AIRLINE FOOD
Supposedly, your taste buds are dulled at high altitude and the cabin pressure in jets, so food seems to have less flavor.
An ‘Airline Breast’ is a boneless breast of chicken with the first wing bone attached.
Per passenger spending on food (2001):
(PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE FIGURES HAVE CHANGED CONSIDERABLY DUE TO MAJOR SHIFTS IN THE [...]
But first, what is Abalone?
Abalone is a variety of sea snail.
Abalone is known as Oreille de Mer in France, awabi in Japan, paua in New Zealand, mutton fish in Australia, Loco in various South American countries, and Ormer or Venus ear in England.
The largest variety of abalone is the red abalone found off the coast [...]
Absinthe is another name for the herb wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and the name of a licorice-anise flavored green liqueur that was created at the end of the 18th century, and manufactured by Henry-Louis Pernod. Called the ‘green Muse’ it became very popular in the 19th century, but was eventually banned in most countries beginning in [...]
Graham crackers were named for the 19th century champion of wholemeal wheat (graham) flour and vegetarianism in general, Sylvester Graham. Graham crackers are whole wheat crackers sweetened with honey or molasses and were invented by Graham in 1829.
LOBSTER
Lobster are trapped off City Island in New York City (more than 20 lobstermen with over 6,000 traps). Called locally ‘Bronx Lobster’ or ‘Long Island Lobster’, they are smaller, browner and not as sweet as other American lobster (’Maine lobster’).
The Pilgrims thought lobsters were ugly, and considered them to be poor man’s meat.
In the 1880’s [...]
LAST MEALS
According to The Great Food Almanac by Irena Chalmers, the last food that Elvis Presley ate was four scoops of ice cream and 6 chocolate chip cookies.
According to the Michelin Guide (2008) there are about 160,000 restaurants in Tokyo, Japan. Compare that to about 23,000 in New York City and 20,000 in Paris. Tokyo has 191 Michelin stars, while Paris has only 98 stars total and New York has 54.
According to the National Restaurant Association there were about 925,000 foodservice locations [...]
Some examples of how math is used in the kitchen.
Knowing the right proportions (math) of baking powder, baking soda, and acid to used in quick breads.
The chemistry of the browning action on meats (and other foods) is a function of the particular temperature at which browning takes place – temperature calculation is math. The length [...]
Contrary to what most people believe, and that includes most professionals, when using beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages in recipes, a lot of alcohol still remains after cooking.
Here are the facts from the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA (1989).
ALCOHOL IN COOKING
Alcohol remaining after preparation:
100% Immediate consumption
70% Overnight storage
85% Boiling liquid, remove from heat
75% [...]
ORIGIN 1
The word hamburger probably existed by the end of the Middle Ages. In 1802 the Oxford English Dictionary defined ‘Hamburg steak’ as salt beef. Referring to ground beef as ‘hamburger’ dates to the invention of the mechanical meat grinder during the 1860s. ‘Filet de boeuf a la Hambourgeoise,’ was sold in Boston in 1874, [...]