I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 138



Only Noblemtl

Episode 138: Sad Ending

Is cooking an art?

This is a controversial question. But if someone were to ask me this question, I would say no. Art, fashion, and music are passed down to future generations in the form the creator intended. But with cooking, the only way to pay the creator the highest compliment is to be completely consumed and disappear.

However, the reason why this topic does not die down is probably because of the similarity in the process of art and cooking. Both artists and chefs create their beliefs and philosophies in the form of artifacts with a form. They are similar in that inspiration plays the most important role in this process.

So where should we get our inspiration from?

I am not an artist, so I don’t know their circumstances. But in my case, at least, I couldn’t get much inspiration from other people’s cooking. There was little room for my imagination to intervene in the already completed form of the dish. Instead, my past experiences and the works of the masters I saw in the art museum were my sources of inspiration.

Today, on a holiday, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue to look at paintings. Among them, the one that caught my eye the most was a painting by an unknown artist depicting a Roman banquet. The painting depicted a scene of a banquet with several men dressed in togas (a traditional Roman one-piece dress) lying sideways on sofas, eating and enjoying food.

Before conquering the Italian peninsula, the Romans were nothing more than a small nomadic group. They ate a porridge called puls, made by boiling grains in water or milk, for all three meals a day, and this is generally considered to be the origin of the polenta eaten in northern Italy today.

The Romans, who had been eating such a simple diet, finally drove out Carthage around 200 BC and took over the granary regions of Sicily and North Africa, which led to a major change in their food culture.

They brought in abundant food ingredients from all over the Mediterranean and brought in chefs from the Middle East, where food culture was developed, and made them slaves. And after 2,000 years, they finally became the most influential culinary power in the world. This is truly an irony of history.

As you walk, the era naturally moves to the Middle Ages.

It could be said that the revival of medieval Europe was truly driven by salt. Venice was a place that flourished through the salt trade, and Liverpool, England, was able to grow from a small fishing village to a representative city of England only after a huge rock salt mine was discovered nearby.

When I think of salt, I think back to when I first came to America. At that time, I thought Western food had too much salt. But now that I have gained enough knowledge and experience, I think a little differently.

The average daily sodium intake in Korea is 4877.5mg, which is 2.5 times more than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Then, what about the United States, where Koreans come to visit and say that the food is too salty to eat?

Surprisingly, it is 2/3 of the level in our country. Also, most European countries are lower or similar to this level. Even when we go to Japan, we often complain that the food is salty, but even there, the level is 3/4 of the level in Korea.

The government, realizing the seriousness of the problem, carried out continuous campaigns and was able to significantly reduce sodium intake in the 2020s, but this is the current situation.

So why do we find food in other countries salty even though we consume much more sodium?

The biggest reason is that the saltiness is masked by other tastes. Western countries only add saltiness in the form of salt. However, Korea, with its developed intestines, has various routes for adding sodium, which may be one reason.

The temperature of the food also has a big impact.

Hot food tricks the tongue. Hot temperatures give the tongue a great stimulation. This stimulation is so strong that the sense of other tastes becomes dull. Ramen broth, which cools down and reveals its objective salinity, is much saltier than we expect. It is no coincidence that Korea and China, which enjoy boiling hot food, have the highest sodium intake in the world.

Another reason is that sweetness and spiciness neutralize saltiness. The sweetness of sugar neutralizes saltiness. Spicy taste, like hot food, gives a strong stimulus to the tongue and numbs the sensitive senses.

‘Are you hiding the taste?’

I stood in front of the painting for a long time, thinking about the inspiration that suddenly came to me, so as not to miss it. How long did I stand there? Someone tapped me on the shoulder and spoke to me.

“Chef Shin Je-hee?”

Only then did I come out of my deep thoughts.

“Yes, that’s right. Excuse me, who are you?”

He was a sharp-looking man wearing a black suit. He gave off the vibe of someone who worked in the military or intelligence community.

“The First Lady would like to see you for a moment. Would you like to join her?”

It was funny that the First Lady wanted to meet me at an art museum in New York.

“All right.”

I followed his lead down the hallway. He led me into an area marked “No Entry for Authorized Personnel” and led me into a room. I opened the door and entered, and saw a small living room. Michelle Obama was sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee.

“Nice to meet you, Ma’am.”

I bowed my head politely toward her in the Korean style.

One thing I have learned from living in America for a long time is that they are very fond of Asians showing respect to them through their customs. And even without this reason, she is a person who is not lacking in showing enough respect.

“Oh! Don’t do that, Jehee. Call me Michelle. I still feel awkward with that title.”

Michelle greets me with a broad smile.

“I came to see the paintings today on my own schedule. Then I happened to see the chef. I suddenly wanted to ask for his opinion, so I know it’s rude, but I decided to invite him.”

She politely apologizes to me. New York is the cultural and economic center of the world. It is located in the East, not far from Washington, where the White House is located, so she seems to visit often.

“It is an honor.”

“Do you come to the art museum often? You seem to be looking at the paintings very intently.”

“Cooking requires constant inspiration. Art museums are a never-ending source of inspiration for me. They are an endless source of inspiration. I am fortunate that New York has many world-class art museums.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has never lost its place among the top five museums in the world in terms of number of visitors. With the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Natural History, New York is a truly heavenly environment for me.

“Thank you for saying that. It’s a source of pride for America. I know you’re busy, so let’s get straight to the point.”

“I will listen.”

“You may have seen it on TV, but I’m working hard these days to reform school lunches. America is sick, and it’s really getting sick from the root causes. The obesity rate in the US is 35.9%. That’s the highest in the world. For reference, the OECD average is 22.2%. What do you think the figure is in Korea?”

I guess the reason she called me wasn’t just because I’m a famous chef.

“I think it will be very low.”

“It’s 4.1%. Korea, along with Japan, has incredibly healthy eating habits, with 3.7%. We’ve been studying this for a long time. And we’ve analyzed the reasons. Experts say there are three main reasons. These include behavioral patterns and cultural influences. We can’t change this.”

“I agree.”

“But you can change your eating habits, which are the biggest cause of obesity.”

‘No. It can’t be changed.’

I wanted to say that to Michelle, but I kept quiet.

“American children are fed hamburgers and cola from a very young age, and that’s in school lunches. Pasta and pizza are also major foods that undermine healthy eating habits.”

Pasta is a dish that is nutritionally biased toward carbohydrates. Italians eat fresh salads and protein and supplement their lack of carbohydrates with pasta, but the situation in the United States is completely different. They put a lot of cheese and meat in pasta to create a monstrosity. Just looking at the fact that the obesity rate in Italy, where pasta is a staple food, is 9.8%, you can see that obesity in the United States is not a problem of pasta or pasta, but as an Italian chef, I felt uncomfortable.

“Korean children eat a variety of vegetables from a young age. Seafood, which Koreans love, is also a low-fat, high-protein, healthy food. Scholars say that various lactic acid bacteria from seaweed and fermented foods are also important factors. However, we cannot force our people to eat Korean or Japanese food. This is where the problem began. In the end, the areas we can control are very limited.”

“It’s a vegetable.”

“Yes. Of course, there are laws that require a certain amount of vegetables to be included in school meals. But food companies get around it. They do it with fries and tomato ketchup, which is ridiculous. Do you think these two things are vegetables, Mr. Shin?”

“Botanically, potatoes are vegetables, but nutritionally, they are grains.”

The main ingredient of potatoes is starch, or carbohydrate. In addition, they are high in calories, so much so that they have long been used as a substitute for grains in Europe. How far will the lobbying power of American food companies go to circumvent vegetable regulations by even frying these potatoes?

“How about tomato ketchup?”

“Needless to say, it’s just a processed food whose main ingredient is sugar.”

Ketchup is made up of a little bit of tomato and mostly corn syrup.

“It’s realistically difficult to abolish this. There are too many companies involved. So I’m trying to get around it.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which I led, is about to pass Congress. French fries and ketchup are more calories than you need. If you limit high school students to 850 calories a day, they’re going to have to find another way.

“We are currently in the process of researching a diet for this. We have consulted with over 2,000 chefs and have almost finished putting together a diet that satisfies both calories and nutrients.”

Knowing the sad ending to this story, it was difficult for me to react.

Her bill is so radical and out of touch with reality that Michelle is hoping that the school lunches that this bill will change will feature fresh salads and seafood, but the reality is harsh. I couldn’t tell her that a carton of low-fat milk, a roll of processed sausage, a bag of crackers, and an apple will be all the kids get for lunch.

“I would like to hear from Chef Shin here. American children need a low-calorie, healthy diet.”

Regardless of what I think, she continues talking.

“Michelle, it has to be a meal that kids can enjoy. No matter how healthy the food is, it’s useless if they don’t eat it.”

This time, I hoped that her diet would not be ignored by the children. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a positive result. I returned to the restaurant after giving her advice that probably wouldn’t work. And I tried to recall the inspiration that had come to me at the art museum.

‘It’s a matter of taste.’

I think I can finally decide on a theme for the new course.