ANTHONY'S FEED - Blog

The Countertop Vacuum Sealer

4/9/2015

The history of vacuum food sealers started in the 1940's with the invention heavy duty commercial food vacuum sealers. Vacuum sealers happen to be owned and operated by food packaging corporations since the 1940s. Vacuum food sealers for use at home were basically designed to be competitive with the heavy duty chamber style machines.

The ability to draw the air away from food and vacuum seal it for a longer shelf life was essential in storing and transporting of food over long distances. Using commercial vacuum food sealers saved manufacturers a great deal of money and increased their earnings substantially.

The invention completely changed what could be offered on retail store shelves as well as the new method of food packaging. Food packaging is the use of containers and components to protect,contain, identify, and merchandise use of products.

The history of food saver vacuum sealers advancement made a huge transformation in 1984 when Hans Christian, the inventor of modern day home vacuum food sealers, proudly label them food savers. Back then, Hans Christian and his associate Bob Warden owned Tilia Corporation and they got into contact with a marketing group affiliated with product sales of blenders and dehydrators and recruited them to sell their new vacuum sealers.

This product would fall under the process category of innovation, because of its use in the food packaging industry and how essential it is. Because of the positive feedback and sellout sales, the introduction of the home vacuum sealers for food were an enormous achievement.

Hug a Farmer

2/18/2015

Growing up in Bradford there is a farm every which way, this means that vegetables come very easy and at a good price. One of these farmers is Dave Langford, he and his family have been farming in Bradford for almost 100 years. Their contribution to the community has been so great to Bradford because of how sustainable it has made the community.

The way that they choose to farm is completely organic they believe that using GMO's is not the best option and since they are the biggest farming company in Bradford they have influenced others in to doing so.The Langfords produce; corn, canola, and wheat. The Langford Farm has been doing the same format of farming since its inception and they have always been against the use of genetically modified organisms because. I asked why he was so apposed and his response was actually surprising, "We used GMO's one year and the crops were noticeably different, in quality and taste. We never went back because we felt we didn't have to." Dave has a real passion for what he does and knows what is needed to have the best possible outcome. When I asked if politics or the environments had any influence on his decisions he said that "No, we have been doing it this way for so long that it doesn't have to involve politics and in terms of the environments, then yes the environment does play a part because we do our best to preserve the land we have." I found this surprising because of how apposed he was on the GMO's yet he had tried them.

What I took away from this experience is that the method of farming has changed throughout the years and people are starting to take quantity over quality but if we all took what we needed and not what we wanted then to have fresh and quality ingredients wouldnt be impossible.

Cooking Meat- Apple Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

2/5/2015

To cook my pork tenderloins I first started off with a apple stuffing; First I added onions to a heated pan with oil on them then i sweated them until translucent. I added apple chunks and croutons and let it simmer a little more. I Then sliced a pocket into the tenderloin ad added about two table spoons of stuffing . and cooked it the oven at 300F for about 40 minutes.

As a side I made a southern style vegetable pilaff, with belle peppers, sweet corn, peas and carrots. I also took the left over stuffing and stuffed hollowed out apples and baked them for 25 minutes.

Meat Purchase-Pork Tenderloin

2/3/2015

The pork tenderloin is a muscle located on the back area on a pig. It is the most tender part of the pig because of how little use the muscle actually gets. Cuts from this part of the pork loin, with their leanness, help to defend the image of this sometimes maligned consumer animal. Wow, that was a mouthful!

Although many pork choppers may not think so often of marinating these cuts, it is not a bad idea. Because of the relatively lean quality of chops from the middle area of the pork loin – there is always a risk of the meat drying out if cooked too long or over heat that is too intense. Marinating will add moisture and flavor that might just be the difference between a chewy, dry chop and a tasty

When purchasing pork its important to look for a grade of quality and time of expiry. look for any marks or bruising, and for any dis colour in the product.

Lacto Fermented Update

12/4/2014

After about a week of fermenting the apples turned into a sweet with a slight sour finish. If they had been fermenting any longer the taste would have gone from sweet with sour to sour with sweet. This recipe is good if you want to put them over a salad or even straight from the jar.

Split Pea Soup

11/26/2014

In a 4-quart stockpot , saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of split peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom.

Lacto-Fermented Apples

11/16/2014

3 medium organic apples (chose apples on the sweeter side like gala or honeycrisp)
2-4 cinnamon sticks, crushed
1 lemon, juice & zest
4 T. sea salt
7-8 c. filtered water

Combine crushed cinnamon, lemon juice, zest, sea salt, and filtered water in a medium pot. Heat over medium heat until barely simmering and salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and cover to let steep and cool 30 minutes.

Wash apples well with a fruit & veggie wash. Slice the tops off 2 of the apples and reserve for packing the jars . Quarter the apples and slice very thinly. Pack sliced apples tightly into 2 quart jars.

Fill the jars with salty water, transferring cinnamon pieces and all. Place a reserved apple top in each other jars to submerge the slices in the liquid. Cover with coffee filters or cheesecloth. Leave at room temperature for 5-7 days.

Thai Pho Days

9/24/2014

This week, our assignment was to try something new. What decided to try was Pho, a soup made in Thailand. I found this soup to be very good in that the flavour was appealing and look was nice. The Pho was made up of basic vegetable like carrots, onions, celery etc., it also included various herbs in the stock. But it had thin slices of beef that really made the stock its own. I added sriracha sauce which made the soup twice as good. The restaurant was Bangkok Noodle in my hometown of Bradford.

New & Improved Steak tacos

9/19/2014

This week our assignment was to look for a recipe of a food we enjoyed, but made different than what you know. I chose a recipe for steak tacos which I found in "The Meat Cookbook" by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly. The recipe talks about using chili and cayenne pepper. I feel this would be a much greater improvement because the first time I had steak tacos they blew my mind and putting a spicy rub on the steak can only make it better in every way.