I joke that having grown up with three brothers, running women-only tours is like being around a group of sisters I never had. And there’s always something fun to learn from them (like what a muffin top is and what Spanx are – seriously things I learned about recently from my tour peeps).
On this weekend’s Seattle Culinary Tour I learned some interesting facts. Nope, not about the female body, but about food. Did you know…
The Difference Between a Male and Female Eggplant
We took the Savor Seattle food tour around Pike Place Market. I thought we’d simply be stopping in at various food stalls to find out what was cookin’. Our guide, Santino, was not only hilarious but he filled us with all sorts of fun facts, like how to tell the difference between a male and female eggplant and why you would want to know such a thing. (This may not be 100% scientifically correct but it’s a cool fact none-the-less.)
First, you can tell the difference by looking at the bottom of the eggplant. You’ll notice a little dimple or spot. A small round dimple means it’s male and a longish dimple means it’s female (yeah, kinda counter-intuitive). Now why would you want to know?
Well, the female has more seeds, making it more bitter and the male has fewer seeds, making it sweeter (also counter-intuitive). You’d likely want to cook with the male.
How Your Body Processes Alcohol (and subsequently food)
We took a cooking class at Diane’s Market Kitchen. Diane’s a saucy gal with lots of interesting stories to tell, not only about food but also about herself (which is what really makes the cooking class so very interesting).
One such thing she enlightened us about is the fact that when you drink, your body is focused on processing the alcohol and the food you’re eating takes a backseat. It makes eating that fatty bar food even worse because it’s not being properly digested. (I mused that this might be a case for drinking on an empty stomach.)
Is that Ricin in Your Chocolate?
During a talk at Chocolate Box, our host, Michel, read a list of ingredients from two different bars of chocolates. One bar was a quality brand they carry with a list only three ingredients long (cacao beans, organic cane sugar, and organic cinnamon). The other was a Hershey’s bar. Its list was a bit longer and included:
SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; MILK FAT; SOY LECITHIN; PGPR, EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR
Do you know what PGPR is? I didn’t either. It’s polyglycerol polyricinoleate. It’s made from castor oil (same thing toxic ricin is made from (and now, because I looked that up, I’m likely on a watch list)) and is a cheap emulsifier added to chocolate bars as a replacement to the more expensive cocoa butter.
Sorry, but I’d suggesting finding something else to make your S’mores with ๐
What Do I Do With that Little Skillet?
While we were shopping at World Spice Merchants, I noticed a tiny little skillet for sale. It was cute, definitely. And I wanted it. But I didn’t know what I’d do with it. I asked a couple of our tour peeps and one gal said she uses one to lightly toast spices, like sesame seeds. Good idea. But I wasn’t convinced it was worth taking up the shrinking space in my kitchen drawers.
Then, that night, we had dinner at the Flying Fish. And our dessert of rhubarb pie with strawberry ice cream was served in a little skillet!
THEN, the next day during our market tour with Chef Ariel from Golden Beetle, she mentioned how much she loves to cook eggs in her tiny little skillet.
Is this the next big thing that I’m just hearing about? Now I know what to do with one and I gotta have it.
*****
We’ve already got a waiting list for the Seattle Culinary Tour for 2014. If you’re interested (it will likely run in June), let me know by filling out this Contact Us form.
Travel Well,
Nancy says
Gee, now I want one of those little skillets, too, Beth! Sounds like you had a fantastic tour. As a Seattle gal myself, I’ll be eyeing eggplants a bit differently on my next visit to Pike Place Market :-).
Jessica J. Hill says
That little skillet is soo cute! I want one too, and I don’t even cook! In parts of Northern Thailand, they serve a special egg dish in a small skillet like that and it’s absolutely to die for.
I’ve gotta get to Seattle soon. It’s on the list!
Beth Whitman says
I know, Jessica. I still don’t know how often I would actually use it, but I still want one. How First World of me ๐