Losing touch (for lack of a better term) with our food

@kaleokahu and I were discussing this on another thread, and he suggested it might merit a thread of its own. I doubt this is an issue for members of HO, but it certainly seems to pervade American kitchens. Some examples might be using a crockpot or IP to make so many things by putting in the ingredients and pressing a button. The old way of course, probably involved layering flavors, checking textures and seasonings, and adjusting temperatures on the stovetop and in the oven. Both ways can yield tasty results, but using the old ways it seems you are more in touch with your food. Do you actually touch your food, or do you default to tongs and the like? Do you monitor proteins with an instant read thermometer, check by poking and feeling the texture, or both? If you decide to bake something, do you reach for the convenience of nonstick or do you lovingly slather a bit of butter around an old, blackened steel pan, taking pride in how nonstick it is and what a gorgeous crust it will yield? If you are making a pan sauce do you use nonstick, missing the messy glory that is loads of fond to deglaze or just let the crust build and then scrape like crazy as you add the liquid? When you need to whip something, do you grab an IB, a wire whisk, or a fork? When you add ingredients are they carefully measured, or do you just add some, stir it in, and taste it before moving on to the next ingredient? Is your mise tiny bowls of measured salt, or do you just pinch salt from the salt big or pour it into your palm (approximates a tbsp.)? If you need to slice a lot of something, what is your weapon of choice? Is it the slicing disc in the FP, or is it that beloved chef knife? Do you chop your washed lettuce or tear it by hand? There are so many ways that I think technology has made things quicker, easier, and neater, but is it as rewarding? Is it as much fun? Remember, you probably are not a line cook, racing to knock out as many identical renderings of a dish as you can and you are always moving at breakneck speed. Making dinner at home should, to me, be a relaxing and sensual experience. Ok, gotta go clean and slice mushrooms.

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Along these lines, would Onions always choose an electric grinder over a mortar and pestle?

Would you pull pork or shred chicken by hand, or would you resort to meat claws?"

Would you roll out your laminated croissant dough or use a sheeter?

Do you actually rub your barbecue cuts?

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I think you’ve got a lot of (good) topics conflated with each other here.
Old vs new – tools and techniques, different aspects.
Touching.
Layering flavors.
Tools that enhance / expedite / simplify / energy-save (electricity, human energy).

For example, you used the IP as an illustration. A pressure cooker has been in use in my family from my grandmother’s time – so does that count as old or new?

It was – and still is – used to save energy by cooking multiple things together, and time by speeding up meal preparation. It does not dilute flavors, because the flavoring is done separately (for example, lentils, rice, meat, veg may be layered into a single PC in different separators to cook them, but the seasoning and finishing is done separately for each item).

One of the key factors that often gets ignored in these kinds of questions is whose labor is being saved – across the world, it is predominantly women’s labor, and when that can be conserved or redeployed, it is always worth it.

Romanticizing the “old ways” is not often something that you will encounter by the lay folks whose lives are significantly improved by unromantic, mundane tasks being made more efficient.

This is not the case for most “regular” people – most folks I know are trying to get a sort-of nutritious / healthful and hopefully home-cooked dinner on the table most nights, whether for their family or just themselves.

So, the premise is from a bias / privilege of meal preparation being a certain way that it really isn’t for most.

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Interesting question. I try to keep my kitchen and storage as uncluttered as possible, which means I don’t have an IP or SV, although I do have and use a rice cooker, crock pot, and KA stand mixer from time to time. Part of what makes cooking satisfying for me is to get really engaged in it, rolling up my sleeves (sometimes figuratively, other times quite literally) and digging in. I like the feel of smooshing things between my fingers mixing sausage or making tsukemono, for instance. I poke meat to test doneness. I use my nose to let me know when breads are done (which let me down recently with the pan de cristal!). I like to think of my knives as extensions of my hands, and use them as much as possible - I have never used the slicing disc in the food processor, for instance. I will resort to what I think is one of the tackiest tools ever made, though - the slap chopper - to mince a lot of ginger when I need a lot of ginger minced. It’s actually kind of fun and cathartic to slap away at it, turning a hunk of ginger into a mound of ginger bits.

Now that I’ve been retired for a few years, I realize that a lot of kitchen gadgetry is designed and intended to be labor savers. I like doing the labor in the kitchen, so they aren’t terribly attractive to me. A few years ago, a cousin-in-law kept trying to convince me that I simply HAD to get an Instant Pot. I bobbed and weaved, but she was so freakin’ persistent that I finally had had it. When she asked me why I wouldn’t want an IP, I practically yelled at her, “Because I like TO COOK!”

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I’m definitely a “food toucher” haha. I like chopping, mixing, poking, smelling, tasting, etc almost everything I cook.

That said, I do have many modern conveniences that I typically use when I’m cooking for a large group or under time pressures. I’m looking at you Thanksgiving, which just passed by. In those times I’m okay using the Cuisinart to chop large amounts of onions, carrots, and celery - or I will use the sous vide to get 12 pork chops all done perfectly and at the same time. Or when making a few lasagna (lasagni ?) I will use the Cuisinart to make the pasta dough, but then roll it out by hand (with a rolling pin).

But my day to day life, I’m a food toucher.

One of my favorite food toucher tricks is using a wooden spoon to tell when the oil is ready to fry. When put into hot oil, the wooden spoon (or the back end of the handle, either way) will start to bubble.

If you haven’t learned to cook without the “gadgets” - then what do you do when you don’t have the gadgets on hand? Starve? :smiley:

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All quite true. I was not really making a distinction between old and new so much as the continuum between using hands or very simple tools and using things that are, usually, electronic and button operated. Even if you are just throwing together a quick and nutritious meal, I hope there is a bit of fun in the cooking. Most of my meals are made in fifteen minutes or less, but they do take some attention, just not enough to preclude a drink and a nibble. Yes, conflation is inevitable. No matter how you cook it is all leading to a single set of sensations hitting your palate.

The point regarding whose time is being saved is very real, especially in households that have antiquated (and stupid IMO) views as to who was supposed to cook. I was very fortunate to have grown up in a home where we all cooked) and cleaned (everything, not just dishes).

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It sounds as if we have a similar approach to cooking. It isn’t just the tools, either. I could get passata for tomato sauces, but it’s more fun to squish peeled tomatoes in the palm of my hand.

As you recognize in your OP, we are a rather privileged subset of the general population, with many of us enjoying the luxury / time / financial means to carefully source ingredients, compare recipes, and leisurely prepare meals at our own, enjoyable pace.

The majority of folks, however — some of whom work 2-3 jobs & need to get food on the table to feed their fam/kids etc. will likely prefer & choose whatever gadget or shortcut that makes meal prep easiest & most efficient.

It’s certainly nice to have the choice, but let’s remember that not everyone does.

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IP and slow cookers save people a lot of time and get good, if not gourmet results. That has to be good. Yes some of the new technologies are less hands on…but isn’t that the point? Less work but healthier than fast, industrial and ultraprocessed foods.

I don’t have an IP or slow cooker but do have a SV and use it a lot. It does cut down on mess and had many good uses…but it’s not perfect that’s for sure. Have to sear most protein and not everything works with it…but then you get into the work around or adjustments, like pre-searing and searing afterwards.

Not all of us, or many, can be Alice Waters and forgo a microwave oven, or have a wood burning oven in the house to cook an egg.

Technology can be good and helpful. But knowing the old methods gives a better understanding of a dish. I think the challenge is to take the old and merge with new tech.

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Time savings aside, do you think that you can have as much closeness with your food (and any enhanced appreciation that flows from it) if you press a button as you would manually preparing it? Does a food processor put a distance that might be closer with a knife?

At some level and to some degree, isn’t it a bit of the “Live to Eat” versus “Eat to Live” question?

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As I mentioned, merge new tech with old methods. I’m not into old school methods for the sake of being old school and close to my food….because I use a guiding principle: respect the food whatever it is and appreciate that you’re going to eat. I think respecting the food, the source and that you’re eating is more important.

When I say respect, I mean don’t waste it, be careful, appreciate it, maybe know where it’s from and what it’s about…try to buy food processed with a similar philosophy. At the least know how it was processed, industrial, artisan, etc. Can’t always afford the best or artisan…but you can know where it’s from and a little bit about it.

Respect can also mean how to prepare it…but it’s sort of the exception to me, like a very nice piece of fresh fish. Easy to screw up fresh fish, so there’s only so many ways to prepare without destroying the good qualities. The technology used to cook the food might differ but the process of preparing with respect supersedes the method, IMO. That said, “being close to the food” can be a form of respect….but that’s personal, or perhaps semantics.

I don’t own an IP, but own a 40 y.o. pressure cooker. I do own a small food processor but rarely use it….but there are times it helps, even with old school stuff. One example of technology being useful to me is immersion blender made Hollandaise sauce. Instead of 20 mins stirring on a stove, it’s 2 minutes with melted butter, egg and the blender. You know, i didn’t spend 2 years as the saucier’s apprentice learning how to make it….so new tech method works for me. I think I make it like once eery 3-4 years. That said, I do own a saucier pan but not for Hollandaise sauce.

BTW, I changed from live to eat, to eat to live for health reasons. I think moderation is the key for me but it took age, wisdom and balancing health concerns to figure it out. In fact, I am a recovering glutton. But I do believe you can have your cake and eat it…in moderation and with in reason. YMMV.

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Oh, I think I disagree. We are now very near to having Jetsonian Food Replicators. One might stock the ingredient bins with the utmost respect, but when it prints trout almondine, is the eater as close to the molecularly identical dish prepared by hand? Or better yet, caught by hook?

I’m lucky enough to have butchered my own cattle for beef and pressed wines for my cellar. I submit there’s nothing quite like stained hands (by blood or must) for being involved in one’s food. Not everyone can do this, of course, but I think food intimacy is on the wane. Some people get it by taking the time to source ingredients, or cooking traditionally, or presenting foods in certain ways. Even to preserve it. My opinion is the closer we get to delivery services and pushbutton preparation, some of the respect we should have is lost.

If you think about it, the art of plating is mostly aimed at involving (albeit from afar) the eater in the idea that someone took the time and made the effort (respect) to be closer to the food. And hence the diner feels closer. IMO, that’s a very big reason people spend at haute restaurants. Without that plating, it would be a different world.

The only thing (at least for us) which determines the “fun” is in the end an enjoyable meal made by us. It doesn’t really matter if we used “new” vs “old” technology (and I sense a “newer is too far away from “real” cooking” mindset in your post which I couldn’t disagree more) or our hands vs tongs etc. A good meal can be made be made with any technique or technology and none automatically produces a superior result

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Many people who would like to do more by hand (no food processor or spice grinder) can’t because of physical limitations. I had my first knee replacement at age 43, followed by two hip placements and I have bad arthritis in my hands, elbows, shoulders, etc. Can’t pound spices by hand, etc.

I have time at home to cook dried beans in a bean pot, don’t have a pressure cooker or insta pot, do as much cooking the “long way” as possible, purchase the least processed foods, etc.

I don’t have a choice to do more.

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I agree. Sometimes I grab a bit of food or a knife because it is expedient. Did the fact I could have done the first with a knife or the second with an FP make a big difference? Likely not, but I still enjoyed the brief hands on experience. Nothing more complicated than that.

Using convenience things like an IP, a pressure cooker, or an FP really make a culinary difference? Not to a harried parent! But when I take into account the set-up time and the cleanup time, maybe something more simple might (not would) have been as quick and a bit more enjoyable. You need to learn and engrain those trade offs. I can whip an egg with a balloon whisk, but it is a bit faster to use an IB and almost as controllable. Making mayonnaise with an IB is so fast that it is less controllable. For the life of me, I cannot control an FP mincing onions. If it becomes a trade off between quick mush versus another minute or two for a brunoise, where’s my knife?

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Sorry for your constraints, but glad you have found a good way.

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It is not really convenience but pressure cooker or sous-vide etc give you different end products which you can’t easily replicate with other methods. These results are not better or worth, they are just different and it only depends what dish you ultimately envisioned to pick the “right” tool/technology

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There’s a saying, “the right tool for job”. Sometimes the right tool is what you have, meaning you make do even if not perfect….like camping. Sometimes the right tool for the job is the one that will saves you time or money…or both and can be a big win-win. Sometimes that means new tech some times it means ancient tech. Here’s what google AI spitted out below. I tend to agree with it. I did trade work in college….and while sledge hammers will take out concrete….more than an inch of unreinforced concrete means a jack hammer. 5 inches of reinforced concrete with sledge hammers would take 3-5 people and some hard labor…more than a day. Sometimes it’s personal preference but sometimes it regular time and hard labor.

Regarding food, knowing the old way and what new tech does is helpful and sometimes necessary. Example: onions in a FP can get slimy or more moisture compared to hand chopped. For something no big deal. For others (like salsa) big deal.

“The right tool for the job” means using the most appropriate tool for a specific task, ensuring efficiency, safety, and quality results, rather than trying to use a single tool for everything, which can lead to frustration and potential problems; essentially, choosing the tool designed for the job at hand. New tech can be great but not always a replacement. But sometimes the replacement save so much time, forget the old tech.

Key points about using the right tool for the job:

  • Safety: Using the correct tool reduces the risk of accidents and injuries.
  • Efficiency: The right tool will help you complete the task faster and with less effort.
  • Quality: Choosing the proper tool allows for a better quality outcome.

Example: A hammer is the “right tool for the job” when driving nails, while a screwdriver is better suited for screws.

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It sounds like you do plenty!

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I think you’re being far, far too optimistic in your technological predictions.

Even given the advances in lab grown or plant based meat, the idea that you can somehow load up some device with ‘raw materials’ that will ‘construct’ any sort of food more complex than a homogenous strip of protein is strictly the stuff science fiction.

Is a steak any less delicious if it’s been reverse seared vs seared and finished in the oven in the ‘traditional’ way? Am I ‘cheating’ and somehow less of a cook because I like to use a probe thermometer rather than instinctually know how rare vs medium rare feels?

Any ‘traditional’ method was once a new fangled ‘trick’ that some clever cook came up with. A metal waffle iron was a technological leap from flat hot stones. A gas grill is a significant upgrade from charcoal. Charcoal is an upgrade from a campfire. At what point along this line did we ‘lose touch’?

If anything, new tech means folks can eat healthier, less processed ingredients and still get good tasting, well cooked variety in their diet. Certainly, having homemade stew from an instapot has to be better than microwaving a precooked, preprocessed TV dinner loaded up with salt/fat/sugar endemic in industrially prepared foods.

If we actually cared about people having time and ability to make homemade meals like ‘back in the good old days’, (which were never really thatgood), we’d be a lot more serious about changes that would allow, say, a family to survive and thrive on a single income, leaving a parent home full time to shop and prepare food. We’d invest in universal healthcare and robust anti-poverty programs.

I think we know how the US, as a nation, currently feels
about such things.

So maybe we should just let people use their instapots and sous vides and non-stick cookware and applaud anyone who isn’t resorting entirely to boxed mac n cheese and jarred pasta sauce for 90% of their diet.

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