Quick Tips

CSAs (which stands for community supported agriculture) are great for so many reasons. You know exactly where your produce comes from, you’re introduced to new fruits and vegetables that you might not typically use, you’re supporting small-scale, sustainable farms and by eating locally and in-season, you’re helping the environment. But why should these benefits only apply to vegetables? Now, thanks to a new wave of Community Supported Fisheries, you can count on all of these benefits applying to seafood, too.

Community Supported Fisheries (CSFs) are based on the same model as CSAs. Members pay a flat fee and receive a pre-determined amount of seafood each week, month or however frequently the share delivers. They’re great, because the seafood industry is one part of the food world that sorely needs more transparency and a stronger commitment to sustainability.

“Fish fraud,” or mislabeling seafood, is a rampant problem. Ocean advocacy group Oceana released a study last year revealing that up to one-third of all seafood is mislabeled, which is a serious concern for consumers’ wallets and health. For one, seafood sellers and distributors might be selling cheaper seafood for higher prices by inaccurately labeling fish. (Oceana also has a very telling and alarming infographic detailing just how much you could be losing thanks to fish fraud.) Second, mislabeling could also pose health risks for people trying to avoid certain fish — such as fish with high mercury levels — but aren’t even given the chance to make a fully informed decision. By connecting consumers directly with local fishermen, and eliminating the middleman and the risk of mislabeling, community supported fisheries can help fight fish fraud.

Another important role a CSF can play in the seafood industry is aiming for sustainability and practicing humane fishing. It’s no secret that we are overfishing our oceans. Americans are eating more seafood than ever — according to Oceana, we are eating “50 percent more seafood than [we] did 50 years ago.” And consumption is half the problem. Bycatch — fish and sea mammals that get unintentionally killed or injured due to careless or inhumane fishing practices — is another horrific piece to the puzzle. By joining a CSF that is committed to low-impact fishing and steering away from overfished species, you are also supporting sustainability in our oceans. Also, like learning what the f*ck to do with those mystery vegetables you get in your CSA (ahem, stinging nettles), you’ll get to know new kinds of fish and expand your seafood horizons.

CSF’s are popping up all over the country, from Mermaid’s Garden in Brooklyn, to the Village Fishmonger’s CSF that serves all of New York City, to Massachusetts-based Cape Ann Fresh Catch, to Community Seafood in Santa Barbara.

Joining a CSF is a positive way to push for much-needed reform across the board. By actively supporting local fishermen and fisheries that adhere to transparency and humane fishing practices, you’re showing the big industry players where consumers’ priorities lie. It sounds cliché, but while joining a CSF might feel like one small ripple in the pool, together with the rest of your CSF-partners, you’ll make waves.

Have you used a CSF? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

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For most people, ice cream is all about flavor. But for Spanish physicist Manuel Linares, it’s the color that counts.

Linares has created an ice cream that changes color as it’s eaten. The fruity confection, called Xamaleón — as in, chameleon — starts out as a periwinkle blue and gradually morphs into hues of purple and pink.

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So far, Linares has been tight-lipped about the specific ingredients responsible for the color change, but he has opened up a bit about how the reaction works.

Apparently, it’s all about temperature — heat from saliva and slight changes in the surrounding air.

Though the change may seem unusual, you’ve probably observed something similar with other edibles — without realizing it.

“Any food will change color if it changes temperature, you encapsulate it or it oxidizes,” Linares told Spanish-language gastronomy website Cocinatis.

In a video posted on Linares’ IceXperience Facebook page, a sample cone can be seen changing from purple to pink — similar to the way chameleons change colors to adapt to their surroundings.

Xamaleón is similar to an experimental glow-in-the-dark ice cream created by the British company “Lick Me Delicious,” from which Linares has said he drew his inspiration. The key to the glowing ice cream is luminescent proteins found in jellyfish.

While the glow-in-the-dark treat is priced at a whopping $225 a scoop, Xamaleón’s cost is comparable to that of artisanal ice cream. What a delicious surprise!

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