TODAY's CASES:

• Schaum Torte History
• Meat Loaf with Gravy
• Dog & Suds Grill Salt

Schaum Torte History From: Annabelle Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 9:03 AM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Subject: Schaum Torte Dear Phaedrus, I saw your recipe for Schaum Torte and I hope you don't mind me contacting you directly with a recipe question. I am currently undertaking a research project on the origins and culinary history of the Schaum Torte, and I was wondering if you had any information on it. I have read that German immigrants may have brought it as early as the 1840s, although I am yet to verify that as fact. I am also not sure if it is actually a German dish, or a Prussian dish either. I am also hoping to source recipes that are pre 1920s to see how they differ from modern Schaum Torte recipes. You wouldn't happen to have access to any older recipes would you? If you can shed any light on the Schaum Torte and recipes , I would be very grateful. Kind regards and thank you so much for your time. Annabelle Hello Annabelle, I briefly reviewed the information regarding this dessert that I could find on the Web and in my library. I can’t give it a lot more time than that. The name of this meringue dessert is given variously as “schaum torte”, “schaumtorte”, and “schaumtorten”. Various references give its origin as German or Austrian, with German outnumbering Austrian at about two to one. "Barron's Food Lovers' Companion" says it originated in Austria. The name “schaum torte” is German and translates as “foam cake”. The dish is very similar to a dessert known as “pavlova”, which is popular in Australia and New Zealand. “Pavlova” is a much younger dish than schaum torte and appears to have been created in either Australia or New Zealand. It's said to have been created and named for the famous Russian dancer after she performed there in about 1920. In America, written schaumtorte recipes are said to be traced as far back as the 1870s in Wisconsin. The dish appears to have been brought to America by German immigrants who settled in Wisconsin between 1839 and 1850. “The United States Regional Cookbook” from The Culinary Arts Institute says that most of these immigrants came from Pomerania, Prussia, and Westphalia in Germany. In my brief search, I did not find any recipes for this dessert with a specific date of origin given. They have been handed down in Wisconsin families of German origin. I was not able to find any recipes for this dessert that were actually from Austria or Germany, just recipes from German families in Wisconsin. “The United States Regional Cookbook” is copyrighted 1947, 1940, 1939 by The Culinary Institute, Chicago, so those would be the oldest verifiable dates for a recipe that I found in my cursory search. I don’t know where the sources giving an Austrian origin got their information. They did not cite a reference. The sources that give a German origin are all rather indirect, possibly inferring that the dish must be German because it is traceable to German immigrants in Wisconsin. It may well have been Prussian originally, since many of those German immigrants came from Prussia. Those German families in Wisconsin and books about their history would appear to be the best avenue of search for information about the origin of the dish. Phaed Dear Phaed, Thank you so much! The information you supplied is so very helpful, and I am extremely grateful. I will continue to research the Schaum Tortes evolution and entry into American cuisine, and hopefully discover more. In the meantime, I was lucky enough to find two online recipes late last night dated 1916 and 1936, which might be of interest to you as well. 1. The Wingold Cookbook 1916 2. The Mirro Fancy Cookies, Appetizers and Pastries Book 1936 Once again, thank you for all your hard work and help. You've given me a culinary pathway to look further into. Best regards, Annabelle Meat Loaf with Gravy From: Judy Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 3:19 AM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Subject: Looking for Grandma's Beef/Meat Loaf Recipe with Gravy No Tomato I’ve done a bit of searching online for a recipe of this type but have had no luck... my Girlfriend (in her 70’s) ‘s Grandmother made a “meat loaf”, possibly just beef or beef and pork, but it had no tomato in it or no ketchup sauce over the top like a meat loaf... the savory “beef loaf” was baked and then wonderful gravy was made from the drippings. Her description makes me visualize a “roast” made out of ground meat... My Girlfriend has tried to recreate this childhood memory but has fallen short. The family is rural Midwestern, early 1900’s, lower income/mining or farming background... possibly English/German heritage. Thanks for your help! Judy Hi Judy, It’s not difficult to find meatloaf recipes with no tomato products – I found quite a few. However, the lack of unique details in your friend’s description makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint her grandmother’s recipe. See below for several possibilities. Phaed Best Ever Meatloaf 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup 2 lbs. ground beef 1/2 c. fine dried bread crumbs 1/2 c. chopped onion 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 tsp. salt 1/3 c. water 2-3 tbsp. drippings Mix thoroughly 1/2 cup soup, beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg and salt. Shape firmly into 8x4 inch loaf. Place in shallow baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Blend remaining soup, water and drippings. Heat, stir now and then. While heating the above, separate 1 package refrigerated crescent dinner rolls. Place on top and down sides of loaf overlapping slightly. Bake 15 minutes more. Serve with heated gravy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meatloaf 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef 1 c. dry bread or cracker crumbs 3 eggs 1/2 c. onion, chopped 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 tbsp. salt, optional 1 tsp. celery salt 1 1/2-2 tbsp. dry mustard 1 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic 1 1/2 tsp. sage Mix all ingredients together well and make into a loaf. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 45 minutes. To make gravy to add on top of meatloaf, take a can of Golden mushroom soup with 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Put on top of loaf and continue to cook for 15 minutes longer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Meatloaf 1 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 c. bread crumbs 1 egg 1/2 c. grated onion Garlic powder Salt Pepper 1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted Mix and make into a loaf. Put into baking dish. Cook 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Then put strips of bacon over and cook 25 minutes more. Take out of oven and make Lipton onion soup gravy and add 1 tablespoon flour to gravy mixture and pour over meat loaf and cook about 15 minutes longer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sour Cream Meatloaf 2 eggs 1 (8 oz.) carton dairy sour cream 1/4 c. milk 1/2 c. fine dry bread crumbs 1/4 c. finely chopped onion 2 tbsp. snipped parsley 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp. Dijon style mustard 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef 1 pkg. brown gravy mix (3/4 oz.) In a large bowl combine eggs, 1/2 cup of the sour cream and milk; stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Add beef, mix thoroughly. Pat into a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan or shape into the same size loaf and place in a 12 x 7 1/2 x 2 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in center of loaf registers 170 degrees. Let cool 10 minutes, remove from pan. Meanwhile, for gravy, in medium sauce pan stir together remaining sour cream and dry gravy mix. Add water as called for on package. Cook according to package directions. Slice meat loaf and serve with gravy. Makes 6 servings. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Meat Loaf 1 lb. hamburger 1 pkg. onion soup mix 1 c. canned milk Pepper Combine all ingredients and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees in meat loaf pan. Make gravy from grease by adding flour and little water. Stir frequently until thick. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Meat Loaf with Gravy 2 lbs. ground beef 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) cream of mushroom soup 1 packet (1 1/2 oz.) dehydrated onion soup mix Heat oven to 350 degrees (moderate). On a 22 to 24 inch strips of heavy-duty aluminum foil, mix beef and onion soup mix thoroughly, being careful not to tear foil. Form into loaf and pour undiluted cream of mushroom soup over loaf. Wrap loosely in foil. Place on baking sheet. As this loaf bakes, the meat juices combine with the mushroom soup to make a wonderful brown gravy to serve over rice, noodles or potatoes. Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes. Six to eight servings. =========================================================================== Thank you Phaed... The only identifiers I can estimate are that Grandma was cooking this from a very simple kitchen inventory, probably no cream soups or soup mixes... a very basic pantry of the 1930's or 40's... maybe even Depression or War Years recipe... (I use the mushroom soup and dried onion soup mix for my pot roast and it does create a lovely gravy...) Thanks for the ideas, I'll share with my friend.. Dog & Suds Grill Salt -----Original Message----- From: Tim Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 9:54 PM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Subject: dog and suds grill salt The Dog and Suds in Tinley Park Il. had the best grill salt mix back in the late 60's . Any ideas on the mix contents, I know they used it on the burgers and probably on other meat dishes. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks Tim Hi Tim, Sorry, I can't find any mention of Dog & Suds Grill Salt. One of my readers, whose e-mail I no longer have, worked at a Dog & Suds years ago. I'll post this, and he might see it and respond. On a side note, I worked at a McDonald's copycat in the 1960s. For what it's worth, we mixed a bit of MSG with our salt & pepper mix to make a grill salt. Phaed -----Original Message----- From: Kathleen Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 2:52 PM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Cc: Kathleen Anast Subject: grill salt / Dog & Suds Back in the late 60’s While working at Dog & Sud’s I can’t remember the ingredients used to make the grill salt at Dog & Suds burgers. Thank you Hi Kathleen, I received this same request in 2014. See: 6-6-2014 I had no success then, and I had no success today. I looked not only for "Dog & Suds" grill salt, but any "grill salt" at all. I had no success. I worked the grill at a burger place many years ago, and I recall that our grill salt was a mixture of salt + black pepper + MSG (Accent). I cannot recall the proportions. I'll post this for reader input, but I'm not hopeful since I have not received any reader responses in the three years since posting the previous request for this. Phaed