Accomplishment vs. achievement, the DNA of a sourdough starter, and the ideal way to get a soufflé to rise
We have a terrific guest today on Food.
Let me start by asking you if you’ve ever found yourself able to do something that you were sure you weren’t ever going to be able to do (like cooking, for example). Remember that feeling? The difference between accomplishment and achievement? Do you ever feel like you’ve really mastered something?
Our guest today is someone who’s thought about these topics at length, who has experienced mastery in many forms, both his and other people’s, and is, shall I say, a master at studying mastery.
With Kate and me here today is Adam Gopnik, one of the most accomplished and prolific writers I know. He’s written about Paris, baseball, magicians, gun violence — and much about food and cooking, mostly for The New Yorker, where he’s been for 40 years.
I, along with many other people, admire Adam’s work, and when I heard about his new book, The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery, I was eager to have him on to talk about what the hell mastery really is, and also to talk about baking, and favorite New York meals, and many other things.
“If you look at the genetic composition, the DNA, in a — for instance — a French baker’s starter, there are traces of it that go back to the 19th century, all the little microbes that we have on our hands communicate themselves to the starter. They’re part of what makes it delicious. Shmutz is flavor.” — Adam Gopnik
I wasn’t surprised that Kate and I had a really lively and sweet conversation with Adam. So here’s that, and the recipe from the episode, Adam’s Five C Quarantine Flan, is below.
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Adam Gopnik’s Five C Quarantine Flan
Coconut Cinnamon Cardamom Crème Caramel
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