Pop Tech 2011

For the second year in a row, Salt Water Farm had the wonderful opportunity to participate in Pop Tech, a convergence of great ideas and great minds held every year in Camden.  This year’s theme, “The World Rebalancing,” featured talks from a wide range of thinkers, including comedian/musician Reggie Watts; Australian choreographer Gideon Obarzanek; human rights activist Unity Dow, who became the first female high court judge in Botswana; and intellectual historian Nils Gilman.

Annemarie and Ladleah taught bread baking and cheesemaking to 20 Pop Tech-ers.  Ladleah gave an impassioned lecture urging attendees to think about the political, spiritual and physical implications of our food choices and food sources.

Ladleah also talked of the special joy of creating your own starter, capturing the yeast of your own specific environment (the terroir of Lincolnvile vs. terroir of Manhattan), and incorporating it into a loaf of bread that will taste unlike any other.

Attendees got their hands dough-y.  Heavy cream was shaken until it yielded butter.  Milk was transformed into cheese.  And at the end, a feast was shared.