Common Food Myths

karadekoolaid

karadekoolaid

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I've always been fascinated by culinary history. It's an area where almost anything goes, and just when you think you've got an answer, there's a U-turn and everything goes haywire. An "authentic" dish is, surprisingly, not even close to "authentic" because it was (a) invented in another country or (b) relies on ingredients which were never grown in the country.
So here are a few questions for you, just to get the ball rolling. Let's look for the origin of:
  • Hamburgers
  • Kedgeree
  • Spag Bol
  • Roast Beef
  • Pasta
  • Caesar Salad
  • Pizza
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Who Invented the Burger? - Burger Theory
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Interesting. I'd always understood it was simply a beef patty brought over from Europe by German immigrants from Hamburg. A minced beef patty / croquette also exists in Dutch cuisine (I think it's called frikadelle, or something like that) and the French bifstek hache.
 
karadekoolaid said:
Interesting. I'd always understood it was simply a beef patty brought over from Europe by German immigrants from Hamburg. A minced beef patty / croquette also exists in Dutch cuisine (I think it's called frikadelle, or something like that) and the French bifstek hache.
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Yes, the beef patty was from Europe, but we crazy muricans slapped it in between 2 pieces of bread (or in a bun) and added condiments and other stuff. So it's ours!
 
OK - so let's take a look at "Kedgeree". The English version is cooked rice, flaked fish (usually haddock), boiled eggs and a bit of curry powder.
The original dish from India is thousands of years old and is made from rice, some form of lentils, and spices.
I wonder where the eggs and fish came from? In my very limited experience, Brits don't eat much rice, preferring potatoes. The "fishy" bit might have come from the West coast of India; but the eggs?
 
karadekoolaid said:
OK - so let's take a look at "Kedgeree". The English version is cooked rice, flaked fish (usually haddock), boiled eggs and a bit of curry powder.
The original dish from India is thousands of years old and is made from rice, some form of lentils, and spices.
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I think the eggs do originate from India. They were used as a garnish sometimes. Although this is not clear. I think the smoked fish substituted for lentils was because it was regarded as a breakfast dish by Edwardians (and indeed Kichdi was eaten as a breakfast dish in India), This is a quote from an Economist article (you need to subscribe to see more).

According to “Larousse Gastronomique”, what we call kedgeree originated from a concoction of spiced lentils, rice, fried onions and ginger known as khichiri dating back to the 14th century and eaten across India. The early colonists developed a taste for it, as it reminded them of nursery food. Both khichiri and fish became mainstays of the Raj breakfast table and, in time, their Indian cooks integrated the two. Eggs, believed to have been introduced to the Indian kitchen repertoire by conquering Mughals centuries earlier, were later added as a garnish.
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The origins of kedgereeThe Economisthttps://www.economist.com › 2017/12/11 › the-origin...

It also seems that kichdi was sometimes eaten with fried fish in India:
The dish’s inspiration, khichuri or khichdi, a combination of rice and lentils available across India in versions from a bland salt-and-turmeric weaning porridge to a garam masala-spiced proto-kedgeree, dates to at least the 4th century BC. In Bengal and modern Bangladesh, khichuri was and is paired with fried fish.
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How to eat: kedgeree

Why is kedgeree a food myth though? I think its very well known its origins are from the Raj.
 
Morning Glory said:
According to “Larousse Gastronomique”, what we call kedgeree originated from a concoction of spiced lentils, rice, fried onions and ginger known as khichiri dating back to the 14th century and eaten across India. The early colonists developed a taste for it, as it reminded them of nursery food. Both khichiri and fish became mainstays of the Raj breakfast table and, in time, their Indian cooks integrated the two. Eggs, believed to have been introduced to the Indian kitchen repertoire by conquering Mughals centuries earlier, were later added as a garnish.
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The origins of kedgereeThe Economisthttps://www.economist.com › 2017/12/11 › the-origin...
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Why would anyone want to eat nursery food? That's like pureed food for babies, right? Americans buy this for their babies and I for one hope to never have to eat it again (not that I really remember eating it before, but still).
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The burger can't be invented that late. Maybe it got declared at that time, but dude, bread and minced meat is hundreds of years old. Dunno, but maybe fried minced meat on a bun were already available in ancient civilizations like Egypt, as they knew stuff like how to do wine or beer.

Cesar salad is pretty easy, if the legend is trye. I don’t know the name of the chef, but I believe he did work for a big hotel company like Ritz Carlton and had to come up with a fancy dressing. So he went into his walk in fridge and when he found out that there're basically no more fancy ingredients, he had to improvise. It's highly influenced by old Italian cuisine, anchovis, Parmigiano, probably not capers but most of the original ingredients were already used together as various Sauces or seasonings b.c.
Edit: could have been a famous head chef in the Cesar's palace
 
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JAS_OH1 said:
Why would anyone want to eat nursery food? That's like pureed food for babies, right? Americans buy this for their babies and I for one hope to never have to eat it again (not that I really remember eating it before, but still).
View attachment 101992
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Lol, cultural differences.

Nursery food refers to all food eaten by children prepared by their nanny because the aristocracy did not have meal times with their children (who invariably ate earlier). A nanny is not a cook and would generally feed them soft foods eaten with a spoon (probably overcooked) or finger foods in the nursery away from the adults so they did not annoy them.

For these mostly messed up poor souls nursery food is a form of comfort food for members of a privileged classes, it was the warmth and sustenance that nanny gave them when they weren't busy being brutalised in British private schools.

Oddly this still persists to an extent today. At my sons school, some of the children need to be taught to use cutlery (other than a spoon) and basic table manners due to nanny sorting their food (cutting up their food but not eating with them) so they never learn how to.

Jacob Rees Mogg a British MP who is 54 years old still has his nanny living with him 🙄
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Why would anyone want to eat nursery food? That's like pureed food for babies, right? Americans buy this for their babies and I for one hope to never have to eat it again (not that I really remember eating it before, but still).
View attachment 101992
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I dont know if anyone on this board know this.
Here babies are raised with breast milk until they are ready for solids. ALL my grandkids started with these veges boiled and mixed with butter and vegemite.
Sweet taters carrots parsnips potato pumpkin silver beet. It all goes in the whizz and finely mixed.
It's that good the baby only gets about 70% of it. The person feeding it gets the rest. Every now and then my wife asks me to make a bowl of it up just for her.
caseydog thinks it's how I get my family addicted to vegemite. Lol

Russ
 
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