The first thing a student said on Tuesday when we introduced the country and recipe for the day was, “Aren’t avocados originally from Mexico?” Beaten at our own game, we had some explaining to do. Avocados are from the Americas, and eating avocado with grains has been around for thousands of years in both Central and South American indigenous cultures. In the early 1990s, a restaurant in Sydney popularized the “avocado toast” that we now find all over the Bay Area and on social media. This week, we pickled our own onions and made fresh ricotta as a nod to Australia’s contribution to this larger-than-life food’s story.
Over three days of classes, we had lots of variations in humidity due to the rainy weather and subsequently got totally different results with our cheesemaking. It got us thinking about offering a food science-themed class this fall where students can go deeper in their exploration of what variables affect the cooking process and the finished result. What do you think?
We had lots of extra pickled onions on Thursday and happily served them to the full house at the Black History Dinner and Honor Roll Celebration. They might make a comeback next week, too, when we make (yet another?) dish from Mexico.
