Charlotte-area food notes

2 losses in the food world

The worlds of baking and culinary history both lost influential figures at the end of 2015:

▪ Food historian Sidney Mintz, 93, died Dec. 27 in New Jersey from head injuries suffered in a fall. Mintz, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, was considered “the father of food anthropology.” His books including “Worker in the Cane: A Puerto Rican Life History” and “Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History” were considered groundbreaking works on the history and politics of food.

▪ Gina DePalma, the acclaimed pastry chef at Mario Batalli’s New York restaurant Babbo, died Dec. 29 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. The winner of the James Beard Award for best pastry chef in 2009, she was the author of the 2007 book “Dolce Italiano: Desserts From the Babbo Kitchen,” and was lauded for her desserts that used simple approaches and sometimes savory ingredients, such as olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cheese.

Hog-butchering time Saturday

Historic Brattonsville will demonstrate 18th-century food techniques from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the annual Hog Butchering Day. Costumed interpreters will demonstrate skills like rendering lard, making soap, butchering, preservation and cooking. Brattonsville is at 1444 Brattonsville Road, McConnells, S.C., southwest of Rock Hill. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for ages 4-17. Food from Gardeners BBQ also will be available for sale. Details: chmuseums.org/brattonsville.

Poultry farmworker pleads guilty to animal cruelty

A farmworker shown on a hidden camera kicking and stomping chickens to death at two farms in Rockingham has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, according to the group Mercy for Animals. Danny Miranda was sentenced to 45 days in jail, 12 months of probation and is prohibited from working with animals. The two farms, Deese Farm and Hideaway Farms, were contract producers for Perdue.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Charlotte-area food notes."