Food, History, Security

Kras 1911 Marcipan Dessert

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I usually find Marzipan more like building material than a dessert, but the Kras 1911 Marcipan is highly recommended. I can not remember the last time I had such a fine dark chocolate with subtle almond flavor. The consistency is perfect. However, I’m a little suspicious of ingredients E322, E420, E1102, E475, E202, E330, and artificial vanillan flavor. Something tells me those are not from the same process originally used in 1911 by the “first chocolate manufacturer in southeastern Europe”. On the other hand, this is a chocolate made compliant with IS0 9001, according to the Kras site. Mmmm, you can taste the compliance.

Kras was among the first to agreed to requests of the new international ISO 9001:2000 Standard, the implementation of which provides quality of work and of overall business operations of the Company.

Apart from quality, Kras pays special attention to the control of food safety of its products.

Owing to the controlled selection of raw materials, and in line with the applied integral HACCP concept of providing food safety, all of the Kras products are GMO free.

Maybe they should relabel this treat as the Kras ISO9001:2000 Marcipan? Their quality policy can be found here (PDF).

Delicious. But may I suggest real vanilla? Not sure what number that would be in the E series…

E322 Lecithins, (emulsifier) (from soy bean, egg yolk) (# overdose intestinal problems, sweating) (used in combined oils margarine, chocolate)
E420 Sorbitol, Sorbitol syrup (from glucose in berries or synthesized (artificial sweetener, bulking agent, humectant )
E1102 Glucose oxidase (enzyme, acidity regulator)
E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (emulsifier)
E202 Potassium sorbate (preservative)
E330 Citric acid (from citrus fruit) (food acid, acidity regulator, flavouring) (used in infant formula, processed cheese, soft drinks)

One thing I like about about these reference numbers is that it suggests a very simple way for a consumer to scan an ingredients list and immediately identify dangerous or undesired substances. Would be interesting to have a scanner in a shopping basket that could trigger an alarm when you put an item in, or maybe just give a risk rating summary based on total contents. Or perhaps waiting until it is in the basket is too late (marketing got ya?) and the scanner should help you select appropriate items from the shelves…no more label turning and squinting. Could the numbers be extended as well to add more specificity of origin, suggesting region, or organic/quality levels?

Food, Security

Kavaklidere Kalecik Karasi

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Usually duty-free is far overpriced compared to the market, but on a hunch I purchased a bottle of 2003 Kavaklidere Kalecik (red wine) for 15.50 Euros. Aside from the transportation security antics I had to go through (since Turkey is not in the EU the european airports refuse to let you carry a bottle of sealed wine on-board the aircraft) I found upon return home that the retail price on this wine is US$49.99. Shocking, and also neat to read that the grapes are somewhat rare, but on their way back again:

The Kalecik Karası grape of Central Anatolia which was on the brink of extinction due to the negligence of long years, has taken its deserved place in viticulture as a product of Kavaklidere thanks to the long term efforts of Turkish and French experts of Kavaklidere Wines Inc. and Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture. This special prestige wine has the color of a ruby stone, it is rich, well-balanced, and has a lasting and charming aroma of red fruit, vanillin, and cocoa. It has a light, fresh, and elegant finish. It can be aged for another six years in the bottle.

There really are some superb Turkish wines worth tasting, if you can get them out of the country without the “security” hassles.

Security

Emergency Response Acronyms

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There are many acronyms to choose from, when it comes to emergency response; illustrated nicely by the Family Disaster Plan Resources (FDPR) for the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG):

Berkeley Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Cupertino Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Corte Madera Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NEAT)
El Cerrito Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NEAT)
Foster City Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT)
Fremont Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Larkspur Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT)
Mt. View Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies (CORE)
Palo Alto Neighborhood Disaster Activity (PANDA)
San Francisco Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT)
San Jose Prepared!
San Mateo Neighborhood Emergency Service Team (NEST)
San Rafael Disaster Area Response Team (DART)
Santa Clara (city) Home Emergency Assistance Team (HEAT)
Southern Marin Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Sunnyvale Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP)

Aside from NERT (just because it’s fun to say) my favorite in the above list is Palo Alto (PANDA), as it only takes a little work to turn it into something slightly different:

Palo Alto Neighborhood Disaster Activity Monitoring of Natural Incident Un-preparedness Managament (PANDAMONIUM)

Notice San Jose bucking the trend? Wonder what the effect of people wearing “Prepared” logos on their jackets would be…hard to know why they used the past tense, which could be like a slap in the face after a disaster: “I was prepared, were you?” I guess it is still better than “HEAT”, which seems a bit like an insensitive reference to the great San Francisco quake, or perhaps a subtle attempt to assert their relationship with law enforcement.

Ah, what’s in a name, anyway (AWIANA).

History

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Every year I write something about the actual history of this American holiday, versus the modern interpretation. I used to just send it to friends and family, and then last year I posted it on my blog. This year, I noticed some interesting stories in the news like this one about school teachers emphasizing the “Indians’ side”.

Teacher Bill Morgan walks into his third-grade class wearing a black Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and begins snatching up pencils, backpacks and glue sticks from his pupils. He tells them the items now belong to him because he “discovered” them. The reaction is exactly what Morgan expects: The kids get angry and want their things back.

Morgan is among elementary school teachers who have ditched the traditional Thanksgiving lesson, in which children dress up like Indians and Pilgrims and act out a romanticized version of their first meetings.

I do not discount the importance of this subject, or the lesson taught by Morgan. However, I find it strange that instead of just unravelling the yarns by exposing the true history of the holiday, the teachers actually perpetuate the modern interpretation before attempting to revise it again. Who knows, at this rate of distance from its origins, maybe in a hundred years there will be a fat man in a red suit called Old Saint Lincoln who brings turkeys to children who have been nice to their neighbors…

Personally, I always think of the holiday in terms of a President who wanted a united nation to rise above its years of discontent and discord in order to notice the bounty of good deeds done even under the duress of civil war — to recognize and therefore seek a common humanitarian purpose.