"New Englanders learn quickly to dismiss the chowder where tomato ruins its gorgeous broth, where references to New York tarnish its name...However, few know how such distinctions came about in the first place, what processes were involved that resulted in one person's disgust of another's beloved creation, and why, to this day, do we stand by such convictions?" The
New England Chowder Compendium, from the
McIntosh Cookery Collection at the UMass Amherst library.
[more inside]
posted by Miko
on Dec 4, 2012 -
92 comments
King of Fruits, Tempter of Adam, Prize of Paris: It's
apple-picking time. The apple's
origins reach into prehistory. Thanks to tremendous
genetic variance in each new generation, humans have cultivated a
dizzying number of
named varieties, as many as
17,000, of which
7500 are available as growth stock. In the past,
different apples were prized for particular strengths:
cider pressing,
storage,
cooking,
drying, or eating out of hand. Despite this bounty,
just 15 shelf-stable, shiny,
easy-to-pick varieties account for 90% of apple sales today. But
heirloom apple growers are
working to preserve the old flavors of the
Roxbury Russet, the
Westfield Seek-No-Further, the
Fallawater, the
Limbertwig, the
King Luscious...
posted by Miko
on Oct 2, 2007 -
58 comments
