Stories Behind Food

You don't have to go far to find fascinating stories behind some of the world's delectable foods. www.instagram.com/storiesbehindfood

[storiesbehindfood]

Progrès Poire-Caramel from L'etoile Pâtisserie (all the way from Taipei!).

I have to be frank with you guys. I have a bad habit of choosing sweet desserts over savory meals. It's so bad that it's gotten to the point where I'd just have some tarts or a bagel as my brunch. But do not fret, that's only sometimes. I repeat: sometimes. If my parents knew about my lack of nutritional habits, they would probably scold me. Haha. So, yeah, please keep that a secret for me.

Anyway, as I go through my college years I feel that one of my goals in life is exploring all the food-- especially desserts-- that's available to the world. One of my good friends came back to campus from Taipei and brought me this really intricate, yet tasty dessert. Wow! Thanks so much! It's amazing how something simple, like food, can make the world feel smaller.

Sigh.... but I digress. My friend told me that she had been craving some sweets from this place back home and promised to give me some when she returned. This place is known as L'etoile Pâtisserie.

L'etoile, which means "star" in French, is a French style dessert house in Taipei. I checked out the house's Facebook page and what I really liked about the setup is that the employees present the desserts with a long platform instead of a multi-desk chilled display common at most bakeries. My friend told me that when she was there, she had a difficult time deciding what to get, because it was like picking out jewelry at Tiffany's. I've never shopped there before, but can you imagine all the different varieties of cakes, and glittering desserts grabbing for your attention? Dang. Seems nice.

Aesthetically, the Progrès looks like an accordion. The top and bottom are hazelnut flavored dacqouise with caramel-pear cream in the middle. I've lately been obsessed with dacqouise and if you don't know what it is, it's basically a dessert cake made with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue.

The dessert itself is not too overwhelming to the eye. But don't let it's low profile deter you from taking a bite. It's phenomenal. Clearly in my top 10 favorite sweets of all time. Haha! (But knowing me, the list changes with every new dessert I discover!)

[storiesbehindfood]

Raspberry Hazelnut Torte  by yours truly! Inspired by Ilan of IronWisk.

Wow. It's been awhile since my last post, but Stories Behind Food is back!

As you probably know, Thanksgiving is right around the corner (tomorrow!) and unfortunately, I'm not able to spend it with family and friends because I just live too far away. It's sad really. Campus seems empty and it's very disheartening. However, I don't want to dampen your holiday spirits, because it's Thanksgiving-- the holiday that revolves around food!

So one of my friends and I decided to start early with the holiday festivities by perusing the internet for some recipes that we could somehow muster up in a short amount of time. After awhile, we managed to come across Ilan, an 18 year old Canadian blogger, and his recipe for Hazelnut Torte. As you probably know, I am a sucker for sweet things, so my friend and I definitely tried to recreate his recipe.

The result? Obviously fantastic! 5 stars! I mean, look at that photo (and let me tell you, we're amateurs at best)!

What's interesting about this dessert is that the torte is not your typical vanilla and rose. There's chives --yes, the onion's relative-- in there with the raspberries. You would think it would only work with a Worcestershire sauce, but it actually works well in dessert form too.

The cake layers are made with hazelnut dacquoise, which is very similar in texture to the French Macaroons. The raspberry-chive layers were such a pain to do. However, the raspberry gelatin worked well with the chive-infused pastry cream, which added a slight, piquant undertone to the cake. The hazelnut flavor went so well with the freshness of the raspberries. The hazelnut nougatine, we figured, would be an added bonus. It became the crunch that this dessert needed.

Definitely going to keep this one for the books! Happy Thanksgiving!

[storiesbehindfood]

Café Affogato from Vetri Ristorante!

Hello again! It's so good to be back and trying a slew of great food in the city of Brotherly Love. Paris was an absolute blast, but nothing will beat the homey feeling of the U.S. (specifically Philly)! 

Anyway, one of my hall mates recommended that I try a restaurant in Center City called Vetri. It was a little on the expensive side for me (which is not saying much, because let's face it, I'm sort of living the rugged college life), but it didn't deter me from trying something new. I've never had a café affogato before and decided to give it a try. Boy, was it fantastic!

The Italian word affogato means "drowned" or in this case, "drowned in coffee". It comprises of an expresso topped with smooth-churned ice cream-- sort of like a decadent coffee float! The coffee and the ice cream melt together into a bittersweet, delicious puddle-- a great way to end any meal. 

Tune in next week for another food post! Sorry if I haven't been able to post any food history lately. Will definitely try and get back to the swing of things before the week ends. Cheers!

[storiesbehindfood]

Pumpkin Brulée from Jackie Baisa. 

How's everyone doing? There's no story for today's photo; just wanted to take part in the fall weather/ Thanksgiving spirit! This is my favorite time of the year and what better way to spend it than to eat some delicious food! Pumpkin this. Pumpkin that. Yes, there is no way to spend the fall season than eating something pumpkin flavoured. Yum!

Check back next week for a new story! Just got back to the U.S. and found this really neat shoppe downtown. Can't wait to share it with you. And if you're wondering, college is alright. Still studying for that seemingly never-ending midterm season. 

[storiesbehindfood]

Hemelse Macaron from Pierre Hermé in Paris, France.

This was my first time trying a macaron and I can't believe I've gone this long without it. This is my favorite dessert ever! It's sweet and petite just the way I like it. 

The macaron is typically associated with the French dessert lexicon, but there are many claims that the cookie originated in Italy and debuted in France when Catherine de Medici married King Henry II of France. When she moved there, it is believed that she brought chefs and bakers from home who introduced a multitude of pastries to the French. 

In 1792, the macarons gained fame when two Carmelite nuns sought refuge in Nancy, France during the French Revolution and sold baked macarons to support themselves. At the time, macarons were only made of egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds--- just a simple cookie. No filling. No berries like the one pictured. Nada. 

Around the 20th century, Pierre Desfontaines revamped the biscuit and decided to join two macaron shells together with a flavored ganache. It was a very popular sell to the surrounding area and is the version that we recognize and love today!

Edit: *Sigh* I bought a box of these to take home with me back to the U.S., but I ended up eating them all. So sad. Hehe. 

[storiesbehindfood]

Chocolate Croissant from United By Blue

Ah, what better way to start the morning than with a flaky, buttery croissant! Everyone should be familiar with this delight as a staple of French cuisine, but its history is a little bit shady. No one really knows the true story behind this pastry as there are many scholars who proffer different versions of its existence and how it was made. Will we ever know the story behind the croissant? I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to relish in the stories behind this fantastic viennoiserie. 

The first story stems all the way from the Battle of Vienna. This is the most popular story behind the croissant and will be presented first. Around the late 1600s, Vienna was under attack by the Turks. After attempting to starve the city and pressure it into submission, the Turks went underground to continue their siege. During this time, bakers in their underground kitchens heard the Turks' conniving plans and alerted those responsible for protecting Vienna. This gave defenders enough time to destroy the tunnel the Turks were in the midst of creating. To make sure the war was officially won, King John III of Poland arrived with his army and forced the Turks to retreat. 

So... yeah. History is cool, but where does the food come in? Well, to celebrate Vienna's victory, several bakers in Vienna made a pastry in the shape of Turkish crescents that they had seen on the enemy flags. They would call this a "Kipfel", which is German for "crescent". Long after its debut, the dessert made its way to the French scene. 

The second story involves none other than the woman who made them "eat cake", Marie Antoinette. According to this story, Marie introduced the croissant to France. At 15, she recalled memories of her favorite times eating the pastry and insisted that the French chefs recreate it in France. I mean, yeah, if I was homesick, I would ask the chefs to create everything that my parents cooked! Anyway, the Marie story has not been confirmed as true, but I thought I would put it out there for y'all.

The last one is the most uncommon theory behind this pastry and involves August Zang's visit in France. Some historians recall that this is perhaps the most accurate story even if it's not the most popular. I would like to mention that it has nothing to do with how the croissant was created, but more so why it seems to get a strong reception in France. 

So August was an Austrian artillery officer that founded a bakery in Paris around the 1830s. In this bakery, he served Viennese delicacies including kipfel and Vienna loaves, which quickly became popular amongst French bakers. As the kipfel developed, French chefs modified it to satisfy French palates.

Wow. Never knew that such a simple pastry like the croissant would be meddled in such a war-riddled past. Huh. Interesting.

[storiesbehindfood]

I've been a little stressed lately due to college-related activities. So to get over it, I find making sweet treats very therapeutic. Tonight (or today depending on when you are reading this) I've made Mochi Ice Cream with fruits. Yes, I had to make sure this was a healthy dessert to make myself feel better. Don't judge. Anyway, Mochi has become largely popular over the past few years, but it has been around for quite some time in Asia. For those of you who haven't heard what Mochi is, it's a Japanese rice cake made by pounding glutinous rice into a paste and molding it into various shapes. No one knows when Mochi came about, but it is believed to have originated in China. Around the Heian Period in Japan (794-1185), mochi was solely made for the New Year celebratory festivities. It became such a popular dish that in the later centuries, Mochi was reserved as an imperial offering at religious ceremonies. Nowadays we call this glutinous rice cake as "mochi", but back in the 1070s a journal documented the rice cake as "mochii". Why did people start dropping the extra "i" in the name? Honestly, I can't tell you. Perhaps we just got lazy? Let me know if you find out...but I digress. There have been many theories behind the dessert's nomenclature. One of the origins is that it came from the word "motsu" meaning "to hold or have", which could indicate why the dessert was served only during special occasions. It signified that the dessert was given by God. Another claims that the name came from the word "mochizuki", which means "full moon". A third suggestion comes from the west and southwestern islands of Japan where people refer to the rice cake as "muchimi", which means "sticky". Well then. The more you know.

[storiesbehindfood]

Baked Alaska with Strawberry Gelato ~ Courtesy of NgoYourMeal

I am just on a sugar rush today! Anyway, Baked Alaska is an ice cream encased in a hot casing (can be a pastry crust or meringue). In other parts of the world it's known as the Norwegian omelette, "glace au four", or the "omelette a la norvegienne" if you want to get fancy.

Earlier versions of the dessert consisted of only the ice cream enveloped in a warm pastry crust. Thomas Jefferson in 1802 described the dessert as "Ice-cream very good, crust wholly dried, crumbled into thin flakes."

As time progressed, later versions added the sponge cake to which we get the names "omelette surprise" or "omelette a la norvegienne". The American physicist Benjamin Thompson brought this addition to the dessert in 1804 when he investigated the heating resistance of beaten egg whites. 

Now where did Baked Alaska come from? The name originated at Delmonico's Restaurant in NYC in 1876 and was created in honor of the newly acquired territory. George Sala who visited the restaurant around the 1880s wrote in a journal:

"The 'Alaska' is a baked ice... The nucleus or core of the entremet is an ice cream. This is surrounded by an envelope of carefully whipped cream, which, just before the dainty dish is served, is popped into the oven, or is brought under the scorching influence of a red hot salamander." 

Interesting, no? 

See more of the story from FoodReferences~ Baked Alaska History

[storiesbehindfood]

Tiramisu Stuffed French Toast from Green Eggs Café.

Tiramisu dates from the 1960s and is a popular dessert in Treviso, Italy. It originated in a small restaurant called Le Beccherie where they still make them today. They use ladyfingers soaked in a bitter strong coffee, mascarpone cream, and cocoa-powder to create this sweet treat.

Layered cakes have been popular for quite sometime, but it's an absolute marvel to combine coffee, zabaglione cream, and chocolate together-- a fantastic "pick-me-up"! 

Now, I don't have the money to venture into Italy, but having two of my favorite things-- French toast and Tiramisu-- close by will have to suffice. And you know what, I'm okay with that. 

[storiesbehindfood]

Red Velvet Pancakes from Green Eggs Café.

Did you know that original red velvet pancakes got the "velvet" part of their name not because they resembled red velvet dresses, but because their texture was velvety smooth? You can thank the buttermilk.