Comments on: Michael Pollan on Cooking As Soulcraft

By: DanielthePoet

DanielthePoet — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:44:01 +0000

I love the way you wrote this piece. You’re one of those bloggers who obviously lives what they write about, and it becomes obvious in the details:

“Yet I’d take it one step further. I’d say that having given up the craft of cooking, we feel its loss. If we can no longer produce something authentically beautiful in our kitchens, we’ll at least watch others do it. And — as with all drama — it will be cathartic. It will fill a void, purge an instinctual need.”

I feel the satisfaction of having learned something from you today. Thank you.
.-= DanielthePoet´s last blog post …Mojofiti, the Language Barrier, and the Tower of Babel =-.

By: cinderyella

cinderyella — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:57:31 +0000

The psychology behind cooking real food: http://bit.ly/16Yhnm

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:01:20 +0000

Excellent post – Pollan makes several excellent points, as do you, Kristen! When I started down the “real food path,” I was sure that we needed to find ways to make it easy for people to eat good food, rather than trying to encourage people to spend more time in the kitchen. Now it’s clear to me that we need both of these things to happen.

Connecting with our food – in our kitchens, gardens, farms, restaurants – helps us make better decisions in general and lead lead better, fuller, healthier, more meaningful lives.
.-= Lee

By: vinmiller

vinmiller — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:22:14 +0000

The innate mental appeal to cooking http://bit.ly/EIFe1 by @foodrenegade

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

By: Vin - NaturalBias

Vin - NaturalBias — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:19:48 +0000

Awesome post, Kristen! Interesting study about preparation time. For me, the key has been cooking and preparing meals in bulk.

Despite my interest and commitment to eating real food, I have to say that I’m still not a big fan of cooking. However, I definitely do like it much more than office work. I also think that if I had more free time, which is something I’m working on, I’d get more enjoyment out of cooking.
.-= Vin – NaturalBias

By: Meggan

Meggan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:53:35 +0000

Hi! I love this site and totally support and agree with Real Food, but I disagree that it takes the same amount of time–at least for me.

When I was in school, I wouldn’t plan any meals, I’d just show up at the grocery store and buy ramen noodles and rice-a-roni, bread,etc. No looking up recipes, checking to see if I had the ingredients, making a grocery list, checking labels, etc. Hands on prep time was 5 minutes, tops. Now, I spend a good 30 minutes looking up recipes, looking in my pantry, trying to figure out what is in season, what I have, what is in my garden (not to mention planning and tending to the garden!!) then I go to the store and spend at least an hour reading the labels, and I buy 15 ingredients so I can make the real food rice a roni equivalent, then I have to think ahead so I can soak the rice, wash, chop, mix, veggies, thaw chicken, cook, bake the bread for the side dish, etc.

Plus, I generate many many more dishes that require more washing, loading and unloading of the dishwasher. So for me, Real Food cooking takes way more time than convienience foods (you can buy a loaf of bread at the store a lot faster than soaking, mixing, kneading, baking one yourself…)

So, while I certainly think it is totally worth it, and I love the time spent this way (I really really find it satisfying, as you mentioned) it is way more work and way more time…at least for me!

By: Rob Smart

Rob Smart — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:35:03 +0000

Pollan does a great job describing how food preparation has been outsourced. Mark Bittman several months ago talked about how TV cooking shows baffle and intimidate. But, only you, FoodRenegage, moves past all that to describe cooking as “soulcraft.” I love it!

For me and everything that has emerged around Pro Food, the single thing that I believe will push sustainable food into mainstream consumer markets is awaken America’s “cooking instinct.” It is with such a change that people begin to experience the complete satisfaction that comes with Real Food.

Cheers!

Rob Smart
.-= Rob Smart

By: Jambutter

Jambutter — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:31:12 +0000

Great read from @FoodRenegade: Cooking as Soulcraft http://bit.ly/TQ9Zz –Gets at essence of #ProFood core principles, esp. #ProCooking!

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

By: CrossfitOahu

CrossfitOahu — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:07:14 +0000

Article about Micheal Pollen and cooking…http://tinyurl.com/lmazlh

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

By: Raine Saunders

Raine Saunders — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:43:15 +0000

I heard this broadcast, and have thought much about it since it was aired. It’s a very thoughtful and insightful concept that Michael sent across the airwaves, and one we definitely need reminded of as the instant-gratifying, throw-away culture that we are. I’m glad he’s continuing to do these little spots on the radio, makes appearances on television, and does narrations in movies like Food, Inc. It gives me hope that the message of returning to our roots and preparing real foods from scratch will keep being repeated, and that its meaning will finally hit home with more and more people about how significant is the notion of us becoming more connected to our food, our land, our heritage, and ultimately, ourselves.
.-= Raine Saunders