by B.L. Unkel | Oct 23, 2021 | Baking
As we approach Halloween, I thought I’d share historical myths and superstitions involving blackberries. There are more than you might imagine. Blackberries and the Devil The most well-known superstition is: Don’t eat fresh blackberries after “Michaelmas day.”...
by B.L. Unkel | Oct 16, 2021 | Baking
What, you ask, was chocolate cake if it wasn’t chocolate cake? Answer: In the late 1800s, the first chocolate cakes were usually yellow cakes with chocolate frosting. Cooks didn’t have smooth-melting chocolate like we have today. Until 1890-1900, the extent of...
by B.L. Unkel | Oct 9, 2021 | Baking
Tomorrow, October 10, is National Angel Food Cake Day. I discovered this nugget of information when I began researching how the cake got its name. I never learned exactly where the name came from, other than what else would you call such a tasty, cloudlike treat? This...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 31, 2021 | Writing
It’s been several months since I shared a few commonly used phrases and the history behind them. Since the last couple of DYKs were food-related, here are some food and kitchen-related phrases and their original meanings. Food-Related Phrases In a Pickle...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 24, 2021 | Baking
Writing last week’s DYK made me think of the tomato chow-chow recipe I use and the story behind it . . . How It Began Several years ago, an older friend gave me a jar of her cousin’s tomato chow-chow. (More like a sweet tomato relish, really.) After tasting it,...
