windsor
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 40
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| | July 07, 2009 at 06:33 AM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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Not to belabor 'new fads' or to step into the 'where have you been?' arena, I would like to inquire about this seemingly new product called smoked paprika. I lived in the Hungarian part of the Big Apple for years and walked by endless stores which had large signs advertising paprika. I always thought it was for sprinkling over devilled eggs to give them a bit of color. Later I realized it had more significance. But now in the simplest grocery stores smoked paprika is as common as well, Montreal Steak Rub. Please, esplain!
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I love good food and am especially good at washing up after a delicious meal requiring every pot and pan in the kitchen.
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Chef
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Registered: June 13, 2006
Posts: 169
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| | July 07, 2009 at 07:10 PM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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Smoked Paprika is NOT new! It has been used in Hungary for over 200 years and arises from the fact that so many dishes associated with Hungarian cooking today were first "invented" and first prepared by Hungarian cattle herders who cooked all their meals outdoors in large hanging iron pots above large smoky wood fires. Furthermore, the many varieties of "peppers" (both Hot and Sweet) available in Hungary at that time were often dried by stringing them in bunches and then hanging them close to the same smokey cook fires thus efficiently utilizing free fuel.
A Final Note: The word Guylas [pronounced "goy-yash"] means 'cowboy' and the word for what most non-Hungarians call 'Goo-lash' is actually properly called Guylas Hus ( pronounced "goy-yasch hoosch") and literally means "Cowboy's Meat".
Furthermore, the mistranslation of Hus to mean "Stew" was likewise 'invented' by non-Hungarians. So to clarify some terms, what many non-Hungarians call "Goolash" is actually Gulas Levas, which is a soup made by adding water or stock to left over Guylas Hus. Thus, frugality was often the evolutionary force that produced so many 'creations' of the past. That food writers, young wannabe chefs, and nouvelle cuisine aficionados are rediscovering those dishes does NOT make them new.
"New and Exciting" concocted recipes are an example of 21st Century marketing, which are more often than not remarkably ephemeral, and in my mind are best labeled "Fleeting Food Fads." |
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windsor
Registered: Nov 03, 2006
Posts: 40
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| | July 08, 2009 at 08:43 AM | Reply with quote | #3 |
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Thanks, Chef. This sheds a whole new light on a variety of subjects. I do love the literal translations and their origins. Never connected the 'home on the range' and 'smoked' dots before - very logical. And I especially like the phrase "Fleeting Food Fads". This seems to be a direct result of such 'examples of 21st Century marketing' as the food network shows. I just noticed on two separate shows that the chefs are now using dough cutters to scoop chopped herbs and vegetables off the cutting board into the pot instead of the good ole knife. This is practical if you have one handy, so now everyone will be rushing out to buy one and the store shelves will be bare of them. Thanks, again. J
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I love good food and am especially good at washing up after a delicious meal requiring every pot and pan in the kitchen. |
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Chef
Moderator
Registered: June 13, 2006
Posts: 169
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| | July 09, 2009 at 04:30 PM | Reply with quote | #4 |
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"I just noticed on two separate [TV] shows that chefs are now using dough cutters to scoop chopped herbs and vegetables off the cutting board into the pot instead of the good ole knife. This is practical if you have one handy, so now everyone will be rushing out to buy one and the store shelves will be bare of them." [Windsor 9 July2009]
Actually most working restaurant chefs have been using "dough cutters" to scoop-up all manner of prepared ingredients from their workbenches for decades. (Scooping with a French Chefs' Knife can be dangerous; furthermore, a dough cutter can scoop-up a larger amount than can a knife.)
That house wives and house husbands need to add such tools and techniques to their repertoire of equipment and recipe and cookbook collections is interesting but does not insure acumen or that the final product brought to the table will be delicious or even edible.
Once again " 'Merican Marketing' " and advertising equals a quick shot of $$$$ in the bank, while the average kitchen tables remain set with Take-Away foods and/or failed cooking projects. I also have found that many new "ephemeral" kitchen gadgets wind-up collecting dust and bread-crumbs in a seldom-opened drawer.
Good cooking requires inborn talent, skill, love, and an understanding of the science and principles involved... not gadgetry endorsed by slick-looking chicks the likes of The Kat Lady [aka Ms. Martha Stewart] or sexy-looking globe-trotting male super-star TV chefs. |
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