Aaaand We’re Back

Well, not really. That was just a ploy to make you read.

That guy looks like Spock.

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One thing that happens, year after year, is December becomes my blog’s high point because of this. It’s also the time of year that makes me say “Yes, I will come back to this!” and then I kinda…don’t. That makes me sad.

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So this time, I’m not going to say when I’ll be back or what I plan to do or any of that junk because it always backfires. But I will say: I’ll be back.

Back bacon. Bet you didn’t expect that!

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For now, enjoy what I’ve posted and know that I am learning SO MUCH about research, food, stories, writing…I’ve made it a point, however, not to learn how to Photoshop better because where’s the sense in that? I’m already a pro.

Proof.

To everyone who has read, liked, commented in the last month – thank you. I’m always so honored when readers find my blog enjoyable. It’s inspiring knowing that what I feel passionate about is of interest to others. It’s good to know you care.

 

So for now, I’m going to keep trying to get OK grades in school. When I have a little downtime, I’ll come back and tell some food stories, aka “Foodlore,” a phrase my father coined in a fit on excitement about my future. In the meantime, feel free to read some of my old stuff. But not the really old stuff. It’s not very good.

 

This is The Foodlorist, signing out…for now.

 

Keep eating and asking, my friends.

Esther

Tidbit Tuesday: Language of the Soda Fountain

Aw yis. You know what day it is.

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If you’re a normal human being, you love ice cream. If you’re not a normal human being, then you may be an alien. If you’re a nostalgic human being, you love the idea of the Soda Fountain.

It’s a soda jerk. Haven’t you always wondered why he’s called a jerk?

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The first Soda Fountain shows up in the 1820s, but didn’t gain popularity until one made a guest appearance at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. They didn’t reach full steam until 1919 when prohibition made life a whole lot more boring. With nothing to drink but milkshakes, the explosion of the soda fountain culture spawned a new food language.

Mammoth Soda Fountain at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. There were a few other fountains there, including Tuft’s.

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Soda fountain lingo developed because orders were placed without the use of tickets or computers (unless there were androids which is entirely possible). It needed to be clear and concise because the intense and busy environment didn’t leave much time for deciphering orders. They also needed to be memorable so something like “dog and maggot” wasn’t uncommon.

Here’s some of my favorite soda fountain language.

My Inbox Overfloweth

I’ve gotten a lot of great suggestions from a bunch of people I’ve invited to my Facebook event. They’re varied, interesting, and, well, complicated. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Here’s a bunch of them:

-Comfort foods – where they originated and why we eat them

-Pennsylvania Dutch New Year’s – the PA Dutch eat pork & sauerkraut for good luck on New Year’s

-British food – why beans and toast? where did the reputation for being bad cooks come from?

-Purim – quote: “How can it be important to get so drunk you dont know the difference between Blessed be Mordechai and Cursed be Haman?”

-Southern (American) food – why do southern people (like those from Louisiana) like their food so spicy?

-Staples – such as bread, apples, milk, and eggs

-Indian food and Korean food

-Pancakes on Mardi Gras

-Welsh food – Welsh cakes, cawl, the truth about pasties (yum)

-Mac & Cheese – when was it invented? quote: “Because on President’s Day Panera Bread emailed me that Thomas Jefferson loved mac & cheese and I was all ‘Did they even eat mac & cheese back then?'”

-Variants on particular foods in different regions – example: borscht is eaten cold by Russians/Ukrainians/Romanians and warm by the Polish

-Similarities between foods in very different cultures, like Pakistani and Indian

-Bacon

-Differences in food names (pop vs soda, hoagies vs subs)

-Unpasteurized/raw cheeses that are banned from import into the US

-How Slavic food has evolved.

Remember, keep sending me your suggestions. It’s a lot, but I’m going to tackle them all. In time…

Esther

The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How's of Food.

Hi Everyone,

I need a little research help. I’m starting a food blog. I know, not another one, but hear me out. The point of the blog is not to review restaurants or make anyone despise me due to a superiority complex, but to do an anthropological survey of food. Not an all-encompassing history, but to once or twice a week pick out a dish (macaroni and cheese), ingredient (cinnamon or hot sauce), or holiday (Thanksgiving) and do some research. I want to find out where those foods originated, their history, their use, urban myths, use in the media, religious significance, and WHY people eat/use them. The who, what, when, where, why, and how’s of food.

It’s going to be a huge project and incredibly research heavy. I’m still working out the details right now and I have a few ideas for posts, but I wanted to reach out to see if there was anything you wanted to know about. Maybe there’s something in your culture you eat and you’d like to know why. A great place to start would be what do you eat on certain holidays in your particular religion. A holiday example for you: why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving? How did turkey get to the United States? What’s it’s origin? Does it really make you fall asleep? (Side note, it doesn’t. The amount of turkey you’d have to eat to get enough tryptophan to get tired is ridonkulous. It’s the sheer gluttony of the occasion. Wasn’t that interesting?) Or even just regular old suggestions or questions.

Like “What the hell is SPAM anyway?”

SPAM - Hawaiian Collectors Edition. Who knew?

Or “Wouldn’t it be awesome to find out why milk takes away the sting of spicy food?”

Use the milk. Duh.

Or “Whose great idea was it to make cake decorating so damn trendy?”

It's getting old, guys.

So that’s what I’m asking for. It’s a daunting task and something I’m excited about. My hope is to continue to develop this project and have it last for several years. So if you’re interested in giving me ideas or anything, leave a comment. It’s one big search for knowledge. Let’s share it!

Thanks for reading this (if you did) and thanks even more for any feedback. I do have a Facebook event set up and will eventually have a group or page or something. Twitter too. I’m also looking through flickr for food pictures to use (with permission of course) so if you know anyone into food photography that has some neato pics, hit me up. Isn’t social networking awesome?.

This is just a preliminary post and it’ll take a little while to get going, but once it’s going, well, then it’ll be active. Whatever.

Esther