FOOD HISTORY: MAC AND CHEESE IN AMERICA

 FOOD HISTORY: MAC AND CHEESE IN AMERICA

There is no food more associated with America than apple pie but you probably don't know how and why mac and cheese became one of the most  popular and singularly American dish. While mac and cheese dishes were known as far back as 160 BC, in the Roman Republic, mac and cheese were first served in the United States at presidential dinners hosted by President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had served as American ambassador to both France and Italy. He was accompanied by his enslaved servant, James Hemmings, brother of Sally Hemmings, his enslaved mistress with whom he fathered several children. When he was in Italy Jefferson  was so taken by the macaroni dishes with cheese he was served,  that he bought a pasta making machine and Durum wheat for making macaroni, to bring back to the the United States on his return. When in France, his slave, Hemmings, curiously, was a "free" man, since France had already abolished slavery. Therefore, during their time in France, Jefferson allowed Hemmings to be trained as a French Chef. Upon returning to the United States and becoming president, Jefferson wanted to serve a macaroni and cheese to his guests at presidential dinners. Of course no member of the Jefferson family would ever get into the kitchen to cook. Therefore, it was James  Hemmings who developed and prepared the first American  mac and cheese dish called, 'Pie and Macaroni" that was served at presidential dinners. In 1874, the first American cookbook, "The Virginian Housewife", written by Mary Randolph, a White House cook is where Hemmings was finally given the credit for its development and the recipe presented.  Mac and cheese gained popularity  throughout the United States after that, and mac and cheese became a quintessential American dish. While Jefferson is given credit  for this, the fact is, that  the credit  really belongs to James Hemmings.,

FOOD HISTORY: ANCIENT GRAINS

 

FOOD HISTORY: ANCIENT GRAINS

Cereal grains are the seeds that come from grass. e.g., einkorn, emmer, wheat, Millet, rice, barley, Amaranth, Farro, corn, spelt, Buckwheat, etc. Initially, grains started to be eaten 75,000 years ago in certain areas of western Asia.  Ancient farmers began to cultivate, harvest, and eat the grasses that naturally grew near their own communities. Some of these grains, einkorn, and emmer, are the ancestors of the wheat we eat today. They could be eaten fresh or stored for use throughout the year. However, as time passed, some of these farmers moved on, trying the expand their food resources farther from their indigenous regions of origin. They took with them the knowledge of the cultivation of these indigenous grains and, in the process, created a world-wide food globalization process.  Wheat and barley moved from Southwest Asia to Europe, some forms of millet moved from China to the West, rice traveled throughout East, South, and Southeast Asia, while African millets and sorghum moved across sub-Saharan Africa and across the Indian Sea. Archeological evidence from Southwest Mexico confirms the early arrival of maize (corn) and DNA sequencing of charred whole wheat grains show they were there, in early ancient times, as well.  Farmers in these varied regions of the world expanded the cultivation of their own “domestic” grains by the “trial and error” method; planting new types of seed, changing planting locations, either higher up or lower down on mountainsides, shifting planting and harvest times to accommodate climate changes in their new environments and, thus, expanded the geographic areas of where they could grow certain plants in  today’s wide world. Most cultures rely on grains as the basis of their nutritional needs and more than 45% of our calories now come from them, However, this percentage comes from only three of the very many grains available - rice, corn, and wheat. While this is true, most ancient grains are, for all practical purposes, virtually unchanged over the centuries. Many of them have been popular and have been eaten over extremely long periods of time in many places all over the world (and still are) but are relatively new to the knowledge and tastes in the United States and the West.  In recent years, however, they have gained popularity as food importers scour the globe to “discover” new foods to appeal to the ever-changing tastes of the western world. - einkorn, quinoa, millet, teff and amaranth, to name just a few. All of them are all whole-grain and excellent nutritional sources, protein, fiber antioxidants and minerals.  In addition, they cover a wide range of textures and flavors.  For these reasons, they deserve consideration as part of a healthy and tasty modern diet.

FOOD TRIVIA: Nutmeg, Mace and Allspice

FOOD TRIVIA: Nutmeg, Mace and Allspice

The spices nutmeg and Mace come from the same evergreen tree, Myristica fragrans,. The seed of this tree is called Nutmeg. Mace is the lacy membrane that covers the seed, which is removed and dried producing the spice, Mace.

Nutmeg ie warm, slightly sweet, reminiscent of clove and allspice and is used in sweet dishes, traditional medicines and beverages. Mace is milder, more delicate, has a cinnamon/cardamom aroma and is used in savory dishes, liquors and perfumes.

Allspice is the berry ot the Pimente discia tree which are traditionally died in the sun., then used whole or ground into a powder. It has a warm, gently sweet aroma, reminiscent of nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Even thought it is a single berry, because of this characteristic, it is called ALLspice. It is popular in Middle Eastern and Caribbean cooking where it is

COOKING TIP: The True Meaning About the Names of Which Certain Dishes are listed on a Menu

 COOKING TIP: The True Meaning About the Names of Which Certain Dishes are listed on a Menu

Risotto, Pilaf, Florentine and Milanese are descriptions, of either the method for preparing an item for cooking or the dishes’ main ingredient. They define what the dish is called.

When these dishes are modified by how a Chef wishes to present them, this only serves to represent the dish as presented and served by that particular Chef.

Risotto is a method of cooking rice for a long time, slowly adding additional liquid (water, stock, etc.)  during the cooking process, to release starch from the rice grains, which is slowly cooked in the liquid, to give you, when finished, tender rice with a smooth, creamy sauce.

Thus, Risotto, modified by a Chef, to be served with vegetables, is called “Vegetable Risotto”; cooked with seafood it is called “Seafood Risotto”, etc.

The Pilaf method begins with sautéing onion in fat (oil or butter), the uncooked rice is added until slightly cooked, then liquid, as above, is added, all at once, and the rice is cooked until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. The Pilaf can be modified by cooking it with other ingredients added, ie. – Shrimp Pilaf, Green Lentil Pilaf, etc. The name of the dish, as served, is still defined by its cooking method, the name only being modified by which other ingredients are cooked with it or in it.

Milanese denotes ingredients coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried. Tradition traces  "Cotoletta alla Milanese" back to an 1145 parchment mentioning a meal of  "Lombolo cum Panito', (breaded loin). This was, perhaps, a symbol of prosperity, since gilded food was often associated with wealth at that time. . Be that as it may, the recipe evolved over the years until Italian Chefs in Milan, Italy, coated "Cotteletes" in bread crumbs before deep frying,them, creating the dish we know today In 2008, the city of Milan granted the "Costoletta alla Milanese" the municipal designation,- DeCo - establishing that the TRUE recipe requires, "veal meat with the bone." Despite that, however, Chef s now prepare other protein foods - pork,  fish and chicken - prepared in cutlet-style and deep fried, that are called "a la Milanese" (in the style of Milan);. Thus, you can have have "Pork Milanese,"  “Chicken Milanese”, “Trout Milanese”, etc. Each Chef may serve whatever item he/she coated with crumbs and deep fried, covered with or placed over whatever the Chef chooses, but the dish's name is defined as "Milanese" because of its cooking method, not by how it is served.

Similarly, “Florentine” denotes a dish in which spinach is the main ingredient, usually as a bed upon which other items may be put.as decided by each Chef,   A bed of spinach cooked with shrimp and covered with a cheese sauce would be called “Shrimp Florentine”; similarly, a bed of spinach served only with poached eggs on it, would be called “Poached Eggs Florentine”.

It is the COOKING METHOD or THE MAIN INGREDIENT USED IN THE DISH that defines the name of the dish, not how it is presented and served by each Chef.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE FOODIES' COMPANION Holiday Gifts

 THE FOODIES' COMPANION Holiday Gifts

My books for the foodies' on your list or anyone interested in food, in general, might like one of these as a holiday stocking stuffer.

Their  names follow:

"The Foodiess' Companion' -  books; One and Two,  cover the following topics: Tips and Tables, Food History, Fun Food Facts and Recipes

The third book; "The Foodies' Companion 'Cookbook "Things I Like', contains the Foodies' Companion's favorite recipes in a lifetime of eating, cooking and interest in all things culinary related.

His forth, and most recent  book, "The Foodies" Companion Food Histories", contain histories of 120 foods, drinks and other items of culinary interest. 

.They are all are available on Amazon.

Happy Holidays to you all.

FOOD HISTORY: Champagne: Part 1; In the beginning

                                                                          

Prolog

The famous legend regarding Dom Perignon is that when he first tasted his invention of Champagne, he exclaimed, “Come! I am drinking stars”. While he may have said that and added greatly to the development of Champagne as we know it today, Dom Perignon DID NOT invented Champagne. More will be said about that later.

Champagne, a northern region of France, lying at a crossroads of northern Europe - south to the Mediterranean Ocean and north to Paris, the English Channel and western Germany – was an important trade route long before it became a wine region. Being crossroads brought trade and gave the region early access to important wine markets. Further, in 987 AD, the cathedral at Reims in Champagne was chosen as the Coronation site of the first French king and, for centuries, the next French kings were crowned at Reims, as well. While the French region of Champagne produced wines for hundreds of years with vineyards present since the Gallo-Roman times, the presence of kings brought economic assistance to the local monasteries to make wine production a serious venture. The Kings and royal courts needed their wine!  It is said that these. wines flowed freely at coronation and other royal festivities. The early wines from the region were pale, pinkish, still wines made from the Pinot Noir grape. The Champenois were envious of the reputation of wines made in the further southern region of Burgundy and tried to make wines of similar quality. However, Champagne had a unique set of circumstances due to its northern location; cold winter temperatures halted fermentation in the cellars so the yeasts became dormant until awakened in the warmer weather of the spring and summer. This produced large amounts of CO2 gas, which, trapped in the thin glass bottles used at that time, caused enough pressure to explode many of them causing significant financial loss to the winemakers. The bottles that survived which contained some effervescent bubbles began to gain favor with French royalty in the 17^th and early 18^th century. Even while that was true, Champanois winemakers were working to depress bubble formation in their wines. While the French winemakers found bubbly wine to be flawed and offensive, the British were rather partial to it.  The British bought large quantities barrels of Champagne still wines and bottled it themselves. They liked it when an occasional shipment contained a barrel of wine that “bubbled “after it was bottled. When these effervescent wines became popular, English winemakers became pressured to make more of these kinds of wines to meet the increasing demand. The winemakers of that time knew of fermentation and noticed bubble formation in the process, but they knew nothing about the role of yeasts in the process. The discovery of role yeasts played in the fermentation process did not occur until 200 years later. They did, however, notice that the sweeter the wine, the greater was the chance of it becoming effervescent compared to drier (less sweet) wines. Therefore, probably using trial and error, they added additional sugar and molasses, in varying amounts and at different times during fermentation. Eventually, they found a reproducible method; not by extending the first fermentation but by adding a new, second fermentation. Then came Christopher Merret.  Merret was a physician, a very curious scientist, and a founding member of The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge – later The Royal Society. Society was formed, “to make faithful records of the things that come within reach”. One of the things that “came within the reach” of Merrett was his observations and documentation of how English winemakers changed the way sparkling wines were prepared. In 1662, he delivered a paper to the newly formed Royal Society revealing how to add sugar to a wine to create a second fermentation in the bottle, writing, “Our coopers of recent times use vast amounts of sugar and molasses to all sorts of wine to make them drink brisk and sparkling and to give them spirit’. This was the first written description of the “Methode Champenoise” method of making Champagne which, later, became a source of French pride. Other discoveries in the field of glass bottle making were going on in England during the same time. Between 1615 – 1632, several English glassmakers were involved in making strong bottles which would revolutionize the glassmaking industry.  In 1615, British admiral sir Robert Mansell, advisor to British King James I, persuaded the king to forbid the use of timber for smelting – glass makers and iron foundries were the biggest users – and use coal instead for them fires.  Timber should be reserved for the building of ships was the rationale and that coal burned hotter.  Mansell also had another vested interest, since he owned coal mines. In any case, he prevailed, and coal started to be used in glass making. In 1633, Kenelm Digby invented the first wine bottle to withstand the pressure of fermenting wine. He started increasing the ratio of sand to lime and potash in his manufacturing process. Further, he used coal in his furnaces and installed a wind tunnel to blow into the furnace, both of which made for a hotter fire. Bottles made with this process could withstand the CO2 pressure build-up in bottles filled with wine from Champagne wine makers.  His bottles were so superior to the Champenois glass bottles that the French imported them to use for bottling of their wines where they were called “Vere Anglaise. (English glass).The next phase in the evolution of Champagne to the sparkling Champagne that we drink today had to wait for the arrival of Dom Perignon.

 

THE FOODIE"S COMPANION: Things I Like Mushroomalicious Canned Cream of Mushroom Soup

 THE FOODIE"S COMPANION: Things I Like

Mushroomalicious Canned Cream of Mushroom Soup

Among our five taste sensations, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and Umami, Umami dictates the "savory" or "succulent" taste in what you eat.. Foods which stimulate Umami taste sensations are those containing glutamic acid, or glutamates. Remember MSG (monosodium glutamate), the ingredient in the flavor enhancer, Accent? Umami containing foods include, among others, meat, tomatoes, aged cheese, seaweed, Asian sauces - soy and oyster sauces, Worchester sauce and mushrooms.

.Using the following simple recipe, you can enhance  the Umami taste in your mushroom soup when using a can of Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup.

Ingredients

one can of Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup

one soup can of very hot or boiling water, more if needed

1/2 cup dried Porcini mushrooms, broken into small pieces*

1/2 cup dried Shitake mushrooms, broken into small pieces, stems discarded*

salt and pepper TT

Directions

Pour contents of soup can into a saucepan; save can

Wash empty soup can clean, add  mushroom pieces  and fill can with very hot to boiling water.

Allow to soak until mushrooms have absorbed water and are completely soft and pliable. 

Drain the hydrated  mushrooms thru a strainer into measuring cup or other similar container and   press on  mushrooms to extract as much mushroom broth, as possible, Remove the mushrooms and reserve, saving the broth. Put the broth  back in can  and add more water, if necessary,  to make one can full.

Directions

There are two ways to finish the soup to your liking:

1 - Chunky;

Chop mushrooms into whatever size you desire, if you would like your soup to have pieces of mushroom in your final soup.

Add both mushrooms and mushroom broth into pan containing the condensed soup.

2 - Smooth

Put hydrated mushrooms and mushroom broth into food processor, blend until totally smooth and  add mixture into the pan containing the condensed soup

Whichever method  you choose, mix  mushroom /mushroom  broth with the condensed soup, mix thoroughly, adjust seasoning, heat and serve.

* You can use only one or as many other kinds of dried mushrooms in this recipe, if that is your preference.