Day 73: Kettle Corn (Popcorn with salt and sugar)

Something so simple, but something so amazing is popcorn. And we're not talking about microwaveable variety with plastic butter an a million carcinogens.

I like to use air popper at home ($12 at Walmart), which is nice because there's no clean up, and no need to monitor is as it goes. And it comes out nice and fluffy. And it's cheap. The same $1 bag of microwaveable popcorn is probably ~5 cents if you pop it on your own (I don't buy name brand popcorn - I generally try to avoid name brand anything for that matter). And if you don't feel like eating a whole bag, you can only pop a little bit. And you don't end up getting a burned by steaming air when you open it. So many reasons to pop it yourself.

I like to add butter, salt (ground up in a mortar and pestle), and some sugar. Why grind up the salt? Because it sticks better to the popcorn. The same technique can be used for fries or chips.

The best part is mopping up the butter on the bottom of the bowl with the last few remaining kernals so that it's little soggy bits on your fingers.

ON KETTLE CORN (FROM WIKIPEDIA)

Kettle corn was introduced to the United States in the 18th century. It is referenced in the diaries of Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania circa 1776. It was a treat sold at fairs or consumed at other festive occasions. The corn, oil, sugar and salt together is cooked in a cast iron kettle, or possibly a Dutch oven, this produces a noticeable sweet crust on the popcorn, however this method requires constant stirring or the sugar will burn, or a batch of plain popped corn can be sweetened with sugar or honey before adding salt. The combination was widely popular in the early 19th century but fell from wide usage during the 20th century.

In the early 21st century, kettle corn has made something of a comeback in America, especially at 19th-century living history events. As of the 21st century, it is cooked and sold at fairs and flea markets throughout the United States, especially art and craft shows.

Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn (maize) which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive "pop" results. Some strains of corn are now cultivated specifically as popping corns.

Popcorn was first discovered thousands of years ago by Native Americans. It is one of the oldest forms of corn: evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico and even earlier evidence dating to perhaps as early as 4700 BC was found in Peru.

Air-popped popcorn is naturally high in dietary fiber, low in calories and fat, contains no sodium, and is sugar free. This can make it an attractive snack to people with dietary restrictions on the intake of calories, fat, and/or sodium.

Day 72: India Pale Ale from Beaver's River

You may or may not know that I have a particular sweet spot for India Pale Ales. Something about the snap of it, maybe it's the cling of it, maybe it's how it tastes like you are literally out in the middle of the woods. But this one does not disappoint. If you like hoppiness, you'll love this guy.

Evergreen flavors, a bubbly flavour, a dark rich finish. Can't wait to eat it with some nice wild game some day!

On Beau's all Natural Brewing Company

Based in Vanleek Hill, Ontario, the company uses local spring water and doesn't chemically alter it. Because of this the mineral content in the water changes with the seasons.

100% of the malts are certified organic. don’t use malt extracts and add high-glucose corn syrup. 100% of the hops are certified organic.

The approach to freshness is fanatic. They personally deliver beer every week to each individual store and restaurant that carries the beer. They work with restaurants to make every effort to have clean beer lines and small inventories.

On Beaver River India Pale Ale (from company website)

BEAVER•RIVER marries the typical flavour profiles of the British and American interpretations of an India Pale Ale. Expect a bold yet balanced blend of hop bitterness, estery yeast character, and a blend of both citrus and earthy hop aromas.

Tasting Notes

Citrusy & piney-earthy hoppiness complemented by bready maltiness, fruity esters and caramel flavours.

On India Pale Ale (from beaus.ca)

The origins of the India Pale Ale are as exciting as the flavours themselves. During Britain’s occupation of India, British soldiers were guaranteed a ration of 6 pints of beer a day. However the beer would spoil on the long ship ride to India, so brewers were forced to make a few adaptations to give the beer a better chance of surviving the voyage. The essential oils of the hop plant is a natural preservative as is the alcohol. So to help the beer stay good longer, the beer was made with more hops (increasing the bitterness of the beer) and at a higher strength (which also helps keep the beer tasting balanced, as the extra malts needed to increase alcohol also adds sweetness). The resulting beer was very strong and flavourful.

Fast forward to the early days of craft brewing in North America. Innovative pioneers in the United States and Canada began brewing flavourful, high quality beer intended to provide an alternative to bland, corn-syrup laden mass produced beer that dominated the beer industry. Their experimentation led them to the traditional IPA style. They also began using hops that grew in North America, which tended to be more assertive in flavour and aroma. This led to what is now commonly referred to as an American-style IPA.

Day 71: Double Devon Cream

Sweet, silky on the tongue. Characteristically milky - it tastes like the milk I remember when I was a kid. But it is still firm enough until it just melts on your tongue and envelopes your taste buds.

Amazing on home made freshly baked scones, or even just plain fresh fruits.

On Double Devon Cream (from englishtea.us)

Devonshire is in the south of England, on the coast, and well known for it’s very rich and creamy dairy products.

Double Devon cream is just as it sounds. It is the creamiest of the cream from the Devonshire Jersey cow! It’s really not whipped – it’s just so thick that a knife can stand up in it! It comes close to butter, but has a unique creamy flavor that differs from butter. It can be used on scones, crumpets, fresh fruit - pretty much a topping for any dessert also including pies, muffins, waffles, pancakes.... it can be added into pasta to add a richness.

You will often find that clotted cream and double devon are used interchangeably, but there is quite a difference between Devonshire Clotted Cream and Double Devon Cream.

The process of making Clotted Cream is very extensive involving leaving it in a warm area for hours, allowing it to sour a bit, and the cream forms a bit of a skin and turns yellowy and clotted. Then, it is carefully scooped from the top of pan and stored for a time in a cool place.

Apparently, fresh Clotted Cream is impossible to find in Canada. That’s because it’s a very specialized art, and requires a Jersey cow that produces a rich, fatty milk. The only Devonshire Clotted Cream you will find is imported in jars. But in England it is delivered fresh.

Day 70: Schlitz Strong Beer

First thought - given it's almost a liter of beer per bottle, I love the pop bottle cap so that you can put it on right after and keep the fizz. And the price was ~$3.50 for a 940mL. So it's a good 20% cheaper than a domestic beer. So well priced.

I was also curious about why they had chosen 946mL for a bottle size. Seemed random? It's one US quart.

The taste light, especially for what they define as a "strong" beer at 6% alc. The texture is velvety. The taste is sweet, a little bit like maraschino cherry. Ah, after a few sips you realize why it's called a "strong" beer - it does start to take a toll on the inner cheeks.

Not bad for the price point. I also found out, through research, that Schlitz was once the largest brewery in the world! I'll admit that I never even heard of it, so incredible how it declined. Basically, its decline started in 1982, hurt by the rise of high-volume light beers such as Miller Lite and Bud Light, a direction Schlitz did not aggressively pursue. The once strong Schlitz brand was relegated to cheap beer or "bargain brand" status and became increasingly difficult to find in bars and restaurants, especially after the draft version was discontinued in 2001.

Thankfully it has since been revived because this is great value in the bottle.

On Schlitz Brewery:

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was once the largest producer of beer in the world. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was famously advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer". Schlitz first became the world's top beer producer in 1902 and enjoyed that status at several points during the first half of the twentieth century, exchanging the claim with Anheuser-Busch multiple times during the 1950s.

The company was founded by August Krug in 1849 but acquired by Joseph Schlitz in 1858. Schlitz was bought by Stroh Brewery Company in 1982 and subsequently sold along with the rest of Stroh's assets to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.

The beer also became available in Ontario, Canada, brewed by Stroh's Brewing, a subsidiary of Sleeman Breweries.