[2] Hot dogs are available in different sizes and seasonings.

[3] Hot dog production: ready to roll into the oven for smoking.

A & H, Abeles & Heymann, is an old-world-style producer of top-quality kosher processed meats—corned beef, hot dogs, pastrami and salami. The products are made from recipes brought from Austria to New York City.

Founded in 1954 by an uncle and his nephew, the small company prospered. Decades later, when the founders planned to retire, they didn’t want to sell to a large corporation that might seek higher profits by changing the quality of the ingredients and the manufacturing process. So the company remains privately owned, and the quality is still the highest.

The hot dogs are glatt kosher. The difference between kosher and glatt kosher is a higher standard of supervision. To be certified glatt kosher, the meat must come from an animal with adhesion-free or smooth lungs; glatt means smooth. Here’s a longer explanation.
 
 
PRODUCING THE HOT DOGS

After creating the proper lean-to-fat ratio, the mixture is moved into a rotating paddle machine where the ground meat and fat create a bind that reduces greasiness. The meat then goes into an emulsifier, where spices are added.

The spiced meat heads to the stuffer, where the meat is extruded into the linker—the machine that forms the individual hot dogs, or links in trade parlance.

The linked hot dogs are placed on a hanging tree (photo #3) and rolled into ovens, where the meat is smoked for 12 to 24 hours. After cooling, the links are separated, packaged and shipped.
 
 
YOU CAN TASTE THE QUALITY

Most hot dog brands taste fatty and overly-spiced. That’s to cover up lesser-quality meat and a greater percentage of [cheaper] fat.

Bite into an A & H hot dog, and you’ll immediately taste the meatiness. It’s one of the best-tasting beef hot dogs you can hope to find.

There’s no sponginess (an indication of fat), no excessive spicing ready to be burped.

If you’re looking to grill something more special for the holiday weekend—or any day of the year—pick up some A & H hot dogs. They’re more expensive than big brands; but isn’t all good meat more expensive?

If you can’t find the hot dogs locally, you can buy them online from A & H.
 
 
LEARN MORE AT ABELES-HEYMANN.COM.

The history of the hot dog explains the terms frankfurter and wiener. The hot dog traces its lineage to the 15th-century Viennese sausage, or wienerwurst in German.

Johann Georghehner, a butcher from the German city of Coburg, in Bavaria, is credited with inventing the “dachshund” or “little dog” sausage in the 17th century, and he brought it to the larger city of Frankfurt. The style became known as the frankfurter.

Yet, it was still a sausage eaten with a knife and fork, no bun. The hot dog, a slender sausage in a bun, was undeniably an American invention.

The attribution is given to a German immigrant named Charles Feltman, who began selling sausages in rolls at a stand in Coney Island in 1871.

The 1893 World Exposition in Chicago marked the debut of the hot dog vendor. According to National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, around this time that the hot dog first made its first appearance at a ballpark, at a St. Louis Browns game.

The first published mention of the term “hot dog” as a food first appeared in print in a September 1893 issue of The Knoxville Journal. However, it was well established prior to then.
  

August 22nd is National Bao Day, a relatively newly-established holiday reflecting the increased availability of bao in the U.S.

Baozi, called bao for short (and pronounced like bow-wow), is a traditional Chinese steamed filled bun (photo #1). Bao are served at restaurants as appetizers, made at home, and sold by street vendors. You’ll find them on dim sum menus.

While Americans may think of them as dumplings, bao are not made with a pasta/noodle dough but with a soft yeasty white bread made from wheat dough. Steamed in bamboo baskets and served warm, they are a real comfort food.

> There are links to recipes below.

> The year’s Chinese food holidays.
 
 
TYPES OF BAO

Meats or vegetables are the most common fillings, and you’ll also find sweet bao, filled with custard, chocolate, red beans or other sweet.

And there are different presentation styles, too.

Chinese immigration brought bao to other Pacific Rim countries, each putting their own touch onto fillings and shapes (source).

While bao can be eaten at any meal, and are a go-to breakfast food, in the U.S. bao have gotten the “American breakfast treatment.”

Wow Bao in Chicago sells bacon, egg and cheddar bao; scrambled eggs bao with mushrooms and spinach; and spicy sausage and egg bao.

We’re waiting for the PB&J bao for lunch.

Check out the many different types of bao. But be warned: They will make you hungry.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF BAO

According to legend, baozi was invented by the Chinese military strategist and chancellor of the state of Shu Han, Zhuge Liang, during a military campaign in the third century C.E.

In actuality, bao were derived from mantou, steamed buns without a filling, that originated in the north of China.

Mantou are thought to have originated in the Qin State of the Zhou Dynasty during the reign of King Zhaoxiang (307 B.C.E.-250 B.C.E.).

Along with other wheat-based foods like noodles, mantou and bao became popular during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.-206 C.E.)

Originally both styles—plain and filled—were called mantou. But centuries later, by the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127 C.E.), the term bao or baozi was used to differentiate the buns with filling (source).

But bao didn’t stay in China.

It is believed that the Mongols brought bao to Central and East Asia, about the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century. Thanks to them, filled dumplings emerged in the cuisines of Persia, Turkey and Uzbekistan, among other cuisines.

With the arrival of more Chinese immigrants to the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s, Chinese cuisine expanded beyond the Americanized Cantonese foods that were previously available.

Ask for bao the next time you visit a Chinese restaurant. It will most likely be BBQ pork, but you may find chicken bao, seafood bao, and those delicious dessert bao filled with sweet custard (recipe below).
 
 
BAO RECIPES

 
 
BREAD DOUGH HACK

If you want to try bao without investing a lot of time, use store-bought biscuit dough. They won’t taste exactly the same, but will give you an idea of what from-scratch will be like.

Check it out.
 
 
 

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[2] Some styles of bao have perfect, smooth domes. Here’s the recipe for these (photo © Thirsty For Tea | WordPress).

[3] Gua Bao bao, a “taco-style” bao from Fuzhou, the capital of China’s Fujian province. Here’s a recipe (photo © Wow Bao).

[4] Dessert bao can be filled with custard, chocolate or other sweet. How about Nutella (photo courtesy Wow Bao)

[5] It’s easy to start making dumplings with a basic cookbook like this one (photo © Callisto Publishers).

[2] An electric panini press, no stove required (photo courtesy Breville). If you have a George Foreman grill, you can grill panini, and vice versa: you can grill fish, meat and vegetables on a panini press.

[3] If you don’t want to store a bulkier panini press, a stovetop panini pan stores more easily (photo courtesy Calphalon).

[4] Before modern kitchens, sandwich were toasted using a device like this, held over the fire. In your modern kitchen, you can hold it over the flame on your stove (photo courtesy i.Pinimg).

Panini are grilled Italian sandwiches (panini is Italian for sandwiches_. August is National Panini Month. August 11th is National Panini Day. It’s also National Sandwich Month. So what gives?

Well, you can have celebrate National Sandwich Month with your favorite fillings on bread or toast; or you can grill them on an electric or stovetop panini press. Pretty much any conventional sandwich filling can be grilled.

The difference between panini and toasted bread sandwiches is the crispness. Before grilling, panini are brushed with oil or butter, and the heat and pressure of the panini press creates much crisper, crunchier bread.

Check out the panini recipes and tips below. But first:
 
 
THE HISTORY OF PANINI

According to Wikipedia, the first U.S. reference to panini dates to 1956. In Italy, the first appeared in a 16th-century Italian cookbook.

But it took a few centuries—all the way to the 1970s, to be precise—for the sandwiches became trendy in Italy.

The flash point was in Milan, in sandwich bars called paninoteche. Basic flat grills soon gave way to ribbed plates that created the desirable characteristics: melted cheese, crisp bread and grill marks. (A panini press can also used for regular grilling of meat, fish and vegetables.)

In the 1980s, the term “paninaro” arose to describe the stylish young people who patronized panini bars. They were categorized as fashion-fixated and obsessed with consumer goods as status symbols. (And they liked crispy sandwiches.)

In the 1980s, panini crossed the pond, appearing on the menus of fashionable casual restaurants in the U.S. Classic Italian ingredients were offered—prosciutto, mozzarella and arugula, for example. But soon, popular American fillings appeared—ham and swiss, for example.

By the way, panini is the plural form of the word, but it’s a compound noun. So whether you’re ordering one or ten, it’s still panini. Panino, the singular, is a roll or a small bread.

FOOD TRIVIA: Italians had no word for sandwich. During World War II, when G.I.s in Italy sought sandwiches and asked for meat and cheese on a roll, “panini” became the term.
 
 
PANINI RECIPES

 
 
PANINI TIPS

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How about a new lemonade recipe for National Lemonade Day, August 20th?

The lemon tree first grew wild in the Assam region of India and was ultimately brought to the Middle East.

While archaeological evidence shows that people drank lemon drinks centuries earlier, the first known written reference to the lemon tree dates from a 10th-century Arabic book on farming (source).

The history of lemonade continues below. But first, the recipe, from Chef Kris Koch of The SIX15 Room at The Grand Hotel, Minneapolis [photo #1]. His preparation tips:

 
 
RECIPE: LEMON-CUCUMBER LEMONADE

National Lemon Day is August 29th. National Cucumber Day is June 14th.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BLEND the ingredients thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. GARNISH as desired and serve. with sliced lemon, lime, cucumber, and a sprig of mint.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF LEMONADE

The history of prepared foods depends on the written record; and the further you go back in time, the fewer the written records.

Lemons and sugarcane are both native to India, where an early form of lemonade called nimbu pani was consumed.

It is believed that lemons were introduced to the Middle East around 700 C.E.

The earliest written evidence of lemon juice drink, from Egypt, dates to around 1000 C.E., made with lemons, dates, and honey.

Subsequent written records show that trade in lemon juice was active by 1104. Records of the Jewish community in Cairo, that span the 10th through 13th centuries, note the consumption of qatarmizat—lemon juice with lots of sugar—which was made for local consumption as well as export (source).

In 1676, Compagnie de Limonadiers was founded in Paris, with monopoly rights to sell lemonade. Street vendors served the drink from tanks on their backs.

The first known reference to carbonated lemonade comes from 1833; it was sold at refreshment stands in Britain. The R. White’s Lemonade brand, still sold in the U.K., has been produced since 1845 (photo #4).

[2] Here’s how to keep lemons fresh for an entire month, from The Kitchn.

[3] English cucumbers. As they mature on the vine, they grow quite long (photo © Mastronardi Produce).

[4] R. Whites Lemonade was first sold in the U.K. in 1845. The original bottles were brown crockery, then dark green glass (photo © Designweek | UK).

Much of the early lemonade was served without ice. Refrigeration and ice in warm weather are more modern benefits.

While drinking lemonade-type drinks may date back thousands of years, ice to keep foods cold was available only to the wealthy few, who could afford ice houses. In ancient times, ice cut from the mountains of Italy was shipped by barge (on a minuscule scale) to the Middle East and Egypt.

The earliest remains of ice pits found are from the seventh century B.C.E., with references suggesting that the techniques were used before the 11th century B.C.E.

By the Renaissance, people of means built ice houses on their properties, in shaded areas or below ground. During the winter, the ice house would be loaded up with ice and snow and packed with insulation such as straw or sawdust.

The original purpose was to store perishable foods in the warm months, but the ice could also be chipped to cool drinks or make ice cream and sorbet.

By the 19th century, commercial ice houses would store tons of ice for purchase. Still, ice houses could only exist where there was a source of natural ice.

In 1806, Frederic Tudor, a New England entrepreneur, came up with the idea to export ice on a commercial basis. Tudor’s first shipment was to the Caribbean, and the “Ice King” ultimately shipped ice all over the world. Tudor invented an entire industry, the ice trade.

Domestically, “ice men” carried blocks of ice to homes and businesses, where they were stored in “ice boxes” which kept perishable foods cool.

The first home refrigerator with a small freezing compartment—it held two ice cube trays±was launched in 1923. Large “deep freezers” for retail use only became common during the 1940s. That’s why people in period novels and films went to the neighborhood drugstore to get ice cream!

Big freezers did not go into mass production for home use until after World War II, and the new refrigerator-freezer units allowed people to keep lots of ice in the freezer.

Automatic icemakers for home refrigerator-freezers were first sold around 1953 (source). And then: iced lemonade for everyone!
 
 

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[2] An event for journalists, in the art of blending (photo by Eitan Schapsis | © THE NIBBLE).

[3] Three different blends offer different flavor profiles (photo © Oleificio Zucchi).
 
 
________________

*EVOO is an acronym for extra virgin olive oil.
________________

Occasionally, we have called out a few as Top Pick Of The Week, but it’s hard to do so: There are so many EVOOs* that deserve your attention.

Zucchi 1810 olive oil is a brand available at better supermarkets and specialty food stores. At less than $10 a bottle, it tastes as good as olive oils which are twice the price.

> The history of olive oil is below.

> The history of olives.

> The different types of olives and olive oil: a photo glossary.
 
 
ABOUT ZUCCHI

Oleificio Zucchi was founded in 1810 near Lodi in northern Italy. It’s now in the hands of the seventh generation.

By the 1990s, constant growth made it necessary to move the business to its current 86,000-square-foot facility in Cremona. The production capacity is now almost 400,000 gallons/day of packaged oil!

While that’s a lot of olive oil, the company produces oils that taste as good as some oils that are produced in small, artisan facilities.

Using state-of-the-art technology, Zucchi has created an “olive oil cellar,” Italy’s largest temperature-controlled storage facility, maintained at a constant 60°F and capable of storing some 5,300 tons of extra virgin olive oil.

The goal is to deliver an excellent oil whose organoleptic properties—taste, aroma, appearance—remain constant over time.

The company is proud of its sustainability and traceability: a sustainable supply chain founded on environmental sustainability, transparency at every step of production (traceability—you can trace your bottle with the QR code on the label), and fair wages for workers.
 
 
THE ART OF BLENDING

You may notice single-cultivar olive oils: arbequina, cerignola, frantoia, and scores more. (There are more than 500 different cultivars in Italy alone, although some are better for eating than for pressing into oil.)

While single-cultivar oils are usually the province of artisan growers, the majority of olive oils are a blend of several cultivars (varieties) each of which brings a unique flavor profile to the blend.

In the blending room, finding the right balance between fruity and peppery, bold and delicate requires knowledge and skill. The objective is to find the best blend of cultivars (and origins, since olives planted in different regions can have different personalities), and the best percentages of each.

The art of blending is the ability to create oils with specific personalities that appeal to different consumer tastes.

It is a fascinating procedure, and we have been fortunate to try it at a Zucchi blending event (photo #2).

Just think of how both Americans’ use of olive oil, and our culinary trends, have changed over the last 30 years, and you’ll see why producers continually seek optimal blends.

There are an infinite number of blends, but here are the different flavor styles of olive oil with which to begin.

Which blend is right for you? It’s only by tasting that you know if you’d rather dress your salad with an oil that’s buttery, fruity, or peppery; mild, robust, or intense.

Head down the olive oil aisle and you’re likely to find different blends of Zucchi EVOO: Heritage, Italiano, Organic, and Sweet & Fruity (“sweet” refers to the fruit flavors).

There are also three flavored EVOOs: Chili Pepper, Garlic, and Pesto.

All are delicious; we use all of them. You can find a 500ml/16.9-ounce bottle for $9.99.

> Discover more at Zucchi.com.
 
 
TIPS FOR STORING YOUR OILS

It’s easy for olive oil to go rancid if it isn’t stored properly, or if it’s too old. Here are the three things to remember.

1. To conserve any oil’s sensory and nutritional properties, seal the container tightly after each use.

2. Keep it away from light. In fact, like wine, the bottle should be green or other dark glass to filter out the light.

3. Store it below 68°F/20°. The ideal range is between 53°F/12°C and 46°F/18°C). This means: Find a cool spot in the kitchen, never next to the stove or oven.

Even so, use up the olive oil as quickly as you can. While some olive cultivars age better than others, and we’ve successfully used oils that are two years old, ideally don’t buy more than you’ll use in 6 months or so.

Also, look for a bottling date before you buy the bottle. Fresh is best.

—Contributed by Eitan Schapsis
 
 

The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean basin; wild olives were collected by Neolithic peoples as early as the 8th millennium B.C.E. The wild trees are believed to have originated in Greece and were first domesticated in one of three places: Asia Minor, the Levant†, or in Mesopotamia (source).

Olive tree cultivation reached Iberia (Spain) and Etruscan Etruria (western Italy) well before the 8th century B.C.E. It spread to southern Gaul (France) in the 7th century B.C.E.
 
 
The First Olive Oil

Archaeological evidence shows that olives were pressed into olive oil by 6000 B.C.E.

It was used every day, multiple times a day. Besides as food, olive oil was used for religious rituals and medicines, as lamp fuel, in soap, and in hair and skin care applications. It was a necessity in the ancient world.

Olive oil was common in ancient Greek and Roman cuisine. As the Roman Empire expanded, olive trees were planted throughout the Mediterranean basin during the reign of the Roman Empire.

While the first trees were brought to the Iberian peninsula by the Phoenicians and the Greeks, olive cultivation in Hispania, as the Romans called it, was expanded considerably by them, as they also improved the techniques of oil production.

Palates were picky even in ancient times. Olive oil from Hispania was highly regarded by the Romans. But the historian Pliny the Elder, writing in the 1st century C.E., expressed his preference for Italian olive oil: Italy had “excellent olive oil at reasonable prices…the best in the Mediterranean.”

[5] Olive trees (photo © O Olive Oil).

[6] Egyptians pressing oil by twisting a bag of olives.

 
 
OLIVE OIL TRIVIA

 
 
MORE ABOUT OLIVE OIL

> Extra Virgin Olive Oil: An Overview

> Glossary Of Olive Oil Types & Terminology

> How To Taste Olive Oil (And Have A Tasting Party!)

> The Different Flavors Of Olive Oil

> Why You Should Replace Butter With Olive Oil

> Food Fun: An Olive Oil Martini

> Beware Of Fake italian Olive Oil

__________

†The Levant was a large area in southwest Asia: south of the Taurus Mountains, with the Mediterranean Sea as the western boundary, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east. “Levant” is an English term that first appeared in 1497. It originally referred to the “Mediterranean lands east of Italy.” The historical area comprises modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. Among other popular foods, Levantine cuisine gave birth to baklava, falafel, kebabs, mezze (including tabbouleh, hummus, and baba ghanoush), pita, and za’atar, among other dishes that are enjoyed in the U.S. and around the world.
 
 

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