This is a new country for me to discuss on my blog (at least as far as I recall). Which is always fun--my goal is to try something from every nation on Earth, and every single type of food and drink. Which is obviously impossible, but ultimate goals should be high, I think. Anyway, this week it's two drinks from the Fruit of the Nile brand--their guava flavor, and their mango orange one.
Alas, this is one of those times when the manufacturing company is basically unknown, and only the distribution company's name is on the container's label, and then online. So all that I can tell you is that both bottles are clearly stamped, "Product of Egypt," and that there are two more flavors in the Fruit of the Nile line--regular mango, and strawberry guava. And that the drinks are made from pureed whole fruit, and not from concentrate or frozen fruit. Plus the drinks are 25-30% juice.
Then there's the distribution company, Carl Brandt. Readers with eidetic memories will recall my post about another Carl Brandt product--my post about zwieback on April 13, 2019. Here's when things get confusing. That Carl Brandt is listed as a German company, which began in 1912. This new Carl Brandt was established in 1989, in the American state of Connecticut. But, on the "new" Carl Brandt website it shows the same zwieback that I had, so there's clearly a connection. Admittedly, for the April 2019 post I consulted a website that appears to just be about the zwieback division, but still, it's puzzling. Evidently the 1989 Connecticut company was bought out by the German one, but why they don't explain that on the website I don't know. The second Carl Brandt distributes food and drinks from all over the world, and its line includes various breads, cookies, cakes, chocolates, candies, teas, soft drinks, and rice. And zwieback, of course. Perhaps when I report on yet another Carl Brandt product I'll find yet another company website which will muddle my understanding of the company even more!
1) Fruit of the Nile, mango orange flavor: Came in a 1 liter (about 34 ounces) glass bottle. This one had an orange color, and a thick, pulpy texture, almost akin to a milkshake. It was okay, but not great. I really like orange, as a fruit and as a juice, but to me mango is just "meh," or alright. So I think the mango addition is dragging the orange down a little. So not bad overall, but not something I'd buy again. The juice concentration was 25%
2) Fruit of the Nile, guava flavor: This one had the same texture as the previous, and came in the same size bottle. And once again it was 25% juice. The color was a pinkish yellow. This one was quite nice. I've enjoyed other guava juice drinks, and I appreciated Fruit of the Nile's take on it. It had a pleasing sweet taste. I would buy this one again.
To flesh this out some, I'll do my usual thing and throw out some further informational tidbits about Egypt. However, I think that Ancient Egypt's folks and accomplishments are common knowledge (and I hope it's not the "ancient aliens built the pyramids" type pseudoscientific crap), so I'll stick to briefly discussing some famous modern Egyptians, or those with Egyptian heritage. The most famous Egyptian actor is surely Omar Sharif, who appeared in such films as "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "Dr. Zhivago" (1965), "Funny Girl" (1968), "Top Secret!" (1984), and "The 13th Warrior" (1999). However, Egyptian-American Rami Malek is gaining on Sharif, as he was the first person of Egyptian heritage to win a Best Acting Academy Award, for his role in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018). Malek also appeared in both "Night at the Museum" movies (2006 and 2009), "The Master" (2012), "Battleship" (2012), and in the "Mr. Robot" television series (2015-19). Staying on "Mr. Robot," the series creator (and sometimes director and writer) was another Egyptian-American, Sam Esmail. He also directed the 2014 movie "Comet." Atom Egoyan, who is Egyptian-born, of Egyptian-Armenian heritage, and lived mostly in Canada, is another famous movie director. He was nominated for the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars for his 1997 project, "The Sweet Hereafter." Some of his other films include "Felicia's Journey" (1999), "Chloe" (2009), "Devil's Knot" (2013), and "Guest of Honor" (2019). Movie director Alex Proyas's background is quite cosmopolitan. He was born in Egypt, is of Greek heritage, and grew up mostly in Australia. His career started off strongly, with 1994's "The Crow," and 1998's "Dark City." After that, he did "I, Robot" (2004), and the critical and box office bomb "Gods of Egypt" (2016).
In the world of sports, there is currently an NBA player who was born in Egypt, Abdel Nader. He started with the Boston Celtics, but now is a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, mostly as a reserve small forward. Turning to the Olympics, most of Egypt's success has been in the weightlifting and wrestling events. Their most recent gold medal winner was Karam Gaber, who won it in the 96 kilogram wrestling event in the 2004 games. He also won silver in the 84 kilogram category in the 2012 games. Egypt's two female medal winners have both been weightlifters. Sara Ahmed won the bronze medal for the 69 kilogram category in the 2016 games. Abeer Abdelrahman won the silver medal in the 75 kilogram category for the 2012 games. However, she was awarded this years later, as the original gold, silver, and bronze medal winners were stripped after a later blood test indicated PEDs. Abdelrahman also won the bronze medal for the 69 kilogram weightlifting category in the 2008 games.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Percy Howard's Kin: Unlikeliest Super Bowl Touchdown Scorers, Plus Anthology Information
Since the Conference Championship games are tomorrow, and the Super Bowl is only 15 days away, I thought I'd do another NFL article. In this case, the most unlikely players to score touchdowns on offensive plays in a Super Bowl, all time. I'll be measuring this in two ways: fewest rushing or receiving yards in their regular season career, and fewest rushing or receiving touchdowns in their regular season careers. Also, for those that don't know (which is probably almost everyone), Percy Howard was the inspiration for this list, since his only reception in the NFL was for a touchdown in Super Bowl 10, while playing with the Dallas Cowboys. (He only played in 8 regular season NFL games, in the 1975 season, as an injury ended his pro career the following preseason.)
Anyway, the list entries will go as follows: number of career regular season rushing/receiving yards or touchdowns, player name, team he played for, and Super Bowl number he scored in (rendered as "SB 23", for example, and not "Super Bowl XXIII"). An asterisk (*) by the player's name indicates that the player is still actively playing as of 2019. I'll try to remember and go back and update the list accordingly as active players add to their career totals. (UPDATE--As it turned out, many of the players who scored in the recent Super Bowl 54 qualify for this list. They've been added below.) And a letter in parentheses after the SB # indicates more information written below.
Fewest regular season rushing yards in a career, to score a rushing touchdown in a Super Bowl:
1) 5: William "The Refridgerator" Perry, Chicago Bears, SB 20. (a)
2) 98: Gary Russell, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 43.
3) 165: Don Smith, Buffalo Bills, SB 25.
4) 286: Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, SB 36.
5) 351: Howard Griffith, Denver Broncos, SB 33.
6) 500: Patrick Mahomes *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
7) 602: Timmy Smith, Washington Redskins, SB 22. (b)
8) 1069: Raheem Mostert *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
9) 1119: James White *, New England Patriots, SB 51 and 52.
10) 1231: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
11) 1249: Tom Nowatzke, Baltimore Colts, SB 5.
12) 1357: Ben Roethlisberger *, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 40.
13) 1451: Rob Lytle, Denver Broncos, SB 12.
14) 1631: Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears, SB 20.
15) 1676: Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, SB 16 and 19.
16) 1788: Elijah Pitts, Green Bay Packers, SB 1.
17) 1843: Sony Michel *, New England Patriots, SB 53.
18) 1844: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, SB 31.
19) 2020: Tom Rathman, San Francisco 49ers, SB 24.
20) 2038: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 6.
21) 2220: Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals, SB 16.
22) 2300: Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers, SB 47.
23) 2504: Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots, SB 42.
(a) Perry is still the only defensive player to score a rushing touchdown in a Super Bowl.
(b) To add to the unlikely events, Smith is still the Super Bowl single game rushing yards record holder, with 204.
Now let's move to the list of the players with the fewest regular season career rushing touchdowns to have rushed for a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Obviously this list is similar to the yardage one. Also, there are many ties, of course.
1) 2: William "The Refridgerator" Perry, Chicago Bears, SB 20. (c)
2) 3: Timmy Smith, Washington Redskins, SB 22.
2) 3: Don Smith, Buffalo Bills, SB 25.
2) 3: Howard Griffith, Denver Broncos, SB 33.
2) 3: Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, SB 36.
2) 3: Gary Russell, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 43.
7) 4: Patrick Mahomes *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
8) 8: James White *, New England Patriots, SB 51 and 52.
9) 9: Raheem Mostert *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
10) 11: DeShaun Foster, Carolina Panthers, SB 38.
11) 12: Rob Lytle, Denver Broncos, SB 12.
11) 12: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
13) 13: Tom Nowatzke, Baltimore Colts, SB 5.
14) 13: Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers, SB 47.
14) 13: Sony Michel *, New England Patriots, SB 53.
14) 14: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, SB 31.
17) 16: Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears, SB 20.
18) 19: Ben Roethlisberger *, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 40.
19) 20: Cullen Bryant, Los Angeles Rams, SB 14.
19) 20: Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals, SB 16.
19) 20: Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, SB 16 and 19.
19) 20: Matt Suhey, Chicago Bears, SB 20.
23) 21: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 6.
23) 21: Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots, SB 42.
(c) To continue on Perry, he also is the only defensive player as far as I know to attempt a pass in a Super Bowl. Or, more accurately, attempt to attempt to pass, as he was sacked, also in SB 20.
Okay, now let's move on to players who caught touchdowns passes, with the same setup. Lowest career regular season receiving yardage first:
1) 0: Percy Howard, Dallas Cowboys, SB 10. (d)
2) 10: Nick Foles *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52. (e)
3) 14: Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots, SB 38 and 39. (f)
4) 176: Chris Matthews, Seattle Seahawks, SB 49.
5) 297: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 5. (g)
6) 315: Corey Clement *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52.
7) 323: Carl Monroe, San Francisco 49ers, SB 19.
8) 412: Alvin Garrett, Washington Redskins, SB 17.
9) 446: Ben Patrick, Arizona Cardinals, SB 43.
10) 636: Larry Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 9. (h)
11) 650: David Tyree, New York Giants, SB 42.
12) 715: Kenny King, Oakland Raiders, SB 15.
13) 1006: Ron Smith, Los Angeles Rams, SB 14.
14) 1012: Dan Johnson, Miami Dolphins, SB 19.
15) 1106: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
16) 1113: Phil McConkey, New York Giants, SB 21.
17) 1190: Tevin Coleman *, Atlanta Falcons, SB 51.
18) 1294: Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 13.
19) 1427: William Floyd, San Francisco 49ers, SB 29.
20) 1514: Randy Grossman, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 10.
21) 1647: Kyle Juszczyk *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
22) 1739: Jimmy Cefalo, Miami Dolphins, SB 17.
(d) Howard's only recorded stats are 2 kickoff returns for 51 yards.
(e) Foles is the only quarterback to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, and only the second, after John Elway, to catch a pass in a Super Bowl at all.
(f) Vrabel is the only defensive player to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. And his regular season career was amazingly unique--he caught 10 lifetime passes, for 14 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
(g) Thomas is the only guy to appear on both the rushing and receiving lists here. His career was very short, due to disputes with various teams. (Update--Damien Williams just joined him, although he's still active, so this might be temporary.)
(h) One of the reasons Brown's receiving yardage was so low was because he converted from tight end to offensive tackle for the latter part of his career.
Okay, final list--here's the guys with the fewest receiving touchdowns in their regular season careers who caught touchdown passes in a Super Bowl. Once again, there are many repeats from the yardage list.
1) 0: Percy Howard, Dallas Cowboys, SB 10.
2) 0: Nick Foles *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52.
3) 1: Chris Matthews, Seattle Seahawks, SB 49.
3) 1: Kenny King, Oakland Raiders, SB 15.
5) 2: Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 10
5) 2: Alvin Garrett, Washington Redskins, SB 17. (i)
5) 2: Carl Monroe, San Francisco 49ers, SB 19.
5) 2: Phil McConkey, New York Giants, SB 21. (j)
5) 2: Corey Clement *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52.
10) 3: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 5.
11) 4: Ron Smith, Los Angeles Rams, SB 14.
11) 4: David Tyree, New York Giants, SB 42.
11) 4: Ben Patrick, Arizona Cardinals, SB 43.
14) 5: Larry Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 9.
14) 5: Randy Grossman, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 10.
14) 5: William Floyd, San Francisco 49ers, SB 29.
17) 8: Ricky Nattiel, Denver Broncos, SB 22.
17) 8: Greg Lewis, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 39.
17) 8: Kyle Juszczyk *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
20) 10: Bill Miller, Oakland Raiders, SB 2.
20) 10: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
(5 players tied with 12 receiving touchdowns.)
(i) Incredibly, Garrett caught 3 touchdowns in an earlier game in the 1982 postseason, against Detroit.
(j) McConkey's touchdown in SB 21 was even more unlikely than most--it was a pass that bounced off teammate Mark Bavaro's hands, that McConkey was then able to snag.
So enjoy the upcoming games! Maybe we'll see some more surprising, unlikely events.
I recently received more information about the anthology that a story of mine will be appearing in. Once again, that's the "Shadowy Natures" psychological horror anthology from Dark Ink, the horror imprint of AM Ink Publishing. The book's editor, Rebecca Rowland, told me that the editing process will be starting very soon, and the publication date is firmly fixed as September 10, 2020. The book will include 21 stories. The authors are a diverse lot, coming from 5 different countries, and 10 separate U.S. states. And the front cover is shown below:
Anyway, the list entries will go as follows: number of career regular season rushing/receiving yards or touchdowns, player name, team he played for, and Super Bowl number he scored in (rendered as "SB 23", for example, and not "Super Bowl XXIII"). An asterisk (*) by the player's name indicates that the player is still actively playing as of 2019. I'll try to remember and go back and update the list accordingly as active players add to their career totals. (UPDATE--As it turned out, many of the players who scored in the recent Super Bowl 54 qualify for this list. They've been added below.) And a letter in parentheses after the SB # indicates more information written below.
Fewest regular season rushing yards in a career, to score a rushing touchdown in a Super Bowl:
1) 5: William "The Refridgerator" Perry, Chicago Bears, SB 20. (a)
2) 98: Gary Russell, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 43.
3) 165: Don Smith, Buffalo Bills, SB 25.
4) 286: Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, SB 36.
5) 351: Howard Griffith, Denver Broncos, SB 33.
6) 500: Patrick Mahomes *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
7) 602: Timmy Smith, Washington Redskins, SB 22. (b)
8) 1069: Raheem Mostert *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
9) 1119: James White *, New England Patriots, SB 51 and 52.
10) 1231: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
11) 1249: Tom Nowatzke, Baltimore Colts, SB 5.
12) 1357: Ben Roethlisberger *, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 40.
13) 1451: Rob Lytle, Denver Broncos, SB 12.
14) 1631: Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears, SB 20.
15) 1676: Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, SB 16 and 19.
16) 1788: Elijah Pitts, Green Bay Packers, SB 1.
17) 1843: Sony Michel *, New England Patriots, SB 53.
18) 1844: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, SB 31.
19) 2020: Tom Rathman, San Francisco 49ers, SB 24.
20) 2038: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 6.
21) 2220: Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals, SB 16.
22) 2300: Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers, SB 47.
23) 2504: Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots, SB 42.
(a) Perry is still the only defensive player to score a rushing touchdown in a Super Bowl.
(b) To add to the unlikely events, Smith is still the Super Bowl single game rushing yards record holder, with 204.
Now let's move to the list of the players with the fewest regular season career rushing touchdowns to have rushed for a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Obviously this list is similar to the yardage one. Also, there are many ties, of course.
1) 2: William "The Refridgerator" Perry, Chicago Bears, SB 20. (c)
2) 3: Timmy Smith, Washington Redskins, SB 22.
2) 3: Don Smith, Buffalo Bills, SB 25.
2) 3: Howard Griffith, Denver Broncos, SB 33.
2) 3: Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, SB 36.
2) 3: Gary Russell, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 43.
7) 4: Patrick Mahomes *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
8) 8: James White *, New England Patriots, SB 51 and 52.
9) 9: Raheem Mostert *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
10) 11: DeShaun Foster, Carolina Panthers, SB 38.
11) 12: Rob Lytle, Denver Broncos, SB 12.
11) 12: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
13) 13: Tom Nowatzke, Baltimore Colts, SB 5.
14) 13: Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers, SB 47.
14) 13: Sony Michel *, New England Patriots, SB 53.
14) 14: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, SB 31.
17) 16: Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears, SB 20.
18) 19: Ben Roethlisberger *, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 40.
19) 20: Cullen Bryant, Los Angeles Rams, SB 14.
19) 20: Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals, SB 16.
19) 20: Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, SB 16 and 19.
19) 20: Matt Suhey, Chicago Bears, SB 20.
23) 21: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 6.
23) 21: Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots, SB 42.
(c) To continue on Perry, he also is the only defensive player as far as I know to attempt a pass in a Super Bowl. Or, more accurately, attempt to attempt to pass, as he was sacked, also in SB 20.
Okay, now let's move on to players who caught touchdowns passes, with the same setup. Lowest career regular season receiving yardage first:
1) 0: Percy Howard, Dallas Cowboys, SB 10. (d)
2) 10: Nick Foles *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52. (e)
3) 14: Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots, SB 38 and 39. (f)
4) 176: Chris Matthews, Seattle Seahawks, SB 49.
5) 297: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 5. (g)
6) 315: Corey Clement *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52.
7) 323: Carl Monroe, San Francisco 49ers, SB 19.
8) 412: Alvin Garrett, Washington Redskins, SB 17.
9) 446: Ben Patrick, Arizona Cardinals, SB 43.
10) 636: Larry Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 9. (h)
11) 650: David Tyree, New York Giants, SB 42.
12) 715: Kenny King, Oakland Raiders, SB 15.
13) 1006: Ron Smith, Los Angeles Rams, SB 14.
14) 1012: Dan Johnson, Miami Dolphins, SB 19.
15) 1106: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
16) 1113: Phil McConkey, New York Giants, SB 21.
17) 1190: Tevin Coleman *, Atlanta Falcons, SB 51.
18) 1294: Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 13.
19) 1427: William Floyd, San Francisco 49ers, SB 29.
20) 1514: Randy Grossman, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 10.
21) 1647: Kyle Juszczyk *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
22) 1739: Jimmy Cefalo, Miami Dolphins, SB 17.
(d) Howard's only recorded stats are 2 kickoff returns for 51 yards.
(e) Foles is the only quarterback to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, and only the second, after John Elway, to catch a pass in a Super Bowl at all.
(f) Vrabel is the only defensive player to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. And his regular season career was amazingly unique--he caught 10 lifetime passes, for 14 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
(g) Thomas is the only guy to appear on both the rushing and receiving lists here. His career was very short, due to disputes with various teams. (Update--Damien Williams just joined him, although he's still active, so this might be temporary.)
(h) One of the reasons Brown's receiving yardage was so low was because he converted from tight end to offensive tackle for the latter part of his career.
Okay, final list--here's the guys with the fewest receiving touchdowns in their regular season careers who caught touchdown passes in a Super Bowl. Once again, there are many repeats from the yardage list.
1) 0: Percy Howard, Dallas Cowboys, SB 10.
2) 0: Nick Foles *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52.
3) 1: Chris Matthews, Seattle Seahawks, SB 49.
3) 1: Kenny King, Oakland Raiders, SB 15.
5) 2: Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 10
5) 2: Alvin Garrett, Washington Redskins, SB 17. (i)
5) 2: Carl Monroe, San Francisco 49ers, SB 19.
5) 2: Phil McConkey, New York Giants, SB 21. (j)
5) 2: Corey Clement *, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 52.
10) 3: Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys, SB 5.
11) 4: Ron Smith, Los Angeles Rams, SB 14.
11) 4: David Tyree, New York Giants, SB 42.
11) 4: Ben Patrick, Arizona Cardinals, SB 43.
14) 5: Larry Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 9.
14) 5: Randy Grossman, Pittsburgh Steelers, SB 10.
14) 5: William Floyd, San Francisco 49ers, SB 29.
17) 8: Ricky Nattiel, Denver Broncos, SB 22.
17) 8: Greg Lewis, Philadelphia Eagles, SB 39.
17) 8: Kyle Juszczyk *, San Francisco 49ers, SB 54.
20) 10: Bill Miller, Oakland Raiders, SB 2.
20) 10: Damien Williams *, Kansas City Chiefs, SB 54.
(5 players tied with 12 receiving touchdowns.)
(i) Incredibly, Garrett caught 3 touchdowns in an earlier game in the 1982 postseason, against Detroit.
(j) McConkey's touchdown in SB 21 was even more unlikely than most--it was a pass that bounced off teammate Mark Bavaro's hands, that McConkey was then able to snag.
So enjoy the upcoming games! Maybe we'll see some more surprising, unlikely events.
I recently received more information about the anthology that a story of mine will be appearing in. Once again, that's the "Shadowy Natures" psychological horror anthology from Dark Ink, the horror imprint of AM Ink Publishing. The book's editor, Rebecca Rowland, told me that the editing process will be starting very soon, and the publication date is firmly fixed as September 10, 2020. The book will include 21 stories. The authors are a diverse lot, coming from 5 different countries, and 10 separate U.S. states. And the front cover is shown below:
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Scottish Shortbread
In some ways, this title is redundant, since shortbread's invention is attributed to the Scottish. However, like many lauded edibles, since its development many other areas of the world have tried their own hand at shortbread. But I'll be tackling some of the "O.G." shortbread, as it were, and one of the most popular, if not the most popular brands--Walkers. I was able to locate two kinds of their wares at my local Shop Rite--the plain, and the one with salted caramel and chocolate chunks.
The question of exactly when, and exactly who, invented shortbread can't be precisely answered. The when is reported to be the 12th century, and the who is persons unknown. The precursor to shortbread was common--the twice baked bread known as "rusk." (For more on rusk, or other twice baked concoctions, see my posts on November 3, 2018, April 13, 2019, and May 11, 2019.) Somewhere along the line, people started adding butter, and sugar, and made the crumbly, dessert-style pastry that we know today. It is known who was the first person to publish a recipe for shortbread, though. This was a Scottish woman, named Mrs. McLintock. (I'm not 100% sure that she was a real person, and not a made up name, and I also couldn't find out her actual first name, just her married moniker.) Her book, "Mrs McLintock's Recipes for Cookery and Pastry-Work" was put out in 1736. I was planning to insert a joke about this nearly 300 year old book being unfortunately out of print, but I happened to look it up on Amazon. And, lo and behold, you can order this book, as a Iseabail MacLeod reproduced it in 1991. When I checked 11 copies were still available, starting at a little over $30, not including tax and shipping. (Weird conspiracy theory, based on the reproduction author's surname, and too many viewing of "Highlander"--is it possible that Mrs. McLintock is an immortal, and just put out the 20th century version of her old cookbook herself?!) Anyway, shortbread sales boomed, both in Scotland and elsewhere. In fact, we just passed Scotland's National Shortbread Day, as it was on January 6th.
Walkers (not a typo--they don't include the apostrophe) was started in 1898, by the 21 year old Joseph Walker, in the Speyside village of Aberlour. His bakery flourished, and his shortbread in particular was a huge selling item. His company managed to weather the rationing and upheaval during World War II, and by the 1970's was exporting to over 60 countries around the globe. Like a lot of the companies that I report on, Walkers seems very concerned with being receptive to other diets, religious practices, environmentalism, and health concerns. Their products are kosher and vegetarian appropriate (but not vegan safe, given their frequent use of butter), and their milk comes from free-range cows, which are not given growth hormones or antibiotics. Walkers also follows the Ethical Trading Initiative, and uses sustainable palm oil. They even have a couple of gluten-free products. Besides shortbread, the company also markets oatcakes, biscuits and cookies, cakes and tarts, and crackers. The official Walkers website includes a "Gender Pay Gap Report,"too, if you're interested. Also, I may have made this type of observation before, but I clicked on the "cookie policy" section on the website, and was amused to see it was about the computer data collecting cookies, and not a manifesto about the dessert kind.
Walkers shortbread cookies. These were about 7 cm. by 2 cm. (about 2.75 inches by .75 inch), rectangular in shape, yellowish-brown in color, with holes on top. They were thick, crunchy, and rich. Very buttery. Good. Not awesome, but still solid. Pricey though--there were only 8 biscuits in the box, which cost about $4.00.
Walkers shortbread cookies, salted caramel and chocolate chunk. These were round, with a diameter of about 2.25 inches (about 5.5 cm.), and with a yellowish-brown color and visible caramel and chocolate pieces. I could definitely taste the caramel and chocolate additions. And their sweetness significantly helped--I enjoyed these more than the plain shortbread. Very good overall.
In closing then, I can recommend Walkers shortbread cookies/biscuits, especially the caramel/chocolate chunk kind. And Walkers itself seems like they're trying to be a fair and morally responsible company as well. Really, my only complaint is that they don't use a logo of a fantastic, absurd, indigenous legendary monster, like the Calbee company from last week.
The question of exactly when, and exactly who, invented shortbread can't be precisely answered. The when is reported to be the 12th century, and the who is persons unknown. The precursor to shortbread was common--the twice baked bread known as "rusk." (For more on rusk, or other twice baked concoctions, see my posts on November 3, 2018, April 13, 2019, and May 11, 2019.) Somewhere along the line, people started adding butter, and sugar, and made the crumbly, dessert-style pastry that we know today. It is known who was the first person to publish a recipe for shortbread, though. This was a Scottish woman, named Mrs. McLintock. (I'm not 100% sure that she was a real person, and not a made up name, and I also couldn't find out her actual first name, just her married moniker.) Her book, "Mrs McLintock's Recipes for Cookery and Pastry-Work" was put out in 1736. I was planning to insert a joke about this nearly 300 year old book being unfortunately out of print, but I happened to look it up on Amazon. And, lo and behold, you can order this book, as a Iseabail MacLeod reproduced it in 1991. When I checked 11 copies were still available, starting at a little over $30, not including tax and shipping. (Weird conspiracy theory, based on the reproduction author's surname, and too many viewing of "Highlander"--is it possible that Mrs. McLintock is an immortal, and just put out the 20th century version of her old cookbook herself?!) Anyway, shortbread sales boomed, both in Scotland and elsewhere. In fact, we just passed Scotland's National Shortbread Day, as it was on January 6th.
Walkers (not a typo--they don't include the apostrophe) was started in 1898, by the 21 year old Joseph Walker, in the Speyside village of Aberlour. His bakery flourished, and his shortbread in particular was a huge selling item. His company managed to weather the rationing and upheaval during World War II, and by the 1970's was exporting to over 60 countries around the globe. Like a lot of the companies that I report on, Walkers seems very concerned with being receptive to other diets, religious practices, environmentalism, and health concerns. Their products are kosher and vegetarian appropriate (but not vegan safe, given their frequent use of butter), and their milk comes from free-range cows, which are not given growth hormones or antibiotics. Walkers also follows the Ethical Trading Initiative, and uses sustainable palm oil. They even have a couple of gluten-free products. Besides shortbread, the company also markets oatcakes, biscuits and cookies, cakes and tarts, and crackers. The official Walkers website includes a "Gender Pay Gap Report,"too, if you're interested. Also, I may have made this type of observation before, but I clicked on the "cookie policy" section on the website, and was amused to see it was about the computer data collecting cookies, and not a manifesto about the dessert kind.
Walkers shortbread cookies. These were about 7 cm. by 2 cm. (about 2.75 inches by .75 inch), rectangular in shape, yellowish-brown in color, with holes on top. They were thick, crunchy, and rich. Very buttery. Good. Not awesome, but still solid. Pricey though--there were only 8 biscuits in the box, which cost about $4.00.
Walkers shortbread cookies, salted caramel and chocolate chunk. These were round, with a diameter of about 2.25 inches (about 5.5 cm.), and with a yellowish-brown color and visible caramel and chocolate pieces. I could definitely taste the caramel and chocolate additions. And their sweetness significantly helped--I enjoyed these more than the plain shortbread. Very good overall.
In closing then, I can recommend Walkers shortbread cookies/biscuits, especially the caramel/chocolate chunk kind. And Walkers itself seems like they're trying to be a fair and morally responsible company as well. Really, my only complaint is that they don't use a logo of a fantastic, absurd, indigenous legendary monster, like the Calbee company from last week.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Some Non-Potato Chips (Aka Crisps) and Snacks
While at my local Shop Rite grocery recently, I noticed that chips (crisps) have become much more varied in the past few years. For much of my life, the choices were almost always of chips made from potatoes, and maybe from sweet potatoes around 10-15 years ago. But clearly, Americans have become willing to try some new kinds. So I snapped up a selection of unusual ones. I got The Daily Crave's quinoa chips, From the Ground Up's cauliflower pretzels, and three versions of Harvest Snaps--crisps made from green peas, red lentils, and black beans.
The Daily Crave is a brand from Natural Intentions, Inc., out of Folsom, California. Their founder/CEO is Hassan Alireza. Around since 2002, this company specializes in healthy snacks, such as veggie chips and veggie sticks. Reflecting that belief, their products have no gluten, GMO's, artificial flavors, hydrogenated fats, and trans fats, and are also kosher and vegan. Currently they're exported to twenty countries, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore. The Daily Crave's theme is an old timey newspaper (actually, I guess these days all print publications are "old timey"!), with a 1940's style reporter guy as a logo, and featuring fake news stories on the bag. For a celebrity endorsement, reportedly Emily Deschanel is a fan. Although, while I get that it's kind of a joke (hopefully), the former archaeologist in me is put off by their "ancient aliens" pseudo news article.
In a similar fashion, From the Ground Up is also dedicated to having no GMO's or gluten, and being vegan-appropriate, alternative snacks. Aside from the pretzels I bought they also make crackers and chips out of butternut squash. From the Ground Up is a brand of the Halen Brands, Inc. company, started in 2015 in New Jersey by Jason Cohen and Leigh Feuerstein. Other brands made by this company include OWYN (a plant protein), Joyfuls (chocolate, seed, and fruit treats), Chef's Cut Jerky, and CORE Hydration. Their snacks are billed as being good sources of Vitamins A, C, D, E, B1, and B6.
Harvest Snaps is an American brand of Calbee International, based out of Japan. I talked about another Calbee product, their baked shrimp chips, in my post on February 18, 2017. I'll try to avoid repeating myself much here. Calbee started in 1949 as the Matsuo Food Processing Company, Inc., but changed their name to Calbee in 1955. Their current CEO/President is Shoji Ito. Helped by a partnerships with Frito-Lay, Calbee controls over 50% of the Japanese market for snacks, and over 40% of the cereal market. They also use a folk creature, the kappa, as one of their product's symbols. (This animal is awesome, so more on that later.) Alternative flavors of Harvest Snaps are barbecue, lightly salted, Caesar, parmesan garlic, habanero, white cheddar, and black pepper.
1) From the Ground Up original cauliflower pretzels: These were light brown rods, about 7 cm. (about 2.75 inches) long, thinner than a pencil, with visible bumps on them. Crunchy, and tasted pretty much like a regular hard pretzel. Which means I didn't like them, as I only enjoy the larger, Philadelphia-style, soft pretzels. So all in all they were a decent imitation of a typical hard pretzel, so fans of those might like these, too.
2) The Daily Crave quinoa chips with Himalayan pink salt: These were yellowish-orange in color, a roughly oval shape, with dimensions of about 5.5 cm. by 3.5 cm. (about 2 inches by 1.5 inches), and with ridges. They had kind of an odd taste. Alas, they were still bland. I was hoping Himalayan pink salt would be exotically spicy, but I didn't find this to be the case. So I found these chips to be crunchy, but rather dull and "blah." They were better with onion dip. (For more on quinoa, see my post about "superfoods" on May 1, 2014). Also, if you're curious, Himalayan pink salt is from Pakistan, and is purported to have special health qualities. Which haven't been scientifically proven.
3) Harvest Snaps red lentil snack crisps, tomato basil flavor: These were puffed rods, about 5.5 cm. by .75 cm (about 2.25 inches by .25 inch), with a yellowish-orange color, and some spice dust on them. Tomato/basil flavor wasn't that strong, and these were "meh" at best. Nice crunch, though.
4) Harvest Snaps, black bean crisps, mango chile lime flavor: Same size and shape, and texture as the red lentil kind, with a brownish yellow color and black spice dusting. I could detect the sweet and spicy flavors this time. Better than the red lentil, but still rather mediocre. They were kind of messy to eat, too, since the powder came off on my fingers, like Cheese Curls.
5) Harvest Snaps, green pea crisps, wasabi ranch flavor: Same shape, size, and texture as the other Harvest Snaps. But this time they were a yellowish green hue, with some powder. Significantly stronger taste, and I could really detect the ranch and wasabi flavors. Reminded me of edamame at Japanese restaurants. Pretty good--best of the bunch by far, including all five of these selections. Probably the only one I would buy again.
But on to the mythical creature that Calbee uses as a product symbol. The kappa is known by many other names, including kawappa, gawappa, and kawaso. It's basically an aquatic demon. Scaly and small, being about the size of a child, with a birdlike beak. Usually green, yellow or blue. Their temperament is all over the place, however. Some are just slightly naughty, doing things like making fart noises or trying to look up women's kimonos. Others, though, are much more extreme, and will kidnap and kill people, while sometimes drinking their blood or eating their livers. Kappas are also said to target people's shirikodama, a mythical ball-like organ which contains the person's soul. Which is, alas, located in the anus. Kappas are also known to commit sexual assaults. Fortunately, they do have several weaknesses. Ginger, iron, and sesame will repel them. Additionally, if they start to wrestle with a person, their arms can be pulled off fairly easily. Then, the human victim can offer this back to the kappa, in exchange for a promise to leave them alone, or do a specific favor. Also, while on land the kappas need to keep water in an indentation on their heads, and if this spills out they're paralyzed. So enterprising individuals sometimes trick the kappas by bowing low to them upon encountering them. Since the kappas are oddly polite and formal, they'll bow deeply in reply, which sometimes spills the water (called a sara). As with the arms, if someone replaces the water in their heads, the kappa will then be in the person's service. (Although, some kappas combat this strategy by keeping the water in via a metal lid or hat.) Kappas are highly intelligent, and very articulate. Legend says that a kappa taught people medical knowledge, such as how to properly set broken bones. Finally, they also like cucumbers, and will sometimes spare people who throw one into the lake or river before entering to bathe or swim. Some folklorists think the kappa might be based on a real animal, the giant Japanese salamander, which can be up to five feet long. But why Calbee doesn't use this monster as a logo for all their products I don't know!
The Daily Crave is a brand from Natural Intentions, Inc., out of Folsom, California. Their founder/CEO is Hassan Alireza. Around since 2002, this company specializes in healthy snacks, such as veggie chips and veggie sticks. Reflecting that belief, their products have no gluten, GMO's, artificial flavors, hydrogenated fats, and trans fats, and are also kosher and vegan. Currently they're exported to twenty countries, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore. The Daily Crave's theme is an old timey newspaper (actually, I guess these days all print publications are "old timey"!), with a 1940's style reporter guy as a logo, and featuring fake news stories on the bag. For a celebrity endorsement, reportedly Emily Deschanel is a fan. Although, while I get that it's kind of a joke (hopefully), the former archaeologist in me is put off by their "ancient aliens" pseudo news article.
In a similar fashion, From the Ground Up is also dedicated to having no GMO's or gluten, and being vegan-appropriate, alternative snacks. Aside from the pretzels I bought they also make crackers and chips out of butternut squash. From the Ground Up is a brand of the Halen Brands, Inc. company, started in 2015 in New Jersey by Jason Cohen and Leigh Feuerstein. Other brands made by this company include OWYN (a plant protein), Joyfuls (chocolate, seed, and fruit treats), Chef's Cut Jerky, and CORE Hydration. Their snacks are billed as being good sources of Vitamins A, C, D, E, B1, and B6.
Harvest Snaps is an American brand of Calbee International, based out of Japan. I talked about another Calbee product, their baked shrimp chips, in my post on February 18, 2017. I'll try to avoid repeating myself much here. Calbee started in 1949 as the Matsuo Food Processing Company, Inc., but changed their name to Calbee in 1955. Their current CEO/President is Shoji Ito. Helped by a partnerships with Frito-Lay, Calbee controls over 50% of the Japanese market for snacks, and over 40% of the cereal market. They also use a folk creature, the kappa, as one of their product's symbols. (This animal is awesome, so more on that later.) Alternative flavors of Harvest Snaps are barbecue, lightly salted, Caesar, parmesan garlic, habanero, white cheddar, and black pepper.
1) From the Ground Up original cauliflower pretzels: These were light brown rods, about 7 cm. (about 2.75 inches) long, thinner than a pencil, with visible bumps on them. Crunchy, and tasted pretty much like a regular hard pretzel. Which means I didn't like them, as I only enjoy the larger, Philadelphia-style, soft pretzels. So all in all they were a decent imitation of a typical hard pretzel, so fans of those might like these, too.
2) The Daily Crave quinoa chips with Himalayan pink salt: These were yellowish-orange in color, a roughly oval shape, with dimensions of about 5.5 cm. by 3.5 cm. (about 2 inches by 1.5 inches), and with ridges. They had kind of an odd taste. Alas, they were still bland. I was hoping Himalayan pink salt would be exotically spicy, but I didn't find this to be the case. So I found these chips to be crunchy, but rather dull and "blah." They were better with onion dip. (For more on quinoa, see my post about "superfoods" on May 1, 2014). Also, if you're curious, Himalayan pink salt is from Pakistan, and is purported to have special health qualities. Which haven't been scientifically proven.
3) Harvest Snaps red lentil snack crisps, tomato basil flavor: These were puffed rods, about 5.5 cm. by .75 cm (about 2.25 inches by .25 inch), with a yellowish-orange color, and some spice dust on them. Tomato/basil flavor wasn't that strong, and these were "meh" at best. Nice crunch, though.
4) Harvest Snaps, black bean crisps, mango chile lime flavor: Same size and shape, and texture as the red lentil kind, with a brownish yellow color and black spice dusting. I could detect the sweet and spicy flavors this time. Better than the red lentil, but still rather mediocre. They were kind of messy to eat, too, since the powder came off on my fingers, like Cheese Curls.
5) Harvest Snaps, green pea crisps, wasabi ranch flavor: Same shape, size, and texture as the other Harvest Snaps. But this time they were a yellowish green hue, with some powder. Significantly stronger taste, and I could really detect the ranch and wasabi flavors. Reminded me of edamame at Japanese restaurants. Pretty good--best of the bunch by far, including all five of these selections. Probably the only one I would buy again.
But on to the mythical creature that Calbee uses as a product symbol. The kappa is known by many other names, including kawappa, gawappa, and kawaso. It's basically an aquatic demon. Scaly and small, being about the size of a child, with a birdlike beak. Usually green, yellow or blue. Their temperament is all over the place, however. Some are just slightly naughty, doing things like making fart noises or trying to look up women's kimonos. Others, though, are much more extreme, and will kidnap and kill people, while sometimes drinking their blood or eating their livers. Kappas are also said to target people's shirikodama, a mythical ball-like organ which contains the person's soul. Which is, alas, located in the anus. Kappas are also known to commit sexual assaults. Fortunately, they do have several weaknesses. Ginger, iron, and sesame will repel them. Additionally, if they start to wrestle with a person, their arms can be pulled off fairly easily. Then, the human victim can offer this back to the kappa, in exchange for a promise to leave them alone, or do a specific favor. Also, while on land the kappas need to keep water in an indentation on their heads, and if this spills out they're paralyzed. So enterprising individuals sometimes trick the kappas by bowing low to them upon encountering them. Since the kappas are oddly polite and formal, they'll bow deeply in reply, which sometimes spills the water (called a sara). As with the arms, if someone replaces the water in their heads, the kappa will then be in the person's service. (Although, some kappas combat this strategy by keeping the water in via a metal lid or hat.) Kappas are highly intelligent, and very articulate. Legend says that a kappa taught people medical knowledge, such as how to properly set broken bones. Finally, they also like cucumbers, and will sometimes spare people who throw one into the lake or river before entering to bathe or swim. Some folklorists think the kappa might be based on a real animal, the giant Japanese salamander, which can be up to five feet long. But why Calbee doesn't use this monster as a logo for all their products I don't know!
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