Category Archives: Culinary

Curry Powder

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Curry Powder

Do not let the curry powder burn your mouth… or these facts burn your brain.

  • Curry powder is a preparation of spices used primarily in dishes to add flavour and a pleasant smell.
  • Curry powder is made primarily of spices, most often turmeric, cumin and coriander, but the mixture also often contains chilli and fenugreek, and sometimes garlic and ginger.
  • Curry powder typically produces both a flavour and a curry similar to foods from Asia’s south and it is often spicy.
  • Curry powder is often used in curry sauces, but also dishes that require a distinct flavour, and the mixture can be homemade or commonly available in supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.
  • Curry powder most likely arrived in European society in 1771, and an advertisement for the product appeared in a British newspaper, dated 1784.

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  • Curry powder became common in the 1800s and 1900s after the introduction of machines that can mass produce, as well as becoming a widespread and popular export.
  • Curry powder became increasingly popular in 1960s to 1970s with the demand and supply of Indian cuisine.
  • Curry powder is typically coloured yellow, orange, red, grey or brown, depending on the spice mix, and the powder particles are often very fine, but vary in size.
  • Commercially bought curry powder often loses its prominent taste and strength after lengthy storage times, and usually starts deteriorating from six months.
  • Curry powder is high in fibre, vitamin E, vitamin K, iron and manganese, and is said to help protect against inflammation and cancer.

 

Bibliography:
Breslin F, Currying Flavor, 2012, Cook for Your Life, http://www.cookforyourlife.org/ingredients/90-curry-powder
Curry Powder, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_powder
History of Spice and Curry Powder, n.d, Vijay, http://www.vijaymasala.com/?page_id=364
Kelley L, The Origins of Curry Powder, 2013, Silk Road Gourmet, http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/curry-powder/

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Croissant

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Croissant

Do you eat croissants for breakfast?

  • Croissants are puffy bakery food items that are typically flaky and buttery in texture, that are usually tan or light brown in colour.
  • Croissants are said to have been derived from a yeast-dough pastry named ‘kipfel’, in Austria, Europe, that may have its origins as early as the 1200s, although it is possible that they did not exist until the 1600s.
  • Croissants are mainly made with butter and a bread like dough containing yeast, and can be filled and flavoured with numerous foods including chocolate, nut, ham, cheese, dried fruits and apple
  • Croissants are traditionally crescent in shape, but can be spherical or cylindrical, and the typical shape is said to have originated from the Austrian kipfel.
  • Croissants are popularly eaten during breakfast, commonly sold as a type of fast food, and are often sold frozen so that they can be thawed and heated at home.

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Croissants
Image courtesy of Zdenko Zivkovic/Flickr
  • There are many legends regarding the history of the croissant, and the most popular is that it originates in the late 1600s, when bakers created crescent shaped pastries based on the Turkish flag, due to the Turks having been defeated by their enemies.
  • The term ‘croissant’ was named after the French word for ‘crescent’, referring to the traditional shape.
  • While the origin of croissants is uncertain, they were probably introduced to France in the late 1830s, by officer August Zang from Austria, in a bakery that he owned and was located in France’s Paris, in Europe.
  • Croissants are typically made by folding butter into dough, rolling the dough into sheets, and then continuing the folding and rolling process known as ‘laminating’, before cutting and rolling into a crescent shape and baking in an oven.
  • Croissants have significant quantities of sodium, selenium, folate and thiamin and are also high in fat.
Bibliography:
Croissant, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croissant
Origins of the Croissant, 2009, The Hungarian Girl, http://thehungariangirl.com/2009/08/12/history-of-the-croissant/
Olver, L, FAQs: Bread, 2014, Food Timeline, http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodbreads.html#croissants

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Corn Starch

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Corn Starch

Do not starch these facts with corn starch!

  • Corn starch is a thickener used in cooking, that is extracted from the endosperms of corn or maize kernels and the product is said to have been originally used for starching laundry.
  • ‘Corn starch’ is also known as ‘cornstarch’, ‘maize starch’, ‘maizena’ and ‘corn flour’, although in some countries, wheat starch is sometimes labelled as ‘corn flour’.
  • Corn starch is often used to increase the thickness of soup, sauce, custard and other condiments, as well as the mixtures of bakery items.
  • Pure corn starch is gluten free, and it can be replaced with arrowroot effectively, typically by the same ratio.
  • Corn starch is extracted by softening and lightly fermenting the corn kernels, then the starch is removed and later dried.

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  • Corn starch, when mixed with water in the correct ratio, produces a substance named Oobleck with properties that deflect fast moving forces but not slow-moving forces.
  • Corn starch is typically white in colour, and is almost always in a very smooth powdered form, and when cooked, it typically loses its colour, becoming transparent, unlike flour that the starch often replaces.
  • When corn starch is added to liquid for thickening purposes, it is best to heat the mixture to a temperature of 100°C (212°F), to produce the most satisfactory thickened result.
  • The United States business, Colgate and Company are said to be the first to produce corn starch, in 1844, and soon after, Thomas Kingsford, an employee who is said to be the inventor, began a factory in New York to produce the substance.
  • Corn starch is very high in carbohydrates and has small quantities of selenium and other minerals.
Bibliography:
Corn starch, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_starch
Cornstarch, 2010, Cooksinfo.com, http://www.cooksinfo.com/cornstarch
The History of Cornstarch, n.d, Eye-on New Media, http://www.eyeon-newmedia.co.za/schweizer/docs/Reports%20-%20General/The%20History%20of%20Corn%20Starch.pdf
What is Cornstarch?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-cornstarch.htm

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Marshmallow

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Marshmallow

Toasting marshmallows over the campfire, what a traditional thing to do!

  • Marshmallows are sweet confectionery food items made primarily of sugar.
  • Homemade marshmallow is generally cut into square shaped portions, while commercially manufactured pieces are generally cylindrical in shape, although the shapes can vary.
  • Marshmallows were originally made from the root or sap of the mallow plant, Althaea officinalis, a plant that is said to grow near salt marshes, hence the name of the confectionery, and was also commonly used for medicinal purposes.
  • Marshmallow is generally coloured white, although other colours can be achieved through food colouring and pink is a popular coloured variety.
  • Marshmallows are typically made from sugar and corn starch, although wheat starch is sometimes used, as well as egg or gelatine, which helps to prevent the mixture from collapsing, and flavouring is also often included.

Marshmallow, bundle, white, pink, confectionery, cylindrical, traditional, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Marshmallow confectionery, that was made of mallow sap and honey, was invented in Ancient Egypt, and was only available to pharaohs, and it wasn’t until the 1800s that the French invented the fluffy style of confectionery that is now eaten.
  • Marshmallows are a sweet snack food that are eaten as is; used as an addition to hot chocolate; are commonly used as an ingredient in other confectionery items, such as rocky road or puffed rice slices or sweets; and are often coated in chocolate.
  • Alex Doumak, an inventor from America, invented a marshmallow extruding machine in 1948, that allowed for mass production and ease of process, and it created cylinder shaped confectionery due to the tubes that it passed through.
  • Marshmallows are often slightly cooked over campfires or other heat sources, which causes the inside to melt and become gooey.
  • Marshmallows contain small amounts of copper, are very high in carbohydrates (sugar) and contain virtually no fat.

 

Bibliography:
History of Marshmallow, 2014, Boyer, http://www.boyercandies.com/mallo-history.aspx
History of the Marshmallow, 2014, Campfire, http://www.campfiremarshmallows.com/about/history-of-the-marshmallow/
Marshmallow, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshmallow

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Fudge

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Fudge

Fudge! Well at least these facts aren’t messed up.

  • Fudge is a sweet confectionery food item usually with a strong sweet flavour, that is usually eaten in small quantities.
  • Fudge is typically made of sugar, butter and milk, and sometimes corn syrup, which slows the crystallisation process, and sometimes chocolate, for flavour.
  • Fudge comes in a variety of colours, often coinciding with the various flavours available, and it may contain fruit or nuts.
  • Fudge is typically made by heating the ingredients to temperatures of up to 116°C (240°F) and allowing it to partially cool; then beating the mixture until creamy and smooth and pouring it in a pan to set, before cutting.
  • Although fudge traditionally has a smooth and creamy texture, it will become brittle or hard if cooked at higher temperatures.

Fudge, Lemon Tart, Caramel, Blocks, Homemade, Sweets, Confectionery, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Fudge can be difficult to master as incorrect crystal sizes, due to imprecise cooking times; temperatures; or cooling processes; can cause more liquid or very hard solid versions of the confectionery.
  • The origin of fudge is uncertain, however it is likely a North America invention, possibly prior to 1886; and the first known instance of commercialisation of the product is said to be in 1886 (sold for 40 cents per pound), in Baltimore in the state of Maryland, in the United States.
  • The term ‘fudge’ possibly originated from the expression of annoyance typically used when something goes wrong, in this case, when making a confectionery that turned into a different substance than expected.
  • Fudge is not very nutritious as it mostly contains large volumes of sugar and a significant portion of fat, although it has a small quantity of manganese and other vitamins and minerals.
  • Fudge is commonly presented and sold in the shape of a rectangular block, and is usually available at market stalls or specialty confectionery stores.

 

Bibliography:
Fudge, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fudge
The Science of Fudge, 2011, The Big Bake Theory, http://bigbaketheory.com/2011/12/22/the-science-of-fudge/
What is the History of Fudge?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-history-of-fudge.htm

 

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Shortening

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What food product is tasteless and flavourless?  Shortening!

  • Shortening is a type of fat used in cooking and food, primarily to improve the texture of baked goods, by making them less dense and more delicately textured.
  • Shortening is typically made from hydrogenated (partially or fully solidified) vegetable oils such as palm, soybean, or coconut.
  • The term ‘shortening’ was used loosely to refer to lard and margarine, until the 1900s invention of the vegetable based version, although it is still sometimes the case.
  • Shortening quickly became a more viable product than the similar functioning lard, as it was more cost effective and did not need to be refrigerated.
  • ‘Shortening’ is also known by brand names such as ‘Copha’, ‘Cookeen’ and ‘Crisco’, even though they are made from different vegetable oils and may have a different consistency.

Copha, Shortening, White Block, Australia, Crumble, Culinary, Food, Ten Random Facts

  • Shortening is often used in pastry making to make it flaky, as well as a replacement for margarine or butter, and because it contains less water, it is a safer fat to use for the purpose of frying food.
  • Shortening was first produced as a commercial product in 1911, in the United States by Procter & Gamble, a company that produced soap, candles and lard at the time, and they called it ‘Crisco’, said to be short for ‘crystallized cottonseed oil’, and prior to its launch, the product had been intended for soap making purposes.
  • Shortening originally contained an unhealthy quantity of trans fat, however in some cases, processes have been adjusted to achieve a product that now contains less or none of this type of fat.
  • Shortening typically has a long expiry date, of up to two years unrefrigerated, and once opened, generally up to a year.
  • Shortening is generally tasteless and flavourless, but butter-flavoured varieties are available in some brands.

 

Bibliography:
Shortening, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortening
What is Shortening?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-shortening.htm

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