WHAT IS STILTON? For quite a while, England really only had one great blue cheese to call its’ own. It is made from pasteurized cow’s milk and mixed with Penicillium roqueforti blue mold (merci France). Stilton was and still is an English cultural icon. The classic marble veining inside the blue cheese is distinctive, whereas […]
GOURMET ARCHAEOLOGY
This section provides an introduction to the various ingredients that go into our everyday foods!
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Cheddar
WHAT IS CHEDDAR? What mozzarella is to the Italians, Cheddar is to the English. It is named after the village of its’ birth in Somerset, England. Much like the British empire, Cheddar cheese colonized much of the Western world since its’ inception in the 12th century. Originally made from cow’s milk, there are so many […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Cantal
WHAT IS CANTAL? It is a A French cow’s milk, semi-hard mountain cheese. It comes in two versions. There is Fermier (farmhouse aka raw milk) and Laitier (I turned your farmhouse into a parking lot for my big factory aka pasteurized). Inside this brown, pebbled, rind lies only the milk of Salers cows. Silage (hay) is […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Manchego
WHAT IS MANCHEGO? It is one of Spains most popular cheeses. Spanish Farmers have been making Manchego well before Don Quixote was beating the crap out of local windmills. Using only the pasteurized or raw milk of Manchega sheep, this queso is then aged for around 3 (semi-curado), 6 (curado) or 12 months (viejo). Grass basket weave […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Idiazabal
WHAT IS IDIAZABAL? It is a Spanish, farmhouse cheese that is made from raw milk. Like most mountainous Basque cheeses, Idiazabal is made from Latxa or Carranza sheep’s milk. This natural rind queso is aged for 2 to 10 months, and Unlike most Spanish cheeses that seem to have a boring obsession with basket-weave molds, […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Taleggio
WHAT IS TALEGGIO? This washed rind, cow’s milk cheese is one of the more intimidating dairy delicacies for newbies. While it was invented thousands of years ago, the method of production hasn’t changed that much. The skin of this formaggio is washed in a salt brine. Then, like with Muenster, it is smeared with bacteria […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Pecorino
WHAT IS PECORINO? Pecorino is a generic term used for Italian cheeses that are 100% sheep’s milk. It is often used as a grating cheese over pasta and other warm dishes. However the term “pecorino” is a sad little orphan without the family it grew up in. There are pecorinos made in Romano (Rome), Toscano […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Fontina Val d’Aosta
WHAT IS FONTINA VAL D’AOSTA? This is another Italian, cow’s milk cheese that was born in the 12th century. Outside of Italy, most of us have grown up on mild imitations of Fontina. This formaggio will blow your mind. Fontina Valle d’Aosta is named after the Aosta Valley it comes from. It is a washed […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Gruyere
WHAT IS GRUYERE? This raw, cow’s milk cheese was awarded an A.O.C. (name controlled status) in 2001, thus preventing any of their neighbors from using the same name (hello French Comte or Greek Graviera). The milk is heated in large, copper vats. Rennet is added, and the curds are then chopped up and heated again. […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHEESE – Cornish Yarg
WHAT IS CORNISH YARG? This semi-hard cheese is made from pasteurized cow’s milk. Today Cornwall’s crumbly delight is produced by the Lynher Dairy. The origin of Cornish Yarg goes back to the 1980’s. A farmer by the name of Alan Gray was rummaging around his attic when he stumbled across a cheese making recipe from […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF BREAD – Tortillas (Corn)
WHAT IS A TORTILLA? This Spanish version of a French crepe is made from either corn or wheat flour. Like an Indian chapati, it’s unleavened and was invented long before Europeans arrived. Made in Mexico since 10,000 B.C. it was a food served to both peasants and kings. Back then, other vegetables like squash were […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF PULSES, NUTS & GRAINS – Basmati Rice
WHAT IS BASMATI RICE? Rice in general are just a seed of grass that comes in three different sizes, short, medium and long. Basmati is a long grain rice predominantly grown in India and Pakistan. The name translates as “fragrant” which is a fitting description for this delicious cereal grain. Technically use of the name […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF PULSES, NUTS & GRAINS – Almond
WHAT IS AN ALMOND? This edible “nut” grows in a tan, wooden shell. While it is technically the seed of a fruit tree, in every day terminology everyone calls them nuts. These trees can grow over 30 feet (9 meters) in height and prefer warm, arid climates. Originally native to the Middle East, over the […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF PULSES, NUTS & GRAINS – Walnut
WHAT IS A WALNUT? One of the oldest food sources known to man, they are thought to have come from Persia over 9,000 years ago. The edible seeds of these stone fruits are well protected by its armor-like shell. The meat inside walnuts looks like a human brain with 2 lobes and a split down […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF HERBS & SPICES – Nutmeg
WHAT IS NUTMEG? This spice is the tropical seed of an evergreen tree mostly native to Indonesia and the West Indies. It’s not a nut (which is good news for people with tree nut allergies). When the fruit ripens it’s only about 2 inches (5 cm) in size. The flesh splits in half, revealing a […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF FRUITS & VEGETABLES – Corn
WHAT IS CORN? It is perhaps one of the most controversial topics in food as well as a vegetable. Michael Pollan in the Omnivore’s Dilemma called Americans “processed corn walking.” While large government subsidies (under every administration liberal or conservative) essentially subsidize applications like high fructose corn syrup or animal feed, corn is not broccoli […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF PULSES, NUTS & GRAINS – Peanut
WHAT IS A PEANUT? In culinary terms this is a nut but scientifically it’s actually a legume (plants the bear fruit in pods). The peanut is the edible seed. The name originates from Colonial America when settlers described it as a pea that’s shaped like a nut! They’re also known as goobers, ground nuts, pindars […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF FRUITS & VEGETABLES – Cucumber
WHAT IS A CUCUMBER? This member of the gourd family originally came over from India. There are many varieties but the classic version is a long, oblong shape with green skin. While many people think of them as a vegetable technically they’re a fruit. Different varieties are used for pickling, slicing or seedless. Unfortunately the […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF SEAFOOD – Shark
WHAT IS A SHARK? Thanks to Hollywood it is perhaps one of the most terrifying and misunderstood Apex predators still alive today. Over 400 million years old, this fish is unique in that it doesn’t have a bony skeleton. Instead their skeletal structure is made up of cartilage, like the flexible bone in your lower […]
ARCHAEOLOGY OF HERBS & SPICES – Cinnamon
WHAT IS CINNAMON? This spice is ground from the dried inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree whose name sounds like a sci fi movie – “Cinnamomum.” First popular in Egypt over 4,000 years ago, this spice has transcended being a mere flavor description and is now also a fancy way to say that something […]