Oh Oh Oreos

photo by Tohru

by Chewy

     By now, all of you have certainly heard that the Oreo cookie has reached the century mark. That has to be like 700 in food years. Go ahead, try and name a dozen brand name products that are equally aged. And while they have toyed with new flavors such as Green Tea ( introduced in China and Japan), Strawberry Milkshake (Canada, limited U.S.), Blueberry Ice Cream (Indonesia, Malaysia), Cool Mint, Peanut Butter, Banana Split, Berry Burst Ice Cream, sugar free, reduced fat, and the antithesis of chocolate, vanilla Oreos, there is no doubt that the original chocolate with vanilla cream filling still reigns in our hearts and pantries.

     Actually, the Sunshine company gets credit for the sandwich cookie with their Hydrox cookie debuting in 1908, a full 4 years before the Oreo. But Hydrox eventually “crumbled” under the pressure from Oreo and was commercially withdrawn in 1999. Some speculate the name may have something to do with that. Oreo tends to flow out of the mouth, while Hydrox sounds like a cleaning product. Yum. Others will tell you that  taste always leads to ultimate success, although my taste was never discerning enough to tell the difference between the two. True aficionados are presently screaming at me for my ignorance  

     The Oreo’s name has gone through a few updates itself. Originally the Oreo Biscuit,  in 1921 it was renamed the Oreo Sandwich, in 1948 the Oreo Crème Sandwich and finally in 1974, the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. The etymology of the name has various theories. My favorite stems from the Greek root for appetizing  as in orexin or orexigenic (appetite stimulating).Other derivations include a French word for gold ‘Or’, meaning gold (early packaging was gold), Greek ‘Oros’ meaning mountain or hill (original was mound shaped), and Greek ‘Oreo’, meaning beautiful or nice.  Or could it simply be a visual of two cookies, the ‘O’s, with the ‘re’ from cream sandwiched in-between? My view on this is pick your favorite and pass it on.

     Perhaps the most  interesting aspect of the Oreo is the embossed design on the cookie. This too, has gone through some changes over the years (one version had two pairs of turtledoves) and today’s version was finalized in 1952. That means for most of us, it’s the only “look” we know. Shrouded in mystery, Nabisco will neither confirm nor deny that William Turnier (credited by internet sources) created the contemporary design. To further deepen the conundrum, is the intricate design itself. The circle topped with a two-bar cross in which the word “OREO” resides, is a variant of the  Nabisco logo and , according to the Atlantic, is either “ an early European symbol for quality” or a Cross of Lorraine, as carried by the Knights Templar into the Crusades. The Oreo’s dot with four triangles radiating outward either resembles a four-leaf-clover or the cross pattee, also associated with the Knights Templar, as well as with the German military and today’s Freemasons. Brings to mind that this may be another “National Treasure” in more ways than one!

     Controversy also dominates in the proper way to eat the Oreo. Bite, dunk or disassemble and consume in stages, your way is always the best way! Crumbled  in baked goods, yogurt, pudding, ice cream and pies, it perfectly adorns. It is no wonder this sweet little cookie has endured.

Butterscotch vs. Caramel

by Chewy

     I like chocolate. I won’t turn it down if offered and I will advocate for it if I feel it will enhance the item. But the flavor I would endeavor to fit into my diet daily is caramel and butterscotch. They don’t have the medicinal capabilities of chocolate. They can’t raise my serotonin levels. They even have more refined sugar in them which ultimately makes them the pariah of sweets. The only thing they have going for them is that they taste sublime and they can excite my vagus nerve (see Sweet Relief). And really, isn’t that all we 
really ask of our desserts?

     Someone recently posed the question to me, “What’s the difference between the two?” If you know, raise your hand. Put a bowl of each in front of me and I could tell you which is which but I couldn’t  tell you why the difference. Today I can and I am willing to share this new found knowledge with those who didn’t have a clue.

     The one thing they have in common is sugar. From there we digress in different directions. The easier of the two to create without disaster is butterscotch, caramel’s less finicky cousin. Butterscotch is simply made by boiling brown sugar, butter, cream and vanilla and occasionally, lemon acids or vinegar to gently ease out the sweetness. Boil this to the “soft crack “ stage and you have butterscotch. Continue to boil to the “hard crack” stage and you have toffee. You may have noticed, no Scotch in that recipe, and frankly I think this is a huge oversight (maybe something I will toy with in the laboratory). I have found implication that recipes do exist that contain both butter and scotch whiskey that gives a characteristic flavor that was common 50 years ago. Beyond this possibility, “Scotch” may also have been derived from the word “scorch” or based on it’s connection to Scotland (Scotch being an old adjective for Scotland).

     Caramel actually has fewer ingredients, consisting of white granular sugar (rebels have been known to use brown sugar but this is rare), butter and whipping cream, omitting the vanilla and acids found in butterscotch. Once again you are going to heat the sugar slowly but to a much higher temperature. While butterscotch tops out at 239-257 degrees Fahrenheit, caramel is cooked until sugar browns at 338 degrees Fahrenheit. You have now heated to “firm ball” stage, flavorings can be added (bacon!) and then it’s slowly brought back to room temperature. To  make it a sauce merely add water or cream and generously pour, dollop, dribble or dunk whatever caramel transport structure you desire.

     While the differences may seem minor, each has their own distinct features. I think butterscotch has a much more buttery finish then caramel. Then again, caramel seems to have captured the confectioners imagination and the additives seem limitless (bacon, potato chips, pretzels, nuts, sea salt….wait, I’m seeing a sugar/salt connection). Either one offers opportunities to enhance fruit, cakes, pies and ice cream.

Everything’s Coming Up Bacon

by Chewy

     Whether you like it crisp, fatty, maple cured, thick cut, thin sliced or peppered coated, there is no other substitute for bacon. Mankind’s love affair with bacon seems eternal and crosses all ethnic backgrounds and even occasionally makes it on to the plate of those who eat kosher. As one woman put it to me, “I don’t eat pork…except for bacon.”. Jim Gaffigan (the comedian) does an homage to bacon that makes me salivate just thinking about it. Besides advocating the pig for man’s best friend over the dog, he also posits that the thing that goes best with bacon is more bacon! That being said, it appears that many chefs are indeed trying to pair bacon with anything and everything, including in our desserts.
    
     This new combination appears to go against our separation of dessert and meat. Whether this is a natural revulsion or culturally motivated is a question I’ll leave to the anthropologists. I do know that a sugar frosted  meatloaf cake, liver danish and trout pecan pie hold no appeal for me. So, why does bacon work? For the same reason that peanut butter works with chocolate or sea salt with caramel. Salt enhances and brings out the flavor in our desserts. Look at all your dessert recipes and you will see salt among the ingredients. An additional element, the sweetness in the dessert cuts the fatty flavor of the bacon. A perfect symbiotic relationship. Perhaps bacon made the meat/dessert crossover first because people are acclimated to the idea with the eating of pancakes, syrup and bacon mixed together on one plate.

     A possible origin of this phenomenon seems to be gastronomist, Heston Blumenthal. He proffered the bacon-and-egg  ice cream at U.K.’s Fat Duck in 2006. Later that year, two contestants on Bravo’s Top Chef also whipped up bacon ice cream, causing Tom Colicchio to ponder how long before Ben and Jerry picked up on the trend. The bacon makin’ sweet has certainly taken off since then and most of us have run across some variation on the theme.

     There appears to be no limit to the confections that bacon has been yoked with. From cupcakes, to caramels (we here at Show Me the Sugar like the Caramel  House bacon caramel), to Voodoo Doughnuts famous maple bacon bar (Portland, OR), to ice cream, to fudge and even jam.

     For the adventurous, I submit a simple recipe I found for slow cooker Bacon jam. This is one I am personally going to try and can envision this not only with toast and biscuits but as a syrup replacement on French toast or pancakes.

Bacon Jam Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced small
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee

METHOD:
1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (reserve fat for another use); add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine.
2. Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, about 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers and use within a couple of weeks.

The Big Bang Theory

by Chewy

      When I was young, we had what I will describe as “fizzy sticks”. They were a lump of hard candy on the end of a plastic stick and when you stirred your Kool-Aid or juice with it, you magically carbonated your beverage with tiny bubbles. I am sure some child, somewhere, wondered what would happen if you skipped the liquids and applied directly to the tongue. I have no doubt this was the precursor to the Poprock, that iconic confection from the 70’s.

     General Foods patented the concept in 1956 . Research chemist William A. Mitchell receives credit for this invention that spent the next 20 years in the laboratory probably as a “gag” sweet. However, in 1975, this cracked up candy was finally marketed but ended it’s run with General Foods in 1983 due to marketplace malaise  and short shelf life. Later the product license changed hands and is currently distributed by Pop Rocks Inc (Atlanta, GA) and Zeta Espacial S.A. (Barcelona-Spain). If you have an overwhelming desire to know ALL the details, there is a book available, Pop Rocks: The Inside Story of America’s Revolutionary Candy by Dr. Marvin J. Rudolph. Who would read this? My son-in-law who once read a  book on salt.

     So how are these busting bits made and why do they work? You start with your basic hot sugary hard candy, boiling the mixture until all the water has been dissipated. This leaves you with a pure sugary syrup at a temperature of lava level. Letting it cool at this point results in plain old hard candy. But if you mix this hot mixture with carbon dioxide gas at 600 psi (pounds per square inch), tiny 600 psi carbon dioxide bubbles form in the candy.  As the candy cools, it shatters leaving behind pieces with trapped tiny bubbles. Imagine being in the factory on combustible candy day. Valium for everybody. When saliva comes in contact, the candy pieces break and dissolve releasing the carbon dioxide from the tiny bubbles. What ensues is a furious fireworks display in your mouth with popping and sizzling.

     What these little beauties will NOT do is cause a person’s stomach to explode. This urban legend  is still around and has been perpetuated in many forms of media and fiction. Extensively tested for safety, General Foods fought an uphill battle, even going so far as to send letters to school principles, advertisements in major publications and sending an “ambassador of pop” abroad to explain the workings of the product. MythBusters took on the long standing gossip and concluded that it was impossible to cause a stomach explosion even using pounds of the material. You would think this would settle the issue but I bet you know someone who is still fomenting this fable that ACTUALLY happened to their neighbors second cousin’s brother-in-law’s nephew on the maternal side.

     This “blast from the past” confection has seen a resurgence internationally, re-flooding the market since 2000 with a more advanced and innovative product. For those who would like to try their hand at making Poprocks, a recipe is to follow. 

Donuts or Doughnuts?

by Chewy

     Keep your cake, pass on the pie, ignore the ice-cream, my Achilles heel is the donut. Rings, balls, flattened spheres, twists, bars, curls, stuffed,  I love them all. I will go out of my way to AVOID a Krispy Kreme as I lose all control around these fried food charmers.
My fascination with doughnuts began in my childhood. Once a year we visited my grandparents who lived  5 states away. Grandma was the none measuring, have it all in my head, work it until it feels right, everything from scratch, type of cook. Every visit included home made donuts. Wait….I need a moment to collect myself! It’s not much of a stretch to describe these as Manna from heaven. I don’t know what she did to them, but I have never tasted anything as delectable since.

     Doing research for this blog, it became apparent to me that I was not alone in my addiction and captivation of this confection. Pick a country, any country and they have a donut variation and, sadly, I want to try them all. The thing they all have in common is that they are fried in some kind of oil, be it ghee (India), coconut oil (Philippines), or good ole corn oil. My favorite international description comes from Pakistan. The Navaz Sharif is covered in chocolate, filled with cream (ala Boston  Cream)  and costs twice as much as the regular variety. It is meant to “make you corrupt” if you eat it. This is a doughnut I can relate to!

     Once again we have disputed origins for the doughnut. Several theories exist with the ring shaped honors going to Hansen Gregory who at the tender age of sixteen punched a hole in the center of dough with a tin pepper box and later trained his mother in the technique (wonder if she knew my Grandma?). Another suggestion has North American Dutch settlers popularizing olykoek (Dutch, literally, “oil cake”) a “sweetened cake fried in fat”. Nothing beats the “mythological” status  of the theory that traces it all back to a cow in colonial days. Elsie, supposedly, accidentally kicked over a pot of oil onto a mixture of pastry. Yeah. And the cow that started the fire in Chicago invented BBQ!

     While a doughnut can stand on its own for eating, many pair it with milk, tea or coffee, even going so far as to “dunk”. Clark Gable popularized this method in the movie “It Happened One Night”. But we can re-visit the rumor mill where Mae Murray, of New York City, “accidentally” dropped her fresh doughnut into her cup of coffee. Where there are no written codes, Dunking Etiquette in our home forbid dunking past the first knuckle. Not sure what the punishment was for this  infraction but you can be assured the rule was religiously observed.

     Popular culture has kept the doughnut in the lime light. From Homer Simpson’s love affair with doughnuts, to film (ex. “Dora’s Dunking Doughnuts” -1933), music albums (“The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse”), children’s book (Arnie the Doughnut) and the Staunton , Illinois race, the “Tour de Donut”.

     While doughnuts have never fallen out of fashion, I see a doughnut resurgence similar to the cupcake update. Expect to see designer and bizarre combinations. Leave me a note and tell me what concoction you’d like to see next to your breakfast beverage. You may invent the next doughnut success and get a footnote in history!

Hostess not the mostess?

First the chocolate shortage and now this. Hostess has filed for bankruptcy protection, again, the second time in less than a decade. I hear the gasps, I feel the pain. Apparently in our need to grow up and eat responsibly, we have failed in the tacit agreement of our childhood, that is, if you make a spongy yellow or chocolate cake with amazing ( how did it get there?) and incredible creamy center,  we will eat it. Among the raw vegetables and fruits, all things whole wheat, organic EVERYTHING, fat free, sugar free, gluten free and water, water, water, the pre-packaged  “big delight in every bite” has fallen off the grocery list. There is no “healthy” substitute for this sugary spongy sensory icon and there’s not suppose to be. Unpretentious, it has never tried to elevate its status above tasty treat for lunch boxes, snacks and midnight cravings.

     Go to the Hostess website and you will be informed that Jimmy Dewar invented Twinkies in 1930. The man was a visionary. Take the shortcake pans, which had limited use only during the strawberry season, and inject the shortcakes with a banana crème (later replaced during WW II to vanilla crème due to banana rationing) center. You now have a year round indulgence that cost a mere nickel for two. And there lies the other half of his epiphany, an inexpensive sweet product during the depression. Nothing like sweet comfort to alleviate your fiscal deprivation. Ironically, decades later, it was the consumption of Twinkies, and other junk food and sugary drinks, as evidence (not cause) of underlying depression, that led to the misnomer “Twinkie defense” used in the trial  of Dan White.

     Did you know St Louis has a connection to this goody? Dewar was on his way to St Louis to debut his creation and a billboard advertising “Twinkle Toe” shoes inspired his catchy name Twinkies. Seems to me somebody (Twinkle Toe  shoes) should be getting residuals for that.

     Through the years the Hostess treat family expanded to include Ding Dongs, Ho Ho’s, Suzy Q’s, Sno Balls and various hand held fruit pies. And who can forget the Hostess cupcake. Coming in a package of two, you could share with any of your many self-proclaimed best friends who suddenly appeared. The original massed produced cupcake predating all the specialized cupcake patisseries today. It was a special day when at school lunch we opened our bag/box and discovered one of these delectables. We didn’t care abut the lack of nutritional value, it’s survivability of nuclear fallout, or it’s century shelf life. Often reduced to dessert first mode, we tore the cellophane or foil wrapper, took a bite and then scooped out the cream stuffing with our tongue. Or, saving the best for last, eat all the cake around the center and then popping that last glorious rich center morsel into our mouth to savor as it melted away. What ever method, they were and still are, unforgettable. Sadly,  they may indeed have a shortened “shelf life” and go the way of the Dodo bird, the passenger pigeon and the T-rex.

     So, if the unthinkable happens and these iconic tidbits bite the dust we are not left completely bereft of options. While certainly losing the convenience factor, a facsimile can be reproduced. I won’t lie to you and say they are just as good, but I will be posting recipes for a “twinkie-like” and “ding dong derivative” baked good. In the mean time, enjoy one of the originals!


By Chewy

SPOT OF TEA?

Care for a spot of tea? Perhaps diving into those delectable dainty delicacies? You know, those yummy  tiny sandwiches, pastries and scones served on a three tiered server, all the more tastier because they’re miniature. Such a wonderful custom that unsurprisingly faded away  in the United States after that horrible misunderstanding in Boston harbor. Since England owned all the tea in the world, slight exaggeration but not by much,  they didn’t trust this country with a tea bag after that. If it had been anything but tea! But good ideas never truly die, fences have been mended and the custom of tea has been resurrected as an occasional treat served in hotels and tea rooms.

While there may be some dispute as to where tea as a meal began, some have referenced France as the possible origin, there is no doubt that the British took it to national status. You may have heard the term “high tea”  and pondered if this was the hoity toity of tea ceremonies. Can you imagine the Queen having “low tea”? Wouldn’t that be beneath her? Well, actually the answer is “yes” and “yes”. Seems there are two different teas but it has nothing to do with the quality of the china, linens or accoutrements. It’s all about location, location, location and the time of day.

Afternoon, or low tea, is served around 4:00pm and is a light meal to tide one over until the larger evening meal. It’s location is the parlor or sitting room and served on a “low” table (brings new meaning to the term coffee table, doesn’t it?), hence it’s moniker. Since this was essentially a snack, items were limited to tea, scones, jam, clotted cream (sounds wrong, but I would eat it with a spoon it’s that good!) and cake. Today in this country, the menu has expanded to include the above mentioned finger sandwiches and extensive pastries.

So what in the world is “high “tea? It refers to the time (later in the day, think dinner) and consumed at a “high” table as in traditional dining table. This is actually  a combination repast of afternoon tea and the  evening meal. Seems the working class often had to work through lunch and afternoon tea (some things never change) so they were more than a bit peckish  come dinner time. When in a family setting,  it is actually less formal than afternoon  (aka low) tea and can include more substantial edibles such as meats, eggs and fish.

My favorite tea experience was the Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia. Still get a bit misty eyed over it. Traditional English afternoon tea in the most lavish of settings. But you don’t have to travel far to participate in this well honored tradition.  St Louis offers several tea rooms. Look for future blogs listing these various venues. Until then, put on a kettle, open a package of cookies, sit back and reflect on all the reasons why this observance should be daily….a long with the siesta and happy hour!

by Chewy

Ensconced with Scones

    By Chewy                      

   

     Scones. If you have read my previous article on clotted cream,  you’ll  realize that for me, scones are merely a clotted cream delivery system, socially more acceptable then my fingers and significantly slowing down the fat intake process. Clotted cream has a minimum 55% butterfat. And you wondered why it was so good? Some actually like putting butter and jam on these delightful little cakes and then topping them with clotted cream. Seems like gilding the lily to me but I do appreciate a complex character and would not condemn the practice.

     The preferred pronunciation of this tidbit varies geographically, but generally, in the United Kingdom, the majority pronounce it “skon” rhyming with  “con”. Here in the States we put our own spin on it and rhyme it with “cone”. This cute poem suggests the confusion has been around for a while and pokes gentle fun at those who mistakenly use the wrong one:


     “I asked the maid in dulcet tones
      To order me a buttered scone
      The silly girl has been and gone             
      And ordered me a buttered scone.”

I will now be using both pronunciations to ensure I am right at least half the time. For our etymologists out there, the Oxford English Dictionary offers the word’s origin as Middle Dutch (didn’t see that coming, did you?) schoonbrood, from schoon, beautiful, bright, white and broot, bread. And if you want to side step a blunder altogether, they have also been referred to as rock cakes, fat rascals or , and this is my favorite, singing hinnies. You just know there is a story there.

     As with EVERYTHING when it comes to food, origins are murky and frankly I think some people just make stuff up! Of course, that can make for a better story, especially when one gets tired of saying “we just don’t know”. For example. Scones could be an ancient Welsh tradition of whipping up some round cakes on hot rocks (later moved to a griddle) OR it could be named after the Stone (scone) of Destiny (said in an echo-y deep voice), which really exists. It presently resides in Westminster Abbey, but previously, Scotland was it’s home and Scottish kings would sit on it when  they were crowned. While the later is a possibility, it’s not likely, albeit exponentially more fun.

     Your basic modern scone consists of wheat flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, butter, milk and eggs. Imagination reigns with additives of raisins, currants, dried fruits, chocolate chips, orange rinds (it’s beginning to sound like fruitcake) and a multitude of savory options.

     Ever wonder why scones are often triangle shape? Because they were originally shaped into a medium  plate size round cake, cooked on a griddle and then cut into triangular quarters  for serving. Then along came commercialization and spitting out little round shapes was easier and more “perfect”. When baking powder became available, cooking on the griddle moved to baking in the oven and to the shelves of supermarkets. Universally, everyone can now enjoy a spot of tea and scones with clotted cream. And so dear Anglophiles…..pinkie up!