Swiss Steak; Um-m-m (and much more!)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

PYREX--Yes, Fred's right.  The OED has "Pyrex"--not even a food!--from AMERICAN COOKERY.  One citation, from the leading magazine in the field for over half a century.  Amazing.

STRAIGHT UP OR ON THE ROCKS--The first edition is 1993, not 1995.  I misread the small print..."Long Island Iced Tea" is never mentioned, either.  If William Grimes keeps this up, he'll get John Mariani status...Anyone know of any other reviews of this book?  It'll be interesting to know the opinions of non-scholars in the field.

ROCK AND ROLL--William Safire botches it this Sunday.  He gives the impression that the term comes from 1947..."Roll" was popular in the famous Log Cabin/O.K. political campaign of 1840.  "Keep the ball rolling" was one of the slogans popularized then...Maybe Gerald Cohen or David Barnhart should write a letter on these two points.

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UM-M-M (continued)

   I've been documenting "mmm" (as in "mm-mm good" Campbell's soup) and "umm."  Someone's gotta do it.
   From NATIONAL FOOD MAGAZINE, March 1916, pg. 205:

_Dandelion Greens: UM-M-M!  Pass 'Em To Me!_
   By WILLIAM HERSCHELL
(It's a poem.  From the last line--ed.)
   Um-m-m!  Um-m-!  Pass 'em to me!

"Songs of the Streets and Byways," The Bobbs-Merill Co.

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SWISS STEAK (continued)

   Jean Anderson's AMERICAN CENTURY COOKBOOK (1997) highlights "Swiss Steak."  Pg. 91:  "THE FIRST RECIPE I've been able to find for Swiss Steak appears in _Larkin Housewives' Cook Book_ (1915)."
   "Swiss Steak" is in TABLE TALK, June 1911, pg. 308, and November 1911, pg. 612.
   From June 1911, pg. 308, col. 1:

_Swiss Steak_
   One pound of steak, (Saturday, the third)(In the Daily Menus--ed.), one quart of flour, salt and pepper, four skined tomatoes, one sliced onion, water.  Have the steak cut two inches thick, and pound into it the flour with the sanitary steak shredder.  Put the steak into a skillet, with some (Col. 2--ed.) lard and brown on both sides.  Then cover with water, adding the sliced onion, tomatoes sliced and cover closely and let simmer for three hours.  Just before the steak is done add salt and pepper to taste.  When done the gravy is already made and is delicious.  Swiss steak, is best prepared with the sanitary steak shredder as it makes it so very tender, and very juicy.  The shredder weighs half a pound, and may also be used for other purposes, that will readily suggest themselves to the intelligent housewife, as a fruit or vegetable chopper, potato masher or noddle cutter, each impression cutting a noodle twenty-four inches long.  it is practically indestructible, and will last a lifetime.

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SUNSHINE CAKE

   DARE?...Not cited in John Mariani's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD & DRINK.
   A "Sunshine Cake" recipe is in TABLE TALK, 1906, pg. 266, col. 2.  Another recipe is in TABLE TALK, 1908, pg. 77, col. 1.
   "Angel and Sunshine Cakes," by Anna Nixon, is in TABLE TALK, October 1909, pp. 400-401.  From Pg. 401, col. 1:

   For the _sunshine cake_ whip the whites of seven eggs to a firm, smooth froth, adding one level teaspoonful of cream of tartar when they are about half beaten.  Be very careful not to whip the whites until the mass is so dry that it breaks into feathery flakes, for if it once reaches that point the cake is almost sure to be dry and tough.  Add the sugar a tablespoonful at a time, and fold in very lightly, and then the yolks, well beaten.  Gently fold in three and one-half ounces of flour, tablespoonful at a time, flavor with one teaspoonful of lemon or orange extract and bake very slowly for one hour.

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APPLE SAUCE CAKE (continued)

   An "Apple Sauce Cake" recipe is in TABLE TALK, 1907, pg. 400, col. 1.  Also, TABLE TALK, June 1910, pg. 322, col. 1.

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DUTCH APPLE CAKE; APPLE ICE CREAM (continued)

   A "Dutch Apple Cake" (not "pie") recipe is in TABLE TALK, June 1911, pg. 331, and again in September 1911, pg. 486.
   "Apple Ice Cream" is on the same page in TABLE TALK, September 1911, pg. 486, col. 2.

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APPLES OF AMERICA

   "Apples of America" is an article in TABLE TALK, February 1914, pp. 94-96, reprinted from THE EPICUREAN.  Much apple lore is described.  Pg. 95, col. 2: "The Ben Davis, for instance, so known in the Middle West, is known in New York State as a New York Pippin."
   "Big Apple" is never mentioned.
FWIW:  In its September 2001 issue, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN suggested that "Big Apple" comes from those 19th-century whores.  I wrote to the person who said that and told him the truth, but got no response.  I wrote a letter to the editor, and Gerald Cohen wrote in to back me up.  The latest SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is out; my letter was not published.

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BLACK MAMMY (continued)

   The black mammy wasn't invented in GONE WITH THE WIND.  This should be included in the OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD.
   An interesting article is in TABLE TALK, June 1912, pg. 1:

_The Black Mammy Memorial Institute and Its Founder_

(More from TABLE TALK on Monday.  I leave for Cuba on Tuesday morning--ed.)