AVECHAT: I ramble, therefore I am

By Howie LevitzPrint Story | Email Story
I remember my Mom’s mom as being a pretty neat lady, and I enjoyed it when she babysat me for an evening or even an entire weekend when my folks escaped from whatever — me probably. Grandma did this strange thing with some proper nouns. For example, the big white icebox in the kitchen was a frigidaire, even though it wasn’t specifically manufactured by (in the interest of full disclosure) General Motors as a Frigidaire® brand refrigerator. Similarly, if my nose was runny, it was wiped with a kleenex. It didn’t matter if the paper was another brand or for that matter a wad of toilet paper, tissue was kleenex. Of course, (disclosure again) Kleenex® was born in 1924 to the Kimberly-Clark company. which introduced it as a cold-cream remover, but as marketers found more people using it as disposable handkerchiefs, the advertising was changed and it quickly became one of the world’s best known products. When dessert time rolled around at Grandma’s house, there was “always room for gelatin!” Knox, Jax, Royal, it didn‘t matter, they were all jello; more precisely, Jell-O® brand, which we all know is owned by Kraft Foods. I never got tired of singing that jingle “What’s for dessert?” Come on everybody, join in, “J-E-LL--Oooooo!” Unlike my aunt, Grandma’s imagination never got past adding fruit cocktail, and the canned pineapple never resisted suspension. Thanks to Rita Jones for pointing out that it’s fresh pineapple that’s the culprit, not canned. Jell-O is mainly protein, and fresh pineapple contains the enzyme bromelase, which breaks down proteins into amino acids. Papaya contains a functionally analogous enzyme that is actually so effective it is extracted and sold in such products as Schilling's® Meat Tenderizer. Oh: The natural enzyme in the fresh pineapple is irreversibly denatured by the heat treatment involved in the canning process, making it a suitable additive. So, Jell-O is protein? Sorry you had to ask. Yes, Virginia, gelatin is made from dead animal skins and bones, spinal cords, tendons, ligaments — even hooves and sometimes fish skin and scales. And yes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published a paper, “The Sourcing and Processing of Gelatin to Reduce the Potential Risk Posed by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in FDA-Regulated Products for Human Use,” in response to the omnipresent concern over Mad Cow disease. I am still seething over the fact that last week I couldn’t escape news reports of a third, unconfirmed preliminary suggestion of possible infection. While it was stressed that further tests were necessary to confirm the bovine as positive (which has since been declared a false alarm), my dessert plans and Thanksgiving Jell-O salad were all in temporary jeopardy. You know, there is one place we can get gelatin that's not from animals. It's from seaweed. Seaweed gelatin is called agar-agar and is more expensive. That's why you don't see much used as food for humans. It's the preferred medium scientists use in laboratories to grow bacteria. The bacteria eat it and get big and hairy in those little round lab dishes you sometimes see in the movies. By the way (we’ve gotten this far, we might as well exhaust the subject), gelatin has been used since the turn of the century almost exclusively as the binding medium and protective colloid for the light sensitive compounds in photographic films and prints. Yep, if not for Jell-O, I’d be looking for another “day job.” Go figure! Actually, we had Jell-O at our house only rarely. Dad said the only thing he ever wanted to see wiggling was Mom. Another food related item: A P.O.B. to Darra Goldstein, editor/founder of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. An international judging panel in Cannes on the French Riviera has awarded the publication its Prix D’Or - top honors in the food magazine category. Since 2001, Gastronomica has been known as “a brainy, lushly designed journal that wants to be serious about eating without losing the fun of it.” Okay, just one more food item and then I’ll stop, (for now). I hear that the refreshment theme at North Adams Downtown First Friday event tomorrow, is once again — chocolate! — along with other seasonal holiday goodies. So, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., visit participating locations for holiday activities and shopping enticements, trolley rides and origami, and enjoy musical performances by area musicians: Amanda, Bruce, Bernice, Charlie, Deena & Nathan, Eric & Elena, Lisa, Joel, Tony & Doone & Josh, Mike, Steve, and the Ladies Auxiliary Ukulele Orchestra, to name a few. Be sure to say “Hi” to artists Michael Mongue, who will be displaying selected paintings at Papyri Books on Main Street, and Paul Rousseau at Everything Art. Howie Levitz runs TGL/Traits by day and composes, plays and tunes pianos by night. In either case, he spends too much time in the dark talking to himself. Readers are encouraged to reach him at AdvocateAveChat@aol.com
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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