Why do people eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day?
Why do people eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day?
It's a tradition in the American South to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Why?
Black-eyed peas symbolize good luck and prosperity. Some believe that the black-eyed peas represent the "coins," while the winter greens they're often served with represent the "dollars." Eating them together on New Year's Day is supposed to guarantee many of both in the year to come.
Others believe more generally that, like the peas swelling as they cook, the person eating them will swell with good fortune.
Recipe: Hoppin' John
Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea Salad With Parsley
Steel-ground cornmeal, which is most commonly found on American shelves, is processed to remove the husk and germ of the maize kernel and stays fresh for as long as you need it if kept in a tightly sealed or air-tight container out of direct sunlight.
Stone- or water-ground cornmeal -- which is processed using millstones -- retains some of the husk and germ, making it more nutritious and also more perishable. Keep stone-ground cornmeal in the refrigerator to prevent its natural oils from going rancid; it will last up to 4 months.
Cornmeal is ground sweet corn that is available in varying textures and colors depending on the type of corn used.
In general, choose fine flour-like cornmeal when baking cakes and pastries; fine or medium grinds for crumbly cornbreads; and coarse grinds to make polenta (yellow cornmeal) or grits (white cornmeal).
Steel-ground cornmeal is the most widely available in the United States. It is processed to remove the husk and germ of the maize kernel and has less nutritional value than stone- or water-ground cornmeal, which retains some of the husk and germ. Note that stone-ground cornmeal has natural oils that can go rancid and should be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 months; steel-ground cornmeal has a long shelflife if kept in an airtight container in a dark place.
Cornmeal is a kind of flour or meal that is made from ground sweet corn. It comes in yellow, white, blue or red varieties, depending on the type of corn used.
Since cornmeal is gluten-free, fine and medium cornmeal is usually mixed with wheat flour to create a crumbly texture in baked goods like cornbread or corn muffins. Coarsely ground cornmeal is frequently labeled polenta or grits after the two dishes in which it is the main ingredient.
Cornmeal products are a native staple food in the Americas and today cornmeal is used to make tortillas, tamales, fry bread and popular Mexican drinks. Colonial settlers in the U.S. called cornmeal Indian meal and were fond of so-called cornmeal mush made from boiling cornmeal in water -- like the hasty pudding mentioned in the song Yankee Doodle Dandy. Italians have been making polenta -- yellow cornmeal boiled with water, stock or milk that is eaten as a porridge or cooled and cut into slices and grilled or fried -- since corn invaded Europe in the 1500s and Indian mush has has recently returned to fashion in the United States under an Italian name.
In some parts of Europe, cornmeal may be labeled maize flour. Although the term cornflour is sometimes used to denote the finest grind of cornmeal in the United States, elsewhere it may actually refer to cornstarch.
Cornmeal can also be sprinkled on a baking tray to help keep dishes like free-form galettes or turnovers from sticking in the oven.
What's the difference between a chile and a chili?
What's the difference between a chile and a chili?
Nothing. The small hot pepper known as the chili, chilli or chile pepper is essentially the same thing, spelled differently depending on where you live. Chile sauce, chili powder, chilli oil or paste are used to give food throughout the world a fiery kick as they have for thousands of years.
Tamarind is the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree from West Africa that is now grown in India, South-East Asia and the West Indies. It produces pods filled with dark brown, seed-laced, bittersweet pulp that is used to make chutneys, jams and condiments such as Worcestershire and Jamaican Pickapeppa sauce.
Tamarind is found throughout the world and particularly used to spice up Asian and Latin American cuisines. The Indians use dried tamarind pulp in spice mixes, salads, broths and other dishes and the Chinese use candied tamarind as a garnish for sweet-and-sour soup. The Egyptians use it as a base for a cold summer drink known as tamr hindi and the Mexicans have also developed a popular tamarind-based beverage called Agua de Tamarindo.
