• Italian Bread vs French Bread
• Herbs & Spices
• Millennium Munchies
• Bumbleberry & Scrod
• Two Apples a Day
• Garlic
• Cod, Scrod and More
• Christmas Treats
• Halloween
• Butter
• Food Trends
• Frankenfoods
• Picnics
• Asparagus
• Lettuce
• Holiday Entertaining
• Canadian Bacon, EH!
• Peanuts
• Medieval Cuisine
• Spaghetti
• Fondues
• Funerals & Fruitcakes

• Tips on eating Lobsters
  
   

• MORE FOOD NEWS!

ITALIAN BREAD VS FRENCH BREAD

I have to admit that this headline doesn’t have the same punch as “BAILEY VS JOHNSON” but I know you will find it interesting. Each year just before the summer I get a call from my friends at the CBC with their “Good Food Questions”. Listeners who have requested an answer to their food query may well receive their answer from “yours truly”.

One recent question was “Why is there Italian Bread & why is there French Bread and is there a difference?

If you asked this question of a true Frenchman or a true Italian, national pride would get in the way. I thought that being a third generation Italian I could answer this question honestly. But you’ll see that as much as I tried to be impartial there was definitely a “small” Italian influence to my story and of course you’ll have a good measure of history in the telling.

In Europe and especially in the Mediterranean basin bread has become the basic nourishment. It has even surpassed olive oil and wine in consumption. Let’s talk about the Italian bread first. If you happened to be traveling in Italy and asked for “Italian bread”, you would most likely be given a loaf of bread that would be famous for the region you were in. How about michetta, rosetta, biova, bovolo, ciabatta, Tuscany and lots more.

For instance, in Tuscany, their bread has no salt. For back when the Pope dominated Italy, they imposed a high salt tax and the Tuscans started baking their bread without it. The funny thing is though, if you bought prosciutto in Tuscany today and a piece of prosciutto elsewhere, you’d find the Tuscan prosciutto loaded with salt. Over the years they’ve made allowance for their bread’s lack of salt by adding more to other foods!

Anyways, the bread we think of as “Italian bread” is known in Italy as Pane Casareccio or “country bread”. This country bread is large in size and is apt to be either round or oblong in shape. Quite often a loaf will weigh up to 3 pounds because it has always had to last more than one day.

You see in the past, especially in the villages, bread was only baked once a week in the communal oven. Loaves had to be baked large to last.

Let’s take a look at the French bread. The basic French bread is very similar to that of its Italian cousin. Both breads are made with water, not milk, and both enjoy a crusty exterior. The crust is a result of spraying or smoothing water on the bread while baking. French breads can come in many sizes but the most famous of all is the Baguette. The Baguette is long and narrow and is normally broken to eat, not cut.

The most apparent difference between the French bread we know and the Italian bread is in the shape. Italian loaves are more apt to be heavier, round or oblong. French breads tend to long, narrow and light.

But there is one very key difference between the two. French bread will have a higher proportion of crust. With the narrow baguette, this is easy because of the proportion of crust to bread. But the French also adjust the baking time and the heat in their ovens. They will bake their loaves in decreasing heat for a little longer to achieve more crust. The Italians wanted their crust thick so that there bread would last a week. The French wanted an even thicker crust so that their bread would last even longer. Upwards of two weeks!

For a baguette lover like me, that generally equates into more crumbs on the carpet.

So, in French you say Pain and in Italian I say Pane. Bon Appetit or Buono Appetito!

(If you’re a CBC listener, you’ll hear this and other “Good Questions” answered starting in June. How about “Is there such a thing as a Virgin Olive”? Listen or read this column to find out!)

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HERBS & SPICES

Were it not for spices, we might not be enjoying living where we are. It was the lucrative trade in spices in the Middle Ages that led to the Italians (Venetians) to control the spice trade in Europe. It was this wealth that enabled explorers to set sail in search of more spices or a better trade route. One such explorer, Columbus, came back from the new world with more than just stories of new lands, he brought back allspice and chili peppers! Spices have been used for centuries to flavor and enhance and images of the exotic "East" come to mind. Emperors have been crowned with garlands of spice and the wealthy have been buried for centuries with their spices close at hand. Over 3000 years ago, the Arabs had a monopoly on the spice trade. Exotic spices from India and the Orient were ferried by camel caravans and spices became a very rich commodity. A pound of mace could buy three sheep and a pound of peppercorns could purchase the freedom for a serf.

So where spices have altered history, caused wars and spurred on explorers to discover new lands, herbs have taken a more peaceful approach. Where spices have been coveted for their ability to enhance and even take over the flavour of foods, herbs have been cultivated more for their subtlety. Here in Canada we can appreciate herbs more for they can grow quite readily n our climate whereas spices generally are tropical.

Although the two share equal space in most kitchens there is a very distinct difference between the two. Herbs are the leaves of fresh or dried plants and spices are the aromatic parts of the plant such as the fruit, buds, berries, roots or the bark. Spices are usually dried but now we are more apt to find our herbs fresh rather than dried. Herbs also may be an annual or perennial, but may not have a woody stem. Some plants share the distinction by having both an herb and a spice. One such spice is coriander which in spice form are the ground seeds of the same plant. The leaf from the coriander plant is a prized herb called cilantro.

HERB & SPICE TIDBITS Saffron is the most expensive spice available. It is made from the bright orange stigma found in the centre of the purple flower of the autumn crocus. Only 14,000 stigmas must be picked to yield one ounce of saffron!

Cumin is said to inspire faithfulness in men. In Europe, when the men went off to war, the women baked bread sprinkled with cumin.

Next time you're taking a trip, take a little fresh or dried ginger for motion sickness, but don't take too much, in Africa, ginger is considered an aphrodisiac!

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MILLENNIUM MUNCHIES

I've actually managed to stay away from the "millennium" as a marketing tool for our business. No millennium lunches, or millennium dinners or millennium extravaganzas. We actually decided to close our catering company and allow our staff to spend the evening as they wish. This of course means our family will be spending the millennial eve on Gabriola, quietly, with a bottle of bubbly and some tasty snacks.

Our tasty snacks will not be of the gastronomic variety. We may have a tasty hummus, some veggies to dip, some flavourful wraps & barbecue some chicken. For those that would like to celebrate the New Year with a gastronomic bang, you may wish to consider the purchase of a foie gras to start your evening.

Specifically a Pate de foie Gras You may not enjoy where this comes from for the literal translation of "foie Gras" is fat liver and generally the term is used to describe a goose liver (although duck livers are used). This fat liver doesn't come naturally to geese, farmers force feed their geese and fatten them, don't allow them to exercise and over a period of 4-5 months this will yield almost a 3# fatty liver.

Although the name is French and the French are noted for their foie Gras the practice of producing the foie Gras actually dates back to the ancient Egyptians. Pictures depicting farmers holding geese by the neck and feeding them balls of grain date back to 2600 BC. The method is known as "gavage" and has changed little since these ancient times. The theory or story of how this practice was started has a lone farmer in Egypt discovering a very fat goose with an insatiable appetite in his flock. When slaughtered for his meat, the farmer discovered the oversized liver and how good it tasted. The Romans feasted on fatted goose and the equally fat livers and some even experimented with a different diet for the geese. Pompey's father-in-law fed his geese figs which gave the livers and meat of the goose and extra sweetness.

Fast forward to the 15th century when the Romans occupied Gascony in France where the French developed quite an industry in the production of foie Gras The French can be credited with adding truffles as a seasoning and baking the mixture in pastry.

GOOSE TIDBITS An American writer thought to translate a French recipe for foie Gras with haricots verts topped with a warm vinaigrette for their American readers. The recipe substituted bologna for the foie Gras, with frozen green beans all topped with a thousand island dressing. Alfred Hitchcock was passing through customs. The officer at the gate didn't recognize him and asked him his occupation. Hitchcock replied that he was a producer. The officer asked him ,"What do you produce?" Hitchcock replied, "Gooseflesh!"

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BUMBLEBERRY & SCROD

(I was at the market the other day, the sun was shining and the fresh produce and baking was making my mouth water. I love the pies the most! I wrote this a few years ago and thought you may enjoy it again.)

A Bumbleberry is somewhat like a Snipe. If you were ever asked to go pick some, you would hopefully know that someone were pulling your leg. But it is Bumbleberry season nonetheless and I've been enjoying pies aplenty this summer.

I had hoped to be able to thoroughly explain where the expression "bumbleberry" first started but my research has yielded many who claim fame to being the first to introduce the pie, but not where bumbleberry has its roots (pun intended). For instance, Angus McKay who is a merchant in Vancouver's Granville Island lays claim to have introduced the first Bumbleberry pie to the West Coast. I've detailed his recipe below for you intrepid bakers.

My sister-in-law was visiting from the East and proclaimed our own island Bumbleberry as wrong because it should not contain rhubarb. She is obviously a purist who believes there should only be "berries" in a bumbleberry. But what else are you to do with all that rhubarb I exclaimed. After a few more bites, she enjoyed the pie overall and quite enjoyed the rhubarb!

In my research I found expensive Lodges in the Rockies, proclaiming their marvelous Bumbleberry pies and there is even a restaurant in Utah named after this humble berry. Oh, and a tourist guide to Nanaimo even lists a Bumbleberry Cafe.

So what does a bumbleberry have to do with a scrod. I am always amazed at food and peoples propensity to create names perhaps where none existed or just to change a name because it may sound nicer. Not that scrod sounds nicer but it is one of those names that on the Boston harbour is used as a catchall for the "catch of the day". Like a bumbleberry is used to describe a catchall of a pie.

Here is that recipe;

Pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie.
FILLING
1 cup chopped rhubarb
2 cups chopped, peeled apples
1 cup blackberries
1 cup raspberries
3/4 cup white sugar
4 tsp flour
4 tsp cornstarch
4 tsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice

Microwave the rhubarb at high for 50 seconds or until a little soft. In a large bowl, combine the fruits. Combine the sugar, flour and cornstarch. Toss with the fruit to coat evenly. Transfer to the pie shell, dot with the butter and sprinkle the lemon juice over the top. Assemble as you would any two crust pie. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce to 350 and bake for 35 minutes or until pastry is golden. You'll know when its done.

TIDBITS Those fancy lodges in the Rockies, they add strawberries to their pies. A scrod is actually considered a young cod or young haddock. But a Boston Scrod is still the "catch of the day".

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TWO APPLES A DAY!

The apple is one of our most common fruits and has been popular since prehistoric times. Wild apples originated in central Asia and spread slowly westward into Europe so that by the middle ages apples were a major fruit crop. When the Roman legions invaded Britain, they brought their own apples even though the ancient Norse had cultivated apples on the island long before.

When the Europeans came to colonize the new world, they brought their apples as well as plums, pears and cherries. Apples favour any climate but tropical and they are a fruit that thrives in our climate. There was a time barely a century ago that you could count upwards of 1000 varieties of apples being grown. Apples were most popular because they could be kept year round without refrigeration ensuring a steady supply of fresh fruit throughout the winter.

Of those 1000's of varieties that were grown, barely a dozen are grown commercially. Growers wanted uniformity, shorter trees for picking and apples that just plain looked good. Years of careful breeding have produced a product that travels well and lasts but we have missed out on some of the different tastes that were available. Lucky for us that an apple tree is very hardy and long-lived. Cuttings have been taken and seeds produced from some of these long lost apple trees and in the smaller farmer's markets and off the busy highways and byways we can sometimes find these tasty morsels.

In cooking, the apple is one of our more flexible foods. We have a tendency to use apples more for desserts, but they are wonderful in savoury dishes like pork, chicken, goose and duck. Great also in salads with berries and nuts or even served hot with red cabbage. Pies and fritters, flans and tarts, dried and fried, cider & juice, moussed or strudelled, served or preserved its a wonderfully adaptable fruit.

APPLE TIDBITS A worm in an apple may not look appetizing but it is a good sign that pesticides were not used. The first apple orchard in North America was planted on Beacon Hill, overlooking Boston harbour. "Don't upset the apple cart" is a very old phrase. Plautus was an Roman playwright and he was the one that coined this phrase way back in 255 B.C. in his play called Epiducus. Johnny Appleseed was a real character and was born John Chapman in 1774 in Massachusetts. He became a missionary and followed the pioneers westward along the Ohio river. He was so impressed with apples and the speed with which they grew, that he sprinkled seeds and passed along seedlings through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Researchers at Yale University have found that inhaling the apple scent has a calming effect. So the next time you feel stressed at the grocery store, sniff a batch of apples!

Why two apples a day? We know apples are a great snack, and all fruit has to be good for you but the old saying "an apple a day" just doesn't cut it in the modern world. We know now that "two" apples a day would be more fitting. Apples are a good source of fibre and they do have vitamins A and C so eat two instead of one to "keep the doctor away"!

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GARLIC

Vampires beware! Begone cholera, chicken pox, dandruff, typhoid & gangrene. Newly married, tuck a clove in your buttonhole, you'll have a successful wedding night! These are but a few of the tales that have been woven about garlic over the ages. Garlic is so ancient, it has contributed to the help or cure to many of life's trials and ailments.

Garlic is one of the first foods to be cultivated. The earliest reference to garlic was approximately 5000 years ago, written in Sanskrit. The ancient Egyptians thought so much of garlic that they would trade a healthy male slave for 15 pounds of garlic. They would feed the garlic to the rest of the slaves building the pyramids believing it provided them with additional strength. It wasn't until the time of the Crusades that garlic came to Europe and was quickly received not only as a food, but as a medicine as well.

Garlic is a member of the lily family and a cousin to the onion family. Purchased as a bulb in a papery membrane, it is virtually odour free. Open the bulb up and you'll find many cloves or bulblets, scratch these and the power of garlic is unleashed. The more you slice, dice or crush a clove, the more flavour (or odour) is released. What is actually being released is an amino acid called alliin. When crushed, two reactions take place, one which causes that wonderful "breath" and the other which is the cause of garlic's curative claims. Medical science has indeed found that garlic is good for you. It promotes cardiovascular activity and a regular diet of garlic will lower blood cholesterol.

From the ancient world to California. The garlic we know and love is now grown on huge acreages in the United States, Mexico, France, Italy & Spain. This white skinned garlic is known as "American" garlic whereas the Mexican and Italian garlic has a mauve coloured skin and is known for its milder flavour. Because garlic is a cousin to the onion, some garlics are not really garlics at all. "Elephant" garlic for instance, is actually a relative of the leek and has a very mild flavour. So kick back, peel a few cloves, and look forward to a long, healthy (possibly lonely) life!

GARLIC TIDBITS Hippocrates, in describing garlics medicinal properties, stated that garlic was "hot, laxative and diuretic". The Latin word for garlic, allium, is derived from a Celtic word meaning hot. Native Americans who lived on the shores of Lake Michigan called their garlic, Chicagaoua which is how the city of Chicago is said to have received its name. Garlic festivals can be found all over the world and even all garlic restaurants where you'll even find garlic in the desserts! In 1330, King Alfonso XI of Castile founded an order of knights who were bound together by the fact they all hated garlic. The last word goes to the 16th century poet Thomas Nashe, "Garlick maketh a man wynke, drynke & stynke."

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COD, SCROD & MORE

"Before you take out the re-cycling, I want to keep that article on Cod Tongues" shouted Kerry, as I bundled up newspapers, cans & bottles. Sure, says I, with visions of me dining this week on whatever it is the fishing industry labels a "Cod Tongue". Manufacturers and food processors are notorious for giving foods their own monikers. "Ugly" fish becomes "Yummy" fish and everyone buys it. Needless to say I was feeling a little trepidation at what may appear on my plate, so I checked it out.

With visions of all those poor cods, tongueless, unable to chat to their buddies I was reminded of a time when rabbits feet were popular. My friends and I at the time imagined rabbit farms populated by two and three legged rabbits! Anyways, this is one time that the name actually fits. Cods do have tongues and they are cooked up and served! As us Westerners have Prairie or Mountain Oysters (calf or sheep testicles), Newfoundlanders have their Cod Tongues.

When you find a cod fishery on the East coast, you will also find local kids who cut out the tongues right on the dock and sell them for pocket change. Most cod tongues now are purchased from cod farms, imported from Norway, but the tradition of noshing on a fish tongue still continues. For those brave enough to order cod tongues, here is the simple Newfoundlander way to cook them. Using 7-8 tongues per person, wash them, toss them in a bag in a mixture of pepper, salt and flour and fry them up in some pork fat. When they're golden brown, serve them up. They're described as a "little gelatinous snack" so you may want to dip them in something tasty.

What is to become of the poor tongueless cods! No worry there, the cod is one the world's most popular fish, accounting for almost 10% of the world's total catch. It made its North American commercial debut in Gloucester Massachusetts in 1623 and was an immediate success. People loved its mild, delicate flavour and its lean, white, firm meat. The cod became so popular that its image could be found on stamps & coins and there is even a "cape" named for its distinctive silhouette.

While the Newfoundlanders were plucking out tongues, the Vikings were plucking out livers. It had long been thought that cod liver oil was good for "what ails you" but it wasn't until 1782 that a London physician actually reported the therapeutic value of the oil. He reported that the oil did help to relieve the symptoms of rheumatism. In Philadelphia in 1885, a physician published a list of ailments whose symptoms could be allieved by taking cod liver oil orally or even by rubbing it on your skin. So the oil could; aid digestion, stimulate appetite, prevent colds, increase the red blood cell count & even help reconstruct damaged tissue. Rubbing the oil on could also repel your friends! This published account of the oils amazing properties led to millions of children being subjected to the oils "repugnant" taste. For the one major drawback of the oil was its taste. Terrible! Doctors would recommend a "whiskey wash" before and after taking the oil and one textbook of the day even recommended chewing a smoked herring before and after to try and trick the tongue. Now thank goodness, we can sample the therapeutic value of cod liver oil in a gel cap.

COD TIDBITS A scrod is a small cod, generally weighing less than three pounds. A cod can grow to 100 pounds and is fished in both the Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. The Norwegians, who farm cod, attract young cod to feed by playing recordings of Tuba music underwater!

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CHRISTMAS TREATS

Every Christmas it seems I get busier. As a caterer, I am on demand to my clients to feed them all manner of sweets & savouries over the Christmas "entertaining" season. I could say that the following article is a favourite from Christmas past (as it is) and I could say that it is being re-printed by popular demand (which would be a stretch of the truth) but I do hope you will enjoy this again, so.....

Every Christmas, just about now, my mouth starts watering for those seasonal Christmas treats. I'd like to tell you about my personal favourites. The Mandarin orange that appears every December and promptly disappears until next year. The smell of freshly baked gingerbread and the fun of trying to put together a house that doesn't topple. My Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without plum pudding, a hard sauce and a measure of brandy.

After eating Mandarin oranges for years, last year I finally got curious about the Mandarin and its history. To talk Mandarin I had to check out "oranges". Did you know there are more than 80 varieties of oranges grown and of these they are categorized into three basic botanical classifications. The Mandarin of the far east is one of these main classifications of oranges.

So along with turkey, the candy cane and my other favourites, the Japanese Mandarin is almost a major food group for me. One of the earliest references to the sweet orange (which would include the Valencia and Navel) is from China back in 2200 BC! The Mandarin has its origins in both Japan and China.

The tangerine orange is from the Mandarin family. The tangerine received its name from the fact if was developed in Tangier, North Africa. The Mandarin orange we see a lot of now is the Satsuma which are virtually seedless whereas the tangerine has quite a number of seeds. Both have those trade mark skins that slip off so easily and are the most distinguishing trait of the Mandarin. So next time you get a Mandarin with pips, it is most likely a tangerine, no pips and you're eating a Satsuma.

I have that "Figgy Pudding" song ringing in my head right now. I had someone ask once if figgy pudding actually has figs and in the same breath they asked where the plums were in the plum pudding. Well Virginia, our classic plum pudding did indeed at one time have plums but not any more. The modern version of this Christmas classic is made with suet, dried currants, raisins, almonds and spices. My wife Kerry loves all the ingredients in the pudding but one, the suet. Suet is actually fat, found in beef, sheep and other animals so this one pudding not popular with vegetarians.

The pudding is normally boiled or steamed, most often served warm. My personal preference is to flame the pudding with brandy (lots) accompanied by a hard sauce. A hard sauce can vary in flavourings, but the basic ingredients are the same; a mixture of sugar and butter that is flavoured and chilled. Refrigerating this sauce until "hard" is where it receives its name. You can have some fun with your hard sauce and place it in a decorative mold before refrigerating. And what are the more popular flavourings? Brandy, rum and whiskey of course which is why this sauce with the pudding is so popular!

I like a ginger cake in the summer, with a smooth sweet icing but at Christmas it has to be a gingerbread. Back in the middle ages, gingerbread was considered a "sweet" and fair ladies presented this hard, honey spiced bread as a gift to dashing knights going into tournament battle. I wonder if they ate those hard cookies or used them as jousting weapons!

Gingerbread in those days was intricately shaped and decorated, sometimes even with a gold leaf. To this day, we still use our gingerbread to create fun and fanciful shapes such as gingerbread men, ginger Santas or even our household's gingerbread dinosaurs. If you really want to get creative with gingerbread, you can build a cottage or even a house.

Gingerbread has some old Christmas roots. In Czechoslovakia, before the advent of glass baubles and ornaments, gingerbread was baked and cut into a variety of shapes for decorations at Christmas. In Belgium, St. Nicholas makes two visits to the children. One is to check on their behaviour (have they been naughty or nice) and the second visit is to fill their shoes and baskets with candies & toys. Their gingerbread tradition is to bake images of St. Nicholas as well as other images of the festive season.

In the Sorrenti household, we bake gingerbread everything. Santas, farm animals, dinosaurs and of course our gingerbread house. Our yearly tradition has the children from the neighbourhood after Christmas demolishing the house and all its splendid candy decorations. Eating as much as they dare and taking the rest home. And my gingerbread house inspiration? Remember when Hansel & Gretel were lost in the forest....... "They were beginning to think they might die of hunger in the forest, when they came upon a snow white dove, singing on the branch of the tree. The bird spread its wings and flew on a little way ahead of them. "It wants us to follow." cried Hansel. They followed the dove until it arrived at a cottage and perched on the roof. It was the most extraordinary cottage they have ever seen! It was made of candy, cake, marzipan and barley sugar, and the windows were of clear spun sugar! The children ran up to the house and the poor things were so hungry they broke off pieces and ate them."

The children who so much enjoyed the gingerbread houses are now teenagers (need I say more) and the tradition is now a fond memory. Happy holidays to all!

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HALLOWEEN

Halloween is coming and in one name or another has been celebrated for over 2000 years. The Celts celebrated "Samhain" (Sa-wan) who was the god of death. The last day of October heralded the end of harvest, the days were shorter and colder and this particular god allowed the souls of the dead to visit the homes they used to live in.

To protect themselves from the ghosts and goblins on this night, everyone would gather together in a large field and light a bonfire. The fire would scare away the demons and the evil spirits and everyone would roast marshmallows. This Celtic holiday was the early ancestor of our Halloween. The Romans conquered the Celts and somewhere around 800 AD the Christians declared a holiday on November 1st called All Saints Day. The mass that was said on this holiday was known as Allhallowmas and the evening before, October 31st became known as All Hallow Even. Many centuries later, our Irish cousins arrived in America (around 1840) and brought the custom of Halloween with them.

Many foods are popular around halloween, especially the pumpkin and if you're under the age of 12, candy of course is the "food" of choice. The pumpkin became popular for its colour was symbolic of the harvest, as black was symbolic of the spirits. If you serve black and orange, you can be assured of success at Halloween. Better yet, create a ghoulish party menu for your guests, young or old. Start with hors d'oeuvres. Skin transplants are fun (anything in a rice wrapper) and follow with barbecued Road Kill (a hamburger will do) placed on a Shrunken Head (a suitable roll) and serve with hot Transylvanian Mud (chocolate fondue) for dessert. Whatever menu you plan, accent with orange and black and add your own favourite ghoulish names.

When you make your jack-o'-lantern, be sure to save the seeds. They're call pepitas and they make a great snack. First you have to remove all the fibres and gook from the seeds, soak them in cold water and spread them on a baking sheet to air dry overnight. Put them in a bowl and toss them with a tbsp of olive oil and respread them on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and turn occasionally for a golden brown seed. When they're done, sprinkle them with salt, parmesan cheese or your own favourite seasoning mix.

PUMPKIN TIDBIT The world's largest pumpkin weighed in at 1061 pounds. Now that is a lot of pie!

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BUTTER

If I were to say focaccia, baguette, croissant, white, whole wheat, cracked wheat, seven grain, rye, I'm sure you could picture all of these, fresh from the oven, topped with a little butter! My friends at the CBC presented me with a listener's question; "why or when did we start with the practice of spreading butter on bread?"

It is hard to imagine a time when butter did not grace a fresh slice of bread but for all foods there is a beginning. The fun part about being interested in food is that you can be a veritable cornucopia of trivia. When asked recently about the origins of barbecue I remember the Arawaks, for barbecue is their word and they are the original inhabitants of the Caribbean Islands, pre-dating the Carib Indians. With the same image comes Henry Ford, who didn't invent charcoal, but he took charcoal and created the briquette which popularized the backyard barbecue for millions of North Americans.

I knew that butter has been around for centuries, not necessarily packaged in cute little one pound packages. Butter has been a part of our world since prehistoric times. The origin of butter is believed to have come from early herdsmen, carrying milk in a bag made from an animal's stomach. As the herdsmen sloshed the milk around in the bag, the milk divided into fat (the butter), milk solids and whey (the buttermilk). Cute story and it is most likely true for butter can be made from the milk of not just cows, but sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, camels, yaks and even water buffaloes.

By the Middle Ages, butter was very plentiful and was viewed as "poor" food. Only peasants ate butter. Also plentiful was bread, a staple, and it is surmised that at some point the bread was used as a spatula to scoop the butter out of the churn. One taste and they were hooked.

It wasn't until the 19th century that the aristocracy accepted butter. French classic cuisine could not live without butter and this was butter's entree into society. Aristocrats couldn't get enough of butter. In fact the upper classes consumed almost three times as much butter as everyone else. They spread butter on everything.....

So you decide which story you like better. Personally, I like the peasants, scooping out the butter with their bread.

BUTTER TIDBITS There is a law that says that butter must contain at least 80% fat. The fat in real butter is saturated fat and does contain cholesterol. You don't save calories by eating margarine instead of butter, they are roughly equal. But those that love butter do have a tendency to eat more. And for those that have always wondered what "Maitre d'hotel butter" is. This is softened butter mixed with parsley, lemon juice and seasonings, generally served with meat of fish.

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FOOD TRENDS - WRAPS

Mention a "wrap" to my mother and she envisions a short furry thing that wrapped around her shoulders. Given to her by my grandfather, he thought that all women, to feel elegant, should be wrapped in fur. My grandfather's generation had their own ideals of style and today the mention of a wrap is more likely to conjure up an image of food, not fur.

The wrap is nothing new, just merely a word to describe how different cultures get their food from the plate to their mouth. According to the Japanese Restaurant Association, 1.2 billion of us eat with chopsticks, 1.5 billion eat with a knife fork & spoon, 350 million eat with a knife and their hands and 250 million eat with their hands alone. My kids fall somewhere in the latter two categories. So when we're not using utensils to eat we're stuffing food in or between something.

In North America and other western countries we use bread as a carrier to get food to our mouths. From a typical sandwich to the specialty rolls used for hamburgers and hot dogs. In Israel and the Middle East we would be more apt to use a pita bread and fill it with a "falafel", a ground chick pea mixture. Falafels are fun, you can add lots of veggies for a very healthy, filling "sandwich". In Greece, you'd find a Pita stuffed with lamb, peppers & onion with the unlikely name of "gyro".

Moving to our continent, down south in Mexico, flour tortillas are used to wrap up a multitude of foods. The tortillas are great, if you get the large size and you're practiced at the "wrap" you can actually get the food to your mouth without dripping the ingredients in your lap. Everything it seems has been used at one time to encase food. Corn husks, lettuce leaves, grape leaves, banana leaves and even palm fronds. Not all of these are edible though. I prefer the phyllo pastries, crepes, eggrolls, ravioli, turnovers and more. Every country and culture has its own variation of a wrap.

Why are wraps so popular here? It seems we have an unwritten criteria for food to be acceptable in our culture, especially foreign foods and wraps seem to fit that criteria. We've been brought up in the fast food generation and view food differently than our forefathers. So what is the criteria for food for the millennium? It cannot drip or fall apart if eaten with one hand while driving. If food has to be re-heated, it has to be foolproof and still taste good. Food has to have that fine balance between bland & spicy, still feel fun to eat and have a crisp or a crunch. Food also has to have the image of being healthy, even if its not. And food for the younger generation has to have great advertising!

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I suppose I had always been aware that some of the foods I eat have been "tinkered" with to some degree. The strawberry that came all the way from California and still looks delicious. The perfect corn rows along the highway and the signs proclaiming the perfect seed variety that achieved those "perfect" corn rows. How about those firm red tomatoes with no apparent flavour?

When I first heard the expression "GE foods" I imagined that General Electric were in the food business. I have no fear in proclaiming my naivety in this matter. This particular "GE" stands for Genetic Engineering or the genetic enhancement of foods and it has been going on for quite some time now. But it has only been recently that many people and different groups are taking a verbal stand on the subject.

The Toblerone Chocolate people in Switzerland recalled thousands of pounds of chocolate because it was discovered that a soya lecithen ingredient in the manufacture of the chocolate was genetically enhanced. This company has taken an active stand against the inclusion of any genetically enhanced foods in their products.

Lets back up a bit and take a look at what is actually happening. Genetic variations on a random basis occur naturally in all living things. This has been the basis of our evolution and the evolution of food. Once mankind became aware of this "natural selection" we have been able to selectively breed plants and animals to yield more positive results. An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel was one of the earliest genetic engineers. In 1865, he was interested in Sweet Peas and experimented with cross pollinating different plants from his garden. A modest beginning for what is now a burgeoning science.

Modern day scientists are now taking this simple approach many steps forward. They are now able to take the basic building blocks of plants and animals, their genes, and manipulate and splice to achieve the same results it took centuries to achieve in the past. Splicing the gene of a hardy fast growing tomato (for discussion's sake) to a slow growing but very tasty tomato sounds like a good thing. We all benefit from an abundant supply of a tasty tomato. Now here is what has some groups up in arms.

We'll introduce a new term here called "GM" or genetic modification. Scientists and engineers are going beyond improving single species. They are actually splicing or mating if you wish, animals and plants. This "trans-species modification" raises many moral and ethical issues. Called "Transgenic" foods, they can already be found on our supermarket shelves. A variety of potatoes as well as some grains and vegetables have already reached the marketplace.

In Europe, as of November of 1996, they introduced labeling laws so that consumers can know they are eating "GE" foods. No such laws exist in the United States or Canada yet. We have to rely on our government and existing controls to ensure the safety of these products.

The Scientific community have stated Pros and Cons with Genetic Modification over the traditional method of "selective breeding".

PROS A desired change can be achieved in a very few generations and with a wider range of genetic material, there are more options for food improvement. There is greater precision in selecting desired characteristics.

CONS Difficult to keep the transfer of new enhanced genes in a plant for instance from spreading to it's wild species growing nearby. Traditional farming structures in other parts of the world are affected. (A North American chemical company went to India to grow super sunflowers. In an area with 2000 small farmers they contracted with only 20 to grow their superflowers, putting the others out of work.)

There is no doubt that GE is big business. Companies like Monsanto, Dupont and DeKalb are spending billions of dollars in research. Are businesses the only ones to benefit? "A potato that is bred to be resistant to pests does not have to be sprayed with toxic pesticides." This is good for the environment say some. "Our ecosystem is fragile, a blight can seriously damage our worlds food supply, GE can help." Say others.

Not all agree that GE foods are a good thing. Many fear that genetic mutations may cause new diseases, toxins and allergies to food. They worry about diseases between species, cancer and even birth defects.

So next time you hear about GE and GM you won't be thinking about appliances and cars. In all the discussions about GE foods I do believe there is one thing that should be done immediately. We should follow the Europeans in demanding that GE foods be labeled as such. Apart from the environmental and social issues brought about by GE foods we still have some ethical issues. On all these issues Canadians have the right to know. Write your MP and tell him what you think.

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Last week here in Calgary the temperature reached a little over 20 degrees for the first time in six months! So now you know that people do not live in Calgary for the weather. Before this first fine day of spring had ended, I felt like heading out on a picnic. I wasn't quite ready so I opted instead for the "urban picnic" and fired up my barbecue with some chicken and potatoes. A quick salad with some tasty greens to complement the meal and I felt I had celebrated the day.

The joy of the picnic is in the spontaneity of the moment. Spring is always the catalyst for me to start picnicking but I have also enjoyed many a fine repast in the snow while cross country skiing. So lets take "picnic" at its true meaning; "a pleasure outing with an outdoor meal". We can go anywhere, at anytime and eat anything we like. A small bit of preparation though can certainly help with the "spontaneity" of a picnic.

A picnic doesn't have to be a fancy affair, but you should plan on a bit of comfort and pack properly. A wicker picnic hamper is fun but any container will do. A paper bag will even work well. Plan on taking a blanket or quilt to set down (Kerry and I have a great blanket from Mexico) and bring along some cloth napkins. Fun dishtowels work well too for they are big enough to cover your lap. Melamine plates, plastic glassware and enough serving and eating cutlery. We use a heavy duty plastic that we can wash. They come in fun colors and they're light to carry too. A small cutting board and a Swiss army knife (make sure it has a corkscrew), garbage bag for litter and some tupperware or insulated containers for your food.

And where can we have a picnic? The urban dweller can choose a park, a deck, a garden or even a rooftop. On Gabriola we have many fun picnic sights. Miles of beaches and acres of forest to enjoy a spring meal. The tailgate picnic is a favourite. Pack the family or friends and head off to a quiet road or stop for the view. I like Berry Point, watching the ferries and listening to the barking of the seals.

Picnics can be a "composed" affair with elaborate menus or impromptu. My fondest memories are of backpacking in Europe and eating in the local "Piazza" or by the roadside. My picnic consisted of a baguette, whatever fruit and vegetables I could buy cheaply from the market as it closed (sometimes for free!), a wedge of cheese and my litre of red wine. Back then the litre bottle with stopper cost more than the wine! My Swiss army knife created many a memorable sandwich.

A "composed" or planned picnic can be just as memorable. There is a lot of enjoyment in the planning & preparation. Here is a fun and simple picnic menu that you can enjoy hot in your own garden/deck/yard or pack it up for a fun "room" temperature tailgate picnic.

For our menu, we're going to use the barbecue and our main dish will be a Salmon (to feed six). Take two salmon fillets (plan on 6-8 oz per person) and between these spread; a mixture of ½ cup unsalted butter, finely grated lemon rind (2 tbsp or one lemon), 4 tsp of diced dillweed and salt and pepper to taste (blend mixture). Create a sandwich of this mixture and place it on a large sheet of foil wrap, turn up the edges and add the juice from the lemon with 3 ounces of white wine. Wrap up the foil tight so that there are no leaks and place on the barbecue (medium heat) for approximately 30 - 40 minutes. Section one more lemon and some fresh dill and take along for garnish.

When the salmon is just about done, we're going to grill some veggies. Place the salmon on the upper shelf and in a grill basket, add; 1 medium eggplant (cubed), 1 large red pepper (coarsely chopped in 1" pieces), 1 dozen mushrooms, 2 medium carrots (coarsely chopped and blanched), 6 small onions (peeled and blanched). Layer the vegetables in the grill basket and top with fresh chopped herbs (chives, tarragon and oregano). Crush one garlic clove in 2 tbsp of olive oil and mix with 1/4 cup lemon juice and brush or drizzle onto veggies. Turn occasionally and grill for approximately 10 minutes.

Next, for some basil bread, take a medium baguette and cut one inch slices not quite through to the bottom. Melt some butter (1/2 cup) and in a blender add a good bunch of basil. Take the mixture and chill just enough to spread on the slices. Wrap tightly in foil and add to the top shelf of the barbecue for about 20 minutes.

To this great feast, add a salad of some California mixed greens, a touch of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and cracked black pepper. Save some of your herbs to sprinkle as well, or pluck some nasturtium leaves and flowers for an edible garnish.

Remember, good food and a fun location are great, but the best picnic will always be in the company you choose to share. Good friends and good food!

PICNIC TIDBIT The word picnic comes from the French word pique-nique which means "nothing much".

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There are many rites of Spring, culinarily speaking, and fresh asparagus is one of them. Kerry's cousin Bill's parents live in the midst of United Empire Loyalist territory in Eastern Ontario and they have an asparagus farm. Bill makes a yearly pilgrimage to assist in harvesting and his phone call last week to ask "how many pounds would you like" got me thinking of different asparagus recipes. But it was Bill's "out of the blue" question about "where white asparagus comes from" that prompted me to do some research. My first image was of half blind farmers hunched over in darkened caves cultivating asparagus that never saw the sun. I told Bill that I wasn't sure about where white asparagus came from, but I'd find out and get back to him.

Asparagus is a perennial plant with an underground stem that produces edible shoots that have been considered a delicacy for over 2000 years. The Egyptians and the Romans ate asparagus but it wasn't "discovered" in Europe until the 17th century. Louis XIV, the Sun King, apparently had a great liking for asparagus. Its no surprise then that the French take their asparagus seriously. They cultivate all "three" varieties of asparagus; green, purple and white. In fact the French go further and even classify their asparagus with three grades according to the appearance of the shoot and the bud. Asparagus is a member of the lily family and if cultivated properly, can produce spears for 20 to 30 years. Those large stalks of asparagus you see in the store actually come from an older plant. Size of an asparagus spear is not an indicator of tenderness. I had always thought the thinner the spear, the more tender. Not true, with asparagus you look for color. The greener the stalk, the more flavourful and more tender. Asparagus plants do have sex as well or should I say "have a sex" (dioecisous) for they are either male or female. A bed of asparagus will be planted with alternating male and female plants. The male plant does develop more spears than the female plant but the stems are smaller in diameter. Once an asparagus bed is developed, you wouldn't notice much difference in the plants. In late summer, the female plant will form small red berries.

It takes a few years for an Asparagus plant to mature and be ready for harvesting. At three years limited harvesting can take place with a full harvest by year four. Fresh asparagus is harvested throughout May and June with hot house varieties keeping us going the rest of the year. Like most vegetables, asparagus is best eaten soon after harvesting. It will keep refrigerated wrapped tightly in a plastic bag for three to four days.

How about that white asparagus? I was close on guessing this one. White asparagus is grown between mounds of dirt and each year at harvest they are watched closely. As soon as there is a "hint" of the soil cracking from the stem beneath, the harvesters before dawn rush in. If the tip of these stalks see the sun, they will turn a light purple and will lose a grade. For all this care and attention, you would think that white asparagus would have a wonderful flavour. No way. White asparagus is prized for its color, not taste. Our green asparagus has all the flavour. Even the purple asparagus which is harvested after growing only an inch or two has more flavour.

HOW TO BUY ASPARAGUS Asparagus, like sweet corn, contains sugar that begins turning into starch once it is picked. The fresher the better. Look for stalks that are a good size, firm and green with tightly closed tips. If the buds on the tips are starting to separate it is a sign that the asparagus was picked when it was too mature (it may be tough). Your stalk should be more than 2/3 green. If the stalk has too much white, it may have been picked too early. Soft and wrinkled stalks are older and will have lost some flavour.

HOW TO COOK ASPARAGUS There are some very fancy "rigs" for sale that will steam your asparagus. You may have seen some people tying fancy ribbons around their stalks, standing them up in a pot and steaming them. Well there are those that like to have all their stalks pointing in the same direction. The fancy rigs and the tying don't aid in the cooking, but are more for the presentation. Your asparagus can do just as well cooked loose in a skillet, a bit of water and simmered for about ten minutes.

HOW TO EAT ASPARAGUS Before you cook the asparagus, you should trim it. You will be sold a full stalk that will most likely have a "woody" end. The best way to trim the asparagus is to hold each end firmly (but gently) with both hands and slowly bend the asparagus outward. The stalk should break at the proper point leaving you with a tender stalk for cooking. The Sorrenti family table etiquette for eating fresh asparagus is quite simple. Add butter to the hot stalk, watch it roll off, grasp stalk in your fingers and eat!

The French on the other hand enjoy dipping their asparagus in sauces. I do quite enjoy a hollandaise or bernaise sauce for their buttery richness. Fun on its own it is also a great addition to a salad (lightly blanch it) or to a pasta. Blanch the asparagus, cut the spears into 3/4 to one inch pieces and toss into a fresh pesto sauce and serve with linguine noodles. How about an Asparagus Carpaccio? Take a pound of fresh asparagus and take the top two inches of all the tips and cut them off. Slice these in half lengthwise. Take the rest of the stalks and on an extreme diagonal, cut them wafer thin. Arrange on a platter with some fresh radicchio and drizzle olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and top with fresh Parmesan cheese curls. This makes a great starter for from four to six people.

Asparagus on its own is low in fat. If you don't want to add the butter or dip it in the bernaise sauce, add a squeeze of lemon and enjoy Spring!

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The salad days of summer are almost over and my editor thought corn would be a good close to the summer. But I’ve gained some summer pounds and I can’t think of corn right now, and anyway, I just wrote about Indian corn and Sweet corn a few years back. Salad, says Kerry, good greens to get that waist back in shape is what you need. And for me, I keep humming that corny line, lettuce entertain you over and over. So lettuce it is.

C.D. Warner (a 19th century garden lover) said Lettuce is like conversation: It must be fresh and crisp, and so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it. This would describe my favourite mix of lettuce, mesclun, or sometimes called a gourmet salad mix . This is a mix of different lettuce and herbs sold commercially. It is especially tasty because it is a mix of baby or young salad greens. You may find; arugula, dandelion, frisee, oak leaf, radicchio and sorrel. This is one salad mix that is such a fine blend of flavours that you may not even want to use a dressing on it.

But there are certain things that a specialty lettuce is just not suitable for. Oak leaf and radicchio do not go well on a burger. Diced dandelion and sorrel just don’t cut it on a burrito and a BLT made with arugula won’t cut the mustard. Of the dozens or more lettuces you may find on your supermarket shelf, you still can’t replace the old standby Iceberg lettuce (or Head Lettuce).

Iceberg lettuce a few years back was sometimes the only lettuce you could find. It received its name because it was shipped across the continent from California, buried beneath mounds of ice. (It used to be called Crisphead lettuce.) This lettuce is second only to the potato in popularity and appeals to everyone. Even those who hate vegetables can’t fault this lettuce which is low in calories, is always crispy, is always available and has very little taste. This lack of taste is why this lettuce is so popular on a hamburger, on a taco and sandwiched between the bacon and tomato.

The only drawback this lettuce seems to have is its size. Bring home a head of Iceberg and it never seems to fit in the crisper. If you’re single, it can be a lot of lettuce for one. But don’t worry, the geneticists are hard at work. They’re producing baseball sized lettuces now and who knows, in the future, they may just change the color.

And for you Caesar salad lovers we have one of my favourites, Romaine lettuce. I’ve always enjoyed the tender shoots in the middle of the romaine but apparently I’ve been missing out on a lot of nourishment. It is the outside leaves that are the best for you. (My kids think the croutons are the best!). Its not by chance that we find Romaine in a Caesar salad for the lettuce was so named because the Romans admired its healthful properties. The emperor Augustus was apparently cured of an illness by eating Romaine and he even erected a statue to praise the lettuce.

The cut versus tear controversy over lettuce has raged I’m sure for centuries. Here is my humble opinion. Cut iceberg, romaine and endive lettuce, tear all the rest.

SALAD TIDBIT Question: How many men does it take to make a salad dressing? Answer: Four. It takes a miser to measure the salt, a frugal man to measure the vinegar, a generous man to measure the oil and a real crazy one to mix it all up!

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HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING

A local reporter called last week to interview me on an article she was planning for the "homestyle" section. She said she was talking to others about being organized and pre- planning for the Christmas season. Kerry started laughing when she heard that this woman wanted to talk to "me" about being organized. "Me" of the desk piled high with papers from another decade. Of course we all know that an appearance of disorganization actually masks an individual who is very organized with a mind as sharp as a tack! (Ha! says Kerry again.)

Pre-planning for the Christmas holiday season is something every caterer must do just to survive the volume of home and office parties that take place every year. So here are a few tips from a holiday caterer to a household entertainer.

I'll never forget the time (on Gabriola Island one holiday season) that Kerry and I were invited to an open house for hors d'oeuvres and punch. The hostess had been working for days to prepare hundreds of little canapes and "pop in your mouth" nibbles. As we arrived, we went through the kitchen and most of these little dainties were laid out on the counter, ready to be served. Most of these items were salad fillings. Egg, some seafood, lots of mayonnaise. There wasn't a hint of chill to the food and although I enjoyed the company immensely, I didn't touch the food. There are much better ways to make lasting impressions on your friends.

This hostess needn't have worked tirelessly for days to prepare if a little pre-planning had been done. Now is the time to decide what you plan on doing and who you plan on seeing over the holiday season. The easiest decision you could make would be to book a trip, but if that isn't an option, here are a few hints for a successful and stress free open house.

Picking a time to invite your guests is the first step. The time of day dictates the type and quantity of food to be offered. I find the easiest to plan for is the "after dinner" time period from 7 - 10:00 pm. Inviting your guests for 7:00 tells them to eat first and any hors d'oeuvres you are serving will be appreciated instead of consumed in hunger. Also, the hors d'oeuvres for this time period are the easiest to pre-prepare.

Satays, wraps and pastry hors d'oeuvres can all be pre-prepared and frozen until the day of the function. Tasty marinated beef and chicken satays can be frozen raw on the skewer and when pulled from the freezer only take minutes to thaw and cook. Spanokapitas (spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo pastry) are fun to make and freeze easily. Empanadas, tasty pastry filled treats can also be made in advance. Empanadas are great because you can put your favourite filling in these pastry treats. We do a tuna, black olive, caper and tomato filling and serve it with a sun-dried tomato dip. Quesadillas freeze well flat with their fillings of cheese, chicken and peppers but you can also use the same flour tortilla shell to roll up any number of ingredients. A zesty bean paste with colored bell peppers works well. When pulled from the freezer, let stand for about an hour and slice off 3/4" wheels and present in a basket or tray.

Presentation is important to any gathering. In our house, we tend to more baskets, favourite pieces from Island potters and even clay flower pot liners. Once your menu is planned, you can decide which dish will look best in what you have on hand. If you don't have it, you have weeks to find it. When you're not in a rush, you can generally find what you need inexpensively. Garage sales can still yield treasures. When I present my food, I generally do it on a piece of seasonal or colourful fabric. I prowl the sales aisles of some of all the fabric stores looking for bolt end bargains. Two metres is all you need to accent your food display.

Each item may suit a particular dip or spread. For the home, its easier to shop for this and this you can do in advance as well. A tasty salsa for your quesadillas, a yoghurt for you spanokapitas, a zesty curry dip for your satays. On the day or your function, shop the deli section and pick up some tasty olives and your favourite cheeses to accent your hors d'oeuvres. On your way in the house, snip some branches and clip some leaves to decorate your food presentations with.

You won't have to spend more than a few hours to prepare because of your pre- planning. The last step is one I enjoy. Put your feet up, and pour yourself a congratulatory glass of wine. Bon Appetit!

CANADIAN BACON, EH!

What we (in Canada) call "back bacon" or even "peameal bacon" is what our American cousins call Canadian Bacon. So why do they call it Canadian Bacon? This is another one of those fun food questions I get and this one had me stumped for a bit, but like all food, there is a story or two.

To find out why they call it Canadian Bacon, we have to look at a bit of history and go way back in time. The pig was one of the first animals to be domesticated and it is guessed that this happened around 7000 BC. Fast forward to the 15th century and the first pig to land in North America was brought by Hernando de Soto who landed in Florida in 1539.

Pigs became very popular later that century with the early Atlantic coast colonists because they were growing corn and had an ample supply of feed for the pigs. In fact so many pigs were raised in the colonies, that when they took them to market, they blazed some major trails, so large in fact the these trails later became the routes of the major railroads.

Anyway, we have two stories to tell on how Canadian bacon got its name. The actual cut of bacon is from the loin, located in the middle of the back. This cut is where we get our pork chops from. It is surmised that some astute Canadian butcher, instead of making pork chops, cut off the bones from this tender cylindrical morsel, cured & smoked it and sliced it up for breakfast. Now this story definitely credits Canadian ingenuity!

The other story, and most likely the one we'll credit is actually all a matter of taste. The Americans love their bacon from the belly of the pig or "belly bacon" if you will. The English like their bacon from a little of both, a bit of belly and a bit from the back. So we can call this English Bacon or "Brit" style. We in Canada have preferred the bacon from the "back" which we call back bacon and due to our preference, the Americans call it "Canadian" bacon.

Now you aren't supposed to call it Canadian bacon unless it has been produced in Canada, if it comes from the United States the proper term is "Canadian style". You can fry it, bake it, barbecue it or even eat it cold but my favourite is a tender slice on top of an English muffin, topped by a poached egg and slathered with Hollandaise sauce. Now thats Eggs Benedict, and another story for later!

PORK TIDBITS

During World War II pork was used for the well known "C" & "K" rations for soldiers. Fat from the pig was one of the main ingredients in making nitroglycerine used in the manufacture of explosives which also helped the war effort.

The 40's & 50's brought an end to the pig being fat. Lard turned into a dirty word and we started thinking lean, so that todays pig is now almost 50% leaner.

MEDIEVAL CUISINE
(the start of the last Millenium)

SPAGHETTI

FONDUES

FUNERALS & FRUITCAKES

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