Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Turkish Foods

      These were kind of random finds at the alternate Shop-Rite yet again.  They worked out pretty well, since I haven't done too many posts about Turkish cuisine, or about the food types themselves.  Looking back through my blog history, it appears that the only two were about Turkish fried eggplant on December 9, 2017, and then the one about various Mediterranean dishes on October 24, 2020.  (To be fair, some of these dishes weren't exclusively Turkish, but I believe the owners are Turkish, so I think that counts.)  Anyway, I tried the beets from Pickerfresh, and the stuffed vine (grape) leaves from Roland.

     Pickerfresh (it seems like it's spelled this way, as one word), as the name suggests, makes an assortment of pickled things--cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, capers, and garlic.  I couldn't really find out whether Pickerfresh started out as a separate company, or if it was always a brand of the larger Turkish company Euro Gida (or, more accurately, and longer, Euro Gida Sanayl Ve Ticaret A S).  There wasn't a lot about Euro Gida's history online, either.  It was started in 1995, and the current chairman is Haluk Onen.  Aside from Pickerfresh, the business also owns large brands such as Melis and Tazely.  Overall, Euro Gida makes pickles, roasted veggies, canned veggies, dried veggies, and sauces.  The company exports to 33 nations around the world, including much of Europe, North America, and Australia.  All (?) or at least most of their wares are Kosher and not made with GMOs as well.  And the American distributer for Pickerfresh goes by the rather boring and obvious name of Nature's Best LLC, out of New York.

     Fortunately, I was able to learn a little bit more about Roland Foods.  In 1934, Bruno Scheidt left Germany, fleeing the Nazis.  He settled in France, and started Roland, also in 1934.  It was named after the knight who was one of Charlemagne's top men.  In 1936 he married Suzanne (her maiden name wasn't provided), who joined him in running the company.  The Scheidts moved to the U.S. in 1939.  During World War II Roland sold just domestic foods, but afterward it started importing.  After Bruno died in the 1960's he and Suzanne's son Charlie began running the Roland business.  Their website notes that Roland was an early utilizer of computers in the company, starting all the way back to the 1960's and 70's.  In the decade of 2000-2010 Roland expanded into China, the United Arab Emirates, and various parts of South America.  Roland was acquired by a private equity firm, Vestar Capital Partners, in 2013.  Roland's products include vegetables, grains, rice, pastas, oils, vinegars, condiments, sauces, seafood, fruit, spices, snacks, desserts, pastries, and kitchen and dining accessories.

     My can of stuffed vine leaves was called "dolma."  Which is traditional Ottoman fare, which at some points in history included what's now Greece, Turkey, parts of the Middle East, and the Balkans.  Dolma is kind of an umbrella term--it essentially refers to foods stuffed with other foods.  Vine (grape) and cabbage leaves are common as the outer element, along with fruit or vegetables like quinces, peppers, and zucchini.  The inner filling can be varied too--anything from vegetables, fruit, meat (especially organ meat), seafood, and spices.  I was amused to learn that the type I tried, without meat, is sometimes sardonically referred to as "yalanci dolma," which means "stuffed with lies" in Turkish.  I find it funny that apparently some folks consider what's put in your grape leaves, peppers, or fruit fairly seriously.  I plan to use this expression when I can, and not just for food preparations.

Pickerfresh pickled beets:  These were sliced beets, cut into ribbed designs.  So obviously they were red.  The odor was vinegar-y.  I had some plain, and they tasted just like regular pickled beets.  I should say that I'm not a beet guy in general--they've always tasted bland and uninteresting to me.  These were just like the others I had--no better or no worse.  I also tried them mixed up with sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers, and this didn't change my opinion.  On a sandwich roll was better, as the bread soaked up some of the vinegar.  So all in all I won't buy these again, but if you like canned beets, you'll probably like these.  And the beets themselves were grown in Turkey.

Roland dolmas, stuffed vine (grape) leaves:  These looked sort of like a type of sushi roll--green leafy rolls about 2.5 inches (about 7 cm.) by 1 inch (about 2.5 cm.).  The smell was vinegar-y.  They were oily, vinegar-y, and spicy.  In short, delicious.  The interiors of these wraps were spicy rice.  Unlike the beets, I have traditionally loved grape leaves when I've had them before, both the canned and fresh, restaurant-made varieties.  These were no different.  So I highly recommend these, and will definitely look for them again.  I will also look for the kind stuffed with meat, since some connoisseurs consider this kind the only "true" kind of dolma.  Once again, these were products of Turkey, imported by Roland.

  

 

Families With Multiple Olympic Medal Winners, and Multi-Generational Pro Athlete Families, With a Female Emphysis

     Last September 4th (or 2021), I did a post about the best father/son combinations that played in pro football, which sometimes also included a third generation.  Today I thought I'd do something similar, only with a focus on female athletes.  Therefore, I'll start by discussing Olympic families which had parent/child combinations, or sometimes grandparent/child/grandchild combinations, with at least one of these athletes being a woman.  As it turns out, this is actually fairly common, so to make this list manageable I limited it to only those individuals that all won a medal--a gold, silver, or bronze.  Then, when this is done, I'll conclude by another list of parent/child combinations in professional sports, with at least one individual being a woman.  (With all of them being father/daughter pairings, with one exception.)  Anyway, let's begin.  For abbreviations, (d) means daughter, (s) means son, (w) means wife, (gs) means grandson, and (gd) means granddaughter.

1)    Albert Bogen, won silver at the 1912 Games, for Austria-Hungary, in the team sabre (fencing) event.

  (d) Erna Bogen-Bogati, bronze in 1932, Hungary, in the individual foil (fencing) event.

 (gs) Pal Gerevich, 2 bronzes, in 1972 and 1980, Hungary, in the team sabre (fencing) event.

2)   Marton Homonnai, 2 golds, 1 silver in 1928, 32, 36, Hungary, in the water polo event.

 (d) Katalin Szoke, 2 golds, 1952, Hungary, 100 M freestyle and 4X100M freestyle relay (swimming).

3)   Erwin Keller, silver in 1936 Games, for Germany, in team field hockey event.

 (s) Carsten Keller, gold in 1972, West Germany, team field hockey

(gd) Natascha Keller, gold in 2004, Germany, team field hockey.  

4)   Dezso Gyarmati, 3 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze in 1948, 1952,1956,1960, 1964, Hungary, in water polo.

 (w) Eva Szekely, gold and silver in 1952, 1956 Hungary, 200m breaststroke.

 (d) Andrea Gyarmati, silver and bronze in 1972, Hungary, 100M breaststroke and 100M butterfly.

5)   Nobuyuki Aihara, 2 golds, 2 silvers in 1956, 60, Japan, floor and team gymnastic events.

 (w) Toshiko Shirasu-Aihara won bronze in 1964, Japan, team all around gymnastics.

 (s) Yutaka Aihara, won 1 bronze in 1992, Japan, team all around gymnastics

6)   Lennox Miller, won 1 silver and 1 bronze in 1968 and 1972, Jamaica, 100 M running events.

 (d) Inger Miller, won gold in 1996, U.S.A., 4X 100 relay (sprinter).

7)   Mark Phillips, won gold and silver in 1972, 1988, Great Britain, equestrian team, open.

 (d) Zara Phillips, won silver at 2012, Great Britain, equestrian team, open.

8)   Farkhat Mustafin, won bronze in 1976, Soviet Union, Greco-Roman wrestling, bantamweight.

 (d) Aliya Mustafina, won 2 golds, 2 silvers, 3 bronze, in 2012, 2016, Russia, 4 different gymnastic events.

9)   Torben Grael, won 2 golds, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes, in 1984, 88, 96,2000, 2004, Brazil, 2 or 3 person keelboat (sailing)

 (d) Martine Grael, won 2 golds, in 2016, 2020, Brazil, skiff sailing.

10)  Milan Janic, won 1 silver, 1984, Yugoslavia (he's Croatian), kayak singles, 1000 M.

 (d) Natasa Dusev-Janics, won 3 golds, 2 silvers, 1 bronze, 2004, 2008, 2012, Hungary, various kayaking categories.

11)  Goran Maksimovic, won gold in 1988, Yugoslavia (he's Serbian), air rifle, 10 M.

 (d) Ivana Maksimovic-Andusic, won silver in 2012, Serbia, small bore rifle, 3 positions, 50 M.

12)  Pamela McGee, won gold in 1984, U.S.A., basketball. (See Pro List, too).

  (s) JaVale McGee, won gold in 2020, U.S.A., basketball (see Pro List, too).

13)  Ferenc Csipes, won 1 gold, 2 silvers, 1 bronze in 1988, 92, 96, Hungary, kayaking events.

 (d) Tamara Csipes, won 2 golds, 1 silver, in 2016, 2020, Hungary, various kayaking events.

14)  Valery Lyukin, won 2 golds, 2 silvers, in 1988, Soviet Union, various gymnastic events.  (He's from Kazakhstan.)

 (d) Nastia Liukin, won 1 gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze, 2008, U.S.A., various gymnastic events.

15)  Mike McIntyre, won gold in 1988, Great Britain, two person keelboat, open (sailing).

 (d) Eilidh McIntyre, won gold in 2020, Great Britain, two person dinghy (sailing).

16)  Stansislav Pozdnyakov, won 4 golds, 1 bronze, in 1992, 96, 2000, 2004, Unified Team and Russia, team and individual sabre (fencing).

 (d)  Sofiya Pozdnyakova, won 2 golds in 2020, ROC (Russia), team and individual sabre (fencing).

17)  Myriam Jerusalmi-Fox, won bronze in 1996, France, kayak singles, slalom.

 (d) Jessica Fox, won 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronzes, in 2012, 2016, 2020, Australia, various kayaking events.

18)  Yeo Hong-Chul (Cheol), won silver in 1996, Republic of Korea, horse vault (gymnastics).

 (d) Yeo Seo-jeong won bronze in 2020, Republic of Korea, horse vault (gymnastics).

19)  Hedy Schulnegger, won gold in 1948, Switzerland, in downhill skiing.

 (gd) Martina Schild, won silver in 2006, Switzerland, downhill skiing.

20)  Jan Klapac, won 1 silver, 1 bronze in 1964, 1968, Czechoslovakia, ice hockey.

 (gd) Ester Ledecka, won 3 golds in 2014, 2018, 2022, Czech Republic, parallel giant slalom, Super G (skiing).

21)  Barbara Cochran, won gold in 1972, U.S.A., slalom (skiing).

 (s)  Ryan Cochran-Siegle, won silver in 2022, U.S.A., Super G (skiing).

22)  Hanni Wenzel, won 2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze in 1976, 1980, Liechtenstein, various skiing events.

 (d) Tina Weirather, won bronze in 2018, Liechtenstein, in Super G (skiing).

     Now let's move on to professional sports.  These are all parent/child pairings, and are all father/daughter, with 1 exception.

1)  Pamela McGee, WNBA, 1997-98, with the Sacramento Monarchs and Los Angeles Sparks, playing forward and center.  She started 45 of 57 total games, and per game averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks.

(d) Imani McGee-Stafford, WNBA, 2016-19, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, etc., center, started 21 out of 121 games, and averaged 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks.

(s) JaVale McGee, NBA, 2008-present, Denver Nuggets, L.A. Lakers, Golden State Warriors, center, started 336 of 821 games, averaged 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks.  He also was part of 3 NBA title teams, playing in 2 Series.

2)   Johnny Perkins, NFL, 1977-83, New York Giants, wide receiver.  He started 52 of 71 total games, and caught 163 passes for 2611 yards and 18 touchdowns.  His lifetime AV was 26.

(d)  Jia Perkins, WNBA, 2004-17, Charlotte Sting, San Antonio Silver Stars, Chicago Sky, guard, started 224 of 417 games, averaged 10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.2 blocks.  She was also an All-Star once, and won a WNBA title.

3)   Julius Erving, ABA/NBA, 1971-87, Virginia Squires, New York Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, small forward, started 823 of 1243 games, averaged 24.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks.  He was named an All-Star 16 times, was MVP 4 times, won an NBA title, and is a Hall of Famer.

(d)  Alexandra Stevenson, pro tennis, 1999-2018, won 1 singles title, 1 doubles title, and had a lifetime record of 427-448.

4)   Lee Lacy, MLB, 1972-87, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, etc., outfielder and second baseman, played in 1523 games, and slashed .286/.339/.410 108+, 20.2 WAR, and was part of a World Series winner.

(d)  Jennifer Lacy, WNBA, 2006-15, Tulsa Shock, Phoenix Mercury, etc., forward, started 75 of 295 games, averaged 5.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks.  She also won a WNBA title.

5)   Bubba Paris, NFL, 1983-91, San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, etc. tackle/guard, started 105 of 130 games, accumulated 60 AV.  He also was part of 3 Super Bowl winners.

(d) Courtney Paris, WNBA, 2009-19, Tulsa Shock, Dallas Wings, Seattle Storm, etc., center, started 116 of 297 games, averaged 4.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks.  She also won a WNBA title.

6)   Dennis Harrison, NFL, 1978-87, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, etc., defensive end, started 79 of 136 games, intercepted 1 pass for 12 yards, recovered 7 fumbles, got 61 sacks.  He was named to a Pro Bowl and his lifetime AV was 53.

(d)  Isabelle Harrison, WNBA, 2016-present, Dallas Wings, San Antonio Silver Stars, etc., forward, started 87 of 145 games, averaged 8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.6 blocks.

7)   Trent Dilfer, NFL, 1994-2007, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, etc., QB, started 113 of 130 games, (58-55 won-loss record), completed 55.5% of his passes for 20, 518 yards, 113 touchdowns, 129 interceptions, 70.2 rating, 853 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns, 60 AV, 1 Pro Bowl, 1 Super Bowl title.

(d)  Tori Dilfer, Athletes Unlimited Volleyball, 2022-present, Team De La Cruz, setter, 1728 points, 30 sets played, 12 assists, 12 assists/set, 20 digs.

8)   Delino DeShields, MLB, 1990-2002, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, etc., second baseman/outfielder, 1615 games, slashed .268/.352/.377 98+, 24.4 WAR.

(d)  Diamond DeShields, WNBA, 2018-present, Chicago Sky, Phoenix Mercury, guard, started 99 of 125 games, averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.3 blocks.  Was an All Star once, and also won a WNBA title.

9)   John Stephens, NFL, 1988-93, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, running back, started 64 of 88 games, rushed for 3440 yards, 18 touchdowns, and accumulated 812 receiving yards and another touchdown.  Named to a Pro Bowl, and had a lifetime AV of 25.

(d)  Sloane Stephens, tennis, 2009-present, won 7 singles titles, including 1 major (U.S. Open), and has a lifetime record of 328-233.  Ranked as high as #3 in the world, in 2018.

10)   Alan Wiggins, MLB, 1981-87, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, second baseman, first baseman, outfielder, slashed .259/.330/.309 80+, 7.2 WAR.

(d)  Candice Wiggins, WNBA, 2008-15, Minnesota Lynx, Tulsa Shock, etc., guard, started 76 of 221 games, averaged 8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.2 blocks.  Also won an WNBA title.

11)  Dennis Rodman, NBA, 1986-2000, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, etc., power forward/small forward, started 573 of 911 games, averaged 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks.  Made 2 All Star teams, and was part of 5 NBA titles.  Won 7 rebounding titles, named to 8 All defensive teams, and was a Hall of Famer.

(d)  Trinity Rodman, NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), 2021- present, Washington Spirit, forward, 28 appearances, 7 goals in League play, 43 appearances, 13 goals total.  Named the NWSL 2021 Rookie of the Year, also on the Best XI in 2021, and won the NWSL title.  Additionally, she's on the U.S. Women's National Team.

     

   

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--99 Brand Liquors, Part 2, Plus Some Writing News

      Yup, it's another sequel.  Back on December 19, 2020, I wrote about the 99 Brand "PB&J" package--a collection of peanut butter, grape, and strawberry flavored liquors, made to emulate the American kid favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Oddly, it was one of my most viewed posts, by far.  (I realize some of these "viewers" were non-human bots, but still.)  So I'm going to see if lightning will strike twice.  The two new kinds I tried this time were the black cherry and the whipped (cream) ones.

     In the earlier post on this brand I wrote about the company's history, to the best of my ability.  Which was extremely limited, as there's basically none available about the Polynesian Product Company.  The official website for 99 brands is just a product list, recipes, where to buy their wares, and a "contact us" option.  Therefore, I mainly focused on what I could find, about the history of the company (Sazerac) that eventually acquired Polynesian.  At the time that was about how Sazerac essentially started as a coffee house in New Orleans in 1850.  Well, now I can provide a bit more, as the Sazerac website added some more background (or else I was lax a couple of years ago, but since forgot).  So now I'll get into some of this pre-1850 history.  To that end, the Sazerac family lived in the Cognac region of Western France.  In the 1630's it established a vineyard and distillery there.  One of the later Sazeracs, Louis, was also into working with metal, as he both built a bell for the factory and made some cannons used by the rebelling colonists in the American Revolution.  (Thanks Louis!)  At around the same time the Sazeracs began exporting their cognac, which in the U.S. was sometimes confusingly referred to as "brandy."  The family then moved to what's now America, in the former French colony city of New Orleans.  Then in the 1830's two other guys, Antoine Peychaud and Taylor Sewell, both got involved in the liquor/coffee house industries as well, and ended up joining and/or controlling the former Sazerac business.  Then in 1850......you can go back to my December 19, 2020 post to review that, if you're interested.  Otherwise, as I kind of mentioned previously, there are many different kinds of 99 liquors, some of them with quite unusual flavors.  Just about every major fruit type is a flavored liquor, as well as some other, atypical ones, such as butterscotch, cinnamon, chocolate, peppermint, root beer, Long Island Iced Tea, espresso (with the oddly obscene "xxpresso" spelling), "red" (whatever that means), and even a "mystery" flavor.  (I'll tell you what that means below, marked with an asterisk (*), so don't scroll down to the end if you don't what the surprise spoiled.)  There are over 30 different flavors in all.  Additionally, 99 also makes a line of hard seltzers.  Keeping with their theme of producing extremely high alcohol content versions of their boozes, instead of the usual 5% or so, their hard seltzers are 9.9%.  And here's the only real 99 brand history I could find online.  Don't know how accurate it is, but supposedly the brand started in 1997, with their banana flavor.

99 Brand liquors, black cherry liqueur:  This had a clear color, and a black cherry-ish odor.  Was the usual, titular 99 proof (49.5% alcohol content).  And it was....shockingly good.  The previous 99 liquors I had were overly boozy-tasting and astringent.  This however, was not--it had a nice black cherry flavor, and hid its high alcohol content well.  A solid, respectable example of this liquor type, and I would recommend it to folks who are into black cherry-flavored edibles and drinkables.

99 Brand liquors, whipped (cream) flavor:  Like its black cherry counterpart, this was clear, and had a discernable smell, appropriate to its named flavor.  Once again, this one was surprisingly palatable.  It tasted like whipped cream, in liquor form.  Probably not as good as the black cherry kind, but it was above average, decent.  Maybe it would be even better as part of a cream-themed cocktail.  It also hid its 49.5% alcohol content well, and wasn't caustic and nasty like the PB & J ones.

     So these two drinks have shaken my previous opinion of the 99 Brand.  Going in, I did this kind of on a lark (and because coming up with different blog topics is sometimes challenging).  I figured I'd hate both of these.  But that's the fun of trying new things--sometimes you're surprised by the results.  I'll definitely try more of these 99 liquors, and see what happens.  Maybe the peanut butter, grape, and strawberry boozes were the outliers, the weakest ones of the bunch, and the rest of the 99 catalog is generally good.  The fact that many of these come in single shot-sized bottles helps, since it only costs like a dollar or two to experiment.  Finally, unlike the previous PB & J bottles, these two weren't as difficult to open.  So all in all this second 99 Brand experience was worlds better, in every way.

     Switching topics, I'm please to announce that an article of mine, about anniversaries, is in the current June issue of InD'tale magazine, which is their 10th anniversary.  Plus, I'm going to be a guest columnist for this same publication until the end of the year, meaning still more articles through December.  So thanks to owner/editor TJ Mackay and the rest of the InD'tale staff and contributors, and head on over!  The address is:   www.indtale.com                And the price is free--just click on the shown magazine to read.

*  It's caramel corn, allegedly.  Which, admittedly, is a rather strange, and unique(?) flavor for an alcoholic beverage.  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Guatemalan Beans

      As readers may have picked up on by now, for my weird food and drink posts I like to try to switch the topics around a bit, and not have repeated or consecutive ones about the same food type, and/or from the same country or even continent.  Well, I've been in the U.S. or Europe for a while, so today we're moving to Central America.  Specifically, Ducal brand rojos (red) and negros (black) beans.  And, if you're curious, I believe this is my first post about Guatemala since September 30, 2017, which covered some juice drinks from that nation.

     The Ducal brand has been around since 1969.  The company that manufactures their products is Industrias Alimenticias Kern's, which started in 1959.  In turn Kern's was acquired by Fifco (Florida Ice and Farm Company) in 2006.  Fifco, despite having the same name as a U.S. state, is actually named after the town of La Florida de Siquirres in Costa Rica.  This company was stated by the Lindo Morales brothers (of Jamaican heritage) in 1908.  Over the years Fifco has bought up other businesses, and now is part of the non-alcoholic beverage, dairy, bakery, alcoholic beverage, and real estate industries.  Getting  back to Kern's, this company's other products include sauces and ketchup.  The Ducal brand is just several kinds of beans.  And according to the ambitious title, these beans are fit for dukes, and presumably other high ranking members of royalty.

Ducal refried rojos (red) beans:  These were reddish brown in color, and had the usual bean-y odor.  Since they were refried they were highly processed, and had been pureed into a smooth paste.  They kind of reminded me a bit of dog food in appearance.  I tried some plain, and then put some on water crackers, along with ketchup and olives, as a sort of low-rent canape.  The tasted was pretty much like other canned refried beans I've had--no better or worse.  So, overall, decent, if you like refried beans.  I have no reason to think they also wouldn't have been solid in a burrito, taco, etc.

Ducal refried negros (black) beans:  These looked the same as the other kind, only the shade of brown was slightly darker.  Otherwise the texture and odor was vey similar as well.  Once again I tried some of these plain, and then spooned some onto crackers with olives and ketchup.  I don't know if I could pick a winner between the two kinds, as their flavor wasn't very different.  The result was the same--they were good, solid refried beans.  Respectable examples of canned refried beans, suitable for all recipes involving this food type.

     As usual, I'll flesh this out a little by discussing some famous Guatemalans, or at least folks with some Guatemalan heritage.  I already discussed some of these people, in the Guatemalan juice drink post I mentioned previously, so these are additional examples.  First off, there's Erick Barrondo.  In the 2012 Olympic Summer Games, he won a silver medal in the men's 20 km. racewalk event.  This is especially significant since to date he's the only Guatemalan Olympian to win any medal, in any game.  In the world of music, we have Manny Marroquin.  He was born in Guatemala, but moved to the U.S. as a child.  He's a prolific and honored mixing engineer.  He's worked with such famous musicians as Whitney Houston, 2Pac, Pink, John Mayer, Shakira, Rihanna, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and Johnny Legend.  He's been nominated for 36 Grammys, and has won 8.  To date, as he's still very much active.  Then we have Tony Sarg who lived from 1880-1943.  His father was a German government official, and his mother was English.  Tony was born in Guatemala while his father was working as a consul for Germany.  Sarg then went to the U.S., where he became a renowned puppeteer, illustrator, and animator.  He's known as "America's Puppet Master."  Finally, in the NFL, there was Guatemalan-born, American-raised John Hendy.  In 1985 he played in all 16 games (10 as a starter) at cornerback for the San Diego Chargers.  He intercepted 4 passes for 139 yards, and a touchdown, recovered a fumble, and accumulated an AV of 5.  I couldn't find out why his career only lasted one season--presumably he had some catastrophic injury that forced him to retire.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Raclette, An Alpine Cheese

      The specialty cheese section at the alternate Shop-Rite came through yet again.  I keep worrying that I won't be able to find new specimens, and I keep being reassured.  This time it was raclette, from Dairy Seiler AG, aka Seiler Kaserei AG.  And it's based out of the town of Giswil, Switzerland.

    As near as anyone can determine, raclette was first consumed in the Alpine regions of Switzerland and France.  However, its popularity grew, and currently it's also consumed in the Alpine areas of Germany, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, and Monaco.  The first historic mention of it, or at least a precursor version of it, is from a Swiss convent in 1291.  The most distinctive aspect of raclette is how it's served.  By far the most common manner is to heat it up, and then scrape the melted portions away, and eat them, often combined with potatoes, cornichons (see my post on February 17, 2016), pickled onions, dried meat, and washed down with a warm drink like black tea, or with wine.  The traditional way to serve it in restaurants is to leave it by the fire, and then either an employee would periodically scrape the melted bits off and give them to the customers, or else the customers would do the scraping and gathering for themselves.  Even more recently, some eateries have special grills at each table, so customers can heat up their raclette in the most convenient way.  Kind of like another Swiss cheese dish, fondue, I guess.  Moving to linguistic concerns, raclette actually means "to scrape" in a French Swiss dialect.  The German term for it (sometimes it refers to a related cheese) bratchas, or brutkase, both mean "roasted cheese."

     The official website for Seiler was one of those limited, terse ones, at least about the company's history.  I don't know who founded Seiler, but I can reveal the business started in 1928.  Their cheeses are aged in large caves that served as military tunnels during World War II.  So the same places that stored plane parts, ammunition, and guided missiles now help a delicious food come to fruition.  Seiler is pretty sizable, too, as every day the company processes 80,000 kilos of fresh milk from neighboring farms.  Aside from several types of raclette, Seiler also makes grotto, sarnerli, and bratkase.  As I mentioned previously, bratkase is sometimes an alternate name for raclette, but it can also refer to a slightly different, precursor version of it.  Grotto is reportedly a hard cheese, and sarnerli is a soft and creamy cheese.  Oddly, the website doesn't go into detail about the variants of sarnerli they sell, so evidently it's not one of their popular kinds.  Seiler's raclette is aged for 3-5 months.  And, for those who are lactose intolerant, allegedly their raclette is somehow lactose-free.  (It should go without saying, but please confirm this for yourself if you're so afflicted--I don't want anyone getting sick.)  Finally, the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Seiler is Hans Rudolf Aggeler.

Seiler Kaserei raclette with onions:  The color of this cheese was yellow, and it didn't have much of an odor.  It's texture was semi-hard.  I should also admit that I ate the cheese first, and then researched it.  So, I didn't realize that most consumers eat it melted, and scraped off, along with potatoes, wine, etc.  Anyway, I first had it plain and out of the fridge.  It had a fairly mild flavor--kind of buttery, and a bit salty.  I didn't really pick up on an onion taste, so maybe there weren't that many onion pieces in it.  Not great, but still good.  Then I tried it on water crackers, and this was also good, and a bit better.  The pairing of the cheese along with the cracker was a winning one.  Later, I put it on a hoagie (or sub) roll that still had some chicken bits on it.  I heated this up in a microwave, and when it was done I also added some ranch dressing.  The resulting sandwich was quite tasty--the best way I had it.  So, accidently, I eventually had raclette in the type of way you're supposed to, heated up and melted.  I can heartily recommend it--heated is best, but cold on crackers or plain it's also more than solid.  I will definitely buy this one again if I see it, and would try other kinds of raclette, or other Seiler cheeses.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A French/Belgian Cookie (Biscuit)

      When I first saw the Pim's cookie box, on the shelf at the alternate Shop-Rite, I was reminded of the old fashioned (but still active) gin-based liqueur of the same name.  But it turns out that I was mistaken.  The booze is Pimm's, double "m," and has nothing to do with this cookie.  I guess there are few combination distilleries/bakeries.  Anyway, I tried the Pim's raspberry flavor.

     Pim's, as I learned, is a brand name, and not the name of the overall company.  That is LU.  Which is an abbreviation, of Lefevre-Utile.  Which were the surnames of the founders, Jean-Romain Lefevre and Pauline-Isabelle Utile.  Who were a married couple.  I'd like to think that Mademoiselle Utile was unusually progressive, and kept her maiden name even after marrying, but I'm not really sure.  The start date of LU is a little conflicting--some sources say 1846, and others 1850.  From what I could gather, the earlier date may be when the company was selling baked goods from an English company, Huntley& Palmers, and the later date was when LU first began making their own products.  LU hasn't been an independent, family business for quite some time.  First it was bought by/merged with Brun, and then Generale Biscuit S.A., then Grupe Danone, then Kraft, and as of this moment it's owned by the American giant Mondelez International.  So I could have labeled this post "A French/Belgian/American cookie," but I thought it would be too unwieldy, and somewhat misleading.  The "Belgian" part is because the box I picked up said "Made in Belgium."  So evidently LU has factories in that neighboring country.  The Petit Beurre ("Little Butter," in French) cookie seems to be LU's flagship brand, but others include the Petit Ecoliers (available in both dark and milk chocolate varieties), Mikado, Pepino (Mini Stars), Cracotte, Ourson, and Tuc.  The other flavor of Pim's is orange.  And I was curious, and in French "Pim" means "imp."  I find that kind of funny that the English and French names use the same letters, only in a different order.

Pim's raspberry cookie/biscuit:  These cookies were round, about 5 cm. (about 2inches) in diameter.  They were brownish yellow on one side, and chocolate brown on the other, with "Pim's" embossed on them.  They were kind of like a sandwich cookie--a cookie base, with a raspberry layer atop this, covered in turn by a chocolate layer.  It was a winning combination--the three distinct flavors went together well.  Fruit and chocolate, with a nice cookie crunch.  I often complain that European biscuits/cookies are too bland for my liking, but this was a definite exception.  Not the best cookie I've ever had, but far from the worst.  Quite good.  I would recommend this, and will probably buy it again.  I'll also try the other Pim's cookie if I can, or other LU products.

     I'm not up on French cities in general, but Nantes did strike a chord with me.  Then I remembered why--that's the place where Gilles De Rais was executed (he was hung, and then burned).  De Rais is one of the weirdest serial killers ever.  Born in about 1405, he grew up to be a military hero.  He fought alongside Joan of Arc, and was named a Marshall of France, which seems to be the 15th century version of a particularly honored and famous general.  But, then things fell apart for him.  He was one of the richest men in France, but lost his fortune through high living, including financing a ridiculously expensive stage production.  De Rais's money evaporated, and he held off creditors for a time by selling off his many huge tracts of land.  Then, bizarrely, he turned to the occult for help.  As part of this, and/or because he was a sadistic pedophile murderer, he began to torture, sexually assault, and kill tons of children who lived in the area.  The exact number of victims is unknown, but is usually estimated at between 100-200.  To be fair, some modern folks think he was innocent, and that his enemies made up stories about him, largely to confiscate his valuable properties, but most medieval historians think he really was an insane psychopath.  But it's the fame part that's most surprising to me.  I guess it's the equivalent of say, MacArthur, or Eisenhower, or Montgomery going from winning wars to retiring and brutally slaying dozens of kids.

     

  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--American/Spanish Corn Snacks

      It's time to do another snack on the blog.  Today's focus was another find from the snack food aisle at my local Shop Rite, which is dominated by potato chips.  But, clearly there are a few other types squirreled away here and there, like this one.  Specifically, I tried two varieties of Love Corn--their habanero chili flavor and their smoked barbecue kind.

     The headquarters of Love Corn (aka Love Brands) is in my home state of New Jersey, in the town of Ho-Ho-Kus.  I put "Spanish" in the title since the packages noted that they were products of Spain.  Which is kind of weird, since I know that plenty of people grow corn in New Jersey, so it's not like they needed a different climate or soil type or something.  Presumably it goes back to money somehow--it must be cheaper to grow the corn in Spain, and maybe process it there as well, and then transport it over the Atlantic to the U.S. for sale.  Alas, I don't have much to report on the Love Corn phenomenon.  The company website was terse, and mostly just showing their products, where to buy them, and including quotes and testimonials about how much customers enjoy them.  From other online sources I learned that the company was founded by Jamie, Gavin, and Missy McCloskey.  Who are almost certainly related, but how I don't know.  Siblings?  A married couple?  Parents and children?  Distant cousins thrice removed?  Moving on, Love Corn started in 2017, so it's a very new business.  Other than the two kinds I tried, the other flavors are sea salt, salt & vinegar, and cheezy.  It's also noted that their products are plant-based, and free of GMOs and gluten.  (Which, if I can go on an aside, isn't technically true of any corn product.  All modern species of corn were domesticated (i.e., modified by human activity) from a distant ancestor, teosinte, thousands of years ago.  (The exact date is unknown, but all research suggests between 6,000-10,000 years ago.)  But I know what they mean--Love Corn doesn't use corn that's been genetically modified in the past few decades.)  The company website also proudly notes their various charitable efforts, especially helping out children and communities.

Love Corn premium crunchy corn, smoked bbq flavor:  The pieces looked like yellow kernels of corn with dust on them.  They were dry and crunchy.  Had a slight barbecue flavor.  Kind of bland.  But, on the other hand, I'm not normally a fan of corn, unless it's processed, like in corn bread or corn chips, so the fact that these were okay is actually praise.

Love Corn, premium crunchy corn, habanero chili flavor:  Looks the same as the previous, except these were orange, with dusting on them.  Same texture--dry and crunchy.  Spicier, as you would expect.  And the spice built up with time, and as I ate more.  So, because these had a stronger taste, I thought they were pretty decent.  So I'd recommend this flavor, although I'd only give the smoked bbq ones a lukewarm, "meh" rating.

     Another tangent--I've always liked the name Ho-Ho-Kus.  I appreciate that the hyphens make it unusual, and it's undeniably fun to say.  It causes confusion, too, since some signs, and folks in general don't remember the hyphens, or don't want to, I suppose.  The source of the name is also comically complicated.  Everyone seems to agree that it's a Native American word or term, from the tribe that lived in that area, the Lenape (also sometimes called the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware Indians).  But, some people think Ho-Ho-Kus means red cedars, or running water, or a cleft in a rock, or under a rock, or the sound of the wind against the bark of a tree, or a kind of bark on a tree, or a fox, or the spirit of a fox.  So, a fun linguistic mystery for somebody to solve.  Finally, the small community of Ho-Ho-Kus (which has a population of about 4,000), despite its size has been the home of some famous people.  For starters, Jim Fassel, who was an offensive coordinator, position coach, and head coach, in both college football and the NFL.  Most notably, he was the head coach of the New York Giants from 1997-2003, and led them to Super Bowl 35 (which they lost).  Counting the playoffs, his overall record was 60-56-1.  This town was also the home of Dan Reeves, another NFLer.  He played running back for the Dallas Cowboys from 1965-72, accumulating 1990 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns, and 1693 receiving yards and another 17 touchdowns in 100 games, and 40 starts.  His lifetime AV was 40.  Later, he was the head coach of the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Atlanta Falcons, from 1981-2003, finishing with an overall record, including playoffs, of 201-174-2, and berths in 4 Super Bowls (21, 22, 24, and 33, all losses).  Moving to music, Ho-Ho-Kus was the home of the metal band Twisted Sister, who started in 1972, and were together on and off until 2016.  They put out 6 albums, one of which, "Stay Hungry," sold over 3 million copies.  They're best known for their hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock."  Finally, former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr got married in Ho-Ho-Kus, and briefly lived there.  You know, one of only 2 sitting Vice Presidents who shot someone.  (Admittedly, Burr's shooting was infinitely more serious than Dick Cheyney's for many reasons.)