Louisians wild-caught shrimp

I was thrilled last week to find frozen Louisian wild-caught shrimp for sale at my small, local, family-run grocery store.  I had given up asking for it in the large, chain grocery stores and it never occurred to ask the folks here for it.  My, how quickly my routine ‘after-work’ shopping trip turned around into a giddy menu-planning adventure.

Here in the Northeast, we rarely have the opportunity to purchase Gulf shrimp. The artificially undercut and subsidized prices of  imported southeast Asia shrimp from high-volume shrimp farms make it problematic for stores to take an interest in slightly-higher priced domestic shrimp. Fear that consumers, obsessed with price over quality, will not respond to American Gulf shrimp, keeps them from stocking this superior product.

According to statistics from the Agriculture Department of the State of Louisiana, 85 % of the shrimp eaten by Americans is imported and pond-raised. This is a sad fact as American wild-caught shrimp is only a few dollars higher in price ( I paid 15.99 for a two-pound bag of large 20/24 count frozen,headless, un-peeled shrimp packed by Paul Piazza & Sons, New Orleans, LA. http://www.paulpiazza.com.)

Not only does my purchase support the efforts of hard-working Americans in the domestic shrimping industry, but I can cook and eat shrimp that tastes like the stupendous shrimp I feasted on in Louisiana. These shrimp are caught miles from the shore in the wide, free-flowing expanse of clean Gulf waters. This yields a completely different tasting shrimp from the foreign farm-raised shrimp that are born and raised in close-to-shore stagnent, polluted shrimp ‘ponds’.  ( For those with an interest in geography, Gulf shrimp are collectively caught in the waters of the following states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina) .

I became aware of the problems of American shrimpers last year ( and also of how much more delicious Gulf shrimp is ) when a writing project that I was working on brought me to visit Gerard Thomassie at the Louisiana Shrimp and Packing Co., Inc., Golden Meadow, Louisiana. 

This area is south of New Orleans ( Cajun-country ! ) and home to many fish, oyster, crab and shrimp processors and the men who make their livelihoods in these declining industries. Gerard gave me a tour of his facility and told me the following. He buys shrimp from 100 or so shrimpers, a far smaller number of men ( and boats ) from the days when his father started the business in 1963.

fresh shrimp moving through the processing facility

His facility peels, deveins and freezes the shrimp, and during the height of the summer they can process 8,000 pounds of shrimp an hour. Work begins at 3:30 AM and ends about 5 or 6 PM.  Three types of Gulf shrimp are harvested in different seasons:

• white shrimp ( litopenaeus setiferus ): which acount for 35 % of the Gulf catch
• brown shrimp ( farfantepenaeus aztecus ): which live in the salt marshed and sea grasses along the coast, accouts for 55% of the catch. Brown shrimp are summer shrimp and have darker pignemtation and is considered the best tasting
• pink shrimp: the smallest catch and the remaining 10%

In the wild, the life cycle of the largest shrimp is only about 15 months. Gerard works three boats out in the Gulf ( one of which is named ‘Colors of the Blessed Mother’ ) and he showed me the sophisticated computer mapping and tracking system that he uses to keep watch over the boats. These programs tell him where the schools of shrimp are likely to be at any moment and what the word is from other boats out in the Gulf. Gerard also scans for bad weather and on-coming storms so that he can steer his boats and men to safer places.

a shrimp boat sits idle

Consider this: the United States is the largest importer of shrimp in the world. This fact, along with an over-supply and un-regulated glut of farm-raised shrimp from Asia and Mexico has caused the price of Gulf shrimp and the amount paid to U.S. shrimpers to drop continuously since the 1980’s.

The combination of reduced prices, increased fuel and supply costs and the current economic situation has caused significant hardship to the shrimp industry.

For me, an avid eater and cook, I want to buy and serve Gulf shrimp to my family and friends. Gulf shrimp are sweet and tender: they have not been treated with copious chemicals that sour the flavor and tighten the meat. The day I purchased these frozen Gulf shrimp in my local market ( and as many bags as I could pack into my freezer ) I made a point of thanking the grocer for stocking this product. ( Which is another way of asking that he please continue to sell these ! ) 

That night we feasted on an easy and delicious dish of very thin-sliced sweet onions sauteed with chunks of  Spanish sweet Chorizo and Lousisana shrimp in a little red wine reduction sauce. I served this in the manner that many shrimp dishes in Louisiana are served: with plain white rice  and a small green salad ( a fitting use for the last of my local radishes and tomatoes ). For a seasonal New England touch, we sipped chilled local semi-dry hard apple cider and felt on top of the world.

I will encourage my local store to continue carrying these shrimp and do my best to spread the word so others can make an informed purchase. For readers local to Northampton, MA  the market is Fosters Market located at 70 Allen Street in Greenfield. Fosters is a wonderful market with an old-fashioned, funky flavor and feel. It is small and quirky and has many local items and foods stuffs that other store do not carry, such as the Louisiana shimp, frozen Louisiana crayfish and whole frozen octopus. I rarely by produce anywhere else off-season and can count on them having Meyer Lemons all winter long.

A few last thoughts on the topic. Not only are Gulf shrimp sweet, tasty, and firm, but when I eat imported shrimp I become conjested and headachy a few hours after eating them. Long ago I stopped eating imported farm-raised shrimp for three reasons: bad taste, bad texture and bad physical reactions.

Thinking about this makes me  wonder about the increase in shrimp allergies among Americans. I wonder if the allergies are less a response to ’shrimp’ and more a response to the polluted environment that imported farm-raised shrimp live in and the chemicals used to preserve them.

For a current article in Reuters profiling the Gulf shrimp industry, please click here: http://tiny.cc/zHLSV

a dish of Louisiana gumbo from Spahr's Seafood Restaurant in Des Alemands, LA featuring local Gulf shrimp

I was just sent this piece of sad news over the wire from a friend. Perhaps many of you know of it already – I just heard.

Sad News

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 31 but had maintained a healthy lifestyle by being an early riser and following a high-carbohydrate diet.

Doughboy, or Pop N. Fresh as he was known to friends and family, was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.  The grave site was piled high with flours and was draped in white.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was considered a very smart cookie, but wasted much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

 

A few years back, Bob sat next to author Irena Chalmers at a professional food conference. They had met before, and took advantage of the time to catch up with one another. As they chatted, Irena told Bob that she was working on a new book that explored the wide variety of professional career jobs that the food industry had to offer.

As she explained, Bob was intrigued at the scope of her concept. She asked Bob a few questions about being a specialty food retailer and he gave her his thoughts on this and that, including what we both do in the daily operations of our store.  At the end of their converstation, Irena told Bob that she would like to include his thoughts in her book.

Fast forward several years ( it takes at least 2 years on average for a book to appear in stores from the moment of signed contract to final bound and printed book is ready ) and imagine our surprise and delight when we received a copy of  Irena’s book Food Jobs: 150 Great JOBS for Culinary Students, Career Changers and FOOD Lovers.  

True to her word Irena did include Bob’s thoughts. In fact, she gave him special attention in a boxed sidebar titled: Words from the Wise in the Chapter dedicated to Retail Jobs.  But as to what he said… you’ll have to purchase the book to find out !

Food Jobs: 150 Great JOBS for Culinary Students, Career Changers and FOOD Lovers by Irena Chalmers, 2008, Beaufort Books, NY  $19.95

Chapters include: restaurants and foodservice; retail jobs; art and design; food media ( publishing, television, the internet, radio); promotions and publicity; history and culture; science and technology; farming; cooking schools and culinary education.

Food Judging ? You bet. Read my previous post. 

Food Media ? Yes, check out this link to Bob’s lively food radio shows !  http://www.cooksshophere.com/otb_whmp/off_the_burner.htm

Judge Bob flashes a wedge of his favorite slicer

This week is Massachusetts Farmers Market Week and the 25th Annual Massachusetts Tomato Festival and Contest. In this good natured competiton, farmers from the Commonwealth face off in categories such as field tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom varieties, weight and of course, flavor.

Despite the rain, rain and more rain that we have had this summer, and the resulting demise of many a good tomato patch, the competiton drew appromimately 70 entries, a similar number to that of last year. 

According to the Offices of Energy and Environmental Affairs, more than 532 farms in the Bay State produce 6.2 million pounds of tomatoes a year on 575 acres of farmland.  For a self-confessed tomato-aholic like myself, this is splendid news. The market value of this crop is estimate at $12.4 million, which includes the share we spend at our neighborhood farmstand and farmers market. And there is good news for Farmers Markets as well in the Commonwealth – 38 new markets were added in 2009, bringing the statewide total to 198.

Many Boston-area farmers who entered their best fruits came to the judging with their game faces on. In addition to Bob’s repeat Judgeship, the other judges comprised a distinguished panel of  food writers, chefs, cookbook authors, grocers and state officials.

Verrill Farm tomatoes scored two 2nd place finishes

This is the listing of the 1st Place winners, many of whom were present to accept their trophy. All left smiling and trimphant.

Slicing Category: Macone Farm, Concord, Ma                                                        ’Orange Blossom’  yellow variety

Cherry Category: Red Fire Farm, Granby, Ma,                                            ”Sungold’ yellow variety

Heirloom Category: Macone Farm, Concord, Ma                                     ‘Macone Farm ‘ heritage variety

Heaviest: Kimball Fruit Farm, Pepperell, MA                                                          ‘Big Raspberry’ variety

 

Bob and Julia then....

Yes, today ( August 15th ) is Julia’s birthday…she would have turned 97.  OK, so she is no longer here to actually celebrate her birthday with a sip of this and a bite of that, but spiritually, she is omnipresent amongst us. If the fact that she is remembered lovingly by all whom she influenced and that her cookbooks are still relevant to legions of cooks is not proof enough, just evidence the long-suffering current dialogue about ‘the book’ and ‘the movie.’  Would she have approved or would she have gaffawed at the amount of lip-time that this new national obsession has racked up?

Anyway, here’s to you, just you, dear Julia. We met you in 1991 at a United Way Benefit fund-raising event. You were signing copies of your new book: The Way to Cook and charming your fans, and we were serving cups of our coffee to attendees.

In fact, we were serving cups of a coffee blend that we created in your honor and introduced that night: Mastering the Art of Coffee. http://tiny.cc/d4d6p. You were so thrilled to have a coffee created just for you ( you said it was a ‘first’ ) and several cups of it were requested to be sent over to your table throughout the evening, if I remember correctly. We’ve sold your coffee blend in the store since than, and it is very popular indeed. Later that evening, you signed one of the large display posters of your book that hung in the room and gave it to us for a memento. Do you know that it is one of our most cherished possessions and proudly resides on display in our store to this day ?

The following year we sent you a birthday card when your turned 80. Your note of appreciation for our well-wishes sent us to the moon and back when we received it, and we grinned like school children when we showed it to all of our foodie friends.

Then, to make it even better, Random House sent us a cardboard likeness of you – a PR piece that was to top a generous display of your books. We like instead to put you in the window of our store from time to time ( we dressed up your smock with a silver “J” pin that belonged to Bob’s mother Jean ) and watch passersby do a double take when they see you. The sight of you always makes people stop, and do a bit of a double take. Many of them smile, with a look that tells me they are fondly remembering something endearing about you.

Of course there are those who ask if they can purchase the cardboard ‘you’ ( sorry, no ) or have it ( are you kidding me ? ) or borrow it ( ya, right ! ).  We’ll always keep our ‘cardboard Julia’ …..just for the memories. 

Bob and 'Julia' now.....