The Food History Reader: Primary Sources

Here's #20. It was a really long slog, especially given all the copyright issues. Some great selections had to go, but in the end I really like it. Will be great to use in class!

Sixteenth Century Crespe

You are looking at the surface of a 16th century crespe. More like a funnel cake than a modern crepe, and I would not have believed the recipe had I not cooked it. A pound of butter clarified, then a batter of egg whites, white wine and cake flour. Drizzled into the fat through a funnel. Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. They are indeed crisp! 

I made these last night for our annual history bash for graduating seniors. In fact everything I made came from the Livre fort excellent de cuysine, which I translated with Tim Tomasik, and just arrived in print the other day. I also made a frumenty (cooked wheat berries), a hochepot of chicken, prunes, dates, currants and spices, a magnificent sole pie which seems to have been the hit, a slowly braised rabbit cooked in a clay pipkin, which I thought was fabulous, and a spinach dariole which fascinatingly was made with cooked spinach, bread crumbs, egg yolks (no whites) and rosewater.Once again it all proves my theory that you must trust historic cookbooks and not mess with them. Actually if it weren't such a big crowd I would have cooked it all in the hearth. But I DID get to use my new oven!!

Here's the book:     http://www.amazon.com/The-Most-Excellent-Book-Cookery/dp/190301896X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398526119&sr=8-1&keywords=Livre+fort+excellent+de+cuysine  

Stuff I Thought I Would NOT Like

You know I like to make everything myself. But sometimes you just end up buying stuff, or even having it sent to you. None of this did I expect to like. In fact the pickles, NOT lactofermented I thought I would hate. But they are unbelievably tasty. Sweet, sour, spicy and really crunchy. Addictive. The wasabi tempura nori crackers are like crack. I've never tasted anything like it. Forget any snack food you ever thought you couldn't resist. They should sell this stuff in big bags. And this weird funky fish sauce, smells like XXXX with an oak finish. What the hell? It was 27 bucks on amazon, and a drizzle into a cooked dish is insane. Aged in bourbon barrels. It's magic. I'm going to make chili crabs in a few minutes, with shallot, cilantro, chili and a glug of this stuff. I think I will probably faint. And YES, I have nibbling on all three today!

şalgam suyu

I will readily admit, when I become obsessed with something, I can think of little else. This enchanting drink (yes) I had never heard of until I was told to ask for it at a Turkish Restaurant in NY last week. Imagine something sort of like pickle juice: salty, sour, spicy, deeply vegetal, the lactobomb! Criswell predicts it will replace kombucha for hipsters. There are no directions online in English, but I figured out pretty much how to do it from a Turkish video. It is also a yeast ferment, so I'm thinking it contains a little alcohol too. The key is to tie up in a little muslin bag some stale sourdough bread, some dried chickpeas and some bulghur wheat. Then add black carrots, if you can find them, or orange. Some beets gave these batches color. Also turnip. And salt. A touch of raw sugar. Then some green chilies, I used serranos. In one jar I put fennel and ginger for kicks. It's actually not done, it should take 2 weeks, but I opened the jar on the left, which sent up violent bubbles and tasted it, and WOW, it is already magnificent. A fermented cold borscht in a way. I have read that it is traditional to drink with some raki on the side. So THAT is what I'm doing right now. Well pastis, but close enough. Now I think the experiments will commence. Why not parsnip, the finest root on earth?

A Fun Radio Interview in Melbourne

http://upclose.unimelb.edu.au/episode/293-fare-enough-concocting-aura-authenticity-traditional-food-products

Jaffles

This curious flying saucer shaped pie has been familiar to me all my life, but by the name Jaffle, it is entirely new. This is but one of many diverting things I learned in Australia last week. Moreover, they are not filled with ham and cheese, but rather baked beans or spaghetti from a can. The idea is so vile I love it. There are also pies everywhere, meat pies, sold in the 7-11, which are also everywhere. And to make sure it's completely ruined, they dump it into pea soup, for a pie floater. Sounds like something that belongs in the toilet bowl. That's where vegemite belongs too if you ask me.

Tim Tam was also entirely new to me. Vaguely akin to Kit Kat, but better. I was instructed to bite off both ends and sip port through it. Now this really worked. But of everything I tasted, and there really was a lot of fabulous food down under, the anzac biscuit is just gorgeous. Oats, coconut, golden syrup. It's a cookie, but so crisp and lovely. We need them here, trust me.

Home Made Spam

Do you have to ask why anyone would want to make spam at home from scratch? It was the sheer challenge, and the opportunity to make it as laborious as possible. And of course better than the original. This was pork shoulder finely chopped with about 20% fat, salt, instacure #1, herbs, a little sugar. Put into this jar early November last year. Then left in the fridge until today. You ask why? I wanted to see if it would slowly ferment at such low temperatures. I think it did. Smelled lovely when I opened it. Then resealed, cooked in a big stockpot of simmering water and left to cool. I think once cool the gelatinous broth you see here will solidify. Then I'll let it slurp out, slice it into rounds and fry them. Maybe serve on a bun. Though I am thinking onagiri would be really nice filled with a lump of homemade spam inside and furikake flakes. I have leftover rice. Yes, definitely.