May 20th is National Pizza Party Day (it varies yearly: the third Friday of May). Can you make a flatbread instead? Sure, we say: because pizza vs. flatbread is simply a matter of the dough.

The main technical difference between flatbread and pizza is that:

 
 
THE HISTORY OF FLATBREAD

Flatbreads were among the earliest processed foods, i.e., a product created from different ingredients that are combined such that, to paraphrase Aristotle, the whole is different than than the sum of its parts.

Flatbread is unleavened bread. It is made without yeast and thus does not rise (i.e., it remains flat). Flour, water, and salt are the main ingredients.

The flour does not need to be wheat or other cereal. It can be made with pseudocereals or legumes.

The dough is rolled out flat and baked. The result is always relatively thin, ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in thickness.

Evidence of flatbread has been found at ancient sites in Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Mesopotamia.

Charred flatbread crumbs have been found in Jordan that date to 12,400 B.C.E., some 4,000 years before the start of agriculture in the region. (The ingredients included wild barley, einkorn wheat, oats, and Bolboschoenus glaucus tubers (a type of rush) [source].)

Flatbreads were first baked in enclosed earthen mounds, later in primitive brick or clay ovens all over the world.

Just a few types of flatbread that have found their way onto American tables: the arepa, bánh, bannock, chapati, johnnycake, injera, lavash, matzoh, naan, piadina, pita, puri, roti, and tortilla. There are dozens of others.

Flatbreads were used as edible plates, as spoons, and as the base for other ingredients, creating early sandwiches and pizzas (in the case of this article, flatbreads with toppings).

> Here’s an extensive history of flatbreads.

[1] A veggie flatbread with broccolini, Brussels sprouts and pesto. Here’s the recipe (photo © DeLallo).

[2] A shrimp and zucchini flatbread. Here’s the recipe (photo © Seapak).

[3] A simple flatbread with tomato sauce, cheese, and sliced olives (photo © Lucero Olive Oil).

[4] Fruits are also added to flatbread: figs and peaches on this ricotta flatbread, grapes, eaches, and others (photo © Colavita | Facebook).

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[1] Black walnuts: beautiful, but with an extremely hard shell that requires a special nutcracker (photos #1 and #2 © American Black Walnut Marketing Board).

[2] The fleshy green outer covering is called the husk or shuck.(photos #2 and #3.

[3] The best source for black walnuts online is Hammons (remaining photos © Hammons Products Company).

[4] You don’t have to cook or bake to add black walnuts to a salad…

[5] …or to granola….

[6] …or to a charcuterie board.

[7] Black walnut pesto. Here’s the recipe.

May 17th is National Walnut Day. Walnuts may be the healthiest of the seven heart-healthy nuts. Here’s the scoop.

The conventional walnut in the U.S. is the English walnut (also called the Persian walnut*). But what about that other, little-known, wild American walnut, the walnut?

The taxonomical difference is in the footnote* below.

> The history of walnuts.
 
 
BLACK WALNUTS

Most of us know little or nothing about the American black walnut. Growing wild in Missouri and much of the eastern U.S., they were a part of many indigenous peoples’ diets at one time.

These days, they’re below the radar, cultivated in just a few states. More expensive to produce than the standard English walnut, black walnuts have become a specialty item for those in the know.

In addition to the expense of production, there is less meat per nut, as you can see in photo #2.

Another reason they fell out of favor: Black walnuts are truly a hard nut to crack, sporting extremely hard shells. Cracking black walnuts by hand can also result in stained hands.

But fear not: Commercial growers use large steel wheels to crack the nuts.

While subject to irrigation and some mechanical harvesting, the trees themselves are uncultivated—they have not been modified in any way over the years. American black walnuts truly are the wild cousin† of the cultivated English walnut.

The American Black Walnut Marketing Board is hoping that more outreach will convince people to try them.
 
 
Why use black walnuts when there are plenty of English walnuts available?

For the flavor!

Black walnuts have a heartier, earthier, more robust taste than English walnuts, and you’ll notice the difference as soon as you taste one.

They showed themselves brilliantly in the Toll House Cookie recipe, which is a favorite in our house.

We’ve been happily using them to replace English walnuts everywhere.

However, because the flavor is different, you can’t count on substituting them 1:1 in recipes for baking and cooking, without affecting the recipe outcome.

It’s best to start with tested recipes from black walnut websites like the American Black Walnut Marketing Board and Hammons .
 
 
For the nutrition!

We’d prefer them even if they weren’t more nutritious—and given the nutrition of English walnuts, that’s a lot of extra nutrition!

 
 
SWEET WALNUT RECIPES

 
 
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*The tree originated in the Middle East and these Persian walnuts became known as English walnuts. That’s because English merchant ships would trade them around the world, so they became commonly known as English walnuts. The English walnut and the Persian walnut are the same walnuts [source].

†All walnuts are members of the order Fagales an order of trees and shrubs, in the family Juglandaceae, the plant family known as the walnut family. The genus is Juglans, and that’s where the two walnuts split off. The Persian or English walnut is Juglans regia. The black walnut, also known as the American black walnut and the Eastern black walnut, is Juglans nigra. Here’s more about taxonomy, the branch of science concerned with the classification of organisms. The Latin name, Juglans, derives from Jovis glans, “Jupiter’s acorn”—figuratively, a nut fit for a god.

There are 21 species in the genus that range across the north temperate Old World from southeast Europe east to Japan, and more widely in the New World from southeast Canada west to California and south to Argentina.

There are five native walnut species in North America: black walnut, butternut, Arizona walnut and two species in California. The two most commonly found walnuts found in native locations are the black walnut and butternut [source].

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It’s American Craft Beer Week, celebrating the more than 6,600 U.S. independent craft brewers*. If you needed an excuse to explore new beers, the second full week in May is it!

When you’re shopping for craft beer, book for the Independent Craft Brewer Seal (on all photos).

The seal indicates that the beer was brewed by an independent U.S. craft brewery.

It tells you that you’re supporting a small business, which in turn supports your community† by providing jobs, sales that keep more money circulating in the local economy, the resulting tax revenue, and more.
 
 
LOOK FOR THE SEAL

Buy local and drink great beer.

The Independent Craft Brewer Seal was launched in 2017. The design is a classic beer bottle shape flipped upside down.

The seal indicates that a brewery is certified to be independently owned. It now appears on the bottles of more than 80% of the volume of craft brewed beer.

What About Your Regular Brand?

You may be accustomed to drinking beer brands owned by large multinational corporations, but give the little guys a chance.

Craft beers are more complex, and more interesting.

Craft beers have a richer and more distinctive taste than mass-produced beer.

Craft brewers tend to be very passionate about their beer. They invest time and energy to maintain and improve the quality of their beers.

Large national and international beers, on the other hand, focus on generating more and more sales, via huge marketing campaigns, distributor and retailer deals.

Not All “Craft Beer” Is Craft Beer!

An article on the 15 most popular craft beer brands in the U.S. lists many that are not small brewers.

That’s not surprising, since the owners of these brands have the money to ratchet up sales.

 
Try A New Craft Beer Brand

“Drink outside your comfort zone,” says the Brewers Association, the trade association for brewers.

“Flip your “brew-tine,” they suggest (that’s a play on “flip your routine”—we had to read it twice).

Celebrate the creativity of small and independent breweries. Try new brands and different beer styles.

And if you’re already a craft beer fan, there are plenty of other brands waiting for you to try.

How About This Weekend?

This weekend, maybe get together with a group of friends for a potluck craft beer celebration.

Or, visit a brewery. Use this Brewery Finder to locate a brewpub or taproom near you. Most Americans live within 10 miles of a craft brewery.

Stay for a pint or grab and go some of the specialties.

CraftBeer.com

Check the Brewers Association website, CraftBeer.com, for great articles, written by beer lovers for beer lovers. Learn more and discover new beers and brands on CraftBrew.com

There are also plenty of recipes for cooking with beer.

No time to visit the website? Sign up for the newsletter!
 
 

[1] A pint glass with the Independent Craft Brewer Seal (all photos © Brewers Association).

[2] The logo on a beer bottle from Mast Landing Brewing Company, a craft brewer in Maine.

[3] The seal can have a white or color background.

[4] Take home a six-pack of bottles…

[6] …or a six-pack of cans.

*The Brewers Association, a trade organization of beer brewers, defines “craft brewer” as a small, independent, traditional brewer. Specifically, annual production is 6 million barrels of beer or less. Also, the brewer must be less than 25% owned or controlled by an alcohol industry member that is not itself defined as a craft brewer. By contrast, Bud Light, America’s best-selling beer, shipped 27.2 million barrels in 2019.

†Even if you buy craft beer brewed in another locale, you’re still supporting a community business, as opposed to a multinational corporation with no roots.

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