For the person who has everything, how about a give-back gift with a social impact?

These are gifts that support organizations like Feeding America, which provides meals to hungry people in our own country; and Heifer International, which provides livestock to third-world families so that they have food as well as eggs, milk, wool, etc. to sell and generate income.

Heifer International has a catalog (and website) that showcases the different animals that you can donate, and how they help the families who receive them. For example:

These gifts of animals change the lives of families forever. The animals go to impoverished families in countries like Bolivia, China, Ghana, Nepal, Rwanda and Zanzibar. Their lives can be changed by an animal that provides milk, meat and and/or wool to to sell the milk and wool, as well as feed and clothe the family.

Just one animal can fund the education for a child to go to school, or a woman to start her own small business.

Our friends and family—who have everything they need—enjoy choosing a different animal every year. You can donate a whole animal for $120 to $500, or a share of one for as little as $10 or $20.

Options include:

 
SEE ALL THE OPTIONS HERE.
 
 
WORLD VISION

World Vision is a company that also provides animal donations, and also a wider selection of items for needy children worldwide:

 
There are also giving packages for the needy in the U.S.

Gifts start at just $16, with a good assortment for $25 or less.

SEE ALL THE OPTIONS HERE

[2] An alpaca provides wool to wear and to sell.

[3] A goat provides milk and cheese.

[4] Piglets multiply quickly to provide meat and leather for home consumption and sale.

[2] The real deal from the Hotel Sacher, which garnishes its cake with a chocolate medallion specifying Sacher Hotel Wein (Vienna) (photo © Hotel Sacher).

[3] Another slice at the Sacher Cafe. Note that even the napkin shows the trademark: “Sacher. Das Original. Seit 1832,” Sacher. The Original. Since 1832. (photo © Leqi Luke Wan | Unsplash).

[4] The glaze is labeled over the cake (photo © Confectionary Demel | Vienna | Facebook).

[5] The result: smooth, shiny, thick, and impossibly delicious. Here’s a recipe from Jernej Kitchen.

[6] Some bakers switch the apricot jam or marmalade for raspberry jam or another flavor. Here’s the recipe for this version (photo © Jernej Kitchen).

[7] The original didn’t spell out its name, but subsequent versions show it with pride (photo © Odd Loves Company).

[8] Some bakers garnish the torte with candied orange peel (photo © American Heritage Chocolate).

[9] Some bakers lay on the garnishes, from the spices on top of the torte to the chocolate ribbon on the side (photo © Sale e Pepe).

December 5th is National Sacher Torte Day. In German it’s spelled Sachertorte, in English it becomes Sacher Torte.

Once one of the most sought-after chocolate cakes, two short layers (torte-style), separated by a thin layer of apricot jam and covered with a thick, glossy ganache. The recipe is below, but first:
 
 
THE HISTORY OF SACHER TORTE

The torte was the creation of a young pastry apprentice in 1832 Vienna. Franz Sacher (1816–1907) was a 16-year-old apprentice at the court of the Austrian Prince Klemens von Metternich.

Even if he had been only a prince, there would have been incessant fine dinners at which dazzling food was expected.

But von Metternich was also the Austrian State Chancellor. Diplomats, heads of state, and other dignitaries were invited to his official table.

Franz must have been a star in the making because one day the teenager was asked to create an especially impressive dessert for a reception.

He created what was to become a world-famous chocolate cake: a two-layer torte (see below) filled with apricot jam. The guests loved it, and it became known as the Sacher Torte (Sachertorte in German, pronounced ZAH-chur (guttural ch) TORT).

Eduard Sacher (1843–1892) was Franz’s son, a restaurateur and purveyor to the court. He made his father’s recipe at the Hotel Sacher.

Café Demel in Vienna was once the bakery favored by the House of Habsburg, the Viennese royal family. They also made a Sachertorte.

In the early part of the 20th century, Café Sacher and Café Demel engaged in a lawsuit over who could claim to have made the original Sachertorte.

 
The Sacher Hotel’s owners sued Demel for trademark infringement and won in 1938. The lawsuit was appealed after World War II, and the decades-long lawsuit was finally settled in 1963, when both parties agreed that:

 
For The Chocolate Glaze

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Spray one 9″ x 2″ round cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment. Spray the parchment lightly as well. If your pan isn’t at least 2″ deep, use two pans instead of one.

2. MELT the chocolate slowly over low heat or in the microwave, stirring well.

3. LIGHTLY BEAT the 8 egg yolks in a small bowl. Add the melted chocolate, melted butter, and vanilla. Blend until smooth and satiny, with no lumps or unincorporated yolks.

4. BEAT the 8 egg whites with a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, until they begin to foam. Slowly add the sugar, then beat on high speed until the whites hold a stiff peak but are still glossy. Using a wide rubber spatula, mix about 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate/yolk mixture to lighten it.

5. POUR the lightened chocolate mixture over the rest of the whites in the bowl. Fold gently, using about 20 to 30 strokes. Sprinkle the cake flour over the chocolate batter and continue to fold gently until there are no traces of egg white remaining.

6. POUR the batter into the pan(s). Bake until the cake is puffed and dry looking on top, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean: 40 to 45 minutes for a single pan, 20 to 25 minutes for two pans. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Be sure to peel off the parchment circle while the cake is still warm. While the cake is cooling….

7. STRAIN the apricot jam through a fine sieve to remove any bits of fruit and make a smooth filling.

8. FILLING the cake: If you used one cake pan, you will need to split the layer before filling. Use a long, sharp serrated knife to split the cake into two even layers. If you used two pans, simply spread the apricot jam between the layers, leaving 1/2 inch around the border so that the jam does not squeeze out over the sides of the cake.

9. MAKE the chocolate glaze: Place the filled cake on a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the chocolate, water, and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the glaze is smooth, shiny and slightly thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as the glaze is smooth…

10. IMMEDIATELY pour it over the cake. The excess glaze will drip off of the cake onto the parchment paper. You can scoop up the excess glaze to cover any bare spots on the cake. Use a flexible spatula to help spread the glaze on the top and sides of the cake, but do not overwork the glaze or it will not remain smooth and sleek.

11. ALLOW the glaze to set up at room temperature for a few hours before serving. This cake is best served the day it’s made. Store any leftovers at room temperature for 1 day.
 
 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAKE & TORTE

What’s the difference between a cake and a torte? It depends on whom you ask.

Essentially, torte is the German word for cake. As opposed to a pound cake or a a loaf cake, a yeast cake or other casual style, a torte denotes a rich, dense cake made with many eggs and little or no flour.

Instead, it uses ground nuts (and sometimes breadcrumbs) for texture.

Tortes are also shorter and wider—often no more than 2-1/2 inches high, and 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Some “flourless chocolate cakes” are made with ground nuts like tortes.

So is a flourless chocolate cake a cake or a torte? Based on the number of eggs, the lack of flour, the low height, and the broad width, the answer is torte.
 
 

December 5th is Repeal Day, commemorating the repeal of America’s disastrous era of Prohibition.

The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, importation or transportation of alcoholic beverages, went into effect on January 17, 1920.

It ended 13 long years later, on December 5, 1933, when the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment.

Prohibition was a sorry time in U.S. History. It enabled the growth of organized crime caused blindness and deaths from bathtub gin.

For a complete explanation of Prohibition, visit History.com.
 
 
GETTING AROUND THE RULES

There were two small exceptions to the sale or production of alcohol, such as sacramental wine allowed for religious purposes.

To get farmers’ support for Prohibition, a clause was put into the Volstead Act:

Section 29 enabled people to make 200 gallons (the equivalent of about 1,000 750 ml bottles of wine) of “non-intoxicating cider and fruit juice,” to be made each year at home for family use consumption.

(This statute is still on the books.)

Bootleggers typically didn’t bother with wine because there was far more profit in liquor. But shrewd grape growers seized upon Section 29 to enable more people to have wine.

Farmers produced grape concentrates, sometimes called wine bricks, and sold them with a warning label:

“After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine.”

There was also the helpful advice, “To prevent fermentation, add 1/10% Benzoate of Soda.”

As we’d say today: LOL!

This loophole led California grape growers to increase their land under cultivation by about 700% during the first five years of Prohibition. Many people satisfied their need for alcohol with homemade wine—or a rustic approximation of it.

[3] An ad for wine bricks, offering eight varieties of wine grapes (read more at VinePair.com).

[2] A rare example of a wine brick, in the collection of the Ontario Museum Of History & Art. Here’s more about it.

[1] Wagyu strip steak.

[2] Wagyu rump roast.

[3] Wagyu sirloin steak

[4] Wagyu rib-eye steak

[5] Wagyu flank steak

[6] Wagyu cattle (all photos courtesy KC Cattle Co.).

For a steak lover, there is nothing so fine as wagyu beef—the kind that substitutes for Kobe in the U.S. (authentic Kobe beef, imported from Japan, is hard to come by).

As trade increased between the U.S. and Japan in the 1980, both merchants and consumers discovered the extremely-marbled, extremely-tender beef that seemed to melt in the mouth (the sensation comes from the high level of unsaturated fatty acids in the beef.)

The beef is a delicacy. For those with means, wagyu beef is served as steak, sashimi, shabu-shabu, sukiyaki and teppanyaki.

In the 1970s, with increased American visits to Japan for trade and tourism, very American visitor who tasted the beef wanted it It wasn’t long before they arranged to get their own supply. Some presumably very well-to-do Americans arranged to airlift top Wagyu breeding cattle to the U.S.—in custom-outfitted 737s!

Only the Tajima breed of Wagyu cattle. There are other qualifications as well, such as marbling and age—similar to the USDA beef grading system.

This evoked concerns in the Japanese government, which declared Wagyu a national treasure and banned the export of any cattle, embryos or other genetics.

But it was too late, the “cow” had left the barn and was being bred in the U.S. [source].

From the 1980s through 2011, then, no Kobe beef was exported. Finally, due to the revenue potential and revisiting of the ban, The first exports left the island in 2012 to Macau and Hong Kong; and subsequently to Canada, Singapore, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S.

Trade agreements notwithstanding, only a few hundred pounds of authentic Kobe beef is imported into the U.S. every year. It is in limited supply, even in Japan.

In the U.S., it is typically sold as a specialty item in the best steakhouses, for hundreds of dollars an ounce.

Thus, when you see “Kobe” on a menu in the U.S., it should be clarified as “Kobe-style,” i.e., Wagyu.
 
 
WHAT IS WAGYU BEEF?

The literal meaning of Wagyu, and Americans’ understanding of Wagyu beef, are related but not the same.

Wagyu, loosely translated, means “Japanese cattle”: wa- means Japanese or Japanese-style, and “-gyu” means cow or cattle. So “Wagyu” can mean any cattle that is bred in Japan (or the Japanese style).

In Japan, the best beef comes from black female cows that have not yet been bred. The areas agreed to produce the best beef are:

 
While Kobe is the name that was publicized in the U.S., all three origins comprise what is called the Sandai Wagyu: the “three big beefs” of Japan, the three best brands.

There is az story is that the flavor and texture are so superior because the cows are feed beer and massaged daily. This may have been true for one herd at one time; but with tens and thousands of beef on the hoof, it would now be impractical. (But it does name a great story.)

It is genetics, diet, environment and similar factors that make the “three big beefs” more tasty and tender.

Wagyu cattle in the U.S. are either “100% fullblood,” meaning they are direct descendants of the original imported Wagyu cattle, without any crossbreeding, or “purebred,” in which a few other breeds were crossbred in their lineage sometime in the past. Per the USDA, only these two options can be called Wagyu [source].

How good is Wagyu?

In terms of marbling/grading, only about 5% of normal U.S. beef production from cattle such as Black Angus is graded as Prime, while 90% of Wagyu beef grades as Prime.

For a steak-lovers tasting, how about a side-by-side comparison of Wagyu and Black Angus?
 
 
WHAT IS KOBE BEEF? KOBE STYLE? WAGYU?

Authentic Kobe beef is that which has been imported from Japan. “Kobe-style” beef is bred in the U.S. from the same breed of black cattle: Wagyu.

From the first Wagyu cattle imported in the 1970s, 150 US ranches now raise tens of thousands of Wagyu cattle [source].

Many breeders have crossed Wagyu cattle with Black Angus, to achieve a flavor profile more copacetic with Americans’ beef palate.

Farms in the U.S. and U.K. attempt to replicate the Kobe cattle-raising traditions. For example, in Japan the cattle are confined in small pens and given much more energy-dense feed.

 
BUY WAGYU AT KC CATTLE CO.

There are more than a few places to by Wagyu in the U.S. One we’ve singled out is KC Cattle Company, founded by a Patrick Montgomery, a former member of 1st Ranger Battalion of the United States Army.

Part of the profits are contributed to the Sua Sponte Foundation, a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization that steps in when a Ranger is injured or killed, covering expenses and support that the military doesn’t cover.

Just about any cut you like is available: brisket, denver, flat iron, hangar, rib-eye, roasts, short ribs, sirloin, skirt, stew meat, strip, tenderloin, even soup bones.

For more casual dining, there are ground beef, hot dogs and sausage.

For gifting, there are different gift basket assortments.
 
 
> BROWSE THE COLLECTION AT KCCATTLECO.COM.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT CUTS OF BEEF IN OUR BEEF GLOSSARY

You may have finished your holiday decorations, decking the halls with gaiety.

We’d like to add a few small things that we especially enjoy, whether for visitors or as a treat for ourselves.
 
 
1. BOWLS OF SPICES

Holiday-scented candles are lovely, but require close watch to guarantee against fires.

Instead, we buy cinnamon, cloves and orange peel in bulk (and if you like, cardamom pods star anise), and place them in small, attractive bowls around the house.

Powdered cinnamon at the base of the bowl provides more aroma than cinnamon sticks; but you can add a few of the latter for eye appeal. Cutting the sticks in half releases more aroma

The natural fragrance is a delight every time you pass the area—so much better than store-bought potpourri.
 
 
2. HOLIDAY TEAS

You can purchase special holiday tea bags, but there are other options.

 
If you’d like to add some spirit, add a teaspoon of brandy, rum or vodka. Add a shot, and you’ll have a hot holiday cocktail.
 
 
3. HOLIDAY COFFEE

There are numerous options from which to choose. Two, for example:

 
You can also give holiday coffee as gifts to people who enjoy flavored coffees.
 
 
4. MULLED WINE OR CIDER

Prepare mulled wine or cider in advance; then refrigerate it until time comes to warm it up.

If you’re in a warm climate, serve it as is: iced.

Here are easy recipes.
 
 
5. HOLIDAY CAKE

If holiday cookies won’t last more than a day in your house, keep a traditional holiday cake or bread in the freezer, and offer a slice with tea or mulled wine. The cake will defrost while the tea is brewing; or send it to the microwave for 10 seconds.

 
You don’t need to bake: All of these are available from bakeries and grocers.
 
 
This is the busiest season of the year, but we wish you a respite for rest.

[1] Make your own potpourri with bulk spices (photo © Andrey Zhuravlev | Dreamstime.

[2] Christmas spiced tea (photo courtesy Ogelsby Mansion).

[3] Take a look at specialty holiday coffees (photo © Marta Holka | Dreamstime).

[4] Mulled cider (photo courtesy Hella Cocktail Co.).

[5] Panettone (photo courtesy Bauli).