Cucina Futuristica is the english Blog of NewTritionInk.
In the 1990`s when I was working as a chef in the southeastern United States, I started writing the concept of my Cucina Futuristica. Back then I called it the Twentyfirst Century Cuisine and I started talking about NewTrition. The goal was to develope an independent point of view, about what a sustainable food pattern could be. I figured that something went wrong at that point of human evolution when our interlect interacted with our instincts, we began to eat a lot of trash.
So I formulated the "Bionic Foodchoice" - what would we eat if instincts would bundle our food packages ?
Writing a new chapter in nutritional understanding couldn´t possibly be better pronounced than NewTritionInk.
Through the years of furthering my education I became a cooktrainer and a nutritional counseler and specialized on edible wild plants.
Besides being employed as a cook I started organizing herb walks to help foraging beginners to master plant identification und cooking events to teach the basics about the preperation of wild plant food.
Very soon I learned that certain foreign weeds posed a major thread to our native biodiversity, such as Japanes Knotweed. Research showed that the only mention about this invasive plant was, what herbicide best works to kill it. And I learned that in 20 countries of the northern hemisphere this weed was eradicated with massive amounts of poison, even along rivers.
Nobody seemed to know about it`s nutritional value and culinary properties.
So in 2005 I initiated the Bionic Control of Japanese Knotweed, opened the Knottyfood Manufactory - introducing inasive plant species to our diet plan. I developed a counteract to the
chemical eradication of Japanese Knotweed by producing Jam and Relish
from it`s stalks, to show how delicious this plant is.
Better take a healthy bite out of the knotweed invasion than senselessly destroy it !
Meanwhile I am working with several noxious weeds.
My last seminar in August was about the Indian Balsam - Impatients glandulifera which is virtually unknown as being edible. I`ve been producing jelly from it`s flowers, since 2007.
Further Infos about "Nature Conservation with fork & Knife" - The Taste of Invasive Species, an Event at Urania, Berlin. Link
There will be posts in the future about my Wildfood Workshops - introducing edible wild plants as the most biological, seasonal and regional foodsource available.
I like to show, as an example, how Dandelion offers us 3 different foodsources by preparing a layer cake with its bottom layer seasoned with sirup made of the dandy root, the filling made of a delicious creme of dandy leaves and the topping a crust seasoned with dandelion flowers.
And of course I will post all activities of my "Agenda of Food Rescue" to prevent food waste.
Greetings from the Knottyfood Capitol of the World
Peter Becker
Wiesbaden, Germany
October 2013
NewTritionInk
