From Linda Stradley, author of: "What's Cooking America" and I'll Have What They're Having: Legendary Local Cuisine Linda originated and maintains a very large on-line cooking site since 1997 called What's Cooking America. The site is treasure trove of unique, easy-to-follow recipes from all over America that readily transforms every cook into a chef. Also includes a large culinary dictionary and lots of food history. Be sure and check Linda's web site out! She has always had a fascination with history. Put this together with her love of good food and you have a culinary historian. Linda says, "The research of the origins of foods of America have become an obsession when being introduced to new foods." Traveling with her husband, Don, all around our wonderful country, she always combines her pursuit of pleasure and eating with the pursuit of new foods and their history. A native northwesterner, Linda was raised in Longview, Washington and now lives in Newberg, Oregon. Linda says, "My mom was a great cook, but she cooked the typical foods of the 50's of overcooked meat and vegetables. It wasn't until I really got interested in cooking for my family that I discovered the wonders of great food using simple fresh ingredients! I also discovered the love of eating and the problems of weight gain!" Linda’s new cookbook is called I’ll Have What They're Having –Legendary Local Cuisine, published by Globe Peugot Press. Linda likes to say that this is a culinary history book with recipes. Email Linda at: lstrad@hevanet.com Or Visit Linda at: What's Cooking America website ***************************** Angel Food Cake – Angel Food Cake is also known as Angel Cake and Foam-Style Cake. They are made with a large quantity of egg whites and no shortening or leavening. Angel Food or "angel cake" is thought to be a takeoff of the cornstarch cake and the sponge cake. History: Angel Food cake is thought to be a takeoff of the sponge cake and cornstarch cake. There are several theories on who originated this cake. Also called ice cream cake (a PA Dutch wedding cake). It is felt that the abundance of cake molds in southeastern Pennsylvania, one of the major producer of cake molds, indicates that the angel food cake originated there in the 1800s. It is also felt that the first angel food cakes were probably baked by African-American slaves from the South because making this cake required a strong beating arm and lots of labor to whip the air into the whites. Angel food cakes are also a traditional African-American favorite for post-funeral feasting. The first Angel Food Cake was baked by a St. Louis, Missouri woman in the late 1800s at the Beer Hotel. The hotel offered it for sale in its 1888 catalog. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baba (BAH-bah) – Baba is called Babka in Poland and in France. In French, the word baba meaning, "falling over or dizzy." These are small cakes made from yeast dough containing raisins or currants. They are baked in cylindrical molds and then soaked with sugar syrup usually flavored with rum (originally they were soaked in a sweet fortified wine). After these cakes were soaked in the wine sauce for a day, the dried fruits would fall out of them. History - It is believed to be a version of a kugelhopf, which was invented in Lemberg in the 1600s. It is also said that the cake was named after one of the heroes of Stanishias Leczinski's favorite book, "Ali Baba." The baba was brought to Paris, France by Stanisias Leczinski, the deposed king of Poland and the father-in-law of King Louis XV (1710–1774) of France. He brought along his Polish chef, Sthorer to prepare them, and he is reputed to have added raisins to the recipe. The dish was then simply called “baba.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baba Au Rhum - The dessert became very popular in France, but the people called it Baba Au Rhum and soon dropped the name Savarin. In other parts of the world, the cake is known as simply Savarin. In the 18th century, French chef, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), celebrated French gourmet and writer on gastronomy, created a cake that he served with a rum sauce that he called Baba Au Savarin. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baked Alaska - A dessert that consists of a sponge cake that is covered with ice cream, then with a layer of stiffly beaten egg whites, and lastly put in a hot oven to be browned. Also known as omelette á la norvégienne, Norwegian omelette, omelette surprise, and glace au four. History: Invented by American physicist Benjamin Thompson in 1804. He had an interest in cooking and invented the fire-grate, a double boiler, an oil lamp, a coffee percolator, and the kitchen range. As a result of his interest in the insulating qualities of egg whites, a dessert that he called Omelette Surprise, which is virtually identical to Baked Alaska. Later in 1867, Charles Ranhofer, chef of the famous Delmonico's restaurant in New York, created a new cake to celebrate the U.S. purchase of Alaska from the Russians. It was, at first, called Alaska-Florida Cake, but was soon changed to Baked Alaska. Also the story that the dessert was brought to France in 1866 when a Chinese delegation was visiting Paris. The chef of the Chinese mission was staying at the Grand Hotel and the French chef at the hotel learned how to bake ice cream in a pastry crust in the oven from him. It is thought that it was supposedly later popularized worldwide by Jean Giroix, chef in 1895 at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Birthday Cake - Some historians think that the custom of the birthday cake was observed in ancient Greece, and they report that the birthday cake began with the Greeks who used to make honey cakes or bread. Ancient Romans celebrated three different types of birthdays: Private celebrations among family and friends, the birthdays of cities and temples and the birthdays of past and present emperors or members of the imperial family. The 50th year was celebrated with a honey cake made of wheat flour, grated cheese, honey, and olive oil. Others contend that the Birthday Cake tradition was started in Germany in the Middle Ages where a sweetened bread dough was made in the shape of the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and were used to commemorate his birthday. The Birthday Cake later re-emerged in Germany as a kinderfest, or a birthday celebration for a young child. In England, birthday cakes are baked with symbolic objects inside. In medieval times, objects such as coins and thimbles were mixed into the batter. People believed that the person who got the coin would be wealthy, while the unlucky finder of the thimble would never marry. Today, small figures, fake coins and small candies are more common. Birthday candles originally were placed on cakes to bring birthday wishes up to God. In ancient times, people prayed over the flames of an open fire. They believed that the smoke carried their thoughts up to the gods. Today, we believe, that if you blow out all your candles in one breath, your wish will come true. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Black Forest Cake – Called Schwarzwälderkirschtorte in German, which means Black Forest Cherry Torte (torte is the German word for cake). It a chocolate layer cake with Kirsch, whipped cream, sour cherries and chocolate curls. History: The origin of this cake in unknown, but historians believes it originated in the late 16th century in the Black Forest Region (Der Schwarzwald in German) located in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The name, Schwarzwald, evokes darkness and mystery coming from the romantic German concept of Waldeinsamkeit or forest-loneliness. This region is known for its sour cherries and Kirsch or Kirschwasser (a double distilled, clear cherry brandy made from the sour Morello cherry). Combine these cherries with the German’s love of chocolate, and you have this wonderful chocolate confection with cream and cherries.
|