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Not to scare you more but I understood that reference! There's a special pan for "poaching" eggs that has little round cups that sit above boiling water. You break the egg into the cup, cover the pan, the egg cooks in the cup. My mom had one and Williams Sonoma still sells them. But they're not "real" poached eggs, as those cook in the water. Good lord, it's like I'm Being MFK Fisher. ← From With Bold Knife and Fork - A Recipe for Happy Hens: "As for poaching, I cheat. I own a pan which makes two round steamed eggs, not poached at all, and another one which makes six slightly triangular ones, not poached at all." MFK goes on to excuse herself for this "lazy compromise" on the basis of having correctly poached so many eggs as a young girl. She compares this to the "pusillanimous" argument she uses when explaining why she doesn't attend church services. On the basis of this information I'm inclined to believe Marion Cunningham intentionally tried to evoke MFKF's work in the originally cited quote. SB (always feels better after reading some MFKF)

A nice bit of research! I could attribute the similar diction to their having similar sensibilities, although the "misnamed 'poacher'" phrasing is almost scarey. Did MFK ever write about poachers? SB (keeps him MFK at the office)

That's an interesting observation. While Marion and MFK didn't (always) write about the same subjects, and had diffirent styles, they do seem to have shared a philosophy. SB (at least about food)

Too Much Food! No other people in History, or plant or animal before that, have ever been able to say that for an extended period. If this makes you neurotic or guilty , you should seek professional help. SB (ain't complainin')

Luckily, my bakery is on the route between home and work anyway, so I only have to buy a half dozen at a time. SB (thanks all the scientists who contributed to this thread) PS: Oddly enough, a little calculating tells me that if I ate 3 of the 7982 donuts each day they would last until almost exactly when I'll turn 65!

I can't explain why, but seeing Marion Cunningham on television always put me in mind of how MFK Fisher would have appeared? SB (and that's pretty damn high praise!)

Perhaps the prospect of enjoyment was either the intent or consequence of the need for stimulus? The carrot on the stick, to employ an edible metaphor and stay on-topic? {I had to look up "Koyaanisqatsi". I must have missed it the first time around. I'll admit the "u"-less "q" gives the title itself some degree of exclusivity, but I found it somewhat ironic that copyright issues kept the film itself out of print for ten years} Is enjoyment really declining, or just changing? While neither stoic/ascetic nor binge/purge are to my tastes either, I can accept that others might enjoy them, just as some might enjoy watching "Koyaanisqatsi", or Rachael Ray. Oh dear! SB (please don't tell Rachael Ray)

Oddly shaped lumps of chocolate in various stages of consistency, wrapped in disposable diapers? SB (well .... you asked)

But polls aren't supposed to be "greatly enjoyable"...though I do have friends who do love to crawl into the cross-tabs on a slow afternoon. ← We need for food for sustenance and sex for procreation. We share these needs with all other forms of life, including plants and bacteria. Where did the idea originate that either could or should be "greatly enjoyable"? SB (not that I mind)

What percentage "greatly enjoy" polls? SB (doesn't)

I don't know. I just tried some plain cornstarch, and it doesn't feel, or taste, like much of anything? SB (will just have to get more donuts tomm .... I mean .... will have to get back to the old laboratory)

The average temperature here in Nothern Minnesota is around 39 degrees, (277K), so while powdered sugar donuts are quite popular, (even though they have the inherent disadvantage if being easily lost in the snow), I don't think we have to worry quite yet? SB (saving three donuts for lunch)

I don't think so. A cursory examination of my three remaining donuts reveals that the powdered sugar has already created quite sizable holes in the middle of them! SB edited to change "four remaining donuts" to three. Ozone be damned!

In the name of "Science", I stopped by my local bakery and picked up another half dozen powdered sugar donuts this morning. I posed my question about the perceived "coolness" of powdered sugar to the women who work there. I mentioned the theory of corn/wheat starch, added to the sugar to prevent clumping (?), drawing out moisture. One of the women told me how they used to use corn starch on babies with diaper rash for just that reason. So, it would appear that our theory of starch drawing out moisture, combined with the hypothesis of "sugar, being a uniform mixture that quickly liquifies on the tongue, absorbs latent heat from the tongue, causing the perception of coolness", could be correct? My background is in engineering, autos, law and crime rather than science, but I seem to recall how the Second Law of Thermodynamics posits that unless we find a way to create new matter, everything will keep getting colder all the time? Thus, eating powdered sugar donuts could ultimately contribute to the end of the Universe, but what the hell? S "Science" B

Okay. Why is cornstarch cool to the touch? SB (out of donuts) ← Now you're pushing it! Let's wait for the scientists to debate this one. ← If we don't hear from them by tomorrow morning I'll just have to buy some more donuts for experimental purposes! SB

Okay. Why is cornstarch cool to the touch? SB (out of donuts)

Why does powdered sugar feel "cool" on the tongue? SB (eating donuts)

And if you are familiar with the names involved, (or more than any two of them), Get a ****ing Life! SB (or mercifully put an end to the life you have)

Ask the President of China to get the recipe for you? SB (don't hurt to ask)

← I've only known two CEO's of major firms. One, a recently retired head of one of the country's largest food and beverage companies, who's from my home town and whose father worked for my family's engineering company, and the other my cousin's husband from the Netherland who recently sold his international wharehousing business to an Austrian concer. The fact that both came from humble beginnings may help to explain it. The CEO from my hometown started off selling pots and pans door-to-doot, and my cousin's husband began wotking ar his company driving a forklift. I've seen them both is social settings, and they were as gracious and considerate of others as anyone could be, and I know they both raised their children with particular emphasis on being polite and respectful to all others I can only imagine how they would react to boorish behavior on the part of a employee or prospective employee. SB (class shows)

Dust them with flour and add them last. ← That is, indeed, about the only general rule pertaining to the subject. I fold final ingredients in rather than beat them, but otherwise I'd suspect your batter is too thin. Do you measure or weigh your ingredients? SB (big advocate of measuring by weight)

Chris~ I was thinking the same thing and would LOVE to hear input from anyone who is in th eknow about the financial aspects of the business. It'd be nice to have one with some serious foodie input............ ← I have an interest in a lease on good location and I'm looking into a franchise with this local operation: http://www.mixitupmeals.com/index.asp I'll let you know how it goes. SB

You just about have to know somebody who does it. The extra labor involved makes selling it for what it should be worth prohibitive so those who have thier harvest hand parched usually reserve it for themselves, friends and family. The person who does the parching usually takes their fee in kind, and might sell some. You'd have to ask around. In the old days, (25-30 years ago), many Indian families derived a significant portion of their yearly income from ricing. The black, paddy raised "wild rice" from California, and consumers who don't know any better, have kept the price so low that today it's mostly done just a hobby. My friend Big Lou is an Ojibway band member, and although he doesn't live on the Reservation he is entitled to hunting, fishing and ricing rights. I get my rice from him. SB (I ply him with free coffee and donuts all year in exchange) PS: Some of the wild rice commercially processed here in MN and Canada, is not too bad. Just avoid the real small, black stuff.

When you buy wild rice try and avoid the small black shiny grains you see used in packaged foods and fancy restaurants. It's actually burnt, takes forever to cook, and really doesn't taste like much. It's used mainly for "looks". The wild rice the natives prefer, (and keep for their own use), is larger and grayish green in color. It will cook up in about 30 minutes and some of the grains will curl and explode. Even most of the hand harvested wild rice crop is commercially parched (roasted). Less than 2% of the crop is hand parched in the traditional manner. This is what you want, if you can find it. SB (has a friend who rices every year)

Gastronomica Magazine Fall 2005 • Volume 5 Number 4 Cover Un pan mas | Juan Hidalgo A photo of a small round loaf of bread caught in an old-fashioned wooden rat trap. The wood base has a cartoon rodent logo with the tail attached to the ending of the word "Jaguar" written in script. The trap lacks a trigger mechanism, which would render it useless in reality, but I suppose that's what makes this art? from the editor | Dara Goldstein A short report from the editor, Ms Goldstein, on her trip to Berlin to chair a panel on "Food Trends as a Marker of National Identity in Post-Soviet Europe" at the Seventh World Congress of the International Council for Central European Studies. borborygmus Rumblings from the World of Food A Letter to the Editor concerning an article in a previous issue concerning the Hogarth etching Gin Street and it's companion piece Beer Street, a short piece on Disney corp's decision to yield to pressure to remove sharks fin soup from it's menu, a report on a puveyor of "slow fast food" in Oregon, and a report from the Berry Health Benefits Symposium on the impact of berry consumption on various aspects of chronic disease and aging. orts and scantlings Boning Up on Language | Mark Morton Musings upon the use of food words in everyday language, including examples such as "butter up", "top banana", "goose" and, of course, "where's the beef". Amusing, and perhaps suggestive of many similarly themed eGullet threads? feast for the eye download this article Fruits and Vegetables as Sexual Metaphor in Late Renaissance Rome | John Varriano Personally, I'm a bit weary of all the food/sex-porn metaphors. Some of the examples provided here, in both description and graphic representation, are indeed quite "graphic". poem fatted | Peter O'Leary Poetry analysis isn't my forte, but I liked the line, "A candle's smoking point describes each animals uses: oils, fuels. (no, it doesn't rhyme with anything, or have meter either) memoir Envy's Sweet Origin | Karen Pepper Sort of a regular magazine feature. Authors describe the early awakenings of their interest in food as something more than mere sustenance. In this instance Ms Pepper also brings reading and writing about food and cooking into play. in memoriam Fulton Street Fish Market | Maria Finn Dominguez A little inside information about the operation of New York's famous marketplace and some of it's colorful characters, with several good color photos. seasons Small Round Things | Chitrita Banerji An interesting article about the role several small fruits and berries play in orthodox Bengali Hindu religion and culture. illustration Where Beauty Resides | Jenny Kimball Three digital prints on silk of "Salt", "Garlic Skin" and Oyster Mushroom". technology Focus on the Fridge | Margaret B. Blackman Sort of the popular history of home refrigeration, including the ubiquitous magnets and the practice of using the door to display family photos. investigations A Short History of MSG: Good Science, Bad Science, and Taste Cultures | Jordan Sand Scientific and cultural perspectives on the use of MSG, complete with one and one-half pages of foot notes. A little too much for me. Alexis Soyer's Gastronomic Symposium of All Nations | April Bullock Another fairly lenghty piece, (ten pages), on a effort to establish an enormous dining establishment in London by a French immigrant chef, Alexis Soyer, who seems to have been the Emeril Lagasse of the day. Excerpts from Punch, the timeless British humor magazine, about the project were among the most interesting parts. The Symposium project, which ended up a financial failure, reminded me of today's cities' attempts to construct expensive edifices for sports teams. {Most of you reading this already understand that Gastronomica isn't exactly the kind of light reading matter you might take on a trip into the bathroom. Most issues have at least a few articles I just can't get through, for whatever reason. I'll try and provide some idea what they might be about, but would welcome assistance from other readers more familiar with the subject matter. - SB} classics The Satyrica Concluded | Andrew Dalby As I was just saying, some articles I just don't get. I'll be the first to admit that my education in the real "Classics" is deficient, which no doubt hampered my efforts to read this. I gather the author took it upon himself to write his own ending to the Latin novel The Satyrica, and, I assume, did a fine job, since the magazine's editors decided to buy and print it? But for twelve pages, two of which are foot notes, I drew a blank. lives A Taste for Menus: Henry Voigt Touches History | Jeanne Schinto On a lighter note, this is the story of a menu collection, complete with pictures of a few examples. Menus aren't usually considered literature, but as the author points out, they often tell stories and provide us with an unusual insight into a time or place. Just picking out a few menus in the collection from a list provided; the Boston Light Infantry Association, Parker House, Boston, 1863, the Vasar College "Thanksgiving", Poughkeepsie, New York, 1894, the Cotton Club, Harlem, 1934, the Hotel Algonquin, New York, 1938, and the Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, 1955/ archive Frightening the Game | Charles Perry Brief discussion of the effect of premortem stress on the flavor of meat; wild game in particular. The authour cites both 6th and 10th Century Persian and Arab texts and Modern food science writer Harold McGee on the subject. interview Critter Cuisine: An Interview with Al and Mary Ann Clayton | Vivian Patterson One of three photos which accompany this interview is a hollowed out armadillo used to hold dip for a fruit platter. Another pictures Snake and Eggs, and the third a Tadpole Soup. Once again, "zoom", right over my head. community The MacDowell Recipe | Ted Weesner, Jr. The artist colony in New Hampshire has housed luminaries of American culture since its founding in 1904, including Thorten WIlder, Willa Cather, Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein and Meridith Monk. How food and eating play a role in the functioning of the facility is examined, including a recipe for MacDowell Colony Whoopee Pie. working on the food chain Kamut: A New Old Grain | Gordon Sacks The future of an ancient grain. My Cousin Bob's wife is an agricultural economist. Maybe she would find this interesting, but it was too agricultural and economic for me. personal history Opa! Belly Dancing and Greek Barrel Wine | DeAnna Putnam Yes, Greeks like to drink wine and watch Belly Dancing, I already knew this, having seen Anthony Quinn in "Zorba the Greek". chef's page AKWA: Commercializing Creativity | Will Goldfarb I believe The author of this article is an eGullet reader. He emailed me about this story, asking what I thought, but I'm afraid I don't feel qualified to render an opinion. The organization referred to, the AKWA, resembles a philosophical movement of sorts. I hope either the author, or another reader, will attempt to enlighten me. I did, however, enjoy the picture of the hundred dollar bill stuck up with Bandaids! review essays Keeping a Good House | Leni Sorensen Pomp and Circumstance | Jason Sholl the bookshelf Books in Review {I can't see the point of my reviewing reviews, unless I'm already familiar with the subject of the original review, or have some particular insight into one of the subject works. Neither is the case in either the essays or books covered in this issue. I would like to point out that book reviews comprise 12-15 pages of each issue, and cover an eclectic selection of releases related to food. I've purchased several books over the years as a result of first reading about them here. - SB} lagniappe The Porcineograph The back page is typically something unusual and/or thought provoking. This issue it consists of an 1800's style map of the United States superimposed over the outline of a pig, with hog related drawings as the map borders. It's quite clever, although I doubt if residents of Oregon will be pleased to see what portion of pig anatomy their State represents?