Articles — Larissa Zimberoff

The Jolly Microgreen Giant

It’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.

Kernza: Can A Perennial Save Our Soil?

Kernza’s arrival has been a long time coming. The new grain variety from the Land Institute is derived from an ancient form of intermediate wheatgrass, a perennial that is actually a distant relative of wheat. And there’s a widespread team of researchers hoping their work will pave the way for an entirely new form of food.

North Carolina Governor Vetoes Ag-Gag Bill

Civil EatsLarissa ZimberoffJune 1, 2015ag gag, civil eats, factory farms, ncaggag, north carolina

New Tech For Diabetics

MORE THAN 200 million people on this planet worry about the same invisible villain: their blood glucose. High, low, just right? For many of these diabetics, it’s a medical version of Goldilocks that entails four or more blood-test finger pricks a day and a jab in the thigh with a needle full of insulin at mealtimes. It’s a drag and I should know—I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic 30 years ago. At the time my father thought to himself, “She’ll be cured by the time she’s in college.” I’m now well beyond college age, and not only do I still have diabetes but I still use (basically) the same hardware and medications.

How To Pair Summery Wine & Grilled Food

When it comes to the great outdoors, there are two types of people: those who prefer to hold a spatula and those who feel more comfortable carrying a glass. For the spirit of this story, let's all be the ones with the glasses. Because really, what's a grill without a cold beverage?

How Much Water Does It Take?

The California drought has officially gotten scary. Further complicating the situation is the fact that almost 80% of California's water supply goes to the state's agriculture needs, which in turn goes toward feeding the entire planet. (Did you know that California produces 80% of the world's almonds?) A recent LA Times infographic shows just how much water is used to produce one plate of food (968 gallons). There is also an interactive version, where you can create different plates of food to understand their water impact.

Grazin', a Tribeca Burger Joint Re-Thinking the Supply Chain

In a city that birthed Shake Shack, it may come as a surprise to find someone with the balls to open another casual burger joint. But if you're a family of farmers with the most transparently-sourced beef in town, then maybe there's something to the idea. Grazin' Tribeca is the second diner serving meat from Grazin Angus Acres, a 500-acre farm in Ghent, New York. Its grass-fed and finished beef is the only beef served both there and at a Grazin' in Hudson, NY, the only two 100% Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) restaurants in the world.

House Of Brine

That old jar of dill pickles in the back of your fridge—it's not doing you any favors. With such an incredible array of pickle potential at your local farmers' market (okra, beets, kohlrabi) and interesting flavors (turmeric, smoked paprika, kombu) waiting to be added to brines, why waste space with something so...pedestrian?

Tasting TableLarissa ZimberoffApril 19, 2015NYC, San Francisco, betony, fermentation, pickles, tasting table, the progress

Along Came A Spider

Ever taken the time to think about what kitchen tools you'd be lost without? Things like a knife, a wooden spoon, a pot? Sure. But a spider? Not so much.

Recap: TedX Manhattan 2015

“The food movement needs money,” announced Shen Tong to hundreds of attendees at last weekend’s TedX Manhattan. He paused, thanked the crowd, and pretended to walk off the stage as if to end his talk there. “That’s probably the shortest TED talk you’ll ever hear,” he said. Virtually everyone at the one-day conference clapped and cheered at the investor and Food-X founder’s point (and it wasn’t the end of his talk). And while the food movement does need investment, it’s not as simple as writing a check.

Mushrooms Make Gluten-Free Wheat

The gluten-free bandwagon is becoming a little cramped these days. Pizza Hut offers an alternative pizza crust in 2,400 of its stores; the Girl Scouts introduced a gluten-free peanut butter oatmeal cookie; and this July General Mills is launching five of its best-known cereals in g-free versions. If ever there were a bellwether that gluten-free has become mainstream, it’s Cheerios. But thanks to an ingenious method of harnessing the power of gourmet mushrooms, we may once again be able to embrace that problematic ingredient: wheat.

ViceLarissa ZimberoffApril 8, 2015Munchies, MycoTechnology, agtech, foodtech, g-free, gluten-free, mushrooms, wheat

Profiles In Obsession: Mike Countryman

The 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.

Game of Scones

Is there any reason our weekday breakfasts can't be as delicious as our Sunday morning's? Emily Elyse Miller, founder of creative agency Trends on Trends, rarely digs into brunch, but breakfast—that's a whole other thing.

A (70s) Macrobiotic Cooking School is Brought Up to Date

When people talk to Anthony Fassio about his new role as CEO at Manhattan’s Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI), he tends to field the same question: “Isn’t that the vegan school?”

The Cookie Jar

That it was glass was the only thing keeping me from thin.

It wasn’t a brightly hued ceramic statue where the head was also the lid. Also, it wasn’t cutesy, like say in the likeness of Garfield or a chicken. Glass with a chrome lid and a round black handle, it was a plain cookie jar. Ascetic. If it were a font it would be Helvetica.

Paste MagazineLarissa ZimberoffMarch 1, 2015Keebler, cookie jar, cookies, elves, paste magazine, personal essay

SciArt: Artist Ellie Irons Profile

Larissa ZimberoffFebruary 26, 2015Bushwick, Sci Art, SciArt in America, SciArt, artist profile, artist, ellie irons, invasive weeds, weeds

How To Get An Education In Meat

It’s a cold night in December and John Poiarkoff, the executive chef at The Pines in Gowanus, Brooklyn, takes me outside to their large walk-in refrigerator. Inside are cases of wine and five ducks hanging from their feet. I see their black eyes, their beaks, tiny holes below their heads. Underneath is a tray to catch drips of blood. Rusty pink and bumpy with raised dots, the ducks will age for two weeks before hitting the menu. Poiarkoff gets his ducks from John Fazio in the Hudson Valley. His ducks are not shot in flight and retrieved by a cute dog, but rather walk into a machine that loops their legs, flips them around, and shoots a bolt up into their neck and out through the back of their brain. I pull my eyes away from the birds and glance further into the walk-in.

ViceLarissa ZimberoffFebruary 18, 2015Brooklyn, John Poiarkoff, gowanus, happy valley meat, sustainable meat, the pines

Conversation Starter: Sweethearts

You probably remember those candy conversation hearts you got when you were a kid, and maybe, like us, you're nostalgic for the glow of young love (ah, young love). Or maybe you just like biting into sugary hearts that say "TXT ME."

6 Offbeat Foods You Should Add to Your 2015 Diet

January is like one big month of Monday’s. There are no more holiday parties, no days off and definitely no more gifts. In an effort to make your January plans more interesting, I'm bringing you six hot foods that will perk up your resolutions to eat right in 2015, or at least that first week.

NYC's First Cat Cafe: Meow Parlour

On their walk home one evening after closing up their Manhattan macaron shop, pastry chef Christina Ha and her husband, Simon Tung, heard the cries of an abandoned cat. The workaholic couple, stressed with running their 8-month-old fledgling business, found the emaciated cat with white paws, had him checked out by a veterinarian and gave him a name: Mr. Socks.