THE FOODIES' COMPANION; New Book 

My latest book, "The Foodies' Companion Food Histories; 120 Histories of Food, Drink and Other Items of Culinary Interest"  is now available on Amazon.

Book Description

How did Fish and Chips become one of England's favorite dishes? Why was there a cord attached to each side of the original Animal Cracker boxes? Why is corn called corn in the United States, rather than maize used in the rest of the world? Why is Turkey called Turkey? How did the world get Spam, the edible kind, not the email kind? The answers to these questions are contained in this book, The book presents the histories of 120 varieties of different foods, drinks and other items of culinary interest, from Animal Crackers to Zabaglione, all presented in the author's own unique fashion. A book for both foodies and history lovers.

If any of my Blog friends purchase a book and like it, I would be most grateful if you wrote a review of it  for  Amazon. 

Thank you.

 FOOD HISTORY:: GULLAH*GEECHEE**FOODWAYS   

The creation of the Gullah Geechee Foodways -The food dishes from Africa that became translated into those of the Southern coastal area of the United Stares *** 

The countries that now make up Western Africa are where rice was first domesticated and grown in Africa and inventive rice dishes called Jollof rice, were created all over the area using various local ingredients. Each reflected the different food cultures and histories in the region in which it was prepared. 

The Gullah Geechee are the descendants of the first enslaved peoples from West Africa who were brought to, and still live in, the rural communities in and around the coastal region and the sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia or the coastal mainland regions of Georgia and northeastern Florida. 

 In the late 17th century, growing rice in those states, using enslaved native Americans, became lucrative enough to have the plantation owners bring in enslaved West Africans, who had experience in cultivation and growing of rice, *** to increase their workforce. 

The climate in those costal states, warm, semitropical, wet and swampy, were ideal for growing rice but prone to the spread of Malaria and Yellow Fever. Many West Africans brought to these areas for their knowledge of rice cultivation were immune these diseases, due to exposure in Africa; but the white plantation owners were not. Therefore, they built their houses far from the rice fields, and, during the wet and rainy summer and autumn seasons left altogether, leaving only enslaved West Africans as foremen. 

While the white population always remained low, rice sale profits increased, which led the owners to import more West Africans. Because of this, these West Africans had even less contact with the small population of white people who remained. This made their experience different from Africans brought as slaves to other parts of the United States. 

Since the West Africans were not taught to read and write, the only means they had to pass down their cultural traditions, including cooking, recipes, ingredients and the means of preparation, was by word of mouth. This is the basis of what is called the “Gullah Geechee Foodways”.  

Enslaved people were given only cast off or garbage parts of cows and pigs to eat and used a variety of seafood they could catch to make their food. Because Gullah Geechee people had a deep understanding of rice cultivation and usage much more than the owners, they used rice as the basis for many of their dishes, incorporating it into them, adding other food items that were indigenous to where they lived to complete the dish. 

In this way, they were following traditional food preparation in the way it had been done in Africa. 

Further, since they owned only one pot, almost every meal was a one pot dish to stretch the meal further. 

Some traditional savory Gullah Geechee dishes are Okra Soup, Red Rice, Hoppin John, Crab Rice, Shrimp and Grits and Gullah Gumbo. Others are Sweet: Peaches and Cream pie and Chewies. 

 

*Gullah 

Lived and worked on costal islands and mainland South Carolina and Georgia. 

Isolation in these areas allowed them to maintain their traditions and develop a distinct Creole language m known as Gullah, which combined elements of West African and English. 

**Geechee 

Lived and worked on costal mainland regions of Georgia and northeastern Florida. 

They shared some similarities with the Gullah but developed their own cultural practices and linguistic variations. Their language – Geechee Creole – was influenced by several African languages and dialects. 

 

*** Slave ships brought West African food crops and seeds , especially rice, for the slaves to eat and sustain them during and after their passage to the new world, but also, black-eyed peas, yams, kidney and lima beans, sesame seeds and watermelon, among others. These African ingredients, combined with local white southern dishes, “morphed” into the components of ‘Southern Cooking" and, eventually, into what we now call “Soul Food”, eaten by African Americans but enjoyed by many other cultures, as well. 

 

 THE FOODIES COMPANION: THINGS I LIKE

In my book," The Foodies' Companion Cookbook; Things I Like", I presented  recipes for the dishes  I have eaten in my 90+ years of eating, that I have particularly enjoyed. These may have been those I have created, those given to me by friends or family and others I have found and eaten in my travels to other countries. Some recipes are very simple and easy, perhaps from being printed on a store bought box or can, others more complex to prepare. However, in every case, they are dishes I have enjoyed and eaten over and over again  in my life. Each recipe is preceded by the story about how the dish became one of the, " Things I Like".  For me, a very personal cookbook.

Recently, I created  a very simple Tomato - Cheese soup that my wife, Susan, enjoyed so much that she suggested that I share it with others.

The recipe for Susan's Tomato - cheese soup follows:

Ingredients

1 can condensed tomato soup

! can water

1/2 tsp sugar

2 oz cream cheese - room temperature and cut into small pieces.

1/4 C shredded Cheddar cheese ( mild or sharp, your choice)

Salt and pepper, TT

Directions

Put the contents of the can of soup into pan and add the cup of water, sugar, cream cheese and cheddar cheese.

Heat pan slowly, with stirring, until cheeses are melted and mostly incorporated into the soup.

A small amount of the cheeses may not have been totally melted. and incorporated into the soup when it is  hot enough to eat. This does not prevent the soup from being served, that way, but if you want it totally smooth, you can blend it in your food processer until the consistency is what you prefer. 

I present this as a sample of the types of recipes I have in my cookbook. I would appreciate your commentary and feed-back, to tell me if you would want more POSTS of this kind in my blog or have it stay as it has always been.

Thank you

COOKING TIP:: Kitchen Safety

When using a pan with a handle, make sure that the handle points to the side not the front of the stove where it might, accidentally, be hit by your arm.

Always use hot pads or towels to pick up pans with metal handles in case they get hot from your cooking. Do not leave pads/ towels near an open flame.

When leaving a hot pan on the stove after emptying the food out of it, place a kitchen towel over the handle to let anyone who might pick it up know that it is hot.

Keep a small general purpose fire extinguisher in your kitchen, with quick access to the stove.

When placing any ingredient in a pan with hot oil. do it gently, and away from yourself. NEVER DROP INTO PAN!

To prevent cuts when using a box grater, spear the food you are shredding on the prongs of a mandolin guard and shred. Stop an inch or two from the end of the food to avoid the tines on the guard from snagging on the grater.

KNIVES

When carrying a knife, always keep the blade pointed downwards

Make sure that all of your knives are sharp. DULL KNIVES CAN SLIP AND CAUSE CUTS!

Invest in a honing  "steel", ceramic or steel and use often, to keep the blade smooth and free from nicks.

Use a cutting board on which you cut, secured by placing over a wet paper towel or non-stick mat.

"THE FOODIES' COMPANION" BOOK REVIEW  FROM: THE MONMOUTH JOURNAL

The Foodie’s Companion

By MaryAnn Miano

If you are a foodie, you will relate to Ian Alan Holder, a local author and blogger who loves all things food-related: the preparing of food, the cooking of food, the trivia and history of food. Mr. Holder came to the food industry at the age of 65, after a long career as a professor of microbiology, when he graduated from the Culinary Arts Department at Cincinnati State College. Living in Red Bank after retirement, he worked in a professional kitchen to gain experience and then was offered a job at Mumford’s Culinary Center on Saturdays, where he has been honing his skills for over a decade.

This schedule allowed Mr. Holder to begin researching everything about food that piqued his fancy. The outcome is two books: The Foodies’ Companion and The Foodies’ Companion II.  These two books are excellent for beginning cooks as well as for the seasoned chef. The tips, tricks, and food history create a nice balance of an interesting read to make anyone a better cook.

Mr. Holder cleverly separated his books into three sections:  Cooking Tips and Tables, Food History, and Fun Food Facts. In section one, he teaches you about cooking techniques and preparation. Learn how to brine, how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, when to use different oils for the best-tasting dishes, how to preserve fresh herbs, how to freeze a variety of foods, how to test your oven temperature, how to sear, roast, and grill using charts and tables.

The Food History section lists many foods in alphabetical order, with a brief summary of how those foods came to be (are California Rolls really a Japanese food?)

The Food Facts section will give you lots of tidbits you thought you knew (or never thought about before) pertaining to food.  (Do you know why fish is often served with lemon? Since the Middle Ages, it was believed that the acid in a slice of lemon would dissolve any accidentally swallowed fish bones!)

The Foodies’ Companion II continues along the same theme, with an added Chapter 4 of “Things I Like.” He offers some favorite recipes, such as the one featured here. So, foodies everywhere, read these two wonderful and charming books for advice, for ideas, and just for fun! These books can be found on www.amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. 

 

 GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS:

As the holiday season approaches, the following "Foodies' Companion" books may be good gifts or stocking "stuffers" for the Foodie or just the food lover on you list.

THE FOODIES' COMPANION: Cooking tips and Tables, Food History and Fun Food Facts.

THE FOODIES' COMPANION II; Cooking Tips, Food History, Food Trivia and Recipes.

THINGS I LIKE:  THE FOODIES' COMPANION COOKBOOK.

Available on Amazon and other fine booksellers.

My new book  "THE FOODIES' COMPANION FOOD HISTORIES; Histories of 120 Foods, Drinks and Other Items of Culinary Interest" was just sent to the publisher and might not be out in time for this years holiday gift giving. But for you FOODIES out there who follow my blog, it might be a good read anyhow.  

Holiday Greetings to you all!!!

COOKING TIP: Cold Storage of Cheese

I wanted to write a "Cooking Tip” blog post giving information to my readers about how long you can store opened packages of cheese in the refrigerator. When I started to research this topic, I found the following information. 

There are 900 - 1000 varieties of cheese produced around the world with the largest producing regions being Europe (56.7%), United States (30.1%), Asia (6.4%), Africa (4%), and Oceania (2%). The top 16 cheese consuming countries listed in the World Atlas are Denmark, Iceland, Finland, France, Cyprus, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Israel, and the US. The 2019 Ranker Community, who surveyed thousands of cheese lovers, ranked their cheese preferences from 1 to 138. The Top 10 were sharp Cheddar, Mozzarella, Gouda, Parmesan Reggiano, Feta, Swiss, Provolone, Monterey Jack, Brie, and mild Cheddar. I, who really likes cheese, had eaten or had at least recognized the names of maybe 30 of the next 11-138 listings but had never even heard of the rest.

Because of what I have written above, comprehensive coverage of how to present storage times in the refrigerator for all cheeses available in the world or even only those in the Ranker Community list would almost require me to write an Encyclopedia.

Therefore, with that as Prelude, the following storage information relates to how long one can store in the refrigerator, at least to me. only some of the most popular and familiar cheeses,

For all the following storage time recommendations, the assumption is that the cheeses have been wrapped appropriately after being removed from their original wrapper and kept properly stored in the refrigerator; preferably in the drawer closest to the bottom of the refrigerator which is most consistent in temperature and humidity. Various signs of spoilage are mold, dryness, changes in texture, or“ off” or “yeasty” smell.

    CHEESE                                             STORAGE TIME/WEEKS

AMERICAN*                                                 almost forever

CREAM CHEESE                                                  2- 4

BLUE                                                                      2 - 3

BRIE                                                                       2 - 3

CHEDDAR                                                              6 - 8

FETA (in brine)                                                        3 - 4

GOUDA                                                                   4 - 9

GRUYERE                                                              6 - 8

MONTEREY JACK                                                  3 - 4

MOZZARELLA (fresh)                                             7 - 10 (days)

MOZZARELLA (loaf)                                                3 – 4

MUENSTER                                                             2 - 3

PROVOLONE                                                           2 - 3

PARMESAN                                                          up to 12

SWISS (slices)                                                          3 - 4

*American is a “processed” cheese where other ingredients are added to alter texture and flavor. These added agents significantly increase the refrigerator storage time of this product.

FREEZING: Many cheeses can successfully be frozen, e.g. Camembert, Cheddar, Edam, Mozzarella, Muenster, Parmesan, Port Salut, Provolone, Romano, Brie, etc. will all retain flavor with a freezing time of six months or less but might become crumbly when thawed.**  Semi-soft cheeses, such as Camembert and Brie which ripen over time, should be frozen when the degree of ripeness you prefer is reached. Soft cheeses: Cream, Cottage and Ricotta, can be frozen but, because of their moisture content may separate or become grainy.

**To thaw, place package in refrigerator for 24 - 48 hours and use cheese in cooking or to eat within in 3 -4 days.