sábado, 3 de junho de 2017



The idea of this dinner workshop is to understand ways of approaching food, how to stimulate the opening of locked taste buds, until one can notice all the different subtleties of what we usually refer to a single flavor. This is how a gourmand finds all that poetry in food, pointing out tones we cannot (yet!) fully relate to.

Altogether there will be one appetizer and 5 courses, coffee and tea, water, water with herbs, water with chilli, and 1 glass of wine included (and it's all also part of the learning!).

I'VE TRANSLATED SOME CONTENT TO ENGLISH, SEE BELLOW!!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

- The experience will be in German

- Price is 40, Euros, including all food and 1 Glass of Wine (extra is bought separately)

- It's not enough to confirm your presence here, you need to send an email to hallo@raumschwalbe.de! Then we'll send you further instructions Hope to hear from you soon! Awakening The taste Buds: An Experimental Dinner-Workshop

What is being Gourmand?!

I believe it’s to find true joy with eating, with food: physically, mentally, energetically, emotionally, cinestesically, visually, sensoriallu, artistically,culturally, historically, etc.

If how to become Gourmet is the question, then we must open our minds and hearts to be able to open our taste buds.

Starting with the basic flavors, we’ll gradually expand our palate to other sensations and experiences which are not very obviousl yet very rich.

Sweet, salty, bitter, umami, sour - That's a good start! This is the food introduction that should actually happen naturally during childhood, but that can be easily acquiered in adulthood.

WE START WITH UMAMI

The dishes where umami predominates, it’s our most important comfort food – it’s the taste of mother's milk. In fact, it’s not exactly a flavor, but rather the synergistic of some basic flavors, better known through glutamate. Ingredients like tomato, parmesan and mushrooms offer us this direct experience when we taste it calmly: the final taste in the mouth, is that of umami. Watch out for industrialized food: they seduce us with monosodium glutamate, the flavor enhancer which actually eliminates our taste sensitivity, smudges our taste buds, turning us into the opposite of being a gourmand and become addicted to industrialized spices.

THE CHALLENGES OF SOUR AND BITTER

The other flavors are easier to determin and to directly spot: sugar for the sweet, salt for the salty, coffee for the bitter, vinegar for the sour.

Sugar is very easy to be accepted by most people, We even have a worldwide problem with the sugar addiction.

Salt is also easy to accept, so we must pay attention to the amount of industrialized food we consume, as we easily ngest too much salt. We can help enhance the taste of foods with herbs and spices.

Sour is usually a bit more complicated in the food introduction, nevertheless not as complicated as bitter, which is a fundamental taste for good gastronomic experiences. Part of our rejection of the bitter tast comes from the fact that most non-edible plants are bitter, so we react on alertness. These are the flavors that generate the most resistance, but also the ones that can expand our experiences!

A person who doesn’t accept the bitter, cannot be considered gourmand. The smoked, the metallic taste, the tannins, many full and fantastic gastronomic experiences depend on this flavor in full action.

EXPERIMENTAL DINNER

Start: Tomato and parmesan cheese to test the umami (we do a guided tasting)

1st course: Mushroom Soup. Quite the comfort food, easy to accept. Symbolizes the umami, the papillae without major challenges. (We’ll exchange a bit more about umami and comfort food).

2nd: A variation of crispy leaves, nuts and fruits, to stimulate the sour flavor. (We’ll speak about textures, about biting crunchy things, and contrasts, such as the bittersweet).

3rd: The main course: salty! A mushrooms mix with macadamia and cashew nuts, spicy Risotto and parmesan cheese.

4th: An experience with something 'burnt', to presente the bitter: Grilled vegetables with rosemary (zuchini, eggplant, and others of the day), stir-fried endives and... mashed potatoes - contrast!

5th: A sweet-tapioca of Dulce de Leche with fresh cheese

THE LIQUIDS:

Coffee and tea - no-sugar!

Wine, water, water with herbs, water with pepper and lemon.


sexta-feira, 3 de março de 2017

Pimenta

As pimentas atraem e assustam. No imaginário de um gourmet não iniciado elas podem tirar o sabor dos outros ingredientes, e serem sempre a mesma apesar das milhares de espécies.   Elas são terapêuticas e brincalhonas.
Se suas papilas estiverem acostumadas com elas, sentem a diferença de cada tipo  e de cada detalhe dos outros ingredientes. Elas ativam um prato , mas as vezes podem se rebelar.
Em vários sentidos nos tornam mais fortes, resistentes. A planta é bela, o fruto é colorido e com formas  divertidas, no manuseio se bobear arde os olhos e coça o nariz, pode queimar a pele, só pra lembrar a gente a respeitar a natureza,   as diferenças, nem tudo é asséptico e neutro, e também nem tudo que dói ou arde um pouco é ruim,     a pimenta nos melhora sem discrição,   ela é escandalosa e adora isso.
Vc vai expandindo o paladar e vai ficando mais e mais acostumado à picância ,  e isso é uma delicia,   as papilas estimuladas sentem sabores vários,   segredos que estavam ali na nossa boca vêm a tona.   Nenhuma receita fica a mesma e  se vc for ousado, experimenta fazer o doce de goiaba da infância com pimenta ou colocar na agua de beber. Coisas simples e familiares ficam diferentes, surpreendentes.

Quanto aos tipos:  temos as nativas da américa central e sul a capsicum annuum  e as asiáticas   (históricas! Que estimularam as expedições europeias pelo mundo afora) a Piper nigrum.
Aquelas carnudas que podemos ter no quintal ou no vasinho da área de serviço é a capsicum,  tipo a dedo de moça , malagueta, bodinho .  Podemos consumir fresca ou seca.
Já a Piper é conhecida no Brasil como pimenta do reino.  São 4 tipos , sempre da mesma arvore em estágios de colheita e tratamentos diversos,   verde, branca, vermelha ( não confundir com aroeira ) e preta.  A verde é em conserva já as outras são comercializadas secas, melhor moer na hora para obter nutrientes, cheiro, sabor , energia.
Existem ainda outras especiarias pelo mundo que aqui no Brasil chamamos de pimenta como a da Jamaica , caiena ou pimiento del piquillo etc, mas isso é outra historia.
Além desses encantos envolvendo a pimenta ela traz muitos benefícios a saúde, fortalece as artérias, melhora sintomas de artrite, diabetes e ate dor de dente - por ser anti-inflamatória.
Tem a fama de ser afrodisíaca e provavelmente é porque estimula os sentidos, aquece o corpo e dilata nossas veias, bombando sangue em abundancia onde nosso corpo precisa quando nos preparamos pro amor. Dando força e energia!
Existem muitas espécies de pimentas e essas  plantinhas são muito generosas, fáceis de cultivar, porem veja bem com quem vc vai plantar ela no vaso ou canteiro. Já percebi algumas pimentas modificando outras pimentas vizinhas , estimulando ou encrencando com outras plantinhas,  elas fazem diferença! Por serem sensiveis se são intimidadas por outras plantas ficam minguadas  mas quando um pé de pimenta esta feliz,  dá muitos frutos e vida!

Como a gente neh?