Food Notes: 9/24
Cotton Candy, Vegans, Pesto, and more.
The Dentist Who Invented a Sugar Floss
Cotton candy seems like the stuff cavities are made from. In what is definitely not a scam, cotton candy was invented by a dentist and introduced at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis as Fairy Floss.
There’s More to Cocoa than Cocaine
Alicia Kennedy has an interesting piece about indigenous people who eat coca, the plant behind cocaine, as food, medicine, and a cooking ingredient.
A Vegan Fyre Festival Comes To Queens
Vegandale, a food festival celebrating vegan food, was apparently a dismal experience with long lines, too much sun, not enough toilet paper, and $90 tickets. But don’t worry, it’s a traveling event, so if you missed this one, you can be miserable in Dallas, L.A., and Miami too.
How Pesto Genovese Became a Staple of American Food
Pesto, the green sauce synonymous with Italian cuisine has become a staple on American menus, especially those purporting to be Italian. I took a look back at the history of pesto and how it evolved, and why it wasn’t part of the red sauce cuisine of the 20th century.
All The Grapes Are Belong To Us
Food & Wine has a rundown of some of the most common grape varieties with pretty pictures of each type. My favorite are the Moon Drops, which are still highly seasonal, at least in my local C-Town.
Eating At Au Za’atar
I reviewed Au Za’atar, a Lebanese restaurant in the East Village.