"food history" news and stories

Have you ever wondered what it is that makes New York pizza so special? Where did the Automat go (and is it even a New York City original)? When did the bagel with a schmear become ubiquitous? And speaking of Jewish baked goods, what's the difference between a bagel and a bialy?

Starting tomorrow, there's a new way to find the anwers to all your Big Apple food conundrums. You'll now be able to ask the experts, on the New York Times' City Room blog. The co-authors of "Gastropolis: Food and New York City," Annie Hauck-Lawson and Jonathan Deutsch, will be answering selected readers' questions on the history and culture of food in New York. You can submit a question in the question box on the blog, to be answered starting tomorrow.

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Tofurky, Bac-Os, Cool Whip, movie popcorn "topping" - the list of fake foods goes on and on. But why do people feel the need to create substitutes for widely available foodstuffs? There are a number of reasons, says the Chicago Tribune, in an article on the history of fake food. Money is one reason - hydrogenated soybean oil is cheaper than butter as a popcorn topping. Shelf life is another: Cool Whip and Cremora stay good a lot longer than fresh cream. Tofurky, soy dogs and Fakin' bacon serve the vegetarian market. Ritz Cracker mock apple pie and fake oysters made from corn were American frontier settlers answers to the lack of apples and oysters along the road.

But what accounts for "mock cox comb" or a faux standing roast made from Canadian sausages? The answers may be lost to history.

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Australian food history blogger The Old Foodie has an interesting series on the history and meaning of food coloring, both naturally-occurring and man-made. A few choice tidbits:

- The crushed body of the cochineal insect, native to Mexico and South America, was the the original red food coloring. It's still possible to get cochineal dye, but it's expensive: It takes about 70,000 cochineal insects to make one pound of dye.

- Food coloring was sometimes used as paint for formal occasions. In 1846, renowned French chef Alexis Soyer painted a portrait of the Pasha of Egypt in pineapple cream for a state diner.

- Alfred Hitchcock once held a 'blue dinner party,' with blue-dyed soup, trout, chicken, venison, peaches, ice cream, bread and more. The guests were said to have been repelled.

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As you fire up the grill this Memorial Day, you may want to take a moment to pay homage to the people who first brought you the hamburger. There is a lengthy and fascinating article on the history of the hamburger on What's Cooking America. While there is some debate about who created the first hamburger, Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut has a strong claim to the title.

According to What's Cooking, "Louis ran a small lunch wagon selling steak sandwiches to local factory workers. A frugal business man, he didn't like to waste the excess beef from his daily lunch rush. It is said that he ground up some scraps of beef and served it as a sandwich, the sandwich was sold between pieces of toasted bread, to a customer who was in a hurry and wanted to eat on the run."

You can still get hamburgers today at Louis' Lunch. However, don't expect to get any ketchup. The Louis' Lunch website states that their hamburgers "have changed little from their historic prototype [and] are still the specialty of the house. Each one is made from beef ground fresh each day, broiled vertically in the original cast iron grill and served between two slices of toast. Cheese, tomato and onion are the only acceptable garnish -- no true connoisseur would consider corrupting the classic taste with mustard or ketchup."

In the early and mid 1800's, rural Ireland did not have a strong tradition of yeast bread making. Baking was done in the home and, in addition to having limited supplies, time was often at a premium. The use of baking soda as a leavening agent was quick, effective and it produced a much more consistent result than yeast did. It caught on quickly and made soda breads a staple of the Irish diet until commercial bread production began in earnest, though it is still popular in Ireland and many other parts of the world.

The original soda breads contained nothing more than flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt. The buttermilk was leftover from the butter making process and the bread was almost always served with freshly churned butter. Today, the breads often contain additional ingredients, like sugar, butter, currants or caraway seeds to enhance the flavor of the bread. Soda bread is heartier than most yeast breads and pairs very well with soups, stews and meat dishes. It also makes outstanding toast. For an irish soda bread recipe, click here.