Differences of opinion are fundamental to Judaism: we can’t even agree on the spellings of key words. (Is it matzo, matzoh, or matzah?) At the Passover seder it’s no surprise that, except for the seder plate, there are 1,001 differences in the way Jews celebrate the holiday. Some eat brisket, some eat chicken, some eat both. The waters are divided over whether the matzo balls should be fluffy or dense (mine=fluffy). Kugel can be sweet or savory.
Read MoreWhen people talk about Clinton Street Baking Company, they’re usually talking about two things: pancakes and waiting in line. Visitors and locals come for the restaurant’s blueberry pancakes, and for good reason: they’re crispy-edged and fluffy, made with teensy-tiny wild Maine blueberries. Other options include bananas and walnuts, and chocolate chunks. The restaurant goes through 250 pounds of those blueberries per week, or 13,000 pounds per year, plus 416 gallons of New York maple syrup. During pancake month, in February, they sell almost 2,000 orders a week.
Read MoreIt’s a sunny day at Windfall Farms in upstate New York, and Morse Pitts, the owner, is trying to explain to me one of the many reasons his microgreens cost so damn much: every shoot sold comes from a single seed. A sunflower shoot can take up to three weeks to mature. New seeds are planted twice a week for the duration of winter—which, this past year, lasted four and a half months. To keep their white plastic bins stocked for the three days a week they’re at Manhattan greenmarkets, they planted over 750 pounds of seeds—for just one of their dozen-plus offerings. And a fifty-pound bag of sunflower seeds costs $185.
Read MoreThe first thing Mike Countryman told me about ice wine was that it was like trying to make wine from marbles. Ice wine is hard to make, hard to find, and expensive to buy. The reward for the intrepid seeker is a golden-hued liquid that brings forth the essence of the grape, which, when finally picked, looks like a plump brown raisin. The first sip has a layered sweetness from its extensive hang time on the vine, and an acidic mouthfeel from an equally high level of citric and tartaric acids.
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