The Ambiguity of “Fresh”
What does fresh food mean to you?
This word and concept are subject of tremendous overuse, and often misuse. Fresh is subjective and relative. Not everybody hears fresh and thinks the same thing. Let’s go deeper.
Freshness is generally perceived by diners as something at its peak state. Food that is immediately prepared to order, and of pristine quality. Sounds about right, or that is the ideal. Yet so many conglomerates ranging from fast food, to fast casual present themselves as having fresh food, but do they really?
What does fresh mean to a chef? Depends on the level of skill, care, and passion of that particular chef. Too many people are calling themselves chefs these days and just as with fresh, the word has become diluted. For our purposes, I will contrast a Michelin Starred Chef, or one in the highest echelon — with a mid to low grade “chef” who’s generally apathetic to ingredients and unaware of the higher realms of cuisine.
To a world class chef, fresh means prepared that day, sometimes even to order. Fresh means the fewest possible hands between the farm and the back door of the restaurant. Fresh means the very best that they have to offer. Food that we cooked, from people that care about its growth, harvest, production and about its presentation, and flavor as a final dish. The ethics of the food.
Not all dishes or components can be prepared the day of — sauces, soups and marinating/aging of proteins are just some examples of multi-day procedures. But, fresh at the highest level is a constant process of awareness. When was it made? Who made it? How long before the quality diminishes past the point of allowability? There is a threshold where an ingredient or dish component is at its peak, at its freshest. With real, unprocessed food that is not full of chemicals and preservatives — this threshold is brief. Real chefs and restaurants emphasize freshness as a foundational element and are constantly pursuing the freshest food possible to work with and present to the guest.
The “chef” does not have the same passion for freshness. This is partly because they do not have to. All (or nearly all) of their product arrives pre-processed, and from factory purveyors that are likely culpable of chemical manipulation and heavy processing of the ingredients. So at these level establishments, fresh has an entirely different meaning.
When did you open that can, bag, or box? When did the pre-prepared, frozen ingredient get thawed? The level of questions, just as the technical execution of cooking is at a diminished level. Additionally, the food has so many unnatural additives that it stays “fresh” for longer. The ambiguity of freshness becomes clear as the mid to low level restaurants and food service establishments are examined. Juice straight from a lime or juice from a bottle that says “fresh squeezed lime juice” with an expiration date of one month after it arrives in its box. Which is fresh? The one that is labeled fresh, and probably contains several additives? Or the juice directly from the lime? Obvious answer there.
When cooks are working with so much pre-made food the essential step of tasting products as they are cooked is grossly neglected. Why taste what is already ready? Why taste the “fresh” lime juice from the bottle when it says its fresh and has not expired yet? Why get involved with your food? It’s not even your food. These questions and why’s lead to apathy over time, and apathy leads to less and less true freshness.
Why is there such a discrepancy between true freshness and the rest?Why such a misuse of the word?
Cooking real food is hard. Real cooking is labor intensive and seldom as profitable as bringing in the frozen, pre-made, preservative enriched products. Fewer people are capable of really cooking from scratch. The ability to multitask, focus on, and execute an entire days worth of real cooking is generally challenging even for highly skilled, real chefs. Most people that live the cook’s life simply cannot get everything done, or do everything right consistently enough to justify placing the responsibility of fresh food on their shoulders or in their hands.
Real food has become more expensive too, while industry-wide wages have remained low. It is cheaper to get processed food and pay an unskilled cook to follow the idiot-proof instructions than it is to get organic or ethically produced products and guide an apprentice through the traditional kitchen brigade. So when profit focused business people enter the world of food they look for any and all costs they can cut. Even if they have the intent of cooking from scratch, most will abandon this after a year or two of heavily red P&L sheets.
So what is fresh?
Depends on where you’re eating, and who’s cooking the food. Depends on the level of care, and the awareness of everyone involved. It also depends on how much you, as a customer care. If you frequent mid-level chain restaurants but never venture to the local gastro-pub, or farm to table restaurant, then you are seldom eating real and truly fresh food. Does that matter to you?
As a chef you realize early in the culinary journey that some people know what they are doing and take pride in their food and some do not. Some dedicate themselves to the refinement of their skills, growth, and development as a professional — while some stagnate. They themselves are not fresh, so how can their food be fresh?
Just because something says FRESH in big bold letters does not mean anything. Often the direct and overzealous marketing of freshness is the corporate codeword for PROCESSED. Fresh generally is not fast. It takes the time to naturally grow real food and takes lots of time to prepare it with dignity and refinement. If your meal is ready in less than ten minutes there was probably zero fresh ingredients used. If you can not wait for a real meal prepared by someone who cares, then you might need to take a fresh look at the way you eat.
This is the 46th installment of Writing Wednesday. A practice I have continued for 46 consecutive weeks. 1000 words every Wednesday and a graphic or two that I design also.
Let me know what you thoughts are on freshness.
