FOOD TRIVIA: Earl Grey Tea

The distinctive flavor and aroma of Earl Grey tea (a blend of black teas from India and Sri Lanka) comes from it's being flavored with oil extracted from the rind of the Mediterranean orange (Citrus aurantium bergamia).

FOOD TRIVIA: Champagne "Cages"

The twisted wire cap, called a "cage", that holds the cork on a champagne bottle to ensure it doesn't "pop" off due to the pressure inside the bottle, is twisted 6 1/2 times no matter what is the brand of the champagne maker.

 

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.