Archive for the ‘History, Traditions & Lore’ Category

Measuring Does Matter

Saturday, August 28th, 2010
Heart Shaped Measuring Cups

Heart Shaped Measuring Cups

An important factor in being a good cook is to understand how to properly measure ingredients. With many recipes, the correct measurement of ingredients can either make or break a recipe. This is especially true in baking where every tiny teaspoon counts!

There was a time when cookbooks did not use terms like teaspoon, tablespoon or cup. Instead, they used phrases like “nice leg of spring lamb” or a “handful” of beans. Sometimes, a recipe would reference the size needed to another item, such as “the size of a walnut.” Recipes would also indicate personal preference by terms like “sufficient” salt. After all, what is sufficient for one person may not be sufficient to another.

It wasn’t until 1896 when Fannie Farmer introduced the “Boston Cooking-School Cook Book” when exact measurements were introduced. In the United States, we generally measure liquid ingredients and dry ingredients by volume. Elsewhere in the world, cooks usually measure dry ingredients by weight. In fact, worldwide weight is typically the universal way of measuring.

Favors, Favors & More Favors

Friday, August 20th, 2010
Wedding Favors

Wedding Favors

Additional meanings have become attached to the wedding favor as time has passed. In total, the wedding favor is a symbol of well wishing for the five most important ingredients of a marriage bond: Health, Wealth, Happiness, Fertility and Long Life.

Essentially, the wedding favor is a symbol of love and respect from the bride and the groom, and a token of well wishing for their deliriously happy future together.  In addition, they add to the décor and overall theme of the wedding itself.

Wedding favors have become increasingly popular over the years as more and more people want small keepsakes to remember special occasions by.  The actual monetary ‘value’ of the gifts is relatively small now in comparison to our ancient Ancestors.  Common favor include ribbons, candies, picture frames, personalized book marks, laminated plaques, candy, seed packets, pillows, balloons and potpourri.

Wedding Favors have been around awhile

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Wedding Favors

Wedding Favors

The tradition of giving wedding favors is rooted in ancient European history.  It was a ritual of common practice for wealthy aristocrats who were celebrating marriages, christenings, births and birthdays.  The bride and groom would give small presents, now known as favors, to their guests and well-wishers to thank them for sharing the momentous occasion.  Initially the favors were of great value, being made of expensive materials such as gold, silver, precious gems, porcelain or crystal with contents  great value, most notably sugar.  At that time, sugar was a very rare substance, prized for its suppose medicinal qualities.

Why Is There a Sprig of Live Ivy in the Bride’s Bouquet

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Ivy in Bridal BouquetIvy symbolizes eternal fidelity & wedded bliss. A popular Victorian tradition was for a bride to plant the ivy in her bouquet after the wedding and watch it grow through the years, passing down sprigs from the same plant for her daughters & granddaughters to use in their weddings.

Something old, something

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe:

Something old, Something Blue

This saying dates back to Victorian time.

Something  Old:
Represents the link with the bride’s family and the past. A common solution many bride’s choose is to wear a piece of family jewelry or their mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress.

Something New:
Represents good fortune and success in the bride’s new life. The wedding dress is often chosen as the new item.

Something Borrowed:
To remind the bride that friends and family will be there for her when help is needed. The borrowed object might be something such as a lace handkerchief or an item of jewelry.

Something Blue:
Symbolizes faithfulness and loyalty and dates back to biblical times when blue represented purity. Frequently the bride’s garter is the blue item.

A Silver Sixpence in her Shoe is to wish the bride wealth, both financial and happiness.

Make your garden grow faster with Jell-O!

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Want your pants and flowers to thrive, but reluctant to use chemical fertilizers? Sprinkle powdered Jell-O mix on them instead!  Jello’s gelatin delivers nitrogen, which speeds sprouting and powers plant growth, while its sugar feeds microbes in the soil that produce fertilizing nutrients.

Cutting of the wedding cake represents..

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Wedding cakes are a predominantly Western tradition in marriage ceremonies. It is the tradition that,  a newly married couple stand together, hand on hand, and cut the cake together. This is because cutting the cake is a symbol of unity and togetherness. Cutting the wedding cake together is also another essential marker of the couple’s commitment to one another on their special day. This is basically the reason why wedding cakes are still so popular in modern culture.

Can you imagine making a cake without an electric mixer?

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

In the pre-electric-mixer day mixing a cake  involved a lot of whipping the cake by hand. We usually didn’t have a hand cranked mixer that worked well, so this involved a large mixing spoon to whip it. Some old timers even counted the number of times they whipped the mixture – sort of made it fun and you didn’t notice your arm tiring.

Ever wonder why a secretaries day?

Monday, April 19th, 2010

National Secretaries Week was created in 1952 through the efforts of Harry F. Klemfuss, a New York publicist. Working in conjunction with the National Secretaries Association, later known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals, wanted to encourage more people to consider careers in the secretarial/administrative support field.

The official period of celebration was first proclaimed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Charles Sawyer “National Secretaries Week,” which was held June 1–7 in 1952, with Wednesday, June 4, 1952 designated National Secretaries Day. The first Secretaries’ Day was sponsored by the National Secretaries Association with the support corporate groups.

In 1955, the observance date of National Secretaries Week was moved to the last full week of April. The name was changed to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981, and became Administrative Professionals Week in 2000 to encompass the expanding responsibilities and wide-ranging job titles of administrative support staff.

Over the years, Administrative Professionals Week has become one of the largest workplace observances. The event is celebrated worldwide through community events, social gatherings, and individual corporate activities recognizing support staff with gifts.  In the United States, the day is often celebrated by giving one’s assistant gifts such as, flowers, candy, trinkets, lunch at a restaurant, or time off.  And CAKES.

Did you know that Mother’s Day dates back to the 1800′s?

Friday, April 16th, 2010

The history of Mother’s Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother’s festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother’s Day.