Started by Minh Tsai in 2004, Hodo Soy Beanery has grown from a small business selling at Palo Alto Farmers’ Markets to the ever growing company it is today with their products in places ranging from Berkeley Bowl to Chipotle. The people at Hodo Soy Beanery take pride in creating the best tofu they can. Using organic non-GMO beans is integral in creating their tofu, which mainly consists of soy milk and a calcium sulfate that acts as a coagulant.

Part of their mission is to demystify the production of tofu. Tofu is essentially soy milk cheese. After the coagulant is added, the mixture of soy milk and calcium sulfate is heated. Once a curd forms, the mixture is drained and the curd is pressed into tofu at various pressures depending on the intended final texture.

Tofu is not the only product at Hodo, they also make yuba, which is tofu skin. To make yuba, the soymilk is gently heated so that the fat and the proteins rise to the top, forming a sheet that is then skimmed off and hung on metal rods to dry. Yuba, if you have never had it before, is exceedingly delicious with a taste similar to a silken tofu, particularly when freshly prepared.

Hodo’s tofu, yuba, and soymilk break tofu free of the often assumed bland-meat-replacement stereotype. The respect they show towards the sourcing of ingredients and the creation of tofu reveals itself in their final product. A product that can stand on its own or within a dish whilst ever maintaining its integrity.

So keep your eye out for Hodo Soy products, which can be found at the Berkeley Student Food Collective, various Whole Foods, and Costco’s and other locations listed on their website.

The post A quick look at why Hodo Soy tofu is delicious appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Eunice Choi/Staff

Summer is gone, and along with it, the beautiful California Hass avocados and heaps of ripe plums have left as well. Every season has its bounty to share, however! Fall has just begun, and because local grocery stores are piling up autumn’s best harvests, why not take on October with a few reusable grocery bags, a pair of sharp eyes and our list of Northern California’s 16 fruits and vegetables at their peak, as suggested by Earl’s Organic and examined at Berkeley Bowl and Whole Foods? Happy shopping, everyone!

Fruits

• BERRIES: Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries — make blackberry tarts and blueberry scones, eat them fresh and go wild.
• LIME: Key lime meringue pie, honey-lime glaze grilled chicken, lime sorbet — the options are endless.
• FIG: It’s an excellent autumn fruit that comes up from summer and winds down in November — make bacon-wrapped figs or fig-and-pancetta salad.
• GRAPE: How about grape jelly or some chicken salad with grapes?
• KIWI: They’re ripe and ready to eat at the end half of fall, October and November, and strawberry kiwi smoothie is a refreshing no-brainer.
• MELON: Cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelons are best enjoyed in the summer heat, but they’re still in great shape in October — and cantaloupe-lime-chili soup, poached shrimp with honeydew and jicama as well as watermelon, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar bruschetta are just a few quick recipes you can try with melons.
• PEAR: Fall is the best season to grab these beauties — eat the Barlett or Comice fresh, poach or bake the Bosc for desserts and top a few slices of Asian pear in your noodle soup for some crunchy sweetness.
• POMEGRANATE: Fall is in, and so are pomegranates — their tartness is perfect for salads and chicken stews.

Vegetables

• CORN: It peaks in September and October — ironic considering corn is big during Thanksgiving, and you’d think they’d be peaking in November as well! Grill them as a side, simmer them to make corn soup, add them to your salmon and salsa verde tostada and enjoy!
• EGGPLANT: It’s an excellent autumn vegetable for ratatouille, pasta and stir-fry dishes.
• HERBS: October is the last time to grab herbs before winter, so stock up on herbs and look out for a future Eating Berkeley DIY project: drying herbs!
• OKRA: Okra creole, fried okra or a simple pepper grilled okra will surely make a great side dish.
• BELL PEPPER: Nab them, stuff them or roast them!
• ZUCCHINI: Fall is the last opportunity to grab them while they’re in prime condition — bake zucchini bread or do a quick pickle with zucchini and yellow squash for a refreshing salad.
• TOMATO: All tomatoes are great throughout the fall, including heirloom and cherry tomatoes, so eat them fresh or grill them with a brush of balsamic vinaigrette to truly experience the sweetness of the season.
• WINTER SQUASH: Despite their name, they are also in prime shape in the fall! Baked butternut squash risotto and quinoa-stuffed squash make easy comfort food any day.

Finally, we couldn’t resist adding in a bit of musical creativity (or not) to celebrate the season!

“Eating Berkeley’s Ode to Autumn”
— Eunice Choi

Gone are the days of warm, hot summer.
Our first thought naturally is “Oh, what a bummer,”
but fall is about to sweep in, as sweet as honey
with sweaters, hot teas and noses so runny.
Our ode kind of sucks, sorry, but hey,
we’re just excited by the treasures in our Bay.
Shop locally to see the bounty fall has in store;
like you, we thanks the season for the galore!

Contact Eunice Choi at echoi@dailycal.org and Mai Truong at mtruong@dailycal.org.

The post 16 fruits and vegetables to buy in October appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Image by modomatic under Creative Commons.

1. Garlic

Garlic is delicious on bread, in pasta and, to be completely frank, in most things, but did you know that garlic is good for you? Beyond being a great breath freshener, garlic also is known to help regulate blood pressure, and it is rich in vitamins A, B and C as well as zinc and calcium. Research by the National Academy of Sciences has found that garlic increases our natural supply of hydrogen sulfide — which, although poisonous in high concentrations, may actually be the key to understanding the claims that garlic contains various cancer-fighting compounds.

Image by Mai Truong/staff.

2. Tea

Other than coffee, tea is an excellent source of caffeine for the energy-starved college student. In particular, green tea has myriad health benefits, some of which were described in a Huffington Post article and include weight loss, decreasing blood pressure and fighting infection. So instead of always turning to coffee for your daily caffeine, try a cup of tea (not that coffee is bad for you — some studies show that it has its own health benefits), whether it is black, white or green. Just remember to enjoy whatever you are drinking.

Image by j_silla under Creative Commons.

3. Avocado

Avocados boast a rich source of fiber, potassium, vitamins E and B and folic acid, so eating avocados seems to be a no-brainer. Good fats do exist, and the avocado is a wonderful example of good monosaturated fat, which can help lower cholesterol instead of raising it. Not to mention you can even grow your very own avocado tree from the pit. For more complete information on avocados, you can check out www.californiaavocado.com.

Image by thepinkpeppercorn under Creative Commons.

4. Dark chocolate

Chocolate is so good that it shouldn’t be reserved only for special occasions, and it isn’t. Studies have shown that small amounts of dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure and that its antioxidants can help fend off diseases. However, this is no license to go binge on dark chocolate, so remember to exercise moderation. You can also use dark chocolate to help build a complexity of flavor in savory dishes such as chili.

Image by Stacy Spensley under Creative Commons.

5. Chia seeds

Yes, the seeds that grew on those clay heads, also known as Salvia hispanica, that used to be oh-so-­popular are now making their way into to your everyday diet. According to the USDA, an ounce of chia seeds contains four grams of protein, 11 grams of dietary fiber, and only 137 calories. Chia seeds are also a strong source of calcium. You can add them to smoothies, use them as a thickening agent in soups and sauces or sprinkle them on salads. Regardless of how you eat them, chia seeds are subtle in flavor and good for you, which makes them a great addition to everyone’s diet.

The post 5 foods that can and will improve your life appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Recipes. To some, they are the bane of creativity; to others, they are a safety net that gives them the confidence to experiment in making new dishes. However, recipes can, at times, lock certain people into a preconceived notion of what one must do to make “good food.” Ultimately, “good food” is subjective. Whatever you personally find tasty is “good food.” If you like extra zucchini in your ratatouille, by all means, feel free to add more. If you like mustard and mayonnaise on toast with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast, be my guest — although I may not have any of that.

During the past few years of cooking, I learned that — at least for me — the magic truly awoke once I developed the ability to use recipes as a starting point and an inspiration for what I cook. I have learned to experiment and to try new combinations of ingredients and flavors, and in doing so, both my technical skills and confidence in the kitchen have improved.

While living in the co-ops for the past two years, I have seen and met people with varying degrees of cooking ability. There are people who can transform any sort of ingredient into delectable food that leaves you craving more, and there are people who cook foods that put you on the verge of making you sick. Now, I consider myself to be an above-average cook but by no means an amazing one. I have perceived, over the past few years, that the biggest struggle for a budding cook is a lack of confidence in the kitchen.

As long as you are not baking, cooking can, for the most part, be freeform. Yes, there are basics you want to stand by — the two-to-one ratio of water to rice, for instance — but experimentation and imagination are some of the more liberating, and dare I say exhilarating, aspects of cooking.

Eggs are a great place to start. Let’s say you are scrambling them. If they are dry and curdling, cook them for less time and with less heat. If the eggs are too wet for your liking, cook them a bit more. Not enough salt? Add some more. The secret to food is learning what you like, and you can’t learn what you like if you don’t taste the food you are making. If you keep tasting and keep practicing, eventually you will reach a level of competence where you are proud to share what you cook with your friends.

Even so, competence should not be your end goal, because much like taste, the idea of it is subjective. The true measure of whether a dish is successful or not is whether you enjoy making it, eating it and sharing it. So grab some friends, get some ingredients, trust your gut and go cook!

The post Cook with confidence! appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Josh Escobar/Staff

“There’s a lot room for mistakes when you cook for so many people. Remember: It’s not just about taste. It’s about feeding everyone,” said Rose DeNicola, Student Food Manager at Kingman Hall.

Your club may be having a potluck or your friend a birthday party. In any case, it’s up to you to cook dinner for 50 or so people, but don’t worry. We at Eating Berkeley are here to help you out with a few time-honored cooking tips.

1. Make big batches of grains and beans.

From the rawest vegan to the hungriest carnivore, no one likes eating protein dishes alone. With a batch of quinoa, pinto beans, lentils or the like, you can make a filling and healthy side dish with little effort. Besides, grains and beans are easy to heat up and serve hot right at dinner time. Just be sure to get the ratio of water right.
While it boils, toss in your scraps of onions, garlic and veggies, as well as a little salt. When it’s done cooking, add a dash of salt and maybe some cheese, then you’re done!

Warning: cooking rice on the stove top is very difficult. Sensitive by nature, the rice will burn or over-soak easily, especially in enormous batches. Avoid rice at all cost!

2. Start early

If you like cooking, then a few hours to prepare food in the kitchen will go by like a breeze. Yet, you don’t want to serve dinner late. Starting early will give you time to garnish thing perfectly and arrange dishes to make them look appetizing. It will also give you time to relax, which is necessary for any cook to keep their cool.

3. Taste test regularly. Add seasonings a little at a time.

Seasonings and spices like garlic pepper and cumin are good allies when it comes to cooking for a lot of people. A little goes a long way, in effort, taste and gratification. However, if you add too much, there’s no going back. Keep some spoons handy, and taste test regularly. Stir in the seasonings and spices well and taste again. Even if you follow the recipes to the milligram, you always need to make little adjustments.

4. Get help from your friends

Cooking with wine adds flavor to the tomato sauce. A little wine may also pacify the lead cook whose mind is in five places at once, and it may even help recruiting your friends. Invite them over early to help out. Most of them will want to chat, gossip and chill with you before a big dinner anyways. Cutting veggies and taste testing make for the perfect one-on-one time.

The post Kitchen Tips: Cooking for a lot of people appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Josh Escobar/Staff

In “The Odyssey,” apples were one of the many prides of Ithica. In Kafka’s, “The Metamorphosis,” shiny red apples were just the thing Gregor’s dad threw at his slimy, shattered roach body to get him back into his room. In Cezanne’s paintings, apples are warm, unassuming and shy beauties.

Quite hungry one late afternoon, my friends and I set out from Wurster Hall scavenging for apples: their essences brewd, baked, sliced, roasted, honeyed, toasted to a crisp; their forms plain, rotund and wholesome; green, red, mellowing-ripe yellow crates of them for sale alongside the southern side of campus.

We first came across straw baskets of Fuji apples grown by Washington® USA at Ramona’s Cafe in Wurster Hall. At Caffe Strada, we spotted apple syrup in a silver-nozzled bottle among an array of others that spanned the wall. And in the cooled, arching countertop display were clouds, pies,and crisps: desserts with apple filling.

At the Berkeley Art Museum, within the sculpture garden, Babettè cafe served homemade apple soda and their legendary apple gallette. The dough was golden and the ring of brown sugar along its toasted crust, and the apple slices tucked together in the middle were as soft as apple sauce. Topped with fresh raspberries, it was a pastry of mastery.

We passed through the Asian Ghetto finding apples only at King Pin Donuts, where they used apple jelly for filling. The pastries looked delicious but we wanted something more substantial, so we continued down Durant.

On Telegraph Avenue, shit got complex. Noah’s Bagels sold both Minute Maid Apple Juice — its lists of ingredients more dense than the US Constitution — and Simply Apple, which has far less in it. Sam’s Market sold Wylan’s Hard Apple Cider, Sour Apple Blow Pops and a slew of apples from the U.S. and Chile in refrigerated boxes: Fuji, Granny Smith, Gravestein, Golden Delicious — all from Washington®. At Walgreens, they sold apples from Chile, apple-flavor-infused gum, and vacuum-sealed organic apple meal-bars for $3.50. The packaging for these apple meal-bars had majestic pictures of mountains, which was a shame because you had to tear up and trash the packaging away to get the apple. At Crêpes-A-Go-Go, when we asked about apples, the cashier took a cigarette break. In the see-through fridge behind where he stood sat plump little bottles of Martinelli’s. Subway allows customers to substitute an apple for a bag chips in combos. A few doors down at Wylan’s, you can get your paws on apple-flavored rolling paper.

Further down Bancroft Way was the Berkeley Student Food Collective (BSFC), a store of fresh, local and organic produce. They sold dried apple rings, butter, sauce and chips. They even sold apples in their trail mix. Sometimes they have apples grown from century-old Gravestein trees grown by Bernie, the remarkable apple farmer and brewer. Sometimes they sell morning-made creme-cheese sandwiches with apples. They also sell oatmeal with apples, and pastries from Cheeseboard during the school year. In wood crates at the front of the store were brimming, freckled Granny Smiths from Ferrard Farms in Linden, California, and red-orange and pink Galas from the Berkeley farmer’s market. Put simply when we saw these apples snug in their crates we were immensely happy because what happens to these apples, in some sense, happens to all apples. As we were leaving the BSFC, one girl shouted, “Yay apples, you have them!” She bought six.

La Notè on Shattuck had on their menu Petillant de Pommes and Assiette de fromage et pommes. We were hungry and wanted to try their food, but the doors were locked, so we carried on. The two convenience stores near University Avenue sold Red Delicious and Fuji Washington® apples made in the USA, just like the apples sold at the RSF.

From across the bay, the orange setting sun was casting long shadows up University.

By the time we reached Slow, some of us were complaining, wanted to go home, had ink all over our fingers from all the hurried notes we took, tired from walking a slight distance and eyeing fruit left and right.

Exasperated, one of us said, “I can take apples all day but not apples all night!” To which another replied, staring deep into the gutter, “Apples don’t think — they don’t think like us.”

Clearly, we were all tired. So we quickly slumped inside the restaurant and ordered before we could get too discouraged. For dinner, we were having Pink Lady apples with pork belly.

When the pork belly came, we cheered. The Pink Ladies were cut and stacked like matchsticks in every corner of the plate. We pushed them with our forks through the pork juices and the cabbage and the potatoes. It was tasty but wasn’t the best pork belly that we had. Sometimes we feel like posh little restaurants get away with small portions by throwing in clever garnishes, like these apples. After a long day of work, however, we were happy just to be sitting together.

After the meal, we talked with the cook, Kyle Anderson. He told us of when he first set out into the world of work, the only place that would hire him was McDonald’s. After a long string of jobs at high end restaurants in Nebraska, Chicago, Manhattan, Denver and Arizona, Kyle settled in the Bay to have at its awesome variety of fresh and local produce. Now in his own professional kitchen, he makes high-quality, gourmet food without being fine dining establishment. The pink lady apples he used had been grown in New Zealand.

It was dark out by the time we left the restaurant, and all of the streetlights were on. Excited and well-fed, we cut through campus toward the Daily Cal’s northside office to get out of the chilling weather. On the way there, the wind through the eucalypti made us wonder how when it rains in counties like Linden, the Gala trees will grow skyward and into the soil. Soon after, farmers will labor hard for the harvest, day and dark morning. After it rains in counties like Linden, people in cities like Berkeley will have apples.

The post Apples near campus appeared first on The Daily Californian.

shellEProductions under Creative Commons/File

Eating with your parents will be a special experience, as you are up and coming into the world of work, freedom and independence. And while you can make it all the more memorable by bringing them to your favorite restaurant, that’s only the beginning. Here are some tips for having a great dining experience with family:

View from the bar at Ippuku. Image by shellEProductions under Creative Commons

1. Book dinner somewhere nice. Take your parents to Top Dog — but not every night that they visit. Your parents’ visit is your chance to eat at the places that you can’t afford as a starving college student. Book a dinner at one of Berkeley’s astoundingly great restaurants. In the summer, be sure to book dinner seven to 10 days in advance; otherwise, it’s hard to get a reservation at the time and place that you want. Here’s a list of some places (by no means authoritative) to take your parents for dinner.

Chez Panisse — The legendary restaurant whose founder, Alice Waters, recently dined with Michelle Obama when she was in town. Book far in advance for the restaurant or upstairs diner.

Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen — This place is for the omnivores, with big, hearty portions and delicious sides, complete with a lively atmosphere.

Belli Osteria — This place offers delicious homemade pastas and boasts a Saucier like no other. Order multiple courses and wine to get the full experience of this delicious, impressive new restaurant.

Ippuku — This place has the most unique atmosphere and rarest style, described as Japanese soul food. Like other restaurants on this list, it is somewhere to eat before graduation multiple times. Be sure to book at least a week in advance.

Zachary’s Chicago Pizza — This restaurant is nice in a different sense. It has some of the greatest pizza ever conceived and is bustling all night. It’s definitely a family place.

Eating at Zachary’s should be a graduation requirement. Image by da5ide under Creative Commons

2. Bring your friend(s). When your parents visit, introduce them to your friends. The dinner table at a nice restaurant will spur interesting conversations and bring out new things in you and your buddies. Let your parents know ahead of time so that you don’t surprise them. Bring one or two friends to a nice restaurant, but bring as many as you want if you eat somewhere like the Cheese Board, which has a great laid-back atmosphere. If dinner with parents and friends doesn’t strike your fancy, entertain the idea of going out for drinks at Freehouse, which is impressive, or Pappy’s, which is a throwback.

3. Encourage your parents to choose their favorite place. No one doesn’t like good food. Bring out your parents’ inner foodie. Send them links to some of the restaurants in Berkeley to get them stoked about dinner. Plus, it gives your parents the chance to eat some of their favorite cuisines.

The Legendary Breakfast at Brown Sugar Kitchen. Image by swnktstic under Creative Commons

4. Know where you want to eat in San Francisco and Oakland. Plan lunch and dinner into your trips to San Francisco to avoid eating at the lame eateries that swarm many of the tourist sites in San Francisco and Oakland. It’s also a good way to make sure that you don’t miss out on every possible opportunity to eat the best meal of your life while your parents are visiting. For breakfast in Oakland, we recommend getting the chicken and waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen. For lunch in San Francisco, we recommend the open-face sandwiches at Tartine (which are big enough to split) in the Mission District. Reservations not needed or taken at either establishment.

5. Get dessert; order a drink. When you’re eating in Berkeley with your parents, don’t hold back. Take no prisoners. Go to Babette’s at the Berkeley Art Museum for desserts baked daily by the head chef Joan Ellis herself. Grab a house-crafted brew at Jupiter after dinner. Wherever you are, grab a drink — beer, coffee, or boba tea. Order the homemade lemon scones or triple-chocolate, gooey apricot upside-down cake with vanilla ice cream. YOLO.

What are your favorite places to take your parents out to? Let us know in the comments!

Contact Josh Escobar at jescobar@dailycal.org

The post 5 tips for dining out with parents appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Erin Alexander/Staff

What’s the best thing about having your parents visit you for the weekend? It is undeniably the two or three days of freedom from the monotony of the dining halls and from spending money of your own. As well as spending that cherished, quality time with them, of course. My parents came all the way from Florida to visit me for a few days and while they were here, we wanted to explore one of the most fruitful and delicious regions of California – Napa Valley. I could not have been more excited to spend some much-needed quality time with my parents and try some of the best food and “grape juice” in the world.

The first stop on our list was a tour at Hall Wines, a picturesque, family-owned property in the hills of St. Helena. The group was small and our guide, Gary, laid out the basics of grape harvesting, wine production and barreling. The highlight of the tour was the tasting room, located inside a hillside cave lined with centuries-old Austrian brick and decorated with a small portion of the owner’s private art collection. The long hallway of the dimly lit cave was lined with wooden oak wine barrels, the smell of which permeated through the air, and led to a large private dining room where we had our wine tasting. The standout feature of the dining room was the large chandelier made out of carved tree branches and covered in Swarovski crystals and small yellow lights. The soft glow and sparkle of the lighting paired with the brisk chill of the underground cellar created a calm, almost enchanted atmosphere. We sampled a selection of both subtle and robust red wines, some of which have aptly been voted the best in the world.

Next up was Regusci Winery, located right in the heart of Napa’s Stags Leap District. The experience at Regusci was far more laid back, though no less memorable. I was greeted at the entrance by an adorable chocolate lab and corgi, followed by Allison, our guide. The feeling at Regusci was casual and ranch-like, which makes sense considering the property originally doubled as a farm and vineyard. Our private tour took us throughout the property and inside the original 1878 stone wine cellar, which was no doubt the coolest part of the experience. The large, two-story building was stacked floor to ceiling with wine barrels, all of which are actually used in the process of aging Regusci wine. We even got to try samples from a selection of different barrels that were in different stages of the aging process, so we could taste the transition from a newly barreled wine to one that is ready for bottling.

At this point in the day, around five o’clock in the evening, our stomachs were aching for food. We headed over to Yountville, home to three of Chef Thomas Keller’s world-renowned restaurants. Of the three, my parents and I opted for Bouchon, a one-Michelin starred French bistro. The maître d’ was a tad short with us when we arrived asking to be seated ten minutes early, but the staff was hardly impolite. To start, we ordered a cheese plate with fresh cow, goat and sheep’s milk paired with honeycomb, candied almonds and freshly baked bread. To accompany our cheese course, we chose a decadent plate of bone marrow, roasted with garlic, parsley, shallots and sherry vinegar (my personal favorite of the evening). My entrée of grilled pork belly was a bit fatty and over-seasoned for my taste (I found it difficult to finish), although it was paired well with big juicy prunes.

By the end of the night, I was happily stuffed and thoroughly satisfied, having spent a wonderful day catching up over great food and drinks with family. The magic of Napa Valley lies not in its world-class wineries or restaurants, although they are undeniably essential to the experience, but in the experience shared among the friends, family or even someone on your wine tasting tour you encounter by chance. We shared the flavor profiles of a particular wine and the enthusiasm for a specific dish, and we found that the conversation, much like the wine, flows freely and with ease in this special valley.

Contact Erin Alexander at ealexander@dailycal.org

The post A day in Napa Valley appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Levon Minassian/Staff

Since the start of last fall semester, I have been one of two food managers at Cloyne Court, the largest house within the Berkeley Student Cooperative system.  I decided to run for the position the previous spring, when my fellow housemate Maddie Tien asked if I would join her in being responsible for food-related matters within our house of 150 members.

Food and kitchen managers in the Berkeley Student Cooperative are elected by the members of their houses, and their main tasks revolve around ordering food for common use and dinners. Some of the co-ops have only one, while larger houses like ours split the duties between two managers and have another two managers be in charge of the kitchen and its cleanliness. Our main job is to buy food for our respective houses based on the collective preferences of our members as well as a food budget that credits $9.35 per resident per day.

Each member has the ability to express dietary preferences regarding budget allocation through surveys, house meetings or other methods by which opinions are cultivated. This process occurs differently at each house, but a common norm is that members are very vocal about knowing where their food comes from and are eager to express their preferences. While some may see this as a privilege for students — not having to worry about eating enough food to get through college — I believe that this has been one of the most important values that living in the co-ops alerts you to and that will stay with members after they leave.

Having lived in Cloyne since Spring 2011, I’ve come to see multiple shifts in the house’s food preferences and simultaneous changes in the kinds of foods in the kitchen as well as a constant level of concern about where food has come from.  Sometimes, some voices would be much louder than others. Each semester, though, the debate within the house can be roughly boiled down to whether to buy with an environmentally responsible mindset or prioritize low costs, which surrounds the co-op’s mission statement of how to prioritize low cost and quality housing. While ordering food, I’ve tried to find a balance between the two concepts.

In determining how to find this balance, I’ve relied on our members’ constant comments and conversations to guide how I spend the budget. Some members only wanted organic quinoa cereals, and others preferred cereals laced in sugar. Some only wanted fair-trade chocolate chips, while others felt any chocolate chips were a staple, regardless of where they came from. Most of our members were happy with the cow we bought direct from a farmer in Petaluma, but I also received complaints that the levels of meat at dinners was both too high and too low. I only purchased organic produce, but whether we should buy in-season or local, depending on the price difference, also yielded differences of opinions. In our pantry, we purchased a mixture of organic dried goods, as well as commercial ones such as brown rice, to reduce costs.

My experience has convinced me that any time a large number college students are put in charge of feeding themselves, there is bound to be lots of disagreement. But living in a co-op, where members have an equal say and equal share, has ensured that these disagreements are resolved through deliberation and debate rather than arbitrary decision-making.

Holding the food manager position at Cloyne has given me the opportunity to have these conversations to determine what is best to order while incorporating the dietary preferences and concerns for the environment that our house has had.  I find great value in having them, because they have prompted me analyze where the food I order and eat comes from, how it is produced and whether it is cost-effective. When people see something in the way that food arrives on their plate that they don’t like, they should have the chance to voice their concerns about it. Being a part of the co-ops allows students to engage with the food system this way.

These conversations fulfill what I see as a simple responsibility we all have of knowing how our dietary habits affect the people that produce our food and the land it is produced on. One of the main things I have learned upon leaving Cloyne is that such dialogues need to be expanded in order for communities to understand how their diets relate to the issues of nutrition, food access, farm labor and environmental protection. The voices that I’ve been witnessing while ordering food over the past year makes me optimistic that such discussions are on the rise.

Contact Levon Minassian at lminassian@dailycal.org.

The post Reflections of a co-op food manager appeared first on The Daily Californian.

bitzi/Courtesy

Unfortunately, this week’s fun food fact is not, in fact, so fun. You may have heard recently that the seemingly innocuous challenge of eating a tablespoon of cinnamon, also known as the “cinnamon challenge,” can actually be extremely dangerous.

If you thought cheap, flavored alcohol and whipped cream cans were the only substances abused by bored teenagers, think again. Never heard of the cinnamon challenge? Luckily, you can educate yourself on its website, entirely devoted to the challenge. The site describes the goal of the challenge as trying to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking water. The task is not easy because cinnamon in large quantities (or anything in large quantities, for that matter) triggers a gag reflex.

But apparently, this unpleasant feat is attractive to more adolescents than it should be. According to data compiled by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were 222 cases of “abuse or misuse of cinnamon by teens” in the United States last year. During the first half of the year, there were about 30 cases of cinnamon ingestion that required medical treatment. The medical journal Pediatrics recently published an article stating the dangers of the cinnamon challenge. While most reports of taking on the challenge involve a burning sensation in the airways, nosebleeds, lack of consciousness, vomiting, difficulty breathing and puffs of rust-colored smoke spewing from the daring individual’s mouth, apparently the damage done can be far more serious. In the worst of cases, teenagers have suffered collapsed lungs and ended up on ventilators.

After reading this, you’re probably tempted to YouTube “cinnamon challenge” to see for yourself how dire the results really can be. You’re not alone. Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, the author of the report in Pediatrics, says that, “We have seen a rise in calls to poison control centers around the United States that mirrored the rise in YouTube videos and their viewing,” confirming that food as a vehicle of masochism is an appealing subject. In fact, the cinnamon challenge website states that more than 40,000 challenge videos have been posted on YouTube.

Although cinnamon is harmless, delicious and has even been shown to have healthful effects when consumed in small amounts, it can be caustic to the airways when inhaled. The damage is caused by cellulose, a starch found in cinnamon powder that is harmless but does not break down. Therefore, when it is becomes lodged in the lungs due to coughing, it remains there in the long term. If the lungs are coated with caustic cinnamon oil, it can lead to chronic inflammation and eventually scarring of the lungs — a phenomenon called pulmonary fibrosis, a condition equivalent to getting emphysema.

Clearly, while shoveling a spoonful of cinnamon down your throat may sound like an entertaining and exhilarating way to spend your night, you might want to think again.

Contact Erika Chan at echan@dailycal.org.

The post Fun food fact of the week: Beware the cinnamon challenge appeared first on The Daily Californian.