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Florida Table Magazine / Table Talk / January 2010 / The 4th Generation Markets

The 4th Generation Markets

As part of JeremyCooks live demonstrations I have gotten the chance to cook with various local chefs. Most recently I took a look in to the world of raw foods at 4th Generation Market in Boca Raton, FL. The history of 4th generation market reaches as far back as 1910. The market promises to offer the best in organic foods, prepared foods and produce. The 4th Generation Market is named after Ashley and Bryan Litowich who are the great-children (4th generation) of Ben Litowich, the founder of Ben-Bud Produce. Today, Ben-Bud has become one of the premier fruit and vegetable importers and distributors in the nation. Ashley and Bryan have created a unique organic market using their family’s 100 years of experience. Back to the concept of raw food, it is a lifestyle (that some choose to live) that involves eating food that is un-cooked, un-processed and often organic. There are a variety of foods ranging from raw enchilada’s, raw mozzarella sticks, raw marinara sauce, pizza, and even brownies! When I arrived at 4th generation I got the chance to cook and meet with Collin Cook (great last name), the raw food Chef at the market. Collin was very cool, laid back and kindly welcomed me into his kitchen. His mother had been seriously ill and nursed herself back to health which included a diet of raw foods, which inspired to Collin to lead a raw and vegan lifestyle. He began by showing me how to make raw hemp milk. You start by combining Hemp seed and Chia seed with water that releases a starchy type of liquid, this will help make the mixture a glue-like substance. Once all the liquid is absorbed we gathered the rest of our “mise en place” (all of our ingredients), Vanilla extract, 5 gallons of water and blue Agave were collected. Blue Agave is a natural sweetener that comes from the Agave plant; it is also the base ingredient for tequila. In a vita-mix (a big commercial kitchen blender) we added the seed mixture, water, vanilla, and Agave in batches. We pulsed the mixture until it was a milky consistency. Collin explained that you could use the milk in cereal, oatmeal etc… it’s an organic substitute for milk. Afterwards, Collin talked me through a spectacular tasting of raw macaroons, mozzarella sticks with sun-dried tomato sauce and raw enchilada’s (which I helped him roll). The shell for the enchilada is a thin slice of sweet potato that is dehydrated! Raw foods are “cooked” (actually dehydrated) in a dehydrator under a temperature of 115°F. One thing about raw food is that it could be deceiving, you might think its going to taste like one thing but you wind up with an explosion of new flavors with every bite. Keep on cooking!!! Thank you to the Letowich family and Collin Cook!!! 4th Generation Organic Market 75 SE 3rd Street Boca Raton, FL (561) 338-9920