Although we think of ketchup as a modern bottled condiment, the sauce has ancient roots, beginning with a sauce that was similar to today’s fish sauces used in Asian cuisine. The tomato-based products we use today are a far cry from how this sauce began. Who Invented Ketchup? Where Did Ketchup Originate? Etymology of the … Read more
The word dram is a contracted form of the word drachma from Late Latin and Old French. In middle English the word was dragme. It was originally used to describe a minute quantity of something. Druggists and apothecaries used the word dram as a unit of measurement meaning 1/8 of an ounce, or sixty grains. The U.S customary … Read more
The term coleslaw came from the Dutch term koolsla, meaning cabbage salad. The kool part is the Dutch word for cabbage and the sla part is a Dutch abbreviation of the word salade. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Dutch settlers flooded into New York, so much so that the city was originally called New Amsterdam. They brought with them their … Read more
Most people who like to cook and eat mussels and clams know that they are done cooking when the shells open and you should always throw away unopened mussels. As you may have gathered from the title, I’m going to question this cooking instruction. In fact, I’m going to question the claim that if they … Read more
Most people believe that Marco Pola brought noodles back to Italy from China, thus bringing the concept of pasta with him. The great Venetian explorer/merchant is said discovered much during his fabled visits to China and that without him, Italy would not have developed the pasta it is famed for today. To be more specific, … Read more