[2] Brown turkey figs (photo courtesy Melissa’s).

In 2006, the discovery of figs in an 11,400-year-old house near the ancient city of Jericho established figs as the world’s oldest cultivated crop—toppling the previous contenders, wheat and barley.

Who knows what evidence will be found going forward, but for now, figs wear the crown.

The figs were from a type of fig tree that was not pollinated by insects. Such a parthenocarpic tree won’t reproduce unless. Human intervention is required, to grow more trees from a cuttings.

Voilà: earliest known instance of agriculture, the practice of farming, which in includes cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops*.

A parthenocarpic tree doesn’t produce seeds to reproduce, but a benefit is that its fruit is prevented from falling off the tree. This allows it to become soft and sweet instead of falling to the ground, often before it reaches its sweet peak.

That sweeter fruit may be why man—or rather, woman—continually planted shoots from the trees.

How did prehistoric woman figure that out?

“It’s generally women who do the gathering in hunting-and-gathering societies,” says a Harvard anthropologist, Ofer Bar-Yosef. “And years of experience would tell them exactly how the plants behaved…” [source].

But, he notes, observation and experimentation are a very slow process, perhaps requiring experimentation by generations of women.

 
On the other side of the world, millet was domesticated about 10,000 years ago in China, followed by rice [source].

The 2005 discovery now places figs on the top of the podium of the world’s oldest domesticated crops—by roughly 1,000 years, and 5,000 years earlier than previously thought.
 
 
THE DAWN OF AGRICULTURE

Previously, agriculture was thought to begin after 9500 B.C.E. in the Fertile Crescent, the land in and around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that is now include Mesopotamia, and the Levant†.

It’s a Near East-centric view that doesn’t include what might have been happening in the rest of the world. Some highlights [source]:

 
Here’s the full chart of plant domestication.
Here’s more about the dawn of agriculture.
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*Agriculture also includes the rearing of animals to provide food, wool and other products.

†The Levant is the name given to the western Fertile Crescent, a large area in southwest Asia. Its perimeters are south of the Taurus Mountains, with the Mediterranean Sea as the western boundary, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east. The historical area comprises modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

“Levant” is an English term that first appeared in 1497. It originally referred to the “Mediterranean lands east of Italy.” Among other popular foods, Levantine cuisine gave birth to baklava, balafel, 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.
 
  

We have two favorite mustard brands: Maille, the venerable mustard house of Dijon, France, which makes Dijon in dozens of flavors; and Colman’s, the fiercely hot, Chinese-style mustard (the different types of mustard).

We love mustard—great flavor, virtually no calories—and have written it into many recipes and our 10 favorite ways to use mustard.

Even if you don’t want mustard flavor, it can work in the background to perk up so many recipes. Our favorite uses:

 
As a recipe helper, just a spoonful of mustard helps to:

 
And when we’re stuck for a sauce: Dijon mustard, plain Greek yogurt and some seasonings.
 
MUSTARD RECIPES

You can find lots of recipes on Maille.com.

Although we haven’t tried it, there’s a recipe for carrot cake and a mango cocktail, both of which use Dijon mustard.

For some real heat, look at this collection of recipes from Colman’s. Add some heat to mac and cheese, soup, even gingerbread.
 
 
THE CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES FAMILY

Your healthcare providers want you to eat more cruciferous veggies.

Cruciferous vegetables—also known as brassicas—are superfoods that comprise the Brassicaceae family of vegetables. These nutritional powerhouses are also packed with cancer-fighting* phytonutrients, powerful antioxidants.

The family includes

[2] Use mustard to make a crust on salmon or other proteins. Mix it with yogurt and herbs for a mustard sauce (photo courtesy Kitchen Galanter).

[3] A match made in heaven: soft pretzels and spicy mustard (photo courtesy Ringhand’s Mustard).

[4] Anything fried can be paired with mustard or mustard sauce (photo courtesy Betty Crocker).

[5] Want fries with that? Mustards and other sauces at Le District | NYC.

Eat up: Cruciferous vegetables are low in calories and high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Consume them raw or lightly steamed to get the maximum amount of antioxidants.

Just don’t overcook them! You can eat overcooked carrots or potatoes, but overcooked broccoli and Brussels sprouts are not so pleasant.

“Cruciferous” derives from cruciferae, New Latin for “cross-bearing.” It is so named because the flowers of these vegetables consist of four petals in the shape of a cross.

Here’s a book you may enjoy: Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables: Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and More.
 
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*Studies have shown the ability of cruciferous vegetables to stop the growth of cancer cells in the breast, cervix, colon, uterus, liver, lung and prostate.

[2] If you want to bake your own ciabatta, here’s a recipe from Brown Eyed Baker.

[3] Premium dried oregano from Rancho Gordo.

We love good bread. Buttery or cracker-dry, fine or rustic crumb, plain or seasoned, tall or flat, soft or crusty, made with any type of flour, with or without inclusions (cheese, dried fruits, nuts…): All are welcome.

If you’re a bread lover, you’re likely a crouton lover, too. Can there be too many croutons served with salad or soup?

Maybe, but the bar is high.

When we saw this photo from MorningStar Farms, we were decided that our lunch would be salad with a topping of croutons. Big, garlicky ones, like crunchy garlic bread.

You don’t have to toss them on the salad. If you prefer, serve them on the side.

RECIPE: HERBED CROUTONS

You can make croutons in whatever size and shape you like—even using cookie cutters for hearts or other shapes. The ingredients are similar; only the size of the bread varies.

For jumbo croutons, look for an oblong loaf so you can cut biscotti- or mini-biscotti-size slices as shown in the photo. We used a ciabatta loaf.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F, with a rack positioned in the center.

2. ADD the oil to a saucepan, along with the the garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes; discard the garlic.

3. TOSS the bread cubes in a bowl toss with the seasoned oil. Spread them onto a jelly-roll pan (a baking sheet with a rim) and bake them for 8 minutes.

4. SPRINKLE the croutons with the parmesan and bake them for another 7 minutes, or until they are golden brown (if you’re not using cheese, simply bake for the additional 7 minutes). Remove from the oven.

5. TASTE a crouton and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper as desired. Cool. Croutons will keep in an airtight container for a week. for tossed green salad.

 
Ingredients

 
 
10 USES FOR CROUTONS

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*Stuff with a protein salad: chicken, crab, egg, tuna or shrimp salad.
  

A fun project for a long weekend: ice cream donuts.

There are two ways to look at them. One requires a donut pan and some fabrication. The other requires nothing but donuts and ice cream.

 
RECIPE #1: DONUT ICE CREAM SANDWICHES (Photo #1)

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SOFTEN the ice cream by leaving the container on the counter for 10 minutes or more.

2. HALVE the donuts. Pile ice cream on the lower half and smooth the edges with a spatula. Add the top donut half.

3a. ROLL the ice cream in a dish of garnishes. Wrap in plastic and return to the freezer to harden – or –

3b. MELT the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Dip part of the donut in the chocolate, then in garnishes as desired.
 
 
RECIPE #2: ICE CREAM DONUTS (Photo #3)

These donuts have no cakey component; they’re solid ice-cream shaped like donuts. You can add a crumb bottom for some donut effect.

Ingredients

 
 
Preparation

1. COAT the wells of the pan (photo #2) per manufacturer’s instructions.

2. SOFTEN the ice cream by leaving the container on the counter for 10 minutes or more.

3. SPOON the ice cream into the donut wells. Level with a spatula. Add the optional cake or cookie crumbs and lightly tamp down. Place the pan in the freezer.

4. ASSEMBLE: Invert the pan to remove the donuts. Quickly frost, garnish and serve. Alternatively, just frost and serve the garnishes separately, in DIY fashion.
 
 
DOUGHNUT VS. DONUT

An old word for ball was nut; a doughnut is literally a nut (ball) of dough.

[2] With a donut pan, you can soften ice cream and fill the circles. Refreeze, then frost and decorate (photo by Hannah Kaminsky, Bittersweet Blog.

[3] If you invest in a donut pan, you can use it for other things. Check out 101 Donut Pan Ideas.

“…balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks*.”

These balls, or nuts of fried dough, are what we now call (in a smaller size) doughnut holes.

Because the center of the cake did not cook as quickly as the outside, the softer centers were sometimes stuffed with fruit, nuts, or other fillings that did not require cooking (think of the chopped onions in the center of a bialy).

What about the hole?

Per Smithsonian, a New England ship captain’s mother made a notably delicious, deep-fried doughnut that used her son’s spice cargo of nutmeg and cinnamon, along with lemon rind. She filled the center with hazelnuts or walnuts.

As the story goes, in 1847, 16-year-old sailor Hanson Crockett Gregory created the hole in the center of the doughnut. He used the top of a round tin pepper container to punch the holes, so the dough would cook evenly.

He recounted the story in an interview with the Boston Post at the turn of the century, 50 years later.

He effectively eliminated the need to fill the less-cooked center, and provided an inner cut-out that enabled the dough to be evenly cooked.

Who changed the spelling to donut?

The first known printed record of the shortened word “donut” appears (likely an inadvertent misspelling) in “Peck’s Bad Boy And His Pa,” a story by George W. Peck published in 1900.

The spelling did not immediately catch on. That impetus goes to Dunkin’ Donuts, founded in 1950.

While donut is easier to write, but we prefer the old-fashioned elegance of doughnut. Take your choice.

Doughnuts didn’t become a mainstream American food until after World War I. American doughboys at the front were served doughnuts by Salvation Army volunteers. When the doughboys returned, they brought their taste for doughnuts with them [source].

The name doughboy wasn’t related to the doughnuts, by the way. It dates to the Civil War, when the cavalry unchivalrously derided foot soldiers as doughboys. Two theories are offered:

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*Olykoek is Dutch for oil cake, i.e., batter fried in oil. While dough was fried the world over, we can thank the Dutch for the sweet balls fried in hog fat that became modern doughnuts.
  

[1] Take a look at the spices and herbs you own. Look for recipes online or use your own palate to choose what to use on your meat. These are some of the ingredients used in rubs for wild game by Wide Open Spaces.

[2] Pick what you want for your blend. Use smaller amounts of more intense spices (chiles, cumin, garlic, pepper, etc.) and larger amounts of base flavors (oregano, thyme, etc.). Use very small amounts of accent flavors like cardamom, cinnamon, lemon peel and nutmeg (photo courtesy M Magazine).

[3] When you arrive at your signature rub, bottle it and give it as gifts. This one is from Dad Cooks Dinner.

Just as you can throw together a vinaigrette or a marinade in one-two-three, you can make a rub for meats and poultry.

Sure, you can buy them: But why pay big bucks for convenience foods when you can make them for pennies with ingredients you already own?

Take a quick look at your spice shelf. Allspice, chili powder and ground chiles, cinnamon, cumin, garlic powder, lemon peel, mustard powder, nutmeg, onion powder, paprika, sage and thyme all have a place in rubs (although a limit of five or so is best).

When you mix your own, you can also eliminate the large amount of salt blended into commercial rubs.

Rubs:

 
Rubs pull moisture from the air, as they draw up the juices from the inside of the meat. This process (osmosis) causes the meat to marinate itself as it cooks.

They can also be used on fish and vegetables.

There are two types of rubs:

 
Today we focus on dry rubs. If you’re grilling this weekend, it’s an opportunity to try different combinations.

Try different combinations and proportions over time. If you make too much, give it to friends or neighbors.

Aim for a signature blend for each of your favorite foods: burgers, chicken, steaks, etc. When you have that eureka! moment, you can bottle it as stocking stuffers or house gifts.

WHAT GOES INTO A RUB?

 
Should you add salt to a rub?

Note that you cannot judge how a rub will taste when it’s raw. It tastes very very different after cooking.

When the juices of the meat mix with the herbs and spices and the heat of cooking, they undergo chemical reactions. Thus, a rub may taste too hot when raw, but just right when on top of a piece of cooked meat.

Similarly, the flavors blend together. People who don’t like a particular spice may not even know that it’s there.
 
 
RUBS VS. MARINADES

You don’t use a both a rub and a marinade. Just use one for flavor. If you want to make the meat less tough, a marinade that includes vinegar is better. Otherwise, Pereg Natural Foods advises:

 
You can apply the rub a few days before you cook the meat, wrap it up in plastic wrap or butcher paper, and place it in the fridge until you’re getting ready to cook (move it to the counter first; don’t put cold meat on the grill).

Add a generous portion of the rub at first to the meat. After it sits for a few days, add a bit more rub before cooking.

Ready, set, blend!