Food History Articles and Links

[liuzhou]

This Kiwifruit Isn't From New Zealand at All. It's Chinese, and This Is How It Got Hijacked

 

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The kiwifruit may be New Zealand’s defining agricultural product, generating a handsome $1.05 billion in exports for the country in 2015, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But how the South Pacific nation came to claim the exotic, fuzzy fruit with soft, green flesh and a unique taste is a story that combines considerable luck and a stroke of marketing genius.

 

 

NOTE: This paragraph below is misleading at best.

 

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Today, even parts of the Chinese-speaking world call the fruit by a partial transliteration of its Oceanic moniker. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, at least, it’s known as strange fruit — qi yi guo in Mandarin, or kei yi gwo in Cantonese. (Google searches of mihoutao still turns up considerable results, but mostly confined to web pages from the People’s Republic.)

 

Taiwanese call it 奇异果  (qí yì guǒ), but it still called 猕猴桃 (mí hóu táo) by around 1 billion Mandarin speaking mainlanders. Taiwan has just over 4 million native speakers of Taiwanese Mandarin.

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Moscow's palatial Yeliseyevsky food hall closes after 120 years

 

I'm taking this one personally!  I lived in Moscow in the late 1980s and visited this place. At that time, the USSR was on its last legs and stores had almost nothing to sell. Russia wasn't short of food, but the infrastructure to get it to the city was bankrupt and corruption endemic. Food trains and trucks were lined up outside the city unable to get in.

Only high ranking party members and pampered foreigners like me could get food easily.

But the building was beautiful.
 

Edited April 11, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[curls]

On 4/10/2021 at 3:37 PM, CeeCee said:

 

You beat me to it, both visiting and posting about it!😄 Hattem has been on our to do list for a while, because of the Hanseatic history, Anthony Piek Museum (he inspired Dutch theme park Efteling) and the bakery museum as well.

Did you enjoy your stay?

 

This is from an old Dutch tv show called Ontdek je plekje, discover your spot. Footage was shot during late '70's and or '80's. I haven't figured out those time stamps yet, but you can find Hattem from 19.00 minutes on and the bakery museum itself at 24:04. (Before that you get to see Harderwijk and Elburg, which are similar towns in the same area). Unfortunately they don't go in, so this is completely off topic.

...

On 4/10/2021 at 3:37 PM, CeeCee said:

 

In this clip from 2020 it turns out the baker is also the ceo. There is a new building for the museum, where he wants to show off kermisbakery. Kermis background in English, but also check out the the page in Limburger (this is the southern region bordering Germany and Belgian) dialect. It shows two pictures, one of a contemporary kermis in Maastricht and some of the regional specialty vlaai.

Oliebollen (a fried dough, also very much associated with new years eve) and waffles are part of kermisbaking.

 

We move on the second room, het spijslokaal. No, not almond spijs. This instance it translates as food in general. It used to be a cafe, but from here he wants to serve the terrace that looks in on the bakery. They will be selling banket from here, which is pastry. He mentions krentenwegge again, but they will also be selling suikerbrood (sugarbread with characteristic sugar lumps called parelsuiker/pearl sugar.

The tiles behind the bar he's pointing at are original and have been restored.

 

The golden pretzel/krakeling sign came three weeks after buying this building. It came from the city of Zwolle, where bakery De Kruyter ceased to exist after 80 years. He mentions two other bakeries, which I frequented personally as I used to live there. But I'll leave the story of Zwolle's inhabitants nickname and the delicious cookie modeled after it for another day. De Kruyter were very happy that their krakeling got such a nice spot at the bakery museum.

 

Up in the attic he shows the workshoproom (leslokaal), which is still empty for now. Covid struggles etc, but the restoration has been done. He points at the rafters which have been raised. Again, he likes the view on the other museum buildings.

Expo space (pronckkaemer) is up next. They have 20.000 books on baking, from as early as the 17th century up to now. He also mentions poststamp and menu collections. 1000 menu's to show what bakeries catered for through the years. This might take a while to develope though, as exposing books and menu cards means they need climate controle, good lighting, etc. They're working on funds to make this happen.

 

The stairs lead to the offices, where a part of the book collection will be kept. Which is why they kept up all those walls. He points out the window where outdoor activities will be held. Last room will be storage for things not currently on display, like chocolate molds. It's a good space, as it's not very warm for an attic and the small windows block most of the light.
 

 

My mother, my husband, and I were in Zwolle for a week visiting family so the trip to Hattem was one of many sightseeing trips. Thank you for finding video of the Bakery Museum in Hattem and for providing summaries of the videos in English. Yes, I would definitely recommend that you visit the Hattem museum. The demonstrations and the museum exhibits were very interesting. Lots of old bakery equipment to look at! I did not know about their 2020 expansion - will remember this for when I visit the Netherlands again. I have not been to the theme park in Efteling, perhaps next time.

[weinoo]

A little history but no link.  Here are the concession prices at Shea Stadium, in 1967...

 

 

The fact that they sold cigarettes AND cigars is quite interesting. Obviously, one could smoke while watching a game...ahhhh, those were the days.

 

I'm thinking a cheap cigar and an egg salad sandwich - what could possibly be bad?

[rotuts]

10 % more for a premium beer !

 

wonder what it was back then ?

 

"" High Life ? "

[liuzhou]

The Unlikely Rise of the French Tacos

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French tacos are tacos like chicken fingers are fingers. Which is to say, they are not tacos at all... ...Technically, the French tacos is a sandwich: a flour tortilla, slathered with condiments, piled with meat (usually halal) and other things (usually French fries), doused in cheese sauce, folded into a rectangular packet, and then toasted on a grill.

 

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

French tacos are tacos like chicken fingers are fingers.

I kept reading but my conscience told me that I was no better than a rubbernecker viewing the blood and gore of a major traffic accident. I may need to go to confession very soon. 😂 

[weinoo]

Pickles were once available on practically every block in my neighborhood...back in the day.

 

Even though I've never heard it referred to thusly, what the hell...

 

THE SWEET AND SOUR HISTORY OF NYC’S PICKLE ALLEY

 

Despite the obvious mistakes in editing and accuracy, still a fun read. (No, Russ & Daughters is not a deli).

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[nickrey]

On 4/11/2021 at 12:29 PM, liuzhou said:

This Kiwifruit Isn't From New Zealand at All. It's Chinese, and This Is How It Got Hijacked

 

 

 

NOTE: This paragraph below is misleading at best.

 

 

Taiwanese call it 奇异果  (qí yì guǒ), but it still called 猕猴桃 (mí hóu táo) by around 1 billion Mandarin speaking mainlanders. Taiwan has just over 4 million native speakers of Taiwanese Mandarin.

 

When I was a kid, it was called a Chinese gooseberry not a kiwifruit.

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, nickrey said:

When I was a kid, it was called a Chinese gooseberry not a kiwifruit.

 

Me too. As the article mentions. Well, it doesn't mention me! But it does reference the older English name.

[weinoo]

On 4/12/2021 at 9:27 AM, rotuts said:

10 % more for a premium beer !

 

wonder what it was back then ?

 

"" High Life ? "

 

Heineken? Anything imported? 

 

Of course, the last time I was at Citi Field in 2019 (RIP Shea), a standard beer was like $11 and a premium more like $15. But LaFrieda, Chang, Meyer/Shake Shack, etc. all represent at Citi.

[weinoo]

If anyone thought there were only internecine fights over pizza in NYC...

 

The True Story Of The Lower East Side Pickle Wars

 

Probably just one of the true stories, as is always the case. @Margaret Pilgrim might like this!

 

The Great Lower East Side Pickle War

[blue_dolphin]

Pickle wars?  What a great segue to this upcoming interactive food history event from the University of Southern California Libraries

The video I linked below will take you through some materials in their collection that feature early British recipes for/documentation about Indian-style pickles. 

 

Here's the text that appears beneath the video if you watch it on YouTube with the requisite links to the recipes and an option to register if you want to participate.

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"The British Empire on a Plate"—a USC Libraries Special Collections and USC History Department interactive event Pickle-along with us! Participants are encouraged to try out a recipe for an Indian Pickle from an eighteenth-century recipe book held in USC Libraries Special Collections. In this brief video, Professor Lindsay O’Neill from USC’s Department of History offers historical context and further instructions, along with links to the recipe itself. You can use either our modernized recipe or test your hand at the original—straight from the recipe manuscript, which can be found at: http://bit.ly/picklealong. Document and share your process on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #picklealong, and tagging @uscspecol and @usclibraries. Join us on Monday, April 26 at 12:00 noon (PDT) for a discussion of the process and to share our results. Please RSVP for the event at http://bit.ly/RSVPpicklealong.

 

 

https://youtu.be/TOOoD4UtgVI

 

[liuzhou]

The world’s oldest unopened bottle of wine.

 

 

 

Dated to AD 325, the so-called Speyer wine bottle is a sealed vessel, presumed to contain liquid wine. It was found in 1867 when archaeologists discovered a Roman tomb near Speyer. The bottle has handles shaped like dolphins.

 

 

found via Twitter @carolemadge

 

[liuzhou]

 

80,000 Snails, 12 Tiny Electric Fences, and 1 Rediscovered Recipe for 'Wallfish'

 

 

[liuzhou]

Tracking the Elusive Bloater

This traditional English herring dish offers a taste of cultural heritage—if you can find it.

 

 

[Anna N]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

This traditional English herring dish offers a taste of cultural heritage—if you can find it.

I must admit that I’ve heard of this but never sampled it. Not at all sure I really want to, either. 

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I must admit that I’ve heard of this but never sampled it. Not at all sure I really want to, either. 

 

I want! Delicious. Fortunately, I know where to find them - or did pre-pandemic. I ate some on 2019 when I went to the UK last for my mother's 90th birthday. 

[Anna N]

39 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I want! Delicious. Fortunately, I know where to find them - or did pre-pandemic. I ate some on 2019 when I went to the UK last for my mother's 90th birthday. 

Yes there is no doubt you are a much more adventurous  eater than I. But damn I still enjoy your eating adventures.  

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

I must admit that I’ve heard of this but never sampled it. Not at all sure I really want to, either. 

I'm genuinely a bit surprised that, after a life spent wedded to a Dane, any herring preparation might strike you as intimidating.

[Anna N]

53 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I'm genuinely a bit surprised that, after a life spent wedded to a Dane, any herring preparation might strike you as intimidating.

Guts. It has plenty; I have none. 

[chromedome]

LOL Okay, now I get it.

[liuzhou]

Liverpool cafe finds menu from 1913 during refurb

 

Nice to see them using "entrée" correctly, as everyone did back then. It is still never used to refer to a main dish in the UK, except in places that have "concepts" and "themes" and think they are trendy and therefore should never be eaten in anyway! ⛔

 

 

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Entrée: Cookery. A ‘made dish’, served between the fish and the joint. Also attrib., as entrée dish. (Littré explains entrées as ‘mets qui se servent au commencement du repas’.)

OED

 

[Anna N]

Quite fascinating. Although almost all the dishes are quite familiar you might be hard-pressed to find many of them on a modern restaurant menu. Grilled kidney and bacon probably not show up on the menu in any Canadian restaurant. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Anna N
Edited to correct “cheese”;to “kidney” (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

34 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Grilled cheese and bacon probably not show up on the menu in any Canadian restaurant. 

Nor might grilled kidneys and bacon.