Cured meats have been one of my favorite things to order at restaurants since I was a kid. I have loved their savory taste and salty flavor. In this article, I take a deeper look at the history of this food and where it came from. Before we discuss the history of cured meat, we must learn the main three groups of this amazing snack. The first group is prosciutto which is the whole hind leg of a pig or the ham. It’s a salty taste makes it a favorite of Italians. The second group is salami which is highly seasoned sausage. It has more of a tart taste than prosciutto and can sometimes be spicy. The last main group is pepperoni which is either beef or pork sausage seasoned with pepper. It is well known for being a classic pizza topping and can be used well in salads. Although these foods are quite similar in taste, they were invented in very different eras. Prosciutto in 1963, salami in the year 19, and pepperoni in 1919. Prosciutto originated in Italy in high-class restaurants where it was only for the rich. It continues to be so expensive because it takes much effort and time to age this European delicacy. Usually, prosciutto is thinly sliced but sometimes can be cut into slightly larger chunks. It is more commonly sliced into thin pieces, though, because the cut makes it taste a little more tart. Next is salami which is from Genoa, Italy and started out as a fermented meat dish that was brought to America by Italian natives. It was one of the first fermented meats and could stay in a pantry for several weeks on end. This made it a favorite of peasants at the time because they could buy mass quantities and store them until they were needed. It is not surprising that salami has a robust, salty taste because the Italian word Salame originates from the word sale meaning salt. Third and finally, Pepperoni was first made in Milan, Italy and is close to salami in shape and taste. Pepperoni is usually spicier than salami, although salami can be hot as well. Another more prominent difference between the two is that pepperoni is produced with an artificial casing whereas salami has no casing. It is so similar, in fact, that in Italy they call pepperoni salame piccante. Although pepperoni was an entirely Italian concept that was meant to be eaten by itself, Americans enjoyed the taste of it on pizza. Pepperoni is known for being an amazing, spicy, and greasy food that is enjoyed all around the world. After this article, I hope you have learned a great deal about cured meats. And most of all I hope that because of this article you are inclined to try this magnificent food!
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Flash Contest #4: Poems About Found Objects in the Kitchen: Our Winners and Their Work!
Weekly Flash Contest #4: Write a Poem About a Found Object in your Kitchen Go into the kitchen. Stand in front of a cupboard with food in it (or the fridge). Close your eyes, open the door (or better still, have someone else open it for you), stretch out your hand, and touch something. Keep your hand where it is. Open your eyes. Look at the thing you are touching. Congratulations! You just found the object that you are going to write a poem about. Every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements we are running a Flash Contest, based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, and entries are due by Friday. The week commencing April 20th (Daily Creativity prompt #21) was our fourth week, and our food theme really got everyone’s creative juices flowing! You obviously had fun finding your food objects, and thinking of creative ways to write about them. We enjoyed reading each and every one of the entries, and it was just as difficult as ever to choose our top 5 this week–so difficult, in fact, that we chose 7, and we added some Honorable Mentions again. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Eliana Aschheim, 13, Santa Clara, CA Iris Fink, 8, Beloit, WI Enni Harlan, 13, Los Angeles, CA Julia Marcus, 13, Culver City, CA Ava Shorten, 10, Mallow, Ireland Adele Stamenov, 10, Bethel Park, PA Emerson Swift, 12, Mill Valley, CA Honorable Mentions “My Journey” by Alexander Frey, 9, Herndon, VA “A Kid’s Gotta Eat” by Liam Hancock, 12, Danville, CA We also received another drawing from Allie Dollar, 11, of Monticello, FL, that provides the perfect illustration for this week’s contest post. Thank you, Allie! Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. Jelly By Eliana Aschheim, 13 I can only watch Him sitting there with Her Peanut Butter and Apricot Preserves His arm wrapped around Her shoulder So pleased, so charmed To be together We were an item The two of us We loved each other dearly PB and J We were adored All the good magazines raved about our perfection Kids everywhere rejoiced when they saw us Peanut Butter and Jelly Until A new movement swept in Like a scheming hurricane It rattled through my life Igniting, spreading viciously, Gaining followers, making its way to Even our most devout supporters “Health” Was the cause “Low sugar” and “All-Natural” Were the rallying cries Taken up by supermarkets everywhere I watched As this new Apricot Preserves Dared to enter our sacred home Of Peanut Butter and Jelly Alas! Her cunning ways! Even Peanut Butter, My faithful companion Was taken with her I watched As I slowly was pushed to a corner Of the fridge From disuse And Peanut Butter He took her arm instead of mine With only a regretful glance at me My eyes were on him the whole time Here I watch From this desolate corner, Among the moldy Sour Cream And a rotting, half-eaten Apple Forgotten But the thing is, Sour Cream and Jelly Does not make a good sandwich Even the bread agreed It’s just not a good combination I’m an outcast, now, in this fridge Once I stood proudly in the front Now I slump, saddened, in the back On the same level As Sour Cream And a rotting Apple And I watch Peanut Butter with that Apricot Preserves Animal Crackers By Iris Fink, 8 Animals in cracker form, a truly delicious food. If you add banana, it will brighten your mood. But don’t you ever feel that biting their heads off is rude? An Onion Enni Harlan, 13 I peel an onion, layer by layer, Watching it shrink slowly. Onions are a bit like people; You have to work hard To see what is truly inside, Deep, deep, down at the core. Tossing aside the flaky yellow peels, I stare forlornly at the perfect sphere. It looks plain, yet lovely, Simple yet elegant, This onion whose inner beauty I have yet to find. My dark eyes drill into the onion, which seems to stare back at me, blankly. With one hand, I grasp the ebony handle of a razor sharp knife. I clutch the smooth surface of the onion in the other hand, preparing to make My blow. My knife digs into the flesh of the onion. Juice squirts out, and tears spring to my eyes. I wipe them hurriedly, But they refuse to stop. Blinded by my watering eyes, I continue to cut Somewhat aimlessly. The onion, now sliced, Lays before me in a pot Darker than night. The flame is ignited, and the onions begin to sizzle. Its sharp, distinct smell transforms sweet As the stove works its wonders. The wooden spatula in my hand Clanks against the pot, Creating a symphony. A while later, I raise a few slices of onion to my mouth, Which is now watering more than my eyes. Thoughtfully, I chew, until a smile spreads Across my face. It’s delicious. Sugar By Julia Marcus, 13 The white drops of sweetness. The snow spilling over the top of the pancakes. The roughness scraping against the spatula as I attempt to submerge every grain into the floury abyss. The particles left on the counter when the brownies are warming in the oven, the purest form of heaven and tantalization for my nose. The one thing the mug of cocoa needs more of, without it it’s just a bitter, milky cup of steam. The huge cylindrical container in the cabinet, blocking the view of countless bags and boxes and sporting the familiar faded label: Sugar. Moustache Ava Shorten, 10 I twist the cap, anticlockwise
A Brief History of Pasta
Pasta is one of my favorite foods. For years it has been an easy, convenient meal for me and my family. Recently, I was boiling some pasta and I was wondering, what was exactly the history of this tremendously tasty food. I did some research and discovered the long, complicated past of noodles. Pasta is traditionally made from wheat, water, eggs, and salt. The first pasta dish was made in Sicily and dates back to 1154. Historians have noted that this first recipe was closer to a lasagna than to what we know today as our traditional noodles because it had a meat stuffing. Another difference of this dish from modern day pasta is that it is not cooked like either fresh or dry pasta. With that said, there is no concrete evidence of pasta up until the 13th or 14th century. The first pastas were made by boiling a big sheet of dough, but as time progressed people decided that was not efficient enough. According to Greek mythology, the first mention of a pasta maker was when the god Hephaestus make long strands of dough and compressed them through two rotating tubes. In the 14th and 15th centuries, pasta became extremely popular for its easy storage. This allowed people to easily transport pasta with them on their journey to the New World. Once voyagers made landfall, pasta was spread across the world. Pasta manufacturing machines have been made since the 1600s on the coast of Italy in a city named Sanremo. This over time made the Sanremo area one of the world’s most famous food destinations for tourists and locals alike. If pasta was good before, things were just getting started with the introduction of sauces. You could have pasta with tomato sauce, or with three-cheese sauce. You could have it with alfredo sauce or barbecue sauce if you are into that. A fun fact about pasta is that an average Italian person consumes about three times more pasta than an average American a year. Another fun fact is that pasta is so beloved in Italy that individual consumption exceeds the average production of wheat in the country; thus Italy frequently imports more wheat from other countries to make pasta. Pasta was originally only part of Italian and European cuisine, but immigration caused the food to spread to the U.S., Canada, and many more countries. The food was also taken so far away that it was an essential part of South African cooking. Thank you for reading this article and I hope after reading it you can know and remember the history of pasta every time you have it for dinner.
