Spoiled to Perfection
By its very nature, food begins to spoil at the moment it's harvested or caught. Early man had to eat his food quickly before it spoiled and then immediately scrounge for his next meal, living a constant cycle of feast or famine. An unpredictable food supply was why prehistoric men and women lived as nomads - constantly moving from one source of food to the next. Once our nomadic forefathers and fore-mothers discovered the basics of food preservation, and they settled down and built communities, civilization began to take root. Since then, techniques such as pickling, fermenting, curing, spicing, salting, and curdling - to name but a few - have been used to preserve otherwise perishable food against an uncertain future. Today in America fresh food is at our fingertips, available in ways that were unimagined even a couple of generations back. So - in the land of plenty and in a time of astounding abundance - what is the appeal of often arcane and labor-intensive methods of food preservation? The answer is...taste! Spoiled to Perfection focuses on how pickling, fermentation and other culinary alchemy enhance the flavor and the nutritional value of raw foods in amazing and unexpected ways. STP will be shot principally in Sonoma County, known world-wide for its wide variety of artisanal foods. Stretching from Mendocino in the north to Marin to the south, the county teems with entrepreneurs making wine, craft beer, cider and spirits. Countless kitchens bustle with everyone from professional chefs to home cooks exploring the mysteries of pickled, fermented, spiced, aged and dried foods. As any foodie can attest, you can't turn a corner in towns from Healdsburg to Petaluma without running into an eatery or merchant offering kombucha, kimchi, fermented meats and cheeses. This show will unlock the magic behind these foods and demonstrate how they transform a raw ingredient into something that is spoiled to perfection.
