Image credit: Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce
Red velvet, black satin, lemon chiffon. We could be talking about fashion here, but we’re not. We’re talking about cake. It turns out (you likely have never noticed) that many classic cakes in the US take their names from fabrics. Curious, right? But once you read the analysis and explanation of food writer and chef Brandon Summers-Miller in this June 2022 Epicurious article, it will all start making sense (and make you hungry, as well).
Read it here.
EXPLORE, REFLECT, SPEAK UP.
1. Brandon Summers-Miller points out that standardized units of measurement such as a cup, a tablespoon, or a precisely calibrated oven temperature, hadn’t yet been developed when written recipes began to be a “thing.” What do standardized units of measurement have to do with naming cakes after types of fabric? Summarize Summers-Miller’s explanation. Does it make sense to you? Would you have liked to see more details or examples? Fewer? Explain your response.
2. Food historian K.C. Hysmith and cake expert Rose Levy Beranbaum are the two sources that Summers-Miller relies on most for his cake name research, and they each take different approaches to the question. Do you think those two sources provided sufficient and authoritative information? Should Summers-Miller have consulted additional sources? Why or why not? Explain your responses.
3. LET’S TALK. At the time that the classic cakes were getting their names, there wasn’t the variety of fabrics that there is are Itoday. We now have rayon, denim, lamé, corduroy, fleece, and many more. What kind of dish—cake, pie, sandwich, whatever—might be named, for example, for denim? What familiar foods could be renamed for the fabrics of our everyday life? Work with a few classmates to play with some ideas, and don’t be afraid to get silly.Do you think any of your ideas could possibly catch on outside of your group? Why or why not?
4. AND NOW WRITE. Eating is a universal human activity; most of us try to do it every day (and the luckiest of us succeed). Think about your favorite food—whether a single, unaltered item like an apple or a tomato, or a complex, prepared dish such as sweet potato pie or bibimbap. Identify one or two key elements of that food, get curious, and do a little research. Then, write a report that spotlights your chosen food in an interesting way. For example, where and when was that variety of apple found or developed? What journey did that tomato make in order to arrive in your hands? Where did sweet potatoes originate and how are they eaten in other places? What are the key techniques and ingredients for making an excellent bibimbap? For your research, use published sources, personal interviews with knowledgeable people (perhaps yourself), or both.
LetsTalkLibrary 