the other jar for another 2 days.

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For the fermenting process I overlooked a step and did not press the cabbage fully into the jar to create a brine.  Luckily I found my mistake really quickly and reopened and condensed the 3 jars I had into 2 packed jars filled with brine that covered the napa entirely.

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Hachiya Persimmons - Photo taken at St. Lawrence Market

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Blog Assignment #3

I recently visited the St. Lawrence Market.  I visited the St. Lawrence Market because it’s an iconic market in Toronto that has various fruits and vegetables. The fruit that I chose to display was the persimmon.  I’ve eaten persimmons before and very much enjoy its flavor.  I tried to look for a unique fruit that would likely not be found in the average household.

Persimmon trees are grown in several regions around the world, but they're mostly found in two areas: Eastern Asia, such as Korea, Japan and China, and the eastern region of the United States. Although these trees typically grow from Florida to southern Connecticut, some are also found as far west as Texas and Kansas. (Kichura, V. (n.d.). About Persimmon Trees. Retrieved October 22, 2015.)

Persimmon is a deciduous tree of ebenaceae family, where other trees or shrubs and other species of persimmon belong. (Persimmon Plant. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015.)

Persimmons usually run around $1.50 and up per piece in the market. Persimmons, which originate from Asia, are in season between November and February

Going into my sensory evaluation of the fruit, I already knew that the fruit wasn’t quite ripe.  The persimmon I believe I got my hands on was the Hachiya Persimmon.  These persimmons in particular, if not fully ripe are very unpleasant. Taste: The persimmon tasted extremely bitter and almost felt like it was drying up my mouth.  It was a pretty overwhelming feeling for my mouth, and I had to spit it out.  If it had been ripe, it would’ve carried a much sweeter, delicate and uniquely pleasant taste.   Smell: The smell of the fruit isn’t very strong, but if you get close enough it owns a unique scent.  In my opinion it carries a bit of a nutty aroma.   Hearing: The persimmon because it was not ripe did not make much noise when it was cut into, or bitten into.  It was more or less like biting into a mango, not much sound besides the sound of you biting down.   Touch: The persimmon was firm before it was cut, and had a smooth, slimy surface on the inside. If it were ripe it would have been a lot softer to the touch, almost like a water balloon.  It would have been pulpy and custard like.

If I were to use persimmon in a recipe I’d use it to make a maybe a chutney, a jam, or baked good.  I think its sweet flavor would make it a great addition or center piece to any of these items.  

- 4 cups all-purpose flour - 2 teaspoons baking soda - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 1teaspoon ground ginger - 1 cup butter - 2 cups white sugar - 2 eggs - 2 cups persimmon pulp

15 mins Prep Time   -    15mins Cook Time     -     Ready in 1hr 30mins

- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). - Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the persimmon pulp. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Drop spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. - Bake in the preheated oven until slightly puffed and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. I learned a lot more than I expected from this assignment.  I didn’t know that there were several types of persimmons or that they’re mainly from japan.  It was unfortunate that I grabbed the type that’s only good specifically when it’s really soft like a water balloon.  The other types of persimmons are ripe when they are firm or slightly soft.  Regardless, I enjoyed the whole experience and I’m glad I learned about a fruit that I will know likely use in the future.  

(Persimmon Cookies IV. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2015.)

Sources:

http://www.gardenguides.com/77559-persimmon-trees.html

http://www.botanical-online.com/english/persimmon.htm

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/84158/persimmon-cookies-iv/?internalSource=recipe%20hub&referringId=1112&referringContentType=recipe%20hub

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Savannah Elizabeth Lam. “Cote de Boeuf & Roasted Bone Marrow – Bestellen”. TasteToronto Aug. 13, 2015 Web. Sep. 17, 2015

http://tastetoronto.ca/featured/cote-de-boeuf-roasted-bone-marrow-bestellen-2/5

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The Carbon Bar Downtown

99 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M5G 1S4, Canada