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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 11, 2002
A weekly serving of food news and views
explanations from the inside out
A chewy bagel, a schmear of cream cheese and a layer of cold, salty lox. A nosh doesn't get much better than that.
Lox is brine-cured, cold-smoked salmon. Sometimes sugar is added to the brine to cut the saltiness. In the cold-smoking process, the salmon is kept in a smokehouse for one day to three weeks at a temperature of 70 to 90 degrees. (Hot smoking requires 120 to 180 degrees.)
Lox, which has nothing to do with Jewish religious doctrine, is closely associated with Jewish cuisine. Though it was certainly eaten before World War II, it became a staple at Jewish delicatessens afterward. Before refrigeration was commonplace, Alaskan salmon was sent to Jewish delis packed in salt-brined barrels, writes Joan Nathan in Jewish Cooking in America (Random House, 1998). The early version of lox was probably not cold-smoked, which imparts flavor without cooking the fish or changing the taste and color of the flesh.
The name probably comes from the German word for salmon, lachs.
In the United States, it is common for Jewish people to break the fast of Yom Kippur with bagels, cream cheese and lox. The Day of Atonement, which begins at sundown Sunday and ends after dark the next night, is a time for repentance and prayer. All except the elderly, the very young and the sick are expected to avoid food and drink.
Foods considered easy to digest and quick to prepare, such as bagels and lox, are eaten after the fast. Often, though perhaps not at the end of Yom Kippur, capers and red onions accompany bagels, cream cheese and lox.
"The key to a successful restaurant is dressing girls in degrading clothes."
-- Late Saturday Night Live comedy writer Michael O'Donoghue.
www.drpeppermuseum.com
It's the most original soft drink ever in the whole wide world. Or so said one of the advertising slogans that pitched the singular taste of Dr Pepper. The online Dr Pepper museum is the companion to the bricks-and-morter museum in Waco, Texas, the 1885 birthplace of the soft drink. You can order lots of Pepper paraphernalia here, including "I'm a Pepper" salt and pepper shakers for $9.95. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?
Substitute undrained, plain yogurt or sour cream, whisked with a little milk to thin, in recipes that call for buttermilk. Or combine a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice with enough milk to make 1 cup. Set the latter mixture aside for five minutes before using.
Want to see what stylish chefs will be wearing this fall? Check out the new Chefwear catalog. The company, which has been outfitting chefs in aprons, toques and jackets for more than a decade, has come up with camouflage pants and houndstooth hats. In keeping with the times, there are also stars and stripes toques and aprons, and jackets with American flags on the collar. To check out the line, visit www.chefwear.com or call toll-free 1-800-568-2433 to order a catalog.
We can hardly wait for Hefty's Zoo Pals paper plates to hit local grocery stores. There are 50 cleverly designed plates adorned with the cuddly (pandas, harp seals), the slimy (snails, lizards), the buggy (bumblebees, ladybugs) and even the prehistoric (dinosaur, alligator). Dipping wells, which are really ears, eyes, paws or fins, can be filled with ketchup, ranch dressing or anything else your little munchkin likes to eat. Zoo Pals come in packets of 24 for about $2.50. Honestly, they'll make you want to have a kiddie party, even if you don't have any kiddies.
Allyson Barrentine has found a way to distinguish herself from the growing pack of people providing personal chef services in the Tampa Bay area. Barrentine's Tampa Bay Gourmet specializes in daily delivery of meals for the "Zone" diet plan, which advocates a daily diet of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. Deliveries are made in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. The menus are based on the best-selling book The Zone Diet by Barry Sears (HarperCollins, 1995). Prices vary from $35 to $39 a day. For more information, call (727) 733-0419. Barrentine also does catering, dinner parties and business lunches in the Zone and out.
The Food Network's Bam Man, Emeril Lagasse, has traveled across the United States for a weeklong series called Emeril Salutes America. In the first show, 9 p.m. Sept. 29, Emeril grills Dungeness crabs in San Francisco. Emeril also will cook up hometown specialties in Boston, Nashville, New Orleans, Houston, Seattle and Detroit. After the Sunday debut, the show airs nightly at 8 (repeating at 11) with the conclusion, a spotlight on New York, at 9 p.m. Oct. 6.
-- Compiled by Janet K. Keeler, from staff and wire reports