It’s a difficult question in these cost conscious times. For restauranteurs like myself, it’s a tough decision to make, as costumers generally demand good price, quality menus and profit margins are being continuously squeezed. Personally, I think that it has many benefits for which it’s worth paying for.
It is produced in non-intensive ways that avoid synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. It prohibits routine antibiotics and growth-promoting drugs and safeguards and nurtures our most precious asset - the soil. For me though, the main benefits are that organic ingredients generally taste better and for a chef obsessed about flavour, thats all the reason I need.
So, is the question of cost, and the fact that organic food is perceived as expensive unfair? And where are the best organic ingredients to be found in Mallorca?
We would like to hear your opinion.
Hi Marc,
ReplyDeleteI read your article in the daily bulletin Feb. 21.
First note. I was born at a time when chicken was considerably more expensive than prima beef! Roast beef sunday lunch was weekly. |Chicken only for birthdays, anniversaries etc. Turkey only for Christmas (and the next two weeks).
On the "food issue", I have lived in various countries and can only observe the following regarding "organic" or "factory" chickens.
- For any dish that requires either a strong marinade, additon of strong flovours, coq au vin etc or any curry recipee why spend extra money on organic produce that cannot be detected. I notice that the texture of meat is not noticeable in the above dishes.
- For any recipees that are both simple and not highly spiced, or associated with strong sauces, organic certainly appears much better. Both in flavour and texture.
- I would only note that "organic eggs", "free range" and non factory eggs are a mixed blessing. Based on living in Singapore, UK, USA, Korea India, etc I have fould that free range or organic eggs taste of what you feed the hens on. Signapore - fish, UK - neutral, USA - corn, Korea - garlic and India - don't ask, taste first!
Overall I would prefer to eat products that are produced as naturally as is practical. Practical, both in terms of cost and difficulty of production and transport.
Finally, I think that possibly, of equal importance, to the taste of food is what we breed our animals, vegetables and fruit for. Taste or appearance?
I must say "ugly" products from the local Majora markets seem to taste much better than the uniform coloured and shaped products from most supermarkets. Is this a subjective or objective conclusion? Don't know.
Kindest regards,
Howard Martindale
Hola Marc,
ReplyDeleteSin duda estaría dispuesto a pagar mas por productos orgánicos o ecológicos.
Creo que todos los que nos gusta la gastronoimía en general debemos hacer, además, un esfuerzo por comprar productos de la tierra de temporada.
Creo que es esencial para mejorar la calidad de los que comemos y desarrollar un cultivo sostenible a largo plazo.
Saludos
there is a niche market for organic produce. if circumstances permit, i would select organic produce. marketed alongside non-organic range items, organic produce have serious competition in pricing. also, if organic farming is carried out responsibly by one, can this be guaranteed that the land adjacent is chemical-free as well?
ReplyDelete