Enablers of Bold Flavor: Episode 19 (5-20-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/20/19

Our final day had us taking a fishing trip around Hingham. This was in part to explore the nature of fishing culture and commercialism, and also as a way to check up on our lobster traps.

Our goal for day was to catch bait fish or more specifically mackerel. These are the fish used as bait for our lobster traps and we had assumed that the bait would have been mostly eaten by now. After hours of fishing without luck, we decided to head straight for the lobster traps and see what we could do there.

Our lobster traps unfortunately were full of crabs. Spider and Asian Shore Crabs lined our traps and no lobster were found.

Hours for the Day: 6
Fishing: 5 Hours
Lobster Trap: 1 Hour

Total Hours: 100 Hours!

Enablers of Bold Flavor: Episode 18 (5-19-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/19/19

Today was spent mostly working on our essays and our artistic component which will be a small poster-board. We wanted the poster-board to reflect our essay and describe what we’ve been up to the last three weeks. This is has included getting materials from the craft store, and writing our essays for express fest. Our process involved mostly sitting down and writing and brainstorming what we would want to include on our poster.

Hours for the Day: 4.25
Essay Writing: 1.75 Hours
Poster Work: 1 Hour
Blogs and Photos: 1.5 Hours

Total Hours: 94

Enablers of Bold Flavor: Episode 17 (5-18-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/18/19

Today we were able to see some local foods as today was the annual Taste of Hingham. But before that we took some time to talk to a local barbecue company.

Our next stop was Taste of Hingham. This event was held on Main Street in Hingham and featured many food vendors and organizations that are local to the area. Bloomy Rind, French Memories, and Nonas were just a few of the vendors at the event. Here we were able to talk to many people related to food in Hingham, not just restaurant owners. The amount of diversity found here at taste of Hingham was impressive and showcased a lot of the unique cuisine a small town like Hingham has to offer. Local favorites like PEEL Pizza Company to Wahlburgers made an appearance with different ways of piquing interest.

Shortly after this we attended the Hingham Farmers Market where we were able to speak to many local food producers and vendors about the work they do in the Boston Area. Exploring the different food and people around the market was quite interesting as everything from food items such as honey and lobsters to candles were on there.

Hours for the Day: 6 Hours
Barbecue: 1 Hour
Farmers Market: 2 Hours
Taste of Hingham: 3 Hours

Total Hours:
89.75

Weekly Reflection 3

Alex Muromcew

Senior Project

5/19/19

This final week has been a very exciting time for us. Many of our projects came to fruition as the weather improved (16/19 days it has rained). In addition, baking bread, and making cheese have enriched our time on senior project.

Much of last week was preparing some of our bigger projects for this week. It was relieving and exciting to finally put them into action as they required plenty of work. The bee boxes so far are thriving and have been low maintenance once the sun came out and the bees were able to get to their own work. As the weather continues to improve and the hives develops further, Tommy will be able to put his honey plan into play, however with our time constraints, we will have to wait and see. Much of the work and the hours spent on these boxes have justified themselves as the quality of the job done is noticeably much higher and has everything looking much more professional. The painting will ensure that the hives last longer especially since it has been so rainy.

The lobster traps were also an exciting project to finally launch. One of our days was committed to finding and dropping the traps in Hingham harbor. Our three traps so far, having checked them once, have collected crabs but that’s okay since we still have a day or two to let them trap lobsters.

One of our favorite parts of this week had to have been baking bread and making cheese. Both processes were time intensive but very rewarding. Baking bread had quicker gratification since it was ready to eat straight out of the oven while the cheese still needs to age. Both activities were not only fun, but allowed us to see how intensive they are, and how much more complex it is to produce these products commercially, rather than just by two schmucks in a kitchen.

Enablers of Bold Flavor: Episode 16 (5-16-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/16/19

Today we finally dropped our lobster traps. We left the house in the morning to catch the high tide and scope out where we would drop our traps. We decided to space ourselves around Sheep’s Island near Hingham Harbor. We made sure to not be close to any commercial fisherman as in Tommy’s experience, they will cut your lines if you get too close. Totally understandable since it is their livelihood but still a bummer.

The next part of our day took us back to land where we toured Turkey Hill Farm. Here livestock and produce are all kept with a ton of land tucked away close to Cohasset. Unfortunately we were not able to get an interview here but we were able to observe the processes that happen here. During the summer, the farm is much more lively with camps and programs happening. When we returned home, we decided that we couldn’t keep cows so we instead began gardening vegetables. We overturned the gardens with new soil and began throwing plants into the ground. Pretty wholesome...

Our last piece was interviewing Lexi Smith from Natured, a fresh food delivery service. She specializes in delivering fresh and local foods to people in the Boston area. Her company so far has been finding success but there are of course some challenges. One of the hardest especially at this time is advertising accurately, the stock of food that can be delivered since the seasons are changing and some foods are becoming more abundant, and some going out of season. However her business has been great at connecting local farmers to the rest of the community. 

Hours for the Day: 7.5 Hours

Lobster Situation: 3 Hours

Farm Tour: 1 Hour

Gardening: 2 Hours

Checking Bee Hives: .5 Hours

Lexi Interview: 1 Hour

Total Hours: 83.75 Hours

Enablers of Bold Flavor: Episode 15 (5-15-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/15/19

Today we went on a field trip to Gloucester! Our drive up had us exploring one of the food systems in Gloucester, the fishing industry. When we arrived we went straight to the Fisherman’s Wharf to learn about the current state of the fishing industry.

From what we learned, there is still a strong industry in Gloucester, but the tourism industry has taken away a lot of focus from it and has negative impacts on the culture of the town. One anecdote we heard was how some people would buy second homes in Gloucester as a getaway in a fishing town, but then complain about the facilities being loud, or smelling, or being unsightly. It is conflicting ideals like these that disrupt the current industry. We watched as fisherman brought in their catch to be sorted and weighed. Crates upon crates of fish were being stacked and filled and the scale of the industry in Gloucester was revealed.

 

We were also shown an in progress version of their delivery program. This company hopes to be able to process and package fish in house, and then deliver it to peoples homes. This is done by taking the fresh fish and vacuum sealing it and putting it on ice before trucking it out. There are challenges associated with this as it is hard to predict what catch will come in that day, making advertising challenging. However there is currently a functioning site and service so if you’re near Gloucester give it a try.

Our next stop was Virgilio's, a local sandwich shop. We interviewed them and asked similar questions about the dynamic in Gloucester between tourism and the popular fishing industry and found they had similar opinions. We then asked about their establishment and their history in Gloucester. They originally opened in 1934, and then began to expand all over Cape Ann. In 1954, they moved locations to where they are now on Main st. The business has always been a mom and pop run take out Italian restaurant. For three generations the shop has been passed down through the family. Their sandwiches and other foods have found them acclaim from large tourism companies such as Lonely Planet.

Hours for the Day: 6 Hours
Commute: 3 Hours
Tour: 2 Hours
Virgilios: 1 Hour

Total Hours: 76.75 Hours

Enablers of Bold Flavor: Episode 14 (5-14-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/14/19

Today we finished up our cheese making process... for now. We are trying to make a cheddar cheese, which requires tons of pressing. We continued to do this as its last step until we let it age. As of now we will let it dry and aerate until we return to campus.

The bulk of our day was then centered around bread. We started with visiting French Memories, a bakery in the nearby town of Cohasset. We were able to ask a few questions and get a feel for how the bakery runs itself. One facet of the business that seems obvious but dictates the pace of the shop is the awkward hours bakers have to work to deliver fresh products each day. Sometimes the work day starts at 11 pm the previous day. After hearing this we realized we are not going to be going into the baking business. Beyond this the tourist seasons also heavily affect the flow and pace of the business since it is obviously more hectic in the summer than say in the winter.

Next we decided to try our hands at bread baking. We decided to try two different styles of loaves. Tommy had a French loaf and I had a homemade wonder bread jawn. The process was long but much more involved than Cheesemaking. The kneading, rising, and baking process was very satisfying to carry out. My loaf required, salt, lard, sugar, yeast, water, and flour. My dough also only required two rises, whereas Tommys needed three. When we had finished we were impressed by our toils. The loaves were surprisingly good to eat with even baking. We will continue to experiment with baking now that we have some idea of what the hell is going on.

Hours For the Day: 6 Hours
Cheese: 1 Hour
French Memories: 1 Hour
Baking: 4 Hours

Total Hours: 70.75 Hours