Artisanal Food

http://www.cultureby.com/trilogy/2006/11/the_artisanal_m.html

My brother posted this link on his blog, which is another blog (blog, blog, blog - sounds like an ogre walking through mud in a fairly tale). It is about the rise of artisanal food, mainly in the U.S. with a mention of Europe but my brother also sees it in Uruguay.

As someone who has made his own cheese, bread, mead, beer, vinegar (though it was terrible and I threw it out), and more, and buys as much at the Farmer's Market as I can, I really believe I am part of this "movement." I think the original post is good, but leaves out some other issues such as food miles as part of the locality issue. I read about global climate change, see where it comes from (trucks bringing food from California to New York, for example), and say, "I want to help stop that." So, I don't buy California foods unless I don't have a choice. There's also issues like taste, nutrition (fresher foods have more nutrients), and the absence of rocket fuel or, hopefully, E. coli. I suspect Ithaca is a hotbed of this kind of thinking.

One interesting comparison would be the Arts and Crafts movement of 100 years ago, which I think is based on a similar ideology. Perhaps I'll follow up on that if I get a chance.

Here's a picture of our cheese making in progress, the "bag method" of draining the curd. Its hanging over the sink.