Finding History in Almost Anything
In these lazy days of summer as we take time to contemplate in the garden (or swill beer on the deck), important questions often come up. For example, that cool wooden thingy that I asked my hubby to build for my flowerbed is called an obelisk, but what exactly is an "obelisk"? The other night at my garden club a knowledgeable gentleman shared a wealth of information, not only about growing tomatoes but about their history - interesting stuff …. at least worth sharing around a campfire. Last week my top chef (husband), deep fried chicken for supper using a well researched recipe, and that inspired me to seek out the origins of this crispy treat. While my new found knowledge may not be fodder for a doctoral thesis, it may provide a little conversation on a blanket at the beach or on a summer road trip.
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| My new "garden obelisk"! |
Fun Facts!
WHAT THE HECK IS AN OBELISK?
An obelisk is a tall four sided pillar carved out of a solid piece of stone usually ending with a pyramid shape at the top. They originated in ancient Egypt but can be found all over the world. The wooden structure in my garden is a simple version of that. - who knew!
TOMATOES WERE ONCE THOUGHT TO BE POISONOUS!
The tomato, which originated in the Americas, was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Many people thought it to be poisonous and called it "the poison apple"! As it turned out, it was the wealthy who seemed to have ill effects after consuming tomatoes because they were eaten on pewter plates. The acid in the tomatoes caused the lead from the pewter to leach into the tasty fruit causing lead poisoning. The poorer members of society use wooden plates and suffered no ill effects. Now that's worth talking about at your next cocktail party! (as long as they're not serving tomatoes on pewter plates)
FRIED CHICKEN - A SCOTTISH TREAT?
I always thought that fried chicken was a product of the "deep south" but perhaps Colonel Sanders had Scottish roots? After a quick Google search I discovered that it was the Scottish immigrants who introduced this deep fried delicacy to the southern US. As it turns out the Scots had been cooking chicken in fat for awhile as opposed to their British counterparts who either boiled or baked it. Africans, who arrived as a result of the slave trade, added a variety of seasoning and spices not used in traditional Scottish cooking. The popularity of fried chicken spread as many African slaves became cooks in southern households. It also traveled well in the days before refrigeration. Of course the Asians had their own version of fried chicken. In any case you gotta love how the influence of two very different cultures created this great treat. Who says too many cooks spoil the broth!
An obelisk is a tall four sided pillar carved out of a solid piece of stone usually ending with a pyramid shape at the top. They originated in ancient Egypt but can be found all over the world. The wooden structure in my garden is a simple version of that. - who knew!
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| The obelisk of Theodosius in Istanbul (I was there but can't seem to find the pic I took.) |
TOMATOES WERE ONCE THOUGHT TO BE POISONOUS!
The tomato, which originated in the Americas, was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Many people thought it to be poisonous and called it "the poison apple"! As it turned out, it was the wealthy who seemed to have ill effects after consuming tomatoes because they were eaten on pewter plates. The acid in the tomatoes caused the lead from the pewter to leach into the tasty fruit causing lead poisoning. The poorer members of society use wooden plates and suffered no ill effects. Now that's worth talking about at your next cocktail party! (as long as they're not serving tomatoes on pewter plates)
FRIED CHICKEN - A SCOTTISH TREAT?
I always thought that fried chicken was a product of the "deep south" but perhaps Colonel Sanders had Scottish roots? After a quick Google search I discovered that it was the Scottish immigrants who introduced this deep fried delicacy to the southern US. As it turns out the Scots had been cooking chicken in fat for awhile as opposed to their British counterparts who either boiled or baked it. Africans, who arrived as a result of the slave trade, added a variety of seasoning and spices not used in traditional Scottish cooking. The popularity of fried chicken spread as many African slaves became cooks in southern households. It also traveled well in the days before refrigeration. Of course the Asians had their own version of fried chicken. In any case you gotta love how the influence of two very different cultures created this great treat. Who says too many cooks spoil the broth!
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| Our own fried treat (marinated in buttermilk). Yum! |
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