American Cake - Cake #28: 17th-Century Cheesecake

Time Period: 1650-1799

Cheesecake may seem like a relatively modern recipe, but it's actually got a long history, dating back to the Greeks and Romans. It enjoyed popularity with the first colonists since before the War of Independence, first appearing on a menu on an American menu in 1758. Unsurprisingly, Philadelphia was a hub for cheesecake in early America, where they used cheese curds similar to the ricotta we use today. 

One of the nice things about the more historic cakes in this book is that their flavors aren't derived from pure sweetness. The ricotta lends a tang that it slightly leavened by the currants, but this isn't a cake that blasts you with sugar. It turned out very well, and though it's very dissimilar to the more modern cheesecakes you'd get in a restaurant or bakery, it offers more than just a peek into history; I'd happily eat this one again.

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American Cake - Cake #27: Louisiana Syrup Cake

Time Period: 1900-1916

Cultural lines are drawn all over America, but in matters both political and culinary, the South has always been a realm unto itself. Citizens of French descent in particular had their own argot, their own religious practices, and of course, their own recipes. In the cake world, one of those specialized desserts was the syrup cake (or gâteau de sirop). Small communities in Louisiana had easy access to sugarcane, and the cane syrup derived from those crops was used to make this spice cake. That's not to say everyone made them the same way; even within the community itself, there are vast differences. I looked up this cake on the internet, and every recipe was wildly variant.

I couldn't find cane syrup at the store, and didn't really care to, as I read about the Cajun variant that uses fig preserves, instead, and that sounded far more appealing. There is no butter in this cake; the fat comes from vegetable oil, and the added fig preserves made for an incredibly moist result. It turned out to be very good. The spices and fig gave it a homey, traditional flavor that could really shine, since the relatively low amount of sugar means than it wasn't too sweet. This one is a keeper.

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American Plate - Bite #12: Atlantic Cod

When British colonists were first establishing their foothold in New England, it's unsurprising that fishing was a cornerstone of their emergent businesses and ability to keep themselves fed. Nowadays, we tend to think of cod as more of a United Kingdom fish than a United States one, but it was vitally important to American interests at one time. The ability to salt and cure it meant that it could be preserved for long periods of time, as long as it could be kept dry. All that had to be done was to hack off a portion, rehydrate it (and rinse off the salt), then roll it in other ingredients before frying.

Mixing the flesh into cod cakes was a popular meal at any time of day, a method whose popularity carried forward into recipes like the crab cakes of today. Cod being so inexpensive and versatile led to overfishing, and though cod is still readily available in fish-'n-chip platters, modern Americans have generally turned to more flavorful species for their piscine entrees. 

For my dip back into the Atlantic waters for this Bite, I had cod prepared a few ways. The fried type is always good with a dash of vinegar or two, but I also wanted some straight-up grilled cod, so I marinated it, then threw it on the stove with some seasonings. It was fairly tasty just on its own, but I also made sure to make it the star of an actual dish, for which it was served with vegetables and rested on a vast bed of lentils.

Cod will never be my favorite type of fish, but it's certainly earned its place in the pantheon of American foods, and as a light springtime dinner, it can really hit the spot.

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American Cake - Cake #26: Bangor Brownies

Time Period: 1870-1899

Hopefully, nobody asks you too much at a trivia contest about the origin of brownies. Are they named after the pixie-like characters in Palmer Cox's cartoons and poems? Are they named after the color, derived originally from the toasted nuts and molasses used to make them? Did they first come about because someone forgot to throw baking powder into the mixing bowl? Did someone at a chocolate company simply decide to toss in extra egg and chocolate to the cake recipe? All of these are described as possibly having a hand in the brownie's inception. This recipe honors the deep roots that brownie have in Maine, though at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, chocolate cake was already being cut into squares for portability.

As far as the project goes, I am quickly running out of easy recipes. Almost gone are the days of simply mixing six ingredients, then baking. Before we transition to the more complicated cakes, though, turning out this pan of brownies took hardly any effort. They were fairly tasty, though I wouldn't say this recipe blew me away. The brownies also didn't solidify quite enough, which meant that cutting and serving turned into a very messy process. Still, they were a satisfying dessert to serve at an afternoon of playing cards with friends; brownies are the laid-back member of the cake family, and that makes them welcome at almost any event.

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American Cake - Cake #25: Cinnamon Flop

Time Period: 1900-1916

Though a lot of cakes depend on eggs for their batters, there are plenty of home kitchens throughout American history that didn't have them in the fridge ready to go. Without the electricity from refrigerators and mixers, the Amish population in Pennsylvania had to depend on staples and hand-stirring. The cinnamon flop was a popular one in the early 1900s, and though nobody is quite sure how the word "flop" derived in this context, this cake has been a stalwart for the Amish ever since.

I made this one as a birthday cake for Tiddy while I was on a conference call for work, so you know its steps weren't too complicated. It served well as both an after-dinner dessert and a next-day coffee cake, though as with most eggless cakes, it didn't take long to dry out over the next couple of days. 

It's unlikely this cake will wind up in the top ten by the end of the project, but as a rough-and-ready dessert that can be whipped up in a hurry, it performed admirably.

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American Plate - Bite #83: Iceberg Lettuce

Several of the Bites in this project are representative of tastes acquired by the masses through the weight of history, but that have fallen out of favor in modern culinary discussions, and today's is no exception. Take a stroll in any grocery store produce section, and you'll see a vast array of leafy greens, packed with flavor and vitamins. Salads are no longer limp, dull bowls of mediocrity, eaten only by people looking to drop a few pounds. But there's still a holdover from those days, and it comes in the form of iceberg lettuce. This ultra cheap variety is virtually flavor-free, and far less nutritious than other lettuces and it is still, somehow, the top seller in American markets, holding 60% market share. How did it come so far when it tastes so unremarkable?

Lettuce itself is, of course, not American. It's been cultivated since the days of Ancient Egypt. Iceberg lettuce is American, though. It was developed in 1894 by W. Atlee Burpee & Co., who named it after it's icy pale color and temperature requirements needed for shipment. After World War II, America developed the technological capability to ship it anywhere in the country, and extend its shelf life. Iceberg's popularity skyrocketed, and has never come back down again.

Iceberg lettuce also found itself in the crosshairs of a political movement, when United Farm Workers staged a boycott in 1972 until working conditions improved. From then, it's coasted into modernity on being inexpensive and crisp.

There are worse things I could have to eat for the American Plate project, but honestly, is anyone ever in the mood for iceberg lettuce? The salads I made with it had to be topped with a myriad of seeds, dressings, meats, and cheeses to make any kind of serviceable lunch. If you want to add some crunch and roughage to a taco or hamburger, it's the cheapest way to do so, but if you're actually looking for greens with flavor, you should look elsewhere.

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