Nothing says it better than the Basic Home Canning course offered by the Cheltenham Adult School on Oct. 22 and 29. While emphasizing the latest technology and tips for food preservation, the class, taught by Penn State Cooperative Extension Service home economists, harks back to another time and to a need not discerned - or at least not satisfied - here in many years.
So strong is this return to basics that it's showing up even in professional kitchens.
Trained chefs and kitchen staffs understand the necessity of, and often benefit from, a refresher course or the perspective of outside experts.
That's why Ritz-Carlton executive chef Kai Lermen began inviting chefs from area restaurants to the hotel's kitchen to share their knowledge with his sous chefs and line cooks.
Fritz Blank, chef-owner of Center City's Deux Cheminees, led off the program in August.
"It was a unique experience," said Blank, who has taught classes for home cooks at his restaurant each spring and fall for 10 years (as part of the University of Pennsylvania's continuing-education program) and is a chef-adviser at the Restaurant School in University City.
Blank began the hotel class by talking about foods whose flavors "go together" naturally, such as quince and venison. He thought a Mexican pairing - melons and limes - would be familiar, but it brought bright smiles and wide-eyed attention from his tasters.
And a chorus of, "Ohhh, that's really good."
Even Blank's assumption that his students knew the correct way to hard-cook an egg prompted a few raised hands and voices asking, "How do you do it?" (See story below.)
