The Strawberry Fork Remembered

The strawberry fork is a small utensil with 2 or 3 tines used solely for eating strawberries. It is a food-specific, decorative object and like the five o'clock teaspoon, was never a necessity at the table. Yet for a short time in America, items such as these came to suggest refinement and serve as a reflection of wealth and social status.

Post Civil War Society: Activating a Consumer Class
With the industrialization and economic development of America in the second half of the 19th century, a large middle class developed that had disposable income and leisure time. This social mobility led to a growth in conspicuous consumption, as items were marketed toward an increasingly powerful middle class eager to effect the trappings of wealth. Household items such as fine silver were once only associated with elite society. As class boundaries began to blur, dining became more ritualized and defined by rules of etiquette. The resulting tension between social groups often revealed itself through the objects displayed on the dining table. Although silver prices had dropped by the 1850s, the cost of food was still very high and lavish dinner services, complete with specialized cutlery, thereby signified wealth.



Silver and Conspicuous Consumption in Late 19th Century America
The significance and value of silver changed throughout the 19th century. In the 17th & 18th centuries, silver was accessible only to the wealthy. By the second half of the 19th century, however, American currency had shifted from the use of silver coins to bank notes. As a result, a family's silver no longer served as a representation of their monetary worth. Furthermore, with industrialization, machines were able to efficiently reproduce the time consuming work of the silversmith, making silver more affordable and plentiful. After the invention of electroplating, perfected by the English company Elkington around 1840, this method spread to America and provided a cheaper substitute to the more costly sterling silver standard.

As silver prices fell, several companies such as Tiffany and Gorham began producing silver with a new emphasis on: 1) the object and it's function, and 2) a return to craftsmanship. Following this trend, specialized silver pieces were patented for the rarefied uses of the elite: orange bowls for serving this still exotic, imported fruit; olive bowls, designed and decorated to cleverly suggest the food they held; and utensils as various as ice cream servers, berry scoops, griddle cake servers, melon knives, cherry forks, and strawberry forks, many of which can be viewed on the Cooper-Hewitt Museum's website.

The Decline in Fancy Flatware
Food and object came to define one another and uniquely expressed social conventions and consumer culture at the end of the 19th century. By the 20th century, the fashion for silver had diminished. Yet, it still connoted an elite refinement among the middle class, affirmed by the tradition of wedding silver. Many young women added to their silver collection over the years, and in this way, silver continued to represent a milestone of social achievement. As Jennifer F. Goldsborough says in "From 'Fiddle' to Fatuous: The Proliferation of Cutlery and Flatware Designs in Nineteenth Century America,"

During the years between the end of World War I and the 1970s, when stainless steel supplanted
silver as the dominant flatware material, many young "working girls" spent money to acquire one
silver spoon or fork at a time rather than going to the movies or indulging in a new blouse. As such,
a silver spoon remained, until well after World War II, the most ubiquitous symbol of the American dream.
(Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005, New York: Assouline, 2006: 189).

Indeed this idea is confirmed in Mary Davis Gillies' Popular Home Decoration, a guide to the essentials of interior decorating and entertaining published in 1940 and 1948 by Wise & Co., New York. Gillies, also the Interior and Architectural editor for McCall's Magazine, writes, "It is difficult not to take silver seriously. In some incalculable way, it has become all tangled up with sentiment, tradition, and other intangibles" (265). Gillies encourages women to buy silver plate settings or, "if you are of the orchid wearing class and can get sterling for your table, it is practical to use the place setting plan." She singles out a dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, butter knife, teaspoon, and dessert spoon for each setting. She then advises that "it may... be necessary to plan your menus around your silver. You will have to forego oysters, for instance, until you get oyster forks." Yet while oyster forks, correlating with a luxury food, remained in use, items like the strawberry fork were no longer relevant. As Gillies advised her readers, "In my estimation you can get along forever without such pieces as: orange spoons, ice cream forks, berry spoons" (266). It is likely that Gillies would have felt this way about strawberry forks, which quickly found their place among the other articles of 19th century frippery.


Strawberry Fork, Probably Tiffany & Co., ca. 1895. Length: 4.25 inches

A Strawberry Recipe from the West Coast Cookbook



In looking for a dish to feature the flavor of just picked strawberries, I found a nice recipe in Helen Brown's West Coast Cookbook (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1952), which involves briefly shallow frying strawberries rolled in crackers (I used Walker oatcakes), ground almonds, and dipped in an egg batter. The fritters were delicious but I wanted something a bit lighter, fluffier, and golden hued. I replaced the cracker meal with fine semolina flour and added a little maple syrup. The recipe below can be adjusted to your favorite ingredients.



Strawberry flowers in late May

Freshly picked June strawberries.

Strawberry Fritters

Ingredients:

1 rounded cup chopped strawberries
5 Tbs semolina flour
1 Tbs almond flour
2 Tbs maple syrup
neutral oil for shallow frying

While oil heats in a pan, mix the ingredients in a bowl. For each fritter, place a dollop of batter in the pan and cook, turning once, until golden on each side. Place finished fritters on a plate lined with paper towels and cover until ready to serve.

Rosewater: Essence of the Garden

Rosa 'Ispahan'

Scent of the Garden: Flavoring Food in Middle Eastern Cuisine

Besides its reputation as a common subject in the visual and literary arts, the rose has occupied a place among culinary traditions in many parts of the world. Rosewater, with its refreshingly uncloying sweet perfume, has been used to add flavor and scent to food and drinks for centuries. In medieval Islamic cuisine, aromatics were artfully used to heighten the sensory pleasures of eating and rosewater is a common ingredient in cookbooks from various regions. These include the 10th century Iraqi Kitab Tabikh by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, the ca. 14th century Fadalat al-khiwan fi tayyibat al-ta ‘am wa’l-alwan by Ibn Razin al-Tujibi from Murcia in Spain, and the 13th-14th century Kanz al-fawa’id fi tanwi‘ al-fawa’id, possibly of Egyptian origin (Manuela Marin, "Beyond Taste: the Complements of Color and Smell in the Medieval Arab Culinary Tradition," In A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, eds. Sami Zubaida & Richard Tapper, 2006). Some Arab cookery books correlate cooking with garden building as both arts involve organizing individual components towards a final aesthetic product that will engage all of the senses.(Ibid., 214).

Petals from the Ispahan Rose.

Roses, Rosewater, and Paradise Gardens

The concept of the ideal Islamic garden, or paradise garden, was beautifully realized at the 17th century Mughal Indian palace retreats in Kashmir. The garden was a special place in the Mughal court, as much a part of the living space as the palace itself. Within the gardens' permanent stone structural foundations, an ephemeral form of beauty was on display, as water, flowers, and decorative objects, along with intangible elements like sound and scent, combined to create the Islamic Paradise on earth.

Rosa 'Moonlight'

Flowers were a central element in the Mughal paradise gardens of Kashmir. Wide herbaceous borders included flowers with varying bloom times so that the garden would be in color for most of the year. Crocuses, tulips, iris and narcissi blossomed in the spring. Roses bloomed throughout most of the year and their heady fragrance was perfectly suited to a paradise garden. Queen Nur Jahan, wife of Emperor Jahangir, is credited with extracting the rose’s essential oils and making rosewater. As with fruit cultivation, this became an industry in itself and was later exported around the world. Painted porcelain flasks held rosewater and were kept in the garden in wall niches. Along with the flowers and their fragrance came birds, their calls adding to the enchantment of the garden.



Making Rosewater and Cooking with Rosewater

Preparing rosewater could not be simpler since it involves merely pouring boiling water over fresh petals and steeping them. The quality of the rose matters, however. Choose an heirloom variety that is extremely fragrant. Depending on the variety the perfume may be quite different so pick a scent you really like. Most importantly, the roses must be unsprayed, and ideally located away from a main road from which dust and fumes can settle on flowers.



Rosewater Recipe

2 cups fresh rose petals
1 cup boiling water

Place rose petals in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to steep for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine cheesecloth into a jar or bottle and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Rosewater will retain a pink hue when made with pink roses of a high color saturation. Otherwise the color may be a pinky-yellow.


Rosewater adds a lovely background perfume to many dishes or a pleasing garnish when splashed on sweets such as the almond chai halva posted previously. I've also made coconut-rose ice cream, a fondue-like rosewater mascarpone sauce to dip cookies in, savory rice and couscous flavored with rosewater, and most recently this delightful rose lassi.

Refreshing and nourishing, this beverage is a perfect restorative on a hot day.

Rose Lassi
Makes approximately 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups yogurt
11-12 Tbs rosewater
6 Tbs agave nectar (or more if you prefer) or other sweetener

Whisk yogurt swiftly until it becomes smooth. Add rosewater and sweetener and whisk until well blended. Taste to adjust flavors. You'll want to be able to taste the rosewater without it being overpowering. Pour into glasses and serve with or without ice.


Fragrant Rose Petal, Mint, and Pea Leaf Salad



Left over rose petals make a lovely summer salad. Simply add a handful of roses to some other small-leaf greens and top with a light drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, and some crushed pink peppercorns or freshly ground black pepper.

Related posts: Halva: A Sweet of Worldly Delight

Selection of References on Islamic Gardens:

Forkl, Hermann, et al. Die Gärten des Islam. Stuttgart: Edition Hansjörg Mayer, 1993.
Scholarly publication on gardens all over the Islamic world and the cross influence between gardens and other art. Well illustrated. In German.

Maurières, Arnaud and Éric Ossart. Paradise Gardens. Paris: Hachette Livre, 2000.
Detailed analysis of aesthetics within the Islamic garden, such as particular flowers and their scents.

Wescoat, James, ed. Mughal Gardens: Sources, Places, Representations, and Prospects. Washington, D.C. : Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1996.
Scholarly collection of articles on Mughal gardens with detailed analysis.

Decorating with Mukhwas

The tasty mukhwas (mouth fresheners) one nibbles on at the end of an Indian restaurant meal are a traditional part of Indian cuisine. Indeed, 17th Century European travellers remarked on the prevalent practice of chewing paan-- areca nut wrapped in betel leaf-- a practice that continues today (Lizzie Collingham, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). The type of mukhwas shown here are a mixture of sweet, crunchy, and aromatic ingredients including fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and colored sugar pieces, with oils of peppermint and rose. There are many different blends available for purchase as well as online recipes for homemade versions.

19th Century German Silver Salt Dish and Salt Spoon

These fragrant tidbits can be more than just a snack. Sprinkled atop desserts, the brightly colored mukhwas impart a celebratory appearance and add an unexpected flavor and crunch (with a more interesting taste than regular sprinkles).

Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and Mukhwas.

Because the minty-anise aspect of the mukhwas is so strong, I found it went well with chocolate based desserts, such as the cupcakes and cookies I've shown. The cookie recipe in particular uses no eggs or dairy ingredients and results in a light, chewy texture that pairs well with the mukhwas blend.

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies Topped with Mukhwas.

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies (Vegan)
Recipe
Makes about 16

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips for glaze (to keep the recipe vegan, use vegan chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a large bowl and mix well.

2. Place 1" balls of dough about 1 1/2 "apart on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

3. While cookies are cooling, heat chocolate chips over low heat in a heavy bottomed pot or double boiler until just melted, stirring constantly.

4. Spread glaze over cooled cookies and decorate with mukhwas mix.

Camellia Flower Tea

Tea is a product of the Camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are dried and processed using a variety of methods that result in black, oolong, green, and white teas. Further variations might include flowers such as jasmine or orchid, which infuse the tea leaves with their fragrance. Although such flavorings were disdained by many tea scholars of the Ming era (1368-1644) in China, these fragrant teas have remained popular and today are a subject of connoisseurship.

Some teas, such as chrysanthemum, are made without using tea leaves at all, and are appreciated for their unique flavor and medicinal qualities. Camellia sinensis flower tea, made exclusively from the blossoms of the tea plant, is a lesser known example. Camellia flowers contain a trace amount of caffeine and some polythenols and catechins, properties that make tea leaves so beneficial to health. I recently acquired some Chinese heirloom camellia flowers from Upton Tea Imports, located in Massachusetts. After immersing the flowers in boiling water for 8 minutes, the water becomes a glowing nectar, with whole blooms slowly drifting to the bottom of the teapot. The fresh taste is reminiscent of a delicate white tea, but with a softer finish and sweet undertones. Camellia flower tea is an excellent choice for a spring afternoon and makes a refreshing iced drink as well.

Variation on a Theme: Matzo Charlotte

Early and vintage cookbooks are interesting cultural documents for both the recipes and commentary from the time they were written. Many favorite dishes that were once commonplace are no longer among the average cook's repertory. Recently I looked through The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook, a collection of recipes by Gertrude Berg who played the Molly Goldberg character in the popular 1950s TV show, The Goldbergs. A recipe for Matzo Charlotte, interested me. While I had heard of charlotte, a dessert related to the English pudding, I have never had it and I did not know it could be made with matzos, the Jewish unleavened cracker originally made for Passover in observance of the leavening restrictions, but now enjoyed any time of the year.


The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook was published in 1955 . This edition is from 1962. It has recently been re-issued and is available from Amazon.com.

Charlottes and Carême
Charlotte dates to the late 18th century and is said to be named after Britain's Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818), wife of George III. Like bread pudding, which consists of stale bread soaked in milk, charlotte was traditionally made with fingers of sponge cake topped with custard cream and baked, or unbaked in the form of a trifle, with layers of fruit and cream. These flaccid, protean ingredients were carefully assembled in a decorative mould, thereby imposing a standard form on this inherently pudding-like dessert. Many variations in ingredients and form exist, of which the best known is charlotte russe.

Charlotte russe is believed to have been created by Antonin Carême (née Marie-Antoine Carême). Carême, a distinguished French chef, had worked under the patronage of the English court after the death of George III in the early 19th century. While he probably encountered the baked dessert in England, it was at the banquet of Russia's Czar Alexander I that Carême first served charlotte parisienne, a cold, unbaked version of the charlotte, firmed with gelatin, later called charlotte russe.

A Dessert for Presentation
Charlotte was a popular dish throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries in the United States. At the end of a meal, it made a statement of elegance and refinement, yet the dish is quite easy to prepare. The following excerpt from an 1882 New York Times article on entertaining, suggests serving charlotte russe for a dinner party:

Handsome entertainments are expensive, a supper from Delmonico's, or even a more moderate caterer,
represents a sum which can be ill spared from the family exchequer. A mere reception with ice cream
and cake...will not answer the purpose, a dancing party is considered a necessity, and with
it, as a matter of course, a pretty supper.

A recipe for charlotte russe follows with the caution, " To make charlotte russe to perfection is rather a difficult operation and requires care and nicety." The recipe concludes on an encouraging note: "If these directions are carefully followed it will prove a great success." Indeed Carême himself advised the early 19th century home cook, "Bourgeois kitchens of limited means would be wise to follow simple methods and not try to imitate the ways of the grandes." (Aretsy, Esther B. The Exquisite Table. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1980, 96).

Yet, American cookbooks from the 19th and early 20th centuries, intended for housewives, usually include several charlotte recipes, indicating that the dish had infiltrated the middle class. The Feeding America cookbook archive from the Michigan State University Libraries includes several examples such as The White House Cookbook (1887) and The Lady's Receipt-Book (1847). Charlottes are featured with a variety of fruit fillings such as raspberry, apple, and plum, as well as flavorings such as coffee and caramel. In addition to the charlotte russe, recipes for charlotte polonaise (perhaps the most unusual recipe I encountered-- made with rosewater, chocolate, macaroons, meringue, and dyed green with spinach), francaise, and Italian and Spanish charlotte are also included. There are also recipes for matzo charlotte in The Neighborhood Cookbook (1914) by the Council of Jewish Women and The International Jewish Cookbook (1919) by Florence Kreisler Greenbaum. While Jewish housewives had probably begun using matzo in charlottes soon after the dessert became popular, a relation of charlotte, schalet, had already existed in Jewish cuisine.

Charlotte and Schalet
According to Gil Marks in The World of Jewish Desserts, the word "schalet" is derived from the Old French chald, or warm. Marks states that among the Jews in medieval Europe, the Sabbath stew called schalet (now known as cholent) was often prepared using dough to create a tight seal between pot and lid. The dough, which inadvertently became cooked was also called schalet, and evolved into a pudding dessert in its own right, still known as schalet, now commonly called kugel. While the ingredients of schalet and charlotte differ somewhat, the names are remarkably similar. Is this just a coincidence? Is it possible that the English name was derived from the much older Ashkenazic Jewish pudding and not from a tenuous link to the English Queen? Any insight on this subject is welcome.

With its refined appearance and vague reference to royalty, charlotte was a popular dessert at dinner parties and banquets. Although rarely served today, charlotte still puts on a good show.

This short study of charlotte includes examples I have found from American texts. If anyone has come across any charlotte or charlotte-like recipes in non-American cookbooks please let me know.

Limoges Bouillon Cup with Saucer Depicting Roses, marked Jean Pouyat, ca. 1890-1932.


The charlotte in Molly Goldberg's book was made with orange juice and egg whites. It seemed like the dish was ripe for an update. I wanted a mix of textures that would offset yet complement one another. Treating the matzo in the manner of french toast, I softened it in an egg mixture and then crisped the outside over the stove. I topped the matzo with macerated strawberries and spiced whipped cream.

Recipe
Matzo Charlotte with Strawberries and Cardamom Whipped Cream
Serves 4

Ingredients

12 large strawberries, sliced and gently tossed with 1 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream beaten with 1 tsp cardamom powder until soft, billowy peaks form
Mint leaves to garnish, optional

For the matzos:
2-3 matzos
1Tbs butter
1 large egg, beaten and thinned with a little milk or water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
sugar for dusting, optional

1. Break matzo into small, rectangular pieces, about 1" by 3". It's okay if they are a little uneven.

2. Mix egg, vanilla, and salt in a shallow dish and soak several pieces of matzo for about 10 minutes.

3. Melt some butter in a hot pan and add soaked matzos. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side until golden. Place cooked matzos on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little sugar, if desired. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until all of the matzos are cooked.

4. Using about 5 or 6 matzo pieces per serving, line four ramekins or small bowls with matzo. You may need to break them a bit to get them to line up and overlap nicely. Divide strawberries over matzos and top with a big dollop of cardamom whipped cream and mint leaves.

Book Review: The Cook

Food has the potential to be a very powerful tool. The preparer, or cook, is thus uniquely advantaged to exploit that control for her/his benefit, like an alchemist turning base metals into gold. The dictionary definition of a cook is "one whose occupation is to prepare food for the table; one who dresses or cooks meat or vegetables for eating." Yet, this meaning does little to convey the authority the position can command.

The use of food as an instrument for personal gain is compellingly revealed in The Cook, a novel by Harry Kressing published in 1965. The Cook is the story of Conrad, a man hired to cook for the wealthy Hill family in the bucolic village of Cobb, and his path to dominance over the household. Towering at 6' 6" tall and with an imperious demeanor, Conrad is formidable in both appearance and disposition. But it is his cooking ability that allows him to transform the domestic structure of the entire Hill estate, resulting in a new household order by the end of the story.

When Conrad arrives, he is told that the Hills like only simple food, do not linger over their meals with second servings, and never come into the kitchen. But after Conrad's first meal, a breakfast, is served to the family, one begins to sense a shift in the dynamics of the Hill household as the maid returns to the kitchen almost immediately with a request for more muffins. Another change soon occurs:

After breakfast a tall, statuesque woman came into the kitchen. "I'm Mrs. Hill," she smiled, concealing her surprise at Conrad's appearance. "I just wanted to tell you that your muffins were delicious."
Conrad inclined his head and thanked her.
And before Mrs. Hill left: "Could we possibly have some more muffins for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

From this point, food is used to exploit the characters' psychological weaknesses, whether they be feelings of inadequacy, lack of self esteem, or arrogance. Under Conrad's manipulation, the fat become thin, the sick become healthy, and vice versa.

As in a meticulously executed chess match, Conrad sets the stage for a deposition and redistribution of power, effortlessly maneuvering events and the minds of those around him. The reversal of roles evolves so naturally that even the reader is left bemused by the deftness with which the outcome is achieved.

Although out of print, it is well worth the effort to find an old copy of The Cook. Not much is known of the author and it is believed that "Harry Kressing" is a pseudonym. This only adds to the mystery of this delightful little masterpiece of ambition, greed, and cunning deception.

Forcing Indoors

Last week, at the end of February, early spring bulbs such as crocuses and snowdrops, were coming up in New York gardens. One of the earliest blooming trees is witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia), whose spindly petals, vibrantly hued in yellow to orange, make a striking contrast to any Winter/Spring landscape. In New York it is usually in bloom by late January or early February, but can bloom in December in mild temperate zones.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia 'pallida') in early February.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia 'pallida') in early February.

Yet to someone craving the sight of tree branches laden with the effusive blossoms of Spring, the April bloom time can seem like a long way off. Forcing indoors is a wonderful method of achieving the beauty of Spring months in advance. And it couldn't be easier to do.



Choose any tree or shrub that flowers between March and May. Once buds are plump (this will happen in late January through February for early blooming trees such as cherry, and late February to early March for mid to late spring blooming trees such as dogwood and magnolia), cut some small branches that will not ruin the overall shape of the tree. Arrange the cuttings in vases indoors, where temperatures should be steady at 60°F (15°C) or higher.

Cherry and forsythia buds, after about 5 days indoors.

On February 17th I brought in forsythia, a few cherry varieties, peach, Italian plum, and apple. By February 24th the forsythia had opened and the cherries opened two days later. If you bring in enough varieties, you can have a changing floral display, lasting several weeks.



Viewing the flowering process indoors allows one to admire the buds at every stage as they quietly unfurl, coaxed into bloom by an interior warmth.