WBEZ | Kendall College

Let’s Get Canned: A Homey History of Preserving

Fri, 31 May 2013 15:04:00 -0500

May God bless whoever invented canning.

Come join us and learn how canning got its start and changed civilization and the culinary world forever. Our speaker will tell us a tale of preservation heritage and share a number of tips on modern home canning that she offers in her new book, Put ‘em Up! Fruit.

Sherri Brooks points out that with an increasing number of people growing their own food, and shopping at farmers’ markets, there’s a growing demand for information on extending the life of seasonal fruits. And she’s ready to teach us city dwellers a thing or two on how easy it is to preserve fruits. (Homemade peach preserves, here I come!)

Copies of Sherri’s book will be available for purchase and signing, with profits used to fund the Culinary Historians of Chicago.

More information about this event here.

Bev-O-Metrics: Taste-Profiling Beverages with Spectroscopy

Fri, 31 May 2013 13:55:00 -0500

Come explore the basics of taste and taste perceptions and then focus on flavor profiles of liquids, from morning java to cooling afternoon soda to crisp evening wine. Spectral data from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can detect specific analytes but offers also a broader window into the overall profile of these drinks. This presentation will examine how these profiles relate to genomics and metabolomics and how these complex profiles can be determined and used under real world conditions for education and enjoyment. And put theory to delicious practice — with taste tests.

Subha R. Das completed his PhD at Auburn University on the synthesis of nucleosides as antiviral agents. Then, as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Chicago, he examined the molecular mechanisms of RNA based enzymes. Over the years, the long hours spent on research and a deep dissatisfaction with cardboard offerings that passed as pizza in the trenches of academia, led him to hone his subsistence skills to maximize flavor in minimal time. Drawing on this and advances in molecular cuisine, Das created The Kitchen Chemistry Sessions at Carnegie Mellon University in 2009. These courses teach chemistry through the real-world context of food, cooking and molecular cuisine. Besides his courses, Das has organized workshops on molecular cuisine for students in grades four through twelve. Das and his students’ exhibition “Taste of Chemistry” has been invited to the Geek Art/Green Innovators Festival in Pittsburgh. An assistant professor in the Department Of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, Das’s research interests lie in the chemistry of nucleic acids and their applications to biochemistry and nanobiotechnology. His educational goals include communicating and advancing science, particularly chemistry, by making it palatable to a broader audience.

More information about this event here.

If Recipes Could Talk: Wisconsin Foods and the Stories They Tell

Fri, 31 May 2013 13:40:00 -0500

Wisconsin’s culinary traditions, both past and present, reflect the richness of an ethnically and agriculturally diverse region. Author Terese Allen shares the stories behind--and recipes for--such varied foodways as cream puffs, Hmong egg rolls and the Friday night fish fry. From Ojibwe wild rice to arugula pesto pasta, she tracks the amazing cornucopia of what Wisconsinites have gathered, grown, produced, cooked, and eaten.

Terese Allen has written scores of articles and books about Wisconsin's food traditions and culinary culture, including the award-winning The Flavor of Wisconsin, The Flavor of Wisconsin for Kids, and Wisconsin Local Foods Journal. She is food editor for Organic Valley and a columnist for Edible Madison and Edible Door County magazines. Terese is president and a founding member of the Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin (CHEW) and past president of REAP Food Group, a cutting-edge food and sustainability organization in southern Wisconsin. Visit her website at tereseallen.com.

More information about this event here.

The Secret Financial Life of Food Event

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:42:00 -0500

Kara Newman began her career as a financial writer. Her inspiration for The Secret Financial Life of Food began with two little words in the financial newsweekly Barron’s. Jim Rogers, a noted commodities expert, gave the following advice: “Buy breakfast.” He was talking about pork belly futures (which no longer trade) and frozen orange juice futures. That one little comment snapped into focus the point that agricultural commodities aren’t abstract financial concepts – at heart, they’re about food. Pork bellies become the bacon on your plate; frozen orange juice becomes the OJ in your glass. In the end, it’s all about food.

The ups and downs of the commodities market – in Chicago and elsewhere - influence what we eat and what we pay for food. Many farmers study commodities prices to decide what and how much to plant. Chain restaurants use them to manage costs – if the price of beef is expected to spike, does it make sense to raise menu prices, or find an ingredient substitution? Commodities prices set a baseline for prices at supermarkets and greenmarkets alike -- and most people don't even realize it.

Kara Newman is a spirits and cocktail writer based in New York. She is the Spirits Editor for Wine Enthusiast and her work appears in The New York Times, Saveur, The San Francisco Chronicle, Arrive, and Sommelier Journal, among other publications. Previously, she was vice president of Strategic Research at Thomson Reuters.

More information about this event here.

The Old Girl Network: Charity Cookbooks and the Empowerment of Women

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:30:00 -0500

The Old Girl Network: Charity Cookbooks and the Empowerment of Women Presented by Janice Bluestein Longone Curator of American Culinary History, University of Michigan’s Special Collections Division

The Culinary Historians of Chicago had its first meeting in 1993, and we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary this year with a special lecture: Before mass media, communication and transit, the first wave of the women’s movement was already active via the most ordinary of objects – the lowly cookbook. “Charity cookbooks,” a legacy of the Civil War, championed many causes: suffrage, education, temperance, prohibition, equal rights, working conditions, welfare, immigration, and legal rights and responsibilities, while benefiting churches, schools, sororities, the homeless, and others in need. The effort required to create, publish and distribute the books created networks of communication, which nurtured fledging political movements that transformed American culture. The books demonstrate how women worked together to help themselves, other women, and the outside world, while, along the way, the recipes and how-to advice in the books offer a compelling glimpse into America’s cooking habits and its region-by-region culinary heritage.

As many people do not understand why we preserve these ephemeral materials, we invite you to our illustrated lecture to see the politics just under every woman’s nose (and, often, behind many men’s backs). In short, if you think cookbooks are dull with nothing but recipes (as interesting as they may be) in them, then this is the lecture to prove you wrong!

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In addition to being Curator of American Culinary History at the University of Michigan’s Special Collection Division at the Hatcher Library, Jan Longone is proprietor of The Wine and Food Library, America’s oldest antiquarian culinary bookshop. Ms. Longone is also founder and honorary chair of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. Among her many other activities was helping to develop MSU’s “Feeding America” website.

More information about this event here.

The Flavor of Africa

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:11:00 -0600

Please join Wilbert Jones as he takes you on a culinary journey throughout the earth's second largest mass of land, Africa. This enormous continent contains 55 countries, where more than 1,500 languages are spoken. Jones will share his knowledge about the ancient Egyptian's daily diet, national dishes from several countries, traditional use of some unique ingredients as well as cooking techniques, and current food and beverage trends emerging out of Africa. He will also address the lack of African culinary presence in America and offers some solutions to increase visibility.

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Wilbert Jones is the president of Chicago-based The Wilbert Jones Company, a 20 year old food/beverage product development and marketing company. He has written several African cuisine articles for both, food trade and consumer magazines. Jones is currently working on hosting a cable-television series, titled: "A Taste of Africa."

More information on this event here.

Soup & Bread: Building Community One Pot at a Time

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:47:00 -0600

Martha Bayne explores the social role of soup and its history as a tool for both building community and fostering social justice. She examines the classic model of a soup kitchen, national initiatives like Empty Bowls fundraisers and Sunday Soup dinners, as well as casual soup swaps and community soup cookoffs. Soup, she explains, means different things to different groups: For the activists of Food Not Bombs, the act of serving soup can be a political statement; to others it can be art practice, social service, or ministry. But though the context may change, the essential connection remains the same: In extending hospitality over the soup pot, a connection is formed and community ties are strengthened.

Martha Bayne is a Chicago-based writer and editor and author of Soup & Bread

Cookbook: Building Community One Pot at a Time (Agate/Surrey Books, 2011).

She launched Soup & Bread, a free community meal and hunger-relief fundraiser, at the Chicago bar the Hideout in 2009. Since then this annual winter tradition has raised more than $30,000 for a range of local food pantries and soup kitchens, and brought together food activists, farmers, celebrity chefs, and amateur cooks around a common pot of soup.

There will be soup and bread afterwards. If you wish to bring soup to share afterwards, please alert Catherine Lambrecht using the reservation contact information.

This program is hosted by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable. To reserve, please

e-mail: chicago.foodways.roundtable@gmail.com, then leave your name and how many people in your party.

"Chocolate With a Taste of Pakistan" East meets West in Crossover Confecti

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:57:00 -0600

Uzma Sharif has some sweet tales to tell. Join us as this acclaimed Chicago chocolatier recounts the confectionary influences of her Pakistani heritage, and the history of pastries in South Asian countries. She will also touch on the special ingredients that are used in her culture.

Uzma says she has had a sweet life, surrounded by family and food. Growing up as a first generation Pakistani-American in Chicago and occasionally visiting her family in South Asia, Uzma recalls being greatly influenced by her grandfather, a renowned pastry chef in Pakistan.

Uzma ultimately studied under French pastry chefs in Chicago, traveled and tasted widely in Europe, served as head pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, began teaching chocolate and pastry classes at Triton College, and ultimately opened her own shop, Chocolat Uzma Sharif, on south Halsted St. (chocolatuzma.com).

It’s at her shop where Uzma infuses her South Asian heritage with her French training to create her chocolate-covered creations, some with spices and flowers. (Think East-meets-West chocolates, which we will sample, of

course!)

More information here.

From Cinnamon To Saffron: Demystifying Indian Cooking in the Western World

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:16:00 -0600

Right from the chicken curry served out of a food truck in a bustling New York city street, to the jhalmuri served at eat.st in King’s Cross in London, Indian food today has become more mainstream and less exotic than it used to be. Everyone seems to like a taste of something Indian—a deep-fried samosa or a scoop of biryani—but they’re often a little intimidated by what they believe it entails: long hours of slaving in front of the stove and a gazillion spices to pepper everything with.

While volumes of text have been devoted to busting those myths, there aren’t too many endeavors focused on making Indian cooking simpler, using ingredients sourced right out of a regular grocery store in the West. Ranjini Rao and her partner, Ruchira Ramanujam, recently wrote and published Mango Masala: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket, which demonstrates what a cinch Indian cooking really is in any kitchen, right from breakfast to snacks, full-fledged lunches to dinner spreads.

Ranjini Rao is a marketing and social media co-ordinator at an online publishing company here in Chicago. She runs a food blog, Tadka Pasta, along with her partner Ruchira, and will highlight the practicalities of whipping up Indian food in the Western world and talk a little bit about her own journey as a writer, foodie, multicultural culinary enthusiast. She'll also talk about how she ended up crafting a cookbook with her best friend and share her insights into the world of digital publishing.

The Frosting on the (Filipino) Cake: A Family Carries on Their Matriarch’s Dessert Legacy

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:05:00 -0600

If Philippine food and culture is a mystery to most of us, then Filipino desserts are a best kept secret.

Join us for a look at some sweet ethnic history as Maribel (Delia) Anama talks about the influence her baking maven mother, Gloria, had on her while she was growing up in the Philippines. It was her mother’s influence that led her to a career in baking, ultimately becoming an entrepreneur, opening her own sweet tooth emporium in Park Ridge. Delia will give us a look at the Philippine baking industry of years ago, its evolution, and what Filipino desserts and delicacies are like. And to prove that she is not sugarcoating the facts, Delia will bring Filipino rice cakes for us to sample.

For the last 20 years, Delia Anama has been creating a sweet storm, working for such renowned places as Long Grove Confectionery Company, Panera Bread, Mrs. Fields, Long Grove Confectionery, Let Them Eat Cake, and Turano Baking Company, before realizing her dream and opening her own shop, Mrs. A. Cupcakes@the Pickwick, in Park Ridge.