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
Drambuie is a Scottish liqueur. Developed in 1745, it is made with a fine aged Scottish malt whiskey to which a blend of heather honey and a secret collection of herbs and spices is added. The recipe is closely guarded to this day and, according to the company, only a few people actually know it. … 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 calve’s brains. Other believe sweetbreads are just a nice-sounding name for internal organs or offal. In this … Read more
There are lots of ideas for substituting honey for other sugars in recipes. This is because honey is viewed as a health food and many people think that it is just chock full of extra nutrients, and even healing powers. Well, this is not the kind of blog where I debate those kinds of issues … Read more
No. Brown eggs do not taste different than white eggs. And no, white eggs are not better than brown eggs in terms of quality or taste, or vice versa. This myth has persisted in America for decades, perhaps owing to our association of certain colors with quality. The belief is so prevalent that egg producers … Read more
Putting raw mushrooms on a pizza is pretty much proof that you don’t know anything about pizza or mushrooms. Why do people persist in doing this? The pizza is ruined, the mushrooms taste raw, because they mostly are. And yet, even some pizza delivery places still put fresh sliced mushrooms on their pizza. I got … Read more