The Source of Food is Important to Any Chef

The Brainy Gourmet, like all chefs knows that the source of food is very important for taste and for health. I put taste first because as a 'sociologist' by education, I know that people (socialized individuals in a place) will eat what has been socialized in them and that means food that has been introduced as socially acceptable and most of that food as 'social knowledge' is embedded in us as 'what tastes good'.

This is true for you and for me and for everyone else in the world. Why? Because, though we think we eat what we like, we are actually eating what has been socially liked. Mother begins this socialization process for us and she always tells us that "it tastes good" when she is giving us something that she likes the taste of as she has been exposed to taste in the same way.

She also tries to get us to eat 'healthy' but it never tastes good and she knows it. So, she tells us "try it, its good for you."

In order for food to be part of our socially reality, it has to taste good. In this way, we communicate a deeper and more solid social reality with a socio-cultural continuity. Just about everyone born in America, knows the taste of a good burger and what that means. It means much more than just eating meat. It has a longer meaning connected to it that stands for America and what it means to be an American.

Taste is everything! I am pretty picky about taste and I know that some things just don't taste good. Some things taste good separately and some things taste better mixed together. Some brands taste better than others and this is the biggest concern for me. If I cannot get my brand of tomato sauce, the Farfalle will not be great. If I cannot get the fresh ground pork and veal necessary for a great bolognese, then it will only be good and worse as just so so. 

Growing my own vegetables as a main food source is also very important for me; whether its potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or eggplant you just can't go wrong and I swear by homegrown herbs, dried in my own oven. My dream is to have a bigger 'brainy' farm so that I can share the 'social' goodness of what I consider 'true source food' ~ homegrown! Which has a taste that is out of this world, the ideal reality!