Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. May 2014 Volume XVIII, Number 8 Save these future Addressing the Haggis: Culture and Contestation in the CHoW Meeting Dates: Making of Scotland’s National Dish September 14 October 12 November 9 December 14 Joy Fraser, Ph. D. January 11, 2015 February 8, 2015 Sunday, May 4 NOTE: This is the March 8, 2015 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. last CHoW Line until Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, September. April 12, 2015 May 3, 2015 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 Have a nice summer! NOTE: This is the or the uninitiated, the mere descrip- Scotland heads towards a referendum on last CHoW Line until tion of haggis typically serves to independence from the United Kingdom September. confirm comedian Mike Myers' sug- in 2014, this debate is once again at the Have a nice summer! gestion that "most Scottish cuisine forefront of political and cultural discourse See you after Labor Day! Fis based on a dare." Made from sheep's in the UK and beyond. offal and oatmeal, traditionally boiled in Dr. Joy Fraser is an Assistant Profes- Renew Your the animal's stomach-bag, haggis is among sor in the Department of English at George the best-known symbols of Scotland in Mason University, specializing in folk nar- Membership in the world today. Precisely when, how rative, foodways, folk custom and drama, CHoW NOW and why it came to be regarded as dis- and the folk culture of tourism. She earned tinctively Scottish, however, is a matter of her Ph.D. in Folklore from Memorial Uni- for 2014-15! considerable speculation. By focusing on versity of Newfoundland, Canada, in 2011. contrasting cultural portrayals of haggis Fraser is working on her first book project, The membership year in Scotland and England in the 1700s, this which traces the evolving status of haggis runs from September 1 presentation explores how the dish became as a contested symbol of Scottish national- to August 31. Annual embroiled in an ongoing transnational de- ity from the 18th to the 20th centuries. In dues are $25 for bate about what it means to be Scottish. As 2012, the project was selected for the pres- individuals, households, tigious Folklore Studies in a Multicultural or organizations. Dues World multi-press book series workshop. include e-mail delivery of The series publishes exceptional first the newsletter CHoW Line. books that exemplify the interdisciplinary and international nature of contemporary folklore scholarship. Fraser’s essays have Dues are $35 for members appeared in several publications, including who also wish to receive a the journals Contemporary Legend, Scottish mailed, paper copy of the Studies, and Ethnologies. newsletter. Other Benefits: • Priority registration for field trips • GoogleGroups notices • Membership roster Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. (CHoW/DC) www.chowdc.org founded in 1996, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization Dues to: Stacey FitzSimmons dedicated to the study of the history of foodstuffs, cuisines, and culi- 4711 Langdrum Lane nary customs, both historical and contemporary, from all parts of the Chevy Chase, MD 20815 world. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Dishes from the Sunday, April 13 Cooperative Supper Following are stories and photos behind the Cooperative Sup- per. The theme was “Food on the Run.”--Dianne Hennessy King CHoW Programs 2013-2014 SaladeNiçoise September 8, 2013. Gabriella Petrick, “Industrializing Taste: Food Processing and the Transformation of the American Diet, In honor of the 1900-1965” best meal I ever ate, I made a salade October 13, 2013. Rob Kasper, “Baltimore Beer: A Satisfying Niçoise. That wasn't History of Charm City Brewing” included in the meal, but it is of the area. November 10, 2013. Monica Bhide, “Sacred Foods of India In 1993, I flew in a through Its Temples, Mosques, and Gurudwaras” helicopter from Nice to Monaco where December 8, 2013. Cancelled due to bad weather. I had an extraordi- nary, one-on-one January 12, 2014. John DeFerrari, “The History of luncheon with Alain Washington, D.C.’s Seafood Restaurants” Ducasse at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. His hotel restau- rant, "Le Louis XV," now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is like a February 9, 2014. Luigi Diotaiuti and Amy Riolo, “Pasta beaux artes museum. He also took me on a tour of his kitchen, and Cheese Making History in Southern Italy” just renovated at the cost of $2 million as I interviewed him for a food-travel article. Already semi-famous then, he has since March 9, 2014. James D. Porterfield, “From Soot to Souffle” blasted off to super-stardom with 24 restaurants in eight coun- tries. www.alain-ducasse.com --CiCi Williamson April 13, 2014. Cooperative Supper, Alexandria House Rangoon Curry 1969 May 4, 2014. Joy Fraser, “Addressing the Haggis: Culture and Contestation in the Making of Scotland’s National Dish” Marghi was working at the embassy in Thailand in 1969 and sampled this dish while traveling in her spare time. used (e.g. beef in the Balkans) for a similar product --Marghi Fauss where pigs are not common or dietary restricted. As a protein, ham would have been relatively expensive so average people would have used it West Virginia Smoked sparingly if they could afford it at all. Trout Cheese Ball Bread was another obvious travel choice. It is thought to have been around in some form or John and Claire enjoy the area of another for at least 12 millennia, and possibly Canaan Valley, WVA. The recipe for several times that. Many breads have a long shelf the cheese ball is in a cookbook life and can stand up to the rigors of manhandling. that they brought to the coopera- Throughout history, bread has been relatively tive supper. The book is a collection cheap and available to common folk. Depending on the place of recipes from a restaurant that’s of origin, wheat may have been mixed with cheaper grains, open only four months a year dur- such as rye, for a heartier and more affordable mainstay. ing cross-country ski season. Mustard as a condiment goes back at least to the Roman Em- --Claire Cassidy and John Rosine pire. The Roman love of condiments is well documented, and the cookbook of Apicius included a form of mustard intended for roasted boar. The French have been making prepared mus- Ham Sandwich on Rye tard in some form for at least 1,000 years. with Mustard The sandwich is nominally a more recent invention. Al- though attributed to the Earl of Sandwich in the 17th century Before the days of refrigeration, there were few foods that trav- England, it is likely that bread and meat have been eaten elled well. Travelers needed foods with demanding character- together for a very long time, but as is the case with so many istics: low spoilage, low weight, high calories, and high durabil- common things, never documented. Regardless, bread and ity, possibly being stuffed into a pocket, sack, or saddle bag. meat together make excellent travelling food. Dry cured ham was an obvious choice. While many countries While I do not know exactly when ham, rye, and mustard claim to have invented ham much earlier, its first known refer- came together as the modern classic, they have certainly been ence was in the early Roman Empire over 2,000 years ago. around for a couple centuries, if not longer. They travel very Dry curing meat makes it denser and less prone to spoilage. well together. -- T & T Weiland Salting, drying, and smoking are all preservatives. Pork was typical for ham in Central Europe, although other meats can be Photos by CiCi Williamson 2 CHoW Line North Carolina Barbecue Guacamole ity continued to grow and soon it Before “Mickey-Ds,” I first encountered guacamole in 1960 became a major I was raised in in Mexico City at the food market where tourist dining North Carolina someone was chopping cilantro, during attraction. As the and one always my first trip out of the U.S. I had never restaurant gained stopped at a BBQ known it in Connecticut—in fact my in popularity, the “Place” on a trip mother had a booklet from the Brooklyn menu expanded to anywhere. I Botanical Gardens which explained that from its limited brought barbecue corianders were delicious in baking but original offerings sliders with vinegar to the CHoW supper. the leaves of the herb were not good. (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cream --Anne Whitaker In D.C. in the 1970s, I had to go to the gravy, biscuits, stewed rhubarb, a side Mexican market in Adams Morgan for dish of bread and butter pickles and Ohio Deviled Eggs the ingredients: Avocado, cilantro, onion, boysenberry pie). The restaurant is still garlic, tomatillo, chili pepper (a jalapeno open and I hope this tasty salad is still The deviled eggs that turned out mild), extra jalapeno and being served. were actually serrano peppers to add to the taste. I I also brought a jar of my bread and but- made in Alexan- also brought a few kinds of tortillas to ter pickles. --David Bender dria VA as part of the cooperative supper as a taste test. a car picnic of ba- --ZinaPisarko Sesame and Soy Pumpkin gels, humus, choc- olate bars,and On our trips to fruit to be enjoyed during Shirley’s an- Australia, we noticed nual drive to Madison, WI. However, the that pumpkin dishes eggs have been renamed in honor of a were ubiquitous. speeding car, an Ohio state trooper, and Every restaurant had a the laughing discussion between Shirley pumpkin soup appe- and her daughter as to whether an offer tizer.