Twain's Feast: Forgotten Foods Worth Bringing Back

Over the past two days, I've listed some of Mark Twain's favorite foods, from Bluepoint oysters to a wealth of fresh garden produce to raccoon. The first day was cautionary, focusing on foods that have vanished, perhaps forever; the second was more hopeful, and included dishes that contemporary Americans can still enjoy.

But while writing Twain's Feast, I came to understand more powerfully than before that restoring our classic foods is an active process. It takes focus, and imagination, and energy, all of which I saw in the people working to restore the plants and animals that were once at the heart of American cuisine. So today's post is aspirational--a way of prompting thoughts about what can be done to bring back some of the diverse abundance that Twain took for granted.

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Oysters in San Francisco Bay

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I included these in an earlier post as one of Twain’s vanished foods. They’re repeated here because, though mercury and other pollutants mean that San Francisco oysters won’t be restored as a source of food in our lifetimes, they’re worth bringing back for their own sake—and for the sake of the surrounding water. Since an oyster can filter up to thirty gallons of water a day, even a relatively modest reef can help to clean up the water in small inlets. Meanwhile, the shells provide shelter for gobies and other small fish, which in turn, help to feed migrating salmon. Dungeness crabs and other species spawn in the cleaner waters around the reef. Once a food-end in themselves, San Francisco Olys are now a means to a healthier, more vibrant bay. And of course, like prairie-chickens and Tahoe trout, they’re also worth preserving as a good unto themselves, and as part of an excitingly diverse world. (Photo from Flickr: Meg Zimbeck)

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I included these in an earlier post as one of Twain’s vanished foods. They’re repeated here because, though mercury and other pollutants mean that San Francisco oysters won’t be restored as a source of food in our lifetimes, they’re worth bringing back for their own sake—and for the sake of the surrounding water.

Since an oyster can filter up to thirty gallons of water a day, even a relatively modest reef can help to clean up the water in small inlets. Meanwhile, the shells provide shelter for gobies and other small fish, which in turn, help to feed migrating salmon. Dungeness crabs and other species spawn in the cleaner waters around the reef. Once a food-end in themselves, San Francisco Olys are now a means to a healthier, more vibrant bay. And of course, like prairie-chickens and Tahoe trout, they’re also worth preserving as a good unto themselves, and as part of an excitingly diverse world.

(Photo from Flickr: Meg Zimbeck)

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Comments

[duckzilla]

01:59 PM on 09/29/2010

How's cornbread forgotten. everytime i make chili, cornbread is a required side.

[shirleyfeeney]

03:13 AM on 09/29/2010

I have to agree about the raw milk. My grandparents had a dairy farm and we drank milk straight from the cow, and it was delicious. Sure, it wasn't as "healthy" as say 1% milk, but efforts to duplicate any of my grandmother's receipes have failed, from chicken and dumplings to rice pudding. They simply don't have the same taste or consistency that my grandmother's had, and my mother and I chalk it up to milk that has been processed to within an inch of it's "life". It's a shame, too.

[Crispian]

07:21 PM on 09/28/2010

My favorite part was the illiberal call for weaker government regulation:

"Today, raw milk is illegal in nearly half the states, and surely most milk should be pasteurized. But it’s critical to draw your own conclusions about the safety of any food source, and if you have access to good, clean, raw cream, you may start to consider the flavor of pasteurized cream that of a rank pretender."

[shirleyfeeney]

03:14 AM on 09/29/2010

That's not a call for "weaker government regulation". If you've ever tasted raw milk yourself, you'd agree that there is nothing like it on earth. Today's organic milks have an odd flavor, and whole milk doesn't come close.

[Tags]

01:31 PM on 09/26/2010

Grass-fed is better beef, but not good enough. Close-quarters quarantining is inhumane, and no human should subsidize anyone who would do such a thing.

[Tags]

01:27 PM on 09/26/2010

We need a raw milk roundup site!

[maribelles]

05:21 PM on 09/26/2010

there already is one: www.realmilk.com

[mon clemens]

09:38 PM on 09/25/2010

If Mark Twain were live right now his meal of choice would be the shirt off his back. Whimsical American fool that he was, he'd be broke like all the rest of us.

[Cherie Ann Turpin]

02:42 PM on 09/25/2010

I'm off beef myself, but homemade cornbread that's not sweet like Jiffy or Krusteaz isn't difficult to make, nor is it a long-gone dish. My mother taught me how to make it, and that was probably the first bread I ever baked. Once you've done it a couple of times, it's old hat. You do need a small cast-iron skillet, but I'd skip the lard. Use your usual vegetable or canola oil to grease your skillet and do heat it in your oven at about 375-400 f. One egg, beaten (before you pour in the dry ingredients-keeps the bread soft when you don't overbeat it the batter), a TINY handful of sugar, a couple of pinches of salt-one teaspoon at most, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, cup of whole milk, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, cup of cornmeal, half-whole cup of flour-or just do two cups of cornmeal. Mix the liquids FIRST; layer in the dry ingredients afterwards. Beat enough to get the dry ingredients wet and mixed-in, but don't kill all the lumps. Pour into the pan-takes about 15 minutes. You want the crust to be medium brown. Use a fork or slender toothpick to test the middle. If it is clear of batter, your cornbread is ready. Voila.

[Alvarask]

11:03 PM on 09/25/2010

Actually lard is probably the healthiest thing you could use with the cornbread. Lard is an incredibly valuable fat and if you're going to have the cornbread you as may as well go the whole hog.

[Cherie Ann Turpin]

04:27 AM on 09/26/2010

Actually, I don't eat red meat and I didn't grow up eating lard, so I probably wouldn’t take it to that extreme. If that's your preference, go for it. I'd prefer canola oil or safflower oil, myself. Of course, if you are concerned about the other ingredients, like whole milk or the eggs, use skim milk, egg whites, reduce the salt, and skip the sugar completely. A little bland, but cornbread isn't an exact science. You could always put a dash of cayenne pepper and use onions and green peppers for a nice side dish with your fish, or crumble up the leftover cornbread and use it as stuffing or dressing for baked fowl dishes. I consider cornbread to be comfort food, something to have next to Rhode Island clam chowder, or next to a big steaming bowl of chicken stew. Of course, you could also consider a cornbread topping the next time you make Shepherd’s Pie. Yes, it’s really up there, calorie-wise, but it makes a nice potluck dish.

[Rosewren]

12:23 AM on 10/02/2010

I used to make this several mornings a week. Served hot with milk over it and a little sugar, morning cereal. Quick, tasty especially in the winter.

[jukesgrrl]

02:28 AM on 09/25/2010

Baked apples and cornbread never disappeared from my kitchen. And I'd love the Porterhouse, but who can afford it? Not I.

[Elamdri]

11:54 PM on 09/24/2010

It's so weird, they just did Grass Fed Porterhouses on Good Eats tonight

[reflux12]

11:40 PM on 09/24/2010

Here's the way I grew up eating Cornbread and still do,take Yellow Corn Meal an dump about 2 cups into a mixing bowl then add about a teaspoon of Salt and around a teaspoon of Baking Soda(that's Sodium Bicarbonate not Baking Powder) mix them and then add enough Buttermilk to make it like a very thick Pancake mix then in a hot Cast Iron Skillet with a 1/8 inch layer of Oil or Lard I spoon three Pancake-like amounts and cook them and try to turn them over before they start to smoke then remove from pan and since they soak up almost all the Oil/lard I add more and cook 3 more till the mix is gone,then while the ones I removed are still hot as the other batch is cooking I but Margarine/Butter on them again like doing pancakes then when all is cooked and buttered I cut them into pieces put the pieces in a bowl and pour Milk till the pieces are covered and then eat it like it's Cereal in Milk.Oh somethings to know it takes a few Trail-an-Error times to get it "to Taste" and it's a Wee Bit Fattening and if your watching your Sodium you'll just have to take a chance or not eat it cause without Salt and Baking Soda it just don't taste good.

[Huffmeister1]

05:00 AM on 09/25/2010

You must be a Southerner because you do it RIGHT and don't put sugar in it!

[Woods Shade]

05:23 PM on 09/25/2010

Yep, that's how serious the South takes it. ( KY )
One of the greatest disappointments in my mom's eyes, was that I made sweet cornbread. : )

[joand]

09:26 PM on 09/25/2010

Well, I guess my poor sharecropper Grandma back in 1930s McGregor. Texas musta been a Yankee (and rich! White flour!), because here's her recipe:
1 C cornmeal
1 C all purpose flour
1/4 C sugar
1 Tbs salt
pinch of baking soda
2 eggs
1 C milk
1/4 C bacon grease or lard
Bake in your iron skillet at 400

Crusty? You bet. Cake-like? Yep. Yummy? Just like Grandma used to make...

[thebigbike]

10:17 PM on 09/24/2010

For your cast iron skillet for your cornbread go to your local low end "antique/junque" stores, and buy used. The cost can be similar to buying new. also check your goodwill and Salvation army stores for the smaller sizes. wagner of course is a great one, griswold as well, but there are a lot of great more or less unmarked pieces too look for smoothly ground insides, not pebbly. and no offense to china, but NOT made in china. I don't like the Lodge brand pieces at all either- The new stuff has weird chemical "seasoning" coatings on it and is roughly finished inside. the older pieces are smoothly ground I have 17 pieces of cast iron, counting lids, skillets from 5" to 14" including two dutch ovens, one 10" one 16" on legs for camp cooking.... as well as a GREAT really square cast iron skillet for cornbread. oops I just remembered the long camp griddle, that makes 18. Not tough to get re=-seasoned and to keep clean and nothing like it for frying and such and mandatory for corn bread ( oops forgot the two cornbread stick pans...) I found though its not worth the effort to give cast iron as a gift to folks who don't actually COOK-- as opposed to just assembling.

[jukesgrrl]

02:30 AM on 09/25/2010

A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is a wonderful thing. I got mine from flea markets -- Grandma wouldn't give hers up and, believe me, I begged.

[donquijoterocket]

03:22 PM on 09/26/2010

Agreed.I've one small skillet that came through two generations to me and between the years of use and proper care and seasoning it's nearly as nonstick as Teflon.

[David Keith]

09:33 PM on 09/24/2010

Delightful post with lovely photos. Love Twain!

This new autobiography of his is tempting me to read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Mark-Twain-Vol-1/dp/0520267192/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285378360&sr=1-1

[Woods Shade]

05:24 PM on 09/25/2010

So do I.. thanks for the head's up!

[raker]

09:15 PM on 09/24/2010

The good news is that grass-fed porter house steak is readily available. The bad news is it's $60 a pound.

[travalar]

01:00 AM on 09/25/2010

So as to not advertise these places, I won't give links, but did find such cuts in the Under $14. range per lb. With all the links it does seem like medium priced dinners for a week though.

[raker]

10:41 AM on 09/25/2010

I left out "aged." You found grass-fed, aged porter house for $14? I'd be skeptical. The grubbiest conventional steak in Whole Foods is $14 a pound.

[dsws]

08:39 PM on 09/24/2010

Oh no, cornbread is trendy? I'd just been baking it occasionally for the past few months, after years of not having done so as much. Back when the "grunge" trend hit, I had to stop wearing my old flannel shirts. How do I wind up doing trendy stuff?

I'll say it's coincidence. And I don't take my cornbread out in public, so I won't feel the need to stop. Plus, the recipe I've been using lately includes a little sugar, so I'm safe from snob appeal.

[mheister]

08:02 PM on 09/24/2010

I don't recall where or how, but I discovered the joy of cast-iron cornbread a couple of years ago and I haven't looked back.