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Tofu

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Tofu
The earliest document seen in which an American mentions tofu is a letter written by Benjamin Franklin (who was in London) to John Bartram in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 11, 1770. He sent Bartram some soybeans (which he called "Chinese caravances") and with them he sent "Father Navarrete's account of the universal use of a cheese made of them in China, which so excited my curiosity, that I caused enquiry to be made of Mr. [James] Flint, who lived many years there, in what manner the cheese was made, and I send you his answer. I have since learned that some runnings of salt (I suppose runnet) is put into water, when the meal is in it, to turn it to curds. [...] These ... are what the Tau-fu is made of."
 
Well I’m thinking that many of the plants and meats eaten then Are no longer available and of corse much of what we eat today had yet to be developed. So to make true colonial style food no grant smiths or large eggs.
I wonder if Tofu was the tasteless blob or the stinky mostly rotten stuff that we get to day, of if it actually had a present flavor :rotf:

Just yanking your chain here.I know how healthy it is and how well it adapts to many flavors and I do think I could learn to like stinky tofu. After all a lot of foods are acquired taste.
 
I was just astonished to find out the Ben Franklin introduced it to America.

I also think people were use to eating more bland foods back then than we are today.
 
I used to make it in the 90's, not hard to do, more for protein and add it to other things or fry it up. Paneer easier to do but the same beast protein wise, made some a few weeks ago, used it in soup yesterday.
 
That’s the truth. There is the old story of pepper to hide the taste of spoiled meat. What a laugh. Pepper was worth its weight in gold. A person who could buy pepper could buy fresh meat.
I think we crave bold flavors but most of the world had limited option to local food. Living in the south or going to the Caribbean an American had exposure to foods just never contemplated in New England
 
tenngun said:
I think we crave bold flavors but most of the world had limited option to local food. Living in the south or going to the Caribbean an American had exposure to foods just never contemplated in New England

Enter: The spice trade.....

Columbus himself was looking for a shorter route to the "Spice islands" when he bumped into Americas.
 
Colorado Clyde said:
tenngun said:
I think we crave bold flavors but most of the world had limited option to local food. Living in the south or going to the Caribbean an American had exposure to foods just never contemplated in New England

Enter: The spice trade.....

Columbus himself was looking for a shorter route to the "Spice islands" when he bumped into Americas.
Pass the nutmeg, please. :haha:
 
That’s true, but don’t forget the number of ships putting in to American ports. Mayflower was the name of several ships docking at Plymouth. Most of the ”˜Marbelheaders quit Washington to join privateer crews. Before the revolution there was a push to stop trade with England. People started wearing homespun and such. That did not last long.
A hand full of nuts would spice you for some time on the frontier.
Chocolate,raisins, tea, coffee, pepper were all among the goods sent to rendezvous. And kitchen pepper, a mix of spices some pretty hot was an important part of most colonial kitchens that left a record.
 
tenngun said:
That’s the truth. There is the old story of pepper to hide the taste of spoiled meat. What a laugh. Pepper was worth its weight in gold. A person who could buy pepper could buy fresh meat.
I think we crave bold flavors but most of the world had limited option to local food. Living in the south or going to the Caribbean an American had exposure to foods just never contemplated in New England

Before refrigeration, preserving food was a short-term affair. So while a person might be able to afford fresh meat doesn't mean fresh meat was available or would last over a couple of days. So the use of spice to make the meat more palatable. Salt, so common now, once was valuable...the term "salary" is related to salt.

As for bold tastes, some of the stuff they eat in cold countries is almost rotten. Which is a bold taste in itself.

It's all part of the spice of life.
 
Interesting.
Still not my favorite and not something that I would eat/order as a primary protein source if meat is available....
 
C.C :nono: : you can’t stop old farts from meandering :haha: That, that’s , well telling little girls not to chase butterflies or puppies not to chew. I had a puppy that chew once. Chewed up some socks my daughter got me for Christmas. She is in a Ph.d program in Fayetteville Arkansas where there is a confederate cemetery. You know they fought a battle not far from my house. The confederates not my daughter.... :haha:
And tofu is beans not grain. Corns a grain, though they call it maize in Europe since corn just means grand to them. The Romans called thief grain ships corn ships, Romans were in touch with China, did trade with them. I wonder if they knew about tofu (see full circle meandering) :rotf:
 
Colorado Clyde said:
History is the story of civilizations being built upon grain, not meat.
I read where someone had proposed a hypothesis that the impetus for civilization was brewing beer, which went hand-in-hand with the development of farming so the surplus of grain could be used for brewing...
 
Black Hand said:
Interesting.
Still not my favorite and not something that I would eat/order as a primary protein source if meat is available....

My Father studied Judo in Japan in the early 50s. He was the 1st non japanese allowed into the Dojo.

I ate a lot of odd things as a kid, Tofu being just one of many. Most were really good. But we got some odd looks from the peanut butter & jelly crowd in the school cafeteria :youcrazy:

This is a photo from like 56 or 57 Still a brother to born in 59 then me in 64.

 
I am a huge fan of Japanese & Chinese cuisine - still not terribly fond of Tofu, though I will eat it if served to me (more a texture issue than anything else).
 
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