Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Jordanian Spreads

      Several years ago my local main grocery store, Shop-Rite, went through extensive renovations.  Which ended up taking a long time in total--perhaps even over a year?  (If it wasn't that long, it sure seemed like it.)  That period of time was very irritating.  It seemed like every time I shopped, some foods and/or drinks had been moved to another aisle.  I'm very much a creature of habit, so when something wasn't where I expected it to be, I was annoyed.  Anyway, eventually it was over.  For the past couple of years things have stayed in their usual, predictable spots, right where I expect them to reside.  And, I'm forced to admit that some of the permanent changes were positive.  One of these weas the addition of a specialty spread section.  Which is mostly things like hummus, dips, and such, often from around the globe.  That's where I got today's topics:  I tried two of Mezete's offerings--their classic hummus, and something called muhammara.

     The roots of Mezete are decently old--they just celebrated their centennial this year.  Back in 1926 a man named Hajj Raslan Kasih founded a company which he named, creatively, Raslan Kasih and Sons.  This Amman, Jordan-based business made halvah and tahini.  In 1996 one of Kasih's sons, Hajj Muhammad Adnan Kasih founded the Kasih Factories Group.  Apparently this was just a renaming, or reshuffling of the original company, as this business also primarily sold halvah and tahini.  Other products under the Kasih brand name include olives, beans, mushrooms, chickpeas, tomatoes, and hummus.  At some unspecified point Kasih introduced their Mezete brand.  Its products include dips like baba ghanouj, muhammara, and hummus, sauces like various flavors of tahini sauce, a couple of soups, a few stews, and some more portable "to go" versions of the previous products, some which come with breadsticks.  The current CEO of Kasih is Khaled Kasih, who is Raslan's grandson.  Most or all of Kasih's products undergo a process called ultra heat treatment (UHT), which enables their wares to have long shelf lives without using preservatives.  Kasih/Mezete products are exported to over 40 countries around the world.

     Hummus has become quite common in the past few decades, I think, so I assume most or all readers are familiar with it.  But, some may not know what muhammara is.  (I didn't.)  Muhammara is another kind of dip, which was developed in the Syrian city of Aleppo.  The origin date is a bit vague, but I saw a date of 1981 as the latest possible birthdate.  This dip is made with walnuts, red bell peppers, pomegranate molasses, bread crumbs, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, tahini, and/or spices.  Aside from being a dip, muhammara is sometimes also used as a topping for a savory pastry called manakish, or as a sauce for kebabs.  A Turkish version is called acuka.

Mezete classic hummus:  Had an off-white color, and a slight, chickpea-ish odor.  The texture was smooth.  The taste was like regular plain hummus, creamy, smooth, and very good.  Not spicy, but I got the classic, non-spiced version.  So this was a very respectable example of the style.  I had some plain, and most of it on chips.

Mezete muhammara:  This one had a brownish-red color, and a slightly spicy odor.  Its appearance was not as smooth as the hummus, as I could see some chunks of pepper and such.  The flavor was very nice.  It was kind of sweet and spicy at the same time.  I had a little plain, and most of it on chips.  I was impressed either way.  As tasty as the hummus was, I preferred this one a bit more.  Therefore, my first experience with muhammara was a very positive one.  All in all, then, I would recommend both of these enthusiastically.  I'll also have to try Mezete's other products.

     Additionally, I learned that a "Hajj" before the other words in a personal name signifies that they have made the sacred Muslim journey to the city of Mecca.  The trip itself is called a "hajj."  So it's an honorific title, based on a religious accomplishment.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Some Ecuadorian/American Plantain Chips, and Some Obscure Slang Trivia

      A while ago, in my local grocery, I saw what can only be described as a small plastic drum of plantain chips.  Since it was an unfamiliar brand/company name, and the plantains were grown in Ecuador, I quickly decided to buy one.  For the record, this was a container of the garlic flavored plantain chips from the El Sol company, out of Florida.

     I've complained umpteen times about companies that provide little to no information about their history, founders, and such.  And I'm going to do it again today.  Apparently, the owner of El Sol is either hiding from the Mob, or is a bigger Luddite than even myself.  The official company website just basically had product lists, recipes, and the like.  El Sol. which means "the sun" in English, sells Latin American and Caribbean fruits, vegetables, and a few prepared/processed fruit and vegetable items.  Some of these include tamarind, tomatillos, sugar cane, long beans (I didn't know exactly what these were--after some checking they're a relative of the cowpea, originally grown in parts of China and Southeast Asia.  These beans are also known as asparagus beans, Chinese long beans, snake beans, bodi, borboti, bora, long-podded cowpeas, and yardlong beans), chili peppers, yuca, breadfruit, bananas, avocados, coconut milk, and squash.  Some of the countries that grow their wares are the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Honduras.  And that's about all I could get.   Business-related websites did indicate that the owner and current CEO of El Sol is Carl (aka Chris) DelPrete, and that the company started over 20 years ago.  Alas, Googling that name mainly showcases another man named Carl DelPrete, who co-founded and runs the Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace, a New York-based Italian supermarket.  And, in previous posts I've already reported on fun facts about Ecuador, and some famous people with Ecuadorian heritage.  Furthermore, I've previously gone into some detail about plantains in posts about plantain and banana products.  So I'm kind of stuck--sorry.  Therefore, the final paragraph will be some unrelated information about an obscure bit of slang that I used in the first sentence of this paragraph.

El Sol Brands, Inc., plantain chips, garlic (or in Spanish ajo) flavor:  These chips were yellow circular discs, about 1.5 inches (about 3.5 cm.) in diameter.  The texture was dry and crunchy.  The flavor was kind of bland.  The garlic flavoring wasn't that strong.  They grew on me a little as I ate them, but they were still not one of the better plantain chips I've sampled.  I also tried some with ranch dressing on them, and this improved things.  Therefore, in conclusion, I would recommend these only slightly--if you're looking for an alternative to regular potato chips, these are okay, especially if you dip them in something.  But there are definitely better plantain chips out there.

     On to the expression.  For starters, "umpteen," or "umpteenth," refers to large but unspecified position in a sequence.  So in my sentence earlier, I'm using it as an exaggeration, to indicate that I've discussed companies that provide little to no information about their founders, and company history, many, many times.  I've been using this expression for years, but I didn't know the origins.  Which, as I discovered, are not conclusive.  The term "umpty" seems to date back to around the year 1905, as a slang term for the dash in Morse Code.  Telegraph operators would sometimes start a long story with a string of dashes as placeholders, so this became synonymous for an indefinite number.  Then, in the era of World War I (1914-18), soldiers took the "umpty" and substituted a "teen" for the ending "ty" of umpty, or "umpteen."  This was used to indicate an unspecified amount of something.  The Oxford English Dictionary notes a 1918 writing by pilot J.T.B. McCudden as the first appearance in a published work.  However, this is disputed.  The Canadians were allegedly earlier, as there are supposedly published account using the word from 1908 or even 1902, although the word was used in a different way.  Moving on, folks in the opposite side of the globe may have used the term even earlier than this.  A New Zealand article reportedly used the expression, in the modern definition, back in 1878.  And the Australians were supposedly using it throughout the late 1800's as well.  So, it would appear that I've been using a late 19th century New Zealand/Australian slang term, which was also popularized in North America during World War I.  Maybe independently, or perhaps borrowed from our friends Down Under.  Ultimately the most important thing is that I use a slang word that is probably only understood by folks over the age of 60 or more.

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Chinese/American Ginger

      A while ago I saw some jarred sushi ginger (which is sliced strips of pickled ginger), and it brought back memories.  As I've probably mentioned previously, I've had a ton of sushi in my life--surely hundreds of pounds of it, or more.  On some of my archaeological projects on the road I literally ate sushi 4-5 times a week.  (Looking back, it's a wonder that I didn't die from mercury poisoning.)  Anyway, sushi ginger is a very common garnish on sushi servings, kind of like a type of solid, warm sorbet.  Meaning I've also eaten quite a lot of sushi ginger in my time on Earth as well.  Which I've liked so much that I've also consumed containers of sushi ginger without the sushi, all by itself.  All of this is to try to explain some of my culinary obsessions.  The jar I'll discuss today is from The Ginger People brand, made by the Ginger People Group out of California.

     Regular readers with astounding memories may recognize the company and brand name, since I covered another Ginger People Group product in my post on April 16th, 2017, about "gin gins," their ginger based candy.  So this is admittedly a repeat of sorts.  However, the gins gins were made with ginger that was cultivated in Fiji, and the sushi ginger I'll talk about in this post was grown in China.  So I think that's different enough, at least technically.  With all that in mind, I'll try not to repeat myself too much.  The Ginger People Group founders were Abbie and Bruce Leeson, and their company is nearing its 40th anniversary, meaning it started in the mid to late 1980's.  The Leesons are major fans of ginger, to the point that they think it has "healing powers" and such.  Aside from China and Fiji, the business also imports ginger from Australia, Indonesia, and Peru.  And aside from the gin gins and sushi ginger, other Ginger People products include tablets and lozenges, health shots (which are drinks), juices, beverages, cooking and baking products, sauces, and specialty deli items.  All, clearly are ginger-based.  Somewhat surprisingly, for a company that prides itself on being organic and health-based, there is a risk of allergens in Ginger People's products, as the facility they're made in also process peanuts and soy.  So keep that in mind if you're allergic to these things.

The Ginger People, organic sushi ginger:  The ginger strips were the typical sushi ginger size and shape--very thin pieces, roughly rectangular, and ranging between 1-3 inches (or 2.5 to 7.5 cm.) in length and about half an inch to a inch (or about 1.25 cm to 2.5 cm.) in width.  The color and odor were regular too--dull yellow and a slightly spicy, respectively.  And the texture was slightly chewy and wet (they were suspended in a liquid).  The taste was fairly typical too--maybe a tad sweeter than most at first, but it ended with the usual gingery spice bite.  So, all in all, this was a good example of the style.  I would recommend this ginger, definitely.  I did have my ginger plain, since I'm not a sushi chef.  But I'm sure it would pair nicely with sushi as pickled ginger usually does.

     I often note, and sometimes make fun of company mascots and advertising logos.  But in this case, it did what it was designed to do, and stuck in my brain.  I had forgotten The Ginger People brand and company name, but the mascot struck a chord when I saw it again on the official website.  This character, Mr. Knobs, is basically an anthropomorphic ginger man, with a head, and separate arms and legs, all made out of ginger.  Who might be a cannibal--see my post on April 16th, 2017 for more about that.  Actually, when I reread that earlier post, it also mentioned real, human eating human cannibalism, too.  So if that intrigues you, give it a read.