SoFAB Grows

The Southern Food and Beverage Museum has made so many changes these past two weeks. I'll start with the newest. Right now, this second, there are Verges Rome architects building a giant birthday cake out of cans (out of things like Van Camp's beans and Veg-All. mmmm. sweet, creamy bean birthday cake) in one of our galleries. This marks the very first exhibit change we have made since we opened in June. Elizabeth Pearce is busy painting the the gallery a lovely shade of green in preparation for this new exhibit that will explore the history and importance of canning and display the winning sculptures from the Canstruction Contest.

All of this is going while Chris Smith eases into his new position as Director of Collections, which he started on Monday. Meanwhile, I am working on changing the newsletter and (finally) creating the ezine. I woke up in the middle of the night (3:18 a.m. to be exact) and could not fall asleep again until I had brainstormed ezine stuff.

And, our intern, Susannah, is creating a fantastic facebook page for us.

Come by the museum and see the new exhibit, check out our website, sign up for our newsletter, and see how we are growing.

Chris Smith's To Kill a Mockingbird Blog

A Lesson in Longevity -- Twinkies

To Kill A Mockingbird is set in a tumultuous time in American history – the Great Depression. The book ends in 1935 when Scout Finch is roughly nine years of age.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know there is plenty of food mentioned in the book, but off the page, in the real world, quite a bit was happening in the realm of food – many new inventions, technologies and policies.
One of those technological innovations was the Twinkie!

Twinkies, produced by The Continental Baking Company in Indianapolis, were born in 1930 and they were quite different from the ones we know today. The original version was a cream-filled strawberry shortcake. They were produced only when strawberries were in season.

One of the bakers came up with an idea to create a banana filling. The along came World War II and a banana shortage, so the banana filling became vanilla, which is closer to the version of today.

The eggs, milk and butter in early Twinkies gave them a shelf life of only two days. The original Twinkies sold for a nickel, and they were popular. Store shelves had to be replenished every other day, but the practice was expensive. So, the need for a longer shelf life led to many changes in the Twinkie recipe. Mostly because of packaging, today’s Twinkies have a shelf life of about 25 days.

Many myths have sprung up around the Twinkie's longevity, claiming that it stays fresh for decades, would survive a nuclear war, and that the company is still selling off the original batch made in 1930. None are true, but this one is: Twinkies get their name from a product manufactured and sold in 1930 – Twinkle-Toe Shoes.

Chris Smith's To Kill A Mockingbird Blog

Celebration? Time for a Lane Cake

Lane cake is mentioned several times in To Kill A Mockingbird, especially when there is a special occasion to celebrate.

Miss Maudie is the cook who makes Lane Cakes. In fact, in chapter five, she is mentioned as making “the best cakes in the neighborhood.”

In chapter eight, Miss Maudie’s house burns but she surprises Scout when she announces she will make a Lane Cake and give it to her neighbor Mr. Avery for his help in fighting the fire.

In chapter 13, when Aunt Alexandra arrives to stay with the Finches, Miss Maudie made a Lane cake to honor her arrival.

In chapter 22, Miss Stephanie pesters Jem, Scout and Dill about the trial but Miss Stephanie distracts them by asking them to her porch for cake.

Other cakes are mentioned too, such as angel food and pound cake, but Lane Cake is mentioned most often.

Lane cake is a symbol of the South

The first recipe for Lane Cake was first printed in Some Good Things to Eat, by Mrs. Emma Rylander Lane, which she published in 1898. It was originally called Prize cake because it place first in a baking contest at a county fair in Columbus, Georgia, where Mrs. Lane was demonstrating ranges.

Lane Cakes look simple from the outside but there is more to this cake than meets the eye. Lane Cakes generally are considered by many to be difficult to make due to the complicated preparations and multiple ingredients.

A traditional Lane Cake is a white cake, a type of sponge cake, made in layers. It has four layers separated by filling. Each layer is supposed to be made in a pie tins instead of cake pans, making each layer smaller. The layers have different ingredients, making the cake unique – and more labor intensive. For example, cocoanut, dried fruit, and nuts are common additions, but they are not included in the original recipe.

The outside usually has a white frosting made of water, sugar, and whipped egg white. It has a filling of butter, raisins, and whiskey. Each layer has different ingredients. For example, one layer may have pecans and coconut, the next layer almonds and raisins. The recipe has been modified many times through the years.

Miss Maudie prized her Lane Cake recipe. When her house burns and she is forced to move to Miss Stephanie’s house, she says: “Soon as I can get my hands clean and when Stephanie Crawford’s not looking, I’ll make him a Lane cake. That Stephanie’s been after my recipe for thirty years, and if she thinks I’ll give it to her just because I’m staying with her she’s got another thing coming.”

Stephanie had to wait, but you don’t. If you want to try to make Lane Cake, you can find all kinds of recipes on the internet.

Chris Smith's Blog - To Kill a Mockingbird

Cameron Gamble will read Mockingbird on WRBH

One of the most delightful events to be created as part of The Big Read NOLA has been the partnership with WRBH, Radio for the Blind.

It was so easy. A phone call was placed, a meeting was convened, and WRBH folks explained what could and could not happen. In less than 30 minutes, WRBH employees had a plan in place to bring an American classic to local airwaves.

Many thousands of people will benefit from their leadership.

Beginning Sept. 1, local lawyer Cameron Gamble will read the book. The readings will occur daily, Monday through Fridays at 2 pm, and they will repeat at 8 p.m. each night. Each half-hour segment amounts to about 12-14 pages, meaning that the book will be completed in about 25 installments.

WRBH also will air The Great Gatsby, The Big Read book selected by FaulknerFest and the Jefferson Parish Public Library.

The people at WRBH “get it.” They were a joy to work with. If we apply again next year, and get an award, they’ll be the first people I call.

Chris Smith's Blog - The Food in To Kill a Mockingbird

Food in To Kill A Mockingbird

If you are looking for a snapshot of food consumed in the American South during the Great Depression, all you have to do is read To Kill A Mockingbird.

Page after page, there are references to food and drink, meals and tea parties, desserts and oral medications, etiquette and intrigue – all around the kitchen or dining room table.

There are more than 50 foods mentioned in the book, including – pretty much in order – the following: Ice, wheat and flour; collard patch; crackling bread; hickory nuts; turnip greens; potatoes; scuppernongs; fried chicken; lemonade; pound cake; ice cream; Lane Cake; sugar; ham; summer vegetables; peach pickles; Ambrosia; biscuits and butter; coffee; cornbread; pork and beans; lemon drops; cherry wine; whiskey; eggs; biscuits and syrup; chicken; fried pork chops; Coca-cola; sardines; crackers; Nehi cola; bacon; squirrel; possum; rabbit; pecans; milk; potato salad; salt pork; beans; rolls; tomatoes; pickled pigs’ knuckles; Tootsie rolls; Charlotte; dewberry tarts; cookies; divinity; apples; taffy; and angel food cake

Some foods are mentioned in a generic manner, such as “sandwiches,” “three kinds of meat,” “two kinds of cake,” “hock of the ham,” etc.

There is also a reference early in the book to “chocolate malted mice” which are not for people at all. This “delicacy” is part of a story read to the class by Miss Caroline in which Mrs. Cat calls the drugstore to place an order for chocolate malted mice.

There also are two references to medicines that are taken orally: calomel and asafoetida.

There are three products mentioned by brand name: Coca-Cola; Nehi Cola; and Tootsie Rolls.

But it is not the mere mention of food that contributes to the book’s greatness or unique Southern perspective. Instead, it is way that food, drink, eating, meals, and parties help move the plot on its way and illustrate the great points of the story.

For example, early in the book, Scout and Jem invite a classmate home for lunch and Scout gets a major lesson in life when she makes fun of their guest for something (food-related) that he does. It’s a classic scene that illustrates the concept Atticus imbues in his children: “you can never know another person until you walk in his shoes.”

An emotional scene at the end of the book occurs when Atticus is thanked for his attempt to defend Tom Robinson, a task he performs for no money. He awakes one morning to find that his back porch is covered with food that townspeople have brought in gratitude.

And then, of course, there is the climactic scene at the end of the book in which Scout is dressed as a ham.

Part of the charm in reading Mockingbird for me was all the references to food. But when you think about it, a book in itself is food for the brain.

Chris Smith's Blog - He's singing like a Mockingbird

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I Read the Book -- Now I'm Singing Like a Mockingbird
Nobody told me about To Kill A Mockingbird. I assumed it was good, but I didn’t realize it would be one of the best books I’d read in quite some time.

Also, the book wasn’t required reading where I grew up. I knew about the movie, but I’d only bits and pieces, enough to get the gist. Therefore, Mockingbird – no matter what it’s incarnation – just wasn’t on my radar screen.

I finally read the classic novel because the Southern Food and Beverage Museum teamed up with the New Orleans Public Library to apply for a grant with The Big Read, a program that encourages literacy and reading. It’s sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Arts Midwest.

As the person designated to plan the museum’s events, I had that obligatory sense of responsibility to at least read the book, or at least skim it quickly. While shopping at a local Barnes & Noble, I picked up a copy. I splurged and bought the hardback version because I thought I needed a sturdy copy – one that I could mark up, use for reference, take to meetings.

I started to read the book on a Friday night and had completed it by Sunday noon. It would have taken less time but I had weekend errands to run. Even after only five pages, I knew it was going to be one of those books, the one that fit under the category of “I couldn’t put it down.”

In retrospect, I don’t know why I waited so long to read this great novel. In the past few weeks, I’ve recommended Harper Lee's tale to everyone I know. Nobody told me, but I am making it my duty to tell the world.

Welcome to my To Kill A Mockingbird blog.