The other day I received a big shock at my local Shop-Rite supermarket. They had breadfruit for sale. I could barely contain my excitement. I'll explain. Years ago, way back in 2012 or 2013 or so, this Shop-Rite also had breadfruit. I noted it, and considered buying it, but ultimately I passed, thinking I would get it another time. (Maybe I was in a hurry or something, too--I can't recall.) Which turned out to be a big mistake. Because there wasn't another time. For years I looked for it, futilely, both there, and at the other groceries I went to in my travels across much of the Eastern U.S. Even Wegman's didn't have it! I repeatedly berated myself for not buying it when I had the chance. And this experience prompted me to almost always snap up exotics as soon as I see them, whatever the circumstances. Suffice to say, breadfruit became a much less dramatic, food version of Moby Dick for me. But, finally, I caught sight of my white whale.....
Breadfruit is quite delicate. It requires very high temperatures, and a whole lot of rainfall. Which it gets on its ancestral homelands, on various tropical Pacific islands. Currently, it's been successfully introduced to other areas with suitable climates, such as parts of Central and South America, and many islands in the Caribbean. It's a very valuable tree for humans, as it has several uses. The wood is often used to make boats. As a bonus, the wood is also resistant to shipworms and termites. The breadfruit tree's sticky latex sap is further useful in making watercraft, as it makes for an effective caulk to waterproof seals and joints. The latex can also function as a sort of "bird paper," to trap these creatures for food, or for their feathers. And then there's the fruit. A single tree is capable of producing dozens of individual, grapefruit or pumello-sized fruits, even up to 200 in a single season. Finally, the discarded parts of the fruit, and the tree's leaves, can be used to feed farm animals.
As a historical aside, its' almost difficult to discuss breadfruit without mentioning William Bligh, and the infamous Mutiny on The Bounty. The whole point of the 1787-89 voyage was to transport breadfruit trees from Tahiti to Britain's West Indies possessions, as food for the slaves there. Probably most people know about this from the several movies made about this incident. While these films have their artistic and entertainment merits, as history they're lacking. To whit, it appears that Bligh was unfairly portrayed, and is now remembered as being a villain, obsessed with the breadfruit trees at the expense of his poor crew. The mutiny is shown as being justified, a rebellion against a tyrannical, cruel leader. However, historian Caroline Alexander (and others) makes a compelling case for an alternate view in her excellent book, "The Bounty." Among others things, she points out that Bligh actually punished his crew less than the average ship captain of the time, and was actually obsessed almost to the point of absurdity with keeping his crew healthy. He did have a temper, and was known for occasional profane outbursts (although these seem laughably PG-rated to this modern reader), it's true. But it appears that the main reason for the mutiny was not Bligh's cruelty, but the crew's love of the long months spent on the island paradise of Tahiti, which in addition to its other benefits had women with much more liberal ideas of sexual activity. Long story short, after reading this book, I'm of the mind that Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers were the villains. Plus Bligh's long voyage back to a European-controlled port in a tiny lifeboat with the barest of navigational equipment is nothing short of amazing. Also, there's the bitter irony that the attempt (which was eventually successful after a second voyage) to bring breadfruit to the British islands in the Caribbean was a waste of time--the slaves refused to eat them. Anyway, I'll end this tangent to say that it looks like William Bligh got a bum rap, reputation-wise, and I strongly recommend Caroline Alexander's book to anyone interested in the subject.
But back to the actual food. My disdain for cooking is surely well known by now to even occasional readers. Alas, this time my hand was forced. Evidently you can eat breadfruit raw, but consumers vastly prefer it cooked. I checked out several recipes online, and there were three main options noted--roasting, frying, and boiling. I chose the latter, since it was by far the easiest, plus I was advised that roasting might dry out the fruit too much. The fruits themselves were roughly spherical, and about 4 inches (about 10 cm.) in diameter. The outer rind was a greenish-brown, and it was covered in little indentations that reminded me of a golf ball. The inner flesh was whitish, while the inedible heart was brownish, and rather stringy. First I soaked the fruits in cold water for several minutes, to remove debris and the whitish sap, which was as sticky as advertised. Then I cut up each fruit into quarters, cut out the heart, and removed the outer rind. I placed the quarter pieces of pulp in a large pot of water, and then boiled them for an hour. Periodically I turned the pieces, and added salt. When they were finished the pieces had turned into a light brownish color. I tried some breadfruit plain, and then tried other pieces with ketchup, then taco sauce, then brown mustard, then peanut butter, and then almond and cashew butter (the last two are talked about in last week's post). My parents were game, too, and had their samples with butter, and peanut butter. All of us found breadfruit to be pretty good. As the common name suggests, this is not a typical, sweet and juicy fruit--it's more like a vegetable, much like a potato. Plain it was rather bland, but with additives it was tasty. It also had a pleasant odor. I preferred mine with the mustard or ketchup--the savory flavors seemed to go better with this starchy fruit. But with the sweeter additives it was still okay. I'm guessing it's probably also good prepared in other ways, too, but of course that's only slightly informed speculation. So, I would recommend breadfruit. It was even relatively cheap for an imported fruit (mine was from Jamaica), being 2 for $4.
As for the writing update, I'm happy to report that the anthology I've been talking about in the past several weeks, "Hidden Animals: A Collection of Cryptid Fiction" recently met its monetary goal on Kickstarter. There is, though, still about a week to go for this campaign, and Dragon's Roost Press recently added a "stretch goal," and a new pledge level. You can read about it in the "Updates" section at:
https://kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsroostpress/hidden-animals-a-collection-of-cryptid-fiction
And thanks for the support. With the goal reached (even exceeded a bit), this bodes well for the book making its estimated May 2018 publishing date. I'll provide more info about this as I get it.
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Alternative Nut and Seed Butters
While I was in my local supermarket recently, I found myself in the "spreads" section. Just about all I saw were types of jams, marmalades, jellies, and such that are very common, or else aren't, but were ones I'd had before (see the May 22, 2015 and November 23, 2016 posts). But this time I took more notice of the other nut and seed butters besides the normal peanut butters. I didn't retry the hazel nut ones, since I consider these, especially Nutella, to be fairly common. I went with almond butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter.
Almonds, as I learned, are native to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Now they're also grown in places with a warm enough climate, such as Spain, Australia, and California in the U.S. Also, if there are any botanist reading this and becoming enraged (and in a weird way I kind of hope that's true), yes, technically the almonds we eat are not nuts, but are drupes. Wild almonds are toxic to humans, so people should only stick to the domesticated kinds. Nutritionally, almond butter has more manganese, potassium, fiber, and calcium than does peanut butter, and it's also a good source of magnesium, copper, iron, riboflavin, and Vitamin E. On the negative side, some folks have criticized the growing of almonds in times of drought, since the plant requires unusually high amounts of water.
I recently discussed another part of the cashew plant in my post about Brazilian beverages (see my October 21, 2017 post). Cashew butter is high in protein, Vitamin B, and unsaturated fats. During the Cold War Era in the U.S. (after World War II to the fall of the Soviet Union) cashew butter was a staple of many U.S. Civil Defense survival kits Consumers sometimes dip apple slices in it as a dip, or add it to smoothies and oatmeal.
In the U.S., sunflower butter was first tried commercially in the early 1980's. However this attempt didn't catch on, probably due to the spread's overly bitter taste, and unappetizing greenish color. In 2000 a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture teamed up with Red River Commodities to come up with an improved version. They altered the degree of roasting, experimented with different amounts of added sugar and salt, and used canola and cottonseed oils as a stabilizer. (And, they must have done something to diminish the green color, too.) The result was SunButter, which rolled out in 2002. This product did well enough that by 2011 it was available nationwide in big chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Walmart, Super Valu, Kroger, and Target. Sunflower butter is a good source of protein, Vitamin B, iron, fiber, and zinc. It's also eaten as a dip, or mixed into sandwiches. And once again, to quell the plant scientists' fury, the sunflower "seed" is actually a cypsela.
All three of the above are often used as other spread choices for people who have serious peanut allergies. But on to the ratings.
1) Barney smooth almond butter. Barney & Co. is California based, and the jar was 10 ounces (284 grams). Ingredients are blanched roasted almonds, organic and fair trade cane sugar, palm fruit oil, and sea salt. It's also Non-GMO, gluten-free, made in a peanut-free facility, kosher, certified vegan, and BPA-free. By color and texture this butter closely resembled peanut butter, as it was a light brown hue and a thick texture. I also thought it tasted a bit like peanut butter. I'm guessing the salt and sugar helped the flavor, too. I thought this was the best of the bunch. I had it plain, on Wheat Thins crackers, and then as a "AB & J", or a almond butter and (Welch's grape jelly) jelly sandwich. So pretty good overall.
2) Crazy Richard's cashew butter. Crazy Richard's is based out of Ohio, and the jar was 312 grams (11 ounces). Ingredients are only dry roasted cashews and sunflower oil. Product is gluten-free, non-GMO, BPA-free, vegan, and has no cholesterol, palm oil, trans fat, or salt and sugar. This one was light brown, and extremely oily in consistency. At room temperature it was almost a liquid, and even after being in the fridge for days it was still a thin goo. As with the almond kind I had this plain, on Wheat thins, and then with grape jelly as a sandwich. It was just okay--a tad bland. I suspect I would have liked it better if it had had salt and sugar in it. It did taste best in the CB & J format.
3) Wholesome Pantry organic sunflower butter. This was specially made for Shop-Rite supermarkets, and distributed by Wakefern Food Corp., out of New Jersey (no word on where the sunflowers were grown.) The ingredient list for this one is even more succinct--only sunflower seeds. The label further boasted that the product was certified organic, and didn't use processing methods like ionizing radiation and genetic engineering. Came in a 16 ounce (454 gram) jar. This butter was also very oily--soupy at room temperature, slightly more gooey after being chilled in the fridge. The color was a darker brown--reminiscent of darker mustards. Its flavor was a bit bitter and astringent. It was better on a Wheat Thin than plain. But definitely the weakest of the three. After reading about it, I wonder if I would have liked SunButter brand better, as once again, the bitter taste is presumably cut by the sugar and salt.
I should probably state that when it comes to the dry roasted nuts or seeds, I love cashews, think sunflowers are just okay, and only like almonds chopped up and mixed in other things, like in cookies, for example. Furthermore, peanut butter is my second favorite food, period, after cheese, so it was very unlikely that any of these would exceed, or even equal, my love of this food. But, none of these were completely horrible, either. Given my lukewarm-at-best reaction to them, coupled with their high prices (each was about $6-7), I don't think I'll get these again. Although I should say that my parents tried these, too, and liked them better them me.
Almonds, as I learned, are native to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Now they're also grown in places with a warm enough climate, such as Spain, Australia, and California in the U.S. Also, if there are any botanist reading this and becoming enraged (and in a weird way I kind of hope that's true), yes, technically the almonds we eat are not nuts, but are drupes. Wild almonds are toxic to humans, so people should only stick to the domesticated kinds. Nutritionally, almond butter has more manganese, potassium, fiber, and calcium than does peanut butter, and it's also a good source of magnesium, copper, iron, riboflavin, and Vitamin E. On the negative side, some folks have criticized the growing of almonds in times of drought, since the plant requires unusually high amounts of water.
I recently discussed another part of the cashew plant in my post about Brazilian beverages (see my October 21, 2017 post). Cashew butter is high in protein, Vitamin B, and unsaturated fats. During the Cold War Era in the U.S. (after World War II to the fall of the Soviet Union) cashew butter was a staple of many U.S. Civil Defense survival kits Consumers sometimes dip apple slices in it as a dip, or add it to smoothies and oatmeal.
In the U.S., sunflower butter was first tried commercially in the early 1980's. However this attempt didn't catch on, probably due to the spread's overly bitter taste, and unappetizing greenish color. In 2000 a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture teamed up with Red River Commodities to come up with an improved version. They altered the degree of roasting, experimented with different amounts of added sugar and salt, and used canola and cottonseed oils as a stabilizer. (And, they must have done something to diminish the green color, too.) The result was SunButter, which rolled out in 2002. This product did well enough that by 2011 it was available nationwide in big chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Walmart, Super Valu, Kroger, and Target. Sunflower butter is a good source of protein, Vitamin B, iron, fiber, and zinc. It's also eaten as a dip, or mixed into sandwiches. And once again, to quell the plant scientists' fury, the sunflower "seed" is actually a cypsela.
All three of the above are often used as other spread choices for people who have serious peanut allergies. But on to the ratings.
1) Barney smooth almond butter. Barney & Co. is California based, and the jar was 10 ounces (284 grams). Ingredients are blanched roasted almonds, organic and fair trade cane sugar, palm fruit oil, and sea salt. It's also Non-GMO, gluten-free, made in a peanut-free facility, kosher, certified vegan, and BPA-free. By color and texture this butter closely resembled peanut butter, as it was a light brown hue and a thick texture. I also thought it tasted a bit like peanut butter. I'm guessing the salt and sugar helped the flavor, too. I thought this was the best of the bunch. I had it plain, on Wheat Thins crackers, and then as a "AB & J", or a almond butter and (Welch's grape jelly) jelly sandwich. So pretty good overall.
2) Crazy Richard's cashew butter. Crazy Richard's is based out of Ohio, and the jar was 312 grams (11 ounces). Ingredients are only dry roasted cashews and sunflower oil. Product is gluten-free, non-GMO, BPA-free, vegan, and has no cholesterol, palm oil, trans fat, or salt and sugar. This one was light brown, and extremely oily in consistency. At room temperature it was almost a liquid, and even after being in the fridge for days it was still a thin goo. As with the almond kind I had this plain, on Wheat thins, and then with grape jelly as a sandwich. It was just okay--a tad bland. I suspect I would have liked it better if it had had salt and sugar in it. It did taste best in the CB & J format.
3) Wholesome Pantry organic sunflower butter. This was specially made for Shop-Rite supermarkets, and distributed by Wakefern Food Corp., out of New Jersey (no word on where the sunflowers were grown.) The ingredient list for this one is even more succinct--only sunflower seeds. The label further boasted that the product was certified organic, and didn't use processing methods like ionizing radiation and genetic engineering. Came in a 16 ounce (454 gram) jar. This butter was also very oily--soupy at room temperature, slightly more gooey after being chilled in the fridge. The color was a darker brown--reminiscent of darker mustards. Its flavor was a bit bitter and astringent. It was better on a Wheat Thin than plain. But definitely the weakest of the three. After reading about it, I wonder if I would have liked SunButter brand better, as once again, the bitter taste is presumably cut by the sugar and salt.
I should probably state that when it comes to the dry roasted nuts or seeds, I love cashews, think sunflowers are just okay, and only like almonds chopped up and mixed in other things, like in cookies, for example. Furthermore, peanut butter is my second favorite food, period, after cheese, so it was very unlikely that any of these would exceed, or even equal, my love of this food. But, none of these were completely horrible, either. Given my lukewarm-at-best reaction to them, coupled with their high prices (each was about $6-7), I don't think I'll get these again. Although I should say that my parents tried these, too, and liked them better them me.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--German Butterkase Cheese
I stumbled upon this one while shopping in my local Shop-Rite grocery. I selected it both because I'd never heard of it, or had it, and also because I haven't had many German cheeses in general. Evidently, England, France, Italy, and The Netherlands in particular are more proactive about exporting their cheeses, at least in the supermarkets and stores that I've checked. The brand I bought was made in Germany, by King's Choice, and imported/distributed by the DCI Cheese Company out of Wisconsin in the U.S.
Butterkase means "butter cheese" in German. It's a semisoft cheese made from cow's milk. It's mostly produced in Germany, Austria, and in Wisconsin. The history of this dairy product is surprisingly brief. It was invented in 1928, as a variant of an Italian cheese called Bel Paese, which in turn only dates back to 1906, from the town of Melzo. Butterkase is known for its buttery taste (of course), and consumers often compare its flavor to Muenster and Gouda. Its hues range from white to yellowish-orange, and its aging time is a scant 3-4 weeks. One website which I looked at called it a "new secret weapon for recipes or your next wine and cheese party," which I found amusingly dramatic. That website also touted its flavor as being mild enough for kids to enjoy, but sophisticated enough for adults. Butterkase is sometimes called "damenkase," ("ladies cheese" in German) because of its lack of odor and delicateness. You don't often see cheese-related examples of sexism, but I guess this is one, albeit a fairly innocuous one, I suppose.
The King's Choice website notes that they sell cheese from Denmark and Holland. But they don't mention Germany, nor is butterkase included on their product list. I'm pretty confident that this is the right company, as their logo is identical to that on the label for the cheese I got, so apparently their selling of butterkase is fairly recent, and the website hasn't been updated. The American distributer, the DCI Cheese Company, sells cheeses from Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. One of their products is the Spanish Manchego cheese, which I posted about on August 29, 2015. Also, this was the first time I recall seeing the flag of the Isle of Man, and I immediately liked its design. It's rather stylized and strange, being three legs stuck together in a wheel shape.
Anyway, the butterkase I purchased was a light yellowish color. I cut it up into small pieces and ate them plain. As reported, it was semisoft in texture. Also as advertised, I did think it had a mild, and buttery flavor. It had a slight tang to it as well. Overall I found it very pleasant. My father tried some too, and came away similarly impressed. So no real surprises here--the guy who adores cheese more than any other food in the world, who's never found a type of it that wasn't at least decent, enjoyed yet another. I certainly recommend it, and will probably buy this again. It was a tad expensive, being about $6 for an eight ounce (226 gram) chunk.
Also, forgive the repetition, but the Kickstarter for the "Hidden Animals: A Collection of Cryptids" horror anthology (in 2 volumes) is still ongoing, and I encourage folks to check out the book's information video, and consider contributing to what is shaping up to be a fun, interesting book. Thanks! The address is below:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsroostpress/hidden-animals-a-collection-of-cryptic-fiction
Butterkase means "butter cheese" in German. It's a semisoft cheese made from cow's milk. It's mostly produced in Germany, Austria, and in Wisconsin. The history of this dairy product is surprisingly brief. It was invented in 1928, as a variant of an Italian cheese called Bel Paese, which in turn only dates back to 1906, from the town of Melzo. Butterkase is known for its buttery taste (of course), and consumers often compare its flavor to Muenster and Gouda. Its hues range from white to yellowish-orange, and its aging time is a scant 3-4 weeks. One website which I looked at called it a "new secret weapon for recipes or your next wine and cheese party," which I found amusingly dramatic. That website also touted its flavor as being mild enough for kids to enjoy, but sophisticated enough for adults. Butterkase is sometimes called "damenkase," ("ladies cheese" in German) because of its lack of odor and delicateness. You don't often see cheese-related examples of sexism, but I guess this is one, albeit a fairly innocuous one, I suppose.
The King's Choice website notes that they sell cheese from Denmark and Holland. But they don't mention Germany, nor is butterkase included on their product list. I'm pretty confident that this is the right company, as their logo is identical to that on the label for the cheese I got, so apparently their selling of butterkase is fairly recent, and the website hasn't been updated. The American distributer, the DCI Cheese Company, sells cheeses from Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. One of their products is the Spanish Manchego cheese, which I posted about on August 29, 2015. Also, this was the first time I recall seeing the flag of the Isle of Man, and I immediately liked its design. It's rather stylized and strange, being three legs stuck together in a wheel shape.
Anyway, the butterkase I purchased was a light yellowish color. I cut it up into small pieces and ate them plain. As reported, it was semisoft in texture. Also as advertised, I did think it had a mild, and buttery flavor. It had a slight tang to it as well. Overall I found it very pleasant. My father tried some too, and came away similarly impressed. So no real surprises here--the guy who adores cheese more than any other food in the world, who's never found a type of it that wasn't at least decent, enjoyed yet another. I certainly recommend it, and will probably buy this again. It was a tad expensive, being about $6 for an eight ounce (226 gram) chunk.
Also, forgive the repetition, but the Kickstarter for the "Hidden Animals: A Collection of Cryptids" horror anthology (in 2 volumes) is still ongoing, and I encourage folks to check out the book's information video, and consider contributing to what is shaping up to be a fun, interesting book. Thanks! The address is below:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsroostpress/hidden-animals-a-collection-of-cryptic-fiction
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Spanish Cookies, Plus More Anthology News
I'll start with some gratuitous self-promotion once again. Back in my July 15th, 2017 post, I mentioned an upcoming anthology that accepted one of my short stories. Now I have more news. That anthology, "Hidden Animals: A Collection of Cryptids" is still a go. However, its publication date was pushed back a little, from Winter 2017 to Spring of 2018--probably in May. Also, in July I detailed 19 stories, along with the authors and cryptids that each featured. Evidently Dragon's Roost Press received more stories that they wanted to include, so now this anthology is being released, simultaneously, in two volumes, and featuring over 30 stories. These anthologies are Land Cryptids, and then Air/Sea/Vegetable Cryptids. (I'm very curious to read about vegetable-based monsters!)
Anyway, owner/editor Michael Cieslak has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the author's reimbursements, as well as for the Last Day Dog Rescue in Michigan. As is typical for these campaigns, donating gets you various perks, depending on the amount, including copies of one or both Cryptid volumes, other Dragon's Roost Press books, and even a dinner with the Dragon's Roost Press folks. Obviously much more information is present at the Kickstarter address. So I encourage everyone to head on over, and check it out. Luddite that I am, I wasn't able to get the link working smoothly; but if you type in the address included below, it will take you there. The campaign runs up to February 3, 2018. And I'll include more information on the anthologies as I get it. Thanks.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsroostpress/hidden-animals-a-collection-of-cryptic-fiction
As for the cookies, I discovered these randomly at the local Food Lion grocery in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina. These were all distributed by the Goya company (see May 25, 2016 post about Brazilian cookies), but were all made in Spain. I tried their Maria cookies, the chocolate Marias, and the Palmeritas.
Maria cookies go by several, albeit similar names, as they're also called Marie, Mariebon, and Marietta cookies. Or as Maria/Mariebon/Marietta biscuits, in certain areas of the world, especially Europe and former English colonies. Whatever they're called, they were invented in 1874, in England, to honor Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, who married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. Alfred was the son of Queen Victoria, and Maria was a member of the Romanovs, and was the aunt of the last Russian Emperor, Tsar Nicholas II. (For the record, the marriage reportedly wasn't the happiest, given the couple's lack of common interests, and Alfred's alleged philandering. Also, Maria's support of Germany (where she and Alfred lived and "ruled" as figurehead royalty for a time) against both her native Russia and her husband's native England during World War I didn't go over well, obviously.) However, despite what people may have thought of the real life impetus for the food, the biscuit/cookie proved to be very popular. They are eaten both as "tea biscuits" and sometimes mixed with other sweet spreads and desserts. They're also sometimes dunked in milk and then fed to infants as one of their first solid foods, as they're easy to digest. Marias are enjoyed on all the six settled continents, including in Canada, Australia, North Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, much of South America, and especially Spain.
Palmeritas, in contrast, aren't named for anyone famous--instead they're titled after their shape, which is usually patterned after a palm leaf. They're also sometimes known as elephant's ears, or pig's ears. (For an account of eating literal pig's ear, please see my January 20, 2013 post.) These pastry-like concoctions are French in origin.
Anyway, here's what I thought of these:
1) Maria cookies. These were round, and a yellowish-brown color. They were about 6 cm. in diameter (about 2.25 inches), and had a pattern etched along the circumference, along with tiny holes in the middle and "Goya Maria" embossed in the center as well. They were very plain. Not very sweet. Not bad, but not great, either. Mediocre.
2) Chocolate Maria cookies. Identical in shape, size, and etchings/embossments except that they were dark brown in color. Their flavor was pretty much the same, too. The chocolate did make these taste a bit better. Still fairly bland, though. I tried one dipped in milk, and this was somewhat better, too, but still only alright at best. (To be fair, my father tried these, too, and liked them more than I did.)
3) Palmeritas. These were yellowish-brown, and almost round, with a tiny indentation on one end, and long grooves inscribed along them. (I looked at other companies' take on this cookie style, and some of those were more heart-shaped, or elephant/pig-earred shape, I guess.) They were about 2 inches in diameter (about 5.5 cm.), and had visible whitish grains (sugar, I suppose) sprinkled on them. These were very reminiscent of the plain Marias--not very sweet, plain and blandish. Or disappointing--not terrible, but just.....blah.
Overall then, my impression of all 3 of these Spanish cookies wasn't very positive. Maybe it's a cultural, "ugly American" part of me, but I prefer my cookies to have a stronger, and sweeter taste. Like a Thin Mint, or a Pecan Sandy, or an Oreo, or a Nutter Butter, to name just a few off the top of my head. I can see how they would make good baby food, as they were so inoffensive and dull that they can surely be eaten by even the most delicate of constitutions. I won't be buying these again.
I'll conclude this by briefly mentioning some other foods that were named after people. Some were homages to famous people, some were named after their chef creators, and some were even titled after fairly random, anonymous folks.
1) Alexandertorte. This Scandanavian treat was believed to have been named to honor the visiting Tsar Alexander I in 1818.
2) Big Hearted Al candy bar. Named after early 20th century American politician Al Smith.
3) Lobster Alexis. After Grand Duke Alexis.
4) Fettucine Alfredo. Invented by, and named after Alfredo di Lelio, who said he created it for his pregnant wife.
5) Caesar salad. Invented by chef/hotel owner Caesar Cardino in his Tijuana establishment in the early 20th century.
6) Cobb salad. Some arguments about this one, but most attribute this food's invention to the owner of Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant, Robert H. Cobb.
7) Bananas Foster. This dessert was invented by New Orleans restaurant owner Owen Brennan, to honor his friend, and loyal customer Richard Foster, who was the New Orleans Crime Commissioner.
8) Oh Henry! candy bar. Reportedly named after a boy who used to frequent the Williamson chocolate company, and hit on the girls working there.
9) Kaiser rolls. These are one of the older ones. Invented in 1487 in Vienna, Austria, to honor the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III.
10) Oysters Rockefeller. Named after, of course, John D. Rockefeller.
11) Baby Ruth candy bar. There's compelling evidence that this was named after famous baseball player George Herman "Babe" Ruth. However, when the athlete threatened to sue the candy company, they claimed, dubiously, that it was named after former President Grover Cleveland's daughter. (I guess they thought the Clevelands wouldn't be as litigious.)
12) Salisbury Steak. This was invented and promoted by Dr. James H. Salisbury (1823-1905). He was apparently an early forerunner of the Atkins-type diet, as he thought people should avoid carbs, starches, fruit, and "poisonous" vegetables, and instead eat lots of meat.
13) Nachos. I was pleased to see that this one's history is definitively known. In 1943, in Mexico, hotel runner Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya needed a snack food for some customers, but the kitchen was nearly bare. He managed to come up with the first nachos, and they were given his nickname ever since.
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