Have you ever wondered why servers at Italian restaurants ask if you’d like Parmesan cheese grated on your pasta? Or why MSG-filled Chinese takeout tastes so much more satisfying? The answer is rather simple: umami. Officially identified in 1908 by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda, umami is now recognized as one of the five fundamental tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. Umami is described as a savory or hearty flavor, which causes salivation and a furry sensation in the mouth. 

Umami is found to be naturally occurring in ripe tomatoes, mushrooms (it’s what gives it that meaty taste!), fish, cured meats, and fermented products like cheese and soy sauce. Ikeda and later scientists discovered that the savory-ness was imparted by the presence of glutamates (a non-essential amino acid) and nucleotides. Together, the two elements produced an intense flavor. However, consumed by itself, umami would be unpleasant to the human mouth. It needs to be melded with the other four tastes, particularly salty, to produce a balanced and well-rounded dish. 
Although it wasn’t discovered until the 20th Century, umami and its derivatives have had a longstanding place in history. The ancient Romans produced garum, a fermented fish sauce high in glutamate, which they used as a condiment on many dishes. For centuries, the Japanese have made broth from seaweed and dried fish flakes. Worchestershire sauce became popular in Great Britain during the 1840s as an additive that made soups, fish, and salads doubly appetizing and digestible. From the map above, you can see that cuisines from all over the world have dishes containing umami. 

In 1909, the Ajinomoto Corporation in Japan isolated umami as a salt and patented it as monosodium glutamate, or MSG, as it is popularly referred to. Today, Ajinomoto continues to be the largest MSG manufacturer, producing approximately one-third of the world’s market. MSG is used as a flavor enhancer and is often found in processed foods, such as chips, seasonings, and fast food. Once associated with Chinese restaurants, MSG has gained a negative reputation over the years. 

In 1968, an article appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, in which the author complained about experiencing numbness, weakness, and palpitations after consuming Chinese-American food. He blamed it on the high sodium levels and the excessive use of MSG. These symptoms came to be coined “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” Despite the many concerns over MSG, there has been little scientific evidence to prove that it is harmful to your health. In 1992, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology conducted an experiment, from which they discovered two groups of people that were susceptible in developing so-called “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” They were people who couldn’t tolerate large doses of MSG and people with severe asthma. For most people, MSG is safe at normal levels and useful for improving taste. If you would like more information, or want to experience umami in your cooking sans the use of MSG, check out www.umamiinfo.com.  

When we think of influential contemporary chefs, Thomas Keller, Morimoto, Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali, and Ferran Adria might be some names that come to mind. In addition to heightening gustatory perfection, they are credited for pushing the envelope of present-day cuisine. But what about chefs of the past whose legacies have been forgotten through the passage of time?

Let us begin with Marie-Antoine Carême, also known later on as the “King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings.” Born in 1784, he was one of the earliest proponents of what is now known as French haute cuisine—a refined, artistic level of cooking that was usually prepared for royalty and the wealthy. He began his culinary career as an apprentice at a patisserie (pastry shop) in Paris. Here, he would eventually become prominent for his pièces montées, which were intricate centerpieces made of sugar, marzipan, and other edible desserts. I imagined these creations to look like those towering sugar confections on Food Network challenges. At the peak of his career, he was chef to powerful King George IV, Czar Alexander I, banker James Rothschild, and powerful French diplomat Talleyrand. It was Talleyrand who especially helped mold Carême’s cooking. He challenged the chef to create a whole year’s worth of menus without any duplication and using only seasonal ingredients. Carême passed, altering his style toward a more sophisticated one with an emphasis on fresh and simple dishes. Although he died at the young age of forty-eight (supposedly from inhaling charcoal fumes for too long), Carême undoubtedly left a lasting impact on the culinary world. He left behind many writings on cooking, including the famous five-volume The Art of French Cooking, which includes recipes, menu planning, etiquette, and a history of French cooking. 

A century afterward, Auguste Escoffier rose to prominence in the French culinary world. His first notable achievement was as chef to his business, Cesar Ritz’s, a chain of hotels, which would later evolve to become the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Later, he lent his talents as executive chef of German luxury liner SS Imperator, on which he delighted such well-known passengers such as Kaiser William II. The king was so impressed that he crowned Escoffier, “The Emperor of Chefs,” further cementing his status in culinary history. By simplifying and modernizing Carême’s elaborate cooking, he helped develop modern French cuisine. He got rid of unnecessary garnishes, and reduced the number of courses served. He also simplified kitchen organization and was credited for inventing the hierarchical brigade de cuisine system. Like Carême, Escoffier’s legacy is endured through his writings. His Le Guide Culinaire is still used as a benchmark for recipes and techniques in French cooking. Although these two chefs are lesser-known than their present-day counterparts, their contributions to the culinary world should not be forgotten!  

Although it doesn’t have much to do with history or fine cuisine, Epic Meal Time is my latest food-related obsession. Tuesday has become the highlight of my week.  I eagerly log onto YouTube to feast my eyes on the online show’s latest colossal concoction. Each week, the team at Epic Meal Time attempts to create the most calorie-laden, most monstrous food, and, whilst doing so, makes some of the most creative dishes I’ve seen in a while. 

My favorite episode would have to be “Breakfast of Booze,” in which they try to fulfill their motto of “We make your dreams come true, and then we eat them.” In the process, they make:

• A candied bacon plate
  
• Bacon-wrapped ham and steak deep fried in beer batter
  
• Creamy sausage blankets fried in beer batter
  
• Chocolate chip bacon beer waffles
  
• Deep fried hash brown balls
  
• Bacon Bailey’s whipped cream
  
• Bacon cream cheese stuffed French toast dumplings
  
• Doritos breaded deep fried cheese sticks
  
• And a “bigass” omelet, which is the size of a large skillet
  

All the dishes are fashioned into a “breakfast fortress,” and doused with a heavy dose of Jack Daniel’s syrup. Appropriately so, there is always a calorie and fat counter in the corner of the screen. Their attempt to get drunk off breakfast tallied up a disgusting total of 18,531 calories and 1,005 grams of fat. 

Without a doubt, a show of this proportion raises many questions about the way we eat. Disgusted by EMT’s excessive use of meat, a rather unfunny, PETA-backed “Vegan Meal Time” hit the online waves in response. You could also argue that EMT’s creations continue to promote a culture of wastefulness and gluttony. However, the team acknowledges that all of their creations are consumed and thoroughly enjoyed. Personally, I find the show to be a refreshing voice in a society obsessed with dieting and healthy eating. Because I know that I will never be able to successfully make or eat any dish comparable to theirs, I treat my weekly viewings like a guilty pleasure. It’s an escape from cold salads and Diet Cokes. I feel like the host of the show, Harley Morenstein, says it best in an interview with ABC News: “In this day and age, I feel like there’s a big emphasis on organic foods or a lot of negative media in regards to obesity and stuff like that. We are there eating this, and [viewers] are eating vicariously through us.” The show has spawned a host of equally entertaining imitators on Youtube, including the incomprehensible Ordinary Swedish Meal Time, which really makes you fathom what an epic meal time would be like there. 

Between the feasting and the football-watching of the holidays, I spent a little time perusing a book that I borrowed from the Grad. The book was Invention of the Restaurant by Rebecca Spang, an associate professor of history at the University of Indiana. In the book, she argues that the history of the restaurant has suffered from “genesis amnesia” – the belief that eating establishments just sprung up after the French Revolution when newly unemployed chefs of the nobility opened up their own businesses. However, she claims that the restaurant’s origins began not as a spatial location, but as a meat-based broth or consommé that could “restore” one’s health or energy.
 
Restaurants would not become a defined place until the late-eighteenth century. Customers suffering from fatigue and ill-health frequented these places, which only served a minimalist bouillon that promised to cure all of their ailments at all hours of the day. Ironically enough, early restaurants owed much to the trend of not eating. The rise in the restaurant’s popularity could be attributed to the Enlightenment philosophers who believed that an unhealthy diet was the underlying cause of the damaged French state. Eventually, restaurants expanded their menus and added private dining rooms, offering customers a haven from public life. 

Before the advent of restaurants, there were inns, wine shops, cook shops, and guilds. Under the law of the Ancient Regime, it was technically illegal to own a “restaurant,” which was believed to encroach on the rights of the state-run, monopolistic guilds. Communities of daily patrons flocked to and formed around these neighborhood businesses. The daily patrons would notice when silverware went missing or when someone was absent from the table. Unlike restaurants, there was a fixed menu and mealtime.

The development of the restaurant could be seen as a reaction to these popular community dinners. The pristine and quiet dining rooms of the restaurant provided refuge from the raucous crowds, the grime of cooking, and the envy of social life. They were a distinctively Parisian phenomenon until the mid-19th century. Now restaurants are so commonplace that we tend to forget that they have their own unique place in history. 

So my very official recommendation: Read! It’s just that good!   

Although Thanksgiving break is over, I thought I’d attempt to capture the fleeting memories of glorious over-eating and napping by recounting the history of the Thanksgiving feast.   
Our present-day banquets of Turducken, pumpkin pie, and green bean casserole bear little resemblance to what is referred to as the “First Thanksgiving.” This First Thanksgiving dinner was a three-day gathering in 1621 between the Pilgrims, who fled from religious persecution in England, and the Wampanoag Native Americans in the Plymouth colony of Massachusetts. Many of the dishes were made from foods indigenous to the Americas, such as turkey, berries, pumpkin, Indian corn, and squash.

Unlike modern customs, their feast also included plenty of seafood, like lobsters, eels, mussels, and fish given their proximity to the sea.  The typical modern Thanksgiving dinner is actually 200 years younger than the 1621 celebration. Although wild ones were often eaten by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag, turkey didn’t become a traditional dish until after 1800, giving Thanksgiving its popular nickname of “Turkey Day.” Cranberry sauce would not appear until the late 17th century even though the Pilgrims and Wampanoag would use the berries to add tartness to their foods. As time and more foods became plentiful, other dishes that have now become staples were added to the Thanksgiving table.  

Contrary to popular American belief, the origins of Thanksgiving didn’t stem from the 1621 harvest celebration. Scholars argue that Thanksgiving falls under a broader category of “harvest festivals” that span cultures, continents, and eras. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans often held feasts after the fall harvest. However, the American Thanksgiving can be more directly traced to a New England holiday that celebrated the gathering of family and community. As Americans migrated westward, they took the holiday with them. It was only until after the mid-19th century when a historian discovered primary accounts from the 1621 harvest celebration that Thanksgiving began to be associated with the Pilgrims and Native Americans.  

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed the last Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Day. This would remain unchanged until 1939 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created a public outcry by declaring the second-to-last Thursday of the month to be Thanksgiving, which had been encouraged by the National Retail Dry Goods Association in order to extend the Christmas shopping season. Only 23 states observed the change, calling the day “Democratic” Thanksgiving, while the rest of the states celebrated Lincoln’s “Republican” Thanksgiving on the last Thursday. Choosing the best route in my opinion, Texas and Colorado decided to declare both Thursdays to be holidays. After two years of uproar, Congress formally established Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. In addition, they passed a legislation that forbade future presidents from changing the day of the holiday. 
So there’s a little history to mull over as you enjoy your copious amounts of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. While Thanksgiving may be over, its end merely signals the beginning of the holiday eating season!   

Last Saturday, I was in dire need of a juicy burger. Repelled by the wait at Blimpy, I dropped all foodie pretension and ventured to the basement of the Union. It wasn’t long before I was sinking my teeth into a heavenly Wendy’s Baconator. The crispy Applewood smoked bacon, the “never frozen” beef patties, the crunch of the lettuce, and the tangy ketchup combined to create nirvana in my mouth. Only after I had licked my fingers and crumpled up the wrapper did Fast Food Nation-induced guilt kick in. I began to question the legitimacy of what I just devoured. What actually went into the creation of my fast food burger? How did that one filling burger cost me less than $5? What are the effects on the environment from producing it? Was it worth the instant gratification?

Let's start at the beginning of the process: the CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation). Most fast food meat comes from cattle raised in squalid, cramped feedlots. Because they are more prone to disease in such closed quarters, the cattle, which often stand in their own manure for the majority of their life, are pumped with antibiotics. Although their digestive systems evolved to primarily ingest grass, cattle in CAFOs are fed an unnatural diet of corn, growth hormones, chicken manure, pet food, and other leftover rubbish. 

Once the cattle reach their ideal size, they’re transported to meatpacking factories, where they are slaughtered and processed. The dangerous work conducted at these factories is supplied by exploited immigrant labor where limbs are often lost, sometimes even getting mixed up with the animal carcasses. Giant grinders are used to process almost 800,000 pounds of hamburger meat a day. Thus, one patty could come from over hundred different cows, making E. Coli or pathogen contamination more susceptible. 

Even after the burger meat is formed, it’s not enough for fast food companies. They want customers to get hooked on the flavor, so food scientists utilize “natural” color additives and chemical compounds to ensure that all patties supply the same great taste. In this sense, the fast food burger has become just like a mass-produced car or appliance. 

Not only does this kind of food production adversely affect the animals, our health, and the safety of our food supply, but it’s also damaging to the environment. According to a National Park Service study, 1,300 gallons of water go into the production of one quarter-pound burger — that’s enough water to fill a swimming pool! Researchers have also found that the total energy needed for a single cheeseburger is somewhere between 7 and 20 mega joules and creates somewhere between 3.6 and 6.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide. CAFOs produce about 100 times more manure than the amount of human waste processed in all American treatment plants. The animal waste, often filled with bacteria, hormones, and high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, can be absorbed into the soil or runs off into waterways, endangering marine life and human health. The $5 for a fast food burger may be a cheap price to pay for the consumer, but it fails to account for all these other costs that are incurred. 

To answer the last question I posed earlier: is it worth the instant gratification? To me it’s not. Risking damage to my health and the environment as well as causing untold damage to the animals that we’re eating simply isn’t worth buying a cheeseburger for so cheap. Although it’s difficult to cut out fast food from your diet due to its affordability and availability, I think we should all consider the consequences before ordering next time. I know I will definitely try my hardest. 

Yogurt in a portable tube? Sprayable pancake batter? Alcoholic energy drinks?


These are some of the many culinary innovations that our generation has readily consumed. Observing my fellow classmates chewing on caffeinated bubble gum and sipping on “nutrient-packed” beverages got me thinking: What are foods that have gone out of existence? Which foods were commonly eaten in the past, but are now diminishing from our diets and knowledge? 

Although not completely having gone the way of the Dodo bird, Welsh rarebit is nearing its popularity’s end after reaching its peak in 18th century British taverns. Similar to the much more prevalent grilled cheese sandwich, the dish is comprised of toast topped with a fondue-like sauce of cheese and seasonings. It’s a wonder how it hasn’t managed to survive…  

Recipe can be found at Pioneer Woman.

Before the appearance of Ranch, Green Goddess was the most popular dressing on the block. So-named because of its green tint, Green Goddess typically contains sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, anchovies, and tarragon. Even though it is still manufactured in limited batches by Seven Seas and Trader Joe’s, it has never regained its formerly divine status. 

Recipe can be found at Allrecipes.

Since the rise of processing, consumption of offal in the United States has been on the decline. Offal is the culinary term for the internal organs and entrails of butchered animals. These include such delicacies as liver, sweetbreads (thymus and pancreas), tripe, brains, gizzards, intestines, and so on. My personal favorite would be pan-fried Rocky Mountain Oysters, which is a euphemism for bull testicles. 

For the nervous neophyte: check out a simple liver and onions recipe at Cooks.com.

For the familiar foodie: try out brain fritters.

For the strongest of heart: dare you to make calves’ head soup.

Tru-Ade was one of the many beloved beverages that disappeared from the American market during the 20th century. Unlike its successors, Tru-Ade was a pasteurized, non-carbonated soft drink made from fruit juice concentrate and only came in two flavors — orange and grape. It’s believed that they went out of business some time in the 70s. 

To view old people waxing nostalgic about the greatness of Tru-Ade, go here.

These are just a few examples of foods that have gone extinct or are endangered due to a multiplicity of reasons. In the case of Welsh Rarebit, knowledge of the dish slowly diminished over the years. Green Goddess Salad Dressing demonstrates how foods are easily replaceable by newer, more popular varieties. The consumption of offal has declined because good cuts of meat are now cheaper and more plentiful. And lastly, products like Tru-Ade simply go out of style just because their companies aren’t managed well. Food has and will continue to evolve over time, adapting to changing consumer tastes and practices. Who knows what we will be eating ten years from now? 

What do spaghetti and meatballs, General Tso’s chicken, and jambalaya all have in common? They’re all dishes that combine elements from two or more different cuisine traditions: Italian-American, Chinese-American, and Creole, which blends Spanish, French, Acadian, Caribbean, and African cooking. Being the big history nerd that I am, I’ve always had a fascination with this sort of culinary diffusion. Unlike the increasingly popular genre of “fusion cuisine,” these historic dishes unintentionally emerged from the mixing of cultures and peoples. Because of their uniqueness, these foods transcend predictability and conventionality.

Two weeks ago in my Asian American history class, I was introduced to a lesser-known historical food fusion: Mexican-Indian food. In the early 20th Century, many Punjabi Indian men immigrated to America in search of work on Californian farms. Because of strict immigration laws, they weren’t allowed to bring their families and were prohibited from marrying white American women. Consequently, many of these Indian men married Mexican women who shared similar values and views. Their cultural traditions often blended, typified by the intermingling of food. Tortillas replaced rotis (unleavened Indian flatbread), while jalapenos were replaced by Indian chili peppers. The men taught their Mexican wives to cook curries, which were similar to Mexican fried chicken or lamb dishes. Many Mexican-Indian restaurants still exist in California today, offering such exotic dishes like Punjabi enchiladas, tostadas made with parathas (North Indian leavened wheat bread), and burritos stuffed with curried garbanzo beans and saffron rice. 

Feeling hungry and daring, I decided I wanted to create my own dish influenced by the culinary co-mingling. Although its authenticity is ultimately questionable, it was tasty (my roommates can attest). 

Here’s an approximate recipe for my chicken curry tacos: 


Ingredients

• 1 lb of shredded chicken 
  
• A couple cloves of garlic, minced 
  
• 1 medium-sized onion
  
• 1 bell pepper  
  
• 1 tomato
  
• Curry powder to taste
  
• Paprika to taste 
  
• Ground cayenne to taste 
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Optional: 

• Rice (I used basmati for an Indian touch) 
  
• Refried beans
  
• Tortillas 
  
• Condiments such as cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc. 

Have you ever wondered what’s in your food or where it comes from? Although these questions appear easy to answer, they will eventually be rhetorical as our food supply becomes increasingly genetically modified. One such example of this ambiguity is the so-called “Frankenfish”, which is currently pending FDA approval for human consumption and has led to heated debate in the past months. While not exactly the mutant ichthyologic monster from the eponymous 2004 horror film, the AquAdvantage® Salmon is just as scary. Engineered by AquaBounty Technologies, which, according to its website, prides itself as a “biotechnology company dedicated to the improvement of productivity in aquaculture,” the fish is genetically modified using genes from the Pacific Chinook salmon and the eel-like ocean pout, making it grow twice as fast as its ordinary Atlantic brethren. Its creators hope that this new species will make salmon affordable to the masses. 

The titanic “Frankenfish” dwarfs an Atlantic salmon of the same age.
(www.independent.co.uk) 
This recent invention piqued my curiosity on history and controversies surrounding genetically modified (GM) foods, so I decided to conduct some research. Within the past decade, GM foods have been slowly assimilating into our everyday diets, often without our knowledge. GM foods contain mutations introduced into their DNA through selective breeding or exposure to radiation and chemicals. Although plant breeding originated with the domestication of the first crops during the Neolithic era, the popularity of GM foods didn’t surge until 1994, when the first commercially grown and bioengineered tomatoes were approved to be safe. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 93% of soybeans and 86% of corn planted in the U.S. are now genetically modified. That’s a pretty frightening amount considering most of the foods we eat contain derivations of these two crops. 

This unrelenting growth in GM foods has been accompanied with discussion concerning the safety and healthiness of such foods. Advocates of genetic modification argue that the crops’ resistance to disease, higher nutritional value, and tolerance for cold will be able to sustain the world’s growing population. In contrast, opponents contend that GM foods have unknown effects on human health and are detrimental to the environment by unintentionally hurting other organisms and reducing the effectiveness of pesticides. Because GM foods raise the price of seeds to cover the patents, opponents also claim that they will financially ruin small farmers and third world countries that will be unable to afford them. 

Here are some interesting examples of GM foods: 

A wild banana with large seeds and green skin
(www.wikipedia.com)
The most widely-eaten exotic fruit, the banana, has been cultivated and bred for thousands of years.  All bananas now are virtually seedless and possess a yellow peel, a side effect of artificial ripening processes. This completely different from the wild, unmodified banana pictured above. Their genetic modification has helped them to remain fresher for longer. 

Golden rice 
(www.healthjockey.com) 
Golden rice was genetically modified to be eaten in areas with low dietary vitamin A, such as in Africa and South Asia. It contains large amounts of beta-carotene, which is synthesized into vitamin A by the human body. Golden rice is expected to be hit the market in 2012. 

Genetically modified potatoes
(www.rsc.org) 
The potato, an American favorite, is undergoing multiple genetic experiments to make it a more nutritional crop and a more useful raw material. The new “super-potato” promises to contain more than 160% the protein of normal potatoes. Also, the European Union recently approved the cultivation of a GM potato that will produce better quality starch for paper production. 


Although the controversy will rage on, it is up to you as an individual to decide. Personally, I would love to able to purchase all organic foods; however, being a college student, affordability and availability are my two primary concerns when making my midnight Meijer runs. For my own approach to GM foods, I have adopted the mantra of dieters and Buddhists alike: “Moderation is the key.”