History

March 19, 2009March 21, 2009

Rock salt and pond scum

A fascinating post over at Rancho Gordo discusses tequesquite. That’s a natural salt that has been used in Mexican cooking since pre-Columbian times, including for nixtamalization, a process that makes maize easier to process, tastier and more nutritious.

The post also mentions the alga known as tecuilayl (Spirulina geitleri). This was apparently an important food for the Aztecs. ((Alas, it doesn’t make it into FAO’s guide to the seaweed industry.)) Our resident expert on Mexico says it’s the perfect complement to a succulent steamed axolotl in chile sauce. Yummie.

March 18, 2009

Water, water everywhere

A couple of fun stories about the historical dimension of the exploitation of aquatic biodiversity from Britain’s Daily Mail this morning. First, how Google Earth revealed a thousand-year-old fish trap off the coast of Wales. And second, how the reintroduction of the beaver, absent since it was hunted to extinction in the 16th century, could reduce water bills.

March 16, 2009March 17, 2009

Garden to the pharoahs reincarnated

Sennufer lived in the 1600 years ago and took care of the fields and vineyards of two Egyptian Pharaohs. Among his many titles were Chancellor to Amenhotep II, Overseer of the Granaries of Amen, and even High Priest of Amen in Menisut. He also created one of the first gardens, and left one of the first garden plans. Now comes news that Egypt might just be considering re-creating Sennufer’s garden on the east bank of the Nile at Luxor. Why mention it here? Because Sennufer, like all sensible gardeners, drew no great distinctions between the purely ornamental and the purely useful, and mixed flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and vines in a very modern fashion. Via.

March 13, 2009

Reading at the table

Here’s a coincidence: reviews of books on food and drink.

March 9, 2009March 8, 2009

Pisco punched

A blog post at Alcademics.com precipitated a very educational bit of surfing yesterday. I found out about the existence of E Clampus Vitus, a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of the heritage of the Old West, which of course includes its drinks. I found out that there’s a drink called pisco punch, which I now desperately want to taste. I found out that there’s a dispute between Chile and Peru over the name “pisco.” And I found out that the deadly Pisco earthquake of 2007 destroyed most wineries in the area, though the vineyards (the grape used to make pisco is mainly muscat, but there are other varieties as well) themselves largely survived. What I haven’t been able to find out is how the rebuilding is going. A year ago the news was not good. You can still find pisco on the shelves, so I guess the wineries are back in action. Or is it mainly the Chilean stuff?