By Douglas J. Peckenpaugh, Culinary Editor
A mention of the word "artisan" in connection to food likely conjures images of seasoned individuals hand-crafting small batches of foods—chiefly breads, cheeses and confections, but also smoked meats, soups, preserves, etc.—using Old World and otherwise time-honored, traditional techniques. But of late, an adjective like "artisan" is just as likely to grace the marketing materials and menus for quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and nationally distributed retail products.
As Albert Celentano, consultant, Artisan Food Group, Irving, TX, notes, "the pendulum is swing toward the 'old way' of making food." And as artisan continues to gain ground in foodservice and retail, its definition will continue to evolve—but manufacturers who opt into this market need to avoid stretching use of the term too far to prevent dilution of its meaning and not polarize its target audience.
Artisan momentum
The root meaning of "artisan" comes from the Italian, where artigiano translates as "artist," particularly in relation to handcrafted skill (woodworking, jewelry, etc.). When applied to food—where it lacks any formal definition—it maintains that handcrafted connotation, and historically has found ready application by small-scale bakers, cheesemakers and chocolatiers. The ongoing foodie revolution, DIY and farmers' market culture, farm-to-fork (particularly organic), "natural" foods interest, and the diversifying locavore trend are all contributing to the growing market for artisanal foods.
Celentano says that artisan means "bringing a recipe back to the original form that was created at the inception of the dish." He also stipulates that manufactured artisan products should incorporate "little or no automation." For instance, he says that sourcing artisan ingredients and switching from use of impingement ovens to brick helps take pizza into fully artisan territory.
Mainstream artisan baking
A survey of a handful of recent major chain-restaurant appropriations of "artisan" demonstrates just how far its meaning currently stretches:
• "Artisan" and "artisanal-style" are used to describe the select buns at McDonald's and Burger King;
• Domino's Pizza now carries an Artisan Pizza line;
• Jack-in-the-Box calls the bread for its grilled sandwiches "artisan";
• Starbucks brands its breakfast sandwiches as "artisan";
• Some of the buns at Smashburger are described as "artisan."
A common theme here is bread, and Panera Bread and La Brea have been instrumental in spreading "artisan" to the masses. Panera regularly refers to its breads as "artisan." And on its website, La Brea Bakery suggests that when it opened in 1989, it sparked "an artisan bread renaissance in Southern California and ultimately set the standard for artisan bread across the nation." Two large, multimillion-dollar manufacturing facilities—one on each coast (California and New Jersey)—par-bake La Brea's bread and ship it frozen to supermarkets, delis and other wholesale customers nationwide.
"Artisan breadmaking at La Brea Bakery is following traditional Old World baking methods—using all-natural ingredients with no additives or preservatives, with a proprietary starter as the principal ingredient," says Katie Despard Kelsey, director of marketing, La Brea Bakery, Inc., Van Nuys, CA. She cites "distinctive appearance and aroma, individually selected ingredients, traditional baking methods, and flavor characteristics" as key to communicating "artisan."
Despard Kelsey notes that mass-manufactured bread prides itself on uniform appearance. Visual cues hinting at irregularity are common to QRS sandwich rolls that claim an "artisan" pedigree.
Bacon mania
When it comes to artisanal bacon, "old-fashioned" curing methods are often cited, along with hand-crafted labor techniques, all of which take much longer than approaches to some approaches to mass-produced bacon. Notable differences between the two include use of natural dry curing (which can take a month) and real hardwood smoking (for a day or so at least) for artisanal versus use of speedy liquid cures (which take only a couple of hours) and use of smoke flavoring followed by a quick heating process to kill any bacteria.
