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.