The fourth week in September is National Wild Rice Week. Did you know that wild rice isn’t rice?
 
 
A COUSIN OF TRUE RICE

Wild rice is a member of the Poaceae family, genus Zizania; it is a cousin to true rice, the genus Oryza.

Like Orzya, it grows in in shallow water. Instead of being cultivated in paddies, as the name indicates, it grows wild in small lakes and slow-flowing streams.

There are four species of wild rice, three native to North America.

 
The tassels at the top of the stalks can be seen swaying over rivers, lakes and floodplains from late August through September.

Called manoomin by the local Chippewa, wild rice is a protected crop that can be harvested only by state residents holding a valid license.

In the Great Lakes region, the rice is harvested by hand, by the Chippewa natives. Paddling in canoes (or propelling with push poles—illustration #3, below), they use the traditional instruments, wooden flails, to make the grains fall from the stalks.
 
 
WILD RICE NUTRITION

Wild rice is high in protein for a grain, second only to oats in protein content. Like true rice, it does not contain gluten.

Wild rice is also a good source of minerals and *vitamins, the amino acid lysine and dietary fiber. It low in fat.

While some recipes and store rice mixes combine wild rice with other versions (white rice, brown rice), this is to keep the cost down. It prevents you from enjoying the joy of wild rice.

[2] One of the most popular preparations: wild rice pilaf with mushrooms (photo and recipe from the New York Times).

Cooked wild rice has about 30% fewer calories than brown rice and 40% more protein. It also contains more fibre, potassium and zinc.

So treat yourself: Spring for a bag and make this recipe, courtesy of The New York Times.
 
 
WILD RICE RECIPES

Wild rice can substitute for potatoes or grains, and is used in a wide variety of foods such as dressings/stuffings, casseroles, salads, soups, even desserts.

Here are some wild rice recipe collections to peruse:

 
We always add it to our Thanksgiving turkey dressing.
 
 
> The different types of rice.

> The history of rice.
 

[3] Nineteenth century tribal women harvesting wild rice in the traditional manner. From The American Aboriginal Portfolio by Mrs. Mary H. Eastman. Illustrated by S. Eastman. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1853.

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*One cup of cooked wild rice provides 5% or more of the daily value of iron, and potassium, riboflavin and thiamin; 10% or more of the daily value of B6, folate, magnesium, niacin and phosphorus; 15% of zinc; and more than 20% of manganese.
 
 

[2] A hearty masala chai spice blend (photo courtesy Spice Station).

[3] Enjoy your Indian tea in an elephant tea pot (alas, this one from Houzz is no longer available, but other designs are).

[4] Don’t want to make chai concentrate? Buy it from Rishi and other brands (photo by Katherine Pollak | THE NIBBLE).

The fall season ushers in traditional autumnal foods and beverages.

In the latter department, there are apple cider, hot chocolate, mulled wine/mulled cider/hot buttered rum, spiced tea (like Constant Comment), flavor twists on cocktails (like a maple Old Fashioned), and the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte (infamous for its 50g of sugar).

And then, there’s masala chai, erroneously called “chai tea”: chai is the generic* word for tea; masala means spiced.

While everything else on the fall beverage list has been on American menus for centuries, chai has only become nationally popular since the end of the 19th century, when artisan tea companies began to add it to their line.

This recipe, from Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead is, pleasantly sweet and spicy, but not too sweet or too spicy. After you try the first batch, you can make it sweeter and/or spicier.

Use your sweetener of choice, or none at all so that people (dieters, the sugar-averse) can have their drink as they prefer. The recipe follows, but first, tea lovers can mark this whole list of tea holidays:

 
The history of masala chai is below.
 
 
RECIPE: CHAI CONCENTRATE

Ingredients For 1 Quart Concentrate

 
Preparation

1. BRING the water and sweetener to a boil in a medium pot, and simmer until the sweetener is fully dissolved.

2. ADD all of the spices, and continue to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

3. REMOVE the mixture from the heat, add the tea bags, and let them steep for 10 minutes.

4. STRAIN out the spices and tea bags and store the concentrate in the fridge (it will last for several weeks).

5. SERVE: Mix the chai concentrate 1:1 with milk. Gently heat in a small saucepan until it reaches the desired temperature (we heated it for 2:45 minutes in our microwave; yours may take less or more time). Pour into a mug and enjoy…perhaps with some graham crackers.
 
Recipe Tips

 
 
THE HISTORY OF CHAI (MASALA CHAI)

The original masala chai (masala means spice, chai means tea), is very different from the contemporary recipe. The first version was an ancient Indian ayurvedic beverage—a cleansing spice tonic that did not include any tea.

In the early 1900s, the British-owned Indian Tea Association began to promote tea consumption to Indian consumers. Because black tea was still an expensive ingredient, vendors used milk, sugar and spices—the ingredients of today’s masala chai—to create a flavorful drink while keeping costs down.

The drink’s popularity spread throughout India and became even more popular in the 1960s, when mechanized tea production made black tea affordable for the common man.
 
 
TEA TRIVIA: After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Coffee takes third place.
 
EXPAND YOUR TEA CHOPS

Check out our fully illustrated Tea Glossary.
 
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*CHAI VS. TEA: All related forms of the word chai—Turkish çay, Russian/Persian/Hindi/Urdu chay, etc.—derive from the original Mandarin, cha. Cha became the Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese word for tea. Other Chinese dialects have different words; e.g. the Wu dialect spoken around Shanghai uses the word zu and the Hokkien dialect spoken around the port of Xiamen in the Fujian province uses the word tay. The word “cha” traveled to the Middle East and Eastern countries, while “tay” traveled to Europe and became our word for tea.

Xiamen was the port of trade first used by Europeans (mainly the Portuguese) in 1541. Near the end of the Ming Dynasty, in 1644, British merchants set up trading posts there; in the 19th century, it was China’s main port for exporting tea. As a result, the Hokkien dialect spoken there, not Mandarin which traveled west via overland trade routes, influenced what Europeans called the beverage. What the Xiamenese people call tay, the British spell tea, the French spell thé, the Spanish té, the Italians tè and the Germans, tee. The pronunciation varies from “tay” to “tee.”

Other words from the Hokkien language that entered English: ketchup (kiô-chap), Pekoe (pekh-hô), kowtow (khàu-thâu) and Japan (Jit-pún).

†Cream tea is a refreshment of a baked scone with jam and clotted cream, served with a cup of tea. It is traditionally enjoyed in the afternoon, often after lunch; but is much simpler than the more elaborate afternoon tea. It originated in the southwest of England in Devon and Cornwall, but now can be found all around the U.K.
 
 

A few weeks ago, we received a pitch promoting particular wines for International Châteauneuf du Pape day, held on the third Friday in September (today). It inspired us to write about the wine, one of our favorite reds.

In France, wines are named after their communes (think village or county), departments (think state) or regions.

The village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape lies in the Southern Rhone, north of the city of Avignon.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape (pronounced pop) isn’t a wine common to American wine lists these days. It’s pretty pricey, with top bottles going for $100 more at retail, before the restaurant mark-up.

But in our youth, when even the best wines were more or less affordable, Châteauneuf-du-Pape was a staple at top steakhouses. If you could afford the steak, you could afford the wine.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the largest and most important wine appellation in the southern Rhône. Ninety-five percent of the wines are red, with rich red-fruit aromas, strong fruit flavors and plenty of spice and high alcohol (14%).

The best wines may also exhibit notes of garrigue, a term for the herby aroma of the Proveçal underbrush.

A small amount of white wine is produced, but it is typically consumed locally. Regulations do not allow the production of rosé wine [source].
 
 
IS IT NAMED FOR A CASTLE (CHÂTEAU)?

There’s a 14th-century medieval castle in ruins at the top of the hill, but the town isn’t named for the castle.

Rather, the first mention of the village is in a Latin document from 1094 that uses the name Castro Novo, referring to a new village. At that time castro, or château in French, was used to denote a fortified village, rather than the mansion it later came to denote.

In 1309s, Pope Clement V, the “pape” in Châteauneuf du Pape, moved the papacy to Avignon. A total of seven popes resided for the next 67 years.

He and subsequent popes loved the local wine, and encouraged more viticultural in the area. As a result, almost all of the cultivable land is planted with grape vines.

By the 16th century, the village was officially called Châteauneuf du Pape.
 
 
THE WINES OF CHÂTEAUNEUF DU PAPE

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation is an A.O.C.* (appelation origine contrôlée), meaning that by law it can only be produced locally, from specific grapes grown in the commune of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and in portions of four adjoining communes.

Almost all wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is no different.

Grenache is the most widely planted grape, but by law 18 grapes† are allowed in the blend. Winemakers use different grape selections and percentages based on what they are trying to achieve.

Grenache is followed by Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault. And yes, some vintners use all 18 grapes, and a few use 100% grenache.

A popular blending template is known as GSM: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.

 
Even the glass bottles distinguish themselves, with a textured crest on the top half of the bottle (photos #1 and #2; some vintners forgo the expense and use conventional bottles).
 
 
WHAT TO BUY

Consult with your wine store clerk about the options at hand, and their peak drinking times (some are ready to drink now, some aren’t).

What you need to be aware of is that there are three tiers of price/quality:

 
Treat yourself to a bottle, and share it with your favorite red wine lovers.

—Kris Prasad

[1] Château de Beaucastel, a world-renowned Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine (photo courtesy Lipman Events).

[2] The crest of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, used by many of the wine producers (photo © Joe Fisher | Flickr. All rights reserved.

[3] Château La Nerthe, priced in the middle range (photo courtesy Snooth).

[4] Château Mont-Redon, another mid-tier wine (photo courtesy The Local Drop).

[5] Another of the greats, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe (photo courtesy Benchmark Wine Group).

*A.O.C., an abbreviation of appellation d’origine contrôlée, is a legal designation that places rigid standards on how and where a French product can be produced. This ensures consistent quality and preserves its reputation, and distinguishes an authentic product (e.g., Parmigiano Reggiano) from a generic one (e.g. parmesan cheese).

†The grapes, in order of use are Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Picpoul Picardan, and Terret Noir. Very recently, additional varieties have been added by law for a total of 18 varieties.

[1] Extra cheese, please! (photo © Mountain Mike’s Pizza | Newport Beach, California).

[2] Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the U.S. (photo © Polina Tankilevitch | Pexels).

[3] Handmade pepperoni (photo © DeLallo).

[4] Got pepperoni? Use the extra to garnish a Bloody Mary (here with blue cheese cubes at Murray’s Cheese Bar).

September 20th is National Pepperoni Pizza Day, and we have a surprise for you:

Pepperoni is a cured dry sausage from…not from Italy!

While there are a number of spicy, dry sausages from different regions of Italy, there is no such thing as pepperoni.

For the authentic Italian sausages that inspired it, take a look at soppressata, from Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria; and salsiccia Napoletana piccante, from Naples.

More than a few foods we think of as authentic Italian are actually Italian-American, such as:

 
TIP: Freeze a stick of pepperoni slightly, then grate onto pasta, pizza, salads, burgers, sandwiches, etc.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF PEPPERONI

Although we can’t point to its origin, pepperoni seems to first appear in the U.S. the early 1900s, when Italian-American butcher shops made a variety of sausages.

The first known print reference appears in 1919 [source].

If you see the word peperoni in Italian (with a single “p”), it’s actually the word for bell peppers.

Perhaps the name for the the red-hued, paprika-spiced sausage was inspired by red bell peppers; we just don’t know.

We do know that in Italian, there is no word related to peperoni that indicates anything but those peppers.
 
 
Pepperoni Is American!

The pepperoni sausage that we eat in America (with two “p’s”) is an American creation.

Traditionally made from a combination of finely-ground pork and beef, it’s a cured meat variation of salami that is made by combining finely-ground pork and beef, seasoned with cayenne, garlic, fennel, mustard seeds and/or paprika, and stuffed into a casing.

(Halal/kosher pepperoni is all beef, and there is also turkey “pepperoni.”)

Pepperoni was created by Italian-American butchers about a century. No one can pinpoint when and where, but it was available at the beginning of the 1900.

“Pepperoni” was first mentioned in print in the U.S. Government’s Yearbook of Agriculture in 1894, called “a dry sausage.”

It was not until the World War I that the word came into common use for a sausage†, within Italian-American communities. The first known use of the word in print in New York City is in 1919 [source].

Different producers use different levels of spices, that can include fennel seeds, garlic, hot chiles or cayenne, mustard seeds and/or paprika.

The sausages are then air-dried (cured). The result: a lightly smoky, sausage, relatively soft and reddish.

The red color is provided by the paprika and any other type of chile (e.g. cayenne), plus the sodium nitrite used as a curing agent.
 
 
WHAT ABOUT PEPPERONI PIZZA?

Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the U.S.: More than 35% of all pizzas ordered are topped with it* (source).

However, pepperoni pizza as we know it is almost never served in Italy, except, perhaps in tourist areas [source].

Pepperoni has a tendency to curl up from the edges in the heat of the pizza oven, called “cupping” in the business. The thicker the slices, the more the edges curl. Under the heat of the oven, the slices give off slicks of orange grease.

Pepperoni sausages are commonly sold in two sizes: an inch in diameter for pizza and two to three inches in diameter for sandwiches. You can buy whole “sticks,” slices, even chopped.

If your palate seeks something beyond supermarket pepperoni, check out:

 
They’re nice gifts for a pepperoni lover.
 
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*The “Top 10” pizza toppings, in order: pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, sausage, bacon, extra cheese, black olives, green peppers, pineapple spinach [source].

Chef Jamie Oliver calls the recipe below (photo #1) a picnic pie, because it’s so easy to transport and serve at picnics or other outdoor events.

Picnic season may be just past, but this recipe uses ingredients that are available year-round.

With the popularity of chicken pot pie in the U.S.,
 
MEAT PIE HISTORY

Meat “pie” has been made since man first used a wrapper to keep in the juices of cooking meat. Evidence dates back to the Neolithic Period, around 9500 B.C.E., but it’s not a pie we would recognize today.

Pastry was perfected by the ancient Egyptians. Their pies were savory pastry: a dough of flour and water paste to wrap around meat and soak up the juices as it cooked (here’s a brief history of pastry).

While our focus today is on vegetables, it’s fun to look at the ancestor of pot pies.

In the days of the Roman Empire, large pot pies served to the wealthy sometimes had live birds under the crust that would burst out flying when the crust was cut [source]. You can see this happen in a banquet scene in Fellini Satyricon.

How the birds remained live under a baked pie crust, and why people would want live birds atop their food, we can only imagine (for the former, we’re guessing that a crust was baked separately and the birds and crust added at the last minute).

While you’d think this decadence would have ended with the Roman Empire, one recipe author in 16th-century England advised how “to make pies that the birds may be alive and fly out when it is cut up….”

But most pies were simpler affairs, involving a pastry crust, meat and gravy. When there was no meat, vegetables were used.

What happened to the meat pie beyond Egypt?

Some sources explain that the ancient Greeks placed cook meats in open pastry shells, and that the Romans added the top crust.

In America, the cookbook American Cookery, published in 1796, included recipes for chicken pot pie, beef pot pie, and “Sea Pie,” which used pigeons, turkey, veal and mutton. The recipe was originally developed aboard ships, which used whatever preserved meats were available [source].

The term “pot pie” is an English term, simply describing how it was made: by molding pastry along the bottom of of pot [source]. Metal pie pans did not appear until the 16th century, and the poor could not afford them.
 
 
RECIPE: VEGETABLE PIE

This recipe (photo #1) was adopted from one by Jamie Oliver. Unlike a vegetable pot pie, it is solid layered vegetables, not chopped vegetables in a sauce.

He suggests serving chutney as a condiment, with a chilled rosé to drink.

If you don’t like a particular ingredient, substitute mushrooms or other vegetable. Serve the pie as a main course or a first course.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Place the squash on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of oil. Roast on the top rack for 25 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and rosemary after 20 minutes.

2. PLACE the bell peppers on a second baking sheet and place on the lower oven rack for 35 minutes, or until blackened. Place them in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes. Then peel, remove the seeds and slice into large pieces (thick rings are fine). Season them and drain in a colander.

3. HEAT 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium heat and sweat the onions for 10 to 12 minutes, or until just caramelized. Stir in the balsamic and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes.

4. PLACE a griddle or large pan over a medium-high heat. In batches, brush the eggplant and zucchini slices with oil and place on the hot griddle for 5 minutes, until soft and lightly charred. Halfway through, turn and season. When cooked, transfer to a plate and set aside.

5. BOIL a kettle of water. Put the spinach in a colander and pour over the boiling water to wilt it. Let it cool, then squeeze it dry, chop it and place it in a bowl. Add the ricotta to the spinach, the lemon zest and half the parmesan. Season, stir to combine and set aside.

6. REDUCE the oven temperature to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

7. ROLL out 2/3 of the pastry on a floured surface, so it fits the base and sides of the springform. Press it into place, leaving a little overhang; trim off any excess. Sprinkle half the basil and half of the remaining Parmesan over the pastry base, then layer the vegetables.

8. BEGIN with the zucchini and eggplant, followed by a layer of bell peppers, then the spinach. Add over the squash and onions, then dots of the goat cheese. Scatter on the rest of the basil and parmesan.

[2] Vegetable pies are popular in the U.K. Here’s another version from Delicious Magazine.

[3] We spotted this mushroom pie on the Facebook page of Hope Foods.

[4] Don’t want a pie? How about a tart? Here’s the recipe from Tasting Table.

[5] Perhaps a vegetable strudel? Here’s the recipe from The Pool.

[6] The recipe uses year-round bounty from the fields (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

10. BAKE the pie for 45 minutes or until golden. If the crust becomes too dark, cover it with foil for the last 10 minutes. Let cool in the springform pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan to cool completely. Serve hot, room temperature or cold.