NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
December 30, 1999
Ernest Hemingway used copper to symbolize one of the sensations that come from physical exertion. I'm uncertain of how Hemingway decided that it was copper which most mimicked the metallic taste the human mouth produces, but I think often of Hemingway and his references to copper because I too believe that effort produces taste.
Effort, in the form of new year's resolutions, is probably on the minds of many people now. On those occasions when I have a choice, I prefer that my efforts produce appealing tastes, such as the luxurious depth of a chocolate cheesecake, or the intricate layering of a Cobb Salad, or the hurly-burly of Cajun shrimp.
When I say "my efforts," I'm implying, of course, the necessity of work--of peeling and chopping, of measuring and mixing, of trial and error. In this era of high-tech gizmos capable of dicing, shredding, crinkle cutting and even kneading, it would seem that machines have usurped two joys of cooking: the knowing how and the doing.
But if you make the effort to cook or bake something--anything--without the help of whiz-bang gadgetry, I'm convinced you will have honed your potential for enjoying food, and will have created for yourself, as Hemingway created for himself in Paris, a movable feast.
The recipe that follows produces a hand-kneaded bread that is a delicious companion for slices of smoked provolone cheese and roasted red peppers. The original version of this recipe included chopped salami and appeared in the March 1992 issue of Gourmet magazine.
Olive-Rosemary Bread
Yield: 1 loaf (18 servings)Ingredients:
2 ¼-ounce packages active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water (115 F), divided
2 teaspoons table salt
6 cups bread flour, divided
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled
1 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
coarse saltProcedure:
In a small bowl, proof the yeast in 1 cup of the water for five minutes or until the mixture is foamy. In another small bowl, dissolve the table salt in the remaining 1 cup water. In a large bowl stir together the yeast mixture, the salt water, 4 cups of the flour and the rosemary until a dough is formed. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in the olives and enough of the remaining 2 cups of flour to form a slightly sticky dough. Continue kneading for 10 minutes, form dough into a ball, and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for an hour, or until double. Punch dough down, let it rest for 10 minutes and then shape it into a 16-inch-long loaf. Transfer the loaf to a lightly oiled baking sheet and let it rise uncovered in a warm place for an hour, or until double. Make four 1/4-inch-deep slashes in the top of the loaf and brush the loaf with a glaze, made by beating the egg white with 1 tablespoon water. Sprinkle the loaf with the coarse salt and bake it in the middle of a preheated oven at 425 F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake the loaf for 30 minutes more, or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer the loaf to a rack and let it cool.
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
With young children, my current literary tastes run more to Beatrix Potter's "Tales of Benjamin Bunny" than to any book by Hemingway. Coincidentally, children's literature often mentions medicinal properties of herbs. You might remember Peter Rabbit being served camomile tea to sooth his stomach after overeating in Mr. McGregor's garden.
And Benjamin's mother even helped support the family by selling rosemary tea. Mrs. Rabbit could make a lot of money with her brew these days. The market for herbal products is expected to reach $25 billion by 2010, largely because herbal products are regulated as foods, not drugs.
Manufacturers of herbal products are not required to report results of clinical trials that prove effectiveness. Although some dietary supplements may have merit--or at least won't harm you--others such as Ma huang/ephedra have been linked with serious illnesses and even death. The wise warning "buyer beware" is definitely something to keep in mind if you're contemplating the use of herbs and other supplements.
Does Mrs. Bunny's rosemary tea concoction have any medicinal merit? Probably not, according to Varro Tyler, an expert in herbal research. Even though rosemary is approved in Germany for treating indigestion, the amount of the oil needed to produce a therapeutic dose could irritate the stomach, intestines and kidneys. Other folklore has recommended rosemary as a stimulating bath additive and, when applied externally, as a cure for baldness. Both may sound appealing, but neither have much research backing.
So, before taking herbs, ask yourself some questions. Why are you taking it? Are you attempting to self-diagnose a potentially serious condition? Have you informed your doctor or pharmacist? What drugs are you taking? There are many potential drug-herb interactions. Is the product standardized to contain a specific amount of the active components? Has it been tested? Do the claims sound too good to be true?
But don't be afraid to use herbs in cooking. Rosemary, for example, adds flavor to meat, vegetables and baked goods--without fat or calories. A case in point is this week's bread recipe: a serving of Olive-Rosemary Bread (1/18 of the recipe) contains about 180 calories and qualifies as a low-fat food, with only 1.6 grams of fat. Even better, most of the fat is in the monounsaturated form from the olives. Olive oil has garnered some attention because the fat it contains is chemically different compared to other types of fat, and it is probably more heart-healthy.
Kalamata olives are the smooth medium-sized dark-purple olives that add a distinctive flavor to this week's recipe. If kalamatas are unavailable, you could substitute another type of black olive.
Remember that taste keeps people coming back to their favorite foods. But also keep in mind moderation, which is what Peter Rabbit forgot when he overate and ended up confined in bed with a cup of herbal tea, which probably didn't help.
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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
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