Keeping the Seeds - An Idle Musing
Recently, I opened a jar of black currant jam. Dunnes Store brand, that I think I picked up in Scotland when we were there a while ago. The fun part for me was that when I started to spread it on my toast, it has whole fruit -- black currant fruit. Very lumpy! But I like it. Even with my favorite super chunk peanut butter, those black currants add something.
I recently finished my jar of blackberry jelly, with seeds. I like blackberry jelly, but the last one before this seemed tasteless to me. It lacked seeds. So I had carefully checked at the store to find a bottle that was not seedless -- that had the seeds in it. And as I suspected, I enjoyed eating it. I think it has more taste, but even having the little seeds catch in my teeth -- and they do -- is part of the experience.
There's something about trying to smooth out and remove all the lumps that doesn't work. Cornbread recipes and mixes usually note that the batter will be lumpy, and tell you not to try to smooth it out. When we talk about baby food, part of the complaint that people make is that it's all puréed, reduced to paste -- and loses all the texture and flavor in the process. Yet so often, we seem to be offered the same kind of overly processed junk as adults. And too often we take it.
Come to think of it, I like chewy bread, too. Three-seed loaves, walnut bread, french or italian bread that has a crust that fights back. Maybe I'm just contrary?
Somehow, we need to start celebrating those seeds in our teeth. Sure, we could strain them out, but . . . we lose the flavor and savor of life when all we get are seedless brands. And bread that is more air than crust.
So enjoy that lumpy black currant jam. And blackberry seeds. And chewing!
I recently finished my jar of blackberry jelly, with seeds. I like blackberry jelly, but the last one before this seemed tasteless to me. It lacked seeds. So I had carefully checked at the store to find a bottle that was not seedless -- that had the seeds in it. And as I suspected, I enjoyed eating it. I think it has more taste, but even having the little seeds catch in my teeth -- and they do -- is part of the experience.
There's something about trying to smooth out and remove all the lumps that doesn't work. Cornbread recipes and mixes usually note that the batter will be lumpy, and tell you not to try to smooth it out. When we talk about baby food, part of the complaint that people make is that it's all puréed, reduced to paste -- and loses all the texture and flavor in the process. Yet so often, we seem to be offered the same kind of overly processed junk as adults. And too often we take it.
Come to think of it, I like chewy bread, too. Three-seed loaves, walnut bread, french or italian bread that has a crust that fights back. Maybe I'm just contrary?
Somehow, we need to start celebrating those seeds in our teeth. Sure, we could strain them out, but . . . we lose the flavor and savor of life when all we get are seedless brands. And bread that is more air than crust.
So enjoy that lumpy black currant jam. And blackberry seeds. And chewing!