FOOD TRIVIA: Shoe Sizes

In the early 1300's, King Edward I of England decreed that one inch should be the measure of three barleycorns (grains of barley). This was the beginning of how English shoe sizes began. A child's shoe that measured thirteen  barleycorns became size 13 and so forth.

COOKING TIP: More Uses for Baking Sheets other Than Making Cookies.

There are many things for which baking sheets can be used other than baking cookies: several follow:

1) Place food between two baking sheets to increase the heating surface 2x and allow for more even and uniform browning and a more tidy shape.

2) Pressed sandwich, anyone? Butter both sides of a sandwich and place between two  preheated baking sheets for nicely browned, crispy outside pressed sandwiches.

3) Slice vegetables very thin (mandoline or vegetables peeler), place between sheets and bake to make vegetable chips.

4) Puff pastry gives a firmer texture that is more shatter - proof when baked between two baking sheets.

5) Making lots of toast? Toast in oven between baking sheets.

6) Want prosciutto chips for garnish? Preparing them by baking between baking sheets keeps them flat and makes them  very crispy.

7) Want to make several grilled sandwiches at a time? Place two baking sheets in a 450 F oven for five minutes. Make sandwiches and butter both sides om the bread. Using heat proof gloves or pads remove sheets from oven , place sandwiches on one and place the second on top of the sandwiches and replace sheets in the oven for 10 minutes at which time  sandwiches should be hot, toasted and ready to serve.

THINGS I LIKE: Dolce de Leche

Dolce de leche  (Spanish; "sweetness of milk"; "milk candy") is a mixture of milk and sugar that is heated until  caramelized to form a sweet, thick, creamy spread or sauce. Dolce de leche originated in Argentina in 1829 in the province of Canuelas in Buenos Aires where two opposing factions were at war to determine who would control the area. A meeting had  been arranged to discuss a peace treaty between Generals Lavalle and Manual de Rosas, commanders of the two opposing forces, The meeting was to to be held at the camp of  General de Rosas. When General Lavalle arrived at  General de Rosas tent that evening, he found that de Rosas had been delayed and would not arrive for a while. Lavalle decided that since  he was already in General de Rosas tent and had to wait for him, he would take a short nap in de Rosas bed. While this was happening, a servant woman cook on de Rosas staff, was preparing a treat for the his soldiers; "la Lechada, "a mixture of heated milk and sugar. The cook wanted to clarify some things with General de Rosas and went to his tent, not knowing that the meeting with Lavelle had been planned. When she entered de Rosas tent and saw Lavalle in de Rosas  bed, she thought "the enemy' was invading the camp, Therefore, she raised the alarm and ran around alerting the soldiers. General de Rosas who arrived shortly thereafter, sorted out the confusion, stopped his soldiers from waking Lavalle and allowed his nap to continue. However, because of the confusion, the cook had forgotten about "la Lechada". When she finally got back to it, she found that it had become a thick, brown, creamy substance which a brave soldier tasted and loved. Thus, Dolce de Leche was born!

Dolce de Leche is very simple to make using canned, sweetened  condensed milk.(any brand; any size)

 PROCEDURE

1) Submerge a sealed can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water just brought to the simmer,

2) Simmer for two hours.

3) Cool completely.

4) Open can and VOILA! Dolce de Leche.

5) Use Dolce de Leche as a spread on bread, on slices of or as a filling for cake, as a topping for ice cream, for fresh/canned fruit or any other way that comes to your mind. Dolce de Leche will keep very well in your refrigerator.

FOOD HISTORY: Vermouth

Vermouth is a flavored, fortified (wine with additional alcohol added) wine made from base wines and various herbs and spices, especially Artemisia  plus up to an additional 50 different  ones including, cloves, cinnamon, sage, basil, ginger, star anise, juniper, and gentian,to name just a few. Each producer has their own unique and secret blend. Vermouth is the French word for Artesimia, from the German word, "wermut" or "absinthe  wormwood" in English. Ancient Romans had a wine of this type which they called Absinthiatum vinum. It was first mentioned in what is now Italy in 1773 by  oenologist  C. Villafranchi, in his "Tuscan Oenology" but the first person to duplicate the ancient  recipe was Antonio Bennedetto Carpano, an herbalist, who lived in  the ethnically Italian Piedmonte province of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Carpano combined herbs and spices with the famous Piedmonte sweet Muscatel wine and sold it in his shop. Carpano sent a case of his "new" wine to the King of Sardinia who enjoyed, it so much he adapted it as one of his household wines. As the wine gained in popularity, other wine makers started to make sweet "Vermouths. The Kingdom of Sardinia comprised the island of Sicily and what is now the country of Italy. The province of Savoy, at that time, also, a part of  the Kingdom of Sardinia was ethnically French and the wine makers in that region started to make Vermouth wines, as well..When Italy was unified, the province of Savoy was ceded to France in 1861, by treaty,. In 1813, Joseph Noilly invented the process for making a dry (not sweet) French style of vermouth and in 1855,  his son Louis and his son - in law Claudius Prat founded the Noilly Prat company to produce and sell their Vermouth. Their dry Vermouth is made from white grape varietals noted for their acidity which are aged in large Canadian oak barrels for eight months before being transferred to smaller barrels and moved outdoors for a year where the wine oxidizes and stabilizes while concentrating due to evaporation and picking up oak flavors from the barrels When moved back indoors, brandy and a secret blend of herbs and spices are added. after three weeks infusion the wine is filtered, rested for six more weeks, then bottled and sold. Almost all current Vermouth's are made from white grapes but a few are made from red, as well. Some of the major brands are the European brands,  Cinzano, Noilly Prat, Martini and Rossi and the American companies, Vya, Imbue and Atsby. Most everyone knows that Vermouths can be used a as aperitifs, by themselves, and are  integral ingredients in the well known cocktails; Martini, Manhatten, Negroni and the Americano. However, the dry Vermouth's can be  used in cooking, as well, substituting for any white wine called for in a recipe and will impart its own unique flavor to the dish.

FOOD TRIVIA: Heinz "57" Brand.

While riding a NYC train in 1896, Henry Heinz saw an ad in a shoe store stating that they had 21 styles of shoes from which  customers could choose. This inspired him to use the same "branding" idea for his own companies' products. Although the Heinz company manufactured 60 products at that time, Henry went with "57"; combining his lucky number "5" and his wife's "7".

COOKING TIP: Dual Uses for Kitchen Utensils

SOME COMMON KITCHEN ITEMS CAN BE USED FOR MORE THAN THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE.  A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOLLOW.

1) A pizza cutter can be used to chop soft herbs; basil, cilantro, parsley, tarragon, etc.

2) Muffin tins can be inverted and taco shells can be made to stand between the cups to be filled.

3) Aluminium foil can be rolled into a cone shape and be used as a funnel.

4) The smallest holes in a box grater can be used to scrape away burned parts on toast.

5) Pizza stones can be used, in an oven to bake foods that taste best crisp; oven baked fries, breaded cheese sticks, etc.

6) Your splatter guard can be placed over a bowl and used as a cooling rack.

7) Use chip clips to prop open the correct page on your cook book.

THINGS I LIKE: B.J. Brown's Honey Barbecue Sauce

  

While working at Mumford’s Culinary Center, I met several very good Sous Chefs, some of whom wrote recipes for cooking classes that Mumford’s offered to the public. One of these Sous Chefs, B.J. Brown, developed a recipe for a barbecue sauce that I think was delicious and I present it here.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp. butter

1 C minced onions*

2 Tbsp. garlic, minced

2 C ketchup

1/2 C dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp, Worcestershire Sauce

1//2 C coffee

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 C dark beer

1/2 C honey

1/2 C cider vinegar

TT salt

TT freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION

In a non - reactive pan, melt the butter until foamy and cook the onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the ketchup, cinnamon stick, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, coffee, beer and cider vinegar. Cook for one hour over low heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and finish with honey, salt and pepper.

*The original recipe calls for smoked onions. If you have them, use them. Since most of us do not have smoked onions, the sauce is great as I have written it. However,  if you like your barbecue sauce to have a smoky flavor, you can add bottled liquid smoke, a drop at a time, until the level of smokiness you desire is reached.

Once you have made this sauce you will never buy bottled barbecue sauce again. 

FOOD HISTORY: British Tea Traditions.

While the history of tea can be traced to China as far back as 4,750 years ago, the British association with tea is only 350 years old. It is thought that tea was brought to Europe, in the early 16th century, by Portuguese merchants returning from China. However, it was not until 1637, that tea was first commercialized by the Dutch East India Company. Thanks to the Dutch East India Company's efforts, tea drinking spread from Holland, all over Continental Europe, but high prices made it accessible only to the wealthy. For that reason, drinking tea did not take off in Britain. In fact, drinking tea was rather uncommon. In 1662, the Portuguese Princess, Catherine of Braganza, married King Charles II of England. She brought a chest of tea with her and introduced tea drinking to the English court. Thus, tea became a fashionable drink though it was heavily taxed, thus, only available to the very wealthy aristocrats. However, the demand for tea across all social classes caused the rise of a "black market" in smuggled tea. Because of this, Prime Minister William Pitt slashed the tax, significantly, making tea more affordable which in turn, put an end to smuggling.  By the 18th century, tea became the preferred drink of all classes in Britain.

In the 1840s, when it was customary to eat two meals a day, Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, complained of "having that sinking feeling" in the late afternoon due to the many hours between breakfast and the evening meal,. At that time, people had a small breakfast and dinner, a far more substantial meal, around 8 PM.

To solve this problem, the Duchess was served a pot of tea and some light refreshments, around 4 PM, in her residence, Woburn Abby. Since she wanted merely to satisfy her hunger until dinner, only small sandwiches and small cakes and pastries were served* Soon after, she started to invite friends to join her. Seated in comfortable chairs, they would exchange news, tell stories while sharing tea and refreshments served on a LOW, lounge table. Over time, this AFTERNOON tea became fashionable by others in the upper class.

However, for the working class in the newly industrialized Britain of the 1800s, "teatime" had to wait until work ended. For the working class, after a hard day's work, they were hungry for a more substantial meal. which may have included a variety of meats, bread, vegetables, cheeses, fish, perhaps meat pies, potatoes, and crackers. Because of its hardy nature, this kind of teatime was sometimes known as “MEAT" tea. Further, this tea was served with the worker and family seated at their HIGH kitchen table. While the AFTERNOON tea of the upper class took place in "tea" rooms on wealthy estates where people sat in comfortable chairs and had their tea and dainty foods served on LOW tables, the working classes more substantial "MEAT" tea was eaten at a kitchen or "HIGH" table. It is thanks to the British class system that these two different tea traditions exist today - AFTERNOON (LOW) tea for the upper, wealthy class, and HIGH ((MEAT) tea for the working class.

People in the U.S. misunderstand the origins of British tea traditions. When they imagine British HIGH tea, they think it is tea served in fine china, with small, delicate sandwiches and small, fancy cakes served in elegant surroundings. In fact, what Americans think of as HIGH tea, refers, actually, to AFTERNOON or LOW tea.  AFTERNOON (LOW) tea tradition is still practiced in Britain but now is widely available to anyone who can afford it while HIGH (MEAT) tea still exists in Northern England and Scotland.

*Among the items which may have been served are, a selection of finger sandwiches including cucumber, cress, smoked salmon, chicken, egg, etc., scones with butter, clotted cream and jams, and a variety of small cakes and pastries.

FOOD TRIVIA: Eating in China.

When eating in China, the following rules apply:

Instead of a napkin, a hot towel is provided at the start, as well as at the end of the meal, for the diner tho wipe their hands and mouth.

Differently from the West where you have your own plate of food, in China, all dishes are placed on the table for everyone to share and diners eat directly from the communal plate using their chop sticks.

It is perfectly acceptable to reach across the table to take an item from a far away dish. This is why Chinese dining tables are square or round as opposed the the Western rectangular tables.

Eating usually begins in order of seniority, each diner taking the cue to start to eat from his or her immediate superior.

To eat rice, the diner raises the bowl, to their lips and pushes the grains into their mouths with their chopsticks.

The diner must eat all their rice since not doing so is to show lack of respect for the labor used to produce it. In order to cool soup and to diffuse the flavor in the mouth, soup is eaten by sipping from the spoon while breathing in.This produces a slurping sound that is taboo in the West.

 When you are furnished eating from one side of a fish served whole, DO NOT FLIP THE FISH. Instead, remove the bone and proceed to eat the other side.

COOKING TIP: The Freezer as Your Culinary Friend.

Ice cubes made from water from the tap freezes cloudy. Boil water, cool slightly and freeze in ice cube trays to give you clear ice cubes.

Freeze grapes and add to white wine or other fruit based cold drinks, e.g., Sangria, to keep them cold without watering them down.

Put similar sized pieces of fruit - pineapple, banana, grapes, etc. –on skewers and freeze for a fun frozen treat.

Need some bacon fat to replace butter/ oil for frying or to add some porky, smoky flavor to a dish? After making bacon, allow the fat to cool, then pour the fat onto ice cube trays and freeze. When frozen, transfer to a zip lock bag and keep frozen until needed.

When you make homemade chicken (or any other stock), allow to cool and freeze in different amounts for different purposes. For small amounts, fill ice cube trays, freeze and transfer to zip lock bags to be used for things such as, deglazing fond for a pan sauce.  For medium amounts, e.g., to be used for gravy, freeze in muffin tins, then transfer to zip lock bags. Large amounts can be frozen in zip lock bags, placed flat to save storage space, to be used later for soups. 

THINGS I LIKE: Homemade Ricotta

I have always liked Ricotta cheese and have used it in lasagna, eggplant roll-ups, as a filling with chopped spinach in ravioli and as an addition to tomato sauce to give it a creamy consistency.  However, I always used store bought Ricotta. Recently. I have been interested in making my own Ricotta and have researched it on line. I and that numerous recipes are available to follow. have found that it is simple to make. All recipes  essentially call for the same ingredients; milk of some sort, salt and an acidic product; lemon juice,  lime juice or white vinegar.Some call for cream or buttermilk, as well,  but I prefer the most simple recipes using only milk, salt and acid. The recipe I  found that was simple, satisfying and totally delicious  was a recipe by Vivian Banquet Farre*. She gives a very well presented primer on ricotta and details of  her preparation ( with pictures) which ) I  recommend for those of you who want more than just a recipe. I present her recipe  below, with very minor changes made to fit my taste.

NOTE: This cheese is not TRUE ricotta.  TRUE ricotta is made using the whey  from other cheese making, frequently Mozzarella, where the whey containing left over proteins is acidified and reheated to near boiling (recooked; ricotta in Italian). This denatures the whey proteins and allows them to precipitate out as curds, which are then separated by passing through a fine cloth or cheese cloth lined sieve. While the following recipe includes the same procedures, as are used in making TRUE ricotta, we do not use leftover whey from the making of other cheese but fresh milk. However, the product is similar enough to TRUE ricotta that it can be substituted for it in any recipe calling for ricotta.

                               HOME MADE RICOTTA*

INGREDIENTS
4 C whole milk
1/2 tsp sea salt (I use Kosher and use 3/4 tsp)
3 Tbsp acidic liquid: distilled vinegar (which I use) or fresh lemon or lime juice

IMPLEMENTS
sieve or strainer
fine cheese cloth

PREPARATION

Put sieve or strainer in a container to collect whey and line with  cheese cloth.

 Place milk in a heavy pan. Heat over medium, with occasional stirring, until the temperature reaches
180-190 F or until the milk foams along the sides of the pan but doesn't boil.

Remove from heat, add acid, stir a few times and curds will start to form.At this stage, DO NOT STIR to distribute curds.

After five minutes, carefully pour milk mixture into cheese cloth, with as little disturbance of the curds as possible.

Drain to desired consistency;  5 - 20 minutes. Five minutes gives a moist and creamy cheese; longer drainage gives drier cheese. Discard whey

Cool to room temperature and place in container. Refrigerate for up to 7 days.

* For more complete information, go to: foodandstyle.com

ANOTHER NOTE: I found the yield from this recipe was small, less than one cup.There are recipes on-line that call for using more milk. I have tried a recipe calling one gallon. For me it was not worth the time and effort to make that one. The draining procedure seemed to go on forever. The recipe presented here is so quick and easy that I suggest you make as many of these individual recipes as you need to prepare the amount of ricotta necessary for your use.

FOOD HISTORY: Ice Cream

While today almost everybody loves ice cream,mankind's desire for something cold and tasty on the palate back to the 2nd century, BC. Alexander the great enjoyed snow flavored with honey and nectar and King Herod, of biblical fame,liked iced drinks during harvest time.The Roman emperor, Nero(AD 54 - 86) sent runners to the mountains to get snow that he flavored with fruits and juices. These, however, were "snow cones" not the ice cream that we know today. How to make things freeze "on demand" to avoid having to wait for snow or to send runners to the mountains to bring back snow, had to wait until unknowns, probably Chinese, discovered that by mixing salt with snow they could reduce the freezing point and achieve temperatures lower than the freezing point of water -  0 degrees C;; 32 degrees F.This was written about in India in the 4th century AD but the first description of making ice using the salt method was by an Arab medical historian , Abu Usabi (AD 1230 - 1270).This was the discovery that opened the way for what was, eventually, to be known as ice cream.The process arrived in Europe in 1503 but was not used in reference to edible things until much later when it was used for making water ices in Naples, Italy. Later, the Italian, Buontalenti  "invented a  dairy based frozen dessert called "Italian cream" and another Italian from  Sicily, Procipio dei Colltelli,  first sold this new treat to the public. (See; GELATO). Both, Buontalenti and Procipio migrated to Paris, France and made "Italian cream" very popular there.The first mention of the designation,  "ice cream" was from a description of a banquet celebrating the 10th anniversary of the return of Charles II's  to the throne of England, after an exile in France. A delicacy was described as, "One plate of white strawberries and one plate of " ice cream" that was served only to the King". No one knows that name of the Kings "ice cream:"maker but while in France,  French King Louis XVI allowed Charles  to live and delight in all things French. It is  likely that King Charles' Chef  learned  about how to make "Italian cream" during their exile in France.Ice cream recipes started to appear in the 18th century cooking books, including the 1718 edition of "Mrs. Mary Eales' Receipts" written by Mrs. Eales,the Royal Confectioner to Queen Anne. No eggs were included in her recipes.The addition of eggs and the suggestion that the ice cream should be stirred during the freezing process didn't occur until the middle of the century. These modifications of the process produced a smoother, richer, creamier product more similar to modern ice cream. Ice cream, probably brought by European settlers, began to appear in the American colonies during the first half of the 18th century. The first known service of ice cream-in America occurred when Thomas Blandon, Governor of Maryland put it on his dessert table in 1744 and a later Governor of Maryland, Francis Fauquier had some prepared for his table in 1750 as did his successor, Lord Betetourt, in 1768. Thus, ice cream was being eaten in America prior to Thomas Jefferson bringing back a recipe for ice cream, from France in 1784,  which was served, frequently, at his table. George Washington, also, ate ice cream  which Martha Washington prepared from a recipe taken from Mrs. Hannah Glass' cookbook, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy" (1747).The taste for ice cream spread and in 1777, the first public advertisement for ice cream, anywhere in the world, appeared in the New York Gazette (May 12, 1777) in which Philip Lenzi, a confectioner announced that, "his ice cream may be had almost day".At that time,ice cream was prepared using the ""Pot freezer Method" in which ice cream mixture was placed into a metal bowl which was put in a larger bowl filled with ice and salt. As the mixture cooled it was mixed and stirred thoroughly until the mixture became more solid.Then it could be removed - a very strenuous and time consuming procedure.However, on Sept. 9, 1843, Mary Johnson of Philadelphia, got a patent for an artificial freezer consisting of a tub, cylinder, lid, dasher and crank - a design still used today! This was a big improvement in the ease in which  ice cream was made and, thus, increased it's availability to more people. In 1866, Thaddeus Lowe invented the first commercially produced ice cream machine and this ice cream was sold in Dallas, TX.later, in 1889, Jacob Fussell, a Baltimore dairyman, opened the first commercially built ice cream  factory in Sun Valley, PA In this factory, he turned his surplus of cream into ice cream and had it shipped back to Baltimore by train.He did great business and became the" Father" of the wholesale ice cream business. Fussell opened ice cream parlors as far west as Texas and sold his business to Borden in them 1900's. The invention of the continuous process freezer, in 1926, gave birth to the modern ice cream business.Ice cream has become the favorite dessert of Americans and different versiions of it are enjoyed around the world.

FOOD TRIVIA: Hooch

When Alaska was purchased in 1867, Congress prohibited the sale of alcohol in this new territory. The indigenous Tlingit Indians, living in a village named, "Hoochinoo, on Admiralty Island, Alaska, started making their own, illegal alcoholic drink made out of molasses, yeast and flour. They called this drink,"Hoochinoo". In the 1890 Alaska Gold Rush, gold miners shortened "Hoochinoo" to "Hooch" which became the word to describe any illegal or poor quality alcoholic drink.