Ingredients

Sour Cherries, Gooseberries, and Currants from 18th Century America

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Over the past few months, archaeologists at George Washington’s Mount Vernon have uncovered some 35 bottles of preserved berries from the mansion’s cellar.  The bottles have been buried for approximately 250 years, and several unopened bottles have yielded perfectly preserved fruit, liquid, and other organic residues. The bottles are undergoing cleaning and preservation, and the contents are being scientifically analyzed by the US Department of … Read more

Cod with Hannah Glasse’s 20-Year Catsup

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Hannah Glasse's Catsup

Following up on a previous post on the Catchup to Keep 20 Years from Hannah Glasse’s 1770 edition of the Art of Cookery cookbook, is the meal we cooked a few days ago. I cracked the jars of catsup made with Glasse’s recipe and extensively filtered the liquid results. The result was a dark brown thin liquid with a strong, spicy odor. A couple of … Read more

Catchup to Keep Twenty-Years

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Over the weekend we made an interesting colonial American recipe. Its from a chapter for sea captains in Hannah Glasse’s 1770 edition of the Art of Cookery. Called Catchup to last Twenty Years, I suspect it is a proto-Worcestershire sauce, used to enhance the flavor of a wide variety of foods. Its made from anchovies, lots of ginger and shallots, mushrooms, mace, cloves and pepper, … Read more

Walnut: The King of Nuts

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Walnuts with leaves

The common walnut is anything but common.  As stories tell us, its recent spread in Europe – through the ancient Grecian empire – happened in the early centuries BCE, when saplings were sent as gifts from a Persian or more probably an Achaemenid king. Hence the plant’s botanical name Juglans regia, the king’s nut, and its modern secondary name of Persian walnut. Later, the Romans … Read more

Silk Road Sites in Ancient Myanmar

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French archaeologists have recently uncovered some assemblages on Myanmar’s lower Kra isthmus that shed light onto maritime Silk Road trading communities beginning in 400 BCE.  Given the geographic position of the isthmus between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Myanmar sites served as a stopover for Chinese and other east Asian traders headed west, and for Saudi, Persian, and Indian traders headed … Read more

Turkish Cevizli ARE Mesopotamian Mersu

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Cevizli Incir

Sometimes, perception can be like a flash of lightning that changes the world forever. Once something is seen and understood, there is no unseeing or unknowing. A few years back, I had such a food-related epiphany. I was in Istanbul and went into one of the many great food and spice shops that line the streets for some Iranian saffron to take back to the … Read more

Spring on the Silk Road Means: Black Locust Blossoms

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Spring has finally come to the Central Atlantic and all the leaves have opened out into a sea of green. In our area, dairy cows graze and suckle their young in fields of buttercups and the first cascades of wild roses are blooming on the edge of the woods. This time of year also means that the fleeting blooming of tree flowers is also upon … Read more

Chinese Peaches Swing Sweet and Savory

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Chinese Peaches

One of China’s many gifts to world cuisine is the peach, and with the season in full swing, now is the time to celebrate this most ancient and beloved of fruits. Peaches have been an important aspect of traditional culture in China, and were first described in the agricultural manual, “Xiaxiaozheng,” written almost 4,000 years ago. The Daoists considered them important symbols of immortality, and … Read more

Natto in Japan and Beyond

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Natto, or fermented soybeans, are everywhere in Japan. There are natto burgers, natto bruschetta made with heaps of natto mixed with melted cheese or tomatoes on toasted bread, and even natto curries and sushi. But the most common way Japanese people eat natto is for breakfast over steamed rice with condiments, such as pickled fruits and vegetables. To me, one of the most interesting things … Read more

Chili Peppers into India

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I saw you green, then Turning red as you ripened. Pleasant to look at and tasty in a dish, But too hot if excess is used Savior of the poor, enhancer of good food. Fiery when bitten, this makes it difficult Even to think of the good Lord himself! – Purandara Dāsa, 16th C. Indian Poet Potato, papaya, pineapple, cassava, and chili peppers, all were … Read more

Asian Food in Colonial American Cuisine

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When we think of the diets of our founding fathers and mothers, we imagine porridges, breads, fresh and preserved fruits and vegetables, and gently flavored roast meats. What most people don’t realize is that the colonists had a taste for exotic fare from all over the world and would pay dearly for delicacies from India, China, Indonesia and other places far from the shores of … Read more

Uyghur Five-Spice Blend

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This five-spice mix forms the backbone of Uyghur cuisine – at least that part of it that deals with roast meats. Variations of this mix are used to flavor many Uyghur dishes, with other ingredients – salt, garlic, onions, etc., added to the mix as needed. The flavor of the Uyghur five-spice blend is robust and smoky with light spicy bites from the Sichuan pepeprcorns, … Read more

Sliced Peppers with Century Eggs

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This is another appetizer or salad presentation of 1000-year eggs. One of the interesting things about this dish is that it can be served hot with the peppers and other vegetables fresh from the wok. Alternatively, you can let it cool for 10-15 minutes for a dish that is only slightly warm. I don’t recommend letting it sit too long though, for risk of the … Read more

Rhubarb’s Silk Road History

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Lamb and Rhubarb Stew

The first rumblings of spring have reached the Central Atlantic. The green tips of daffodils and jonquils are pushing through the still firm soil, and in some sunny spots, snowdrops and crocus are already starting to bloom. This means that the early crops of rhubarb should be out by month’s end. Fluorescent pink stems topped with deep green, chard-like leaves will soon fill the market … Read more

The Secret To Umami’s Magic Chemistry On Our Taste Buds

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Although not specifically promoted by the National Restaurant Association as a top food craze this year, umami is generating a lot of buzz on the street as a trend to expect more of in 2014. In part, these expectations are due to the continued expansion of the Umami Burger restaurant chain, but it is also because the umami content of produce and prepared foods and … Read more

The Origins of Curry Powder

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Where did curry powder come from? There is no real equivalent in authentic subcontinental cuisines for a ready-made powder. The closest thing to a curry powder is a masala, and that is almost always more of a paste than a powder because of the addition of wet and dry ingredients to the mix. On the subcontinent, seeds and roots, etc. are roasted, ground and mixed … Read more