From the wonderful CDA blog.
If there’s one thing the British
coastline is famous for, it’s fish and chips. You’d be hard pushed to
find a seaside town that doesn’t have at least one chip shop. Fish and
chips have become such a British staple in fact, that during World War
II, Winston Churchill exempt the dish from rationing. But it might be
surprising to hear that fish and chips aren’t British at all, but
Portuguese.
It’s said that the Shepardic Jews of Portugal bought a centuries old Andalusian dish called peshkado frito to the UK in the 1400s when fleeing religious persecution. White fish would be fried in a thin coat of flour ready for the Sabbath and when the potato became popular in the 1800’s, they made the perfect accompaniment… Now you know where “fish and chip Friday” comes from!
It’s said that the Shepardic Jews of Portugal bought a centuries old Andalusian dish called peshkado frito to the UK in the 1400s when fleeing religious persecution. White fish would be fried in a thin coat of flour ready for the Sabbath and when the potato became popular in the 1800’s, they made the perfect accompaniment… Now you know where “fish and chip Friday” comes from!
It’s starting to feel like Portugal doesn’t quite get the credit it deserves when it comes to “native” food…While many foods have been taken from
India and adapted over time, Vindaloo isn’t one of them. Considered an
Indian takeaway favourite, it’s said that it’s very name is actually a
garbled pronunciation of the Portuguese dish, Carne de Vinha D’alhos – a
meat dish that’s marinated in wine-vinegar and garlic.
This meat dish was introduced to the Goa
region of India by Portuguese settlers in the 15th century, having been
widely eaten in Portugal for centuries before. As wine-vinegar wasn’t a
thing in India, locally produced ingredients such as tamarind, black
pepper and cardamom were used instead. Perhaps most importantly, the
addition of chilli peppers served as a legacy for Portugal’s empire by
way of South America.
Is it possible to think of Spanish
dessert without thinking of churros? A firm staple of Spanish street
food cuisine across the world today, they aren’t actually Spanish at
all.
A variant of the Chinese breakfast favourite, youtiao – which are actually slightly salty rather than sweet. The deep-fried strips of dough were brought to Spain via Portugal in the 17th century – where the star shape nozzle was used to pipe the dough into the familiar churros profile and turned into the sugary treat we know today.
A variant of the Chinese breakfast favourite, youtiao – which are actually slightly salty rather than sweet. The deep-fried strips of dough were brought to Spain via Portugal in the 17th century – where the star shape nozzle was used to pipe the dough into the familiar churros profile and turned into the sugary treat we know today.
Would a trip to IKEA be the same without
Swedish meatballs? Based on the name, you could probably consider them
one of the Scandinavian country’s most emblematic exports these days –
but they actually come from the region now known as Turkey. Or at least
the recipe does. The idea of rolling meat into balls to make it more
manageable to eat isn’t unique (China has been doing it for centuries)
but it was the Turkish offering that the Swedes loved the most.
The Turkish recipe is said to have been brought to Scandinavia in the 18th century by King Charles XII. Known as köfte, Turkish meatballs are made using beef and lamb with common ingredients such as onions, eggs, parsley, panko, breadcrumbs and salt for taste – Swedish meatballs these days are usually pork-based.
It looks like Western Asia and Scotland might have some sort of trade agreement when it comes to food origin misconceptions.
Chicken tikka definitely originated in the Indian subcontinent during the Munghal Empire (the area now known as Bangladesh), becoming popular around the 1600s, that is well documented. But tikka masala is a different story. Where tikka is usually a dry dish of spice-marinated meat that’s cooked over coals, tikka masala is saucy, rich and creamy. It’s said that in the 1970’s, an Indian chef was working in Glasgow, and it was there he developed the dish that Westerners have come to consider a solid Indian/Bangladeshi treat.
Chicken tikka definitely originated in the Indian subcontinent during the Munghal Empire (the area now known as Bangladesh), becoming popular around the 1600s, that is well documented. But tikka masala is a different story. Where tikka is usually a dry dish of spice-marinated meat that’s cooked over coals, tikka masala is saucy, rich and creamy. It’s said that in the 1970’s, an Indian chef was working in Glasgow, and it was there he developed the dish that Westerners have come to consider a solid Indian/Bangladeshi treat.
It’s unclear how these meaty, eggy
beauties came to fly the Scottish flag, but they seem to be doing so
with a bit of a secret… they’re not really Scottish at all.
It’s thought that this picnic favourite was heavily inspired by the dish Nargisi kofta, which was first mentioned in Indian culture around 500 BC. Nargisi kofta is made up of a hard-boiled egg that’s encased in spiced kofta meat, which is then fried (sound familiar?). It’s likely the British encountered Nargisi kofta whilst travelling through India centuries later.
The London department store Fortnum & Mason claim to be the creators of the Scotch egg as we know it today, marketing it as a travellers snack in the early part of the 18th century. And while they may not have “invented” them, they certainly popularised them. How they came to get their name is often disputed though, one theory is that they were named after the Scots Guards stationed at a local army barracks where they developed a taste for the snack.
It’s thought that this picnic favourite was heavily inspired by the dish Nargisi kofta, which was first mentioned in Indian culture around 500 BC. Nargisi kofta is made up of a hard-boiled egg that’s encased in spiced kofta meat, which is then fried (sound familiar?). It’s likely the British encountered Nargisi kofta whilst travelling through India centuries later.
The London department store Fortnum & Mason claim to be the creators of the Scotch egg as we know it today, marketing it as a travellers snack in the early part of the 18th century. And while they may not have “invented” them, they certainly popularised them. How they came to get their name is often disputed though, one theory is that they were named after the Scots Guards stationed at a local army barracks where they developed a taste for the snack.
Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme
are just a couple of big American brands that have made a global name
for themselves purely through the sale of this incredible dessert. But
doughnuts aren’t the American all-stars you might have thought they
were. Though they didn’t have the distinctive ring shape, the earliest
version of the doughnut as we know it today, is generally traced back to
when Dutch settlers brought them over from Europe to New York (or New
Amsterdam as it was known then).
But Greece is where the heart of the doughnut lies. Loukoumades as they’re known are essentially small doughnut balls covered in honey and walnuts. They’re considered to be the oldest recorded dessert too, dating right back to the first Olympic Games in 776 BC, where they were presented to the winners as “honey tokens”.
But Greece is where the heart of the doughnut lies. Loukoumades as they’re known are essentially small doughnut balls covered in honey and walnuts. They’re considered to be the oldest recorded dessert too, dating right back to the first Olympic Games in 776 BC, where they were presented to the winners as “honey tokens”.
Sorry Italy, you can’t have this one
either. It’s said that pasta noodles were gaining popularity in Italy
around the 13th century and were most probably introduced by European
travellers. Those travellers likely discovered egg noodles thanks to
nomadic Arabs who were responsible for bringing early forms of pasta
westwards from Asia.
What does set Italian pasta apart from other noodles though, is the use of durum wheat. Egg noodles had long been a staple part of the Chinese diet, dating right back to the 1st century BC. But, the refinement of the process and the addition of durum wheat made pasta noodles affordable, versatile and when dried, gave it a long shelf life, it also tastes great when paired with mediterranean native foods – firmly rooting it as a cultural staple in Italian cuisine.
What does set Italian pasta apart from other noodles though, is the use of durum wheat. Egg noodles had long been a staple part of the Chinese diet, dating right back to the 1st century BC. But, the refinement of the process and the addition of durum wheat made pasta noodles affordable, versatile and when dried, gave it a long shelf life, it also tastes great when paired with mediterranean native foods – firmly rooting it as a cultural staple in Italian cuisine.
The Italians are known the world over
for the quality of their ice cream and gelato, and you’d be forgiven for
thinking they were indeed the inventors of this delicious sweet treat
but you’d be wrong. That accolade actually goes to Mongolia… or so the
story goes.
OK, so not the ice cream we know and love today, and it happened completely by accident too. It’s said that Mongolian horsemen would carry buffalo or yak milk across the Gobi desert in containers as provisions, but as the temperature dropped and they galloped, the milk would freeze as it churned. As the Mongol empire expanded in the 1200’s, so too did the popularity of this new iced milk/cream thing and it’s said Marco Polo took the idea back to Italy at the end of the 13th century.
OK, so not the ice cream we know and love today, and it happened completely by accident too. It’s said that Mongolian horsemen would carry buffalo or yak milk across the Gobi desert in containers as provisions, but as the temperature dropped and they galloped, the milk would freeze as it churned. As the Mongol empire expanded in the 1200’s, so too did the popularity of this new iced milk/cream thing and it’s said Marco Polo took the idea back to Italy at the end of the 13th century.
Whether you eat your croissants savoury
or sweet, the delicious flaky pastry-based breakfast treat that’s so
deep-rooted in French culture, was actually created in Vienna, Austria.
The kipferl is noted as being the spiritual ancestor of the croissant and it’s easy to see why. Many historians believe the crescent-shaped treat goes back to the monastery bakeries and were baked as part of pagan customs to celebrate Easter – with the pastry first mentioned in the 12th century.
The kipferl is noted as being the spiritual ancestor of the croissant and it’s easy to see why. Many historians believe the crescent-shaped treat goes back to the monastery bakeries and were baked as part of pagan customs to celebrate Easter – with the pastry first mentioned in the 12th century.
