[1] An Oktoberfest pretzel pack gift set from Eastern Standard Provisions (photo © Eastern Standard Provisions).

[2] A perfect balance of German malt & hops, our Oktoberfest lager is a beautiful burnt orange and in color (photos #2 and #3 © Wallenpaupack Brewing Co.).

[3] Straight from the tap at Wallenpaupack Brewing Co.’s Brewpub.

Märzen beers have reddish hues (photo courtesy Craft Beer).

[4] At Oktoberfest, chickens are spit-grilled. Here’s the recipe for Oktoberfest Chicken from German Foods (photo © German Foods).

More than 7 million revelers would have been expected yesterday at the 2020 Oktoberfest celebration in Munich. But, like much else, it was Covid-cancelled.

Thus, for beer lovers the world over who are concerned about social distancing and don’t want to try a local pub, the beer, pretzels and Oktoberfest music can be enjoyed safely at home.

If you want to enjoy the traditional Bavarian cheese spread, Obatzda, with your pretzels: Here’s the recipe.

We made some yesterday.

It was part of our lunch (traditional Oktoberfest spit-grilled chicken we bought from our supermarket), with Oktoberfest Märzen from Wallenpaupack Brewing Co. in Pennsylvania. And lots of soft pretzels.

The history of Oktoberfest is below.

Oktoberfest 2020 would have run from September 19th through October 4th. There’s plenty of time to get your beer and pretzels and celebrate.

For next year, hopefully:

 
 
YUMMY SOFT PRETZELS FROM
EASTERN STANDARD PROVISIONS.

Eastern Standard Provisions brought the taste of Oktoberfest right into our home with its special Oktoberfest Gift Box (photo #1).

How about sending your favorite beer-lover a box of hand-twisted soft pretzels?

These pillowy-soft pretzels, individually wrapped, arrive in a gift box along with some of the company’s signature flavored salts and artisanal dipping sauces.

Just heat-and-eat, or freeze to enjoy later. There’s a special Oktoberfest gift set for $29.99.

Plus, there are additional gift boxes.

Even if they’re not beer drinkers, every pretzel lover will enjoy a box of these delicious soft pretzels.

There are large twisted soft pretzels, topknot soft pretzels, pretzel buns and slider, soft pretzel bites, and soft pretzel sticks.

Take a look: You’ll be in pretzel heaven.

Also take a look at the salts and sugars, and the flavored mustards and dipping sauces, you can pair with the pretzels. They’re special.

And with the holidays not far away, there are gift sets that promise love at first bite (we can confirm that!).
 
 
WHAT IS OKTOBERFEST BEER?

Here’s something you may not know about Oktoberfest beer. The history of Oktoberfest itself begins belowsource].

So why do we drink a beer called March in October?

The first so-named “Oktoberfest” Märzen-style beer was brewed for the Munich Oktoberfest in 1872.

As you’ll see from the dates below, it seems to have taken a long while for marketing minds to realize that Oktoberfest was an opportunity to promote an “exclusive” beer for the 16 days of festivities.

Many brands took the opportunity to sell “Oktoberfest” beer, although it’s typically just an Oktoberfest label on the breweries’ Märzens.

As for Märzen beer: this style of lager became so popular that with the advent of modern brewing technology, it became a staple, brewed year-round.

> The Different Types Of Beer
 
 
IF IT’S OKTOBERFEST, WHY DOES IT
START IN SEPTEMBER?

The first thing to know about Oktoberfest is that it starts in September. Why?

Given its popularity, the festival was lengthened to 16 days (the original was 5 days) and moved to start in September to take advantage of September’s warmer weather, while still providing some time in October.

The last day of the festival is now fixed at the first Sunday in October, so it could still be Oktoberfest.

Here’s the official Oktoberfest website, which provided much of the history below.
 

THE HISTORY OF OKTOBERFEST

In 1553, Bavarian Duke Albrecht V decreed it illegal to brew beer in Bavaria between April 23rd and September 24th. These months are typically too warm for brewing, and doing so risks bacterial growth that spoils beer.

Thus, brewers ramped up production in March to have enough supply for the next five months. These March beers, called Märzens, were brewed stronger and lagered so they would keep throughout the summer.

The term “Oktoberfest” did not have a connection to Märzen-style beer for another 300-plus years, 62 years after the first Oktoberfest.

The first Oktoberfest celebration began with the Royal Wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, on October 12, 1810.

Of course, everybody had a great time. So in the following years the celebrations were repeated—with interruptions for the Napoleonic Wars and other chaotic events. Small beer stalls opened.

In the mid 1810s, a few beer stands arrived to sell refreshments to attendees. In 1881, the first spit-roasted chicken outlet opened.

The first time breweries sponsored tents and large-scale drinking halls debuted in 1896.
 
 
TODAY’S OKTOBERFEST

With the advent of electrified cities, booths and carousels with electrical lighting appeared. Performers came. Due to the ever-increasing demand for beer, breweries set up huge beer tents with musicians, replacing the traditional small beer stalls.

In addition to beer festivities, Oktoberfest has become world’s largest Volksfest: a beer festival and travelling amusement park. Each year, new and more exciting rides appeared.

In 2005, a “quiet Oktoberfest” was introduced to make the more attractive to families.

 
Oktoberfest continued to develop into the festival we now know it—including the roasted chicken, of course.

________________

*In 1834, the first working vapor-compression refrigeration system was built. The first commercial ice-making machine was invented in 1854. Here’s more about early refrigeration.

The recipe is below. But first, a brief history of salad dressing.
 
 
SALAD DRESSING HISTORY

Salad greens were picked and eaten by man, likely from the furthest days of prehistory. But salad dressing came much later.

We know from the written record that the Babylonians used oil and vinegar for dressing greens nearly 2,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians added Asian spices to those basic ingredients.

But what about creamy salad dressings that are so popular in the U.S.?

Modern mayonnaise was created by the great French chef Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833), founder of the concept of haute cuisine. He blended vegetable oil and egg yolks into an emulsion; his recipe that became famous throughout Europe, and subsequently, the U.S. and the world [more about it].

Mayonnaise became the base of creamy salad dressings, even when buttermilk* or blue cheese was added.

Salads were favorites in the courts of European monarchs. Royal chefs often combined as many as 35 ingredients in one gigantic salad bowl.

Sometimes, the monarch’s favorite salad included few or no greens.

 
But the conventional dressing for green salads remained oil and vinegar. In the U.S.:

 
Salad Dressing Today

Most of the salad dressings sold in the U.S. have a mayonnaise base. The most popular bottled dressing in the U.S. is ranch, a re-naming of buttermilk dressing.

Creamy dressings have four things that vinaigrettes don’t have: cholesterol, dairy, many more calories, and the antioxidants and heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids of olive oil.

So if you’re a frequent salad eater who piles on the creamy dressing, get out the oil and vinegar and make green salads the healthy foods they should be. You can:

 
Do the math, and you’ll realize that with all of the permutations and combinations†, you could make a different vinaigrette every day of the year.
 

RECIPE: DIJON-HERB VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients

 
Fresh Herbs

 
Preparation

1. WHISK together the first four ingredients. If you prefer, you can use the shaking technique:

Combine the vinegar and garlic in a 1-pint jar and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add the mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover with the lid and shake vigorously until emulsified, about 10 seconds.

2. DRIZZLE the vinaigrette over the salad, add the herbs and toss. Serve immediately.

[1] A vinaigrette, emulsified to prevent separation (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] One of our favorites: balsamic vinaigrette (photo © Canola Eat Well For Life).

[3] Parsley vinaigrette. Enough herbs will turn the vinaigrette green (photo © Hero Foodservice).

[4] Whether your ingredients bare basic or fancy green salad welcomes a vinaigrette. Potato and pasta salads, too (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] This arugula salad adds chicken, grapefruit, avocado and a tasty citrus-rice vinegar vinaigrette (photo © Nutmeg Nanny).

*There is also cream dressing, made with heavy cream and vinegar—no mayo. It originated in the area of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.

†If you never learned them in high school math, permutations and combinations calculate the various ways in which objects from a set may be selected; in this case, how many different recipes could be created from a set of ingredients.

[1] Pimento cheese on a cheeseburger is a special treat (photo © Gardenia Restaurant | NYC [now closed]).

[2] Switch out the bun for a different bread: baguette, brioche, English muffin, focaccia, or pita, for example (photo © Thomas Breads).

[3] A bacon cheeseburger with blue cheese (photo © Cheesecake Factory).

[4] A simple double cheeseburger: lots of protein (photo © Allen Brothers).

In case you missed National Double Cheeseburger Day on September 15th, September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day. So we know what we’re having for lunch!

Several restaurants claim that they created the hamburger, by placing a ground beef patty inside bread.

Several also claim the invention of the cheeseburger, although it’s not a stretch to see that any cook could have easily thought to garnish the patty with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, etc.—and that it happened everywhere burgers were made.

Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut claims to have served up the original burger in the U.S. in 1900, placing a beef patty, tomato, onion, and cheese between two slices of toasted white bread—no ketchup or mustard. They still serve it the same way.

So: Did they invent both the burger and the cheeseburger?
 
 
> Check out the history of hamburgers.

> See more cheeseburger recipes below.
 
 
FANTASY CHEESEBURGERS

While people use different cheeses (we’re partial to Brie or Gruyere) and pile on ingredients like avocado or onion rings, some restaurateurs go overboard:

 
We don’t know any high rollers to treat us, so we’ll stick with some of the creative—and affordable—cheeseburger recipes below.

As you eat yours, enjoy Jimmy Buffett singing “Cheeseburger In Paradise.”
 
 
MORE CHEESEBURGER RECIPES

 
Plus

 
Man who invented the cheeseburger was smart; man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius.” — Matthew McConaughey

September is National Whole Grains Month, an occasion to revisit some oldies but goodies.

Thanks to King Arthur Baking (formerly King Arthur Flour) for this primer on eight* ancient grains.

“Ancient grains” is a marketing term used to describe a category of grains and pseudocereals, that are purported to have been minimally changed by selective breeding over recent millennia.

They are distinguished from more widespread cereals such as corn, rice and modern varieties of wheat, which are the products of thousands of years of selective breeding [source].

King Arthur sells the flour versions ground from ancient grains. They’ve provided the following information, including details on how the flours “bake up.”

Here are their recipes for using the different flours to bake banana bread, cinnamon bread, muffins, pancakes and scones.

The whole grains from which these flours are ground make delicious grain bowls, sides, salads, or substitutes for rice in any of your recipes (check out Bob’s Red Mill or Whole Foods to buy the whole grains).

To start you thinking in the “ancient” direction for the whole grains, there’s a recipe below for Kamut & Kale Salad. Bob’s Red Mill has more recipes.

More than half of them are gluten free: amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa and teff.

1. AMARANTH

Amaranth is versatile, full of whole-grain nutrition, and enhances the flavor of many recipes. It’s naturally gluten-free. Like quinoa, it contains all nine essential amino acids plus lysine, a protein missing in most grains. Amaranth is a good source of iron, magnesium, and phosphorus.

> Flavor: Earthy and peppery.
> Flour Texture: Tender in small amounts; dense in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Pancakes and quick breads.
> Gluten Free: Yes.

2. BARLEY

Barley is exceptionally high in fiber and low in starch, making it one of the lowest glycemic index (GI) grains you can use. With three times the soluble fiber of oats, it’s a delicious, nutty-tasting way to add nutrition to baked goods.

> Flavor: Subtly sweet and nutty.
> Flour Texture: Often moist in small amounts; crumbly in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Pancakes and quick breads.
> Gluten Free: No.

3. BUCKWHEAT

Buckwheat is hearty, gluten-free, and a good source of magnesium, copper, and dietary fiber. Enjoy its health benefits, but also turn to it for its bold, nutty flavor.

> Flavor: Bold, toasty, and rich.
> Flour Texture: Moist and tender in small amounts; chalky in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Pancakes and quick breads.
> Gluten Free: Yes.

4. KAMUT

Kamut is an ancient variety of durum, with a grain twice the size of modern-day wheat. It contains some gluten; but the gluten format is different from modern wheat, so it may be digestible by people with slight gluten sensitivities. It’s a good source of protein and dietary fiber. In the U.S., the commercial name for kamut is Khorasan wheat (here’s why).

> Flavor: Rich and buttery.
> Flour Texture: Light and tender in small amounts; verging on crumbly in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Scones, quick breads, and muffins.
> Gluten Free: No.

5. MILLET

Millet is packed with nutrition for flavorful, healthier baked goods. Naturally gluten-free, it adds mild flavor to both sweet and savory recipes. You might recognize whole millet: The small yellow seeds are often used in bird seed mixtures.

> Flavor: Sweet and corn-like.
> Flour Texture: Cornbread-like in small amounts; sandy in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Muffins and quick breads.
> Gluten Free: Yes.

6. QUINOA

Quinoa adds whole-grain nutrition and essential amino acids to baked goods. Naturally gluten-free, quinoa is one of the only plant foods that’s a complete protein, offering all the essential amino acids including lysine. Quinoa is also one of the grain world’s best sources of potassium.

> Flavor: Bold and nutty.
> Flour Texture: Moist in small amounts; dry in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Muffins and quick breads.
> Gluten Free: Yes.

7. SPELT

Spelt is an ancient strain of wheat. It’s high in protein and has a nutty, complex flavor that’s sweeter and lighter than that of whole wheat. Gluten-containing spelt is a good source of fiber, iron, and manganese.

> Flavor: Sweet with a taste of whole wheat.
> Flour Texture: Soft and moist in small amounts; dry in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Pancakes, quick breads, and muffins.
> Gluten Free: No.

8. TEFF

Teff is a whole grain, and also a versatile, gluten-free flour that adds whole-grain nutrition to baked goods. This ancient East African grain is used to make the Ethiopian flatbread, injera. It’s a good source of iron and fiber.

> Flavor: Toasted and earthy.
> Flour Texture: Tender in small amounts; gritty in larger quantities.
> Works Best In: Quick breads and muffins.
> Gluten Free: Yes.
 

RECIPE: KAMUT & KALE SALAD

Recommendation: It’s a chore to cook and peel fresh beets. Instead, we buy them cooked and peeled from Beetology.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
For The Vinaigrette

 
Preparation

This recipe was created by Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog. If you’d like to serve it warm or hot, begin the assembly as soon as the kamut is fully cooked. Otherwise, chill the cooked grains for at least two hours before proceeding.

[2] Barley is one of the lowest glycemic index (GI) grains.

[3] Buckwheat flour is hearty and gluten-free.

[4] Kamut contains some gluten. In the U.S., the commercial name for kamut is Khorasan wheat. Here’s why.

[5] Naturally gluten-free, millet adds mild flavor to both sweet and savory recipes.

[6] Naturally gluten-free, quinoa is one of the only plant foods that’s a complete protein.

[7] Spelt has a nutty, complex flavor that’s sweeter and lighter than whole wheat.

[8] Teff, a whole grain, is a good source of iron and fiber.

[9] Update your kale salad with kamut. Recipe and photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

2. MEASURE out what you need for the recipe and store any extra in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps well for up to a week.

3. TOSS the cooked kamut, kale, onion, mint, grapes and beets together in a large bowl.

4. WHISK together in a separate bowl the oil, vinegar, lemon juice and mustard, adding salt to taste. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and grains, mixing thoroughly to coat. Top with crumbled cheese and serve.
 
________________

*There are other ancient grains, such as einkorn and farro; but they are not typically ground as flour. They are, however, available as whole grains.

Savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. sabauda L.) is the prettiest member of the cabbage species (Brassica oleracea).

It’s also known as choux de savoie (France), cavolo verza (Italian), and Milan cabbage and Lombardy cabbage (English).

Savoy is a loose-headed cabbage with crepe-like, crinkled, frilly leaves and a sweet, earthy flavor.

We enjoy it much more than a standard head of white cabbage—which is the industry name for what consumers call green cabbage.

It’s not as hard as conventional white/green and red cabbage. The leaves are still crunchy, but more tender tender.

As is common with agricultural products, there are many different varieties of Savoy cabbage, which is grown worldwide.

Savoy King is the most popular variety with U.S. growers, and favored for its versatility whether raw or cooked [source].

It is considered to be the most versatile of all cabbages, and can be substituted for both western hard-heading cabbages and Chinese loose-heading varieties (like Napa cabbage).

A head of cabbage will keep 1-2 weeks in the fridge, when loosely wrapped in plastic and stored in the crisper drawer.
 
 
HOW TO ENJOY SAVOY CABBAGE

In addition to serving raw in salads and slaws, Savoy cabbage can be baked, boiled, braised, grilled, roasted, steamed and stir-fried.

Simply cooked as a side dish (or on a vegetable plate), tossed with butter with black pepper, is nice enough.

But you can build on it by adding cherry tomatoes, grated cheese, mushrooms, peas, whatever. Here are other ways to enjoy Savoy cabbage.

 
 
CREATE A RECIPE

 

SAVOY CABBAGE HISTORY

Cabbage was most likely domesticated somewhere in Europe before 1000 B.C.E., although Savoys weren’t bred and cultivated until the 16th century C.E.

The first known documentation of this crinkly cabbage is in the 1500s, in a region that bordered France, Italy, and Switzerland that was then ruled by the Italian House of Savoy.

The historical territory was shared among the modern countries of France, Italy and Switzerland.

The elegant-looking cabbage was embraced in Savoy; and wherever it traveled since.
 
 
> The Detailed History Of Cabbage

[1] What a beauty: Savoy cabbage is the loveliest-looking variety (photo © Monika Grabowska | Unsplash).

[2] Stuffed cabbage in a vinegar-spiked tomato sauce. Here’s the recipe from Waitrose (photo © Waitrose).

[3] Take stuffed cabbage to new heights with this Barley “Risotto” Stuffed Cabbage. It has a surprise: Guinness beer. Here’s the recipe (photo © Guinness)

[4] Use Savoy cabbage leaves as wraps. Here, it’s taco filling; but conventional fillings like tuna are also delectable (photo © Vegetarian Everyday Cookbook).