Allspice is the dried unripened fruit of an evergreen plant in the Myrtle family called Pimienta dioca. It is commonly called the pimento tree. The tree is indigenous to Central America and grows from Southern Mexico to Panama and throughout the Caribbean. Other names for the spice is Jamaican pepper, clove pepper, pimento, and English spice. Although dried allspice … Read more
Understanding the coleslaw origin requires a quick trip back to the late 1600s. Originally known as koolsla by Dutch settlers in New York, the dish literally translates to “cabbage salad.” While it’s now a staple of modern comfort food, the journey from Dutch “koolsla” to American “coleslaw” is full of fascinating etymological twists. Coleslaw Origin: … Read more
A sweetbread is not a sugared pastry, which is what you’d be justified in thinking. Usually, when people tell you what sweetbreads are, they get it wrong, or only half right. Many people believe sweetbreads are testicles or calves’ brains. Others believe sweetbreads are just a nice-sounding name for internal organs or offal. In this … Read more
Trahana is sometimes referred to as sort of a Greek pasta, and that is essentially what it is: a small granular pasta. While we mostly think of pasta as an Italian specialty, Greece has dozens of traditional pastas as well. For instance, Greece has something called nioki. Nope, it is not a relative of Italian gnocchi. It … Read more
Most people who like to cook and eat mussels believe that they are done cooking when the shells open. Furthermore, any mussels that don’t open cannot be eaten because the mussels were dead. You should always throw away unopened mussels! Is this true? Are closed mussels bad? Can you eat dead mussels? The truth is, … Read more
Forget what you think you know about Mexico’s national dish. It’s not the taco, and it’s definitely not those salty, fast-food monstrosities from Chipotle. The real crown belongs to mole, a sophisticated, soul-warming sauce that is far more refined and flavorful than its reputation suggests. While many guess the name comes from the Spanish word … Read more