Twenty Tabs Later: September 2017

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Non-fiction? No thanks. (Random #1)

6:35 PM 9

There is a question I want you to think about: Do you like to read for fun, and if you do why?

Personally, I love to read. I love to escape from my reality and dive into a world of imagination. When real life becomes overwhelming, I have a place to hide. From post-apocalyptic Earth to a trip across the galaxy, there are endless opportunities for heart-racing adventures. In most fiction books, the characters go through terrible ordeals. In all aspects, they go to hell and back. For some reason, despite these experiences being fictitious, I can compare their horrible problems to my own. The issues the characters face always remind me of how good my life is. They inspire me to move forward over whatever hurdle is in my way. They emphasize that even though you may be facing a problem in the middle of your story, there are plenty of pages left to fill and the future is still being written.

That said, I don’t particularly like non-fiction books. Mainly because they’re boring. I’m sorry to say it, but more often than not, a non-fiction book will put me to sleep after the first chapter. The problem is that they don't really take you anywhere exciting. For example, Kurt Timmermeister’s “Growing A Farmer” was too realistic for me to enjoy. Besides the fact that he disclosed, in my opinion, way too much information about how the food we find in the grocery store comes to be, it didn't draw me in or help me elude the world around me. I respect what he does for a living and that he’s found something he loves, but I would never willingly pick up that book. Nonfiction books are sometimes based on historical information or how the author's own history has influenced them. It's ironic because I love history. I’m a firm believer in history repeating itself. I value the information we have gained and hope that every generation learns from past mistakes. Whenever I finish a non-fiction book, I don't feel any sense of accomplishment or satisfaction. Actually, I kind of feel depressed. That said, I can endure a non-fiction book if necessary thanks to my passion for reading.

One thing I know for sure is that I don't want to just tolerate a book, I want to enjoy it. That's why when I'm offered a non-fiction book, I usually just say no thanks.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Crispy Shades of Gold (Final)

11:00 PM 0

You stand there staring at the temptation before your eyes. Savory, mouthwatering, inviting.

You inhale, and your body responds to the familiar scent before your mind does. Involuntarily, your feet move you forward, trying to get closer. You stand impatiently, waiting for what your entire being has been craving since you arrived. Anticipation races through your veins as the moment you’ve been waiting for arrives. Your stomach growls in protest of your lack of action. Finally, you make your move. The initial roughness on your lips leaves a trail of tingles. As it touches your tongue, your insides rejoice.

So bad, yet so good.

So consumed by your emotions, you can only describe this feeling in one word: heaven. These deep-fried potato strips have beguiled their way into your heart and you’re sure you’ve found golden perfection. Each bite drags you deeper into bliss. French fries have left their mark on your life, one that you won’t forget anytime soon.

A History Shrouded in Mystery

One cannot call themselves an expert on the savory fried potato unless you know the history of french fries. The truth is that the origin of how the french fry came to be is unknown. There are varying tales of its beginnings, but most can agree that it was either invented by the Belgians or the French (Menuism). The more plausible option of the two is that the Belgians developed the idea to fry potatoes.

The potato itself was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards. In the late 1530s, the Spanish discovered the potato in Colombia. After originally facing resistance in Europe, the potato eventually rose to popularity. Around this time, Spain controlled much of modern-day Belgium. This fact has led many to believe the notion that Belgians were the first to innovate new ways to prepare food from potatoes (Hiskey). Thus, in the late 17^th century, the trend to fry thin strips of potatoes began.

Despite being the suspected creators, Belgians were not the ones to make fries known to Americans. That title belongs to the French. The story goes that during World War II, while in the trenches with their French allies, the American soldiers were introduced to "frites", the French word for fries. As such, we Americans call these savory fried potatoes French Fries.

Endless Choices

Since the initial introduction of French fries, there have been dozens of creative chefs who have invented new ways of how to fry a potato. There are many variations of french fries. From waffle to wedge to curly to your standard cut fry, the options seem endless. The large variety begs the question, which style of french fry is best?

To answer that question, we need to delve deeper and examine the many components that go into an award-winning fry.

Crispy or Soft

Most people believe that the crispier the french fry, the better. Nick Kindelsperger, the Chicago Expert for Serious Eats, believes that the only fries worth eating are the ones with an extra crispy exterior because he hates “dealing with limp specimens” (Kindelsperger). It's true that crispy fries bring extra goodness. There's just something about crunching on golden perfection that adds to the prolonged french fry bliss. Despite Kindelsperger's expertise, I believe there is a line where extra crispy becomes too crispy.

An example of overly crisped would be beer battered fries. While undisputedly delicious, the crispy texture can scrape the roof of your mouth leaving you in slight pain for a few days. This problem could be solved with dipping sauce; the right amount of ketchup, ranch or mayonnaise--a European craze--could soften the fry enough that you won’t endanger your mouth.

Others prefer their fries softer with less crunch. However, soft can also be a bridge word for soggy. Often, people can achieve a softer fry by either letting their fries sit for a while or by covering them and letting steam lessen their crisp. Still, a limp french fry is hardly on anyone’s list of topnotch fries.

Thick-Cut or Thin-Cut

When decided on your favorite type of french fries, you have to keep in mind the thickness of the fry. You want the fry thick enough to have substance, but not too thick that there’s no crisp. Wedges are the extreme option if you prefer thick fried potatoes. Shoestring, also called matchstick, french fries are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Both are tasty, but the main differences lie in how they’re prepared and fried.

Thick-cut fries are known to have a good amount of potato inside their skins. Wedges are potatoes cut into thick slices at an angle to give a more triangular appearance. These fries don't have a lot of crisp, but they do provide potato substance that thinner fries don't. A less drastic version of thick-cut is steak fries. Steak fries don’t lack in crispiness or substance. Unfortunately, similar to wedges, they've been known to not be fully cooked inside either.

Thin-cut fries usually have less potato inside. Shoestring, curly, and julienne fries are the most common thin-cut fries. Fast-food chains often prefer these types of fries because they take less time to cook. Thin-cut fries are generally deep-fried twice before being served. The first time is to cook them, and the second time is to add another layer of crispness to disguise the lack of potato.

Crinkle-cut and standard fries are often categorized as thick-cut but are thin enough to be placed in the middle. They are thick enough to provide a fair amount of potato and are thin enough to have an adequate crunch. Mid-tier fries are the best of both worlds. They have substance, are cooked fully, and are crispy enough to fulfill your crunch needs.

Curly or Straight

This argument cycles us back to the thick or thin debate. The main issue with curly fries is the lack of potato in them. You don’t get the same fluffy and delicate inside with a curly fry that you do with a straight fry. In this case, if you enjoy crispy fries you probably favor curly fries as well.

That’s not to say that straight fries are any less crispy. The thick-cut steak and crinkle-cut fries are very crispy while simultaneously keeping a fair amount of potato

There is also the argument made by Dan Myers from The Daily Meal in which Myers claims that all curly fries taste pretty similar (Myers). He bases this idea on the fact that there are very few curly fry suppliers and as such, there is less variety. They look, feel, and even taste the same.

Salted or Seasoned

One question that remains is whether you like your fries salted, seasoned, or plain. Most prefer lightly salted or seasoned fries. You don’t want the french fry to be overpowered by too much salt or seasoning. There are some who favor plain french fries with no salt or seasoning.

Let’s take a closer look into the fast-food chain market for french fries. McDonald’s fries are thin, crunchy and always tasty. As mentioned earlier, this famous chain deep fries their batch of potatoes twice to give them extra crisp. While a popular favorite, the most common complaint about these shoestring trend starters is the overwhelming amount of salt. In-N-Out fries are medium-cut, softer, and an undisputed favorite in Southern California. Their fries are fresh cut and left unsalted. The problem with these is that they taste like cardboard without salt or seasoning. Burger King's french fries were an underdog fry. A more traditional fry, these are standard-cut with a nice crispness, lightly salted, with a pinch of seasoning. Surprisingly, I had very little complaints about these fries.

And the Best French Fry Is…

Now, for the moment you've all been eagerly anticipating. As a professional french fry connoisseur, I recognize that everyone has their own preference. People have very strong feelings regarding which french fry deserves to rank number one.

Despite varied opinions, the best french fry is without a doubt the traditional standard-cut. It's simple, classic and undoubtedly the best french fry on the market. What others fail to understand is that to claim the title of "Best French Fry" there must be a balance. The standard french fry is evenly cut medium-thin, proportionately salted and seasoned, deep fried once to avoid being too crispy or too soft, and takes on a convex shape to appease the curly fry lovers.

To be fair, this is my own opinion. A true french fry expert knows that everyone has their own taste and despite my personal beliefs, potatoes are delicious in all forms. Once you realize that, you can enjoy life and all of the crispy shades of gold it has to offer.

Cited Sources

Hiskey, Daven. “The History of French Fries.” Today I Found Out,

TodayIFoundOut.com, 23 Sept. 2010,

www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/the-history-of-french-fries/.

Kapadia, Jess. “All The Styles of French Fries, Ranked.” Food Republic, Food Republic,

29 Mar. 2016, www.foodrepublic.com/2016/03/29/all-the-styles-of-french-fries-ranked/.

Kindelsperger, Nick. “Do You Like Your Fries Crispy or Soft?” Chicago | Serious Eats,

Serious Eats Inc., 23 Jan. 2012, chicago.seriouseats.com/2012/01/do-you-like-your-fries-crispy-or-soft.html.

Menuism. “French Fries: Everything You Need to Know.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 July 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/Menuism/french-fries_b_1687800.html.

Myers, Dan. “Why Do All Curly Fries Taste Exactly the Same?” Fox News, FOX News

Network, 28 June 2016, www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2016/06/28/why-do-all-curly-fries-taste-exactly-same.html.

Nazario, Marina, and Hollis Johnson. “French Fry Taste Test - The Big Four.” Business

Insider, Business Insider, 19 Nov. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/best-fast-food-french-fries/#but-looks-can-be-deceiving-these-floppy-fries-are-underwhelming-they-lack-the-crunch-and-seasoning-we-expect-from-such-a-fry-although-gorgeous-in-appearance-chick-fil-a-fries-are-somewhat-bland-at-185-for-a-large-its-simply-potato-nothing-more-9.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Growing A Farmer Update 2.0

6:31 PM 0

I'm sad to say that I really hated Growing A Farmer. I honestly tried to enjoy this book. I went in with an open mind and came out simply disgusted. As I referenced in my last update, I think that my feelings are mainly based on the fact that I'm just not interested in farming life. I grew up in the suburbs avoiding meat and cow's milk at all costs. I'm not a fan of bugs (bees included), and the one time I ventured onto a farm a pig chased me out.

His graphic descriptions of his daily life regarding slaughtering and milking (among other things) nauseated me. At least once in every chapter, I had to stop reading due to constant gagging, recompose myself, then continue on. To say the least, it was exhausting and just increased my distaste of the already out-of-genre read.

My favorite part of the book was when Timmermeister's cow Dinah was in heat, attempted to mount him and proceeded to knock him to the ground. Now, I'm not a violent person, but I couldn't stop laughing as he laid in the dirt and reconsidered all of his life choices that led to him ultimately becoming a farmer. He ended the paragraph with the question, "Why had I given up my comfortable city job?" (Timmermeister, 122). I related more to this single paragraph than any other thing in the book. Mainly because I had been asking myself that same question the entire book.

Overall, I can't say I was a fan of Kurt Timmermeister's book. I can say, however, that I hold him in a high respect. He does something that I could never do. So, I suppose his original goal of adding perspective to the food we eat, mentioned all the way back in the Introduction, was met.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Serving Ain't Easy

12:30 PM 8

Head Server

Like many people at the age of twenty, I've had a job. Perhaps unlike others at this age, I have only had one job which spanned over three years. Since coming to USC, I've left my past place of employment to become a full-time student.

You may think that you know what a server does: serve food. While that is true, there is a lot more behind the scenes work. Especially for my job as Head Server. My workplace is not a restaurant but a large dining room. In my hometown, I worked at an elderly community called the Chateau at Harveston. Yup, you heard correctly: an elderly community. Now, when you hear elderly home you might be imagining a nursing home, but that is incorrect. The old folks that I worked with were independent seniors that could care for themselves.

At the Chateau, we didn't have dozens of customers in and out every hour. Instead, we had three meal times: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each shift is short, only two hours. We had three sections with 33 tables that sat 132 residents. At breakfast, we had 45 people. At lunch, we had 120 people. At dinner, we had 70 people. The exact numbers vary, but we usually remained around those numbers.

As stated earlier, serving isn't an uncommon job choice. The easiest way to help you understand is to describe it using other common jobs:

Waitress
Preschool Teacher

Waitress

First and foremost, I'm a waitress. A well-known profession, I serve food to hungry customers-- or in my case, residents. A rather looked down upon occupation, we deal in customer service, cleanliness, and productivity.

Here are some common tasks completed while on shift:

Make sure that timelines are on track
Keep a spotless dining room
Assure that customers/residents are happy with the service

Here's an example of a typical shift. The job starts as soon as we clocked in. We prepare our cars which we take out with drinks and the starting snack. At breakfast: fruit; at lunch: salads; at dinner: soup. After the starter, we go out to get meal orders for the main course. Luckily, the Chateau has a set menu for the week so the residents know the daily options. While the residents finish their meals, we bus dirty dishes to clear tables. Then comes the resident's favorite time of the meal: dessert. We'd take carts out with three levels of assorted cakes, ice cream, and pies. After the residents have returned to their apartments, we finally begin the hard work: to clear and clean the dining room.

Once the deep clean has begun, we commit. Our dining room needs to be as spotless and as sanitary as possible. At this point in the evening, we have about 45 minutes left of our short two-hour shift. Every shift we start with clearing away as much silverware and as many large plates as we can. Then, we take the bussing carts to strip the tables of the dirt cups, dishes, and trash. After bussing, we wash the tables and chairs with a special sanitizer. We deep clean the legs of the table and the creases in the chairs. Next, we reset the dining room. Our last task of the evening is to clean the carts we used to serve salads and desserts. Then, we clock out.

Preschool Teacher

Most comically, I would compare being a Head Server to the job of a preschool teacher. Not only do I have to police my fellow servers, but I also have to deal with the residents of the Chateau. They need minding and constant attention to avoid accidents. To put it bluntly, old people are like children.

Resolve disputes among coworkers
Assist and solve problems during service

For example, there was a particularly difficult group of ladies a few months ago. They were the last table served that evening. Unfortunately, we ran out of the food that they wanted. Rather than peacefully chose another option, they expressed their anger by shouting at their server. He was unable to persuade them to calm them down. Eventually, the ladies became so irate that they yelled and slammed their utensils on their table. This went on until I spoke with them about a suitable alternative meal. Sadly, this is a more common occurrence then you'd think. Events like this usually end with residents getting their way, but it seems to happen at least once a week.

On a co-worker level, being Head Server can be difficult. As with any workplace, there can be drama. The Chateau is no exception. With a mainly high school aged workforce, gossip is an unfortunate reoccurrence. About two years ago, two of my coworkers named Alyssa and Allie were fighting. They'd had a disagreement regarding the way Allie spoke to other servers. This turned into a civil war amongst the servers, everyone taking sides. It got ugly. In the end, I had to step in and involve our manager. We all went into the main office and settled the disagreement after an hour. Looking back on it now is always a good laugh, but at the time it was serious business.

I hope that this description helped you better understand my job and what it requires.

Flesch Reading Ease: 73.8

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 5.7

Passive Sentences: 0

Friday, September 1, 2017

Growing a Farmer Update 1.0

2:20 PM 0

I'm unimpressed. I've only just arrived to chapter four, but I'm having to constantly force myself to continue reading these never-ending chapters. Maybe it's because I'm a suburbs girl that avoids nature like the plague, but I just don't understand Kurt Timmermeister's decisions. He had two successful, stable businesses that brought him a substantial amount of income; then, he had a sudden desire to pursue farming. His naiveté in the beginning of the book immediately irks me. As someone who likes planning and is rarely impulsive, his sudden urge to buy a large four acre plot of land without any idea of how to upkeep or use the acreage rubs me the wrong way. Timmermeister's rash and unnecessary choices remind me of the ill fated Christopher McCandles from Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer whose own poor judgement led to his demise. Timmermeister's story seems to have a different ending based on his Kurtwood Farms website, but that doesn't dissuade my opinions as of yet.

Stylewise, I have to admit that the way Timmermeister writes is very natural. It flows and is relatively easy to read. There's little jargon and I can imagine that he speaks very similar to how he writes. However, in some areas he rambles. It's at these overly descriptive times that my attention drifts to something completely different. When I reach the end, I know that I've read a large portion of the page yet have already forgotten what he was going on about. This situation could very well be that my interest dwindles regarding the subject causing me to zone out. But his constant overly descriptive nature bores me more than I'd like to admit.

Hopefully, my opinion will improve as I continue to read, but I'm not counting on it.

Twenty Tabs Later