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Across the Fence:  A Bit of Trivia..  |
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 08 2016 : 05:48:44 AM
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A popcorn maker (also called a popcorn popper) is a machine used to pop popcorn. Since ancient times popcorn has been a popular snack food, produced through the explosive expansion of kernels of heated corn (maize). Charles Cretors originated from Lebanon, Ohio. He traveled the Midwest and settled in Fort Scott, Kansas for a few years, and then Decatur, Illinois. He spent his time working in the painting and contracting business, opened a bakery, and eventually a confectionery shop. As each venture led to the next, Cretors discovered he had a passion for how things worked. As an addition to the confectionery shop, Cretors purchased a peanut roaster to broaden his offerings to include fresh roasted peanuts. Not satisfied with how the machine worked, he redesigned it to work better. It was at this time that Cretors moved his wife and family to Chicago where he felt he could become a commercial success by selling his new machine. It was 1885.
Cretors wanted to test his new roaster under everyday conditions, and he also needed money. So, he purchased a vendor's license and put his machine on the sidewalk in front of his shop to test it and sell product at the same time. The date on the vendor's license is December 2, 1885, which marks the inception of C. Cretors & Company. The new roaster was driven by a small steam engine, which automated the roasting process, which was a new concept. A chance meeting happened between Cretors and a traveling salesman who purchased a bag of roasted peanuts. The salesman, J.M Savage, was very intrigued with the new peanut roaster, and offered to sell it in his territory. Cretors agreed to the proposal, and hired his first salesman.
Modern vending cart
By 1893, Cretors had created a steam powered machine that could roast 12 pounds of peanuts, 20 pounds of coffee, pop corn, and bake chestnuts as well. Popcorn was becoming the next popular choice for snackfood. Cretors redesigned his automated roasting machine so it would roast peanuts and pop popcorn at the same time. Cretors' machine design offered several advantages over the hand-operated process. First as a machine, it made operation more predictable and it provided an attraction for both the retailer and the customer. There was the novelty of the steam engine, and the Tosty Rosty Man, a small mechanical clown that acted as a merchandiser for the machine. Cretors' machine became the first automated machine that could pop popcorn uniformly in its own seasonings. As a result, the product came out the same way every time. Cretors applied for a patent on his new automated peanut roaster and popcorn popper machine on August 10, 1891. U.S. Patent 506,207 was granted to Cretors on October 10, 1893.
Charles Cretors took his new popcorn wagon and peanut roaster to the Midway of Chicago's Columbian Exposition in 1893 and introduced the new corn product to the public in a newly designed machine that included a popcorn wagon. After a trial period where Cretors gave away samples of his new popcorn product, people began to line up to purchase bags of the hot, buttered popcorn.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2016 : 10:17:13 AM
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Before we had modern laundry detergents with optical brighteners, there was a mysterious little blue bag which was stirred around in the final rinse water on washday. This was laundry bluing or blue. A factory-produced block was the "modern" (mid-19th century onwards), commercial version of older recipes for whitening clothes, with names like stone blue, fig blue, or thumb blue. It disguised any hint of yellow and helped the household linen look whiter than white.
Until the mid-20th century Reckitt’s blue-bags were well-known in many countries, sold as penny cubes to be wrapped in flannel or muslin, or sold ready bagged. The product had various names over the years: Reckitt's Blue, Bag Blue, Paris Blue, Crown Blue, Laundry Blue, Dolly Bags. The main ingredients were synthetic ultramarine and baking soda, and the original "squares" weighed an ounce.
Reckitt’s had been in the blue and starch business in Hull even before they started importing French ultramarine in the 1850s to make the new blue rinse additive at their English HQ. They built up a major international brand, with various lesser rivals, notably Mrs. Stewart's liquid bluing in the US, and Dolly Blue in the UK.
Reckitt's wanted people to know their blue was used in the royal laundries, and Victorian advertising in the UK carried a recommendation from the Prince of Wales' laundress.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2016 : 8:18:57 PM
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In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, here is a little history of Mammograms.
In the late 1950s Robert Egan at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center combined a technique of low kVp with high mA and single emulsion films to devise a method of screening mammography for the first time. He published these results in 1959 in a paper, and subsequently in a book in 1964 called Mammography. The "Egan technique", as it became known, enabled physicians to detect calcification in breast tissue; of the 245 breast cancers that were confirmed by biopsy among 1000 patients, Egan and his colleagues at M.D. Anderson were able to identify 238 cases by using his method, nineteen of which were in patients whose physical examinations had revealed no breast pathology. Usage of mammography as a screening technique spread clinically after a 1966 study demonstrating the impact of mammograms on mortality and treatment led by Philip Strax. This study, based in New York, was the first large-scale randomized controlled trial of mammography screening.
Egan was born in 1920 in a small town in Arkansas. After beginning his education at the College of the Ozarks, he was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy; however, he was released a year later with an eye problem. Back at College of the Ozarks, he obtained a degree in metallurgical engineering.
When the U.S. entered World War II at the end of 1941, Egan was recalled to the Navy and remained there until 1946. By then, he had decided to become a doctor and enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. After two years as a general doctor, he opted to become a radiologist. He was accepted at Jefferson Medical School for residency, and then two years later he went to Houston to follow Dodd.
In 1956, French radiologist Dr. Jean Pierre Bataini visited MD Anderson and showed a routine female chest x-ray. Egan, with his engineering training, was assigned to develop a breast imaging technology for the many female cancer patients who came to the hospital. He experimented with a particular x-ray film device from Eastman Kodak and showed the device to MD Anderson gynecologists, surgeons, and pathologists.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2016 : 6:37:02 PM
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Before the invention of the refrigerator, icehouses were used to provide cool storage for most of the year. Placed near freshwater lakes or packed with snow and ice during the winter, they were once very common. Natural means are still used to cool foods today. On mountainsides, runoff from melting snow is a convenient way to cool drinks, and during the winter one can keep milk fresh much longer just by keeping it outdoors. The word "refrigeratory" was used at least as early as the 17th century.
The history of artificial refrigeration began when Scottish professor William Cullen designed a small refrigerating machine in 1755. Cullen used a pump to create a partial vacuum over a container of diethyl ether, which then boiled, absorbing heat from the surrounding air. The experiment even created a small amount of ice, but had no practical application at that time.
In 1805, American inventor Oliver Evans described a closed vapor-compression refrigeration cycle for the production of ice by ether under vacuum. In 1820, the British scientist Michael Faraday liquefied ammonia and other gases by using high pressures and low temperatures, and in 1834, an American expatriate to Great Britain, Jacob Perkins, built the first working vapor-compression refrigeration system. It was a closed-cycle device that could operate continuously. A similar attempt was made in 1842, by American physician, John Gorrie, who built a working prototype, but it was a commercial failure. American engineer Alexander Twining took out a British patent in 1850 for a vapor compression system that used ether.
The first practical vapor compression refrigeration system was built by James Harrison, a British journalist who had emigrated to Australia. His 1856 patent was for a vapor compression system using ether, alcohol or ammonia. He built a mechanical ice-making machine in 1851 on the banks of the Barwon River at Rocky Point in Geelong, Victoria, and his first commercial ice-making machine followed in 1854. Harrison also introduced commercial vapor-compression refrigeration to breweries and meat packing houses, and by 1861, a dozen of his systems were in operation.
The first gas absorption refrigeration system using gaseous ammonia dissolved in water (referred to as "aqua ammonia") was developed by Ferdinand Carré of France in 1859 and patented in 1860. Carl von Linde, an engineering professor at the Technological University Munich in Germany, patented an improved method of liquefying gases in 1876. His new process made possible the use of gases such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and methyl chloride (CH3Cl) as refrigerants and they were widely used for that purpose until the late 1920s.
In 1913, refrigerators for home and domestic use were invented by Fred W. Wolf of Fort Wayne, Indiana with models consisting of a unit that was mounted on top of an ice box. In 1914, engineer Nathaniel B. Wales of Detroit, Michigan, introduced an idea for a practical electric refrigeration unit, which later became the basis for the Kelvinator. A self-contained refrigerator, with a compressor on the bottom of the cabinet was invented by Alfred Mellowes in 1916. Mellowes produced this refrigerator commercially but was bought out by William C. Durant in 1918, who started the Frigidaire Company to mass-produce refrigerators. In 1918, Kelvinator Company introduced the first refrigerator with any type of automatic control. The absorption refrigerator was invented by Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters from Sweden in 1922, while they were still students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It became a worldwide success and was commercialized by Electrolux. Other pioneers included Charles Tellier, David Boyle, and Raoul Pictet. Carl von Linde was the first to patent and make a practical and compact refrigerator.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2016 : 7:40:42 PM
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OK,, now I am in the mood for pop corn!!! but unlike Cretors,,, I will use a hot air poper!!! lol!
interesting about the fridge,,,and how it was commercialized by Electrolux,,, btw,,, Electrolux was our family's go-to canister vacuum...(in the 1950-60).. lol!
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom and Glamping Diva!
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2016 : 7:55:26 PM
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I hope you are enjoying your popcorn Grace, and while you enjoy here are some more popcorn facts:
Corn was first domesticated in Mexico 9,000 years ago. Archaeologists have discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years. In Mexico, for example, they’ve found remnants of popcorn that dates to around 3600 BC. Many historians even believe that popcorn is the first corn that humans even knew about. Popping of the kernels was achieved manually through the 19th century, being sold on the east coast of the USA under names such as 'Pearls' or 'Nonpareil'. The term 'popped corn' first appeared in John Russell Bartlett’s 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms. Popcorn is an ingredient in Cracker Jack, and in the early years of the product, it was popped by hand.
An early popcorn machine in a street cart, invented in the 1880s by Charles Cretors in Chicago. Popcorn's accessibility increased rapidly in the 1890s with Charles Cretors' invention of the popcorn maker. Cretors, a Chicago candy store owner, created a number of steam powered machines for roasting nuts, and applied the technology to the corn kernels. By the turn of the century, Cretors had created and deployed street carts equipped with steam powered popcorn makers.
During the Great Depression, popcorn was fairly inexpensive at 5–10 cents a bag and became popular. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for many struggling farmers, including the Redenbacher family, namesake of the famous popcorn brand. During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, and Americans compensated by eating three times as much popcorn as they had before. The snack was popular at theaters, much to the initial displeasure of many of the theater owners, who thought it distracted from the films. Their minds eventually changed, however, and in 1938 a Midwestern theater owner named Glen W. Dickson installed popcorn machines in the lobbies of his theaters. The venture was a financial success, and the trend soon spread.
In 1970, Orville Redenbacher's namesake brand of popcorn was launched. In 1981, General Mills received the first patent for a microwave popcorn bag, with popcorn consumption seeing a sharp increase by tens of thousands of pounds in the years following.
At least six localities (all in the Midwestern United States) claim to be the "Popcorn Capital of the World;": Ridgway, Illinois; Valparaiso, Indiana; Van Buren, Indiana; Schaller, Iowa; Marion, Ohio; and North Loup, Nebraska. According to the USDA, corn used for popcorn production is specifically planted for this purpose; most is grown in Nebraska and Indiana, with increasing area in Texas.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2016 : 9:13:42 PM
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The earliest waffle irons originated in the Low Countries around the 14th century. These waffle irons were constructed of two hinged iron plates connected to two long, wooden handles. The plates were often made to imprint elaborate patterns on the waffle, including coat of arms, landscapes, or religious symbols. The waffles would be baked over the hearth fire.
In the 19th century, the design of waffle irons adapted to the increasingly common kitchen stove. In 1869, American Cornelius Swartwout patented a waffle iron for stovetop use consisting of cast iron plates joined by a hinge that swiveled in a cast iron collar. In 1891 John Kleimbach, a German immigrant living in Shamokin, Pennsylvania became a traveling salesman of waffles after fashioning an iron for the Mansion House Hotel. Kliembach sold waffles for a penny each or ten cents for a dozen. He was a sensation at the Chicago World's Fair.
In 1911, General Electric produced a prototype electric waffle iron, although production did not begin until around 1918. Later, as the waffle iron became more prevalent, designers worked on making the appliance more attractive on the countertop.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2016 : 9:59:27 PM
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Many tools that sever the same purpose as a rake can be found in the earliest part of human history. In 1100 B.C. China, the rake was being used to gather and harvest hay and grain. It was also being used to clear fields of leaves and plant refuse.
In America, rakes were sold by the Charlotte Genter and Bernard McMahon Company. This simple agriculture tool was very expensive and became a very important possession of many 18th century families.
Today, many different designs of rakes can be found. A new invention to the world of rakes is the telescoping handle. This type of handle allows the gardener to reach areas that in the past were impossible to reach. An example of this is the Telescoping Shrub Rake. This rake allows one to remove those shrub clippings from the top of the plant and below.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2016 : 4:41:00 PM
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Cast iron pans were used as early as the Han Dynasty in China (206 BC – 220 AD) for salt evaporation. Cast iron cauldrons and cooking pots were treasured as kitchen items for their durability and their ability to retain heat, thus improving the quality of cooking meals. In Europe, before the introduction of the kitchen stove in the middle of the 19th century, meals were cooked in the hearth or fireplace, and cooking pots and pans were designed for use in the hearth. This meant that all cooking vessels had to be designed to be suspended on, or in, a fireplace. Cast iron pots were made with handles to allow them to be hung over a fire, or with legs so that they could stand up in the fireplace. In addition to dutch ovens, which were developed with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, a commonly used cast iron cooking pan called a spider had a handle and three legs used to stand up in the coals and ashes of the fire. Cooking pots and pans with legless, flat bottoms were designed when cooking stoves became popular; this period of the late 19th century saw the introduction of the flat cast iron skillet.
Cast iron cookware was especially popular among homemakers and housekeepers during the first half of the 20th century. Most American households had at least one cast iron cooking pan, and such brands as Griswold and Wagner Ware were especially popular. Although both of these companies folded in the late 1950s and the brands are now owned by the American Culinary Corporation, Wagner and Griswold cast iron pots and pans from this era continue to see daily use among many households in the present day; they are also highly sought after by antique collectors and dealers. The Lodge Manufacturing company is currently the only major manufacturer of cast iron cookware in the United States, as most other cookware suppliers use pots and pans made in Asia or Europe.
The 20th century also saw the introduction and popularization of enamel-coated cast iron cookware.
Cast iron fell out of favor in the 1960s and 1970s, as teflon-coated aluminum non-stick cookware was introduced and quickly became the item of choice in many kitchens. Today, a large selection of cookware can be purchased from kitchen suppliers, of which cast iron comprises only a small fraction. However, the durability and reliability of cast iron as a cooking tool has ensured its survival, and cast iron cookware is still recommended by most cooks and chefs as an essential part of any kitchen.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2016 : 07:29:10 AM
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After cooking with my cast iron pot all weekend (which I love), I am intrigued, stacked or buried and are those rocks on the top of each of the dutch ovens...tell me more!
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2016 : 10:28:34 PM
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Jana, their charcoal briquettes...
there are briquettes under the main/pot and the specific number on the lid of the main pot to cook the veggies in the middle pot and a smaller number of briquettes on the mid lid to cook the small top pot which was a type of cobbler.
I was on a horse pack/camping trip up in the Bitteroot Mountain Trail on the Idaho side... Our trail guide's wife was the camp cook and made all our meals by Dutch oven.
Speaking of which,, I was so fortunate to make this Trip about 2 years after our dear Maryjane Butters did.
It was fabulous and it was my 1st true experience with Dutch Oven meals...
my LaCasa for the trip...
that's me on the far left and kpaints is the 3rd from the left...
after a day on the back of my "Pal"... coming back to camp for a Dutch Oven dinner was sooo wonderful!
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom and Glamping Diva!
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
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Edited by - katmom on Oct 26 2016 10:29:49 PM |
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2016 : 10:35:56 PM
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oh and if I recall,,, I think the Sisters on the Fly have a published cookbook with Dutch Oven recipes...
Tho' I am sure there are tons of D.O. cook books on the market as you probably already know...
At a camping event about 6 or so years ago, a couple of gal pals cooked up a 'buried in the ground' D.O. dessert....
So wish I had paid better attention.... lol!
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom and Glamping Diva!
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2016 : 10:36:22 PM
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Thank you Grace for explaining, and boy that looks like a wonderful adventure!
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2016 : 10:15:08 AM
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The first evidence of baking occurred when humans took wild grass grains, soaked them in water, and mixed everything together, mashing it into a kind of broth-like paste. The paste was cooked by pouring it onto a flat, hot rock, resulting in a bread-like substance. Later, when humans mastered fire, the paste was roasted on hot embers, which made bread-making easier, as it could now be made any time fire was created. The world's oldest oven was discovered in Croatia in 2014 dating back 6500 years ago. The Ancient Egyptians baked bread using yeast, which they had previously been using to brew beer. Bread baking began in Ancient Greece around 600 BC, leading to the invention of enclosed ovens. "Ovens and worktables have been discovered in archaeological digs from Turkey (Hacilar) to Palestine (Jericho) and date back to 5600 BC."
Baking flourished during the Roman Empire. Beginning around 300 BC, the pastry cook became an occupation for Romans (known as the pastillarium) and became a respected profession because pastries were considered decadent, and Romans loved festivity and celebration. Thus, pastries were often cooked especially for large banquets, and any pastry cook who could invent new types of tasty treats was highly prized. Around 1 AD, there were more than three hundred pastry chefs in Rome, and Cato wrote about how they created all sorts of diverse foods and flourished professionally and socially because of their creations. Cato speaks of an enormous number of breads including; libum (sacrificial cakes made with flour), placenta (groats and cress), spira (our modern day flour pretzels), scibilata (tortes), savaillum (sweet cake), and globus apherica (fritters). A great selection of these, with many different variations, different ingredients, and varied patterns, were often found at banquets and dining halls. The Romans baked bread in an oven with its own chimney, and had mills to grind grain into flour. A bakers' guild was established in 168 BC in Rome.
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2016 : 2:11:39 PM
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and,,,, in the small town of Meimsheim Germany, where my childhood BBF lives, and where I spend much of my time there when in Germany.... between Irmgard's home(formally an old Barn) and the neighbors home is a 'Communal/community Oven' for baking.(it survived the war and remains intact,,, solid stone structure).. Still to this day, the local farmers, once a month heat up the oven (nite before to get it hot by 3 a.m.), and local women bring their many loaves of bread to bake.. Shepards bread etc.... OMG! the Best!
And it's a great way for the ladies to chat and dare I say, gossip... lol!
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom and Glamping Diva!
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2016 : 3:11:40 PM
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Wow, that sounds amazing, what a great tradition and history Grace. Thanks for sharing!
Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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Across the Fence: A Bit of Trivia.. |
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A Bit of Trivia..
