I am trying to come up with a list of all the benefits of drying food for preservation for the winter.
Haven’t you heard of your dry vegetables in instant ramen/noodles? Food drying is a huge commercial industry.
So far I have come up with the following:
Diversity
Mono cultures are dangerous. In the 21st century creating uniformity and eliminating diversity become increasingly powerful. But diversity and complexity are always healthier and more interesting – in chickens, corn, people and in ideas. Take for example commercial farming operations, which can not really be farms but rather factories that produce a product. They raise one crop of corn, one crop of apples all apple trees are merely straight sticks in the ground and pruned heavily so that a tractor can drive over them and shake the apples off. Chickens in little cages often have their beaks trimmed, claws clipped and features shaved and become nothing more than factory assembly lines.
In this century we have seen the science of agriculture moving in the direction of eliminating diversity. The uniformity of the crop simplified the design and operation of harvesting equipment as well of course the industrial processing of agricultural products as they were manufactured in to foods and other goods.Consider the old Mexican who saves his corn for next years season. As some varieties will flourish one year others will be produce nothing. Or one crop will be more disease resistant than another. Therefore, creating a diverse crop of wheat is more resistant to disease than a uniform monoculture.
Dedication and a passion for one’s life work
Throughout my travels around the world I have found one thing in common. I have found that true dedication and a love for what one does for a living is truly a rarity. I find that people are just too preoccupied in making money for themselves. I see this in this from the viewpoint of the apprentice who works tirelessly to perfect a trade that is handed down from generations. I see my friend of 31 years old working as a potter in Japan following in his parents footsteps. So what that he never completed high school, he could be working for 7-11 or some other low paying low educated job.
Kim chi chizimi
Came across this from my university days in Japan:
Ingredients:
Flour 100g
Kimchi about 50g
Salad oil/ water 1 cup
Salt a little
2 eggs
1. Put flour, eggs, Kimchi, salt and water in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Cut Kimchi, and add to #1.
3. Add oil to hot fry pan.
4. Add #2 into fry pan, spread out evenly and fry both sides until golden brown.
Tsukemono (Takuan – Daikon)
10-12 average size daikon
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 cup sake
4 cups sugar
1. Wash the daikon thoroughly and trim it if it is too long to fit in the bucket.
2. Sprinkle the sea salt and distribute around the daikon.
3. Place weights (field stones) on top of the inner cover: make certain that the cover will sink down as the daikon softens.
4. Leave the weights on for 3 days: daikon may have to be rearranged to distribute the weights evenly.
5. Save all of the salty juice; mix all the other remaining ingredients to this solution.
6. Slice all the daikon and leave it in this brine for 3 days.
7. Tsukemono will be ready to eat.
8. Sugar and salt may be reduced according to personal taste.
9. For a variation one can add kombu or shaved bonito (katsuo).
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