Sweetmood No30 - May 2022

Agroecology, the new cultural revolution Born more than eighty years ago as a response to the failure of the Green Revolution that imposed intensive crops everywhere which seriously endangering biodiversity, agroecology represents a unique opportunity to reconnect with the earth, respecting the life cycle determined by nature and not those determined by economic laws of supply and demand. Its system is based on searching for the connection between land, climate, gastronomy, health, food and culture. To do this, it bets on associated crops as long as they feed by proximity. Not only that, it also develops different techniques to promote pollination and, most importantly, it studies systems to improve soil protection. In general, agroecology respects the natural cycle that goes from the seed to plant development, without forgetting to provide the consumer with the necessary information to make informed choices when purchasing. The objective is to achieve productivity, sustainability and equity, while avoiding negative impacts on the environment by imitating nature’s behaviour and preventing the use of chemicals. All this requires a huge cultural change. The first step is to explain why it is so foolish to consume fruits or vegetables that are out of season or exotic. It is much more correct to encourage the recovery of ancient varieties already present in the territory and with them, make traditional recipes. Substituting 00 flour To replace 00 flour, there are many alternative flours made from nuts, vegetables or cereals. For example, for baked desserts or brownies, it is possible to use almond flour, whereas for making batters for frying, crepes, bread or pancakes, chickpea flour is perfect. As for cookies and crackers, amaranth flour can be used. If the recipe is rich in liquids, it is necessary to use a more absorbent flour such as, for example, spelt flour. Many people use coconut flour, but in this case, when there are also liquid ingredients, the recipe amounts need to be recalibrated in order to balance out coconut flour’s ability to absorb more moisture than 00 flour can. Using rice flour also requires particular care: it is important to let the dough rest before baking, to avoid any rubbery texture. It is recommended to add potato starch (for 75 g of rice flour, add 25 g of potato starch). Finally, for recipes that do not need to rise, oat flour is an excellent alternative. lifeforstock - freepik wirestock - freepik KamranAydinov - freepik 49

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