1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. It is 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: time for an all chocolate edition of Eponymous Foods. Yeah, 5 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: I love chocolate. I'm not really a chocolate person, but 6 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: I love these stories. I mean, I won't, you know, 7 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: spit chocolate out. It's just not the thing I'm gonna 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: choose first. But today we have two foods that are 9 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: eponymous foods, both, as I said, chocolate. One of these 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: is a lot shorter than the other. Part of that 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: is because the second eponymous food we have today sent 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: me down like such an obsessive rabbit hole that even 13 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: my husband was like, why are you so obsessed with this? 14 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: But it's like, I don't know, but I gotta figure 15 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: this out. Um. Both of them do feature chocolate, so 16 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: our chocolate loving listeners might get a kick out of it, 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: But they also both feature some issues with timelines and 18 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: attribution and things being a little fuzzy that need to 19 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,479 Speaker 1: be unraveled. Also, I need to give you a heads 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: up and I will just jump right to the spoiler. 21 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: The first section of this show features the story of 22 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: tutsie rolls. That sounds super fun in some ways it is, 23 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: but it has some very dark elements to it, including 24 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,839 Speaker 1: a death by suicide with a firearm. So if that's 25 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: not for you, just jump ahead to the first sponsor 26 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: break that's going to be right around twelve minutes and 27 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: forty seconds. Then if you jump ahead to that part, 28 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: the second two thirds of the show pretty much all fun, 29 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: I promise UM and a very hilarious and reiterative dance 30 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: party on who invented this? Just tree, So, as Holley 31 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: just said, we're starting with the tutsie Roll. The creator 32 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: of the Tutsie Roll was a man named Leo Hirshfield, 33 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: and there's not a whole lot of readily available information 34 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: about his early years. We know was born in Austria, 35 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: was the son of a candy maker, moved to New 36 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: York as an adult in eighteen eighty four. By the 37 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: time his story with the Tutsie Roll picks up, he 38 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: was already married and had a family, and as this 39 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: story is usually reported, on February Leo opened a candy 40 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: store in Brooklyn, and one of the candies he sold 41 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: there was his own invention that was the Tutsie roll. 42 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: This is eponymous because Tutsie was his nickname for his daughter, Claris, 43 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: so she is the one who has the bragging rights 44 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: to this thing being named after her. And that candy, 45 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: which sold for a penny, was recognized for its unique 46 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: consistency and flavor almost immediately. I like I used the 47 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: word unique because while I do love chocolate, the unique 48 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: texture of the Tutsie role is not my favorite of chocolates. 49 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:00,839 Speaker 1: There were plenty of chocolate candies before eight, none that 50 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: candy stores could really sell in the summer because they 51 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: would always melt. But Tutsie rolls were shelf stable even 52 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: in the heat, so they became a really popular year 53 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: round treat, and that popularity is said to have gotten 54 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: the attention of the Stern and Salberg company, which offered 55 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: Leo a merger deal that meant that production could go 56 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: from the small setup that had supplied the Heirshfeld's Brooklyn 57 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: shop to a much bigger scale, and that would include 58 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: distribution to other candy stores. That deal meant that production 59 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: moved to Manhattan, so did Leo and his family. So 60 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: that's the official story. Don't get too attached to it. 61 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: There's a little bit more to this story about how 62 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: Leo and his Tutsie Rolls became part of a larger 63 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: company perhaps, or there may have been a different route. 64 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: Tussie Rolls were not incidentally the first treat that Leo 65 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: Herschfeld worked on. We'll talk about some more, but for example, 66 00:03:54,640 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: in he developed a gelatin dessert mix, romance Angeline, which 67 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: he created for Stern and Salberg company. Bromangelin was a 68 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: precursor to Jello. It was the same kind of thing. 69 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: It was a fruity gelatin that you mixed from a powder, 70 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: and it was pretty successful until Jello became the dominant 71 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: dessert gelatine on the market. That alleged merger with Stern 72 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: and Salberg and the move to Manhattan happened in nineteen 73 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: o five, But it wasn't until nineteen o seven that 74 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: Harshfield applied for a patent on the way that he 75 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 1: made this long lasting heat stable candy. He describes in 76 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: the patent application what makes this process unique quote. My 77 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: process relates to the treatment of the candy after it 78 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: has been pulled and before it is shaped. After the 79 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: candy has been pulled for the desired length of time, 80 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: the mass is placed in an oven or other heated 81 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: receptacle and is subjected to a constant temperature of about 82 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: a hundred and forty to two hundred fahrenheit for about 83 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: one half two hours, during which time the candy is 84 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: not in any manner agitated. After the candy has been 85 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: thus subjected to the dry heat, it is ready to 86 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: be shaped. The idea of subjecting a batch of candy 87 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: to dry heat after it has been pulled and before 88 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: it is shaped, is to impart there to a peculiar 89 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: mellow consistency, whereby the candy will retain its peculiar consistency 90 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: a longer time than it would otherwise, and whereby, while 91 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: also while tough in measure, it is not unpleasantly so, 92 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: and well, after a reasonable length of time, thoroughly dissolve 93 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: in the mouth. Now, I'm like, are these the chocolate 94 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: candies that Horace Fletcher was chewing in the morning. Maybe? 95 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: But here's the thing. This timeline gets so wobbly. Right. 96 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,720 Speaker 1: We just mentioned that that that didn't happen, that that 97 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: patent until nine seven, and he had allegedly been making 98 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: these in the eighteen hundreds. So Samara Kawash author of 99 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: the book Candy, A Century of Panic and Pleasure, dug 100 00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: into hersheld story and found some things that really predict 101 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: that official story. For one, according to a city directory 102 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: that Caah trackdown, Leo moved from Brooklyn, where he was 103 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: listed as a confectioner in eighteen ninety one. At that 104 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: point he moved into three sixty five West forty five 105 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: Street in Manhattan, so that's much earlier than the nineteen 106 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: o five timeline. In four and Leo got multiple patents 107 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: for candy technology inventions. One was a machine that deposited 108 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: candy into molds, another was a machine that dipped bond 109 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: bonds into their codings. He also invented a fork for 110 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: bond bond dipping. But these patents were jointly assigned to 111 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: Julius Stern and Jacob Salberg, so that suggests that Leo 112 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: Hirschfeld was working for the company for years before the 113 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: Tutsie Roll ever existed. In nineteen o four, Herschfeld was 114 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: listed in a New York City directory of Corporations as 115 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: a director at Stern and Salberg, and, as we mentioned 116 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: a moment ago, the patent for Tutsie Roll, which Hershfeld 117 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: simply titled Process of Making Candy was not applied for 118 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: until nineteen o seven, and it wasn't until nineteen o 119 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: eight that Stern and Salberg applied for the trademark on 120 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: the name. So it really seems much more likely when 121 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: you see all these pieces that Leo actually worked for 122 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: Stern and Salberg for quite a while before the Tutsie 123 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: roll was conceived, and it was a big hit once 124 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: it hit the market, and apparently very good for his 125 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: career because by nine thirteen he had moved up from 126 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: director to vice president. Stern and Salberg made tutsie rolls 127 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: a high profile part of their business, delivering stock to 128 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: stores first and horse drawn buggies emblazoned with the candies logo, 129 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: and then doing the same with automobiles once they were 130 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: a part of the company's operation. The ads that ran 131 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: for Tutsie Rolls really leaned into the candies stable nature. 132 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: One trade ad targeted to stores read quote, Tutsie Rolls 133 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: stand any weather, stand any test, and sell at all times. 134 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: All this we guarantee. In nineteen seventeen, when Julius Stern 135 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: and Jacob Salber retired, Stern and Salberg Company changed names 136 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: and became Sweets Company of America, and it also went 137 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: through a big reorganization. Herscheld was still there, but he 138 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: remained a vice president instead of rising into a higher title, 139 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: and it appears that he may have been pushed out 140 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: by new management or just got tired of the fact 141 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: that they brought in new people to run the company 142 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: instead of promoting him, because in nineteen twenty he left 143 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: and he started his own company, Mells Candy Corporation. This, unfortunately, 144 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: was a short lived venture. In one Leo was ill. 145 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: He often had stomach issues. That same year, his wife 146 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: was moved to a sanatorium to treat what's only described 147 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: in accounts as a serious illness. On January Tho, Leo 148 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: Hirschfeld went to work as usual. Before lunchtime, he left 149 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: and told staff he would not be back that day. 150 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: He went to the Monterey Hotel where he had been 151 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: sleeping for several weeks. He wrote a note that simply 152 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: said sorry but could not help it, and then took 153 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: his own life with a revolver. Newspaper coverage indicated that 154 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: Herschfeld had been depressed due to an ongoing illness and 155 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: due to being separated from his wife while she was convalescing. Yeah, 156 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: most accounts say that he was not in any kind 157 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: of financial trouble. That would have, you know, sometimes been 158 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: a thing that people pointed to as a reason for 159 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: someone to do something like this. He was fine financially. 160 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: Tutsie rolls, of course, continued to be sold because Sweets 161 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: still owned them, and they continued to be more and 162 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: more successful. Herscheld kind of vanishes into the background, and 163 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: this is probably part of why the company has this 164 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 1: alternate version of his story. I will mention another thing 165 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: in the behind the scenes about how they've tweaked this 166 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: story a little bit, um or how the popular story 167 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: has tweaked a little bit that that maybe helps um 168 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: brush this unpleasant part of it under the rug. The 169 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: Tutsi Pop was released in the early nineteen thirties. That 170 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: was a success that then enabled Sweets Company of America 171 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: to stay afloat through the depression, and when the US 172 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: became involved in World War Two, Tutsi rolls were sent 173 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: to the front lines as quick energy rations for soldiers, 174 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: and the supply of them is sometimes described as a 175 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 1: sort of proto government contract before those were really a thing. 176 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: And then, of course in nineteen seventy the first advertisement 177 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: featuring Mr Owl and the age old question of how 178 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: many licks does it take to get to the Tutsie 179 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: roll center of a Tutsie pop aired. Uh, there's another 180 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: another story that goes with the Korean War that we're 181 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,319 Speaker 1: going to talk about in the behind the scenes today. 182 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 1: The entire company is called Tutsie Roll Industries. Tutsie Roll 183 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 1: has pretty much driven the bus for a while, and 184 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:55,479 Speaker 1: in addition to its namesake, that company manufactures Andy's Mints, Dots, Razzles, 185 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: Charleston Chew, and a variety of other candies. Okay, gonna 186 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: go on an adventure of tracking down the origin of 187 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,439 Speaker 1: the next treat, but before we do, we will have 188 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. Okay, just in case you have 189 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: never had German chocolate cake, here is what it is. 190 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: It is a chocolate layer cake with a distinctive custard 191 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: like icing in between the layers and on the top. 192 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: It typically does not get iced down the sides. That 193 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: rich icing is usually made with egg, yolks, evaporated milk, 194 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: coconut and pecans. That icing is going to be really 195 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: important as this piece of history unfolds, and the name 196 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: suggests to a lot of people that it came from Germany, 197 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: or it's related to a baking tradition from that country, 198 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: or is someone trying to make something like a German thing, 199 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: or is even a type of chocolate from Germany. No, 200 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: this isn't upon him as food. It's named after a person. What. 201 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: We'll talk about him in a minute. I read this already, 202 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: so I already knew that, and I'm still like, what 203 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: what uh? This story, though, is about much more than 204 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,200 Speaker 1: the man who lends this cake his name, but we 205 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: are going to start with his story, what little we 206 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: know about it. Samuel German not from Germany, born in 207 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: eighteen o two. We do not know if he was 208 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: born in Biddleford, Devonshire, England, but that's the last place 209 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 1: that he lived before moving to Dorchester, Massachusetts as an adult, 210 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 1: according to a history of the Baker Chocolate Company. Anyway, 211 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,680 Speaker 1: he lived in Dorchester Lower Mills with his wife, Charlotte 212 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 1: Pder German, who he married after moving to the United States. 213 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: His boss when he first got to the US was 214 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: Thomas Tremlett, who had an estate on the corner of 215 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,199 Speaker 1: Washington and Tremlett Streets, and Thomas Tremlett was also from England. 216 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: German worked for them as a sort of handyman, kind 217 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,199 Speaker 1: of a jack of all trades, doing whatever he needed 218 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: on the estate, assisting him however it was requested. And 219 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: through this work on the grounds there, Samuel who went 220 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: by Sammy to his friends, became friendly with the neighbor 221 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: basically the person who owned the estate that abutted their's, 222 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: and that was Walter Baker of Baker Chocolates. Baker eventually 223 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: hired Sammy away from Tremlett to work for him as 224 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: a coachman, but then he gave him a job at 225 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: his chocolate mill. I think we should just also take 226 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: a moment to talk about how while Baker's chocolate is 227 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: used in baking and a lot of recipes, that there 228 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: is also a brand named after a person thing I 229 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,559 Speaker 1: didn't really realize until just now. It was at Baker's 230 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: chocolate company that Sammy German created a new chocolate called 231 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: German Sweet Chocolate that was in eighteen fifty two. This 232 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,719 Speaker 1: was a sweeter blend of chocolate than Baker's other offerings, 233 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: and the extra sugar make it really popular with kids. 234 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: The product was billed as quote palatable, nutritious, and healthful 235 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: in addition to being a hit with younger consumers. Baker 236 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: purchased the recipe and it's rights for a thousand dollars 237 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,559 Speaker 1: and marketed this as Baker's German Sweet Chocolate. Now. According 238 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: to that same history of Baker's company, a recipe for 239 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: German chocolate cake appeared in the Dallas Morning Star on 240 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: June three, seven, and that recipe of the day, as 241 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: it was build, specifically called for the use of Germans chocolate, 242 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: so this is quite a while after the chocolate was developed. 243 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: It called for an eight ounce bar of it. That 244 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: was apparently an error. The paper ran a correction two 245 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: days later for a four ounce bar to be used. 246 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: That same recipe popped up again in August, with far 247 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: less required. This one said a quarter ounce bar. I 248 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: can only assume that this was kind of an editorial 249 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: mistake and that it was maybe supposed to be a 250 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: quarder of a full size bar, and someone just didn't 251 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: understand and got the copy wrong, because a quarter rounds 252 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: bar is like less than a tutsie roll for so 253 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: whatever it was supposed to say. The recipe had been 254 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: sent into the paper by a woman named Mrs George Clay. Unfortunately, 255 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: we do not know her actual first name, only her husband's. 256 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: But the following year, when General Foods, which had acquired 257 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: Baker's Chocolate, published a booklet of recipes, including the German 258 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: chocolate cake recipe. It also credited a Dallas County food 259 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: conservationist named Mrs Jackie Huffins, who, according to the company, 260 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: had since a very similar recipe to a television show 261 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 1: around the same time. So they both got recognition. Oh 262 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,440 Speaker 1: but there's so many more than two. Uh So. Research 263 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: turned up several versions of the story that stated that 264 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 1: the original recipe was Germans Apostres chocolate cake, referencing the 265 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: bar specifically, and that eventually the apostrophe s fell off, 266 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: and that that has led to the confusion over the 267 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: years that this was a German treat and not something 268 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: made with German's chocolate. That doesn't appear though to be 269 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: entirely accurate, because Baker's Chocolate Company changed the label from 270 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: German's Chocolate to Baker's German Chocolate way before that. It's 271 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: entirely possible that this is one of those instances where 272 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: the public refers to a thing that is not an 273 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: accurate representation or version of the name. So a modern 274 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: example would be like the company Starbucks has no apostrophe 275 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: in its name, but people often write it that way, 276 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: as though Starbuck owns the company. Um, these things happen 277 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: all the time. Here's the thing, though, If you do 278 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: a certain old newspapers, you'll find recipes for German chocolate 279 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 1: cake that pre date this late nineteen fifties story. As 280 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: early as the eighteen seventies, we found advertisements for German 281 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: and chocolate or German sweet chocolate for cakes. That's not 282 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: a recipe, obviously, but it does indicate that Samuel German's 283 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: Sweeter chocolate was being marketed for people to use when 284 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 1: baking cakes. The earliest recipe that I was able to 285 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: find that was called specifically German chocolate cake was from 286 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: nineteen o one, but that particular recipe is not much 287 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,360 Speaker 1: like the cake that that name is associated with today. 288 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,679 Speaker 1: It did call for one cake of sweet chocolate, and 289 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 1: Baker's German was often listed as a cake of chocolate 290 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: rather than a bar, but the recipe doesn't mention the 291 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: German chocolate ingredients specifically by that name. Also, this is 292 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: a recipe for something that actually sounds more like a 293 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: sweet from Germany. It's a very thin style of cake 294 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: that's then cut into small strips or bars and assembled 295 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: into kind of like small servings or even finger foods 296 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: by layering multiple slices of the cake with jelly in between. 297 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: About six years before the Mrs George Clay recipe appeared, 298 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: newspaper advertisements for Pat Steakhouse of Welsh Louisiana touted quote, 299 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: try our homemade German chocolate cake was apparently a popular 300 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: dessert at Pat's, but we don't really know what style 301 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,159 Speaker 1: or recipe it was. And a nineteen fifty two article 302 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: in the Denton Record Chronicle of Denton, Texas, under the 303 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: headline Miss Florence Davis charms family with German Chocolate Cake 304 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: recipe talks about a cake that has been handed down 305 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: in Miss Davis's family for generations that uses German sweet chocolate. 306 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: This article is a little weird to read to modernize. 307 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: It's super fixated on the fact that Florence never married, 308 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: and it calls her an honored spinster. But it does 309 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: eventually get to her recipe. And here's the thing. This 310 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: base cake for this recipe is pretty close to pretty 311 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 1: much all of the cakes that are called German chocolate cake, right, 312 00:18:55,280 --> 00:19:01,120 Speaker 1: So it has sugar, German sweet chocolate, baking, soda, flour, shortening, buttermilk, 313 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 1: four eggs, a pinch of salt, and vanilla. Just about 314 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: all of the cakes that we're talking about here under 315 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: this banner of German chocolate cake are very similar to this, 316 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: with just subtle variations on measures or the fat element, 317 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: for example, like instead of shortening one will say butter, 318 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,159 Speaker 1: one will say o, leo, etcetera. The big difference in 319 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 1: Florence Davis's German chocolate cake to the standard version that 320 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 1: we call German chocolate cake today was the icing. So 321 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: HER's is a pretty standard icing. It's butter, egg, yolk, coco, 322 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: a box of confection or sugar, and then cold coffee 323 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: or cream to thin it to the consistency that you like. 324 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,120 Speaker 1: So this doesn't really qualify as the first of the 325 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 1: kind of German chocolate cake we're talking about, but that 326 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: cake base really is pretty much what everything else looks like. 327 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: Article called County Cook's Corner, which appeared in the Tailor 328 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: Daily Press of Taylor, Texas, described a German chocolate cake 329 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:03,440 Speaker 1: recipe provide by a woman named Sarah lou It's very 330 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,960 Speaker 1: similar to the Florence Davis recipe, and the main difference 331 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: is that her icing called for more than double the 332 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: amount of cocoas this is a more chocolate version. Okay, 333 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: so when did the coconut and pecan icing enter into 334 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:21,119 Speaker 1: the picture? Unclear, but we can't say for sure that 335 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: it predates the most repeated version that states that that 336 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: recipe was first published in June seven and then kind 337 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: of became an overnight sensation, because there is an identical 338 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: recipe in the Chickashaw Daily Express of Oklahoma from April 339 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:41,359 Speaker 1: of ninety seven. That version is attributed to a Mrs E. F. 340 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: McDonald of ten seventeen Grand Terrorists. One interesting note on 341 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: the German chocolate cakes origins came from an article in 342 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,639 Speaker 1: the Eugene Registered Guard of Eugene, Oregon in August. The 343 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: article is really about how buttermilk can be used to 344 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: enhance baking, but it mentions the juror and chocolate cake 345 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: in particular and delves into its mysterious history. According to 346 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 1: the articles writer Ka lundin quote, exactly who developed the 347 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: cake remains a mystery, but grocers in Dallas suddenly became 348 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: aware of a heavy demand for Germans Sweet chocolate, so 349 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: stores who regularly handled a few cases were sending for 350 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: fifty cases at a time. As the popularity of the 351 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: recipe spread across the country, bakeries also developed the recipe 352 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: for their use. A woman in St. Louis wrote that 353 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: thirty years ago, as a bride, she was given a 354 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,400 Speaker 1: very similar recipe by her mother in law. She discontinued 355 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: baking the cake during the depression because it was too expensive. 356 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: So that cost of the cake is something that came 357 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: up in a number of articles and write ups. Eggs, sugar, 358 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: and flour have certainly fluctuated in price at times, and 359 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: especially during wartime when ration ng was in place. Right 360 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: during World War Two, flower was particularly ration. But they're 361 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: also of staples that tend to come right back into 362 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 1: regular use. So if the expensive ingredients were causing people 363 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: to shy away from baking it during the depression, it 364 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: suggests that the coconut and perhaps even the pecan may 365 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,399 Speaker 1: have been the problem, and that this version is in 366 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 1: fact much older than the nineteen fifties when it became popular. 367 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 1: We're gonna talk a little bit more about the pecan 368 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,159 Speaker 1: aspect of it in just a moment, we'll take a 369 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,959 Speaker 1: quick break first to hear from the sponsors that keep 370 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: Stuffy miss in history class going. When we get back, 371 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: will track down some additional cases where various people were 372 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: credited for inventing the German chocolate cake. Bump Bump, bump Bump, 373 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: and even earlier instance of the German chocolate cake recipe 374 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: than those that we mentioned before the break appeared in 375 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 1: February nineteen fifty seven in a paper in Guthrie, Oklahoma, 376 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,920 Speaker 1: that was attributed to Mrs Floyd yen Zer. But wait, 377 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: in January of that year, it was published as Mrs A. R. 378 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: Brown's recipe in the Waureka News Democrat, and that instance 379 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: mentions that a similar recipe appeared in the same paper 380 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: about a year earlier. Mrs Virginia Berbers German Chocolate Cake 381 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: was published in the Oklahoma City Advertiser on January eleven, 382 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: and that won her a five dollar prize from the 383 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: paper as the best recipe submission of the week. Predating 384 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,880 Speaker 1: any of this, and Burne, who's one of our favorite 385 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: podcast guests, traced the cake back to an even earlier 386 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: mentioned in a newspaper. In Texas Fan's entry on German 387 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: chocolate cake in her book American Cake mentioned a nineteen 388 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: fifty six right up by journalist Daisy Pierce in an Irving, 389 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: Texas paper. So we went looking and found that it's 390 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,880 Speaker 1: called Summer German Chocolate Cake. The recipe that was basically 391 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 1: the same in a column called Cooking with Daisy. The 392 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: story of Daisy's first encounter at the cake is detailed. 393 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 1: Quote impressed when her daughter, Mrs Milton Tomlinson of Frederick, 394 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:10,399 Speaker 1: Oklahoma served this during a recent visit, Daisy filched the 395 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: recipe for her irving friends. As usual, the editor sampled 396 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 1: a generous serving with a stein of cold lemonade, and 397 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: we heartily endorse its texture and flavor. So this murky 398 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: origin to the version of German chocolate cake that included 399 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: the coconut and pecan icing was actually something that was 400 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: being discussed as the recipe rocketed to popularity. Remember that 401 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: General Foods Recipe booklet we mentioned a little while ago. Well, 402 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 1: when the company reached out to various newspapers with the 403 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: cake recipe to spread the word about that booklet, the 404 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 1: Austin American Statesman noticed that it was not a new cake, 405 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: but one that they had seen before. In an article 406 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: titled anything Just so long as it is with Chocolate, 407 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: which was published on September four, writer Mary Jane Bowed 408 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: stated quote, last January, we received a letter from General 409 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: Foods Kitchen saying they had a new recipe called German 410 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 1: Chocolate Cake, and they thought it was so good they'd 411 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: send us the recipe. We replied by sending General Foods 412 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: a copy of the October twenty seven Austin American Statesman, 413 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 1: in which we ran a story about the Austin Woman's 414 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: Club catering service. The story featured a wc's bestseller German 415 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 1: Chocolate Cake. The recipe that the paper printed in that 416 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 1: article is the one from General Foods. With a couple 417 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: of notes. They specifically mentioned that the Austin Women's Club 418 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: used butter, not shortening, and then instead of the two 419 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,919 Speaker 1: and a half cups of sifted cake flour called for 420 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 1: in the General Foods version, the women of Austin found 421 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: three cups. Created a quote moist but not soggy cake. 422 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,119 Speaker 1: It reids a little like. It has a subtext of 423 00:25:54,280 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: that's cute, General Foods, that's a right up, mentions that 424 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 1: General Foods ultimately credited the origin of the cake to 425 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,800 Speaker 1: quote somewhere in Texas that was after they had published 426 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: that book, that they kind of did a revision. It 427 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: also comments on the fuzzy nature of where recipes often start, 428 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: saying quote, the sudden popularity of a dessert recipe is 429 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,359 Speaker 1: somewhat of a mystery, like a joke or a fad. 430 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 1: Nobody knows who started it or how it spread. But 431 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 1: it does seem as though the variation on the cake 432 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,640 Speaker 1: to include the now familiar coconut and pecan icing did 433 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: start in Texas or Oklahoma, but with so many people 434 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: claiming it, there is no telling at this point who 435 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: was actually first. Regardless of who was first, in nineteen 436 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 1: fifty seven and nineteen fifty eight, the interest in the 437 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: cake skyrocketed when the Austin American Statesman mentioned it's sudden 438 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 1: popularity that was an understatement. In October eight, the Charlotte 439 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:56,440 Speaker 1: Observer ran an article titled here's that Chocolate cake Again, 440 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: and the opening paragraph, written by Eudora Garrison, kind of 441 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: says at all, but also hints at the cake having 442 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: been around for quite a while. Quote. This recipe is old, 443 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: and so is a story. But over the past year 444 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 1: so many of you have requested the recipe for German 445 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: chocolate cake, not once, but time after time. Here we 446 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 1: go again. Will you please clip this and tuck it 447 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: carefully in your recipe box. I love that it was 448 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 1: so like people get tracked together. So we already mentioned 449 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: the many questions of attributions and write ups commenting on 450 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,399 Speaker 1: how no one knew where this cake came from, and 451 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 1: even in the popularity boom of the late nineteen fifties 452 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: for it, various versions were being printed as possibilities in 453 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: the Atlantic Constitution. In September, food editor Virginia Disard writes, quote, 454 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:54,000 Speaker 1: there are many stories about this recipe's origin. One is 455 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 1: that a serviceman stationed in Germany brought it home to 456 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 1: his wife. More likely, the name originated it's unique ingredient, 457 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,160 Speaker 1: German sweet chocolate, which has nothing to do with Germany. 458 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,359 Speaker 1: There's one element to this that may explain, at least 459 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 1: to some degree, the way the cake seems to just 460 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,119 Speaker 1: show up everywhere at once, claimed by many bakers in 461 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,679 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen fifties, That has to do with agriculture. 462 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: Wild pecans are native to Texas and Oklahoma. Even today, 463 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: a significant fraction of commercially produced pecans in these states 464 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 1: are from natural orchards rather than from bread or cultivated varieties. 465 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: Texas remains one of the top three producers of pecans 466 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: in the country, but in the years nineteen nineteen fifty, 467 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: so the decade prior to this explosive popularity of German 468 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: chocolate cake quote, aphids and mites appeared in epidemic numbers 469 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 1: according to Texas A and M University Forest Service, so 470 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: they were basically really harming these trees. There were treatments 471 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: for the contrees, but it wasn't until the nineteen fifties 472 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:02,800 Speaker 1: that air blasts speeds prayers were introduced that offered a 473 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 1: much more effective and comprehensive way of treating pecan orchards 474 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: for pests. So this is a little bit of conjecture, 475 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: but healthier nut trees would have been producing more pecans, 476 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: lowering the price, and also just offering enough of them 477 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: that people could use them more frequently. So it seems 478 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: like if this recipe had existed for a while before 479 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,840 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties, which is seems like it did, that 480 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: decade may have been a moment when suddenly a lot 481 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 1: of people could pull their copy out of the recipe 482 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: box and bake the cake. Since it seems like people 483 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: hadn't been making it frequently for a while, it's entirely 484 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 1: possible that any given person might think that their's was unique, 485 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 1: like that was their family recipe, because they hadn't heard 486 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: other bakers talking about it, because pecans were not doing 487 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: so well in the decade prior. So, in case you're wondering, 488 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: how can so many people be claiming they wrote the 489 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: recipe and it's there's Recipes fall in an interesting space 490 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: when it comes to copyright. Here is how they're handled 491 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 1: in the US. Per the U S Copyright Office quote, 492 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 1: a recipe is a statement of the ingredients and procedure 493 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: required for making a dish of food. A mere listing 494 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: of ingredients or contents, or a simple set of directions 495 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:20,440 Speaker 1: is uncopyrightable. As a result, the Office cannot register recipes 496 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 1: consisting of a set of ingredients in a process for 497 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: preparing a dish. In contrast, a recipe that creatively explains 498 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: or depicts how or why to perform a particular activity 499 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: might be copyrightable. A registration for a recipe may cover 500 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 1: the written description or explanation of a process that appears 501 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: in the work, as well as any photographs or illustrations 502 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: that are owned by the applicant. However, the registration will 503 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 1: not cover the list of ingredients that appear in each recipe, 504 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: the underlying process for making the dish, or the resulting 505 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 1: dish itself. The registration also will not cover the activities 506 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 1: described in the work that our procedures, processes, or methods 507 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: of operation which are not subject to copyright protection. So 508 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:10,720 Speaker 1: even if you write a cookbook and you have that 509 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: cookbook copyrighted, the actual ingredients and how to put them 510 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: together to make a thing will not be protected, just 511 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: the additional information and images that you were to provide 512 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 1: in the book. So it kind of makes sense that 513 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,080 Speaker 1: no one was really getting too worked up over who 514 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 1: actually invented this dish in when. And it's also why 515 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 1: a lot of recipes today remained secret. Like if a 516 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: company developed something, they don't copyright it because they can't 517 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:37,200 Speaker 1: and if they try to, then it would be publicly 518 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 1: available because it would be filed with the patent office, 519 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,360 Speaker 1: so they just keep that to themselves. That's the mystery 520 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:48,600 Speaker 1: of of recipes. The popularity of the German chocolate cake 521 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 1: was so rapid and so far reaching that it didn't 522 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:55,479 Speaker 1: stay strictly in baked dessert form. In ninety nine, an 523 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:59,320 Speaker 1: entire children's line of clothing by the manufacturer young Land 524 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: was fired by it. One ad red quote, German chocolate 525 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: cake is the color for fall. His clothes were mostly 526 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,959 Speaker 1: brown with white trim. Yeah, there was a lot of 527 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: white rick rack going on. It was. It's very cute 528 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: little pinafores and whatnot. I couldn't help thinking if you 529 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: dressed your kids like that, they might look like gingerbread. Uh. Incidentally, 530 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: to close the loop on Samuel German, he died in 531 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,479 Speaker 1: He's buried at Cedar Gross Cemetery in Dorchester, so he 532 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,520 Speaker 1: never knew about the wide reaching fame of the cake 533 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,360 Speaker 1: that carried his name, or that most people assumed it 534 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: was from Germany and didn't know it was an eponymous food. 535 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:50,440 Speaker 1: I love this little revelation. Yeah, I yeah. It never 536 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,800 Speaker 1: made sense to me that it was called German chocolate cake, 537 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: which I thought meant that it was from Germany, because 538 00:32:55,680 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: it's like coconuts aren't from Germany. I did ask, uh too, 539 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,240 Speaker 1: friends of mine who bake a lot, uh, and have 540 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: you know done so professionally, and both of them when 541 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:12,920 Speaker 1: I was like, did you know German chocolate cake was 542 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 1: in German? They were like, yeah, it's named for the chocolate. 543 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: But I was like, but did you know that's a 544 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 1: dude's name, and they were like, what you know? Right? Right? Yeah? 545 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: So many many mysteries for listener mail. I have a 546 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: listener mail that sits in an intersection of a listener 547 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,240 Speaker 1: mail I want to do and a shout out I 548 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: want to give. This is a listener mail about eponymous foods. 549 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:38,959 Speaker 1: This is written by our listener, Margaret, who writes Hi, 550 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy. I have been catching up on podcasts 551 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 1: from the end of the year, and I've just finished 552 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 1: the latest eponymous Foods episode. I love the eponymous foods episodes, 553 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,280 Speaker 1: by the way, They're probably my favorite category. Every time 554 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 1: you do one, I start thinking about the reverse. I 555 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 1: am a small animal veterinarian, and you would not believe 556 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 1: the number of pets we see that are named after foods. 557 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:03,200 Speaker 1: Chocolate colored creatures named Hershey, orange cats named Cheddar, or Cheeto, marshmallow, 558 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,959 Speaker 1: sugar pepper, there are a ton of them. When I 559 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:07,760 Speaker 1: was little, my mom used to make a dish for 560 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:12,440 Speaker 1: supper called Rumbled the Thumps and fink Adela, who was 561 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,799 Speaker 1: certain that it was mom shorthand for I've got a 562 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,160 Speaker 1: fridge full of leftovers that I want to be sure 563 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:20,360 Speaker 1: the kids will eat, so I will call it something weird. 564 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 1: Imagine my surprise when Google came around and I learned 565 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,080 Speaker 1: that this was a real thing, and there's a link 566 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:31,600 Speaker 1: to the recipes. I ever knew about this. I missed 567 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 1: this female. I gotta go look at the recipe. Uh, 568 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:36,439 Speaker 1: it's pretty recent, so you may have just not seen 569 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:39,760 Speaker 1: it yet. Margaret continues. When we got our two current cats, 570 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:41,839 Speaker 1: my husband and I waited, as we have always done, 571 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:43,839 Speaker 1: a few days after bringing them home to let their 572 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,839 Speaker 1: personalities tell us what their actual names are. Thus, I'd 573 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:50,799 Speaker 1: like to introduce Rumbled the Thumps. We call him Urt, 574 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 1: who is when he runs the loudest creature without hoofs 575 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:58,760 Speaker 1: that I have ever run across, criminally cute kitting pictures. 576 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:01,359 Speaker 1: Our ties brother is not named fink Adela because I 577 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,840 Speaker 1: just couldn't see calling a cat fink his whole life. 578 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,279 Speaker 1: But even though he's not named after food, I'll have 579 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:10,040 Speaker 1: to include Scooch here because otherwise he'll be jealous. Also 580 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 1: painfully cute, like if I could have baby kitties at 581 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,080 Speaker 1: all times, that would be great. The two of them 582 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,319 Speaker 1: have grown from being the most adorable kittens on the 583 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,600 Speaker 1: face of the planet, not that I'm biased or anything, 584 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,839 Speaker 1: into handsome, troublemaking house panthers. They are both um tuxedos, 585 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: and they are gorgeous, gorgeous cats, and we're two of 586 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: the very cutest. Margaret also gives a couple of interesting 587 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:39,239 Speaker 1: suggestions for future episodes. UM so I won't include those, 588 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,440 Speaker 1: but I will say this, um. One, thank you for 589 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:45,279 Speaker 1: being a vet too seriously criminally cute cats. Three. This 590 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:48,600 Speaker 1: dovetails nicely into my next thing, which is just UM. 591 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: I met one of our listeners at my specialty vet 592 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:55,319 Speaker 1: this week, wow um, and she I wanted to give 593 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,640 Speaker 1: a shout out to Tabitha and tell her I hope 594 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:00,719 Speaker 1: her bibbit is doing good, uh, and that I know 595 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:02,799 Speaker 1: she said. She sent us an email. I could not 596 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,959 Speaker 1: find it, so Tabitha, if you're hearing this, re send 597 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 1: it because I want to read it. UM. I want 598 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,720 Speaker 1: to read about your other cat information and then UM 599 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:13,319 Speaker 1: maybe we will share that one as well. But it 600 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: was great to meet you and like I said, I 601 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: hope everything's going great. She got referred to especially met 602 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,920 Speaker 1: that I have also used and think very highly of. 603 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 1: So that was a great moment where I could be reassuring. Uh, 604 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:26,640 Speaker 1: if you would like to write to us about your 605 00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:30,360 Speaker 1: katies upon himous foods, what you name your cats, foods, 606 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,319 Speaker 1: you name cats after, et cetera, I encourage you to 607 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 1: do that. You could do that a history podcast at 608 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:39,160 Speaker 1: iHeart radio dot com. We are also on pretty much 609 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:42,120 Speaker 1: all of the social media as Missed in History and 610 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 1: you can also subscribe to the show if you haven't yet. 611 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,439 Speaker 1: That is easy to do on the iHeart Radio app 612 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:55,239 Speaker 1: or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Stuff you 613 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 614 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:00,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i 615 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 616 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. H