Popular Searches
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Share
Bounty tour gives insight into workings of kitchens
 |
| Nora Edison, co-owner of Strongtree Organic Coffee Roasters in Hudson, with husband Chris Neumann, discusses different grinds for coffees during the Columbia County Bounty Kitchen Tour held Wednesday. The tour also included behind the scenes visits to DA/BA Restaurant and Verdigris Tea, also in Hudson. (Andrew Amelinckx/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) |
By Andrew Amelinckx
A Columbia County Bounty sponsored excursion gave around 25 food lovers a behind-the-scenes look at several Hudson businesses Wednesday.
The event — led by Bounty board members Betsy Braley and Liz Beals and organized by Bounty’s executive director Vicki Simons — included a baking and tea demo at Verdigris Tea; a cooking lesson with Daniel Nilsson, chef and owner of DA I BA Restaurant; and a whirlwind tour of the world of coffee at Strongtree Organic Coffee Roasters.
The first stop was Verdigris Tea, located at 13 S. Third St., where teas of every variety and description line one wall and where baker Regina Simmons provides an edible counterpoint to the second most imbibed beverage in the world.
The tour included a lesson in scone making by Simmons and a crash course in everything tea related by Verdigris’ owner, Kim Bach.
The baking demonstration was held in the company’s kitchen, which wasn’t large.
“We’re very, very efficient here,” said Simmons. “We do a lot in small spaces.”
Simmons discussed the Cornell triple rich method while making scones. The method allows for reducing the amount of white flour in a baking recipe.
“This helps you move away from refined to whole grains,” she said, adding that this was becoming a major trend along with the move towards using local ingredients.
The formula was invented during World War II when ingredients were rationed. The practice increased the nutritional value of white bread while conserving flour.
In her scones she included oats and flax seeds, among other ingredients, which she put in a measuring cup, filling it the rest of the way with white flour.
Simmons said that exact measurements weren’t as important in baking as many people believe.
“You need to deal with ratios, not exact measurements,” she said.
Instead of vigorously kneading the dough, Simmons would flip it onto itself, turn it 90 degrees and repeat.
“This way it builds up layers of gluten,” she said.
She also described the process of making lemon curd without gelatin, which she then mixed with whipped cream to use as a cake.
Simmons has been baking for 30 years and attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.
Her favorite thing to bake?
“Anything new,” she said.
According to Simmons, Verdigris will soon be moving into teaching beginning sometime after the holidays.
Check verdigristea.com for dates and times.
With scones in the oven, the next stop was Verdigris’ retail area.
Bach went through the many facets of the world of teas, from the number of varieties — more than 10,000 — to its history.
Bach said according to legend tea was discovered in 2737 B.C. by the Chinese emperor Shennong while he was heating water and using a branch of the Camellia sinensis plant to fan the flames when some leaves fell into his water pot.
“He discovered that the drink kept him awake,” she said.
Bach said the mention of tea begins to appear in the written record around 7 A.D. and at the time tea was made simply.
“The leaves were plucked green and put in hot water,” she said. “It was an astringent brew.”
Tea production migrated from China to India due, she said, to China disallowing the exportation of the product.
Tea is now grown in many places from Korea to South Africa.
She said there were many factors that go into a given tea flavor, from whether it’s fermented to how it’s picked and the soil it grows in.
Other additions include various flowers and herbs such as jasmine.
She said there were three important factors in brewing tea.
“Time, temperature and the water,” she said. The water seems to be rather important.
“If you’ve had bad tea it’s probably the water,” she said. “It makes such a huge difference.”
For green teas the water temperature should be around 170 to 175 degrees and it should be steeped for three minutes. This is when the water hasn’t yet begun to boil but has small bubbles coming to the surface. “In China they call it ‘fish eyes,’” she said.
For teas such as Oolong or herbal teas 175 to 180 degrees and steeped for four minutes is appropriate.
For black teas, she said, the water should be at a rolling boil and steeped for five minutes. “It takes a strong water to open it up,” she said.
Bach, whose love of tea is linked to the artistic end — especially its visual aspects, opened Verdigris four years ago.
She said that her mother basically shipped her the entire business from Park City, Utah where her mother had the business for 18 years.
The next stop on the Bounty tour was the pristine kitchen of DA I BA, where Chef and owner Daniel Nilsson, 30, discussed issues of kitchen cleanliness and demonstrated how to make his version of Swedish meatballs.
Cleanliness is key for Nilsson — from removing boxes that product comes in and putting the foodstuffs in his own containers to a cleaning regimen that includes a several step process for the floors every night.
“Sweeping and mopping just pushes dirt around,” he said. Instead, he and his sous-chef scrub and squeegee the floors every night. He said keeping everything clean helps him put out a better product and saves him money in the long run.
Nilsson, whose parents grew up in Sweden, moved there himself after high school and found his way to cooking. But his love of the culinary arts goes back much farther.
He said his mother likes to tell a story about how when he was four he ate a new dish and instead of asking what it was asked what was in it.
Nilsson’s focus on cleanliness as well as many of his menu items — especially his fish preparations — originate in Sweden, where both are taken very seriously.
At DA I BA, located at 225 Warren St., one can find both fine dining and bistro fare. Finding a balance between the two, he said, was important to him.
“Sometimes you just want to chow down on a burger and a beer,” he said with a laugh.
The final destination on the tour was Strongtree Organic Coffee Roasters, located at 60 S. Front St., where owners Chris Neumann and Nora Edison shared their passion for Coffea arabica.
They deal exclusively in organic and Fair Trade certified coffee. Fair trade means that strict economic, social and environmental guidelines were followed in the production and trading of the crop.
Strongtree features coffees from around the world, from Indonesia to Ethiopia.
According to Neumann, it takes the fruit of two coffee plants produced in a year to make one pound of roasted coffee. And considering that it takes around seven years for a plant to mature, that the plants often grow best in somewhat inaccessible places and that most are picked by hand, one begins to see how much work goes into its production.
“Twenty million people make their living from the growing and roasting of coffee,” said Neumann
Roasting, he said, was a simple process, involving heating the coffee beans and then cooling them. The art that comes into play is in knowing how much heat and other factors that each type of coffee requires to bring out its best components.
Edison described the different roasts, from a light roast through French roast — their darkest — which, she said, wasn’t always done right by other roasters.
“You want to caramelize, not carbonize,” chimed in Neumann.
After the tour, participants seemed to have enjoyed themselves. “I enjoyed it very much,” said Bob Barr, “I found it all interesting.”
Barr, a retired kitchen designer said that he enjoyed learning about tea and coffee. He said he’s planning on taking his wife to DA I BA for dinner soon.
Barr recently joined Bounty and said he was glad he did.
“[After this] I’m open to going to other events,” he said.
The event — led by Bounty board members Betsy Braley and Liz Beals and organized by Bounty’s executive director Vicki Simons — included a baking and tea demo at Verdigris Tea; a cooking lesson with Daniel Nilsson, chef and owner of DA I BA Restaurant; and a whirlwind tour of the world of coffee at Strongtree Organic Coffee Roasters.
The first stop was Verdigris Tea, located at 13 S. Third St., where teas of every variety and description line one wall and where baker Regina Simmons provides an edible counterpoint to the second most imbibed beverage in the world.
The tour included a lesson in scone making by Simmons and a crash course in everything tea related by Verdigris’ owner, Kim Bach.
The baking demonstration was held in the company’s kitchen, which wasn’t large.
“We’re very, very efficient here,” said Simmons. “We do a lot in small spaces.”
Simmons discussed the Cornell triple rich method while making scones. The method allows for reducing the amount of white flour in a baking recipe.
“This helps you move away from refined to whole grains,” she said, adding that this was becoming a major trend along with the move towards using local ingredients.
The formula was invented during World War II when ingredients were rationed. The practice increased the nutritional value of white bread while conserving flour.
In her scones she included oats and flax seeds, among other ingredients, which she put in a measuring cup, filling it the rest of the way with white flour.
Simmons said that exact measurements weren’t as important in baking as many people believe.
“You need to deal with ratios, not exact measurements,” she said.
Instead of vigorously kneading the dough, Simmons would flip it onto itself, turn it 90 degrees and repeat.
“This way it builds up layers of gluten,” she said.
She also described the process of making lemon curd without gelatin, which she then mixed with whipped cream to use as a cake.
Simmons has been baking for 30 years and attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.
Her favorite thing to bake?
“Anything new,” she said.
According to Simmons, Verdigris will soon be moving into teaching beginning sometime after the holidays.
Check verdigristea.com for dates and times.
With scones in the oven, the next stop was Verdigris’ retail area.
Bach went through the many facets of the world of teas, from the number of varieties — more than 10,000 — to its history.
Bach said according to legend tea was discovered in 2737 B.C. by the Chinese emperor Shennong while he was heating water and using a branch of the Camellia sinensis plant to fan the flames when some leaves fell into his water pot.
“He discovered that the drink kept him awake,” she said.
Bach said the mention of tea begins to appear in the written record around 7 A.D. and at the time tea was made simply.
“The leaves were plucked green and put in hot water,” she said. “It was an astringent brew.”
Tea production migrated from China to India due, she said, to China disallowing the exportation of the product.
Tea is now grown in many places from Korea to South Africa.
She said there were many factors that go into a given tea flavor, from whether it’s fermented to how it’s picked and the soil it grows in.
Other additions include various flowers and herbs such as jasmine.
She said there were three important factors in brewing tea.
“Time, temperature and the water,” she said. The water seems to be rather important.
“If you’ve had bad tea it’s probably the water,” she said. “It makes such a huge difference.”
For green teas the water temperature should be around 170 to 175 degrees and it should be steeped for three minutes. This is when the water hasn’t yet begun to boil but has small bubbles coming to the surface. “In China they call it ‘fish eyes,’” she said.
For teas such as Oolong or herbal teas 175 to 180 degrees and steeped for four minutes is appropriate.
For black teas, she said, the water should be at a rolling boil and steeped for five minutes. “It takes a strong water to open it up,” she said.
Bach, whose love of tea is linked to the artistic end — especially its visual aspects, opened Verdigris four years ago.
She said that her mother basically shipped her the entire business from Park City, Utah where her mother had the business for 18 years.
The next stop on the Bounty tour was the pristine kitchen of DA I BA, where Chef and owner Daniel Nilsson, 30, discussed issues of kitchen cleanliness and demonstrated how to make his version of Swedish meatballs.
Cleanliness is key for Nilsson — from removing boxes that product comes in and putting the foodstuffs in his own containers to a cleaning regimen that includes a several step process for the floors every night.
“Sweeping and mopping just pushes dirt around,” he said. Instead, he and his sous-chef scrub and squeegee the floors every night. He said keeping everything clean helps him put out a better product and saves him money in the long run.
Nilsson, whose parents grew up in Sweden, moved there himself after high school and found his way to cooking. But his love of the culinary arts goes back much farther.
He said his mother likes to tell a story about how when he was four he ate a new dish and instead of asking what it was asked what was in it.
Nilsson’s focus on cleanliness as well as many of his menu items — especially his fish preparations — originate in Sweden, where both are taken very seriously.
At DA I BA, located at 225 Warren St., one can find both fine dining and bistro fare. Finding a balance between the two, he said, was important to him.
“Sometimes you just want to chow down on a burger and a beer,” he said with a laugh.
The final destination on the tour was Strongtree Organic Coffee Roasters, located at 60 S. Front St., where owners Chris Neumann and Nora Edison shared their passion for Coffea arabica.
They deal exclusively in organic and Fair Trade certified coffee. Fair trade means that strict economic, social and environmental guidelines were followed in the production and trading of the crop.
Strongtree features coffees from around the world, from Indonesia to Ethiopia.
According to Neumann, it takes the fruit of two coffee plants produced in a year to make one pound of roasted coffee. And considering that it takes around seven years for a plant to mature, that the plants often grow best in somewhat inaccessible places and that most are picked by hand, one begins to see how much work goes into its production.
“Twenty million people make their living from the growing and roasting of coffee,” said Neumann
Roasting, he said, was a simple process, involving heating the coffee beans and then cooling them. The art that comes into play is in knowing how much heat and other factors that each type of coffee requires to bring out its best components.
Edison described the different roasts, from a light roast through French roast — their darkest — which, she said, wasn’t always done right by other roasters.
“You want to caramelize, not carbonize,” chimed in Neumann.
After the tour, participants seemed to have enjoyed themselves. “I enjoyed it very much,” said Bob Barr, “I found it all interesting.”
Barr, a retired kitchen designer said that he enjoyed learning about tea and coffee. He said he’s planning on taking his wife to DA I BA for dinner soon.
Barr recently joined Bounty and said he was glad he did.
“[After this] I’m open to going to other events,” he said.
Share this Article
 |
 |
|
| Town passes budget with 15 percent tax increase | First Niagara, Sean’s Run offering grants |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
