Part 3 (1/2)
Bell always referred to himself first and foremost as a 'teacher of the deaf'. His mother and wife were deaf and he taught the young Helen Keller. She dedicated her autobiography to him.
What's quite interesting about Scotland, kilts, bagpipes, haggis, porridge, whisky and tartan?
None of them is Scottish.
Scotland is named after the Scoti, a Celtic tribe from Ireland, who arrived in what the Romans called Caledonia in the fifth or sixth century AD. AD. By the eleventh century they dominated the whole of mainland Scotland. 'Scots Gaelic' is actually a dialect of Irish. By the eleventh century they dominated the whole of mainland Scotland. 'Scots Gaelic' is actually a dialect of Irish.
Kilts were invented by the Irish but the word 'kilt' is Danish (kilte op op, 'tuck up').
The bagpipes are ancient and were probably invented in Central Asia. They are mentioned in the Old Testament (Daniel 3: 5, 10, 15) and in Greek poetry of the fourth century BC BC. The Romans probably brought them to Britain but the earliest Pictish carvings date from the eighth century AD. AD.
Haggis was an ancient Greek sausage (Aristophanes mentions one exploding in The Clouds The Clouds in 423 in 423 BC BC).
Oat porridge has been found in the stomachs of 5,000-year-old Neolithic bog bodies in central Europe and Scandinavia.
Whisky was invented in ancient China. It arrived in Ireland before Scotland, first distilled by monks. The word derives from the Irish uisge beatha uisge beatha, from the Latin aqua vitae aqua vitae or 'water of life'. or 'water of life'.
The elaborate system of clan tartans is a complete myth stemming from the early nineteenth century. All Highland dress, including what tartan or plaid there was, was banned after the 1745 rebellion. The English garrison regiments started designing their own tartans as an affectation, and to mark the state visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822. Queen Victoria encouraged the trend, and it soon became a Victorian craze.
Hae'ing said a' that, they've nae been idle, ye ken. Scots inventions and discoveries include adhesive stamps, the Bank of England, bicycle pedals, Bovril, the breech-loading rifle, the cell nucleus, chloroform, the cloud chamber, colour photography, cornflour, the cure for malaria, the decimal point, electro-magnetism, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, finger-printing, the fountain pen, hypnosis, hypodermic syringes, insulin, the kaleidoscope, the Kelvin scale, the lawnmower, lime cordial, logarithms, lorries, marmalade, motor insurance, the MRI scanner, the paddle steamer, paraffin, piano pedals, pneumatic tyres, the postmark, radar, the raincoat, the reflecting telescope, savings banks, the screw propeller, the speedometer, the steam hammer, tarmac, the teleprinter, tubular steel, the typhoid vaccine, the ultrasound scanner, the United States Navy, Universal Standard Time, vacuum flasks, wave-powered electricity generators and wire rope finger-printing, the fountain pen, hypnosis, hypodermic syringes, insulin, the kaleidoscope, the Kelvin scale, the lawnmower, lime cordial, logarithms, lorries, marmalade, motor insurance, the MRI scanner, the paddle steamer, paraffin, piano pedals, pneumatic tyres, the postmark, radar, the raincoat, the reflecting telescope, savings banks, the screw propeller, the speedometer, the steam hammer, tarmac, the teleprinter, tubular steel, the typhoid vaccine, the ultrasound scanner, the United States Navy, Universal Standard Time, vacuum flasks, wave-powered electricity generators and wire rope
Where does Chicken Tikka Masala come from?
Glasgow.
Britain exports chicken tikka masala to India.
Invented in Glasgow in the late 1960s, chicken tikka masala, or CTM, is Britain's most popular dish. There is no standard recipe. In a recent survey, the Real Curry Guide Real Curry Guide tested forty-eight different versions and found the only common ingredient was chicken. tested forty-eight different versions and found the only common ingredient was chicken.
Chicken tikka is a traditional Banglades.h.i.+ dish in which pieces of marinated chicken are cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor. tandoor. This ancient style of cooking originated in the Middle East, the word deriving from the Babylonian This ancient style of cooking originated in the Middle East, the word deriving from the Babylonian tinuru, tinuru, meaning 'fire'. meaning 'fire'.
The first chicken tandoori on a British restaurant menu was at the g.a.y.l.o.r.d in Mortimer Street, London, in 1966 the same restaurant where Not the Nine O'Clock News Not the Nine O'Clock News was invented in 1979. The recipe reached Glasgow shortly afterwards and when, as the legend goes, a customer asked for some gravy to go with it, the chef improvised with tomato soup, spices and cream. was invented in 1979. The recipe reached Glasgow shortly afterwards and when, as the legend goes, a customer asked for some gravy to go with it, the chef improvised with tomato soup, spices and cream.
Masala means a mixture of spices, and the usual CTM contains ginger and garlic, tomatoes, b.u.t.ter and cream, spiced with cardamom, cloves, c.u.min, nutmeg, mild red chilli powder and paprika, fenugreek and turmeric. means a mixture of spices, and the usual CTM contains ginger and garlic, tomatoes, b.u.t.ter and cream, spiced with cardamom, cloves, c.u.min, nutmeg, mild red chilli powder and paprika, fenugreek and turmeric.
It is the turmeric that it gives it the bright yellow colour, although the synthetic dye tartrazine is often subst.i.tuted. (It is tartrazine, among other unpleasant things, that makes curry stains impossible to remove from clothing.) CTM doesn't have a standard style or colour: it can be yellow, brown, red, or green and chilli hot; creamy and mild; or very smooth and sweet.
In 2001, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook declared that: 'Chicken tikka masala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect ill.u.s.tration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences.'
One in seven curries sold in the UK are CTMs 23 million portions each year. Many of the schools and charities in the city of Sylhet in Bangladesh are funded by profits from the British chicken tikka masala boom.
There are now 8,000 Indian restaurants in Britain, turning over in excess of 2 billion and employing 70,000 workers.
JO Can I just say Can I just say ... ... I had a curry once on the Isle of Man, where I was doing a gig. It was served with a cup of tea and some bread and b.u.t.ter. Which I think is fantastic, don't you? I had a curry once on the Isle of Man, where I was doing a gig. It was served with a cup of tea and some bread and b.u.t.ter. Which I think is fantastic, don't you?
Is French toast from France?
Yes and no. Dipping bread in eggs and frying it is a pretty universal solution to making stale bread go further.
The French certainly had a medieval version called tostees dorees tostees dorees, 'golden toast', and this later became pain perdu pain perdu, 'lost bread', a name that has been enthusiastically adopted for the de luxe versions served in Cajun cooking.
The earliest recorded recipe for the dish occurs in the work of the Roman cook Apicius in the first century AD. AD. In his book In his book The Art of Cooking, The Art of Cooking, he writes, rather casually, that it's just 'another sweet dish': 'Break fine white bread, crust removed, into rather large pieces. Soak them in milk, fry in oil, cover in honey and serve.' he writes, rather casually, that it's just 'another sweet dish': 'Break fine white bread, crust removed, into rather large pieces. Soak them in milk, fry in oil, cover in honey and serve.'
There are references in early French doc.u.ments to this recipe as pain a la Romaine pain a la Romaine, 'Roman bread'. So, that makes it Italian Toast. As ever, it depends where you are at the time, as there are records of German Toast, Spanish Toast, American Toast and even Nun's Toast being used.
'French toast' is first recorded in English in 1660 when it appears in The Accomplisht Cook The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May. In the same year, Gervase Markham's influential by Robert May. In the same year, Gervase Markham's influential The English Huswife The English Huswife has a rich and spicy version of 'pamperdy' ( has a rich and spicy version of 'pamperdy' (pain perdu), so, as far as the English were concerned, French toast was French, in those days at least.
However, the dish was also sometimes referred to as 'Poor Knights of Windsor'. This finds its counterpart in the German (arme Ritter), Danish (arme riddere), Swedish (fattiga riddare) and Finnish (koyhat ritarit) versions all of which mean 'poor knights'.
One theory offered in explanation is that the most expensive part of a medieval banquet was dessert spices and nuts were costly imports. Although t.i.tled, not all knights were rich, so a dish of fried eggy-bread served with jam or honey would have fulfilled the requirements of etiquette without breaking the bank.
STEPHEN I leave you with this mysterious quatrain from Stephen Wright, the Nostradamus de nos jours. 'I went to a restaurant that serves breakfast at any time. So I ordered French toast: during the Renaissance.' Good night. I leave you with this mysterious quatrain from Stephen Wright, the Nostradamus de nos jours. 'I went to a restaurant that serves breakfast at any time. So I ordered French toast: during the Renaissance.' Good night.
Who invented champagne?
Not the French.
It may come as surprise even an outrage to them but champagne is an English invention.
As anyone who has made their own ginger beer knows, fermentation naturally produces bubbles. The problem has always been controlling it.
The English developed a taste for fizzy wine in the sixteenth century, importing barrels of green, flat wine from Champagne and adding sugar and mola.s.ses to start it fermenting. They also developed the strong coal-fired gla.s.s bottles and corks to contain it.
As the records of the Royal Society show, what is now called methode champenoise methode champenoise was first written down in England in 1662. The French added finesse and marketing flair but it wasn't until 1876 that they perfected the modern dry or was first written down in England in 1662. The French added finesse and marketing flair but it wasn't until 1876 that they perfected the modern dry or brut brut style (and even then it was for export to England). style (and even then it was for export to England).
The UK is France's largest customer for champagne. In 2004, 34 million bottles were consumed in Britain. This is almost a third of the entire export market twice as much as the USA, three times as much as the Germans and twenty times as much as the Spanish.
The Benedictine monk Dom Perignon (16381715) did not invent champagne: in fact he spent most of his time trying to remove the bubbles.
His famous exclamation: 'Come quickly, I am drinking the stars', was devised for an advertis.e.m.e.nt in the late nineteenth century. Perignon's real legacy to champagne was in the skilful blending of grape varieties from different vineyards and the use of a wire or hempen cage for the cork.
A legal loophole uniquely allows Americans to call their sparkling wines champagne. The Treaty of Madrid (1891) decreed that only the Champagne region may use that name. This was reaffirmed by the Treaty of Versailles (1919) but the US signed a separate peace agreement with Germany.
When prohibition was lifted, American wine-merchants took advantage of this loophole, freely selling their own 'Champagne', much to the annoyance of the French.
The saucer-like coupe coupe from which champagne is sometimes drunk is from which champagne is sometimes drunk is not not based on a mould of Marie Antoinette's breast. It was first manufactured in 1663 (in England), well before her reign. No alternative English topless model has yet been suggested. based on a mould of Marie Antoinette's breast. It was first manufactured in 1663 (in England), well before her reign. No alternative English topless model has yet been suggested.
Where was the guillotine invented?
Halifax in Yorks.h.i.+re.
The Halifax Gibbet consisted of two fifteen-foot wooden uprights between which hung an iron axe mounted on a lead-filled cross-beam controlled by a rope and pulley. Official records show at least fifty-three people were executed using it between 1286 and 1650.