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Switzerland: Coop’s Pro Montagna Label: 5 Years of Protecting Traditional Swiss Food Products

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Permalink 0

Switzerland: Coop’s Pro Montagna Label: 5 Years of Protecting Traditional Swiss Food Products

by Jonell Galloway

In 2005, Andy Imfeld, a montagnard and organic food producer, started discussing the possibility of selling Swiss mountain products directly in Coop supermarkets. After long negotiations as to how it should work, it was decided that for each mountain product sold, a certain amount of the payment would go directly to the families of farmers or projects in mountain regions.

Coop labeled the products Pro Montagna, and the project has been a great success, with some 200 products to date, from yogurt to bread, and including meat products and wooden toys.

Spontaneous Cuisine: Parsnip Velouté with Aged Mimolette Cheese

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, December 15, 2011 Permalink 0

Itsy Bitsy History of the Parsnip

In the Middle Ages, Geneva was running over with parsnips, which they referred to as “white carrots”. It was almost always included in their “eternal pots” of soup, which consisted of seasonal vegetables that they just kept adding more vegetables to as needed, and a piece of meat once a week.

After World War II, many root vegetables went out of fashion in Europe, because people had had to survive on them and nothing else during the war, so farmers eventually stopped growing them. The same went for pumpkin. People in the north of France who had lived through the war and eaten pumpkin every day couldn’t bear the thought of eating pumpkin ever again.

In recent years, these old-fashioned vegetables, including parsnips, have again become available, and chefs are going crazy with new ideas on how to use them.

Parsnips are plentiful at the moment and there’s nothing better than soup to warm you up on a cold winter’s day. Eric Burkel, former financial analyst, entrepreneur and now president of his local food coop in Paris, got this recipe from one of the farmers who supplies vegetables to the coop.

Parsnip soup recipe

Food News: Italian police seize 2,500 tons of fake organic food

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Permalink 0

This is the real-food lover’s worst nightmare. We all know that no matter how many checks and inspections are set up, there is always a risk of runoff from other farms, dishonest sellers and middlemen, and falsely labeled organic food.

The Italian police have seized 2,500 tons of grains, fruits and soy products that were falsely labled as organic in a food fraud ring that exported phony organic products across Europe, says Boston.com, including the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Hungary, Austria and Switzerland.

Click here to continue reading.

Health Challenge: Getting Your Vitamin C Fix

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, December 1, 2011 Permalink 0

by Tamar Chamlian

Vitamin C Supplements

At the first signs of the common cold, in the modern world, we turn to vitamin C supplements, in any form or shape — whether chewable tablets, effervescent tablets, fortified juices…you name it. Vitamin C is most often associated with the “flu” or common cold because of its reputation to keep the body strong and healthy.

People rely on these supplements, or on hot drinkable remedies fortified with Vitamin C, because they are accessible, quick, and the common notion about this vitamin is that it helps you get relief from the common cold. The best source of vitamin C almost always comes from fresh fruits and vegetables. The wisest, most common sense thing to do is to add them to your daily diet to ensure you get it from natural sources, without turning to packaged, processed, chemically-made tablets.

Continue Reading…

Food News Daily: November 30, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, November 30, 2011 Permalink 0

The Food News Daily keeps you up to date on what’s going on in the food world around the world. Click here to continue.

Continue Reading…

Health Challenge: The Hot Soups of Winter, Nourishment of Body and Soul

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, November 28, 2011 Permalink 0

by Tamar Chamlian

There are many reasons to love winter. For some, it might be gorgeous change of colors as the new seasons ease in; for others it’s festivities that bring celebration and lots of activity. I like both the colors and the festivities, but most of all I like the abundance and versatility of vegetables available that can be used in endless combinations to make hot soup.

Kerrin Rousset’s roundup of last week’s Slow Food market in Zurich

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, November 23, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

We are celebrating in Switzerland. Last week, we had our first-ever Slow Food market with the big man himself opening the show: Carlo Petrini, the founder, talking about the concept of retour à la nature, or return to nature, one of the basic concepts of Slow Food; “the Terra Madre network of food communities, defined by place of origin; as well as how that all meshes with the values of Swiss artisans and consumers,” says Kerrin Rousset of My Kugelhopf. “Slow Food unites the pleasure of food with responsibility, sustainability and harmony with nature.”

Click here to read the rest of Kerrin’s roundup, with a distinct emphasis on the sweets (of course).

Thanksgiving: The thanks we have to offer in these hard economic times

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

Despite the gloom and doom we hear in the financial news, despite the news about obesity and general unhealthy eating in the U.S., there are things to be thankful for, and this week, it’s perhaps more important than anytime in our lifetimes to remember them.

The food world and eating habits were certainly worse 10 years ago than now. Awareness was less. And above all, hard economic times do not necessarily mean bad times for food. People starve during wars, but during hard economic times, they often tend to go back to basics. They raise vegetable gardens and chicken; at the moment we’re witnessing urban gardens popping up all over the country. They think before they buy, before they throw something in the shopping cart, and that often leads to healthier eating. Fresh, simple, healthy food will always be cheaper than processed and junk food. And then we have a Super First Lady in Michelle Obama is going all out for the future of our children, even planting a vegetable garden as a good example for them.

These are things to be thankful for, but once again, Mark Bittman’s list is better than mine, so I suggest you continue reading. Click here to read his heart-warming, thoughtful list.

I’m having baked sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving!

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, November 21, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

Sweet potatoes are a traditional part of a American Thanksgiving dinner. Every family has its own favorite or traditional recipe. Here’s mine, in all its simplicity.

I love sweet potatoes for their natural flavor and texture, so I simply scrub them really well and bake them, with the peeling on, at 200° C / 400° F until they’re soft enough to eat. The time depends on the time and variety of sweet potato. I then cut them crosswise into chunks (still leaving the peel), put them into a serving dish, and slather them with butter with sea salt, which I buy from my cheesemonger.

No marshmallows, no brown sugar, no maple syrup, just au nature.

It’s interesting to watch Europeans’ reactions to them. At first they’re puzzled, but on their second bite, they usually find them interesting and like them.

Note: If you peel them, they will dry out in the oven.

Simple Sustenance: Cumin-Lime Pumpkin Mash

Published by Esha-Chhabra + Thursday, November 17, 2011 Permalink 0

by Renu Chhabra

Savoring Fall

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.–George Eliot

Fall is a perhaps the earthiest of seasons. Crisp air, fallen leaves, and trees changing hues make it a season to savor before winter sets in. For me, it’s a pleasant reminder of the holiday season ahead. But most of all, fall brings us an abundance of harvest.

The first thing that comes to my mind is pumpkin – the good old orange ball, greeting us at farm stands and grocery stores. Big, small, mini, round, and some not so round — they all whisper, “Take me home with you!” How can you ignore these scrumptious beauties? Even though they are not the easiest of fruits to peel, if you can win that battle, there are endless ways to enjoy them, sweet or savory.