local foods

[turnipmonster]

I've been a big fan of michael pollan ever since reading the omnivore's dilemma, a book about food and where it comes from. in the book he makes a strong argument that eating food that is grown or raised near to you has many benefits, i.e. freshness, lessened enviromental impact, etc.

although I am completely sold on greenmarket vegetables over their supermarket counterparts after a few trips to the greenmarket (it's also enjoyable to talk with the people who are growing your food), I am pretty skeptical of stuff like dairy. I've eaten eggs and butter bought from the supermarket all my life, how much of a difference can it really make?

this weekend I was at the essex st market in nyc and noticed saxelby cheesemongers sells local dairy products, so I decided to pick up some eggs and butter and do a taste test.

first thing I did was do a blind taste test, comparing the white rose unsalted butter in my frig to the stuff I just bought. I did the test described in blink, namely 3 samples (2 of which are the same kind) and see if you could tell the difference. I could tell the difference, but from the texture only, although I think there is a slight difference in taste as well. next I cracked open a grocery store egg and a fresh egg. the fresh egg had a smaller, firmer, slightly more yellow yolk. other than that, no real difference so far.

final step in the test was to make an egg and cheese sandwich, which I eat all the time. I used all the same ingredients except for the egg and butter. holy god, are these eggs better tasting than the grocery store eggs. easily the best egg and cheese I've ever eaten. like not even close. I'm definitely going to be buying the freshest eggs I can find from now on, I couldn't believe how much of a difference there was.

what does everyone think about local foods? important to you, or no?