Food History

German Chocolate

November 29, 2016

German Chocolate is an American creation, created in 1852 when American Samuel German developed a dark baking chocolate for the American Baker’s Chocolate Company. The brand name of the product, “Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate,” was named in Samuel German’s honor.

The first published recipe for German’s chocolate cake appeared in a Dallas Morning Star newspaper on June 13, 1957 as the “Recipe of the Day.” Mrs. George Calay, a Texas homemaker, created the recipe. Mrs. Caley’s creation quickly caught on and its recipe, together with the delicious photos, spread all over the country, which is how America fell in love with German Chocolate Cake. The possessive form (German’s) was dropped in subsequent publications, which created the name of German Chocolate Cake that we know today and giving the false impression of German origin.

Thank you Samuel German and Mrs. Caley!

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© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2016 All Rights Reserved

Quick Breads

September 9, 2016

Quick Breads

For mouth-watering breads that don’t require a lot of time, turn to quick breads. By using baking powder, baking soda, steam, or air instead of yeast to leaven dough. An advantage of quick breads is their ability to be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring time-consuming skilled labor and the climate control needed for traditional yeast breads. Quick breads include banana bread, beer bread, biscuits, cornbread, cookies, muffins, cakes, pancakes, brownies, scones, and soda bread.

Almost all quick breads have the same basic ingredients: Flour, leavening, eggs, fat (butter, margarine, shortening, or oil) and a liquid such as milk. Ingredients beyond these basics are added for variations of flavor and texture. The type of bread produced varies based predominantly on the method of mixing, the major flavoring, and the ratio of liquid in the batter. Some batters are thin enough to pour and others are thick enough to mold into lumps.

There are four main types of quick bread batter:
Pour Batters: Such as pancake batter, have a liquid to dry ration of about 1:1 and so pours in a steady stream – also called a “low-ratio” baked good.

Drop Batters: Such as cornbread and muffin batters, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:2.

Soft Doughs: Such as many chocolate chip cookie doughs, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:3. Soft doughs stick significantly to work surfaces.

Stiff Doughs: Such as pie crust and sugar cookie doughs, have a liquid to dry ratio of 1:8. Stiff doughs are easy to work in that they only minimally stick to work surfaces, including tools and hands – also called “high-ratio” baked goods.

Preparing a quick bread generally involves two mixing containers. On contains all dry ingredients (including chemical leavening agents or agent) and one contains all wet ingredients (possibly including liquid ingredients that are slightly acidic in order to initiate the leavening process). In some variations, the dry ingredients are in a bowl and the wet ingredients are heated sauces in a saucepan off-heat and cooled.

During the chemical leavening process, agents (one or more food-grade chemicals – usually a weak acid and a weak base) are added into the dough during mixing. These agents undergo a chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxide, which increases the baked good’s volume and produces a porous structure and lighter texture. Yeast breads often take hours to rise, and the resulting baked good’s texture can vary greatly based on external factors such as temperature and humidity. By contrast, breads made with chemical leavening agents are relatively uniform, reliable, and quick. Usually, the resulting baked good is softer and lighter than traditional yeast breads.

Chemical leavening agents include a weak base, such as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) plus a weak acid, such as cream of tartar, lemon juice, or cultured buttermilk, to create an acid-base reaction that releases carbon dioxide. Quick bread leavened specifically with baking soda is often called “soda bread.” Baking powder contains both an acid and a base in dry powdered form, and simply needs a liquid medium in which to react. Other alternative leavening agents are egg whites mechanically beaten to form stiff peaks, as in the case of many waffle recipes, or steam, in the case of cream puffs.

There are three basic methods for making quick breads, which may combine the “rise” of the chemical leavener with advantageous “lift” from other ingredients.

The Stirring Method: Also known as the quick-bread method, blending method, or muffin method is used for pancakes, muffins, corn bread, dumplings, and fritters. This method calls for measurement of dry and wet ingredients separately, then quickly mixing the two. Often the wet ingredients include beaten eggs, which have trapped air that helps the product to rise. In these recipes, the fats are liquid, such as cooking oil. Using mixing is done using a tool with a wide head such as a spoon or spatula to prevent the dough from becoming over-beaten, which would break down the egg’s lift.

The Creaming Method: Frequently used for cake batters. The butter and sugar are “creamed” or beaten together until smooth and fluffy. Eggs and liquid flavorings are mixed in, and finally dry and liquid ingredients are added in. The creaming method combines rise gained from air bubbles in the creamed butter with the rise from the chemical leaveners. Gentle folding in of the final ingredients avoids destroying these air pockets.

The Shortening Method: Also known as the biscuit method, is used for biscuits and scones. This method cuts solid fat (whether lard, butter, or vegetable shortening) into flour and other dry ingredients using a food processor, pastry blender, or two hand-held forks. The layering from this process gives rise and adds flakiness as the fold of fat melts during baking. This technique is said to produce “shortened” cakes and breads, regardless of whether or not the chosen fat is vegetable shortening.

Quick bread originated in the United States at the end of the 18th century. Before the creation of quick bread, baked goods were leavened with either yeast or by mixing dough with eggs. The discovery of chemical leavening agents and their widespread military, commercial, and home utilization in the United States dates back to 1846 with the introduction of commercial baking soda in New York by Church and Dwight of “Arm & Hammer” fame. This development was extended in 1956 by the introduction of commercial baking powder in Massachusetts, although the best known form of baking powder is “Calumet”, which was first introduced in West Hammond and Hammond, Indiana (later Calumet City, Illinois) in 1889. Both forms of food-grade chemical leaveners are still being produced under their original names.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865) the demand for portable and quickly made food was high, while skilled labor for traditional bread making was scarce. This encouraged the adoption of bread, which was rapidly made and leavened with baking soda, instead of yeast. The shortage of chemical leaveners in the American South during the Civil War contributed to a food crisis.

As the Industrial Revolution accelerated, the marketing of mass-produced prepackaged foods was eased by the use of chemical leaveners, which could produce consistent products regardless of variations in source ingredients, time of year, geographical location, weather conditions, and many other factors that could cause problems with environmentally sensitive, temperamental yeast formulations. These factors were traded off against the loss of traditional yeast flavor, nutrition, and texture.

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“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2016 All Rights Reserved

English Stew (1860)

January 21, 2016

English Stew (1860)

English stew is the name given to the following excellent preparation of cold meat. Cut the meat in slices, pepper, salt, and flour them, and lay them in a dish. Take a few pickles of any kind, or a small quantity of pickled cabbage, and sprinkle over the meat. Then take a tea-cup half full of water; add to it a small quantity of the vinegar belonging to the pickles, a small quantity of catsup, if approved of, and any gravy that may be set for use. Stir all together and pour it over the meat. Set the meat before the fire with a tin behind it, or put it in a Dutch oven, or in the oven of the kitchen range, as may be most convenient, for about half an hour before dinner-time. This is a cheap, simple way of dressing cold meat.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2016 All Rights Reserved

Buttered Cabbage

January 16, 2016

Buttered Cabbage

Civil War deprivations did not stop women from sharing recipes (receipts) with one another. This recipe for Buttered Cabbage was published in Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1862.

“Boil the cabbage with a quantity of onions, then chop them together, season with pepper and salt, and fry them in butter. It is a rather homely, but savory dish, and frequently used either with fried sausages laid over it or as an accompaniment to roast beef, and forms part of bubble and squeak.”

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2016 All Rights Reserved

Lucky Foods To Ring In The New Year

January 1, 2016

Lucky Foods To Ring In The New Year

Many cultures believe that some foods are lucky and prepare them on New Year’s to ensure good fortune throughout the upcoming year.

Bagels & Doughnuts. Round foods, like bagels and doughnuts, are a great way to start the day and also symbolize coming full circle. As the year is coming to an end, it’s a good reminder that the New Year is about to begin.

Noodles. In China and Japan, long noodles represent longevity, BUT only if you don’t cut or break the noodles. You may want to make some soba noodles in a nice broth for a New Year’s lunch.

Lentils. Lentils resemble coins and plump when you cook them, which symbolizes growing wealth. Pork sausage cooked with lentils (Cotechino Con Lenticchie) Is a traditional New Year’s dish in Italy.

Fish. Whole fish (head to tail) is said to give you good luck from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. Roasting a whole fish not only keeps it moist, but also adds extra flavor.

Pork. Pigs typically root forward while planting their feet in the ground. This signifies moving forward. In Spain it is traditional to prepare pork chops with grapes. It is customary to eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight in order to bring prosperity in each of the coming months.

Corn. The color of gold, which indicates a year of riches. You may want to make a cornbread to go with your New Year’s meal.

Collard Greens & Black Eyed Peas. This is a traditional Southern combination. The greens look like paper money and the black-eyed peas resemble coins. This dish is not only delicious, but also healthy.

Bundt Cake. Like bagels and doughnuts, a round Bundt cake is a delicious reminder that every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

Don’t Be Greedy. While it’s tempting to eat as much of these “lucky” foods that are thought to give you the most prosperous year yet, it’s important not get too greedy. Leaving food on your plate after midnight is associated with a fully stocked pantry in the New Year.

Tiny New York Kitchen Wishes You And Your Family A Very Healthy & Happy New Year!

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Bartlett Pears

October 11, 2015

Bartlett Pears

Bartlett pears are the only pears that change color when they’re ripe. Eat them out of hand like an apple, slice them onto a salad, or present on a platter with cheese & nuts. Poach them in fruit juice, or bake them into tarts, quick breads, or muffins.

In 17th century England, a schoolmaster named John Stair sold some pear tree cuttings to a grower named Williams, who quite narcissistically named the variety after himself. The Williams Pear became a staple variety, and when brought to the New World at the end of the 18th century, one Enoch Bartlett of Massachusetts planted it on his farm. Mr. Bartlett named it after himself and, from then on, throughout the United States, the Williams Pear became known as the Bartlett Pear.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

The Lunch Counter

August 31, 2015

The Lunch Counter

Growing up in the 1960s going to the luncheonette (lunch counter) was a common lunchtime occurrence. These lunch counters were always in what was known as the “five and dime” store. My mother would take me shopping and we would stop at the lunch counter for a grilled cheese or egg salad sandwich. I would usually have an orange Nehi or a chocolate shake to go along with my lunch.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Another Culinary Debt To Thomas Jefferson 1789

July 5, 2015

Another Culinary Debt To Thomas Jefferson 1789

Thomas Jefferson, then American minister plenipotentiary in Paris, asked a young friend visiting Naples to bring him back a macaroni machine. The young friend duly obliged, and the machine became the first of its kind in the United States of America when Jefferson returned home in September of 1789. It is unknown whether Jefferson followed the advice of the Parisian pasta maker, Paul-Jacques Malouin, who in 1767 had advised that, “the best lubricant for a pasta machine is a little oil mixed with boiled cow brains.”

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Constitution Week – Foods of Our Forefathers Part VII

September 23, 2013

 

Constitution Week 3Constitution Week – Foods of Our Forefathers Part VII

Salting was also used extensively without intentional drying.  In fact, salt pork, beef or fish (plus some cheese), was often the only animal protein available during the winter.

Salt was thus essential to the early settler.  Although some was imported from Portugal and the West Indies, it was too expensive for general use.  In some parts of the frontier, salt cost four times as much as beef, ad not until 1800 did it drop even to $2.50 per bushel.  More modest households depended on “Bay Salt” produced along the coasts by the simple expedient of evaporating salt water from the ocean.  Inland, however, it was another problem.  There were occasional salt springs, but “licks” were more common sources, both for man and beast.  Daniel Boone, in fact, owed much of his fame to his ability to find such salt licks on the frontier. 

 

Except for large feasts, butchering was typically done in the fall, as soon as it was cold enough to chill the carcass rapidly.  If a pig was butchered, a certain amount was reserved fresh, for immediate use, and some was made into sausage.  Unless it was cold enough to be preserved in ice or frozen, the balance, especially the hams and side meat, was treated with salt containing saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and stored until it had lost considerable water.  It was then exposed to hickory or fruitwood smoke for several days, and then hung in a ventilated shed or barn for months, as it gradually lost moisture.  After some six to eighteen months, it had become what we know as a “country ham,” and contained from 3 to 7 percent salt. 

 

When an animal was butchered in the summer or in milder weather, it was a different matter.  Smoking, drying and “corning” (pickling) was very important, but if meat was to be used fresh, other precautions needed to be taken.  If a householder had access to ice, the “roasting meat” could be kept safely for several days.  If she wanted to keep it for a week or so, its surface was dried carefully with a towel and it was hung in the basement.  First, however, it was sprinkled with salt and pepper, which discouraged flies, and also helped cover with inevitable taint. 

 

For still longer storage, some cookbooks recommended that the roast be wrapped in cloth, laid in the coal bin, and covered with a shovelful of coal!  The purpose of this treatment, other than to discourage flies, is unclear. 

 

All parts of an animal were important to the early American housewife, including many the consumer tends to spurn now.  Heads were used routinely in cooking, as were tongues, palates, and stomachs.  Intestines, of course, were used for sausage casing and the fat was rendered for lard.  Sausage was made from otherwise unappetizing but edible parts.  Feet were the source of jelly, to be used later for thickening puddings such as blanc mange, and for soup.

 

In fact, frontier wives made an early version of “bouillon cubes” from such jelly.  They would boil calves’ feet and other bones in water to extract the jelly, cool the solution, remove the fat and sediment, and then boil again to concentrate the solution.  When sufficiently condensed, this would be cooled in a shallow pan, where it would solidify to be cut into strips.  Dubbed “portable soup,” these strips could be carried on long trips, and dissolved in hot water to yield a tasty broth. 

 

Unfortunately, although the settlers and woodsmen didn’t know it, the protein in this material was almost worthless nutritionally, except for its small caloric value. 

 

Fruits and vegetables were the most difficult foodstuffs to provide off-season in anything approaching their natural state.  Some, of course, were stored in the root cellar.  A few were dried, like apples, especially in New England, but products like raisins and prune (from grapes and plums) required more sun and heat than were available in the north.  Brining was a relatively simple way to preserve a variety of vegetables for moderate periods without drastically changing their flavor.  Snap beans, carrots, cauliflower, celery, onions and sweet peppers were submerged in a mild salt-vinegar brine in a crock, where they could be kept several months. 

 

More drastic pickling treatment was also used for cucumbers, cauliflower, carrots, and green tomatoes, to say nothing of shredded cabbage – sauerkraut.  Beef was also pickled (or corned), as were certain fish such as herring. 

 

Pickling had two primary nutritional effects on the material treated: it substantially increased the salt content of the foods involved, and drastically reduced their content of vitamins.  Washed and sorted vegetables were laid in a crock in layers, and then covered with layers of salt.  Sometimes grape leaves were also used in the intervening layers: their natural acids helped firm up the pickles, or alum was used for its greater dependability if it was available. 

 

After the crock was full, a vinegar brine was poured over the whole, to cover the produce, and the whole thing weighted down with a plate and a stone. 

 

One continuing problem was determining the strength of the vinegar.  Most vinegar was homemade from blemished or insect-ridden apples and the concentration varied widely.  Consequently, some batches of pickles spoiled because the acetic acid content of the vinegar was too low, while others were almost inedible because it was too high.  The crock had to be tended daily during the first few weeks after “laying the pickles down,” to skim off the foam which would arise during the fermenting process.  The brine was normally changed at least twice during the process also, before the pickles reached a stable condition and could be used or stored for later in the winter. 

 

Sauerkraut, of course, is essentially fermented, pickled cabbage.  It was commonly served in the northern part of the country as a vegetable during the winter months.  The pickling process reduced its vitamin A and C content to about one-third of that present in freshly shredded cabbage.  The cabbage stored in the root cellar also lost its vitamins, but not to the same degree.

 

Cucumber pickles lost a similar amount of these vitamins, leading to a very real risk of deficiency, diseases, especially scurvy.  Fortunately, potatoes helped provide a substantial portion of vitamin C, and they stored well over the winter.  Fortunately also, such crops as sweet potatoes and winter squash retained their carotene concentration during cool storage. 

 

Sugar played an important part in food preservation in early America also, although it was a scarce commodity in colonial days.  In the Northern colonies, honey and, to a lesser extent, maple syrup and sugar, were the “sweetnin” in the earliest days; refined sugar was imported from England and consequently expensive.  Sugar cane, however, rapidly became a cash crop in the South, and plantation owners learned to process it into brown sugar and molasses.  Plantation sugar was a highly variable product, and early American Cookbooks were full of warnings about clarifying the sugar before using it for the finest jellies and preserves.  For the more elegant dishes, refined white sugar was specified.  It was imported in cones weighting about ten pounds, and pieces were cut off with sugar shears as needed.  The cones were wrapped in blue-dyed paper, and the innovative housewife often soaked these papers in water to extract the Indigo dye.  The extract could be used to tint her homespun and other textile fibers. 

 

There were several other related sweeteners as well.  The best plantation sugar was the light brown product of the first boiling and crystallization.  The wet crystals were put on trays to dry, in such a way that any “run off” could be trapped and bottled as “treacle.”  This was usually the cheapest sweetener available to early Americans. 

 

Water was added to the leftover syrup, the product was boiled again and a second batch of brown sugar was crystallized.  This process was repeated several times, and the syrup left behind after the last boiling (usually the fourth or fifth) was blackstrap molasses.  The sugar content was low, and the product contained significant amounts of minerals and impurities. 

 

Sugar was used to preserve a variety of fruits for winter use.  Fruit preserves, jam and jellies were common, of course, especially where berries were plentiful.  The fruits were boiled with sugar in much the same procedure as it used today, and the bottles were sealed with beeswax or a mixture of candle wax and rosin.  Or a piece of paper would be pasted to the top of the jar with egg white, and the whole piece then painted with egg white, using a feather for a brush.  It was considered a good thing if a “leathery” mold formed on the surface, because it kept the air out.  The mold was simply removed carefully prior to use. 

 

Sugar was also used as a preservative in some meat preparations.  Dried meat was pounded with fat, sugar and acid berries, such as blueberries, into a mush to make pemmican, which was then stuffed into a sausage casing.  The sugar “tied up” the moisture so that bacteria couldn’t grow.  The product kept for a month or more on frontier voyages.  The principle is similar to that used in producing semi-moist pet foods today. 

 

Corn syrup was unknown in early America, as were sugar beets, but other products were used as sweeteners.  Sorghum was grown extensively for this purpose, especially in areas less tropical than Louisiana.  Sorghum couldn’t be crystallized into a sugar, but the molasses served eminently well as a base for many dishes, and even as a source for alcoholic beverages. 

 

It is difficult to determine how the diet of early Americans affected their general health.  Obviously, in the warmer parts of the country, fresh fruits and vegetables provided plenty of vitamins and minerals even though the settlers didn’t know it.  Plentiful game provided high quality protein, and the new corn was nutritionally beneficial. 

 

However, even in the southern colonies, slaves and working people subsisted for long periods on corn bread, molasses and salt pork, a diet leading frequently to pellagra.  On good plantations, the slaves might also get a ration of sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, collard greens, salt fish in winter, and sometimes fresh beef.  All excellent sources of needed vitamins, minerals and protein. 

 

In the North, meals must have been very boring during much of the year.  Foods that would keep were emphasized, with corn and cured or salt pork providing the backbone of the diet.  Corn was served a hundred ways, from grits and hoe cake (so called because it was first cooked on a hoe held in a fire) for breakfast, to fresh corn, corn soup and cornbread, and desserts like Indian Pudding. 

 

Vitamins would have been in short supply during the winter and spring.  Almost all the preservation techniques (pickling and salting especially) drastically reduced the vitamin C and A contents of cucumbers, cabbage and meats.  Carotene in fruits, such as were available, stood up pretty well to drying, and was available in stored vegetables such as sweet potatoes, winter squash and carrots.  Scurvy was common, especially in the winter and on the frontier. 

 

As America’s frontier moved west and the population increased, cities grew and flourished.  At the time of the Revolution, the largest city was Philadelphia, at 40,000.  In 1790, at the first census, the population of the entire country was less than 4 million, only 3 percent of whom lived in cities.  As of today, (September 23, 2013), the US population is over 316 million. 

 

Along with this change came gradual changes in the food supply.  Where once each family fed itself, many now came to depend on others.  Fast transportation developed, and new processes, such as canning, refrigeration and later freezing and controlled-atmosphere storage, came into growing use.  Food could be produced where it grew best and shipped to the cities for consumption.  Specialization aimed at lower cost and higher quality increased, and longer shelf life became more important. 

Also, as the distance between food production and its consumption grew, new regulatory activities aimed at ensuring the wholesomeness and safety of the newly separated food supply also grew.  This growth is a story in itself, but the process continues today (although there has been a movement to eat more local).  America’s consumer knows that he or she can buy food in almost any form and at almost any level of convenience he or she chooses.  In food, America’s bountiful heritage, the choice is the consumer’s whether it is from a farmers’ market or a supermarket. 

 

 

 

Constitution Week – Foods of Our Forefathers Part VI

September 22, 2013

Constitution Week 2

Constitution Week – Foods of Our Forefathers Part VI

Drying was one of the major processes by which the colonists preserved the bulk of their winter’s stores.  Fruits, especially apples, pears, peaches and apricots, some vegetables, and meat, particularly fish, were dried in large quantities for later use. Drying in the cloudy North was a tricky business, and was often combined with salting, especially for meat and fish.  Even with salting, however, a rack of split, headless fish would have to be unloaded and stacked for overnight indoor storage to prevent the day’s drying from being “undone” by the evening damp.  A string of cloudy, humid days was a threat to the whole process too, raising the possibility of loss by fermentation before drying had proceeded far enough to inhibit bacterial growth. 

Drying had other problems too.  Good air circulation on all sides was a must, and nets of hair were used to support the fruit or fish.  The food being processed had to be turned frequently, several times a day during the early stages. 

It also had to be protected from insects, bird droppings and blowing dirt, which was no mean task.  Many early cookbooks carry explicit instructions to the housewife to examine her dried foodstuffs carefully, and to remove any portions, which were too heavily infested with insect eggs.  A thorough cooking generally rendered the food safe, if not as esthetic as modern cooks might ask. 

Since drying was such a time-consuming task, housewives often got together to do at least some of the work in company.  Apple paring and coring parties were not unusual. After the apples were sliced, they were laid on screens or strung on strings to dry, after which they could be hung in the attic for use as needed.  A bushel of apples yielded about 7 pounds of dried slices, which were especially welcome when rehydrated and made into “Schnitz Pie” or apple cobbler during the winter months. 

If the housewife was especially concerned about appearance, she would sulfur her apples and other fruit as it dried.  The trays of fruit slices would be stacked so as to allow air circulation, and the stack covered with a barrel or tight box, which was propped up off the floor about a half-inch.  An ounce of “flowers of sulfur” was then twisted into a paper, set afire and stuck under the barrel for an hour’s exposure.  The sulfur dioxide fumes acted both as a bleach and a preservation for the fruit. 

Dried foods naturally lost a variety of nutrients during the process.  The amount of nutrient loss varied with the skill of the housewife-processor, and with the weather and the sophistication of the equipment available to her.  Fruits took longer to dry in the natural environment and hence lost some of their nutritive properties via spoilage and fermentation before the water concentration dropped to an appropriately low level.  Conversely, if material were inserted in the brick oven after the day’s bread was baked, the temperature was sometimes excessive, and destructive to vitamins and delicate sugars. 

Many housewives, however, learned the art very well, and produced dried fruits which would keep almost indefinitely, and which could be reconstituted months later to be used for stewed fruits, pies, and other dishes. 

On interesting processed food invented by early Americans was hominy.  As eaten, hominy was a winter substitute vegetable for sweet corn – although its vitamin C was completely destroyed, its vitamin A drastically reduced, and its protein content diminished.  Still, it was available – provided the cook was willing to go through the long series of steps required in its preparation.  First, a quart, say, of dry shelled field corn was boiled in a gallon of water containing an ounce of lye for about 30 minutes.  This caustic solution was then drained off, the corn rinsed several times in fresh water, and then it was rubbed (under water) between the palms to remove the husks and black tips, which floated to the surface.  The cleaned kernels were then covered with about an inch of fresh water and boiled for 5 minutes, drained, and covered again and boiled-flour times-and then boiled finally for some 45 minutes or until soft.  It’s a small wonder the vitamins were lost!

To Be Continued…

 

 

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