[1] It may look formidable with 5 colored layers and fondant icing, but here’s the recipe if you’re up for the challenge (photos #1 and #3 © Wilton).

[2] Making just three layers with stabilized whipped cream frosting is much easier. Here’s the recipe (photo © McCormick) .

[3] Easier still: a simple layer cake (two layers or more) with green buttercream frosting.

[4] Green buttercream frosting plus themed sprinkles make any cake or cupcake holiday-ready. We found these sprinkles on Amazon (photo © Man Vs. Cakes).

[5] Chocolate ganache icing offset by a shamrock for a St. Patrick’s Day cupcake (photo © Georgetown Cupcake).

[6] Royal icing hardens to a shine, and is popularly used to decorate cookies (photo © Eleni’s Cookies).

[7] A lemon bundt cake with lemon icing. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[8] A chocolate glaze on a pistachio chocolate chip pound cake. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[9] A lemon cake made with a box mix, with a thin lemon glaze. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home) .

Do you have the energy to take on a five-layer ombre cake for St. Patrick’s Day? If so, here’s the recipe (photo #1). But there are other ways to make a cake…or a cupcake…or a cookie, to celebrate the occasion.

As we looked at our collection of recipes, we realized this was a good occasion to discuss frosting versus icing. So many online articles and recipes just get it wrong.
 
The words icing and frosting are used interchangeably, which is not correct, typically by calling frosting by the name of icing.

But check this out, and you’ll know better. Also, see the footnote* below.

> Here’s a source of recipes for many of these cake toppings.

But the big challenge is deciding exactly which frosting, icing, or glaze you want on your cake.

The history of confectioners or powdered sugar, which enabled the first icings, is below.
 
 
FROSTING VS. ICING VS. GLAZE: THE DIFFERENCES

1.WHAT IS FROSTING?

 
Different types of frosting include:

 
 
2. WHAT IS ICING?

 
Icing types include:

 
 
3. WHAT IS GLAZE?

 
Some different types of glaze:

 
________________

*Note that some bakers will substitute confectioners sugar in a frosting recipe and call it icing. Is it or isn’t it? If it comes out fluffy and spreadable, then it’s frosting, not icing. Some recipes, like this brown sugar frosting, use brown sugar and confectioners sugar.
 

Sugar cane has been around for millennia; the cane juice was widely used in India and China from the 4th century B.C.E. Refined sugar appears around 500 B.C.E., when residents of what is now India determined how to crystallize the juice into granulated sugar by boiling it down. Here’s more of the history of sugar cane and granulated sugar.

Confectioners sugar, also known as powdered sugar and 10x sugar (because it is milled 10 times smaller than granulated sugar), came later.

In the colonial period, both refined white sugar and brown sugar were commercially available in the shape of cones or loaves. The cane juice was boiled down into a thick, crystalline syrup, and poured into cone- or loaf-shaped molds to harden (here’s an illustration).

The cones or loaves had to be broken down with a hammer and chisel. For the dining room and tea table, you needed to nip the sugar into neat lumps with sugar nippers (like tongs—here’s a photo) to reduce to usable pieces [source 5].

The cone-shaped sugar loaf was common until the later 19th century. Today, piloncillo and other types of unrefined sugar are still sold in cones.

When powdered sugar was called for in a recipe, the cook had to use a mortar and pestle or a spice mill, to grind it from pieces of the loaf.

The earliest form of powdered sugar, used from the 16th century to the 18th century, was sugar that was grated from the loaves or cones—the way that sugar was sold in that period—and sifted.

Sugar was grated for use in recipes (sugar bowls contained lumps, as in “one lump or two?”), but the grated sugar could then be sifted. The finest grains that fell through the sieve were the first form of powdered sugar [source 1].

The earliest known appearance of the verb “to ice,” referring to cakes, dates from around 1600; the noun “icing” dates from 1683 [source 2].

In all likelihood, the term derived from the blanket of white grains of powdered sugar topping a cake, looking like wintery ice.

Covering cakes with powdered sugar or other decoration seems to have been introduced in the 17th century. According to one source, the first documented record of frosting or icing appears around 1655, made with eggs, sugar, and rosewater. The icing was applied to the cake then hardened in the oven. The frosted wedding cake appeared about 100 years later [source 3].

One source claims that the word “frosting” comes later, in 1750 [source 2]—doubtlessly, the vision of winter frost led to the name.

Yet a third reference [source 3] says that the first published recipe for frosting is found in The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald, published in 1769. However, this source further notes, frosting is thought to have been around a least 200 years before the publication.

Tired of using that mallet and tongs to break down the sugar cone? In the 1800s, grocery stores had portable mills to grind lumps of sugar into granules [source 4].

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) came machine-milled granulated sugar. Powdered sugar, similar to what is available today, was available to the confectionery industry by the end of the 18th century.

As the technology for processing sugar advanced, powdered sugar became affordable to home cooks in the 19th century. It became easy to create icings for cakes [source 1].

Buttercream came later. The first buttercream frosting was made in Germany in 1915 [source 3].
 
 

We first learned about Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar‡‡‡ when Wyke Farms, the U.K.’s largest independent cheese producer and producer of renewable energy, wrote to tell us that its prize-winning Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar has been certified as the world’s first carbon-neutral Cheddar. The certification shows consumers that a company has measured and offset its entire carbon footprint, and that it’s working to reduce future emissions*.

First, hats off to Wyke Farms. Producing carbon-neutral food is one thing that manufacturers can do to fight climate change, and you’ll be seeing more brands jumping on the rather-essential bandwagon.

For sheer deliciousness, Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar is also our Top Pick Of The Week.

Since 1861, Wyke Farms has been making cheese and butter with milk from grass-fed cows grazing the lush pastures of the Mendip Hills† in the center of the Cheddar making region in Somerset, England.

The milk used to produce their Cheddar is cultured with vegetarian rennet and is hormone- and rBST-free.

Their cheeses have won more national awards in the U.K. than any other farmhouse Cheddar.

What’s the difference between farmhouse Cheddar and simply, Cheddar?

What distinguishes farmhouse Cheddar from the mass-produced Cheddar (a.k.a. “factory Cheddar”) starts with the raw ingredients. The best producers use milk from grass-fed cows that produce good levels of fat and protein.

Such producers stop using the cows’ milk for their farmhouse cheese once cows are brought indoors for wintering on silage.

The company chose its flagship Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar as the first product to be certified carbon neutral. It also is shipped in vacuum-packed containers that do not require refrigeration.

> The history of Cheddar cheese.

> The history of cheese.

> The different types of cheese.
 
 
ABOUT IVY’S RESERVE VINTAGE CHEDDAR

Do you like your Cheddar strong and full-flavored, with crunchy calcium lactate** crystals?

Then you’ll want to get your hands on some Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar as soon as possible.

Made in the prime Cheddar-making region of Somerset, England, this beautiful Cheddar is aged up to 18 months. The result is creaminess, tiny bits of crunchiness (tyrosine crystals†), complexity of flavor, and a nutty, rounded finish.

The award-winning Cheddar is named after Grandmother Ivy, who founded the dairy with her husband in 1861. Beyond the care taken to produce the company’s other Cheddars, Ivy’s Reserve is made with a secret recipe.

Grandma Ivy wrote it down—and thank goodness, since for most of human history, and even into the last century, recipes were only memorized. That’s because most people could not read and write. Ivy’s recipe is now kept locked in a safe on the farm.

For many years, this special cheese was only made as Christmas gifts for family and friends. But demand grew, and ultimately, it was made commercially.

Not surprisingly, demand continues to grow—which you’ll understand as soon as you taste it.

Ivy’s Reserve is matured for 18 months under wood†† to bring out an unmatched “rounded” flavor profile.

Slightly sweet, nutty, and complex, the rich flavor and sharp tang are followed by a lasting mellowness. This award-winning Cheddar cheese is everything that a Cheddar from Somerset, the home of Cheddar, should be.

We love the tiny white crunchy bits in the paste of the cheese. They’re calcium lactate crystals, which can form as the cheese ages and can also appear as a white film or white deposits on the outside of the cheese**. Less experienced cheese eaters often mistakenly identify it/them as mold. They are completely harmless when eaten and are considered a sign of a quality, well-aged cheese with good flavor.
 
 
WHERE TO FIND IVY’S RESERVE VINTAGE CHEDDAR

Distribution is expanding as we write. Ivy’s Reserve is available in packs of 1.1lb (500g) in some branches of Costco and Sam’s Club. But you can purchase it online at iGourmet. Check with other cheese purveyors.

Grandmother Ivy used to say, “if you look after nature then nature will look after you.” She had the deepest respect for nature and a love for the countryside. Ivy’s Reserve is produced respectfully adhering to her century-old principles.

She would undoubtedly be very pleased with the carbon-neutral (PAS 2060) certification. And you will undoubtedly be very pleased with Ivy’s Vintage Reserve Cheddar.
 
 
ABOUT WYKE FARMS

Wyke Farms Ltd is a family run company set in the heart of England’s Somerset County in South West England, long known for its fine Cheddar cheeses. It contains the village of Cheddar, which gave its name to the cheese.

The mild Somerset climate, with long summer days and rain showers, creates lush grass. That grass, in turn, helps to make the local milk particularly rich and creamy.

In Somerset, the art of traditional cheese making has been practiced by the Clothier family since 1861, started by Ivy and Tom Clothier and a family recipe for Cheddar.

Three generations later, grandsons Richard and Tom run the cheese-making operations with their father John, while grandsons David and Roger run the family dairy farming operations.

Today, Wyke Farms is one of the largest independent cheese makers and milk processors in the U.K., producing more than 16,000 tons of Cheddar per year. Wyke Farms Cheddar is sold throughout the U.K. and in 160 countries worldwide.

Different types of Cheddar—Mature, Extra Mature, Vintage, and Ivy’s Vintage Secret Recipe—have been made using the same award-winning 160-year-old recipe. (Wyke Vintage Reserve is matured for 15 months, not to be confused with the 18-month-matured, carbon-neutral Ivy’s Vintage Reserve Cheddar).

The cheese is aged in wooden maturing boxes†† and is constantly monitored by a master cheese grader until it is ready for release.

Wyke Farms has worked closely with Carbon Trust, the world’s leading independent certification body for carbon footprints, to meet the British PAS 2060‡ requirements to qualify for carbon neutral status.

For more information visit WykeFarms.com.

________________

*Companies purchase carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality. Here’s more about it.

[1] Look for this beautiful cheese, Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar, at some Costco and Sam’s Club stores, online at iGourmet, and fine cheese purveyors (photos #1 through #4 © Wyke Farms).

[2] Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar with apples, pickled onions, and great crackers.

[3] Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar with tomato chutney, walnuts, and raisin crisps. Yum!

[4] Another pairing: tomato chutney and rosemary water biscuits.

[5] Or, serve fresh figs, walnuts, and caperberries. Look closely and you can see the white coating on the rind: calcium lactate crystals**, a sign of a well-agedd cheese.

[6] One of the logos for carbon neutral certification (image © SCS Global Services).

[7] Look closely at this American-made Cavemaster Reserve Stockinhall Cheddar and you’ll see the calcium lactate and tyrosine crystals**. The cheese was named Best Of Show over thousands of cheeses at the 2019 American Cheese Society Awards. We’ve appended a larger photo to the end of this article (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

**Calcium lactate crystals cause the powdery white “film” or “smear” on the surface of fully aged, mature cheeses including Cheddar. Tyrosine crystals are the tiny white crunchy bits in the paste of the cheese. They form when proteins in the cheese break down and begin to unravel during the aging process. Amino acids called tyrosines are released and cluster together into hard crystals. Here’s more about them.

‡The PAS 2060 is an internationally recognized specification for carbon neutrality and sets requirements for quantification, reduction and offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions for organizations, products and events.

††For centuries or longer, artisan cheeses have been placed onto wooden boards in an aging room. Many kinds of cheese—including Beaufort, Cheddar, and Parmigiano Reggiano—are aged this way. Sometimes, wooden molds or boxes are used as well. During the aging process, distinctive flavors and textures develop; and for most cheeses, a rind forms. These developments are abetted by benign bacteria that grow and contribute to the cheese’s flavor.

‡‡‡Why is Cheddar capitalized? Because it’s the name of a village in England. Those geographic locales that give their name to products are capitalized—Asiago, Brie, Edam, Gouda, Gorgonzola, Munster, Stilton, etc. American cheese is, naturally, capitalized. If the cheese is generic, e.g. blue cheese, feta, goat cheese, mozzarella.
 
 

[8] A close look at the calcium lactate and tyrosine crystals in this Cavemaster Reserve Stockinhall Cheddar. This American-made Cheddar, created at Cornell University’s College Of Agriculture and Life Sciences for Murray’s Cheese, uses milk from Old Chatham Creamery in New York State (photo © Murray’s Cheese).
 
 

[1] Pop the corn, grab the milk, and enjoy a bowl of cereal. The recipe is below (photo © National Popcorn Board).

[2] It’s easy to reach for the sugar bowl, but consider brown sugar, demerara (raw) sugar, or maple syrup as alternatives (photo © Eduardo Casajus Gorostiaga | Unsplash).

[3] Fun for brunch: Set up a breakfast bar with popcorn and different toppings (photo © National Popcorn Board).

[4] Popcorn atop a whole-grain “granola” of amaranth, buckwheat, oats, and sesame, topped with fresh fruit. Here’s the recipe (photo © Eat Smarter).

[5] Popcorn kernels. Popcorn, Zea mays var. everta), is the only corn that will pop (photo © Markus Winkler | Unsplash).

[6] Breakfast popcorn and milk. Here’s the recipe (photo © John Kernick | Food And Wine).

[7] Popcorn in the field. Here’s how to grow your own popcorn (photo © Espoma).

March 7th is National Cereal Day. Cereal is what Americans eat for breakfast, but in the bigger picture, cereal refers to a group of grasses that are grown for their edible components: grains composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. They include barley, kamut, maize (corn), millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, and wheat. Cereal grains are the seeds of the grasses.

All are members of the Poaceae family, also called the grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture (the latter two are commonly referred to collectively as grass).

The edible cereals divide from the family level into different tribes, genuses, and species.

Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat, chia, quinoa, and wild rice, are referred to as pseudocereals.

Most cereals are annual plants; one planting yields one harvest. They divide into cool-season cereals (barley, oats, rye, spelt, triticale, and wheat) that cease to grow in and warm-season cereals that are tender and prefer hot weather (maize, millet, rice, sorghum, teff).
 
 
STAPLE FOODS FOR THE WORLD

Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop, and are one of the key staple crops*. About 80% of the protein and 50% of the calories consumed by humans and livestock come from cereal grains. The U.S. is a major supplier of cereal grains to the rest of the world [source].

In their natural, unprocessed, whole grain form, cereals are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. When processed by the removal of the bran, and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrates. (Here’s more about whole grain cereals.)
 
 
RECIPE: POPCORN CEREAL BOWL

Popcorn is made from a particular variety of maize (Zea mays var. everta) which expands and puffs up when heated. It’s well-known to Americans as a snack, but Colonial Americans also ate it as a breakfast cereal.

Not only is freshly popped popcorn a delicious breakfast cereal; it’s also a whole grain—and it’s food fun, to boot!

A recipe follows, as does the history of grains.

There are a variety of choices for the topping. Truth to tell, we were out of berries but we had a bag of trail mix. That was our first topping, until we replenished our supply of berries.

Thanks to the National Popcorn Board for this recipe. Check their website for many more popcorn recipes.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the popcorn in a bowl and add cold milk, just like any breakfast cereal.

2. SPRINKLE with the optional sugar and top with your choice of stir-ins. Dig in!
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CEREAL

Cereals were the foundation of human civilization. Most archaeologists and paleoanthropologists agree that agriculture began around 10,000 B.C.E., when nomadic people living near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia (the “Fertile Crescent,” which is modern-day Iraq) settled into villages and began cultivating and breeding wheat. Some believe that the desire for a fixed residence for the growing of wheat was based on the demand for beer.

 
Pursuant to this article on popcorn: corn was domesticated about 10,000 years ago in what is now Mexico. The archaeological record shows that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years. Fossil evidence from Peru suggests that corn was popped as early as 4,700 B.C.E. [source].

Agriculture produced food that enabled the support of increased populations, leading to larger societies and eventually the development of cities. Since agriculture bred immobility, it led to the accumulation of material goods.

And cereals determined how large, and for how long, an army could be mobilized [source].

The word “cereal” is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture. and grain. The Romans credited her with the discovery of spelt, an ancient strain of wheat, and with the knowledge of how to grow, fertilize and harvest cereal crops.

By the early 1700s, the rice and oats had been imported to America from the Old World and were found to be hardy grains for the terrain and climate. Europe’s staple grain, wheat, did not fare well on the East Coast of the continent; wheat flour had to be imported.

Maize, which was grown by the Native Americans, became an everyday part of the American diet for bread, breakfast cereal, corn pudding, johnnycakes, and more—even pound cake. The steamroller mill subsequently made it possible to quickly process wheat before it decayed.

In the early 19th century, Swedish immigrants began settling in the Midwest, planting wheat and eventually turning the area into a major wheat producer. In 1874, Russian immigrants brought seeds for Turkey Red Wheat to Kansas. It was drought resistant and became a source for many varieties of dwarf wheat grown in the U.S.

In 1834 the mechanical revolution in farming began when Cyrus McCormick introduced his mechanical reaper, which allowed two field hands to do the work that had previously taken five to do. In 1847, he patented another important farm implement, a disk plow that facilitated the planting of even rows of cereal grasses.

In the 1890s, combine harvesters were introduced. Soon, they would be powered by internal combustion engines and a single farm could harvest almost 20 times as much land as could have been harvested at the outset of the 19th century. That led to efficient corporate farming possible, and the amount of wheat available for the U.S. to export worldwide [source].

While man had boiled cereal grains into porridge since the earliest times, the growth in corn, oat and wheat production led to the packaged breakfast cereals that people worldwide enjoy today.

The U.S. is also the world’s top popcorn producer [source].

________________

*A food staple is a food that makes up the dominant part of a population’s diet. They are eaten regularly—some are eaten daily—and supply a major proportion of the populations’ energy and nutritional needs. Cassava, maize, plantains, potatoes, rice, sorghum, soybeans, sweet potatoes, wheat, and yams are some of the leading food crops around the world [source].

†Central Asia is a region in Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which comprises the modern states of China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan.
 
 

Are there days when you pace around the kitchen, wanting a special treat—maybe a fresh, warm cookie? But you don’t have the will to bake from scratch, so you keep searching. And then you give up and eat some Nestle’s morsels from the bag or some teaspoons of preserves from the jar? Not satisfying, but it has to do.

We’ve been there. And even if you can’t relate to this tale, how about this one:

You keep some packages of Home Dough gourmet frozen, individually shaped cookie dough on hand. Then whether you want just one cookie or an assortment, you just remove the required number from the package.

Then, melty, gooey, mouthwatering cookies are just 10 minutes away!

With Home Dough in your freezer, you can easily bake cookies at the last minute: unexpected guests, visiting the neighbors, movie night, or general sweet cravings.
 
 
TAKE A BITE!

Home Dough currently has three flavors:

 
Each is a delight, with a shout-out to Molasses Ginger because…where can you find a good molasses ginger cookie?

Gluten-free versions are coming soon.

Founder Jami Changaris launched Home Dough after spending more than 50 years fine-tuning cookie recipes for her five children and their friends, classmates, teammates, and teachers.

Because of the high demand, she crafted her cookie dough in balls to be frozen in advance, ready to go into the oven whenever cookies called.

Unlike refrigerated, store-bought cookie doughs, Home Dough is preservative-free (that’s why it needs to be frozen).

Why is it “gourmet” cookie dough?

All of the ingredients are first-class: all-natural, mostly organic, and Non-GMO Project Verified.

All that’s left is for you lay in a store of them. The bags of eight ready-to-bake dough balls don’t take up much space in the freezer, so there’s no reason to wait.

> ORDER YOUR HOME DOUGH TODAY.<

And consider sending a variety pack to your favorite cookie-lover!
 
 
> The history of cookies.

> 30 cookie holidays to celebrate below.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH

The idea to sell refrigerated cookie dough was born in the 1950s, an era time when women were largely homemakers who made almost all of the family’s food from scratch.

Nestlé and Pillsbury introduced the first commercially-available premade cookie dough in supermarkets [source].

Nestle sold refrigerated logs of chocolate chip cookie dough, and Pillsbury Slice ‘N Bake Cookies were launched in four flavors: Butterscotch Nut, Crunchy Peanut, Sugar Cookie, and Toasted Coconut.

Otis Spunkmeyer introduced retail frozen cookie dough to grocery stores in 1990 (previously it was available commercially to foodservice operations) [source].

Don’t Eat Raw Cookie Dough

Whether packaged or home-made, Americans learned to love to eat raw cookie dough.

But eating raw cookie dough can pose a serious health risk, namely the foodborne illnesses of salmonella and E. coli, which can arise from uncooked flour and eggs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly discourages the consumption of all food products containing raw eggs or raw flour, and Home Dough includes the warning on its bags of dough.

So tempting though it is, don’t eat untreated cookie dough in its uncooked state.

Yes, there are brands of edible cookie dough—including the chunks added to ice cream—that avoid these hazards by using pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour.
 
 
COOKIE HOLIDAYS

Brownies and other bar cookies are included in this list. Bars are cookies because they are eaten with the fingers, as opposed to cake, which requires a fork.

[1] Fresh from the oven: a stack of chocolate chip cookies (all photos © Home Dough).

[2] Keep the packages in the freezer until you’re ready for a warm, aromatic cookie.

[3] We were thrilled with Molasses Spice, a cookie flavor often overlooked.

[4] Oatmeal Toffee is a nice switch from the conventional Oatmeal Raisin cookie.

[5] America’s favorite cookie flavor: Chocolate Chip.

[6] In just 10 minutes, frozen balls of cookie dough become irresistible snacks.

[7] A stack of all three flavors. Bring on the milk!

[1] Delicious warm potato salad with bacon, watercress, green beans, and a Dijon vinaigrette (photos #1 and #3 © Colavita) .

[2] You can find baby, or creamer, potatoes, in three colors: yellow, red and purple (photo © Melissa’s).

[3] Roast the bacon until crisp, then dice. Roasting the bacon cuts down on smell and spatter (photo © iGourmet).

[4] Fresh watercress adds brightness and a layer of peppery flavor (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] Crunchy green beans layer on more flavor (photo © Deshmukh | Wesual | Unsplash) .

[6] Colavita makes EVOO, balsamic and wine vinegars, and other fine products. Take a look at the line.

[7] Grainy mustard was the original form of the condiment (photo © Maille).

This potato salad recipe has enough green in it for St. Patrick’s Day—and it’s a wonderfully flavorful recipe. Created by Colavita, roasted baby potatoes combine with bacon, watercress, and green beans in a delicious Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Of course, it’s delicious year-round, served either warm (as indicated below) or chilled.
 
 
> The history of bacon.

> The history of potatoes.

> The history of mustard.

> The history of watercress.
 
 
RECIPE: POTATO SALAD WITH BACON, WATERCRESS,
GREEN BEANS & DIJON VINAIGRETTE
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Dressing

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, Dijon mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the olive oil to form a thick dressing. Set aside. The dressing can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

2. POSITION a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the strips of bacon on the parchment.

3. ROAST the bacon in the oven until it’s cooked and crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Once cool, slice the bacon into ½” pieces. On another large rimmed baking sheet…

4. TOSS the potatoes with 1 tablespoon Colavita olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile…

5. BLANCH the green beans. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon salt and the green beans. Boil for 4 minutes, drain.

6. POUR half of the dressing directly over the hot potatoes on the baking sheet. Toss until the potatoes absorb the dressing. Transfer the potatoes to a large salad bowl.

7. ADD the watercress, green beans, and bacon to the salad bowl and toss, adding 2 more tablespoons of the dressing if needed.

8. SEASON to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF WATERCRESS

Watercress (Nasturtium officianale) is a salad green noted for its distinctive peppery, mustard-like flavor. It’s packed with vitamins and other nutrients, some of which are calcium, folic acid, iron, and vitamins A and C.

The archaeological record of watercress can be found dating back 3,000 years to the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. It grew wild in cool flowing streams, where it grows submerged, floating on the water. It was subsequently cultivated.

Watercress is a member of the Brassicaceae family of antioxidant-rich vegetables*. It is believed to have originated in or around ancient Greece, and remains an integral part of Mediterranean diets.

While the ancients knew nothing about vitamins and minerals, the Persians did observe that their soldiers were healthier when watercress was part of their daily diet.

The Persian King Xerxes (519 B.C.E.-466 B.C.E.) ordered his soldiers to eat watercress to keep them healthy during their long marches. It was also used by soldiers to both prevent and cure scurvy.

A later general, Napoleon, Napoleon (1769-1821) was a huge watercress enthusiast [source].

Watercress has long been regarded medicinally. Among other uses, the Romans treated insanity with watercress and vinegar. Roman emperors ate watercress to help them make “bold decisions.”

In Crete, islanders still swear by its aphrodisiac powers, and ancient watercress recipes are handed down from one generation to the next.

The peppery salad green was also used as a breath freshener and palate cleanser.

The Greeks also observed the health benefits of watercress. When Hippocrates, the father of medicine, founded the first hospital on the Island of Kos around 400 B.C.E., he is said to have located it hospital beside a stream so that he could grow a plentiful supply of watercress to help treat his patients [source]. One important use was to treat blood disorders.

Later, the herbalist John Gerard (1542-1612) promoted watercress as a remedy for scurvy [source].

One of Britain’s best-known dishes, watercress soup, became very popular in the 17th century when it was claimed that it cleansed the blood.

Across the pond, watercress was recorded as a menu item at the very first Thanksgiving celebration, in 1621.

Lewis and Clark regularly found watercress on their trek across the Louisiana Purchase in 1804-1806. The U.S. Army planted watercress in the gardens of forts along the western trails, as food for their soldiers.

In the 1994 book, James Cook and the Conquest of Scurvy, author Francis E. Cuppage notes that Captain James Cook was able to circumnavigate the globe three times (between 1768 and 1779), due in part to his use of watercress in the diet of his sailors.

The first notation of watercress cultivated on the Continent is by Nicholas Messier in Erfurt, Germany, in the mid-16th century. Cultivation began in England in 1808s, when a farmer near London popularize it as a salad ingredient.

Typical of food trends, it was not long before it became increasingly difficult to meet the sudden increase in demand for watercress [source].

Eating a bag of watercress is said to be a good cure for a hangover. We don’t know anyone who’s tried it, but a peppery watercress salad would be refreshing after a long night.

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*The high-antioxidant Brassicaceae (brah-si-KAY-see-ay) family of flowering plants—formerly the Cruciferae) and sometimes called the Brassicas or cruciferous vegetables for short—are nutritional powerhouses, packed with potent, cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Members include arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, horseradish/wasabi, kale, kohlrabi, mizuna, mustard greens, radish, rapeseed/canola, rapini, rutabaga, tatsoi, turnips, and watercress, among others.

Watercress is often referred to as a member of the “mustard family.” The Brassicaceae family is commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family.