FOOD HISTORY: Gelato; the Italian Ice Cream

Gelato, which in Italian, literally, means "frozen", is a combination of whole milk, eggs, sugar and natural flavors or fresh fruit. It is different from ice cream in that it uses milk instead of cream, contains only natural ingredients and much less air is whipped into it,thus, making Gelato less caloric, more healthy and with much more intense flavor. The history of Gelato dates to the 16th century with a native of Florence, Bernardo Buontalenti credited with its creation. Bountalenti was an architect and designer who was an expert in ice preservation having designed cold storage rooms in villas of Florence. He was asked  to prepare a new dessert to be served  at a banquet for the King of Spain, by the Court of Francesco di Medici. in the mid 1560's. Buontalenti invented a dessert made using eggs, milk sugar, honey and wine that was flavored with bergamot and orange that was frozen using salt and ice. At that time it was called" Italian cream" but would eventually become called "gelato". After becoming Queen of France, Catherine di Medici (Francesco's sister) summoned Buontalenti to come and introduce this unique Italian delicacy to the French court. Later  in Italy, Sicilian born Francesco Procopio Dei Coltelli, who was the first person  sell "Italian cream"  to the public, became influential in introducing "Italian cream" to the rest of Europe. He went to Paris in 1686 and opened a cafe named for himself, "Cafe Procope" in  which he experimented,  refined and, finally,, sold his improved frozen Italian cream  dessert. Cafe Procope became a famous gathering place for the literary establishment of France. From these influential people, the word about his special dish was spread all over France. Back in Italy, the art of "Italian Cream"  making was being passed on from father to son and these artisans continued to make improvements and perfect the product up to the 20th century. Somewhere along the way "Italian cream" became, "gelato".  from the Latin,"gelatus" meaning, "frozen"). When the Gelato makers began to emigrate from Italy, they took their talents and family recipes to the rest of Europe. As a personal aside, on a recent trip to Tuscany, Italy, I frequented many Gelaterias, most of them family run. Each had their own recipe and method of preparing their Gelato and every one was unique. However, they all shared a richness and intensity of flavor never found in ice cream I have eaten anywhere else I have traveled.

THE FOODIES COMPANION IS BACK!

After two weeks in Tuscany, surgery and eight weeks of recovery, and during the same time, surviving Superstorm Sandy with seven days without power and the disaster of a car driving through our parking area, down our terraced back yard patio and crashing into our house, I am, finally, in a physical and mental state to get back to The Foodies Companion Blog. The next post  follows:

COOKING TIP: Grapes

Choose plump fruit with bright green stems. The white caste on grapes,called bloom is good because it protects the grapes against moisture loss. Refrigerate grapes in a covered container without washing. Wash only just before eating. Handled this way the grapes should last up to one week.

FOOD TRIVIA: Caprese salad

The popular Italian Caprese salad consisting of tomato, Mozzarella cheese and  Basil leaves  (red, white and green, the colors of the Italian flag) is also the name of the Tuscan town where Michelangelo was born.

FOOD HISTORY: Casserole

The word casserole originally referred to the pan in which the dish was cooked. Casserole is from a French word meaning "sauce-pan"; a large, deep dish used either to cook something in an oven or to serve the food cooked in it. The French word  "casserole"  had been derived from the old Provencal word, "cassa" and the Medieval Latin word, "cattia", both of these words meaning "ladle". This seemed to imply that these words were describing a common pot from which everyone shared. French cassoulet, Spanish paella, British pot pies and Italian lasagna, to name only a few, seemed to be derived from this idea. In fact, a recipe, written in Latin, for the precursor of a  famous casserole - macaroni and cheese - is found in the " Liber de Cucina". It was written by a  by a person familiar with the Neapolitan court of Charles II of Anjou (1254-1309). The recipe named,"de lasnis", called for pasta sheets cooked in water, layered with grated cheese (probably Parmesan) and mild spices, if desired.  Centuries later, after a stay in Italy (1787), Thomas Jefferson brought a pasta machine back to Monticello. His daughter, Mary Randolph, serving as the President's hostess since the death of her mother, prepared a similar dish made with  pasta and Parmesan cheese. Later the Parmesan was replaced by Cheddar. Mary's pasta and cheese dish was later served at the President Jefferson's White House starting in 1802 and a recipe for the dish was included in her 1824 cookbook, "The Virginia Housewife".  In the late 19th century, the New World embraced casseroles, inspired by these kinds of dishes brought by immigrants from many different cultures. They provided economical, communal  sustenance during the depressions of the 1890's and 1930's and the scarcity of food items during both World Wars. In the 1950's, smaller home kitchens, the availability of light weight ovenproof cookware and the greater availability of canned foods ( eg., Campbell Soup Company's Creamed soup line; celery, chicken, mushroom, broccoli, cheddar cheese, etc) made the casserole a simple, easy and cheap way to use leftover foods to serve the whole family. As a matter of fact, Campbell emphasized the great casserole potential of these soups and that contributed to the mass  mass appeal of these dishes to the public and to the explosion of casserole dishes the 1950's. There probably very few of you that are reading this, from whatever background you come, that cannot look back on a casserole from your youth that you really loved, or, alternatively, hated because you were forced to eat it. In any case, today casserole dishes, some using the finest, most expensive ingredients to those that still  are prepared by pouring the contents of an open can or two over some left-overs and then baked, are eaten and enjoyed all over the world.

THINGS I LIKE : Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu, a breaded pork cutlet, is a non-traditional but very popular food in Japan. "Ton" meaning pork in Japanese and "katsu', short for the Japanese word for "cutlet" - "katsuretto", became popular during the Westernization of Japan during the Meiji Period (1868 - 1912). At that time, European style veal cutlets became popular and more acceptable( in spite of the Buddhist prohibition against eating meat)  by being served at the well-known and fashionable Ginza Restaurant "Rengatei" in 1895. This restaurant still exists, today. Tonkatsu, the cutlet using pork, was introduced by Matsuzo Kisano at his Ohroji restaurant in 1925. While at a different location, the Ohroji restaurant still operates today. Prior to World War II, the Japanese military, both Army and Navy, welcomed the nutritional advantage to their soldiers and sailors of the  high fat content of Westernized food, including deep fried dishes. Because of this  Tonkatsu became  popularized  throughout Japan. On several trips to Japan I ate lots of Tonkatsu. Now I make it at home and still enjoy it.

PREPARATION

4  boneless pork chops or slices of pork loin, 1/2 inch thick
1 C flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 C Panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
vegetable oil

Heat oil in skillet until a heat of 340 F or more is reached.

Dredge  pork in flour, shaking off the excess.
Coat pork, on both sides, with egg; drain.
Press pork into Panko crumbs on both sides until well covered.

Add coated pork to skillet and fry until golden brown in color; turn over and repeat on second side.
When pork is cooked through, transfer to paper towels and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with Tonkatsu sauce.

Tonkatsu Sauce: Mix together, 2  Tbsp, each, Worchestershire sauce, ketchup and sugar plus 1  tsp of water until sugar is dissolved. Make multiples of recipe if you need more sauce.  Serve as dpipping sauce with Tonkatsu.,

COOKING TIP: Reducing Calories in Baking

To reduce calories in baked goods without sacrificing flavor, you can substitute applesauce (unsweetened) for the oil in the recipe. However, you must use two times the amount of applesauce for the amount of oil called for in the recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for using two tablespoons of oil (200 calories) substitute four tablespoons of applesauce (40 calories).

FOOD TRIVIA: Tootsie Rolls

"Tootsie" rolls, the chewy, chocolate candy log was named by Leo Hirshfield, a U.S. confectioner, who named the candy after his daughter, real name Clara, but who went by the  nickname "Tootsie'.

FOOD TRIVIA: Henri Toulouse - Lautrec

The world fanous artist and gourmet,  Henri Toulouse - Lautrec wrote a cookbook called, "The Art of Cuisine" and illustrated it himself. It still is available.

FOOD HISTORY: The "Hot Dog".

While the history of sausages is ancient, even having been mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, the history of what we know as the "Hot Dog" is much more recent and has several branches on its family tree. It is believed that the "original" sausage that eventually became the contemporary "Hot Dog" was created in the late 1690's by Johann Georghehner, a butcher living in Coburg, Germany.  Later, Georghehner, travelled to Frankfurt, Germany to promote his product. In 1805, a master sausage maker in Vienna, Austria, who got his training in Frankfurt, Germany, made a sausage that he called the "Wiener- Frankfurter". This fact has given Austria a claim to be them birthplace of the "Hot Dog". His sausage, however, generally became known as "Wienerwurst"; Wien being the German name for Vienna and wurst the German word for sausage.This is, however, where we get the word  "Wiener" as a synomym for "Hot Dog"'. In 1852, the Butcher's Guild in Frankfurt, Germany developed a spiced, smoked sausage which was packed in a thin casing that they called the "Frankfuter", named after its city of origin. The sausage's gently curved shape, it is said, was suggested by a butcher who had a Dachshund dog as a pet. When Germans immigrated to the U.S., they brought this sausage, with the name "'Dachshund-sausage", with them;  Austrians brought their "Wieners". Frankfuters and Wieners, served with milk rolls (bread rolls but sweeter and softer due to milk added to the dough) and sauerkraut, were sold from pushcarts on New York's Bowery during the 1860's. (As a personal aside, when I served in the Army's occupying forces in Austria, 1954-1955, there were wurst stands all over. They served Wiernerwurt sausages on a paper plate, containing a dab of mustard and a small bread roll on the side. I consumed many, many of them!) Back to History: In 1871, Charles Feltman, a German butcher, opened a stand in Coney Island, NY. He wanted to sell a variety of hot sandwiches to his customers but his wagon was too small to make different  sandwiches in the wagon's confined space. Thus, he came up with the idea of selling only sausages served IN a roll. With the help of  the wheel-wright who had made his wagon, a tin lined chest was put in the wagon  to keep the rolls warm and a charcoal stove to boil the sausages was installed. Thus, the idea of serving sausages in a bread "container" is credited to Feltman. .Feltman sold 3,684 sausages in a milk roll during his first year in business. In 1880, Antonione Feuchtwanger, a German sausage peddler in St. Louis, Missouri, supplied white gloves with his sausages, so his customer's would not burn their fingers while eating their sausages. However, many customers would walk off with the gloves after finishing their snack. Feuchtwanger consulted his brother- in law, a baker, about the problem and he came up with a long, soft roll in which the sausage could be placed. Thus, the German sausages ( Frankfuters/ Wienerwurst) were introduced to the bun. How this combination of a German sausage on a bun became known as the "Hot Dog' is another convoluted story to be told in a subsequent post.

FOOD HISTORY: Crumpets and English Muffins

Crumpets are an Anglo-Saxon invention. Initially, they were hard pancakes baked on a griddle.  The term  has Celtic origins and dates from the 1600's and is related to the Breton "kranpoez" ( a thin, flat pancake) or the Welch type of pancake called, 'crempog". The 1649 Oxford dictionary referring  to "crumpet", describes it as a mixture of buckwheat flour, beaten egg, milk and baking powder. These were different from the more familiar crumpets of the Victorian Era when yeast was added to the dough and the crumpet was baked in a ring mold to hold the batter while it baked. Crumpet makers of the British Midlands and London developed the characteristic holes which appear on top of the crumpet when it is cooked the by adding extra baking powder to the dough. Thus,the more familiar soft, spongy crumpet of the Victorian Age, with their characteristic holes on their top to "hold" butter and other popular toppings, evolved..

The British "muffin", which was  originally made from left over bread and biscuit dough scraps and mashed potatoes, which the cook fried on a hot griddle to produce a light, crusty muffin, were eaten by the "downstairs" servants in England's Victorian society .When the "upstairs" family learned about these tasty morsels, they began to request them, especially for their afternoon teatime snack. Because of this, these muffins became the most "fancied" bread in England and muffin factories, each with their own recipe for making their  muffin, sprung up all over. These muffins could be split and toasted over an open fire and served with various toppings. They became so popular that "Hawkers" sold them on the streets of London and the song , "Do you know the Muffin Man" became a big hit.

The MODERN English muffin is, in fact, an American invention created by Samuel Bath Thomas, a 1874 immigrant to New York City from Plymouth, England. Thomas, who worked in a bread bakery, opened his own bakery in 1880. It was in this location that he created a "toaster crumpet"; a flatter version of the English crumpet which did not contain baking powder used to create holes as in the traditional crumpet. However,Thomas' secret process did retain the "holes" that crumpets have on their outside to trap butter and other toppings  but the Thomas English muffin's "holes"( his, "nooks and crannies") are on the inside of the muffin. "Fork splitting" his muffins before toasting retained this "crumpet"characteristic.Thomas English muffins became very popular in the U.S.and their popularity spread to the world wide market even introducing "English" muffins to the British.

FOOD TRIVIA: "Hard to make ends meet".

In Elizabethan times,when eating, a napkin was tied around the neck to protect the fancy, white  ruffles fashionable at the time. Because of the size of the ruffles, it was difficult to tie both ends of the napkin together. This is where the expression, "hard to make the ends meet"originated.

COOKING TIP: Roasted Chicken Pan Drippings

When finished roasting a chicken, remove it from the pan and add cubes of bread and mix to absorb the drippings. then toss with melted butter, bake until crispy and serve with chicken.

COOKING TIP: Ripening of Produce

As Spring proceeds and Summer approaches, our thoughts turn to fresh fruits and vegetables. Some will ripen on the counter; others will not.

                      WILL RIPEN                                                             WILL NOT RIPEN
     
                        Apples                                                                               Bell Peppers
                        Apricots                                                                             Cherries
                        Avocados                                                                           Grapes
                        Bananas                                                                              Lemons
                        Canteloupe                                                                         Oranges
                        Kiwi                                                                                    Limes
                        Peaches                                                                               Pinapple
                        Pears                                                                                   Strawberries
                        Plums
                        Tomatoes

THINGS I LIKE: Lox

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, Sundays were family brunch times. In addition to the usual meat (ham, bacon, sausages) and eggs, we ate several kinds of cured and/or smoked fish; Sable, White, various types of Herring and, especially Lox, all purchased from what we called the "Appetizer" store. Lox, as opposed to smoked salmon, is cured but NOT smoked. It's name is derived from the Scandinavian word, "Gravlax" meaning, "grave salmon". This name comes from the medieval practice of "curing" (preserving) raw salmon by burying it in the sand above the ocean's high tide level, allowing the ocean's salt water to cure the fish. I still enjoy eating Lox but now I cure my own. How I do this is described below.

LOX  PREPARATION

The following recipe is for two similar, skin on sides of Salmon or Steelhead Trout ( I prefer the taste of Steelhead Trout). You can trim the fish to have two equal parts of the  thickest area of the sides for curing and keep the rest for fish cakes or smoking or use the sides, as is.

INGREDIENTS

CURING MIXTURE; 1 part Morton's Coarse Kosher salt/1.5 parts Demerara (raw) sugar. (I like the taste of the raw sugar with its slight molasses flavor, but plain granular sugar can be used. Further, I like the sweeter taste of this ratio of sugar  to salt but the ratios can be adjusted to suit your own taste.)

Black or green peppercorns, chopped dill or any other herbs/ spices that you may want to use to flavor the Lox can be added to the fish when you begin the curing process. A splash of vodka or other alcoholic beverage adds another nuanced flavor ro the final product, as well. I, however, prefer just the salt/sugar mixture.

PROCEDURE

Line a deep casserole dish with plastic wrap, one sheet lengthwise and a second sheet widthwise with a large amount of overhang.

Spread curing mixture evenly over plastic wrap. Place one side of fish, skin side down, on salt/sugar.  Spread another portion of curing mixture over fish flesh; heavier on the thick side of the filet. Herbs/spices can be added to this layer. Place second piece of fish, skin side up, over first and repeat addition of curing mixture.

Fold both sides of plastic wrap to completely enclose fish. Place weights, two bricks covered with heavy duty aluminum foil or 2 -3 cans of  food over, wrapped fish and place in refrigerator. Turn fish over and replace weights once a day for two days. On the third day unwrap fish, remove one side, rinse thoroughly with cold water, dry on paper towels and slice off a thin piece to taste. If seasoned enough to your taste, remove second side rinse and dry, as well. Fish will keep in refrigerator for 1 -2 weeks and will freeze, indefinitely. If the fish is not cured enough to your taste, it can be rewrapped and the curing process continued, with daily testing until desired flavor is achieved. Once you find the curing time that corresponds to your taste, you can use that for making future batches of Lox. 

Fish sides can be lightly cold smoked, if you choose. Take cured filet from refrigerator and place, skin side down, in a disposable aluminum container large enough to hold fish and a substantial amount of crushed or cubed ice.* Put ice in bottom of container, cover ice with plastic wrap and foil, put fish  on top and place in an already smoking smoker. Alder or Apple wood give nice flavor to fish. Smoke for 15 min at a time, tasting after each 15 min until you find the right amount of time to give you the smoke flavor that meets you taste. (Use that time for future smokings.)

*Replace ice, as needed, to keep fish cold during process.

THINGS I LIKE: Michael Carsiotis' Chicken and Celery in Avgolemono Sauce

When I came to the Department of Microbiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, one of my colleagues was Michael Carsiotis. Michael became one of my closest friends who shared many of my values and, especially, a love for food. Michael is of Greek lineage; speaks Greek and  Greek culture and food are part of his life. I have always loved Greek food but never had a dish that was introduced to me by Michael; Chicken and Celery in Avgolemono. Avgolemono is a famous Greek mixture of eggs and lemon juice that is thickened by heating and serves as the base for many Greek dishes, the most famous of which is Avgolemono soup which contains chicken stock and rice and is thickened by the addition of Avgolemono - a GREAT soup! On researching Michael's Chicken and Celery in Avgolemono dish, I  found that, traditionally, the recipe calls for pork rather than chicken. However, I can tell you that substituting chicken for pork does not diminish the taste of this delicious dish, one IOTA. The recipe follows:

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of celery, including leaves, cut into one inch pieces
2 Lbs pork (or skinless, boneless chicken), cut into one inch cubes
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
juice of one lemon*
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper, to, taste

PROCEDURE

Brown meat in olive oil and add onions; cook until soft but not browned (5 - 10 min). Add enough water just to cover meat and simmer for 1 hour.

Add celery and cook until tender (20 - 30 min) and the liquid is reduced to about one cup.

In a bowl, beat eggs: mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and add to eggs.

Add lemon juice and mix well.

Temper eggs by adding small amounts of meat cooking liquid until, the "sauce" is warm.

Slowly, stir "sauce" in to meat  and continue to heat, gently, until thickened. DO NOT BOIL!!!

Add salt and pepper, to taste, and serve with rice.

* If you like a more or less tart, lemon taste, adjust the amount of lemon juice that you use.

ENJOY!

FOOD TRIVIA: Oreo's

The Oreo cookie is the world's best seller, sold in more than 100 countries: the biggest markets being the U.S., China, Venezuela and Canada

FOOD TRIVIA: Funny British Names for Foods

The British, until recently not known for their culinary accomplishments, have some unique, and sometimes bizarre, names for foods. Examples include; Bubble and Squeak ( fried potatoes and cabbage), Toad in the Hole ( British sausages baked in Yorkshire Pudding dough), Spotted Dick ( a pudding studded with raisins), Clapshot ( mashed turnips with potatoes and chives), Cullen Skink (Scottish smoked Haddock/potato soup), Faggots ( meatballs), Ploughman's Lunch (cold meat, cheese, salad and chutney), Fool (sweetened, pureed fruit folded into whipped cream) and Miser's Feast ( Welch potatoes and pork).

FOOD TRIVIA: Top Selling Spices

Pepper and mustard are the two top selling spices in the world.

FOOD TRIVIA: Gourmet

The word "gourmet" did not originate in France but comes from the Farsi ( Persian) word for stew, "ghormeh". It is believed that the word  was brought back to the West by French Crusaders impressed by the lavish feasts of the Midle East tables. The word eventually became Francophied to the word we now know as "gourmet".

FOOD HISTORY: Scoville Units

Scoville units are measurements of the heat component (the chemical substance called, capsaicin) of dried Chile peppers. This system, was developed in 1912 by Wilber Lincoln Scoville, a chemist working for the Parke-davis Pharmaceutical Company. Scoville dissolved dried chiles in alcohol and made serial  dilutions of the alcoholic extract in sugar water (1:10, 1:100, 1:1000, etc). He had a group of tasters sip the various dilutions of alcoholic extracts of different Chiles.The dilution at which no sensation of heat was tasted by the panel was given the as the number of Scoville units associated with that particular Chile. The higher the number of Scoville units assigned to a Chile, the hotter that Chile was relative to other Chiles.Today, the capsaicin content of Chiles is measured using a modern technological technique, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, but the measurements are still given as Scoville units to honor Dr. Scoville.

COOKING TIP: Pearl Onions.

Peeling pearl onions, which can be difficult, is made easy by blanching (placing in boiling water for 30 seconds) and then "shocking" them; placing in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. After cooling, pinch the stem end and the onion should pop right out of its skin.

FOOD TRIVIA: White Castle

The first fast food in the U.S.was the White castle  chain started in 1916 in Wichita, Kansas by J. Walter Anderson. People liked the cheap hamburgers, fries and cola that were offerred.

THINGS I LIKE: Tempura

HISTORY: Tempura, the technique of  dipping fish and vegetables into batter and deep frying them, which we associate with Japanese cuisine, was introduced into Japan by the Portuguese. In the 16th century, the Catholic country Portugal opened trade routes with Japan. On Catholic holy days, when eating meat was forbidden to the Portugese traders, they ate deep fried shrimp. Because these holy days came four times a year, they were known, in Latin, as "QuattorTempora" (Four Seasons or Times). The Japanese adapted the Portugese technique for frying foods,  perfected it over time and the Latin word for "time" (tempora) eventually became the Japanese word, "Tempura". In todays Tempura, beef, chicken, and vegetables, as well as shrimp are dipped into a light batter and fried.

COOKING TIP: (Scientific backround): All recipes for Tempura require some wheat flour mixed with a liquid, usually water. Mixing water with flour causes the formation of gluten, a protein in wheat that gives baked goods their structure and elasticity. However, too much gluten formation makes for a very chewy and tough dough. Further, the more the flour and water mixture is stirred, the more gluten is formed. With this knowledge as  PROLOGUE, the steps for preparing Tempura follow with TIPS for avoiding excess gluten formation in the batter.

RECIPE

Vegetable oil
Shrimp and mixed vegetables, cut into, bite sized pieces
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 C corn starch*  (or rice flour*)
1 C cheap, 80 proof vodka**
1 C seltzer***
Salt

Heat 3-4 inches of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven until a temperature of 400F is reached on a candy  thermometer.

Whisk flour and corn starch together in a bowl. Mix vodka and seltzer in another bowl.

When proper temperature is reached in the Dutch oven, pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix, GENTLY, only until just combined. A few small lumps are OK.

Dip ingredients into batter with tongs, allowing the excess to drip back into bowl. Gently "drop" into hot oil with a motion going from the front of the Dutch oven to the rear, to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself. The temperature of the oil may drop a few degrees.

Fry, with stirring, until light golden brown, 2-3 minutes.

Remove with slotted spoon, place on paper towels to absorb excess oil and sprinkle with salt.

Return oil to proper heat and repeat until all ingredients are cooked. Serve immediately or keep hot in a 200F oven until service.

Serve with soy-ginger dipping sauce : 1/2 C soy sauce, 1/4 C rice wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp grated ginger, 2 tsp chopped scallion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp dark sesame oil.

* Corn starch and rice flour  DO NOT contain gluten so they can substitute for half of of the wheat flour and reduce the amount of gluten formation in the batter.

** 80 proof vodka, which is  60% water and 40% alcohol, can provide the proper amount of liquid to form the batter but with less of the liquid being water. Thus, the amount of gluten formation is reduced even further. The alcohol will evaporate when the food is fried.

***Seltzer's "bubbles" lighten the batter which produces a thin, crispy coating on the fried ingredients. Beer or any other carbonated liquid can be used, as well.

FOOD HISTORY: Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup

Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup is a thick, hearty soup, flavored by peppercorns and containing tripe, frequently other meats, eg. chicken, veal, etc. plus vegetables. There are almost unlimited variations in the way it can be prepared. The soup had its beginnings during the American Revolutiionary War. In 1777, the Continental Army failed to repulse the British advances and they now occuped Philadelphia. George Washington set up his armie's winter headquarters in Valley Forge, 20 miles from Philadelphia. The winter of 1777 was paticularly harsh, especially for the 10,000-12,000 American soldiers who were freezing in their ragged clothes, torn, worn out shoes, and who never had  enough to eat. On December 29, because of the absence of food, especially meat, which almost caused a mutiny, General Washington asked his cook to make a soup, " that will warm and strengthen the body of a soldier and inspire his flagging spirit." This was a tall order for the cook who had very little at his disposal. The only things available were some kitchen scraps of meat and vegetables and peppercorns. Fortunately, a local butcher donated some tripe and the cook prepared his soup using these ingredients, adding a lot of pepper for flavor.This hot, peppery soup warmed and refereshed the soldiers who went on, eventually, to route the British. While it can't be said that," This is the soup that won the American Revolutrion", it's contribution to that event cannot be underestimated. The soup, however, was not an American invention. It had it's roots in West Africa. West Africans brought their okra thickened "gumbo" soup/stew  preparation techniques and seasonings to the Carribean Islands when they were brought as slaves. The name "gumbo"is derived from several Southern and Central African Bantu Tribes terms for okra; guingumbo, grugombo, gumbo, etc. The Carribean Islanders transmuted these African "gumbos' into a spicy soup they called "Callaloo". Callaloo is ubiquitous all over the Carribean and varies according to available local ingredients but usually includes sea turtle which gives the soup a gelatinous texture that would have been mimiced by the use of tripe in the Pepper Pot Soup. Since two thirds of the American Army, at that time, were foreign born and many of these were African-Americans, it seems clear that the cook responsible for Pepper Pot Soup must, surely, have depended on his African roots for his inspiration. Sometime after the American Revolution this soup migrated into Pennsylvania Dutch country where it soon became, and still is, a mainstay in the diet of people in this region of the U.S.

FOOD HISTORY: Food Canning

In 1795, Napoleon Boneparte's troops were moving rapidly into Russia, where the Russians had stripped the countryside of most crops and food animals. Napoleon's troops moved the fighting front forward so rapidly that the the wagons supplying the soldiers fresh food could not keep up and the food would spoil in the time it took to finally reach the troops. Thus, the soldiers had to make do with the meager food items that were left in the counrtyside that they could manage to scavenge. Because of this, his troops were malnourished, always hungry and  not in the best fighting condition. Therefore, Napoleon who believed that, "An army marches on its stomach" and wanted to keep his army fed, had his government offer a cash prize of 12,000 francs to anybody who developed a reliable method of food preservation. In 1806, the Frenchman Nichaolas Appert conceived the idea of putting food in air tight glass bottles, corking them and found, after exposing them to sufficient heat, that the food prepared in this manner would keep from spoiling. Appert won the 12,000 franc prize that the French government offerred. While the Appert system worked, the fact that glass containers were used caused a large breakage problem, lessening the value of Appert's preservation system. However, in 1810, Peter Durand, an Englishman, took the food preservation  process further when he patented a method of sealing food in unbreakable heavy tin containers and heating them. Bryan Dorkin and John hall perfected the Durand method and opened the first commercial food canning company in England in 1813. This was them first introduction of canned food to the public. The men who developed these early canning methods must have intuititively used airtight containers and sufficient heating to preserve the canned food because it wasn't until decades later, in the 1860's, that Pasteur, the great French bacteriologist, explained cannings effectiveness in preserving food. Pasteur demonstrated that the growth of microorganisms caused food spoilage and that applying heat, sufficeint to kill these organisms allowed food to be kept without spoilage if the food was securely sealed from the air. In any case, with  the introduction of canned food, greater expansion of world-wide exploration could occur  (no scurvy and other nutritional defeciency diseases due to Mariners eating only dried, heavily salted, and not too nutritious food on their long journies) and with the increased provisioning of large armies with canned goods, the importance of canned foods became universally known. Thus, the demand for food in cans greatly increased. In 1812, Thomas Kennet emigrated from England to the U.S.  and established the first U.S. canning company in New York. Because early cans were so thick they had to be hammered open, can makers started to produce thinner cans. When cans became thinner, people looked to invent easy ways to open these thinner cans. In 1858, Ezra Warner, of Westbury Conneticut patented the first can opener, which was used by the U.S. military in the Civil War. From these beginnings, canned goods have made their way to every area of the globe to provide people with safe, nutritious food that can be stored for extended periods of time without spoilage.

FOOD TRIVIA: Grapefruit

Half of all the world's grapefruits come from only four U.S. states; Arizona, California, Texas and Florida. Grapefruit is the second most consumed citrus fruit in the U.S. (after oranges) with Florida producing about 75% of all U.S. grapefruit.