The front page of today’s Globe and Mail proclaims Canada “a butter backwater,” telling readers that if they’re struggling to produce perfect pastries, they can blame the country’s butter supply. The problem, according to Chris Nuttall-Smith, is Canada’s highly regulated—and highly homogenized—dairy market. While European bakers rely on fatty, 84 per cent butter to churn out flaky croissants, their Canadian counterparts are forced to make do with a product that’s often less fatty, at only 80 per cent. On top of that, regulations on everything from raw milk production to packaging mean dairy producers are limited in what they can offer consumers. Enter Stirling Creamery, a central Ontario dairy operation that has begun providing bakers—and some independent grocers—with the fatty, barrel-churned butter they lust after. Indeed, a sample batch of fattier croissants cooked up by Nadège Nourian of Nadège apparently had a “deeply buttery resonance” that the ordinary, 80 per cent variety lacked. Of course, when people like Jennifer McLagan are doing things like MacGyvering their butter through cheesecloth in an attempt to reproduce something they might otherwise be able to buy at a grocery store, perhaps it’s time to open up the market just a tad. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »
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La Palette’s horsemeat hiatus didn’t last long—viande chevaline will return to the menu at the Queen Street bistro as of this week. Co-owner Shamez Amlani stopped serving the French delicacy late last summer after the Toronto Star exposed questionable sourcing in the horsemeat industry, but he didn’t let the matter drop. “We’ve spent the past six months doing as much research as we can,” he told Post City. “We’re very certain that we’ll be serving our customers high-quality meat.” So what makes him think the meat is now safe? One reason could be that President Obama recently lifted the American ban on horse slaughter, meaning American workhorses would no longer be mixed into the Canadian food supply. We have a hunch this isn’t the end of the story, though—horsemeat, like shark fin and raw milk, always seems to stir up controversy. Read the entire story [Post City] »
Best of the City 2010: 14 picks for the top food in Toronto
Leaf fan: Matchbox Gardens grows rare and wonderful lettuces (Image: Jay Shuster)
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Raw milk farmer Michael Schmidt celebrates acquittal with operetta
Remember Michael Schmidt, the dairy farmer that went through a long court battle after being charged with distributing raw milk? Well, looks like Schmidt is extending his fame with a comedic operetta, Milk Trial By Jury, about his saga. (We’re curious how he’ll pull off the police raid with musical pizzazz.) Its three-day run begins tomorrow (quick, get on the ticket-purchasing!) at Schmidt’s own arts venue Symphony in the Barn in Durham and stars Donna Ellen Trifunovich from the Vienna State Opera as well as tenor Mitch Smolkin. To learn more about Symphony in the Barn, read a Q&A in which Schmidt interviews himself here.
A photographic tour of one of Toronto’s best brunch menus
A mere six months after opening, the brunch at the Hoof Café has become the city’s most coveted (witness the lineups snaking out the door). Co-owner Grant van Gameren and chef Geoff Hopgood combine the Hoof’s snout-to-tail philosophy with breakfast standards, creating a menu that is both playful and indulgent. Beautiful and inventive cocktails by co-owner and house mixologist Jen Agg round out meals that are satisfying to the eye as they are to the palate.
Here, our side show tour of the west end’s hottest brunch menu »
Raw milk advocate Michael Schmidt found not guilty
(Photo by Sunny Ripert)
The unpasteurized saga of the Durham farmer charged with distributing raw milk a year ago ended today when a Newmarket court found him not guilty of 19 charges.
Justice of the Peace Paul Kowarsky ruled that 55-year-old Michael Schmidt’s cow co-op does not violate Ontario’s public health or milk-marketing regulations. While it is legal to consume raw milk, selling or distributing it is not. Schmidt, who represented himself, argues that since people buy shares of the farm and pay maintenance fees in exchange for the milk, he’s technically not selling the milk.
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More listeria headaches at Maple Leaf, countdown to cuvée, the perfect pancake
Is pancake perfection possible? (Photo by Janice Lo)
• Another shipment of Advil to the PR department of Maple Leaf Foods, please. The company has had to recall hundreds of cases of wieners that had not completed listeria testing. [CBC]
• Last week, wine aficionados previewed 1,000 bottles featured in this year’s Cuvée Weekend. Winners will be announced this Friday. [Toronto Star]
• University math professors became eggheads of a different kind yesterday. In celebration of Pancake Tuesday, one professor has revealed the equation for the perfect breakfast indulgence. [National Post]
• City councillor Michael Thompson is calling for an increase in DineSafe services, as he fears business owners might be tempted to break the rules in order to cut costs due to the recession. [Toronto Sun]
Restaurants’ desperate measures, Rob Feenie’s latest venture, the verdict on raw-milk cheese
Cheese: Raw, gooey and legal (Photo by Renée Suen)
• Free canapés were only the beginning. As hermitic dining patterns take hold, Toronto’s restaurateurs are going to great lengths to lure back their regulars. [Globe & Mail]
• Raw-milk regulations may be on trial, but the verdict on raw-milk cheese is in: delicious and legal. Local dairy guru Gurth Pretty is on a mission to spread the word that there’s nothing shady about raw-milk cheese. [Toronto Star]
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