Will the Meal Be Unbroken?

Saucyman, what would you have for your last meal?

You’d think I would pick something I obsessively crave from time to time – red beans, pizza, carbonara, but it isn’t that simple. A fortifying meal - the resolute beefsteak and potato, set down in front of me just as I finish a bourbon-laced, ice-cold Manhattan has its appeal. As I head off into the great unknown, I might want to dine on something exotic, different, new – different cuisines always make me feel curious about the world and in this case possibly what is beyond.

Since my last earth bound meal would not be a question of sustenance a food that comforts me - Pumpkin pie, roast chicken & spatzle holds sway. Rather than emotional comfort, could a meal provide dignity? The ritual of a fancy, sit-down, 6 or 7 course dinner could provide the structure to remain strong and dignified in the face of the uncertain. There is nothing like the sight of 4 forks, 3 wineglasses, candlesticks and folded, pressed napkins that says sit up straight and do not indulge your mood.

Then there is the question of the accidental last meal; if I get any sort of say on how I get to go, please don’t let my last nourishment be airplane peanuts or an overpriced sandwich from an airport kiosk. Odds, accuracies and probability all come into play on this but the food - the deep-fried, the BBQ’d, the batter dipped, that goes hand in hand with excessive drinking and subsequent poor decision making seems likely to be the last thing I ever taste?

There are only a few circumstances where you would know your last meal is definitely going to be your last; none of them are really a blessing. One scenario involves being caught in a bad act or a worse set of circumstances in Louisiana or Texas. The blog Dead Man Eating was tracking death row meals – Gleaning the list of last meals seems to suggest the condemned are going for total calories as much as anything else.

Suicide would another occasion where you would know your last meal is your last. Yet, whatever personal strife/pain or depression a person is suffering from cannot lend itself to celebrating with a final meal. Illness is consuming – my own little bout of cancer taught me that disease, treatment and recuperation are not the cornerstones of hunger and desire for food.

François Mitterand is an exception to this: Terminally Ill, the French President pulled himself to the table for a final meal of oysters, foie gras and ortolan – a small yellow bird: Captured live in the forest, it is blinded, force-fed figs until it is 4 times its normal size and finally the bird is drowned in fine cognac, not euphemistically, it is killed via brandyboarding, then cooked whole. At the table, the diner places a napkin over his/her head to cover their shame and the bird is consumed bones and all. What was supposed to be a remembrance of Mitterrand’s childhood, strikes me more as a bitter old man’s desire to take as many songbirds as he can with him.

Julia Child was rumored to have written out her request for a last meal 40 years in advance – As nice it is to think about the leading lady of cuisine choosing appetizers, entrée and vintage wine - it seems unlikely a rich meal was served at the end of a protracted decline in health. And possibly that is the point, the last meal is not a final chance to sate corporeal desires; the ritual of the last meal is an exercise in having some control over what happens in uncertain hours. For me, a party on a sunny day, jambalaya, shrimp boil, ribs, hot sauce, cold beer, bread pudding and a chance to say good-bye and let everyone know it will hurt but it will get better, that is more than I could hope for. Since the ability to provide comfort to those who are staying on is impossible, no matter how strong the desire, I would choose the more manageable bread pudding and a cup of coffee (splash of brandy, please).

Cherry Picking Information

Cherries are in season in like never before. With Oregon expecting a bumper crop of cherries this year; it's time to review a few cherry facts.

Cherries are members of the Prunus family, which includes apricots, plums and its various hybrids like pluots, peaches, nectarines and surprisingly almonds. Sometimes called 'stone fruits', this title references what we call the pit, not some coded language cluing you in the fruit has medicinal effects. Well not a good type of medicine, the pits of the Prunus family all carry a cyanide generating enzyme that is in small harmless in small amounts and is more notable in that they taste like bitter almonds.

World wide, there are 1200 varieties of cherries grown – Germany is the largest producer. Domestically, California, Michigan or Washington is #1 depending on how you tally – acreage, crop size or value of crop; Oregon ranks consistently fourth. Historically, the fruit has been classified in 4 groupings – Black, Dukes, Hearts and Sours. Which, as far taxonomy goes, is a little too much. You’ll almost never see a sweet & sour Duke available outside of France and the soft-fleshed Hearts have all but disappeared, relegated to gardens. Confusingly black cherries include the light-fleshed Rainiers and Sour Cherries claim the both light and dark skinned varieties.

It is easier to think of cherries as either sweet or sour. Sour cherries are thought of as a cherry you can bake with and just to muddy the waters of classification a little more, they are occasionally called pie cherries. Although they aren’t just for pies, the Morello cherry is used in black forest cake or it is distilled into kirschwasser, aka kirsch, aka Cherry Brandy.

Sweet cherries include the aforementioned Rainiers as well as the popular Bing variety. The Bing was discovered or cultivated in Eastern Oregon in the 1870s and legend has it bears the name of Chinese agricultural worker, Ah Bing. From its humble and improbable beginnings, currently 65% of all commercially grown cherries are the Bing variety. The fact that the Bing grew up to become such a major agricultural player should be enough to garner some sort of official recognition from its home state but Oregon has chosen instead to honor the pear as the state fruit and recognized the maraschino cherry as the official fruit of Oregon State University

Maraschino cherries aren’t really a variety of cherry. While there is marasca cherry grown in Italy and Croatia, many of which end up being preserved in alcohol, maraschino cherries are different. A product made by bleaching the light fleshed Royal Ann fruit, dying it usually red but sometimes green, preserving the cherry in and almond flavored simple syrup all so that one can top their ice cream sundae or add a modicum of indignity to the act of sipping an otherwise sophisticated Manhattan. The process was invented at Oregon State University (Go Beavers) in the first half of the 20th century.

Because cherries don’t ripen after they leave the tree, they can be refrigerated without altering the taste and texture of the berry. Cherries can be preserved in jars and they freeze easily and more importantly, thaw well – Rinse, pat dry, leave the pit in and spread out on a cookie sheet and freeze them solid before packing them into freezer bags - so they won’t congeal into a giant red mass. Or instead of preserving, you can bake with cherries this week, pie, cookies, muffins or the not as popular as it should be clafoutis – Some describe clafoutis (CLaFooTee) as a pancake but it is more akin to crepe batter that gets baked instead of sauteed – served warm and topped with powdered sugar, it is a summertime treat.

Today's post is pretty identical to the Facebook update from Portland Farmers Market. It is a bit of cheat, but I thought I would cross over this week and let readers know if they are interested they can keep track of what is happening week to week at Portland Farmers Market, you can do so by becoming a fan of Portland Farmers Market on Facebook. A chance for a little more saucyprose and a good way to keep an eye on one of the best run markets in the country.

Back next week and will actually be answering questions.

Grillin, on a Sunny Afternoon

Even though the terms are used interchangeably, there is a difference between barbecue and grilling. BBQ is cooking over heat that is low and slow moving, like my ambition. It is a pace I understand, the rhythms are almost second nature. Grilling give me some trouble, the cooking style is the opposite of the desultory BBQ. The heat that is quick and dry and occasionally searing. Like my wit? There is part of me that understands this focused, in the moment style of cooking but it vexes me

In a way I can’t stand the heat even though I’ve gotten out of the kitchen: I gained access to a gas fueled, shinny, powerful outdoor grill. To date, I’ve managed to over-cooked 4 out of the 6 things, a 2/3 failure rate. Worse than actually overcooking a few things is the knowledge grilling in the classic kitchen and the current causal-dining restaurants grilling is only a step above the deep fryer in the kitchen hierarchy. Sauce, sauce maker, the heir apparent of the classic kitchen, seems to be an over reach when I stand at the grill unable to cook a piece of meat.

Both fire-friendly cooking methods use radiant heat to help cook. Radiant cooking is done with an electromagnetic wave – the wave isn’t hot itself, but it generates heat when it is absorbed by another material. A radio broadcast is an electromagnetic wave - Energy radiates from its source but all the transmission power in the world wouldn’t do a matter if you didn’t have a receiver to pick it up. Radiant heat is also like a radio, the closer you are to the broadcast transmission the stronger the signal. Barbecuing is a good distance away from the source so it must also rely on convection heat, the movement of air currents to carry heat to the food. Grilling is close to the heat source, close enough that the energy from the fire gets conducted/transferred/exchanged to a metal grate, which heats up and in turn, passes the heat to the steak-salmon-tofu.

Even understanding the mechanics of how grilling works is little help and I want to grill. There is something primitively satisfying about cooking over a flame. Added to the primal sensation of cooking over a fire is the counterbalance of a cold beer. Hot fire/cold beer just makes sense on some fundamental way that is hard to explain but easy to understand. Now if I can just master the technique, I have a chance even for a fleeting moment to stand in front of a flame, spatula in one hand, beer in other and have everything be right in the world.

Let Me Eat Brioche

If I can prepare something cheaper and better I make; if it can be had quickly for a value, I will purchase it. Bread, and there is so much good bread in Portland, is almost always purchased, 2 bucks gets an outstanding loaf without the kneading, flour, salt, water, yeast, electricity, proofing/waiting and baking – even if it entails making a special trip to get a favorite loaf, purchasing bread is a deal I willfully make.

The exception is brioche, the cakey butter and egg bread that Marie Antoinette referenced when she rather tone-deafly told a hungry Parisian population, “Qu’ils mangent de al brioche”, or as English speakers spitefully translate, ‘let them eat cake’. I heed Mademoiselle Antoinette’s advice, eating brioche about 6-8 times a year.

Brioche is difficult loaf. Not from a technical perspective, few things in the kitchen really are difficult in that sense – it isn’t brain surgery/rocket science depending which way you want to go with that - but there are kitchen projects that take time, experience and a level of expertise.

The word comes to our language from the Old Norman, brier, meaning to pound or alternatively the brioche evolved from the French bray/broyer – a term meaning to break up; either etymology references the prolonged mixing and kneading the dough requires. Although it takes time and attention, the dough does make a very satisfying rhythmic slapping sound as it comes together in the mixer; someone should sample that beat, it would be the beat to the coolest hip-hop-bread song ever. While most loafs rise twice, brioche requires a rare triple rise, the final rise takes 4-6 hours or can stretch to overnight in a refrigerator. Making the dough an up early in the morning in order to be ready for dinner or a more stately paced 2-day project.

The dough is rich, I use (and recommend the use of) the Nancy Silverton/Dorie Greenspan/Julia Child recipe from Baking with Julia, the one that calls for 5 eggs and a stick and a half of butter: Good on its own, it is better married to other flavors. Brioche Vendeenne is flavored with brandy: Marzipan, saffron, anise, sausage, are common ingredients for the bread, this short list hints the there is no flavor too strong for the dough. Here in the Saucykitchen, sweet brioche is filled with cream cheese and jam -lately a gingery rhubarb jam. Savory brioche is stuffed with goat’s milk cheese & ham, sautéed mushrooms, sweet peas & caramelized onions, asparagus tips & brie or salami, roasted (dried, devoid of most moisture) tomatoes and a little basil.

I give them to coworkers and neighbors, who enthusiastically claim they would pay for them. I believe they see me as someone akin to our zipcode’s tamale man, who goes door-to-door selling his treats, instead I could busking little breads. All in all, a nice little dreamy cash in pocket venture that promises a better ROI than an Amway distributorship. It sounds doable until a calculator is applied to the fantasy: Those little 3-inch brioche would have to get sold 3 for $10 and that wouldn’t really be a killer margin or really even a satisfying lunch, with that kind of pricing it is no wonder people bake the bread themselves.

A Romano Everyone (truly) Loves

Saucyman – I went to the store and asked for Romano cheese and they gave me pecorino. They were kind of snotty & non-responsive when I asked if pecorino was the only kind of Romano cheese available. What can you tell me?- Cheesed

Like Parmesan, the term Romano refers to a specific cheese – like Parmigiano-Reggiano/Pecorino Romano. More generically, both Parmesan and Romano designate cheeses that are grated or served on top of spaghetti or for those who dine from the modern lexicon, pasta.

Both Parma and Rome are actual places you can pinpoint on a map or more likely for the tech savvy citizens who read Saucyman on the web; these are places you can locate using Google Earth. At its most basic level, you’d think a Romano cheese would be any cheese made outside of Rome or in the Lazio region. (Lazio is the ‘state’ which Rome resides in. Romano does have a nicer ring to it than Lazaian.)

Except there really aren’t any other Romano cheeses. And here is where the term starts to get watered down: Because of the cost of doing business near an urbanized city, a lot of Pecorino Romano is produced off the mainland and might more accurately be labeled Pecorino Sardo. Compounding the problem - Romani/Romanoes/Romanos produced in the States are made from cow’s milk. Also in the US, you’ll find the phenomena pre-grated, shelf-stable, unrefrigerated ‘cheese’ labeled Romano: If some Pecorino Romano have never been near Rome, the stuff that comes in the green cylinder has never even heard of the eternal city.

In your search for the right cheese, the bigger clue is the word ‘pecorino’ (pey-ko-REE-noh), it is a sheep’s milk cheese. Pecora means sheep, the diminutive becomes the cheese itself and for those who really wish to split wools; Pura Pecora is 100% sheep’s milk cheese. There are 4 DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata - legally protected terrior/ regions) for Pecorino – Toscano, Sardo, Siciliano and Romano. True Romano cheese is stamped romano genuino on the rind. Since most people and many grocery stores don’t buy a full 40lb wheel of Romano, well, its hard to look locate the official stamp of approval.

Despite the fact there are 4 sanctioned agricultural designations, most pecorinos are similar; they are hard grating cheeses made from sheep’s milk. There are of course, variations and textures that are unique to the areas that produce the pecorinos - Siciliano designated cheeses include the pepato, a pecorino studded with black peppercorns. Toscano is thought to be more olivey than salty and as mentioned Sardo and Romano are interchangeable, to the point that Sardo passes as Romano.

Next time you are in the store try asking for a pecorino rather than the generic Romano. this will give the cheese worker a chance to show you different styles of sheep’s milk cheese. Maybe with the opportunity to talk about what they know rather than having to defend what they don’t know, you'll exerience better service.

Arbitrary Milestone

This, right here, is the 200th post of the Saucyman Blog. Rather than look forward to the next 200 posts, let’s instead take a look back (because Saucyman, the person, not the blog, is like that) and revisit the single most searched topic on the site, asparagus.

Asparagus, for those who remember from the 2008 entry, is a member of the lily family that has been cultivated in and around the Mediterranean since antiquity. The wild shoots still found growing near England’s southeast shore are unfortunately known as Britannia Spears. Or not, the name part anyway, the plant really grows wild near water throughout Europe.

The small arrested limbs on the stalk are called bracts, the edible shoots emerge from a corm and asparagus pee is caused by our bodies processing asparagusic acid into a chemical called methyl mercaptan –it was originally thought that not everyone produced mercaptan, a chemical closely related to skunk spray, but now it is believed not everyone possesses the ability to detect the scent, but since science is not especially static, so that understanding could change by the end of this post.

The plant is finicky to grow, taking 2 to 3 years before it is productive. Due to issues with the pernicious fusarium, a rot that is the black plague of asparagus, Oregon State’s agricultural extension recommends not planting the crop in any field that has previously grown asparagus. The shoots appear and mature at different times meaning the crop must be constantly monitored and then harvested by hand – all these reasons make the veg rather expensive.

As the asparagus season winds down on Saucyman’s home court, there is still enough of the veg around to make a good meal. Wrapping blanched asparagus in prosciutto, topping with a soft, semi-stinky fontina cheese and broiling until delicious is easily the 3rd best thing Marcella Hazan ever taught me to do. Although it is a traditional accompaniment, I think/believe/resolutely know that the butter – egg yolk combo known as hollandaise overwhelms the flavor of asparagus, yet I think nothing of serving spears covered in a rich & spicy coconut milk/peanut sauce – kitchen hypocrite, a kitchocrite - a cookocrite, I am something for sure.

Asparagus is a bold flavor, the trick is matching the veg with flavors strong enough to hold their own without overwhelming it. Asparagus served on the small, yeasted buckwheat crepes known as blini is good – lox and/or sour cream are pleasant but not necessary additions. For those who hate blini or don’t want to make them but are still buckwheat-curious; asparagus and soba noodles work well but linguini might be a more popular noodle, at least in the western pantheon - especially with a garlic cream sauce. Grilled asparagus is a treat and easy if you already have the grill going. An asparagus omelet is simple - not in the limited capacity sense of simple, more in the good and natural way. As summer arrives, my two favorite asparagus meals are a sandwich; made by loading a buttered baguette full of blanched asparagus and thinly sliced red onions that have nearly been macerated in a mixture of mustard and vinegar. Or asparagus sautéed with beef and garlic both cooked in the cool of the morning, then served chilled over arugula in the early evening. It is the best meal for those 90+ degree days.

Yes My Little Lamb Chop

Sauc-B-Q – Looking for something different to grill this weekend, what do you think.

Lamb.

Because of the high, dry heat I would go with a quick cooking cut like chops or cubed sirloin for kebabs. Also because of the high, dry heat both cuts need to be prepared before they hit the grill.

For the chops, a quick rub down with olive oil, salt and pepper immediately before cooking is sufficient. The bigger issue with the chops is whether or not to French the chop. Frenching, as a verb, is to clean the bone of any meat, grizzle or fat: A very classic presentation; a very time consuming presentation - involving trimming, scrapping the bone with the backside of a knife and rubbing the bone with cheesecloth until nothing remains but the bone itself. The upside is a neat and traditional lamb chop, the downside is a clean bone will burn on the grill, meaning you have to wrap the bone of Frenched chop in foil to avoid blackening the exposed bone. The boneless kebab requires only a marinade with a little acid to help tenderize the meat.

In either case avoid marinades or preps that call for onion, shallots, garlic or herbs all will burn up on the grill before the chops are done – the flavoring comes on the plate and the grill not the marinade - pick a strong flavor to compliment the taste of grilled meat - pesto or aioli are the ways to go.

Lamb, olive oil and garlic are a trinity; one that if not divine then is at least seriously holy. As far as a pesto goes, I would cut in a little mint and parsley into the basil to make a lamb specific sauce. Aioli goes well with both the lamb and grilled potatoes.

Chickpeas are a natural accompaniment to lamb but they are hard to prepare on the grill – they just fall between the grates – couscous has the same problem AND it is hard to get the tongs around couscous. Instead, go with potatoes: Par-cook them in the microwave until about half done (Depending on the size: ½ or ¼ new potatoes, place in a glass bowl with 2 Tablespoons of Water, 1 of Oil, cover and cook until a knife tip goes in with a little pressure but doesn’t come out), toss with salt, pepper and olive oil, set aside for the grilling.

Place the potatoes over the hot grill for about a minute move then move to a spot on the grill where they will be heated indirectly. Grill the Lamb 3-4 inches above the flame – Figure (depending on heat, distance to grill and other variables, figure roughly 3 ½ minutes per side for rare, 4 for medium rare, 4 ½ for done). Remove from the grill and cover the chops or kebabs with foil for 5 or so minutes – if you cut into it straight off the grill, it’s not only too hot to eat but all the juices will run out leaving you with a dry piece of meat. While the meat is resting, move the potatoes back over the direct heat, throw a couple of pitas down on the grill. A green or garden salad with a yogurt dressing keeps things light and traditional.

Before Monday gets here spend your weekend voting for your favorite farmer's market. Portland Farmers Market has received the rare and coveted Saucyendorsement but vote as you wish - I'd just hate to see the Sanjaymarket win.

Coca, Coca Planta

Recently, trace amounts of cocaine were discovered in Red Bull products being sold in SE Asia. Apparently the drug's presence was a result of coca leaves that had not been properly decocainized before they were added to the beverage. Coca isn't a plant with a history of culinary use, so why use coca leaves in food?

The leaves of the shrub exythroxylon coca have long been used as a stimulant, particularly in South America in both the high altitude Andes Mountains as well as the Amazon basin. Although a mildly stimulating tea can be made from boiling coca leaves, coca leaves are almost exclusively chewed. Before a method to extract cocaine from coca was discovered in the 1860s, the only way to get to the cocaine in coca leaves was to chew the leaves, usually in combination with plant ash. Coca has been used this way for 1,000 of years before the arrival of the Spanish.

Cocaine was used in Coca-Cola’s original formula, but that does little to explain why, 100+ years after the sale of cocaine was made illegal in the US, coca is still present in soft drinks. Cocaine, only 1 of 14 chemical compounds found in the coca leaf, is an alkaloid. Alkaloids are toxins, which sounds bad, unless it caffeine and nicotine (also found naturally in tomatoes). Alkaloids do two things - they alter the metabolism and taste bitter. Again both sound bad but at low doses, like a morning cup of coffee or an astringent taste that activates our taste buds are thought of as good. While our ability to taste bitter flavors might be nature’s way of alerting us to potential poisons, bitter is also part of the taste palate – sweet, sour, bitter and salt (sometimes umami), each of the flavors that are stimulated as we eat helps us taste food in a more complex manner. Ultimately the alkaloid from coca adds a bitter contrast to the sweet of soda pop.

Besides my daily caffeine intake and the alcohol derived from the occasional beer and more consistently, a cocktail, my outlook on drugs is pretty libertarian. Except my live and let live attitude is heavily tempered by the fact that I don’t like drugs, not even ones prescribed to me, by a licensed medical doctor to treat a clinically recognized & curable malady. I do enjoy an occasional can of Coca-Cola though, a habit that has prompted dozens of people to volunteer they believe cocaine is more innocent than the sweet, acidic, salty, slightly bitter soft drink. Whatever one thinks about subsidized corn syrup and multinational corporations; there is nothing harmless about cocaine – slash and burn growing, armed distribution, predatory sales and users who are only about 1/90,000th as fascinating as they think they are after they take the drug –although the last isn’t an exclusive trait of drug users, you can experience the same sensation listening to someone talk about their golf game.

Saucyman returns to the world of food on Friday with advice on grilled lamb chops and new potatoes.

It's No Bull

Earlier this week, a Saucyreader asked how the cocaine found in Red Bull products is any different than what is used in Coca-Cola. Red Bull has attempted to clarify the situation by pointing out - trace amounts of cocaine were found in the company's Simply Cola, not its flagship product, Red Bull Energy Drink. Red Bull has defended its use of what is commonly known as “decocainised coca leaf extract”, as a product that is Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) and pointing out coca leaf isn't an exclusive to Red Bull, it is widely used to flavor colas around the world.

But it wasn't decocainized coca leaf that was used in Coca-Cola's original formula, it was cocaine. This is a fact, confirmed in court testimony by Asa Candler, who gained control of Coca-Cola from the company's founder, John Pemberton. Sworn testimony by the company's owner in a federal lawsuit is an inconvenient confirmation that cocaine was used in the beverage's formula. Undaunted, this is fact that is pretty much ignored by the company’s historians and PR department. Coca-Cola is more interested in to promoting its founder as a altruistic inventor and healer rather than a bankrupt schemer, a patent medicine pushing pharmacist, opium addict and seller of cocaine. In fairness: Pemberton's enthusiasm for cocaine was not that uncommon in the late 19th century. At that time the drug was hailed as a miracle compound - widely used as a local anesthesia by pharmacists and doctors and of particular interest to Pemberton, the drug was also believed to be a cure or corrective for opium addiction.


When Candler acquired Cola-Cola, he dramatically reduced the amount of cocaine in the soft drink's syrup to a fraction of what was called for in Pemberton's original recipe. In 1903, Candler contracted to have coca leaves decocanized – along with a public backlash against the drug; evangelical protests and untoward federal interest in regulating cocaine; Georgia’s legislature had made the sale of cocaine illegal in December of 1902. Although the formula is secret in the sense it isn’t published, it is believed that deconcanized coca is still included in Coca-Cola’s base syrup. But in really microscopic amounts - about 1 gram per gallon of syrup which is then diluted by 6 parts of carbonated water = 1/4 teaspoon per 7 gallons of liquid.

The formula for the short-lived New Coke contained no coca leaf. The updated recipe also bypassed cane sugar and real vanilla in favor of corn syrup and vanillin. Coca, sugar and vanilla – 3 ingredients, sourced primarily from Central and South American; countries whose governments could no longer be manipulated or be counted on to be friendly to US interests. Looking forward, the Atlanta-based company might have been right to change the taste of their drink. Editorially, considering that Coca-Cola had been losing market share for a generation nor was the company confident they could obtain the ingredients for the original formula. Considering the aftermath of New Coke was increased sales, renewed brand vigor and the explosion of focus groups and micro-demographics in marketing - New Coke isn't quite the textbook example of a business/marketing failure that people claim it is.

To address the question directly - Red Bull and to clarify, Red Bull Cola is really no different from Cola-Cola, actually it might be doing a little better than Coca-Cola did historically in the sense they aren't pouring liquid cocaine in a drink and selling it as a medicine.

Red Blow

Saucyman – Two-part question with a follow up: What is the deal with Red Bull and cocaine, how is it any different from Coca-Cola? Why is everyone freaking out? – Tony Montana.

Last week, routine testing in Hong Kong revealed Red Bull Cola, Red Bull Energy Drink and Red Bull Sugar-Free contained trace amounts of cocaine. Following the discovery, an array, often confusing to my geographically challenged self, of SE Asian Archipelago-Nation-States - Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore along with Hong Kong and the terra firma Vietnam pulled all Red Bull products from shelves in stores and destroyed the energy drink like a Dixie Chick CD in a Wal-Mart parking lot on the eve of the Iraqi War.

The problem with the Red Bull, seems to have originated with a batch of the drink manufactured in Austria this April. The company claimed the problem was the coca used in the drink was not properly ‘decocainized’ – yes a word, a word Coca-Cola used to describe for making coca leaf suitable for their product.

Red Bull really shouldn’t be thought of as a product per se, it is a brand. Not only because Red Bull spends 30% of their revenue on marketing – The culturally ubiquitous Coca-Cola budgets 9% of their earnings for marketing. Well that and the fact Red Bull, which is manufactured at different locations around the globe and sold in 100+ countries, changes its formula to meet local laws and regulations. France did not approve the sale of Red Bull until last year, while unhappily ceding to European Union regulations. France’s health minister vowed to keep the drink under surveillance – oops, she just blew her cover. After her detective work possibly, maybe, if there is time she will look into the possible health risks of smoking. Denmark, Norway and surprisingly, Uruguay still prohibit the sale of the energy drink – if Red Bull is able to get those countries on board it could easily add hundreds to its annual tally of 3 billion cans per year.

Whatever minor changes are tweaked to meet local fiats, Red Bull is essentially a liquid combination of B vitamins, sugar (or artificial sweetener), caffeine – surprisingly the levels are similar to what is found in a cup of coffee or double the level in a soft drink and 1000 mg of an amino acid called taurine. Taurine, which sounds like the bullish Taurus, is often falsely claimed to be derived from bull’s blood/urine/semen - depending on what your source heard at a party once in college. And depending on whether you take a faith-based or scientific approach to dietary supplements, taurine may be responsible for everything from regulating blood pressure to controlling weight gain to restoring energy. For a more grounded response, taurine, which appears naturally in mammals might not give you wings, but it does appear to be important for muscle and skeletal maintenance.

In any case, coca does not appear to be a major component in the purported restorative powers of Red Bull, especially at the levels it was detected - .1-.3 micrograms (1/1,000,000) per liter. Each Red Bull can is 250 mg (about 8 oz) and a typical dose of cocaine is 20-30 mg, so to get high, roughly 4,000 cans of Red Bull would be needed.

Since your question was asked in two-parts with a follow-up, that is how it will be answered. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look Coca-Cola’s origins as a patent medicine and follow up with Coca in diets before returning to a simple question about BBQing in time for the weekend.

Porgy and Salad

Saucyman, What have you been cooking? You must be loving all the fruits and veggies that are abounding. - Marketeer

Truth be told, I think autumn is more of my natural cooking season – roasts, squashes, wild mushrooms, apples, those big late season tomatoes are all the better for saucing, pears, cabbages and root veg fit my style of cooking better. Summer isn’t really conducive to having the oven on too much – nor does the heat really encourage the heavy starchy meals that I love – And although this makes Dr. Atkins roll over in his grave, the food pyramid is built on the noble starch.

The better the ingredient, the less you have to do it. You might suspect that not fully employing my craft might be the very thing to make someone kitchen-neurotic, causing them to compensate with strange fusion presentations and odd flourishes but when the food is good and abundant, the show isn’t about the cook…I am confident enough to let the food, not the technique, be the star.

Without any degree of premeditation, the first bit of heat naturally shifted my cooking from the starchcentic meals of fall and the meat & potatoes of deep winter to the produce-focused meals. In the last few weeks there has been rhubarb jam for angel food cake, morels and asparagus, cucumbers and salmon tossed in a sesame-ginger dressing. A salad of red leaf lettuce and hanger steak and glazed beets for lunch and red potatoes tossed in pesto with some really crunchy/chewy bread was dinner. More asparagus this time with peanut sauce, turned in leftovers of asparagus, shrimp and peanut sauce over rice. Salmon cooked in sesame oil, served next to buckwheat noodles cooked in green tea and accompanied by the season’s first squash – young and small enough that it doesn’t have to be called zucchini was also a meal that was directly proportional to the season.

To date, lamb shanks and baby artichokes have been the most seasonal meal of 2009. Sweet peas and garlic shoots were more memorable than what ever I served them with. Although it was baked and wasn’t particularly light, the previously blogged about lasagna was chocked full of spring herbs and veggies. Last week’s there was a tart made of caramelized onions, leeks and shallots topped with goat cheese. A combination of tart and green salad fed me most of the week.

And as tired as I was of that tart, it was nothing to my own personal strawberry festival. There were strawberries, so many strawberries, that I will never eat (or for that matter puree with alcohol & drink) a strawberry ever again. Or if not truly forever, at least until I forget that I ever vowed to do so. Fortunately, cherries are about to land, which means clafoutis. After that excitement blueberries and or peaches are going to be matched to a future mascarpone making experiment. Figs, apricots and plums will all get their turn.

Still, I’m going to vote with Gershwin - the livin is easy in Summertime, while the catfish aren’t jumping the meals are easy and pretty much take care of themselves.

Reheating Curds & Whey

My philosophy of the pantry could be thought of as Occam’s Chefs Knife, if anything can be made quicker, better and cheaper than can be purchased – pie crust, stock/sauces, salad dressings - then do it yourself. At the other end of the spectrum beer and bread, along with cheese top the list of things that are bountiful, affordable and professionally made.

Well not every type of cheese, last time I purchased ricotta, and before that when I bought quark, I wondered how a simple cheese, only a step removed from little Miss Muffet’s curds & whey ends up costing between $8-9 a pound (Aged cheddar can be had for 5.99). So I vowed never again…and this time I actually backed it up, I borrowed a book, bought a gallon of milk, some tartaric acid and went to work.

Ricotta is a fresh cheese; there is no rennet involved, no cave aging, nor are there monks, neo-hippies or back-to-earthers who make mind-blowingly good cheeses in some cloistered location/compound. This style of product turns up in countless cultures be it feta, queso fresco, panir, potted cheese, the aforementioned quark – the milk of goat, sheep, buffalo or cow is turned into a mild, soft cheese and ricotta’s instance, an austere product made from leftovers.

The word ricotta translates literally as ‘recooked’. The ricotta itself isn’t heated or cooked – the name refers to heating the whey (leftover from the cheese making process) a second time with a mild acidic solution until the proteins bind and coagulate. In Italy there are different kinds of ricotta depending on the mother whey: Parm, Pecorino and Romano cheeses all have ricotta spawn. Because of its incredibly short shelf life these specific ricottas (ricotti?) are not best candidates for export. Outside of the Italy, ricotta isn’t that specific of a product, it is a generic term for the style of fresh cheese used in ravioli filling or on the sweet side – stuffed in to cannoli.

The Saucykitchen wanted to produce a summer lasagna without blowing the budget on cheese. Chard, spinach, tomatoes, a little cream and some truly fresh ricotta using the recipe from Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making accomplished the feat. Truth be told, I am way too easily self-satisfied but this ricotta turned out so well, I feel on this occasion I am allowed to be impressed with my own efforts. So much so as soon as I finished, I was thinking of ways to improve the results. Fresher milk to start – possibly unpasteurized, definitely unhomogenized – maybe I could even scoop the cream out and make my own mascarpone. Or I should try kneading my own mozzarella.

Occam's chef knife might be slicing through ricotta for the considerable future.