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Take anything away, but leave the pie. Americans can stand the prohibition of intoxicating drinks. But, I believe the prohibition of pie would precipitate a revolution. –David MacRae We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie. –David Mamet Apple Pie And The American Revolution Nineteenth-century physician F. W. Searle,…
Douce Ame Recipe. Take good cow’s milk and warm it in a pot. Take parsley, sage, hyssop, savory, and other good herbs. Chop them add them to the milk and cook them. Take capons, half roasted, cut them into pieces, and add pine nuts and clarified honey. Salt it color it with saffron and serve…
According to legend, in 774 Charles 1, the future Emperor Charlemagne, stopped in at the Priory of Reuil-en-Brie on his way home from defeating the Lombards. The abbot gave the king a bit of their cheese. He was so impressed that he decided to have two cartloads delivered to his palace in Aachen every year…
Nuts and seeds constituted two of the most important sources of nutrition for Paleolithic man. Scientists, such as archaeologists, paleobotanists, and palynologists, excavate ancient ruins and examine plant fragments and fecal remains called coprolites. They are looking for clues as to what people ate long ago. Their discoveries at several important archaeological sites show that…
The Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) has a rich history that dates back to the late 19th century. It is closely associated with the Good Housekeeping magazine, first published in 1885 by Clark W. Bryan. The magazine aimed to provide practical advice and information to American women on various topics. The topics would include housekeeping, homemaking,…
Many of the cranberry growers also raise blueberries. “Blueberries was a way of supplementing your income as it first came on,” grower Brad Thompson of Vincentown told ethnobotanist, Eugene Hunn, “so people would get enough money together to put in three rows of blueberries, and then they would get three more, and then they would…
Out of acidic streams and sandy soils, cranberry farmers have built intricate waterways and fertile bogs. Cranberry agriculture is perhaps the best example of the resourcefulness and judicious adaptation that characterize Pineland’s folklife. The history of the development of the industry is a story of environmental recycling. The American cranberry (Oxycoccus macrocarpus) is a vining…
The medical uses of peanuts are extensive throughout history. The cultivated peanut is the hard, ripe, nutlike seed or bean of an annual herbaceous vine of the pea family. It is indigenous to South America, having originated in Bolivia at the base of the eastern slopes of the Andes. Some scientists, however, have noted strong…
Fruit In Early Modern European Cuisine Early Modern European Cuisine refers to the culinary practices and food culture that prevailed in Europe during the Early Modern period, roughly from the late 15th century to the late 18th century. This era witnessed significant changes in agriculture, trade, and exploration, profoundly impacting European kitchen’ ingredients and cooking…
Bananas were not a plantation or export crop during the colonial era in the Caribbean and Central America, mainly because of the difficulty of transporting them to distant markets. Although bananas found a ready market in schooner days, they remained a luxury item until the introduction of steamships, the extension of the railroad throughout the…
The history of preservatives in food is a long complex process. Regulatory authorities define food additives as regulated substances within the confines of the law. Unfortunately, definitions vary among jurisdictions. A typical definition of a food additive may be a substance that causes food to become a part of that food or to alter the…
Cities are the index of civilization. Admired for their palaces of religion, art, and aqueducts. Not, as a rule, considered for their granaries. Yet, the magnificent structure of getting food into the world’s first great civilizations was just as complicated and challenging as today. In ancient times, Sumer and Egypt counted on those systems to…
Picking apples on a clear, crisp, sunny autumn day provides a cornucopia of pleasures. The enjoyment of being outdoors and savoring another harvest has been part of the human experience for centuries. Biting into a crunchy, sweetly flavored apple or quaffing, a big glass of fresh cider reminds one why apples are a part of…
Medieval Europeans would eat an array of fruits and nuts regularly as a large part of their diet. Each culture had its own unique set of specific fruits and nuts they preferred, with several similarities across the board. Since they would eat both nuts and fruits so consistently, historians consider them a large portion of…
Food and sex are inextricably linked. Feeding ensures the survival of the individual, while sexual activity ensures the species’ survival. Beyond biology, making love and eating share psychological attributes as two of life’s greatest pleasures. Both can provide a sense of nurturing, comfort, being loved, and instant gratification. Paradoxically, the two drives can also be…
According to the Koran, the words of Muhammad, pork was impure, animal blood a pollution, and wine an abomination. These were minor prohibitions for Arabs with their great richness of alternatives. Arabic food was often considered medicine due to its incredible healing properties and abundant nutrients. There were raisins from Jerusalem, olives from Palmyra, and…
The word “advertising” is derived from the French advertisement, a giving notice or announcement. An advertisement is information that is publicly communicated through mass communication. The advertising business is an aspect of commerce that is an integrated part of industrialized and affluent societies that can afford to purchase goods. Advertising brings notice to a wide…
The pistachio tree attains a height of 10 to 30 feet, with a spreading top. It is native to western Asia and Asia Minor and was introduced into Mediterranean Europe at the beginning of the Christian era. Pistachio nuts (Pistacia Vera), or green almonds, were referred to in the Bible (Gen. 43:11). Most commentators now…
Why Farmers Count On Drying Fruit When there was a glut of ripe fruit to ship or when fresh fruit prices fell during the season, farmers cut and dried some of their harvests. Dried fruit farming kept well and, therefore, could be stored until prices rose later in the year. At a time when fresh…
The Legend of Bacchus The history of how walnuts came to California began with the legend of Dionysus, also known as Bacchus. Dionysus is the Greek God Of Wine (and God of other worldly pleasures) who fell in love with a princess named Carya. Carya has sisters who were quite jealous of their relationship. They…
Amadeo Obici Many people in America have come to know and love the business that is now called “Planters.” However, very few will recognize the name of Amadeo Obici, the man who started it. Amadeo came to Pennsylvania as an immigrant teenager in the late 1800s. It was during these years he spent in Wilkes-Barre,…
Pine Trees Make Nuts? When we first began cooking with pine nuts, we didn’t know much about where they actually came from. The pine tree wasn’t a tree that was correlated with food. Little did we know that delicious pine nuts were lurking within the pine trees as well as on the ground beneath them….
Although the pecan has a long history in North America, Georgia farmers were relatively latecomers in realizing its value as a commercial crop. The first orchards were planted in the early 1800s. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the pecan industry began to take off. Pecan trees are native to North America, and archeological…
Blue Diamond Growers started in 1910 as a processing and marketing co-op for California almond growers. Today, there are six thousand almond farmers in California. Thirty five hundred of those farmers bring their product to the ninety-six-acre Blue Diamond processing facility. In peak season, twelve hundred workers run the lines for sixteen hours a day….
The American Praline is a smooth, sweet substance made by boiling nuts in sugar and grinding the mixture. Used primarily as a filling for chocolates. It can also be a crisp, semi-crisp candy typically consisting of butter, brown sugar, and pecans. Indeed a delicious treat either way. Marshal du Plessis-Praslin The praline was initially inspired…
What is a Nut? Inside the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, we can find the technical and fundamental definitions: In a more mainstream version, they are often defined as the dry, one-seeded fruit from various trees or bushes. It is edible but may require cooking to get there in some cases. They also come in a shell, usually…
The rich and highly-nutritious Macadamia Nut originates from northeast Australia. Macadamia trees once grew around a mountain in modern-day Queensland, Australia. Let it be known that Australia’s First Nations Peoples have lived here for about 65,000 years and ate nuts from various species of plants that we now call macadamias. Indigenous Australians were the first…
Hurricanes are one of nature’s most powerful and terrifying concoctions. Storms such as Katrina and Harvey continue to impact those involved many years later. Even storms whose effects didn’t reach quite as far, such as Marco, certainly are not anything to mess with. Dorian, the most recent storm to terrorize the Caribbean, was no different….
Scott Gottlieb was the head of the FDA for two years from May 2017 to May 2019. The FDA has now named Doctor Norman Sharpless to replace Scott Gottlieb as the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Doctor Norman Sharpless held a previous role as the Head Of The National Cancer Institute. Sharpless…
Where Did Nutella Originate? In the 1940s, very little chocolate was available in Italy, and cocoa was in short supply due to World War II. Pietro Ferrero is credited with inventing a cream of hazelnuts and cocoa, calling it “Giandujot” or “Pasta Gianduja.” Initially, the product consisted of loaves of bread with a spread covering…
Ancient Medicine And The Walnut Tradition The theory of walnut in medicine began in the ancient Mediterranean world. The walnut was a pillar of a healthy diet in Greece before the modern era. Its medicinal virtues were detailed in various Greek and Roman medical writings. Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the Roman army living in the…