Unfortunately, there isn’t a straight-forward answer to that
question – or rather, if there is, I haven’t found it.
My very simplified way of thinking about this subject is to
imagine the production of food occurring on a continuum – at one end we find
foods produced with minimal inputs and processing (for example, a bunch of wild
dandelion greens you gather on an outing and sauté for dinner) and at the
opposite end we find foods produced in a laboratory (for example, certain vitamin
supplements). Artisanal foods tend to be
produced closer to the first end of the continuum, whereas industrial foods
tend to be produced closer to the middle and the second end of the continuum.
Most of the foods I listed in my December 23 posting can be
both artisanally as well as industrially produced. Take, for example, pasta: De Cecco pastas are
an industrial product (they’re produced in large quantities through mostly
automated processes and distributed globally) whereas the fresh pasta I
purchase from my local pastificio is
an artisanal product (it is produced in limited quantities through
semi-automated processes and distributed locally). Another example: the sliced Citterio Prosciutto
di Parma I buy at Costco is an industrial product whereas the hunk of prosciutto di montagna my in-laws
snuck in to the States over the holidays is an artisanal product.Both types of food have a place in my kitchen. De Cecco spaghetti is great for an informal
meal, but when I want to dress things up I usually opt for fresh pasta. The Citterio Prosciutto is delicious wrapped
around a piece of cantaloupe, but the prosciutto
di montagna makes a delicate addition to a sophisticated plate of affettati. Occasion determines choice.
But not all industrial foods make it into my kitchen, in
fact most don’t. For example, I much
prefer the taste of heritage poultry to the taste of mass-produced
poultry. I don’t like most of the snacks
carried by convenience stores. I’m not a
big fan of soft drinks. On the other hand, artisanal production requires
highly skilled and knowledgeable craftspeople -- and there aren't that many hanging about unfortunately. So the quality of artisanal foods can vary dramatically from the sublime to the revolting. I’ve tried, for instance, a number of costly artisanal
cheeses that tasted bland or lacked balance, as well as a number of fresh
pastas that were truly nasty.
Reflecting back on Jill Pelletieri’s article, many of the
foods purchased by and incorporated into the meals offered at high-end restaurants would probably be best classified as
artisanal rather than industrial, but as with the artisanal foods you would buy
for your own kitchen, there’s no guarantee that what’s served is going to be
good. Labels (artisanal/industrial) only
mean so much – the actual experience is what really counts.
7:18:35 AM 
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