[1] A hearty meal: corn chowder topped with a fish fillet (photos #1 and #2 and recipe © Sylvia Fountaine | Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] A view in the pan.

[3] Clam chowder served in a bread bowl is a popular restaurant preparation. Here’s how to make a bread bowl (photo © Arch Rock Fish | Santa Barbara [now closed]).

[4] The original chowders were topped with a biscuit. Feel free to add one; but it became much easier to serve the chowders with store-bought oyster crackers or saltines (photo © Wendy Rake | Pexels).

[5] Saltines are oyster crackers’ flat brother. They were invented in 1876 at F. L. Sommer & Company in St. Joseph, Missouri when the company used baking soda to leaven its wafer-thin cracker. Initially called the Premium Soda Cracker, it was later named Saltines because of the baking salt component. They quickly became popular (photo © Sterb B | Wikipedia).

It’s winter, it’s cold, and February 25th is National Clam Chowder Day.

We’ve got several clam chowder recipes below, but we wanted to take advantage of a chowder holiday to share this recipe with you:

Corn chowder topped with your choice of cod, haddock, halibut, salmon, sea bass, scallops or shrimp.

You can choose one fish or two—and yes, you can even add clams.

Before we get to the recipe, we’d like to share some comments from the great American chef Jasper White, in his book 50 Chowders.

He shares that the oldest-known printed chowder recipe is for fish chowder, from the Boston Evening Post on September 23, 1751.

It calls for onions, pork, salt, pepper, parsley, sweet marjoram, savory and thyme—ingredients that are still used today.

The chowder was served with a biscuit topping. The biscuit was later replaced by oyster crackers or saltines served with the soup instead of on top of it.

But if you’re up for baking biscuits, revive the tradition!

Chowder is much older than the first printed recipe, of course. Here’s the history of chowder.
 
 
RECIPE: CORN & BASIL POTATO CHOWDER WITH WHITEFISH OR SEAFOOD OF CHOICE

Although you might prefer to make this recipe with summer corn, we used frozen corn with no perceivable diminution of flavor.

The recipe is ready in 30 minutes. Add the optional half-and-half for extra creaminess.

If you’re using corn on the cob, see the note below under Preparation.

This recipe was created for the Idaho Potato Commission by food blogger Sylvia Fountaine of Feasting At Home.

Take a look at her blog: You’ll want to make everything!

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

2. ADD the potatoes and corn. Sauté 2-3 minutes; then add the stock or water and the salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer 10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. While the potatoes are simmering…

3. HEAT the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in another skillet. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and sear each side over medium high heat. Lower the heat and cook to your desired doneness. Set aside. When the potatoes are fork tender…

4. UNCOVER the potatoes and cook off a little of the liquid. If desired, add a few tablespoons of half and half or soy milk for a little extra creaminess (cook for a minute or two to thicken).

5. STIR in half of the basil. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Right before serving…

6. STIR in the remaining basil, saving a little for the top garnish. Dish up the chowder and top with the seared fish and basil.

NOTE: If using corn cobs, for even more corn flavor, scrape the cobs with the end of a knife and gather the “milk.” Place this along with the cobs (you can cut them smaller) into a pan or pot, covered with water, and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes to make corn stock. Reduce to one cup.
 
 
CORN TRIVIA

Corn is the third-most consumed cereal grain in the world, after rice and wheat, respectively.

Many of us eat corn as a vegetable, not a grain. According to the Whole Grains Council, corn is both grain and vegetable, depending on its state.

 

MORE CHOWDER RECIPES

 
 
MORE TO DISCOVER

*One average corn on the cob yields 3/4 up kernels. A 10-ounce package of frozen corn yields about 2½ cups. If you do use fresh corn cobs, don’t throw out the spent cobs. You can use them to add depth and flavor to other soups and chowders. Stick them in the freezer until you need them.

Wedge fries are our kind of “food fun,” combining qualities of fries and baked potatoes.

The outside is a golden crunch, the inside is soft and crumbly like a baked potato.

The wedges are cut into what one of our colleagues called “dill pickle shape.”

They can be baked or fried, seasoned with anything you like or left plain but for salt and pepper.

 
Head below for a super-easy baked wedge recipe.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF WEDGE FRIES, STARTING WITH JOJOS

It seems that in the general category of wedge fries, there was a pioneer called the jojo (photos #5 and #6).

The jojo is a breaded potato wedge fried in a pressure fryer. They are often where fried chicken is served, because the same pressure fryer cooks both (separately, of course).

The resulting wedge has a “shatter-crispy outer layer” with a “precise texture…that mystically sets the jojo apart,” according to one connoisseur.

After these jojos became the rage—in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest, a plainer potato wedge trickled down to with who do regular fat frying or bake their fries.
 
 
WHO INVENTED JOJOS?

Several restaurant professionals claim to have invented the jojo.

Whoever the claimant might be, the ability to make jojos was created thanks to the new pressure fryers that food-service manufacturers were promoting in the mid-20th century.

One such was the Flavor-Crisp Pressure Fryer [source].

Three feet tall, it was a vast improvement over the open-air fryers, which required gallons of hot vegetable oil.

The pressure fryer used less oil, and the oil was temperature-controlled.

Thus, super-hot oil allowed chicken to be fried exceedingly quickly. The chicken retained more moisture that resulted in juicier meat.

It was a hit.

As the theory goes, cooks wondered what else they could throw into their new fryers, and potatoes were an obvious choice: Places that sold fried chicken invariably sold french fries.

Fiesta Pizza & Chicken of Akron, Ohio claims that its founders introduced “jojo potatoes” in the mid-1960s [source].

A son of one of the founders said that his dad got the idea of pressure-frying lightly-breaded wedge-cut potatoes after learning the technique from a cook in Youngstown.

His cooks cut the potatoes in fours, but they were too thick to cook through the middle. Cutting them into eights became the way to go [source].

Another Claim

Another source claims that, beyond Ohio, the wedge fry also has roots in Portland, Oregon.

A food equipment company, Nicewonger sold Flavor-Crisp pressure fryers in Portland beginning in the 1950s. The founder’s son says that his father, Paul Nicewonger, was at a restaurant trade show demonstrating the pressure fryer in 1958. His booth happened to next to an Idaho potato booth.

Nicewonger took some of the Idaho russets, cut them up and pressure-fried them. Attendees who grabbing the samples and wanted to know what they were called. Nicewonger called them Jojos, later telling his son that it was the first thing that popped into his head.

Yet another claim comes from a former president of Ballantyne Strong of Nebraska, telling the exact same story—except he gave credit to a former Vice President, Ed Nelson, at a 1961 restaurant show in Chicago.

The truth is out there!

Just remember: If it’s not breaded and pressure-fried, it’s not a jojo [source].

But non-breaded, non-spiced potato wedges, deep-fried or baked, are just as delicious.
 

RECIPE: PARMESAN POTATO WEDGES

How easy is it to make potato wedges? Just take a look.

Instead of the garlic/oregano/paprika mix below, you can blend equivalent amounts of any other seasoning (try 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped, and 2 minced garlic cloves).

Instead of the garlic salt in the recipe, remember to add regular salt and pepper.

You can add less cheese (e.g. 1 tablespoon), or no cheese. You know what you like, so have fun with it!

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

[1] Baked wedge fries with salsa (photo © Potato Goodness).

[2] Baked parmesan, black pepper and garlic potato wedges. Here’s the recipe (photo © Urban Accents).

[3] Baked parmesan and herb wedges. The recipe is below (photo © Taste Of Home)

[4] Black pepper, toasted onion and garlic potato wedges (photo © Lucero Olive Oil [closed 2019]).

[5] Crisp enough for you? Here’s the recipe, made in a T-Fal fryer (photo © Copykat).

[6] Jojo air fryer potato wedges. Here’s the recipe (photo © Project Meal Plan).

2. CUT each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges. Place in a parchment-lined pan, 15x10x1 inches. Spray the potatoes with cooking spray and sprinkle with the cheese mixture. (Note: Instead of cooking spray, we tossed the potatoes in vegetable oil before, then in the seasoning blend, before placing them in the pan.

3. BAKE until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Halfway through, flip the wedges.

[1] Almost ripe, but not quite. Stick them in the microwave! (photo © Waldemar Brandt | Unsplash).

[2] Hard avocados? The microwave awaits! (photo © Erol Ahmed | Unsplash).

[3] Turn your now-soft avocados into bacon-avocado-tomato crostini, delicious with a glass of wine or with an appetize Here’s the recipe (photo © Calvo Growers).

February 23rd is National Banana Bread Day.

To ripen bananas or any fruit more quickly, most of us know the trick:

Enclose them in a paper bag with an apple.

Apples give off ethylene gas, which hastens ripening. The fruit could be ready by the next day.

But what if you need to use the bananas now, to bake banana bread or banana cream pie, or whip up a banana pudding with Nilla Wafers?

Ditto when you need to quickly ripen avocados for guacamole or avocado toast.

The answer is: microwave them.
 
 
IMMEDIATE RESULTS RIPENING HACKS

To Ripen Bananas

 
To Ripen Avocados

 
 
MORE TIPS

 
 
KNOW YOUR FOODS

February 22nd is George Washington’s birthday, so per convention, we’re bringing out the cherries*.

There are endless recipes for cherry pies, cakes, muffins, brownies and bars, even cookies.

But our focus today is on ice cream.

Alas, we are nowhere near fresh cherry season, so here are some easy-to-serve options that don’t require waiting—or turning on the oven.
 
 
15 QUICK & EASY CHERRY TREATS

You can find cherry-flavored products, or create your own, e.g., by mixing dried cherries into oatmeal or yogurt.

 
These are only for starters. Think about what you can create with canned, dried, frozen and jarred cherries, until fresh ones arrive at the store.

[1] Make a cherry sundae with pie filling. You can also use it to top pancakes, waffles and yogurt (photo © Webstaurant Store).

[2] Premium cherry pie filling from Brownwood Farms. The company also makes cherry salsa. Get them from iGourmet (photo © iGourmet).

________________

*Washington’s biographer, Parson Mason Weems, made up the “Father, I cannot tell a lie” myth about young George chopping down the treasured cherry tree. He should have thought ahead and picked a fruit that would be available in February!

[1] Treat yourself to soda made with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup (photo © Hank’s Beverage Company).

[2] A selection of Hank’s Gourmet Sodas (photo © Hank’s Beverage Company).

[3] Better sodas make better floats (photo © Shag Photo | iStock Photo).

[4] Incorporate Hank’s sodas into cocktails, like Caribbean Recipe Ginger Beer in a Moscow Mule (photo © Arch Rock Fish [now closed]).

Hank’s Gourmet Sodas were launched in 1996 in greater Philadelphia.

Initially, the line was sold primarily through bars and restaurants, as a tastier alternative to mass-market, HFCS-sweetened brands.

The quality carbonated beverages were a success, and the line grew in size and popularity.

Soda lovers—and we are related to a few of them—loved them when we shared our samples. We, too, became fans.

Made with cane sugar, the craft soda line has eight flavors (one is sugar-free), plus two fall seasonal specialties.

They’re sold in 12-ounce glass bottles:

 
The pure flavor leaps out of the glass, whether straight from the bottle, in a glass or in an ice cream soda.

As a feel-good bonus, the beverage orders are processed by SpArc Philadelphia, an organization that helps people with disabilities.
 
 
FOR YOURSELF? FOR A GIFT?

The website sells 12-packs of individual flavors, plus a variety pack.

We sent a some as Valentine gifts.

Get yours at HanksBeverages.net.
 
 
WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (HFCS)?

High-fructose corn syrup is an artificial sugar made from corn syrup. It’s a common sweetener in sodas and fruit-flavored drinks.

Excessive consumption of fructose or HFCS can lead to insulin resistance, a condition that can result in type 2 diabetes.

According to the Mayo Clinic, as the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup has increased, so have levels of obesity and related health problems.

Per the CDC, as of 2018 10.5% of the US population—had diabetes. 34.1 million adults aged 18 years or older—or 13.0% of all U.S. adults—had diabetes.

More than 34 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10); approximately 95% is Type 2 diabetes.

That’s the third-highest rate in the world, after China and India [source].

Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people over age 45, but more and more children, teens and young adults are developing it.

Experts have attributed some of this to the HFCS in soft drinks, as well as other eating habits.

Here are more potential risks of HFCS.

High-fructose corn syrup is chemically similar to table sugar. Controversy exists, however, about whether the body handles high-fructose corn syrup differently than table sugar.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPED OF SWEETENERS, NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL
 
________________

*Wishniak Black Cherry is a Philadelphia thing. Other companies also make it. The flavor was originated by Frank’s Beverages, founded by Jacob Frank in 1885. Frank was a Russian immigrant who sold freshly-squeezed lemon soda on the streets of Philadelphia. When developing new flavors in the 1950s, company president Mulford Frank tried a cherry flavor and said, “This reminds me of a Wishniak.” Wishniak is a cordial made in Russia and Eastern Europe with cherries, and vodka and sugar. The name stuck (although, of course, there’s no vodka in the soda [source]).