history
Iconic food and gustatory moments in history.
Move Over Taco Tuesday
Did you know that you have a 12-year-old enslaved boy named Edmond Albius to thank for your vanilla coffee? And, well, almost everything vanilla for that matter? If you didn’t know that tidbit of Black history, you’re not alone. But you would have known if you followed Black Food Fridays.
By Alexis Dent5 years ago in Feast
Polish Delicatessens
I told Ania about my memory of the Barony Street delicatessen in Edinburgh. In 1979, when I had been a postgraduate architect in the city, long before we had met. I used to buy a sandwich there to take into the Minto House studio. The shop was long, running back from the door, and getting darker toward the back. A glass-fronted display cabinet ran the full length of the room. You came in from the street on the left, and to the right behind the long counter was the shopkeeper's territory. She was a dear old woman who spoke no English. And anyone else I would meet in the shop would also be old, slow, wearing heavy brown clothes. They would speak no English. I think they usually carried Polish newspapers. Perhaps that last detail is just an invention of memory.
By Nick James5 years ago in Feast
Canned Stew and Empires
Laying out a sequence of cause and effect in history is sometimes a dangerous pastime. But let’s give it a try. Napoleon Bonaparte was arguably the most capable commander and emperor in modern times. There were other powerful emperors, even if they did not take on that title, but they generally failed as commanders. As a part of his role as commander of the French army around 1800, Napoleon sought a solution to the problem of inadequate food for his troops. It seemed, oddly enough, that the people who he was invading took to destroying their crops and stored food as they retreated from his advancing forces. This meant that the only way to feed his legions was to cart in food from behind the lines using wagons and horses. It was not efficient and as those supply lines became longer and longer with the successes he had in battle, the lines themselves became an exposed liability.
By William Altmann5 years ago in Feast
Understanding Our Systems of Production
The cultivation of food is something deeply tied to the history of humanity and our ancestral cultures. While the concept is a relatively simple one, the cultivation of plants for food is a complex and diverse field of study. Even the best and most lucrative home-gardeners on the planet may be clueless on how to scale up their knowledge into large-scale production agriculture. Likewise, rural farmers using traditional methods wouldn’t know how to begin with conventional agriculture. There are a million ways to grow the same tomato but is there one right way? In today’s world, there are a million labels when it comes to agricultural practices. There’s biodynamic farming, regenerative agriculture, permaculture, organic farming, conventional agriculture, and countless other systems/philosophies. If all this sounds overwhelming to you it's because for most people it is. In this article, we will cover the three big ones that you may have heard of: Organic Farming, Conventional Agriculture, and Permaculture. What are these? Why are they different? Is one better than the others?
By Annelise Graf5 years ago in Feast
Does Parmesan Cheese Need to Be Refrigerated?
Good old Parmigiano-Reggiano is of the most famous cheese types in the world. Originated from Italy, of course, parmesan is frequently used in many cuisines around the globe. Because we all adore parmesan cheese, it's every gourmand's desire to keep their Parmigiano as fresh as possible for several weeks.
By Bojan Peic5 years ago in Feast
Cup of Love
Cup of Love WAKING UP EARLY BEFORE THE SUN, I WAKE WELL RESTED AND READY FOR THE DAY TO BEGIN. IN ORDER FOR THIS DAY TO BEGIN I MUST COMPLETE A SET OF MORNING TASKS. THE FIRST THING IS TO MAKE COFFEE BECAUSE LET'S BE HONEST, NO ONE WANTS TO SEE ME WITHOUT SOME NATURALLY DERIVED FRUIT IN MY SYSTEM, IT MIGHT BE DETRIMENTAL TO ANYONE'S WELL BEING. AFTER MY FIRST TASK OF MAKING MY COFFEE; IN WHICH WAS MADE BY USING A FRENCH PRESS, I THEN WENT TO WAKE MY CHILDREN TO GET READY FOR SCHOOL. THEY SLOWLY OPEN THEIR EYES AND GET OUT OF BED; DRAGGING THEIR BLANKETS BEHIND THEM TO THE TABLE, THEY SIT AND WAIT FOR BREAKFAST TO BE MADE. I COOK SOMETHING HEALTHY TO START THE DAY. WE HAVE FRESH FARM EGGS WITH FRUIT AND A BAGUETTE. AFTER BREAKFAST ALL OF US LADIES GET READY FOR THE DAY SO WE CAN PUT FORWARD OUR BEST FOOT AND MAKE IT A SUCCESSFUL DAY. I DROP THE KIDS OFF AT SCHOOL THEN HEAD TO WORK MYSELF. BUT NOT BEFORE ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE.
By Call Me. Ishmael5 years ago in Feast
