Next time you drop a few ice cubes into a cold beverage think of this: many early-20th-century consumers would be wary of your “artificial” ice. Unless of course, your ice happens to be harvested from a lake or a mountain somewhere. The technology to create ice from water was first developed in the mid-1800s, but…
When I looked through my database for a raspberry jelly recipe, I noticed that most of them had the addition of currants. This makes sense because the currants contain pectin to help the recipe “jell,” and the currants also add a little bit of tangy depth. This was particularly welcome in my case because I…
The Dakota Cheese Company was flying high in 1983. With 11.5 million in sales of mozzarella and provolone, the 12-year-old company was expected to continue growing. Dakota Cheese president James Dee credited his government contracts for his company’s success. That success was enabling expansion into private markets. Dee expected Dakota Cheese to score a big…
The mere concept of aspic invites a gag reflex in many people. Add to that any wacky combination of ingredients and you have a recipe tailor-made to go viral for yuks (and yucks.) When I first saw the recipe for “Try and Guess Salad,” my first reaction was not disgust. It was deja vu. I…
Amy Rosenkrans and I stood outside of the Woman’s Industrial Exchange building at 333 North Charles, looking at the artwork in the window. In 2020, the iconic but neglected 200-year-old building had been given to the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center. The inside was now filled with stories of Maryland suffragists, scientists, and leaders. The window…