Questions and Food Culture Also Looks Very Great

Trying to communicate to people my full on perspective regarding food is a difficult balance of personal and anecdotal interpretations of life experiences mixed with the empirical data that comes from those who gather such things. All of which provides evidence that helps answer the question of "Why do we eat what we eat?".


The question is far more difficult than one might imagine. It would be far easier for me to ask "Why do I eat what I eat?". But, as seven plus years of food blogging can demonstrate, I'm a bit of an outlier. My activities over the past seven years are not typically those of most people. These activities leave me questioning my own motives, and wondering why I give care what the average person from Skokie, Illinois had for dinner and what motivated them to buy that particular brand of potato chips, or sit down at that particular restaurant.


More than any other question, the one that sticks in my head is thus: since my own experiences had led me to several wonderful discoveries that are often easily obtainable, what is it that leads people to purchase crappier versions of my discoveries. Why do people buy Lipton Tea, Budweiser, or Kraft Singles? What made them purchase these items in the first place, and what motivated them to keep on buying them throughout their lifetime?

As I pulled back from looking for an answer from an individual perspective, I found that the answers to these questions often led to bigger questions. How did Budweiser get so big as to influence the beer market in the United States, putting them in the position to influence purchasing habits? What is there culturally that encourages us to over-sweetening our tea? Why, in God's name, is Kraft cheese such an unnatural color of yellow-orange?


(A quick side note: It's interesting, at least to me, on how my mind works. Because my intent when staring this post, was to discuss how much my family, particularly my parents, shaped my worldview on food. This isn't an uncommon approach to food writing. But exploring that avenue seems pointless to me, irrelevant to most, except for myself. I already know how I came to appreciate food and drink, and what influences my parents had in that. What makes me curious is why my father felt the need to buy cake mixes, when his mother was a near genius in the baking department. But I digress.


Food writing is such an odd vocation, especially at this point and time in American history. Our food culture is a hodge-podge of conflicting ideas and ideals, with different people being motivated to succeed in it for reasons as diverse as trying to do the right thing, to trying to be a celebrity, to out-and-out greed. Then there are the folks who participate in the food culture who don't even realize they are doing so.

ConAgra And Our PR Folly Also Feel Great

For those of you not on Twitter, and are not privy to the latest and greatest news and events, there's been a bit of a hub-bub of late regarding a PR event that failed miserably. The short version, as explained by the New York Times, sums the details pretty well:

In August, food bloggers and mom bloggers in New York were invited to dine at an underground restaurant in a West Village brownstone run, apparently, by George Duran, the chef who hosts the ?Ultimate Cake Off? on TLC.

Sotto Terra, the invitation said, was ?an intimate Italian restaurant? where attendees would enjoy a ?delicious four-course meal,? Mr. Duran?s ?one-of-a-kind sangria,? and learn about food trends from a food industry analyst, Phil Lempert. The invitation continued that upon confirming ? for one of five evenings beginning Aug. 23 ? bloggers would receive an extra pair of tickets as a prize for readers and that the dinner would include ?an unexpected surprise.?

The surprise: rather than being prepared by the chef, the lasagna they were served was Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna by Marie Callender?s, a frozen line from ConAgra Foods. Hidden cameras at the dinners, which were orchestrated by the Ketchum public relations unit of the Omnicom Group, captured reactions to the lasagna and to the dessert, Razzleberry Pie, also from Marie Callender?s.

Once the ruse had been made known, the response had been everything from bewilderment to embarrassment to outright anger.
I'm of two minds in regard to this. For one: ShittyCheaply made, processed food presented nicely, is, in the end, still shitty cheaply made, processed food. Ketchum PR and ConAgra foods know this, but hoped to dupe enough people with bells and whistles to impress and influence so as to pimp their shitty cheaply made lasagna and "razzleberry" pie. The folks realized that sending out invitations to food and Mom bloggers to sample the new "Marie Callender's" frozen boxed meals, few people would show up. So they had to find another solution.

Luckily for the folks at Ketchum, the Food Blogger and Mom Blogger system has been built to allow the unscrupulous to take advantage of the unwary. Years of taking free product samples and dining at the expense of PR companies have created an industry unto itself, one where e-mails are sent out inviting bloggers to exclusive events and making them feel part of the larger food world, one where they get to hang out with celebrity chefs and sup at "underground" Italian restaurants in the heart of New York City. Somewhere, out there, PR folks have created a magical, and exclusive, food world. They then sell it to folks who oh-want-so-much-to believe that it exists, with the end goal of the PR clients getting good publicity out of it.


Let's be frank here - those who accepted the invitation bought full-on into this false idea, and were played like a fiddle by Ketchum. But here's where it get's interesting - Again, from the New York Times article:

Once we sensed it was not meeting attendees? expectations, that?s where we stopped, we listened and we adjusted,? said Ms. Moritz, of ConAgra.
?It was never our intention to put any bloggers or their guests in an uncomfortable position and for that we are sorry,? she said, adding that the brand subsequently offered to reimburse attendees for such expenses as cab fare and baby-sitting.
Still, ?most attendees had a fun evening? and in a survey, 62.5 percent of participants indicated having a favorable impression of Marie Callender?s, Ms. Moritz said .

Major Players Want To Cook For People

So if I'm to dabble in the world of the Renaissance and Colonial Eras of Europe, it's good to know who, exactly, I'm going to be talking about. The topic is so large and so intertwined, that the amount of people involved make it just a little less complex than A Song of Ice and Fire (or Game of Thrones, for those of you who couldn't slop your way through the books).


It should be noted that my brief overview should not be considered complete, nor should it be considered factual. More, it should be considered where I'm going to start, and perhaps I will find evidence that contradicts my points below. The task here is to find a way to keep an eye on everyone, and see how far the trade for spices, and then later coffee, tea, and chocolate, affected the world. If I've missed anyone, let me know in the comments.

The Main Cast
Portugal: The country that could be said to have started it all. From the creation of the tireme, to the Pope giving them half of the world, the Portuguese were one of the first to have it all, and one of the first to lose it all.


Spain: The center of the Roman Catholic world thanks to their ties to the Hapsburg dynasty, they had the difficulty of balancing bankruptcy and fighting for their souls against the Protestant world.
England: The small bit player who ended up to being the empire where the sun never set, (which was the exact opposite of what the Pope wanted), the English, ended up becoming the tea merchants of the world and a major player in the opium trade.


The Dutch Republic: The little country that could, starting out being the stepping mat of Spain, to making so much money that they could commit genocide in order to ensure the supply of nutmeg. And they never did it in the name of God. They did it all for money.


India/The Mughal Empire: When we talk about pepper, we talk about Goa, which was on the west coast of India. The quest for pepper in India would eventually lead to the British Raj. Of course getting from the 1500's to the 1850's will take to explaining.


China: China is a bit of a cipher to me in all of this. The Europeans were just another bunch of traders in their eyes, and the focused diplomatically instead upon their neighbors. That is, while they weren't in the midst of their own civil wars.


Indonesia/Sultanate of Mataram: How can over one thousand islands defend themselves against interlopers with bigger ships and bigger guns? And what happens when they have several of the most valuable commodities on the planet?
The Bit Players:

France: France played at the edge of trading history for the longest time before diving into colonialism and trade. Their standing in this aspect of history was not helped by the fact that the Royalty tended to spend beyond their means.


The Hapsburgs: The origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, the Hapsburgs had their fingers everywhere in Europe. And some say they were the real power behind Spain.

Do you like the chinese food

One of the reasons I love ordering Chinese food with friends is that there’s something for everyone. When you order pizza or subs, you have fewer options and there’s always someone not happy. With Chinese food, you have a huge variety of treats from which to choose, and everyone can order something that they enjoy.

Do guest posts on other sites in your niche. Write content that can easily be linked by other bloggers. Get people excited about what you’re doing so that your name just starts to just appear everywhere. You want people to be like, “Oh, I’ve heard of him/her…” even if they can’t rattle off your bio (yet). 

One of the complaints that lots of people have about Chinese food is that you’re hungry again an hour later. Is that true? Maybe…but for bloggers, this is a good thing! You want great content, but you also want to always leave them always wanting more. Include related links at the end and links within the body to keep readers on your site. Encourage readers to sign up for your mailing list or subscribe to your RSS feed. Clearly link to your social media profiles on your sidebar and make sure you promote you content on these platforms. Most importantly, make sure every single post you write is awesome. It only takes one “meh” post to make a reader decide they don’t need to come back to your site.

Most Chinese restaurants even have healthier options for those who are dieting. Does you blog have something for everyone? Of course, you won’t connect with every person in the world (that would be a crazy blog), but within your specific target market, there are going to be a lot of different tastes. If you rely on just one type of post (like just list posts or just rants), you’re not going to appeal to as many people. Make sure your target is focused, but don’t make it so focused that your audience is too small.

No matter where you live, you can find Chinese food. Heck, even at my mom’s house, which is located in a super rural area with less than 100 people in the entire town, you can get to a Chinese restaurant pretty quickly. Make your content similarly easy to find. You want to create a presence for yourself so that others are mentioning you and your name just pops up in conversations related to your niche. Attend offline conferences (like BlogWorld LA of course).

The Beaufiful Chocolate Loved By Me

Meanwhile the sun is back up and shining again, the tons of snow are almost gone (I try to ignore the sad-looking slushy grey piles of what used to be proud mountains of snow on every street’s corner) and the stacks of flour and almonds are reaching astronomical heights in my pantry. It’s time to get baking!

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (eat a test cookie, if your unsure when they are done, because their color is not really helping here), then take out and slide the parchment paper with the cookies off the tray, then you can let them cool down completely.

Life doesn’t always play along nicely. Just after we finished our book project, everybody involved got sick. One after another, almost in sync. Then hell winter broke loose on the exact day I needed to travel north and see my family. As much as I had anticipated some christmas baking frenzy, sometimes a cookies-to-bake-list has to be put on ice – pun intended – for a couple of days.

I usually start off my Christmas baking with cookie recipes that require a little extra time for decoration, simply because after cookie batch no. 12 I most likely have lost the patience to neatly decorate each and every cookie. So I need to get these out of the way early.
This time I filled some of the cookies with apricot jam and sealed the little cut-out shapes in the top layer with some white chocolate – what a treat! The ones without jam filling received a more abstract look with white and dark chocolate ornaments – easy, yet eye-catching.

Cut the cold butter into small cubes (or – if the butter is really well chilled – use a coarse grater) and add the egg. Quickly knead together by hand or with a pastry blender and form into a neat ball. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.




For starters, how about a very basic cut-out cookie with cocoa and a touch of cinnamon, one that allows for all kinds of variation? Like fragile and not so fragile shapes, fancy chocolate decoration or traditional jam filling? This recipe might just be the one for you – you can use it any way you like.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (~350°F) and line the baking trays with parchment paper. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut off half of it (put the other half back into the fridge). Dust a large wooden board with flour and roll out the dough until about 3 to 4 mm thick. Cut out the shapes of your choice and place on the baking trays, then continue with the other half (any dough scraps should be chilled before using again).

Decorate to your liking with either melted chocolate, a brush and a piping bag or a jam filling (heat the jam for some minutes, so it becomes easier spreadable). Store in an airtight cookie jar.

Bubble Gum Cigars can be a dielicious food

I bought these Bubble Gum Cigars while on vacation last month, mostly because it’d be so longer since I’d seen the full array of the flavors in quite a long time. They’re made by Concord Confections in Canada which is now owned by Tootsie. (They also make Dubble Bubble Gum.)


I picked out three of them, in a standard array of colors orange, green and yellow. Each has a special name on the band, which is smaller than the standard cigar band (so I can’t wear it as a ring, even on my pinky). The wrapping is simple, just a clear cellophane sleeve, all were fresh and pliable (though if you’ll notice I dropped the orange one and it broke into pieces).

Cigars have faded a bit from pop culture, but starting sometime in the early 20th century it was common to celebrate a new baby with a gifting of cigars to friends (mostly by the father to friends, coworkers and contacts). As something that children today are aware of, it’s kind of an anachronism, as I know I can go months without even catching a whiff of the scent of a cigar, much less actually seeing someone smoking one. The relationship between real cigars and bubble gum ones is so far removed, I don’t think anyone can say that they actually improve the opinion folks have of tobacco. The reverse is probably true, the shape and association of a cigar with a children’s chewing gum is more likely a hindrance to sales.


El Bubble is green and Apple Flavored. I admit that I’m kind of a gum purist. Chewing gum should be mint, cinnamon or that Juicyfruit flavor ... and bubble gum should be bubble gum flavored. None of these cigars is actually bubble gum flavored (I couldn’t find a pink one). The apple is actually rather more on the actual apple juice flavor side of things than tangy green apple. It’s sweet and light. Even after the sugar fades, it’s not offensive or even very strong at all. I don’t think anyone sitting near me would recognize the flavor.

The gum is soft and easy to chew. It’s gets very soft and grainy quickly, kind of made my mouth fill up with saliva. But a little chewing and the gum firms up into a stiff enough piece that makes decent bubbles.

Help To Make Your Own Peach Preserves

Before they’re gone, you can easily preserve fresh peaches’ fleeting, nectared essance by making a batch of homemade jam. Perfect for holiday gift giving, I also love opening a jar of homemade jam on a snowy winter morning, slathering it on a hot, buttery biscuit and being transported back to sweet memories of the previous summer.
I used to make jam the old-fashioned way, standing at the stove for hours boiling and stirring the mixture and trying to keep it from scorching. Recently I made a batch with packaged pectin, and I think the jam tastes better and retains more of the true peach flavor. You don’t need to use as much sugar or cook it as long, and the process is much faster and easier, too.

Here’s the simple recipe I used:
FRESH PEACH PRESERVES
4 cups peeled, chopped organic peaches (about 3 pounds of fruit)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin like Kraft Sure-Jel
¼ teaspoon butter (Kraft recommends this to reduce foaming)
5 1/2 cups sugar
Prepare the canner and sanitize the jars. To peel the peaches, cut an “X” in the bottom end of the peach and drop it in a pan of boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, cool briefly, and the peel should rub right off. If not, return to the water for another 30 seconds. Finely chop or mash the peaches and measure 4 cups of fruit. Stir the fruit and lemon juice together and pour into a large, heavy bottomed sauce pot.
Stir in the pectin, and add the butter. Turn the burner to high heat and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and stir it constantly to dissolve. Return the mixture to a full boil and boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat, and skim off any foam that has risen to the surface.
Ladle the jam into the prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean damp cloth. Cover with the two-piece lids and screw the bands on tightly. Process according to your canner’s directions; I processed mine for about ten minutes. Remove the jars and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When the jars cool to room temperature, check the seals by pressing the middle of the lid. They lids shouldn’t ‘give,’ but if one springs back don’t worry; just move this jar to the refrigerator and plan to use the jam in the next week or so. Store the jam jars in a cool, dark place. This recipe makes about 7 cups of jam.
There is something deeply satisfying about ‘putting up preserves.’ Try it and see if you don’t agree.

Iced Peach Tea

When you have tart peaches, make Iced Peach Tea!
I picked a peck of peaches...no, not really. I picked up a quart of Texas Peaches from the Main Street Farmers' Market and discovered they were a little tart after I got them home. I was too impatient to wait for them to ripen so I got the idea to let them soak in a batch of tea.

That was a thirst quenching idea that I can do over and over again.
HERE'S WHAT YOU DO
4 cups boiling water
3 to 5 (2g) tea bags, tied together
3 to 5 small peaches, seeds removed, cut into slices
Drop in the peach slices into a medium size container, add tea bags, then pour in boiling water. Steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Sweeten to taste THEN chill.

Personal Polenta Pizza Cooking

It was Friday night, and I was in the mood for pizza. But I’ve been strong, sticking to my resolution to eat healthier, and I knew I needed something lighter than the standard crust. You may remember that I’ve already used potatoes as a pizza crust; this time I wanted something a little more crust-like yet still gluten-free. I finally settled on polenta.
I’d seen a lot of recipes for polenta pizza that, unfortunately, all seemed to come out more like polenta casserole, but I thought with a little tweaking I could make a polenta crust that would be more like an actual crust–crispy and sturdy enough to eat out of hand. In my version, the polenta is first cooked, then baked, then baked again with the pizza toppings. The crust is sturdy enough to pick up–if you’re careful. (If you’re not, you may wind up with a lap full of pizza toppings!) It still tastes like polenta, so if you’re looking for an authentic-tasting, gluten-free pizza crust, this isn’t it. But it did the trick to quell my pizza cravings; maybe it will have the same effect on yours.

Personal Polenta Pizza
3 cups water
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
generous grating of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon each basil and oregano
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
about 1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced
about 8 mushrooms, sliced
3-4 ounces vegan sausage, cooked (or gluten-free alternative)
sliced black olives (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic
Preheat the oven to 425. Oil two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
Put the water, cornmeal, salt, and seasonings into a large microwavable casserole dish or 1-quart measure. Cook at full power for 4 minutes. Stir well and cook again at high power for 2 more minutes. Stir again and cook at high power for another 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave, stir in the optional oil, and beat with a spoon until completely smooth.

Healthy Choices In Vending Machines

Exactly, how much are you willing to pay for a healthier menu? Or, are you going to spend at all for a plate of green salad over a serving of a quarter pounder burger?
Fast food and vending machines are amongst the least healthy place to be in, but surprisingly, people just don’t heed the advice. Every day if you pass by any nearest fast food chain in your area you can’t help but notice how many people would flock in fast foods for lunch and dinner. Many people just love burgers, fries, and all those greasy food even if it means higher risk of heart attack as they age should they continue binging on them.

Now as the nation continues to rally on ending obesity especially among children, going for the healthier options isn’t just easily accessible to everyone. After all, it’s been said plenty of times before that healthful food comes with a price. And the price we’re talking about is just not acceptable to everyone and would rather rely on vending machines to keep them full. People are looking for healthier vending options especially in schools and offices and are willing to pay a bit more to enjoy fresh healthy foods and drinks.
What many people, who devour on junk foods, fail to realize though is paying extra to get healthier food can have more benefits than scrimping. The choices for green salads, grilled chicken breast, natural fruit juices, and vegetables help nourish our mind and body. And a properly nourished person has a better concentration, better immune system to help fight common illnesses, better lifestyles, etc.
For kids, early introduction to a good eating habit does not only improve their performance in school, but also helps them achieve a balanced overall wellness. Several studies have shown that kids who are exposed to healthful foods early in their life tend to develop a lifelong healthy lifestyle. And this is what every parent can wish for to protect their kids from sickness.

Sweet Tomatoes Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe

The Broccoli Soup rounds out our trip to Sweet Tomatoes. This is a lighter version of the soup than what we are used to. Please do not keep this soup for a long time, it will not hold as nicely as other soups do. It is lower in fat.

Yield: 8 servings.
4 C. Fresh Broccoli Heads and Three Inches of Stalks (diced)
1/3 C. Yellow Onion (diced)
4 C. Water
3/4 tsp. Celery Salt
1/4 tsp. McCormick Seasonal
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 C. Low Fat Milk
Simmer Broccoli and onions in 4 cups of water until the broccoli and onions are tender. Remove 3/4 cups of broccoli heads and set aside. Cook the remainder of broccoli and onions until soft. Remove from heat and strain broccoli and onions.
In a blender pour remainder of broccoli and onions add celery salt, seasonal, sugar and milk. Blend until all are smooth. Pour mixture into a saucepan, add the 3/4 cup of broccoli and simmer on a medium low setting for 20 – 25 min.
Great served with crusty hard rolls and a selection of cheeses.

Green Onion

At my mother's assisted living home, the staff helped my mom and other residents put in a small garden in the spring. Onions, featured in the planting, are now being enjoyed by all. Mom says they are past that first delightful small green onion stage; the bulbs are getting bigger, and the tops thicker and stiffer. Which takes her back to childhood, and some creative onion engineering.

Mom says when she was young, and the onions got to this point, they would cut off a top to use as a bubble blower. They would cut off the top end of the green stalk, and make slits on the bottom end so the it could be curled and feathered out. Then they would use this with soapy water mixed up at home to blow bubbles. "Of course," she said, "you made sure you didn't bite into it! But that's how it was back then. We made all our toys." Mom says her dad showed them how to do this.
Any of you out there have a similar onion stalk bubble blower story from your elders? I'd love to know. I wish I had some onions growing in my backyard right now. I would love to try this out. If you are growing onions, why not give it a test and let me know how it goes? I'd be particularly interested in how the modifications to the bottom end of the tube affect bubble production.
Just remember not to bite into it!

Taste Beer

I have always brewed beer with malt extracts and a small amount of crushed grain. At some point I would like to use 100% grain, which means a lot more water is used at critical times that affect chemical processes well before any fermentation occurs. That is why the local water profile is critical in all-grain brewing.When you use extracts, the extract producer’s water was used to extract the malt sugars, and your own water is less important — except I’ve read that really hard water can affect the taste, mainly in lighter beers, and it may not be an agreeable result. The limescale can also gunk up your equipment.

I’ve also read that water softened with sodium can slow down enzyme action during fermentation and make beer taste salty, so once again there’s another good reason to use potassium, unless that too affects flavor in a bad way. I think we’ll have to try unsoftened, softened, and softened, filtered water in a three batch taste test. My guess is that the filtered water will work best for extract brewing.

Different Types Of Beer Glasses

There are nearly as many ways to drink beer as there are types of beer. If your goal for drinking is simply to get drunk fast, chances are that the type of glass or mug is utilized is of little importance. However, if you're drinking beer for the pleasure of the experience, then a good mug or glass to make all the difference in the final results.
There are many different types of Beer Glasses. These glasses have nothing to do with Beer Goggles that may be gotten from drinking too much alcohol in general. These glasses are far more important than that! They include Pilsner glasses, Pint glasses, Wiezen (Wheat) Glasses and of course the classic Beer "Mug" or "Stein."
The importance of having the right glass may be overlooked by many. It may seem that it is being overly picky to say that specific beers should be consumed from specific glasses. Perhaps it is. But there is a distinct difference in taste quality from the different glasses. The reason for this is mostly because of the amount of head.

The different types of glasses are designed to capture the correct amount of "head" for the specific brand of beer or ale. The reason that it is desirable is to capture a good amount of beer, "head" is that beers have specific compounds that evaporate that give the different beers that specific flavor and aroma. With no head these will evaporate faster decreasing the taste of a good beer.
Pint glasses and Beer mugs are by far the most versatile of the glasses. The results from drinking from pint glasses and beer mugs and stiens will always of at least "decent" quality, almost regardless of the beer type chosen. These mugs tend to be of heartier construction than pint glasses and also happen to be the best choice for a few more types of beers. If you only have one type of glasses, therefore, it is best to have beer mugs.

Hotpot History

With a history of over 1000 years, the hot pot has become popular throughout most of China. Mongolian hotpot originated from the Yuan dynasty (A.D.206-1368) .With rich nutrition and fantastic taste, it contains the protein and various vitamins for human body. It also has medical effects such as nourishing the liver and kidney, restoring the energy and lubricating the intestines. It can strengthen the body, improve the complexion and protect the skin if eaten regularly as well.

Do You Like Chinese Hot Pot

In the winter season, when chilly temperatures and frigid winds prevail over the land, people like to eat food that instantly warms their bodies and lifts their spirits. For that, the hot pot is a delicious and hearty choice. Families or groups of friends sit around a table and eat from a steaming pot in the middle, cooking and drinking and chatting. Eating hot pot is not a passive activity: diners must select morsels of prepared raw food from plates scattered around the table, place them in the pot, wait for them to cook, fish them out of the soup, dip them in the preferred sauce, and then eat them hot, fresh, and tender. They can also ladle up the broth from the pot and drink it.
While the cooking is in progress there's some waiting, so the diners may sip a little hard liquor. A togetherness ensues, which soothes their hearts. Weilu--to 'circle' a hot pot--has a deep and profound meaning to the Chinese, who are gregarious and strongly emphasize family and clan. It is cozy, yet informal. It's not a banquet, yet it can take as much time as one. It uses a single pot, yet is varied in ingredients, sauces, and cooking styles.

The hot pot (huokuo) has a long history in China. It originated in the north, where people have to fend off the chill early in the year. It spread to the south during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-906). Later, northern nomads who settled in China enhanced the pot with beef and mutton, and southerners did the same with seafood. In the Ching dynasty, the hot pot became popular throughout the whole area of China.
The pot itself is usually ceramic or metal. In the past, charcoal was the fuel of choice. Nowadays people use mostly gas or electricity for this purpose; only the most nostalgic use charcoal. Alcohol is also used occasionally. Some of the pots are equipped with a chimney in the middle along with a valve for controlling the size of the flame.
The soup stock is prepared well beforehand and is made by boiling beef, pork, or chicken bones. Meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and bean noodles are the most popular ingredients. Freshness commands. Pork, beef, and chicken are often presented side by side; mutton is less frequently used. Meat should not be cooked too long; otherwise it will lose its tenderness. It's best for the meat to be cut as thin as paper, and that's why a sizable piece of meat often shrinks to a small bite after being boiled.
Seafood usually includes shrimp, crab, oysters, clams, squid, cuttlefish, and fish fillet. To make sure the morsels do not drift away or sink to the bottom or hide somewhere, a strainer in which each diner can hold onto his or her delicacies is recommended. Meat, seafood, and egg come in ball or ravioli-like form.
Popularly used vegetables are cabbage, spinach, turnip, green onions, celery, and lettuce. Lettuce is a special favorite among diners for its tender, crispy, and sweet nature. People use a variety that does not have a head and whose leaves are dark green, resembling those of chrysanthemums. Fresh vegetables should be boiled only lightly. Mushrooms of various kinds, dried or fresh, are widely used, as are dried lily flowers. Bean curd and bean noodles serve as more than just fillers. They do not have much taste themselves, but they absorb the richness of the other ingredients. Bean noodles are usually cooked later to help finish up the soup. Some people put plain rice into the last of the soup to make a porridge. Consistent with Chinese culinary thrift, nothing is wasted.
The sauces are also pre-prepared. Some are personal concoctions; while most consist of soy sauce, vinegar, and hot pepper, some people like to beat a fresh egg, or just the white of it, into the sauce. Like other Chinese cuisine, various kinds of hot pot from the mainland have congregated in Taiwan since the arrival of mainlanders in 1949. The Taiwanese have also developed their own styles and have even imported foreign varieties. In Taiwan today, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Swiss hot pots exist alongside Chinese ones.