Salmon Sashimi: not just food, but also a life motivation.

Last Sunday, I went to a Japanese restaurant with some of my friends to eat Japanese cuisines. It is closed to the campus but I cannot remember its name. Japanese food there is tasty, especially for us, who are tired of eating food in university cafeteria and want to make some changes. I still remember how satisfied I was when eating the salmon sashimi above the salmon sushi. The small slices of salmon sashimi taste good because of their softness and freshness. And the salmon sashimi in this Japanese restaurant is relatively thick and high-quality. So the salmon sashimi, which is one of the main ingredients of salmon sushi, most interested me and left a deep impression in my mind. Therefore, I decided to do some research about salmon sashimi after coming back from the Japanese restaurant.

I used to made salmon sushi when I was in China. Sometimes, I brought them to school and shared them with my friends during the lunch time. I was glad that all of them liked the salmon sushi I made. My cooking process of salmon sushi is quite easy. First, cook some sushi rice. During the time of rice cooking, wash the salmon, cut it into small slices and freeze them. Once the sushi rice is cooked, put them into a small bowl and then stir in sushi vinegar and a little salt. Then, wash some cucumbers and cut them into pieces. After the preparation of these basic materials, place a nori sheet on a bamboo rolling mat and spread sushi rice evenly on the nori sheet. Next, place the slices of salmon sashimi, cucumber, pickled vegetables and some meat floss in a straight line at one edge of the nori sheet. Then, roll the sushi up from the edge and slice the sushi roll into several pieces. However, the Japanese restaurant I mentioned before made other types of salmon sushi. For instance, they will put slices of salmon sashimi above the sushi rice ball, which makes it easier for consumers to taste the softness and freshness of salmon sashimi directly.

This cooking process, however, is not that standard, which is convenient and only used by people making salmon sushi at home. After doing some research about salmon sashimi, I find that salmon sashimi requires a relatively high standard of hygienic production; the steps of dealing with the raw salmon sashimi are quite complicated and challenging. In order to kill poisoning bacterial, such as Salmonella and Listeria, raw salmon sashimi must be stored frozen in refrigerator for at least 24 hours at a temperature of no more than -20 ℃. Also, before touching the salmon sashimi, we should wash our hands and equipment carefully to keep all the things clean. Moreover, we’d better eat salmon sashimi above the salmon sushi with some wasabi. Not just the special taste, but also the use of killing poisoning bacteria encourages us to eat salmon sashimi with wasabi. So these complicated steps of salmon sashimi contribute to the safe production of salmon sashimi.

People like to eat salmon sashimi not only because of the good taste of it, but also for the reason that it is full of essential nutrition, such as vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B-3, and vitamin B-6. “Sashimi fits into a well-balanced and healthy diet, providing a source of essential nutrients to nourish your body's cells and tissues.”(Louise Tremblay, 3)Since the salmon sashimi provides rich resource of nutrition, it is undeniably beneficial for our health; strengthening immune system, preventing diseases, improving blood circulation and helping the proper nerve transmission in our brains.

The most interesting and startling part I found during my research about salmon sashimi was “salmon spirit”. They all know that it is extremely hard to reach the upstream; and they will certainly die after spawning at upstream. Nonetheless, they are still determined to follow this process. “Salmon are anadromous fish, meaning that they migrate from oceans to freshwater streams to reproduce.”(Salmon, 1) As the article “Salmon” says, thousands of salmons will swim to the upstream to spawn during the period from July to August. Most of them are coming from Pacific Ocean. Because the water is reverse-flow, salmons have to keep jumping during the whole period, which will make them hurt by the rocks along the riverbed. This is also the reason why the meat of salmon is red at upstream instead of light colored at downstream; their blood vessels are broken by the rocks. After spawning, salmons will die. Thereby, it is not hard to find that salmons have to experience numerous difficulties before reaching the upstream and some may be killed during this process.

Besides salmon’s tragic fate, I see more value in their persevering spirit when facing difficulties. “Salmon spirit”, also, is one of the most crucial factors contributing to success. Our life is similar to the spawning process of salmon. We both have to go through several frustrations. But the difference is we human beings will not die when reaching the destination. Therefore, I was educated by “salmon spirit” and it encourages me to fight against difficulties in my life with persistent effort and a strong heart. Only by going through these difficulties can we realize our goals.

As I mentioned above, I learned a lot from my research about salmon sashimi, which brings some changes to my attitude towards salmon sashimi. Now I will pay more attention to the hygienic production of salmon sashimi to avoid bacterial infection. Moreover, I know about “salmon spirit” while I just knew the nutrition of salmon sashimi before. Salmon sashimi now is not just a food for me, but also a representative of “salmon spirit” and a motivation of my life.

Salmon sashimi above sushi rice ball

Salmon sushi

Making salmon sushi with slices of salmon sashimi

                                          

Go back to food production, go back to poultry workers

The most noteworthy part I find in “Fowl Trouble” is the brutality to workers in American’s poultry plants. The writer uses broiler chicken as a representative instance, showing the complicated and dangerous procedure of food production. As the article mentions, broiler chicken are harmful because meat inspectors will examine the carcasses. However, they have to examine the carcasses in a very fast speed and other poultry workers have to process chicken quickly because of the rising demand of broiler chicken, which will inevitably cause disorders among poultry workers. “Scissors and knives quickly dull, and workers often lacerate themselves or their neighbors when blades slip off the slimy carcasses.” (Christopher, 14) The fast working speed causes heavy pressure of most employees in poultry plants. Also, these workers are treated indifferently. They are doing one of the most dangerous works but earn very little money. It is necessary for them to wear protective boots, gloves and aprons in that there are many bacteria during the production and quick working speed will easily cause injuries. But many workers just have none of them because they cannot afford any of them. Some workers lose their fingernails while some even lose the use of their hands due to the exposure to the bacteria in the chicken carcasses. Those people who are benefit from the hard work of poultry workers seldom care about the safety and health of their employees. As the article mentions, “Injured foreigners aren't eligible for welfare or disability benefits.” (Christopher, 42) Consumers who are enjoying the “harmless” broiler chicken will not concern about the health of poultry workers either. What a cruel world! This fact tells us that we have to pay attention to the production of food. Moreover, not only the food health, but also the safety and health of poultry worker during the procedure of food production should be widely concerned. And, this idea is the most meaningful and society-friendly part of writer’s tracing of food production.

Eating Disorder

In Pollan’s article “Our National Eating Disorder”, he analyzed the symptoms and the causes of American national eating disorder. I find out the two main factors, which cause the disorder eating habit of Americans. First, as the article mentions, “a scientific study, a new government guideline, a lone crackpot with a medical degree can alter this nation's diet overnight.”(Pollan, 1) Many Americans blindly pursue eating health without direction and consideration. Any scientific researches about food are authentic for them and they will follow these theories without hesitation.  Another factor that causes Americans disorder eating habits is their worrying about food.  For instance, many Americans will feel guilty after eating a piece of cheesecake or a chocolate cake because both of them may lead to obesity.  Eating healthily seems to be the primary food value of most Americans. However, people from French do not worry too much when they are eating; they just enjoy various delicious cuisines. The food value of most French people is eating for pleasure. And surprisingly, French people are healthier than most American people although they eat much “unhealthy” food to Americans. Why? As the author says in his article, “they eat small portions and don't go back for seconds; they don't snack; they seldom eat alone, and communal meals are long, leisurely affairs.”(4) This is exactly what I think. Americans may go back and get another chocolate cake after finishing the first one, while French people eat food in small portions and eat different kinds of food without going back for second one. French people can both enjoy various kinds of food and keep healthy because of their reasonable and right attitudes about eating. So Pollan comes up with the conclusion - “our anxious eating itself may be part of the American problem with food.”(4) But “social and psychological context in which it is eaten” is quite difficult to change in the near future. Pollan’s analysis about anxious eating attitude of Americans and the comparison between American’s food value and that of French people is the most interesting part of his analysis. As for me, eating for pleasure is the first priority; I eat whatever I like. But I still concern about eating healthily. I always eat a lot of vegetable and fruit during each meal.

Convenience: the primary food value for college students

    “Convenience overrides not only considerations of health but also the social and cultural meanings of meals and mealtimes.”(Marion Nestle, 19) This sentence argues that convenience becomes one of the main food values for people and overrides other old food values and cultures. Yes, I do find the significance of food convenience for most colleges. To be specific, I find that the primary food value for most college students is convenience in that their focus is generally centered on study; and they do not have kitchens in all of their dorms. Also, the daily schedule of most college students is irregular; they eat whenever and wherever they like.

College students are always in a rush heading for classes, which means they do not have enough time to make food even to eat food. Coffee shops, cafeteria, dorm and fast food restaurants, therefore, become the main places for college students to get food. I always see many college students order some drinks and small eats at Jazzman’s café & bakery, a cafeteria style coffee shop, and then take out them to class, dorm and library. Fortunately, most food in Jazzman’s is take-out food, such as chocolate croissant, brownie, cupcakes, milkshake, sandwiches and coffee. It is convenient for many college students and effectively saves a lot of time for them. Also, many college students prefer Jazzman’s because of its convenient location. It is located on the second floor in Driscoll, which is like the center of the campus, so most students will pass Jazzman’s on their way to classes. However, some students may stay at Jazzman’s during the break time after ordering some food. Those students coming alone will sit at the bar or the single tables near the windows, drinking coffee, eating dessert and studying, while some students coming as a group may sit around the big tables or sit on the sofa in the lounge area after ordering some food. Most of time, they will discuss group project and do the homework together. Jazzman’s is a really good place for students to study and quick recharge themselves during the short break between classes, because the atmosphere there is quiet and comfortable and the food in Jazzman’s is made fast. Thereby, students do not have to waste too much time to wait for the food, saving the time to study and relax. Moreover, Jazzman’s is close to Penrose library, so students who study in the library for a long time will go to Jazzman’s and buy some ready-made sandwiches and sliced fruit to have some nutrition and energy. Because of the increasingly rapid pace of school life today, those students studying in the library sometimes skip several meals and study for the whole day, thus, a convenient place like Jazzman’s is really important and necessary for those college students to quick recharge themselves. Burger king is a good place for many college students to get convenient food as well. It allows us to drive to burger king, order food in the car and eat with little effort. A few minutes later, the food is already packaged and we can take them away to any place. And, the cup of Burger King is designed to fit in a car cup holder, which is very portable. Therefore, all the factors mentioned above reveal that many college students emphasize the convenience of food for the reason that they want to save their time to study.

Not only study, but also the reason that college students have no kitchens in our dorms encourages them to pay more attention to the convenience of food. In my dorm, there is only a microwave oven and a refrigerator. So I can just buy some frozen fast food and heat them up in the microwave oven. This looks unhealthy so I often buy some fruit and vegetables, putting them in the refrigerator, washing and cutting them into slices before eating. Apparently, it is impossible for college students who have no kitchen in their dorms to cook a normal meal, instead, most of them prefer to buy some frozen food from the supermarket, such as frozen delicatessen, frozen vegetable blends, frozen chicken rings, and frozen pizza. Sometimes, I will eat frozen dumplings with my friends in the dorm. However, I find that boiled dumplings are far more delicious than frozen dumplings although frozen dumplings are easy to cook. It is quite convenient to make frozen food because all the things you have to do before you can eat them is to put them into microwave oven and wait for about 3 minutes. Moreover, the containers, spoons and forks of frozen meals are always disposable, so we do not need to wash them after finishing eating frozen meals. How convenient the frozen meal is! Instant noodle is also a good choice for many college students eating at the dorms. I always buy a box of instant noodles when going to the supermarket in case of having no time to eat lunch at university’s cafeteria. However, I think instant noodles are so unhealthy that eating them too often will have negative effect on our health. Sometimes, many college students eat some snacks as a meal to satisfy their stomach since it is even easier than heating up frozen food. But eating snacks too much will cause obesity and a lack of nutrition. As Jamie Horwitz mentions in “Eating at the Edge”, “David Cutler and colleagues explain that the increase in Body Mass Index over the past twenty years is a result of calories consumed from what people call snacks, while the calories consumed at meals, particularly at dinner, actually decreased during the same period of observation.” Many snacks contain a lot of trans fat and calories, which will easily increase our weight. Therefore, eating convenience is important for college students because they lack facilities to cook their own food in their dorms. But I strongly suggest college student to pay more attention to eating health rather than eating convenience.

Additionally, most college students eat for convenience because they do not have a reasonable class schedule. Many college students have classes during the lunch time, which means they do not have time to have lunch at school cafeteria. Most of time, they will bring small snacks, take-out food and some drinks to the classes. My friends and I have class at 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and we have to run the whole way during the 10-minute break between two classes. So we often buy some desserts and coffees at Jazzman’s and then bring them to the class, otherwise, we will have lunch after 2 p.m. Therefore, the convenience of food is extremely important for college students under such situations. At this point, the convenience food means quickly made, portable and easy to eat.

I also find that convenience of food is more important for college students than that of working-class people, especially office staffs. Most working-class people have normal business schedules. On their schedules, there are always some breaks for lunch and dinner. Also, they have enough time to have breakfast before going to work because many working-class people start working at 9 a.m. Having more time to eat, working-class people can go out and eat at different places. So they have a lot of choice of food, while college students have limited food options. From the comparison between working-class people and college students, I can find that the people who are not college students may also look for the convenience of food, but convenience is not the primary food value for them.

Furthermore, many college students do not have regular eating schedule and eat at timeless time for the reason that the life in college is so free that we do not have to follow many arrangements and schedules; we can eat whenever we are hungry and wherever we like. Eating irregularly is also like a symbol of freedom for college students, revealing that their time in university is dominated by themselves freely.  So the convenience of food is important for these students. Moreover, eating at university is not same as eating at home, we can choose whatever we like and do not have to care too much about others’ tastes because many students eat alone instead of eating with others around a big table. Eating in front of the computer, eating at class and even eating hurriedly in the street are very common at present, while eating as a group becomes rarer and rarer. Jamie Horwitz says, “Consider soup. What was once an archetype of the commensal is now widely available in a variety of single-serving packages” (42-43). In the past, people liked to have soup with a big pot since many people ate together and shared the same soup. Nonetheless, many manufacturers now serve out the soup into single-serving packages because of the trend of eating alone and eating at different places. I always see some students walking on the campus with a box of food in their hand. So the single-serving package reflects the eating habits of many college students; and the portability of these packages indicates their food value of convenience too.

    With my thick observation of today’s college students, I find convenience is the main food value and culture for them. They eat for convenience because of study, the lack of facilities and irregular daily schedule. But think about the health. Eating for convenience like most college students will undeniably cause health problems. “These multifaceted disorders affect the emotions, thinking, behavior, and physical health of afflicted individuals.” (Phillips, EL, 1) How can we college students concentrate on study if we lack nutrition and feel sick because of eating disorder? So we have to find the balance between study and eating. And, this is the most wise and effective way to do everything well at the same time.

Frozen food

EE1 Draft

Convenience becomes one of the main food values for most college students in that their focus is generally centered on study and they do not have kitchens in all of their dorms. Also, the daily schedule of most college students is irregular; they eat whenever and wherever they like.

College students are always in a rush heading for classes, which means they do not have enough time to make food even to eat food. Coffee shops, cafeteria, dorm and fast food restaurants, therefore, become the main places for college students to get food. I always see many college students order some drinks and small eats at Jazzman’s café & bakery, a cafeteria style coffee shop, and then take them away to class, dorm and library. Fortunately, most food in Jazzman’s is take-away food, such as chocolate croissant, brownie, cupcakes, milkshake, sandwiches and coffee. It is convenient for many college students and effectively saves a lot of time for them. Also, many college students prefer Jazzman’s because of its convenient location. It is located on the second floor in Driscoll, which is like the center of the campus, so most students will pass Jazzman’s on their way to classes. However, some students may stay at Jazzman’s during the break time after ordering some food. Those students coming alone will sit at the bar or the single tables near the windows, drinking coffee, eating dessert and studying, while some students coming as a group may sit around the big tables or sit on the sofa in the lounge area after ordering some food. Most of time, they will discuss group project and do the homework together. Jazzman’s is a really good place for students to study and quick recharge themselves during the short break between classes, because the atmosphere of Jazzman’s is quiet and comfortable and the food in Jazzman’s is made fast. Thereby, students do not have to waste too much time to wait for the food, saving the time to study and relax. Moreover, Jazzman’s is close to Penrose library, so students who study in the library for a long time will go to Jazzman’s and buy some ready-made sandwiches and sliced fruit to have some nutrition and energy. Because of the increasingly rapid pace of school life today, those students studying in the library sometimes skip several meals and study for the whole day, thus, a convenient place like Jazzman’s is really important and necessary for those college students to quick recharge themselves. Burger king is a good place for many college students to get food as well. We just need to drive to burger king and order food in the car. A few minutes later, the food is already packaged and we can take them away to any place.

Not only study, but also the reason that we have no kitchens in our dorms encourages us to pay more attention to the convenience of food. In my dorm, there is just a microwave oven and a refrigerator. So I can just buy some frozen fast food and heat them up in the microwave oven. This looks unhealthy so I often buy some fruit and vegetables, putting them in the refrigerator, washing and cutting into slices before eating. Therefore, it is impossible for college students who have no kitchen in their dorms to cook a meal, instead, most of them prefer to buy some frozen food from the supermarket, such as frozen delicatessen, frozen vegetable blends, frozen chicken rings, frozen pizza. It is quite convenient to make frozen food because all the things you have to do before you can eat them is to put them into microwave oven and wait for about 3 minutes. Instant noodle is also one of the easiest food to make. I always buy a box of instant noodles when going to the supermarket. However, I think instant noodle are so unhealthy that eating them too often will have negative effect on our health. Sometimes, many college students even eat some snacks as a meal to satisfy their stomach since it is even easier than heating up frozen food.

Also, most college students eat for convenience because they do not have a reasonable class schedule. Many college students have classes during the lunch time, which means they do not have time to have lunch at school cafeteria. Most of time, they will bring small snacks, take-away food and some drinks to the classes. My friends and I have class at 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and we have to run the whole way during the 10-minute break between two classes. So we often buy some desserts and coffees at Jazzman’s and then bring them to the class, otherwise, we will have lunch after 2 p.m. Therefore, the convenience of food is extremely important for college student under such situations. At this point, the convenience food means quickly made, easy to take away and easy to eat.

Eating habits

Hortwiz found that a large number of people are used to eat alone instead of eating with family and colleagues around a big table. Eating in front of the computer, eating at class and even eating hurriedly in the street are very common at present, while eating as a group becomes rarer and rarer. So he considers the eating habit of people now as “eating on the edge”. Hortwiz starts his analysis with the representative instance of soup. In the past, people liked to have soup with a big pot since many people ate together and shared the same soup. Nonetheless, many manufacturers now serve out the soup into single-serving packages because of the trend of eating alone and eating at different places. Ordering food for one person, people do not have to care about others’ taste any more since all the things they need to do are ordering whatever they like and take away the food. Also, the size of the packages is exactly fit many car’s cup holder. The portability of the new packaged soup makes it popular among numerous people, encouraging them to eat at different places they like. Moreover, he mentioned the eating habit of crews in space flight. It is common to see some of them eating food when working at computers. Therefore, many astronauts prefer eating on the run and eating alternatively. Another eating habit mentioned in the article is eating in timeless time. Numerous people do not follow the normal eating schedule; they eat whenever they like. It is common for many university students as well. University student are always in a rush heading for classes. So they usually order some food during the break between the classes and take away them to class and dorm; some may even eat when they are walking. My friends and I always have class during the lunch time, so we have to eat lunch after 2 p.m. However, we still like to eat together. We chat a lot when eating together, sharing our happiness and strengthening our friendship. Chatting with friends at dinner will effectively relax me after studying for a whole day.

Food culture and values of university students

Jazzman’s Café & Bakery is a cafeteria style coffee shop with some small eats. It is located on the second floor in Driscoll. During weekdays, most of the customers are the students of University of Denver. Some students just order a cup of coffee with some dessert and take them away in that they are always in a rush heading for classes. According to these students, the food values of them are convenience and fast. Fortunately, most food in Jazzman’s is take-away food, which is so convenient for university students and effectively saves their time. Also, many students coming alone will sit at the bar and the single tables near the windows, drinking coffee, eating dessert and studying, while numerous students coming as a group may sit around the big tables or sit on the sofa in the lounge area after ordering some food. Most of time, they will discuss group project and do the homework together. Sometimes, they just eat bread and chat with each other, recharging and relaxing themselves during the break time between classes. At the weekend, most of the customers are visitors. Always, a large group of high school students and their parents come to Jazzman’s together, ordering some food and drinks after walking around the campus, relaxing and feeling the comfortable atmosphere in Driscoll. Thereby, it is not hard to find that the main target customers of Jazzman’s are university students.

As I mentioned above, different tables in Jazzman’s such as single table, big table, sofa and the bar, satisfy various demands of students, which makes Jazzman’s a good place for them to study, eating and chatting in their spare time. Customers can either stay for a long time or a short time. Also, they may also meet some people that they never talked to before and then get to know each other. Jazzman’s, therefore, offers students opportunities to make more friends in their school life.

Not just the tables, but also the food make Jazzman’s a comfortable place. The main stuff in Jazzman’s is coffee. It offers many kinds of coffee; and most importantly, Jazzman’s brews only 100% sustainably sourced coffees from individual farming cooperatives, which is healthy and high-quality. Meanwhile, I find that most students like to drink coffee when they want to relax and recharge themselves. Thus, coffee is a kind of comfort food for many university students. Also, numerous students like to eat pastries, cookies and muffins in Jazzman’s because of their freshness; they are all baked fresh every morning, right in the store. And the fruit in Jazzman’s has everyday value too. So the food in Jazzman’s has both good taste and high quality. Chocolate croissant, brownie and cupcakes in Jazzman’s are my favorite. They are my comfort food because eating them makes me happy. Last weekend I observed that many students ordered hot chocolate and white mocha. I ordered both of them because they both smelled good. Furthermore, they were neither too sweet nor too diluted, which is the desired taste for most people. However, hot chocolate and coffee made by different staff taste different. That’s inevitable but won’t have too much influence.

There are often two staffs working together. The staffs in Jazzman’s are always smiling and happy. I often see them following the music, singing and dancing with joy. Their optimistic and jubilant mind will always have a positive effect on me, especially when I talk to them after having a bad day. So I really enjoy the relaxing atmosphere in Jazzman’s.  Also, the atmosphere in Jazzman’s is always quiet because many students will study when they are eating and it is close to the Penrose library.  Jazzman’s often plays dynamic music in the morning and plays soul music in the afternoon. The arrangement of the music is really reasonable since dynamic music cheers people up at the beginning of the day, while soul music makes people feel relax after studying for the whole day. Therefore, people coming to Jazzman not only because of the food it supplies but as well, the comfortable atmosphere there.  At this point, the food value of many Americans is eating for pleasure.

Moreover, the staffs of Jazzman’s all wear green t-shirt, the style of which is not very fashion but the green color looks comfortable and symbolizes freshness of the food supplied. Therefore, the fresh fruit, bread and the green t-shirt indicate the food culture of Jazzman’s and a large amount of Americans - eating health and fresh. As the article “Authenticity in America” said, food preferences and food value people are looking for are closely related to their educational level; well-educated people mainly focus on the health of food. University students have comparatively high education level, which means, they may pay more attention on the nutrition and healthiness of the food, which is one of the reasons why these students like Jazzman’s.

From all the thick observations mentioned above, I am able to come to the conclusion that the food culture and values of most university students are eating for convenience, pleasure and health. A large number of university students like to take away the food right after ordering them because of the increasingly rapid pace of school life today. Take-away food brings a lot of convenience to university students and gradually becomes an indispensable food for them.  Moreover, coffee is one of the comfort food for many university students because drinking coffee will relax and quick recharge them in their spare time, therefore, drinking coffee reveals their food value of eating for pleasure. Also, numerous students enjoy the relaxing atmosphere in Jazzman’s and prefer studying and chatting there, which brings them pleasure and shows their food value too. Last but not least, eating health is becoming one of the most popular concerns in present-day society. As the article “The Importance of Healthy Eating” said, “healthy eating is important in order to prevent illness.” Masses of people from middle and upper classed are focusing more on the healthiness of food, so do the university students. Thus, Jazzman’s is the right place, providing university students with convenience, pleasure and health.

http://www.jazzmanscafe.com/beverages.html