Foods from the Dutch East India Company” 4:00 to 6:00 P.M.)
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Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. April 2015 Volume XIX, Number 7 Cooperative Supper April 12 Cooperative Supper Theme: (Note: time change “Foods from the Dutch East India Company” 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.) Plates, cups, bowls, eating Sunday, April 12 utensils, and napkins will 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. be provided. (note time change) Please bring anything Alexandria House needed for serving your 400 Madison Street (Dutch Indonesian cake) contribution. Alexandria, VA 22314 Spekkoek Please bring a 3x5” card or The Dutch East India Company (or “VOC” CHoW President Katy Hayes writes, note containing: from the Dutch name) was chartered in 1602, “The dates should really be 17th and and given a 21-year monopoly on trade with 18th century, to coincide with the lifes- • Contributor’s name regions in Asia. The VOC enjoyed huge prof- pan of the Dutch East India Company. I • Name of dish its from its spice monopoly through most of also noticed in doing web searches that • A copy of your recipe the 17th century, and outdistanced all rivals you may get search results for the ‘East • Source (e.g. book, Web) in volume and value of its trade there. They India Company,’ which was actually • A short paragraph about took over dominance of this trade from the English, so beware. how this food relates to Portuguese who had established themselves the theme. in the previous century in bringing pepper “It may be tricky to find specific reci- back to Europe, hoping to undercut trade pes reflecting a direct relationship to through the Middle East via the Silk Road. the VOC as it was called (see page 8), The card or note will be but you will learn through reading that kept by CHoW Line editor Original goal: Malian (or Moluccan?) spice many dishes from India to Malaysia Dianne Hennessy King to trade. In 1619 established the VOC its capital may reflect the influence of this period report in the May issue. in what is now Jakarta; it formally dissolved of trade and change. You might find in 1800. Its territories became the Dutch East ideas, or mention of a dish in some of Upcoming CHoW Indies, including most of the Indonesian the historical works cited below, and archipelago. Programs by others on this list. From those hints you can search for a recipe in cookery The VOC founded Cape Town, South Africa books.” May 3 Nawal Nasrallah, in 1652, providing their ships’ crews with “Medieval Arabs fresh food for the long Europe-Asia voyage. Ate Sandwiches, too: They established huge centers of Bazmaward and Awsat for trade along the coast of India, in the Record” which were built factories and Location: Bethesda-Chevy warehouses to support this trade. Chase Services Center They also procured silk and cot- ton fabrics from India to augment June 7. Leni Sorensen. trade in spices (salt, pepper, nut- The event will be held meg, cloves and cinnamon). Tea at Riversdale House was acquired in China and moved Museum in Riverdale along this route via Ceylon. The Park, MD. Dutch were the only Europeans permitted trade with Japan. Culinary Historians of Wash- www.chowdc.org ington, D.C. (CHoW/DC) Dues to: Stacey FitzSimmons founded in 1996, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization 4711 Langdrum Lane dedicated to the study of the history of foodstuffs, cuisines, and culi- Chevy Chase, MD 20815 nary customs, both historical and contemporary, from all parts of the What Happened at the Sunday, March 8 CHoW Meeting? President Katy Hayes called the meeting to order at 2:40 p.m., welcoming 44 attendees, including two guests. CHoW Programs 2014-2015 ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. Anne Whitaker mentioned attending an excellent ses- September 14 John Tinpe, “Burmese Cuisine: On the sion at the Smithsonian Institution, “Turning Salt Into Road to Flavor” Gold,” led by Mark Bitterman, award winning author of October 12 Michael Krondl, “The All-American Donut: Salted and Salt Block Cooking. The session included a lecture How an Obscure English Specialty Conquered North on the history of salt and an artisan salt tasting as well as a America.” discussion about salt’s position in the culinary world today. November 9. Locked out of building; no meeting. 2. CHoW members voted on the April Cooperative Sup- December 14 Catherine Dann Roeber, “Food Fights per theme and selected “Foods from the Dutch East India and School Lunch: Dining and ‘Edible’ Education in Company,” winning out over the themes of “Developing a America.” Personal Palate” and “Cuban Food History.” January 11, 2015 Ai Hisano, “The Color of New Tastes: Processed Foods in the Early-Twentieth-Century United WHATZIT: Members brought 4 Whatzits to the March States.” 2015 meeting, including: February 8 Nadia Berenstein, “Artificial Strawberry, Imitation Cheese: A History of Synthetic Flavors in the 1. Claudia Kousoulas brought an U.S.” item with a handle and a sharp square March 8 Nancy J. Siegel, “From Liberty Tea to Freedom metal piece at one end that shifted as it moved, which is a cookie dough slicer. Fries: America’s Political Appetite.” April 12 Cooperative Supper, Alexandria House 2. Judith Newton brought a small plas- May 3 Nawal Nasrallah, “Medieval Arabs Ate tic manatee with small holes punched Sandwiches, too: Bazmaward and Awsat for the Record” in the tail that is a tea infuser sold as a June 7. Leni Sorensen. The event will be held at “Manatea.” Riversdale House Museum in Riverdale Park, MD. 3. Shirley Cherkasky brought an item from Afghanistan that is a brass cylinder with • Clara Raju: Hartford Election Cake with Milk Frosting small holes punched in the bottom and from The American Heritage Cookbook a dome and crank at the top. This item is • Amy Snyder: Kerrygold Dubliner Irish Cheddar designed to be filled with dough made from chickpea flour and held over a pan of hot oil The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m. Thank you to the mem- as the crank creates pieces of dough to cook bers who volunteered to reset the meeting room. quickly in the hot oil. Respectfully submitted, 4. Shirley also brought a yellow plastic item, Beverly Firme, Recording Secretary long and narrow with ½ inch slots along the length that is a banana slicer in the shape of a banana. How to Post to the CHoW-DC Google Group PROGRAM: Katy Hayes introduced the You have to be a member of CHoW. It’s important to speaker, Nancy Siegel, for her talk “From remember that if you change your email address, you need Liberty Tea to Freedom Fries: America’s Political Appe- to inform the CHoW Membership Director so that it can tite.” Nancy Siegel is Professor of Art History at Towson be updated and you will continue to receive messages and University and specializes in American art, print culture, newsletters. and culinary history of the 18th and 19th centuries. The easiest way to post a message to the Group is simply DOOR PRIZES: Members attending the monthly meetings through an email. Here’s how. can enter for a door prize. Thank you to Claudia Kousou- • Open a new email las for donating several cookbooks as door prizes. • In the address line or “To” box, enter chow-dc@google groups.com REFRESHMENTS: Thank you to Anne Whitaker for pro- • Enter a subject in the subject box viding beverages and supplies for the meeting, and to our • Enter the text of your message members who brought the following refreshments: o NOTE: If you are announcing an event, please make sure you include all relevant information, plus a website or phone number • Francine Berkowitz: Irish Soda Bread with Kerrygold for additional information. Butter • Please sign your message as a courtesy to everyone. • Barbara Karth: Orange slices • Send the message! DONE! 2 CHoW Line Book Review Alcohol: A History By Rod Phillips, UNC Press, 2014, $30.00 hardback, 384 pages. By Claudia Kousoulas ankind’s interaction with alcohol may have begun with the unintended fermentation of rotting fruit, but it has become a human engineered pro- Mcess laden with social, cultural, religious, and economic meaning. Stories of alcohol’s beginnings abound. Sumerians credit Ninkasi, the goddess of beer. In Egypt, beer and wine was the gift of Osiris, and Greeks and Romans credit Dionysus and Bacchus. In the bible, Noah is the first to have planted a vineyard. Ancient Persians and Chinese describe the accidental discovery of fermentation— grapes in clay jars or stored Chinese rice. But as Phillips writes, the culture of alcohol is not just temperance vs. indulgence. Within the theme of regulation, cultures seek to realize alcohol’s benefits and minimize its dangers and use it as a signifier of status and power. Archeologists have found records of more than 500 ancient Egyptian vineyards owned by temples and the labels on the clay wine jars that read “very good wine,” “wine for offerings,” “wine for merrymaking,” “wine for taxes,” from which the voices of the past emerge around alcohol’s place in the community—economic, religious, and social. From the beginning, cultures recognized the importance of moderation, which was dealt with differently through time—wine was reserved for elites or cer- emony, other cultures placed age limits, suggested serving sizes, regulated serving Phillips continues through Pre-co- hours, or established production controls. lonial and Colonial America, and the class and social order changes But these rules were always contested in the “historic tension between the positive of urban America between 1800 and negative perceptions of alcohol”…“and the persistent attempts of authorities and 1900. Naturally he explores to define the point at which moderate and therefore safe drinking crossed over to the infamous era of Prohibition the excessive and dangerous.” Phillips delves into the stories of religion, medicine, and the impact of alcohol on native morality, and community that cultures tell themselves to make this distinction.