According to scattered news reports issued earlier this year, the Hydrox, the original incarnation of the black and white sandwich cookie, is slated to return in late 2014. This may be great news for fans of dessert diversity, but it's not going to change much otherwise; whatever niche the new/old Hydrox may find, whatever founding status it possesses and whatever other advantages it boasts, it's still doomed to play permanent second fiddle to the monolith that is the Oreo. American's reigning #1 cookie has long since ascended to a cultural plane of which few products can dream of reaching, integrated in the very fabric of national culture, and it's not going to be removed from that firmament any time soon. Yet there's always market-share crumbs to be snatched up, particularly abroad, where a product's impression may not be as favorably clear-cut. When taking on a juggernaut like the Oreo, it's probably smart to go the route that the Japanese snack company Bourbon has here with its Bitter Cocoa Biscuits, stealing the signature colors but making their product appear just a tad classier than the original. These biscuits aren't really bitter, and aren't especially fancy, suffering from the same superior cookie/inferior creme dynamic that always plagued Hydrox. Yet like that supposedly soon-to-return cult favorite, they are a bit better for dipping into milk, important since this is the only civilized way to consume a sandwich cookie, no matter what cutesy twist-and-lick nonsense gets promoted in Nabisco ads.
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Mayonnaise has two possible origins, as salsa mahonesa, developed in 18th century Mahon, on Minorca (also home of this lovely cheese), or, if you trust the Larousse Gastronomique, in France itself, a play on moyeu, the old French word for yolk. Both stories are likely nonsense, but I’m more inclined to believe the former, since the Larousse narrative leans on two dubious etymologies (the second involving Charles de Lorraine, duke of Mayenne) and a general stink of proprietary snootiness, while ignoring the great potential origin story of Armand de Vignerot du Plessis claiming the condiment for the French after driving the British out of Mahon in 1758. Either way, mayonnaise has spent the 256 years since building its rep as of the world’s most successful sauces, spreading out across the globe in such surprising and weird variations that they probably deserve their own series of posts (Mayonnaise World?). For now I’ll be focusing on Kewpie Mayo, the ubiquitous Japanese condiment marked with the unforgettable naked baby logo - a thinner, more pungent cousin to American mayonnaise, contained within a puzzlingly pliable plastic squeeze bottle.
Inspired by the evocatively titled autumn dish, photographed on one of the first dark evenings of the season, a quick attempt to eat like a Japanese college student:
From bottom center: The aforementioned potatoes, also known as sweet sweet potatoes, reminiscent of Bao Si Taro but with a darker, deeper taste: 1.5 large ones roasted 30 minutes at 400, then pan fried in caramelized mixture of sugar (3tb), mirin (2tsp) and dark soy sauce (1tsp) and topped with sesame seeds. BL: Tofu Toast, a sort of Nippon-style Welsh Rarebit, with the consistency of soft scrambled eggs: 1/4 block of strained tofu smashed up with 2tb mayo, 1 tb soy and a squirt of hot sauce, spread onto crusty bread, topped with grated parmesan and nori strips and toasted. TL & TR: Quick miso soup, reconstituted from remnants of matzo ball broth for bonus Rosh Hashanah flavor. TC: Pan fried frozen gyoza topped with scallions BR: Sweet corn (roasted 30 min at 400) rolled in sesame oil and sprinkled with togarashi. |
The coded language of snacks, sandwiches and seasonings, in NYC and beyond.
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