Agrogastronomy is emerging in the Czech Republic: What is it?
Czech cuisine (like any other) is agricultural. It is rooted in the local landscape, which, with the help of man, produces local ingredients and flavours. The newly emerging field of agrogastronomy therefore aims to explore the ancient and logical interdependence of cookery and agriculture, which need and complement each other. In the past, a similar field was called commodity science. We share its current declaration.
Relationships and textures
Agrogastronomy explores the relationship between agriculture and gastronomy. It helps to understand the connection between landscape, people and the food on the plate. It asks how circumstances in the field, orchard, stable or mill influence what we eat. He wants to know how the way milk is processed affects the texture of butter and why cheese tastes that way and not another. He is exploring how breed affects the flavour of meat and how much the quality of the flour is affected by the variety of wheat.
Through agrogastronomy, it is possible to see how carrots from the Highlands differ from those from the Polabí region, whether spring radishes really pinch differently from those harvested in the autumn, how much tastier a field tomato is compared to a harvest from a greenhouse, what makes the lard from a pig from Přestice stand out... and how all these aspects are reflected in the food we prepare in restaurants and homes.
Agrogastronomy is interested in how the origin, cultivation method and primary treatment of raw materials affect the taste, aroma, texture and value of the resulting food. It is a discipline that links the beginning and the end of the food chain.
From the primary producer to the consumer
Agriculture is the space, the physical and cultural environment in which raw materials are produced. It is made up not only of growers and breeders, but also of the so-called primary producers who carry out the first processing of the raw material in its most natural form, taking into account its quality and origin. A primary producer is a dairy farmer, miller, butcher, orchardist or winemaker, in short, someone who comes into contact with the raw material at the very beginning and works with the conviction that quality is created from the first moment.
Gastronomy is a discipline that transforms, transforms and elevates raw materials in kitchens. Just as farmers cultivate the soil, chefs subsequently cultivate raw materials into food, adding new value to them and using different techniques to change their taste, texture and appearance. The chef translates the raw material into a sensory experience, whether professional or home enthusiast, and is tasked with elevating it. The chef in the agrogastronomy concept is not only a skilled craftsman, but also an interpreter between the farmer and the diner.
Gastronomy mediates the raw material to the consumer. It holds one hand with the primary producer and the other with the eater, translates from one language to another and should properly honour the work of primary producers. The cook needs the farmer as much as the farmer needs the cook and both together determine what we eat today and what the world around us will look like tomorrow.
Everyone is a farmer. Everyone who decides what goes on their plate today and every day. We can be passive consumers or conscious participants. Agrogastronomy offers a way to reacquaint ourselves with what we eat, and why.
The equilateral triangle
The field of agrogastronomy can be seen as a triangle in which the aforementioned primary producer, the chef and the diner. In practice, the roles often overlap. One person can play all roles at the same time. This is why agrogastronomy has the power to connect and create a framework that allows the whole food cycle to be understood. The need of the hour is to be aware of how food processing shapes our culture and environment.
Examples of questions that agrogastronomy asks:
- How does the breed of an animal affect the taste of meat?
- How does the variety of wheat affect the quality of bread?
- Why does butter made from unpasteurised milk taste different than butter made from pasteurised milk?
- How does terroir affect the taste of cheese, wine, or apples?
Who is interested in agrogastronomy?
For anyone who has ever asked: "Why does this taste the way it does?"
For anyone who cares about the origins of food and its future.
Agrogastronomy can be about:
- Professional chefsThose who want a better and deeper understanding of the ingredients and context of our diets.
- Farmers and primary producers who want to know how their efforts and knowledge translate into the taste and overall quality of the raw materials and what the gastronomy or consumer expects from them.
- Gastronomes, journalists, educators, buyers, curators of food experiences.
- Laymen and food lovers who want to understand what they eat and buy.
