We need a lot of things to survive. We need water. We need shelter. We need internet. We need cat videos on the internet. And we also need food. Although that last one is becoming debatable with the advent of Soylent. Alas, until such a day that we all sustain ourselves on a nutrient-infused liquid, we will eat actual food.
Of course, food is an awfully broad term. And even specific foods can be wildly variable depending on where you look. Take pizza, for instance. There’s a huge chasm between, say, microwavable pizza and the pizza of Jeff Varasano, who spares no detail in covering the SIX YEARS he took to achieve the perfect pizza.
Sometimes we all reach such a state of hunger that we become grunting cavemen and lean over the counter until it’s covered in a shameful pointillism of Pringle crumbs. But for those times when you’re your more-evolved self, it’s nice to embrace food as more than just fuel.
It's thrilling to find a delectable new restaurant or dish when out and about, but sometimes leaving the house is HARD, especially when can't decide which pair of sweatpants to wear. But don't sweat it - see what we did there? - let the food come to you, with an incredible variety of food subscription services.
Within the list on that page you'll find two companies - Blue Apron and Plated - that will send you a box full of ingredients that you then have to turn into a meal. You’ll get to experiment with weird and wonderful ingredients, like cremini and red walnuts. Who knew that walnuts could be any other colour than beige brain?
If you want to start off your food journey in more familiar territory, how about the humble, yet delicious, chocolate chip cookie? A website called Serious Eats knows a bit about the chocolate chip cookie, because it wrote a 5,000+ word article as part of their Food Lab series, exploring over a dozen different factors that change the composition of the cookie. It is the ultimate in food nerdery.
Not keen to be a cookie connoisseur? Felicity Cloake writes a similar article for The Guardian, detailing the 'perfect' way to make dozens of dishes.
Do you find making cookies, or anything, with an oven too risky because you distract easily and only remember to check how on your meal’s progress when the smoke detector goes off, again? Perhaps you need a Sous Vide Supreme. Sous vide (say: 'Soo VEED') cooking is a method in which you put your food in sealed plastic bags in a temperature-controlled water bath. This doesn't mean holding a thermometer in your tub while a bag of steak floats about. The machine keeps the temperature stable, making a variety of finicky dishes easy to make. And since your food cooks and remains at the same temperature, it never overcooks or threatens to burn your house down.
If you need more inspiration, one of the best books about food appreciation is by Michael Pollan, 'In Defense of Food.' It celebrates the role of culture in our food, explores our emotions surrounding food, and ends with a lot of advice on how to eat real food. It basically boils down to: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Appreciating good food doesn't have to mean jetsetting to the world's 50 best restaurants, or knowing where to find a pop up Artisan Grilled Cheesery. It can be as simple as savouring a good cronut or a few squares of dark chocolate. Sometimes it's as easy as giving in to a food porn clickhole. Overly processed food should be a last resort when hunger strikes, or as a sanity saving and depression decimating delight. For the rest of the time, seek out and appreciate real food.
Official:
We need a lot of things to survive. We need water. We need shelter. We need internet. We need cat videos on the internet. And we also need food. Although that last one is becoming debatable with the advent of Soylent. Alas, until such a day that we all sustain ourselves on a nutrient-infused liquid, we will eat actual food.
Of course, food is an awfully broad term. And even specific foods can be wildly variable depending on where you look. Take pizza, for instance. There's a huge chasm between, say, microwavable pizza and the pizza of Jeff Varasano, who spares no detail in covering the SIX YEARS he took to achieve the perfect pizza.
Sometimes we all reach such a state of hunger that we become grunting cavemen and lean over the counter until it's covered in a shameful pointillism of Pringle crumbs. But for those times when you're your more-evolved self, it's nice to embrace food as more than just fuel.
Getting started
Its thrilling to find a delectable new restaurant or dish when out and about, but sometimes leaving the house is HARD, especially when you cant decide which pair of sweatpants to wear. But dont sweat it - see what we did there? - let the food come to you, with an incredible variety of food subscription services.
Within the list on that page youll find two companies - Blue Apron and Plated - that will send you a box full of ingredients that you then have to turn into a meal. You'll get to experiment with weird and wonderful ingredients, like cremini and red walnuts. Who knew that walnuts could be any other colour than beige brain?
If you want to start off your food journey in more familiar territory, how about the humble, yet delicious, chocolate chip cookie? A website called Serious Eats knows a bit about the chocolate chip cookie, because it wrote a 5,000+ word article as part of their Food Lab series, exploring over a dozen different factors that change the composition of the cookie. It is the ultimate in food nerdery.
Not keen to be a cookie connoisseur? Felicity Cloake writes a for The Guardian, detailing the perfect way to make dozens of dishes.
Do you find making cookies, or anything, with an oven too risky because you distract easily and only remember to check how on your meal's progress when the smoke detector goes off, again? Perhaps you need a Sous Vide Supreme. Sous vide (say: Soo VEED) cooking is a method in which you put your food in sealed plastic bags in a temperature-controlled water bath. This doesnt mean holding a thermometer in your tub while a bag of steak floats about. The machine keeps the temperature stable, making a variety of finicky dishes easy to make. And since your food cooks and remains at the same temperature, it never overcooks or threatens to burn your house down.
If you need more inspiration, one of the best books about food appreciation is by Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food. It celebrates the role of culture in our food, explores our emotions surrounding food, and ends with a lot of advice on how to eat real food. It basically boils down to: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Appreciating good food doesnt have to mean jetsetting to the worlds 50 best restaurants, or knowing where to find a pop up Artisan Grilled Cheesery. It can be as simple as savouring a good cronut or a few squares of dark chocolate. Sometimes its as easy as giving in to a food porn clickhole. Overly processed food should be a last resort when hunger strikes, or as a sanity saving and depression decimating delight. For the rest of the time, seek out and appreciate real food.
