Tortured.
We've all felt that way at one time or another. Right?
It's not that I'm feeling particularly tortured myself. Well, maybe just enough to write this post in response to a conversation with someone who accused me (specifically) and modern cooking (in general) of torturing food.
"Why all the manipulation? Why torture food? Why make cooking so complicated? You take a solid, turn it into a liquid, then make it solid again. Why denature something just to make it look natural?
They were valid questions— certainly ones I've heard before— and they were asked out of genuine curiosity. But they were designed to provoke a defense, so she looked a little letdown when I nodded in agreement and told her that she was absolutely right.
But I wasn't letting her off that easy— I pointed to the sandwich that she was eating during our conversation and told her that it was a very tortured thing indeed. In explanation, I took her along the path that put it in her hand. I think I used words like thrashed, crushed, pulverized, whipped, beaten, fermented, and intense heat. And that was just addressing the bread. I started in on the pastrami, cheese, and mustard, but stopped short because she was looking a little tortured herself.
Regardless of what we put in our mouths, its inception was to rob something of its vital force. All food was once alive. Is it more honorable to pluck food directly from its habitat and eat it raw, letting our teeth grind and pulverize it into something that can be digested, or to use our wit and skill to render it delicious and magnificent? Isn't that a decision we must all make for ourselves?
Cooking is violent. We casually violate food with knives and fire and think nothing of it. Is chopping less of a crime than juicing? Poaching less brutal than sous-vide? In an alternate universe where the plant and animal kingdoms ruled, wouldn't we all be accused of torture?
To cook is to transform. When we claim to cook simply, we deny the complicated processes that we initiate and fail to acknowledge the everyday miracles that take place in our kitchens. A loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, a pound of butter are wonderfully complex things.
We coax,manipulate, torture, because it makes food better; more palatable and enjoyable.
If we could just cook and let cook, maybe we could all relax, explore, and enjoy.
And stop feeling so tortured.
rooibos- poached pear
tonka bean brioche
candied bitter orange
smoked bourbon buttermilk
Playing with Fire and Water 
Hi Chef!
Your tortured pear actually makes me smile, not because it looks like Hellraiser, but because of a local cooking competition called “Ca va chauffer”, where two contestants served a “poire picamandine”.
It’s definitely not as nice as yours, the least of which is that their poaching liquid is raspberry Jello.
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Looks delicious Linda. I love the tortured look and what a great post.
Was the brioche placed inside the pear before plating?
I understand the dilemma you were put in by being asked that. I often feel the same way when “manipulating” food but ultimately I just feel that I like to manipulate things that I don’t enjoy in the hopes that I may enjoy them after “manipulation”. Often I find that the texture of something is what causes me not to enjoy it so manipulation of textures is crucial.
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Dear Linda, for what is worth here is my take on this matter:
The state of food in today’s US territory does not even come close to what it was 15 or 20 years ago. When I came to this country a while back (not too long ago) there where very few produces available in the states, the myriad of lettuces and butters and cheeses that one can find today did not exist back then.
The US has gone under a major culinary development in this last 20 years, thanks to the teachings and “suggestions” coming from oversea. A place like Spain, or Europe in general, can afford more elegantly and rightfully to have a modernize and experimental cooking because of its long history of cooking: the consumers have been eating traditionally prepared cuisines for centuries….they have had a lifetime of exposure to all the wonders of regional cooking. Americans today are barely starting to learn about these cuisines (there are a few exceptions of course),they are just beginning to adopt products and theories and so for chefs and consumers to take a leap forward toward futuristic cooking is a bit pretentious and way too trendy.
The crowd loves to eat “molecular gastronomy” because it’s cool! Ask any of these folks if they like Finanziera Piemontese or a plate of Stigghiole and they probably would not know what it is.
My point is that in this country, where a lot of folks still ignore the concept of regional cuisine and the refinement of simplicity, there isn’t enough education on this matter to afford a revolution.
Ciao.
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I love that you not only answered the question so intelligently, but also made a killer dessert to exemplify the point.
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Jason, the brioche was baked inside the pear after it was poached
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If you could post the full recipe, it would be greatly appreciated…. love it!!!
…..so much!!!
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