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THE FOOD REFERENCE NEWSLETTER
October 21, 2004 Vol 5 #35 ISSN 1535-5659
IN THIS ISSUE
=> Website News
=> 'Food for Thought' by Mark Vogel
=> Quotes and Trivia
=> Website of the Week
=> Food Trivia Quiz
=> Readers questions
=> Ancient & Classic Recipes
=> Did you know?
=> Who's Who in the Culinary Arts
=> Requested Recipes
=> Cooking Tips
=> Culinary Calendar - selected events
=> General information and Copyright
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WEBSITE NEWS http://www.foodreference.com
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I added lots of new Recipes and finished completely updating the Culinary Posters section. Several new schools and cooking/wine tours have been added.
Also a great new book has been added 'The Low-Carb Gourmet'
http://www.foodreference.com/html/low-carb-gourmet.html
WEEKLY FREE COOKBOOK DRAWING
Congratulations to the winner of last week's Free Cookbook Drawing, Salley Miller. She wins a copy of 'There's a Chef in My Family: Recipes To Get Everybody Cooking.' by Emeril Lagasse.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/emerils-theres-a-chef.html
THIS WEEK'S DRAWING will be for
The Food Journal of Lewis & Clark: Recipes for an Expedition by Mary Gunderson. An excellent collection of recipes from the famous expedition, adapted to a modern kitchen. 166 pages.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/thefoodjournaloflewis.html
CLICK THIS LINK TO ENTER THIS WEEKS DRAWING -
http://www.foodreference.com/html/feedback-page.html
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'FOOD FOR THOUGHT' BY MARK VOGEL
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I Think, Therefore I Don’t Eat
The 17th century French philosopher Rene Descartes concluded that his existence was irrefutable based on the presence of his own thoughts. Simply put, if I am thinking, then I exist.....
The rest of the story---
http://www.foodreference.com/html/markvogelweeklycolumn.html
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QUOTE
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"Never hesitate to take the last piece of bread or the last cake; there are probably more."
Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms: Etiquette of the Table (1880)
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TRIVIA
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25 years ago large Atlantic bluefin tuna (250 to over 1,000 pounds) might sell for a penny a pound for catfood, if it sold at all. Today, that same bluefin tuna will sell for up to $50 per pound (that's $50,000 for a large fish!), mainly due to the popularity of sushi and sashimi around the world.
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CHEF JAMES HIGHLY RECOMMENDS SAVEUR MAGAZINE
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Food Reference subscribers can get a FREE trial issue to Saveur magazine - the award winning magazine that celebrates the people, places and rituals that establish culinary traditions.
https://secure.palmcoastd.com/pcd/document?ikey=089CFHPP1
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THIS WEEK'S WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:
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LA CUCINA EOLIANA E SICILIANA
The food of the Eolian Islands and Sicily
http://www.lacucinaeoliana.com
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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ
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The Food Trivia Quizzes are now moved to their own separate section after the newsletter is e-mailed. Check the Navigation Bar at the top of the page.
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FREE CATALOGS!
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Order the world’s best and most unique Catalogs for FREE!
Plus save money with exclusive Savings Certificates from every
catalog. Voted the #1 source for catalog shopping!
http://www.foodreference.com/html/freecatalogs.html
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ANOTHER FOOD REFERENCE WEBSITE
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FOOD ART AND POSTERS
Art & Posters for your home, office, restaurant, dorm room, kitchen, etc. The best selection - including movie, music, sports, food and culinary art. Famous masters, current unknowns. All the best quality, framed or unframed, low prices.
http://www.culinaryposters.com
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READERS QUESTIONS
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QUESTION: Please explain the properties of ultrapasturized cream, light cream, heavy cream, half and half. How to add to sauces-cold to hot, hot to hot? It's baffling and I'm tired of adding cream and watching it separate! Jackie
ANSWER: Here are some facts and tips on using cream or milk in hot dishes.
1) The lower the butterfat (milkfat) content, the more likely cream is to separate.
Half & Half is at least 10.5% butterfat (milkfat),
Light Cream is between 18 and 30% butterfat,
Light Whipping Cream is between 30 and 36% butterfat,
Heavy Cream (Heavy Whipping Cream) is between 36 and 40% butterfat.
2) The hotter the liquid, the more likely cream is to separate. Cream should never be added to a boiling liquid.
Heavy cream is the best choice - it will not separate unless the liquid is boiling vigorously - and even then heavy cream may not separate.
When adding anything other than heavy cream, it is best to heat it up a bit before adding it to another hot liquid.
It is partly the difference in temperature that causes cream to separate. CHEF JAMES
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QUESTION: I was going through my grandma’s recipes and found a reference in her handwritten recipes for cheese biscuits for something called "compound". What might "compound" be? This recipe is probably 70-90 years old. Ingredients are grated cheese, baking powder, milk, flour, salt and 5 tablespoons of this “mysterious” compound. Any ideas? Cindy
ANSWER: I am not sure, but a good clue is the only ingredient missing from the recipe - some sort of shortening - butter, lard, or margarine.
1) 'Compound' could just mean margarine
2) Frequently if butter was too expensive, homemakers would mix lard with butter to use in baking.
My best guess would be #2.
(There is now a 'Bakery compound' used in commercial bakeries instead of butter or margarine - basically it is a special type of margarine that helps soften and lubricate bread structure and extend shelf life.) CHEF JAMES
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QUESTION: A recent cookbook purchase of mine has a recipe for Swedish Bean Salad that calls for 1-16 oz. can of "kitchen sliced" beans...can you enlighten me as to what these are, please? Katrina
ANSWER: It seems that manufacturers have assumed that all home cooks are incapable of cutting food to uniform size - and food that is cut uniformly must therefore appear manufactured and could not have been cut in the home kitchen.
They came up with the term "kitchen-sliced" to indicate random sized pieces that give the illusion of being cut at home in the kitchen by incompetent home cooks.
Isn't it nice to know that they hold their customers in such high regard? CHEF JAMES
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TRIVIA
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Fennel is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean area. The name fennel originates from the Greek word for "marathon” which is the famous battle at Marathon in 490 B.C. where the Greeks fought against the Persians on a field of Fennel.
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CULINARY SCHOOLS, TOURS AND CRUISES
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Culinary Schools & Cooking Classes - Food and Wine Tours for the amateur & the professional. U.S. and abroad.
The best of the best.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/Cooking-Schools.html
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ANCIENT & CLASSIC RECIPES
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Fannie Merritt Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cookbook
(1896 edition)
STEAMED CRANBERRY PUDDING
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
3 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/4 tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk
1 1/2 cups Cranberries
Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, and eggs well beaten.
Mix and sift flour and baking powder and add alternately with milk to first mixture, stir in berries previously washed, turn into buttered mould, cover and steam three hours.
Serve with thin cream, sweetened and flavored with nutmeg.
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QUOTE
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"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
Albert Einstein
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FLOWERS
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Fresh Flowers Directly from the Growers
BE TRULY ROMANTIC - GIVE FLOWERS FOR NO REASON AT ALL!
http://www.foodreference.com/html/freshflowers.html
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DID YOU KNOW?
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Why corn on the cob is so much better when picked and eaten as quickly as possible. --- Fresh corn on the cob will lose up to 40% of its sugar content after 6 hours of room temperature storage. The sugar is converted to starch.
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WHO'S WHO IN THE CULINARY ARTS
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Chef Albert Kumin
Pastry chef Albert Kumin of the Four Seasons Restaurant created the Chocolate Velvet Cake in 1959.
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RECIPE REQUESTS FROM READERS
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QUESTION: What ever happened to chocolate snap cookies? The came in a small box like animal crackers. Are they still made? Where are they sold? Is there a recipe out there for this old time classic?? thank you, Licia
Nabisco still makes Chocolate Snaps, and there are several other smaller companies that make them. I was not able to find out how they are packaged though - I am pretty sure that they come in larger boxes now, and they may not make the smaller boxes anymore. CHEF JAMES
CHOCOLATE SNAPS
72 Servings
2 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c butter
2 ts vanilla
3 eggs
6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
4 c flour
2 ts baking soda
1 ts salt
1 sugar for rolling
Cream butter and sugars, add egg, vanilla and chocolate. Mix in dry ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into balls and roll in sugar. Bake for 10 minutes.
Email your recipe requests, food info or history
questions to me at james@foodreference.com
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SPONSOR
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POSTERS - Culinary posters, movie, music, sports and fine arts posters and prints. Framed and unframed. Largest selection available anywhere, at the lowest prices.
http://www.culinaryposters.com/
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QUOTE
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"Nutrition... has been kicked around like a puppy that cannot take care of itself. Food faddists and crackpots have kicked it pretty cruelly..."
Adelle Davis (1904-1974)
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COOKING TIPS
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Sesame seed is a versatile seed that can be used in many of the same ways as nuts. The seed has a nutty, sweet aroma with a milk-like, buttery taste. When toasted, its flavor intensifies, yielding an almost almond- or peanut butter-like flavor.
Toasting Sesame Seeds: Heat seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until seeds are golden-brown and fragrant. Immediately pour out of hot pan to avoid over-toasting.
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CULINARY CALENDAR - A Few Selected Events
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22
1981 The FDA approved the artificial sweetener Aspartame (NutraSweet) for tabletop use.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23
1943 Barbara Ann Hawkins of the vocal group 'The Dixie Cups' was born
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24
1836 Alonzo Dwight Philips patented the phosphorous friction safety match in the U.S.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25
1975 On the 'Mary Tyler Moore Show,' Chuckles the Clown, dressed in a peanut suit, is accidentally killed by an Elephant that thought Chuckles was a huge snack.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26
1918 Cesar Ritz died in Kussnacht, Switzerland. World renowned hotelier who managed various resort hotels, including the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo where he met chef Auguste Escoffier. Ritz then managed the Savoy Hotel in London, with Escoffier as his chef. Eventually he opened The Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1898, and was part owner in many other hotels and restaurants, including the Carlton in London. His name became a synonym for luxury.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27
1728 Captain James Cook was born. British explorer who charted and named many Pacific Islands, including the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28
1919 The Volstead Act was passed, which enforced the 18th amendment, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages. It went into effect on January 16, 1920.
For a complete listing of each day's events, go here:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/HistoricEvents.html
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TRIVIA
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Garum is a condiment or sauce widely used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Take some small fish, the intestines of some larger fish, maybe some oysters, salt them, maybe add some vinegar, pepper and/or other spices. Then set this in the sun for several days. At this point it is called liquimen. As this appetizing mass of stuff would ferment and putrefy it oozed a liquid. This liquid is garum. Used as a seasoning in cooking and also as a table condiment. There are several modern versions of this: Pissalat from Nice and nuoc-mam in Vietnam are two of them.
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QUOTE
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"On spinach: "I dislike it, and am happy to dislike it because if I liked it I would eat it, and I cannot stand it."
Le Prudhomme in 'Flaubert's Dictionnaire des idées reçues'
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Food Reference Newsletter ISSN 1535-5659
James T. Ehler (Publisher & Editor)
3920 S. Roosevelt Blvd
Suite 209 South
Key West, Florida 33040
E-mail: james@foodreference.com Phone: (305) 296-2614
Food Reference WebSite: http://www.foodreference.com
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