Tag Archives: Culinary

Caper

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Caper

Feeling lively? Try a caper!

  • A caper is a small, edible bud of the flower that grows on the bush of the same name, native to the Mediterranean area and some parts of Asia.
  • The scientific name of the caper bearing plant is Capparis spinosa and it is from the family Capparaceae, the family of capers, which is considered to be closely related to the mustard family of Brassicaceae.
  • Capers are roughly oval in shape and are an olive-green colour, and the leaves and berries of the plant are also edible.
  • Capers are sold commercially and are generally categorised in sizes from 7 to 14 millimeters (0.28 to 0.55 of an inch), with different names for each size – the smallest being ‘nonpareil’ and the largest being ‘grusa’, though the smaller ones are more sought after.
  • Capers are commonly dried and salted, and often pickled in vinegar or brine, to enhance the flavour before consuming as is, or lightly cooked.

Capers, Vegetable, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Vegetation, Green, Food, Culinary

  • Foods that may include capers as an ingredient include tartare sauce and other condiments, salads, pasta dishes, and meat dishes including fish.
  • The flavour of capers tends to be a blend of vinegar or other pickling solution if any, salt, and a flowery mustard or peppery taste.
  • Due to their fragile nature, capers are unable to be collected using machinery and thus must be picked by hand.
  • The cultivation of caper buds as food originates as early as 2000 BC, and their use has become more widespread throughout the centuries.
  • Capers are extremely high in sodium and a good source of vitamin K and copper, and they have many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Caper, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper
Fillippone P, What Are Capers?, 2015, About Food, http://homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqcapers.htm
So What The Hell Are Capers Anyway?, 2014, The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2014/05/30/what-are-capers_n_1276491.html?ir=Australia

Black Forest Cake

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Black Forest Cake

Black Forest cake is a slice of sweet Germany.

  • Black Forest cake is a layered dessert made primarily of cream, cake and cherries, and it is famously German.
  • ‘Black Forest cake’ is also known as ‘Black Forest gateau’, ‘Black Forest cherry cake’, and ‘Black Forest cherry torte’, while the German term for the cake is ‘Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte’.
  • The typical ingredients of the layers of Black Forest cake are chocolate cake, cherries that are usually sour, and whipped cream, while more cream, cherries and chocolate flakes are often used for decoration.
  • Black Forest cake is said to be named after the liquor traditionally used as an ingredient to flavour the cake, ‘Kirschwässer’ – a cherry brandy, which is believed to have originated in the Black Forest of Germany, although other theories exist, including reference to the cake having the appearance of the traditional Black Forest costume worn by women.
  • It has been alleged that confectioner Josef Keller invented the Black Forest cake in 1915, at the Cafe Agner in Bad Godesberg, in Germany, Europe, and while this has been disputed, Keller’s hand written recipe is said to still exist.
Black Forest Cake, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Cream, Cake, Food, Culinary, Germany, Layers, Decorated
Black Forest Cake
Image courtesy of Mikel Ortega/Flickr
  • To be officially known as ‘Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte’, Black Forest cake requires the use of Kirschwasser, or Kirsch as it is sometimes known; cherries; cream or butter cream; as well as a minimum of three percent cocoa present in the cake batter.
  • The earliest published written record of Black Forest cake was in 1934, by John Martin Erich Weber, a German confectioner, in his book ‘250 Konditorei-Spezialitäten und wie sie entstehen’, translated in English literally as ‘250 pastry specialties and how they originate’.
  • Today, Black Forest cake is well known worldwide and one of the most popular cakes in Germany, though it was only listed as the thirteenth most famous German cake in 1949.
  • In mid 2006, a world record for the largest Black Forest cake was set, created in Germany’s Europa Park, and it had an area of approximately 80 square metres (861 square feet) and a weight of 2,963 kilograms (6,532 pounds).
  • A dessert from Sweden, known as ‘Schwarzwaldtårta’, also translated as ‘Black Forest cake’, exists, however it is made of layers of meringue and whipped cream and garnished with chocolate, and as it contains no cake batter, it is typically gluten free.
Bibliography:
Black Forest Cake, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest_cake
The History of Black Forest Cherry-torte, n.d, Food History, http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/BlackForestCake/index.htm
Recipe: Black Forest Cake, 2015, The Nibble, http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cookies/cakes/black-forest-cake-recipe.asp

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Maize

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Maize

Is it maize or corn?

  • Maize is a grain-based food plant where the seeds, or kernels, are also known as ‘corn’, and the plant was first cultivated in Mexico, America, thousands of years ago, where the grain is a staple food.
  • The scientific name of maize is Zea mays and it is from the family Poaceae, the family of true grasses.
  • There are a number of different types of maize, and they are generally categorised under the names ‘sweet corn’, ‘popcorn’, ‘flour corn’, ‘flint corn’, ‘dent corn’, and ‘wild’ or ‘pod corn’.
  • Approximately 600 kernels of maize form on a cob, that grows as an ‘ear’ or spear head shaped spike, on a 2.5 to 12 metre (8 to 39 feet) tall plant.
  • Female flowers of maize plants produce stigmas that are like strands of hair, known as ‘silk’; and the kernels or seeds are a white, yellow, orange or red colour, while green, purple, black, and blue/grey varieties exist.

Maize, Food, Culinary, Ten Random Facts, Vegetation, Field, Europe

A Field of Maize
Image courtesy of Carsten Ullrich/Flickr
  • The United States was the world’s top producer of maize in 2013, producing roughly 353.7 million tonnes (389.9 million tons), of a world total production of just over 1 billion tonnes (1.1 billion tons), making it the most produced cereal crop on earth.
  • Depending on the type and variety, maize has different uses – sweet corn is generally cooked and eaten like a vegetable; popcorn is heated until the kernels burst providing a light weight snack, flour corn is typically ground into flour; flint and dent corn are used for animal feed and are also processed and made into products for human consumption; while pod corn is not usually used for commercial purposes.
  • A protein found in maize, that fails to break down when cooked, can cause allergic reactions, with symptoms that include itchiness, rashes, asthma or vomiting, among others.
  • Field corn, which includes all types of maize except for sweet corn and popcorn, accounts for at least 98% of corn crops grown in the United States, of which around 75% is used for stock feed and the production of ethanol fuel, while the rest is used to make products like breakfast cereal, corn syrup, corn starch and flour, corn chips, and other commercial products.
  • The cobs of maize have been crafted into smoking pipes, and it is believed that they were made as early as the 1860s in the United States, while the starch is used in many non-food products including adhesives and plastics.
Bibliography:
Corn, 1999, Purdue Agriculture, https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Crops/Corn.html
Maize, 2009, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, http://www.iita.org/maize 
Maize, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize

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Baguette

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Baguette

Bag a few baguettes while you are at it.

  • Baguettes are bread-based foods that are well known as a French product, and they are also known as ‘French loaves’ and ‘French sticks’.
  • Baguettes are typically 5 to 6 centimetres (2 to 2.4 inches) in diameter and 65 to 100 centimetres (26 to 39 inches) in length.
  • The term ‘baguette’ translated from French is ‘wand’, ‘stick’ or ‘baton’, referring to the bread’s long, thin shape.
  • Baguettes originated in France, from the mid 1700s, and were used in particular, as breakfast foods, though the earliest use of the modern term in reference to the bread was in 1920.
  • The basic ingredients of a baguette are wheat flour, salt, water and yeast or other rising alternative, and due to having no preservatives, they are best eaten the same day they are made.
Baguettes, Food, Bread, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Brown, Sticks, Long, Tray, Homemade
Baguette
Image courtesy of Nicola/Flickr
  • In France, a number of regulations are in force concerning the commercial production of the traditional baguette – that those sold contain only the four basic ingredients, with only slight variations allowed; that they be baked and sold at the same premises; that they be preservative and additive free; and that they are not frozen prior to selling.
  • Commonly, baguettes are cooked using steam in a deck oven at temperature minimums of 205°C (400°F) to assist in developing its light, fluffy interior, before the exterior crusts over and becomes crispy.
  • Due to the fact that they cook quicker than the rounded alternative, baguettes were particularly popular for baking in the early mornings, especially early in the 20th century when a law was passed regarding bakery employees not being permitted to start work until after 4 am.
  • Baguettes can be eaten plain, although they are sometimes eaten with the addition of butter, cheese or condiments like jam, or used as bread for sandwiches, and the like.
  • Baguettes are eaten in many countries around the world, however, in France, they are so popular that at least ten billion are made annually in the country.
Bibliography:
Baguette, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguette
A Brief History of the French Baguette, 2015, Le Petit Français Inc, http://www.lepetitfrancais.com/history
Marsh J, The Very French Baguette of France, 2015, The Good Life France, http://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/the-very-french-baguette-of-france/
Saint K, History of the Baguette, 2015, The Good Life France, http://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/history-baguette/

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Mashed Potato

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Mashed Potato

Step on a potato? Turn it into mashed potato!

  • Mashed potato is an edible dish primarily made of cooked potato that has been crushed to a soft and somewhat smooth consistency.
  • Mashed potato’s main ingredient is potato, while additional ingredients often include butter, milk, vegetable oil or cream, as well as flavourings such as spices or herbs.
  • Commonly, mashed potato is served as a side accompaniment with meat or vegetables, and often gravy, although it may be used as an ingredient in dishes such as cottage pie.
  • The earliest known mashed potato recipe published was in The Art of Cookery recipe book authored by Englishwoman Hannah Glasse, in 1747.
  • Mashed potato is typically made with the use of a masher (powered by hand) or a mixer (electric), and modern style masher designs have been available from the mid to late 19th century.
Mashed Potato, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Potato, Culinary, White, Food
Mashed Potato
Image courtesy of David K/Flickr
  • Mashed potato can become sticky and somewhat unpleasant if excessively mashed, particularly while using electrical mixers, due to the starch being released because of over-stimulation.
  • Various potatoes can be used to make mashed potato, while some prefer waxy ones, while others prefer to use dry floury potatoes, and the typical texture of the potato once mashed with added ingredients is soft and starchy, and somewhat creamy.
  • It is thought that mashed potato dates back to the 1600s in England, though it is likely that potatoes were first mashed thousands of years ago by the Incas in South America, where potatoes originated.
  • Mashed potato can vary across cultures, with Indian mashes preferring an abundance of flavour with many ingredients, while a French preparation differs somewhat and includes the yolk of an egg.
  • Mashed potato is commercially available in a dehydrated or frozen form, and an ‘instant’ dehydrated flaked version has been available since the 1960s.
Bibliography:
Bulls D, History of the Potato Masher & How to Make Mashed Potatoes, 2015, Kings River Life Magazine, http://kingsriverlife.com/10/09/history-of-the-potatoe-masher/
FAQs: Charlotte to Millet, 2015, Food Timeline, http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq1.html
Mashed Potato, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashed_potato

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Toblerone

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Toblerone

Climb the peaks of the Toblerone.

  • Toblerone is an iconic bar of chocolate, notable for its triangular prism shape.
  • Toblerone was invented by confectionery manufacturer Theodor Tobler and cousin, Emil Baumann, in 1908, in Switzerland’s Bern, in Europe.
  • While it is commonly thought that the mountainous Swiss Alps was the inspiration for the triangular shape of Toblerone, it is believed that the chocolate bar shape was inspired by a row of show dancers.
  • Toblerone was patented and trademarked in 1909; was manufactured independently, and later sold to Interfoods in 1970 and Kraft in 1990.
  • The term ‘ Toblerone’ is a combination of the inventor’s surname – ‘Tobler’, and a nougat variant known as ‘torrone’ in Italy.
Toblerone, Chocolate, Opened, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Yellow, Triangle, Food, Culinary
  • Toblerone chocolate is arranged in peaks, generally ranging in quantity from three to twelve, depending on the size of the bar, which can weigh up to 4.5 kilograms (9.9 pounds) for a very large one, while single pieces are also available.
  • The Toblerone was patented notably quickly in fear of copying competitors, and it was the earliest chocolate to be registered for its distinct shape.
  • A Toblerone weighing 102 kilograms (225 pounds) was created for the company’s chocolate fest in 2010.
  • The mountain logo of Toblerone includes a hidden bear silhouette, which is the city of Bern’s coat of arms.
  • Toblerone is made of an intricate blend of chocolate, nuts, nougat and honey.
Bibliography:
Tolberone, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toblerone
Tolberone – How It All Began, 2011, Kraft, http://www.toblerone.com/toblerone1/page?locale=usen1&PagecRef=576
Tolberone History, n.d, Mondelēz International, http://www.mwtr.com/brands/toblerone/history

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