The more you know, the less you really know. Or something like that. When I was younger, I seemed to know everything. At least I had an answer for everything, and it always came packaged in a simple and tidy explanation. Now I have more questions than answers. And the answers I do have feel as untidy as my unmade bed and the floor of our office that doubles as a play area for Hal.
This post was created in partnership with Milk Life. Milk is one of the original farm-to-table foods. Did you know milk typically arrives on grocery store shelves in just 48 hours, on average, after leaving the farm? In fact, 97% of the dairy farms in the US are family-owned. To learn more about milk’s journey from the farm to the table, visit milklife.com.
Lately, I’ve been wondering why we don’t teach kids to cook in school, just like we teach them to add and read—necessary survival skills for life. I took a 6-week Home Economics class in middle school. I can’t remember how to use a sewing machine, but I wouldn’t remember how to multiply either if I only took one class. If I had it my way, Home Econ would sit permanently on the schedule next to history and math. By the time kids graduate high school, they’d have a basic cooking knowledge. That’s my tidy answer to the question—should everyone be food literate?
But then I wonder, is my life too immersed in food? Am I so passionate about it, that I’m overestimating its importance? I still come back to the answer that feeding yourself, at a very basic level, is necessary for survival. And if you’re anything like me, your day is scheduled around meal times.
Like math, I’d hope that we teach food the long way first, without a calculator. We’d milk a cow (or watch this video on how milk goes from the farm to the store), pick apples from a tree, grow something in the dirt, and pull eggs from the hen house. I always seem to appreciate things more when I understand the how.
I recognize that a life immersed in food has landed me right here. It was only after starting a food blog that I bought rhubarb for the first time and picked my first apple from a tree. That I tried drying fresh herbs to make dried herbs, growing vegetables in a raised bed (and failed), and making pasta noodles from scratch.
You know when you say a word over and over again, and it begins to lose its meaning? I think that happens with the natural redundancy and availability of food. In case Home Econ is not a standing class by the time Hal enters school, I’m teaching her where food comes from and how to cook with it. I hope she understands that vegetables come from the dirt and apples grow on the trees, not the grocery store shelf. That milk comes from a cow and gives her natural, high-quality protein, protein that helps give her energy. She flexes her muscles again at my protein reminder before finishing the topping off the Apple Crumb Muffin she helped make. I think she’s startin to get it.
I guess that’s my untidy, long-form answer to the question: should we increase our food literacy? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
These Apple Crumb Muffins are a nice introduction into fall baking. Make the night before for an easy breakfast. Use a sturdy, sweet apple and grate it as you would a block of cheese. The glaze is optional, but don’t skip the crumble if you can help it!
Ingredients
Scale
Crumble:
1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter, diced
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of kosher salt
Wet:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
1/4 c. whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. grated apple, peeled (one large apple)
Dry:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Glaze (optional):
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. whole milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F degrees. Line muffin tin with parchment paper. Set aside. Assemble the crumble. Place all the crumble ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Begin preparing the wet ingredients. In a small saucepan, melt butter on low until half melted. Set aside to continue melting and cooling. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.
To the melted butter, whisk in all the remaining wet ingredients, except for the apples, until evenly combined. Grate apples as you’d grate cheese. Add apples and the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir until just combined. Using a 2-ounce spring release scoop, evenly distribute batter in prepared tin. Using your hands, mix together crumble until a loose cohesion forms. Top the muffins with the crumble. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until the center is firm to the touch. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before glazing.
Make the glaze. In a small bowl, stir together all the glaze ingredients until smooth. Pour into a ziplock bag. Cut a tiny corner off the end of the bag and pipe glaze in a back and forth motion. Allow to harden before serving. Muffins are best after a rest. Make the night before for an easy morning breakfast. Store in a loosely covered container, allowing just a little air to get in for up to 4 days.
Prep Time:25 minutes
Cook Time:18 minutes
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Totally agree on the food literacy aspect. My mom taught us to be comfortable in the kitchen from an early age and it went a long way. I was absolutely shocked when I got to college what some people were eating, I even had one roommate ask me how to make scrambled eggs (as a 22 year old).
As always, beautifully written with great images. Love your style.
YES I think food literacy is so important! Learning about farm practices helps you appreciate the big food system as a whole and certainly helps you make better choices. And being able to connect the dots from seed to plate is something I think more people should know. Not to mention the fun cooking part 🙂 Loving this post and these muffins! xoxo
Yes! Yes! Yes! Food literacy and how to cook should be taught in middle school. Our small, private k-8 grade school has just begun the route to teaching life skills classes…and I’m thrilled to be teaching the cooking class!
The muffins look great! I hope to try to make it soon.
I agree with you that food literacy is important. It affects our daily lives and our health. Actually, it also affects our daily expenses especially when eating out is so expensive in US. In Singapore, we have Home Economics classes as part of the school curriculum for half a school year and then Technical class for the other half for our secondary schools (age 13-16). I don’t think I fully comprehended all the cooking classes at that age though. I think my college Nutrition 101 class had a bigger impact for me.
I only took cooking and nutrition more seriously when I started living independently. I’m sure it’s even more important for people like you who have kids because it’s increasingly easy to make the wrong food choices these days.
I totally agree on the food literacy part. I feel that we are moving in the right direction with more population level nutrition education/Farm to School pushes etc. I heard Alice Waters talk about her Edible Garden curriculum and while it was very neat and absolutely standards based and integrated all subjects into the garden, not something that would work in the school I worked in….
I completely agree that home ec (and other real life skills) should be a part of school curriculum! Home ec was already phasing out of my small school district because of funding cuts when I was in high school, and they focused more on teenage life coping skills than anything else the one year I did take it. Cooking came in the form of boxed cake mixes, but now it’s not available at all 🙁 Thanks for this post, it’s good food for thought! (Ha, see what I did there, lol) also, those muffins look delicious! 🙂
Melissa, your posts are such a balm. Thank you for these magical muffins and your lovely words and stories, which always make me smile. I love this question — I think food literacy is always a good thing, especially when the food we make is so tied up in memories, loved ones, and traditions. Happy that Hal has her awesome mama to guide her!
Does it matter what kind of apple you use?
Totally agree on the food literacy aspect. My mom taught us to be comfortable in the kitchen from an early age and it went a long way. I was absolutely shocked when I got to college what some people were eating, I even had one roommate ask me how to make scrambled eggs (as a 22 year old).
As always, beautifully written with great images. Love your style.
These look so tasty, I may need to make these this weekend! Great recipe and I love your site.
Cheers
Tara http://www.coastapus.com
YES I think food literacy is so important! Learning about farm practices helps you appreciate the big food system as a whole and certainly helps you make better choices. And being able to connect the dots from seed to plate is something I think more people should know. Not to mention the fun cooking part 🙂 Loving this post and these muffins! xoxo
Yes! Yes! Yes! Food literacy and how to cook should be taught in middle school. Our small, private k-8 grade school has just begun the route to teaching life skills classes…and I’m thrilled to be teaching the cooking class!
The muffins look great! I hope to try to make it soon.
I agree with you that food literacy is important. It affects our daily lives and our health. Actually, it also affects our daily expenses especially when eating out is so expensive in US. In Singapore, we have Home Economics classes as part of the school curriculum for half a school year and then Technical class for the other half for our secondary schools (age 13-16). I don’t think I fully comprehended all the cooking classes at that age though. I think my college Nutrition 101 class had a bigger impact for me.
I only took cooking and nutrition more seriously when I started living independently. I’m sure it’s even more important for people like you who have kids because it’s increasingly easy to make the wrong food choices these days.
Happy to see the return of Fall foods and these apple muffins!!!
I totally agree on the food literacy part. I feel that we are moving in the right direction with more population level nutrition education/Farm to School pushes etc. I heard Alice Waters talk about her Edible Garden curriculum and while it was very neat and absolutely standards based and integrated all subjects into the garden, not something that would work in the school I worked in….
I completely agree that home ec (and other real life skills) should be a part of school curriculum! Home ec was already phasing out of my small school district because of funding cuts when I was in high school, and they focused more on teenage life coping skills than anything else the one year I did take it. Cooking came in the form of boxed cake mixes, but now it’s not available at all 🙁 Thanks for this post, it’s good food for thought! (Ha, see what I did there, lol) also, those muffins look delicious! 🙂
Melissa, your posts are such a balm. Thank you for these magical muffins and your lovely words and stories, which always make me smile. I love this question — I think food literacy is always a good thing, especially when the food we make is so tied up in memories, loved ones, and traditions. Happy that Hal has her awesome mama to guide her!
I LOVE your writing and photos! You’re definitely my biggest branding inspiration 🙂