1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Tracy, it's been like 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: five whole months since we had an eponymous foods episode. 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: So long. It isn't really, but it feels like longer. 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: And it took me a while to figure out how 7 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: long it had been. And I love them. And this 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,599 Speaker 1: one was inspired by a thing I will happily tell 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: you on Friday because it made me laugh, or maybe 10 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: i'll tell you in the course of the show. Who 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: knows anything can happen. But we're going to talk about 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: three eponymous foods, and today we have one that's a 13 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: really beautiful dessert. We're going to do some myth busting 14 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: about a very common foods invention, and we'll have a 15 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: very sweet finish with a much loved candy. We're going 16 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: to start with crape susette. This is a buttery, citrusy 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: dish featuring the classic French crapes, which you may also 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: hear people say creps that's dipped into a syrupy sauce 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: and then set on fire. And then that very showy 20 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: preparation is often performed at the table in restaurants. The 21 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: crapes are then plated, sometimes while still holding a little 22 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: bit of blue flame, and then sauce is drizzled on 23 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: top of that. And the main claimant to the dish's 24 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: invention is a French chef named Henri Charpentier. His life story, 25 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: as told in his biography Life a Lare, is a 26 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: wild one. It is full of thrilling encounters with important 27 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: and famous people from the time he was very young. 28 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: And it's sort of cute because he seems to recognize 29 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: that this seems all unbelievable, because he notes at the 30 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: beginning of the work that it sounds both incredible and boastful, 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: but he reassures the reader quote I am of Nice 32 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: and WEENI swas do not boast. Charpontier was born, as 33 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: he noted, in Nice in eighteen eighty and then spent 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: his early childhood in Conte. His father, who had been 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: a lawyer, died after falling from a horse just a 36 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: few days after Anri was born, and that left Ari's 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: still teenage mother in a state of grief and also 38 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: financial uncertainty. Those circumstances led to him being fostered by 39 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: another family, headed by a man named Roussoon Camu, and 40 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: that's how he moved to Conte. According to Aunri, his 41 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: birth mother last visited him when he was either five 42 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: or six, and then she died not long afterward. He 43 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: described his foster mother's cooking as deeply influential on him, 44 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: noting quote, we had little money in the Camu family, 45 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: but we had big appetites. However, my mama Cameu. When 46 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: she had nothing, she could still make something. At Christmas time. 47 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: Her bread would acquire a smoother texture, which was softer 48 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: to the touch and had an exciting flavor. How is 49 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: it done? Two spoons of olive oil, two of sugar, 50 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: and four of butter worked into the ordinary bread dough. 51 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: But his memo, Cameu also had an adult son who 52 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: didn't live with the family. He lived in Nice and 53 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: his name was Jean, and Jean was a student of 54 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: a name we often have mentioned on the podcast, and 55 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: that is Augusta Scoffier. When all re visited Jean at 56 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: his work in the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo, he 57 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 1: immediately begged to stay there. And at the time, Auree 58 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: was only seven, and Jean told him he needed to 59 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: grow a bit more. He wanted to work at the hotel, 60 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: and the family also needed financial help, which is how 61 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,839 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety, when he was still just a kid 62 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: of ten, Alrie got a job on the French riviera 63 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: at the Hotel Cape Martin as a page boy. His 64 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: foster brother, Jean had become the chef there and had 65 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: arranged for Auri to work and stay with him, and 66 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: Allri wrote quote, if you think it queer that one 67 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: should begin the career of restaurateur while yet so young, ung, 68 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: I would remind you that the admirals of the English 69 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: began as young and did not have so much to 70 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: learn he was. He wrote very struck by the difference 71 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: in lifestyle for even the kitchen staff, as compared to 72 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: his life that he had been living with his foster family, 73 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: and wrote quote, today, when I think of the poverty 74 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: of comte and the richness with which I was in contact, 75 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: I can cry afresh from the original emotion. In his 76 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: time at the hotel, are made some errors that made 77 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: some of the senior staff dislike him, But because he 78 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: was just a small boy, a lot of the guests 79 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,239 Speaker 1: who came through found him very charming. He made bigger 80 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: tips than a lot of his older colleagues, and a 81 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: number of people and long term guests treated him with 82 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: a lot of kindness. He also started to learn more 83 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: about cooking from watching his stepbrother as he prepared the dishes. 84 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: He witnessed and assisted when nobles and royals were served. 85 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: He met people like JP Morgan and the Vanderbilts, and 86 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: he said that he witnessed a meeting between Queen Victoria 87 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:08,480 Speaker 1: of England and Empress Elizabeth of Austria. He described hoarding 88 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: all of his tips from all of these people and 89 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: then proudly delivering a small fortune to his foster mother. 90 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: When the travel season ended and he visited home, there's 91 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: a really sweet passage in his biography where he talks 92 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: about like he felt like the biggest man on earth 93 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: as he walked through called knowing that he had changed 94 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: the lives of his family. He moved on to other 95 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: hotels along with his foster brother following the hospitality season around, 96 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: and he was even sent by Jean to other hotels 97 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: to learn from the chefs there. Most of these were 98 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: positions granted young charpentier as favors to Jean Cammeus because 99 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: he was a pretty well known chef at this point, 100 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: and these were not always kitchen positions. He worked in 101 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: just about every low level job a person could in 102 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,599 Speaker 1: the hospitality industry. And then when Alri was twelve, he 103 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: was sent to England to learn to speak English and 104 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: to learn from chefs there. After abruptly quitting his arranged 105 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: job in London due to some poor treatment he felt 106 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: on the part of his boss, he sought out Augusta Scoffier, 107 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: who was head chef at the Hotel Savoy there and 108 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 1: he was given a job there, first as a broom boy, 109 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: although he quickly rose through the ranks to assistant waiter, 110 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: but he was fired by the matre d and he 111 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 1: soon found himself living on the street. He starved to 112 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,679 Speaker 1: the point that he almost died, and a policeman found 113 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: him and brought him to a hospital, and he stayed 114 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: there for a month while he recuperated. And then once 115 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: he recovered, and there is a great dog story connected 116 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: to all of this that we could talk about, on Friday, 117 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: he returned to France. All of this leads up to 118 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: the invention of crape Susette. The fourteen year old Chapontier 119 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: was working at the Cafe de Peri in Monte Carlo 120 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: as an assistant waiter when Edward, Prince of Wales got 121 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: into the habit of going there for lunch every day. This, 122 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: of course, is Albert Edward, son of Queen Victoria, who 123 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: was nicknamed Bertie and would become King Edward the Seventh. 124 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: One day, when the Prince came in, aure was assigned 125 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: to wait on him, and according to Auree's account, the 126 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: Prince and his party totaled eight men and one young 127 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: lady who was the daughter of one of those men. 128 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: And then the details of who all these folks were 129 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: they're not recorded beyond that. For this particular lunch, Auree 130 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: told the Prince of Wales that he had come up 131 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: with a sweet dish just for him. He was planning 132 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: to make a variation of the French pancake or crep 133 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: that his foster mother had made for him when he 134 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: was young. She he described cooked strips of lemon and 135 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: orange peel that had been soaked in syrup along with 136 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: her crapes, and he thought that he could make an 137 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: upscale version of that dish. Incidentally, aure also gave his 138 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: recipe for crapes in the course of his narrative. Three eggs, 139 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: two tablespoons of flour, a tablespoonful water, a tablespoon of milk, 140 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: and a pinch of salt, mixed to the consistency of 141 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: thick olive oil or a thin cream. Then melt quote 142 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: a piece of sweet butter as big as one joint 143 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: of your thumb, And when the butter bubbles, pour in 144 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: the batter and spread it quickly to cover the bottom 145 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: of the pan. He continues, quote, but keep the pan moving, 146 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: for it is a tender substance, that paste. And then 147 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: after a minute you flip his crape several times until 148 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: they're nicely browned. And then you fold in half and 149 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: half again, quote like a lady's handkerchief. Charpontier also describes 150 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: the way he prepared his sauce, which includes several kinds 151 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: of sweet cordial alcohols. He did this ahead of time 152 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: to make the dish, noting quote, for years, I have 153 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: kept gallons of this sousette butter on hand, ready for use. 154 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: But on that day, when I worked to please the 155 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 1: Prince of Whales, I had not cultivated the invention to 156 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: its present standard. It was quite by accident, as I 157 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 1: worked in front of a chafing dish, that the cordials 158 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 1: caught fire. I thought I was ruined. The Prince and 159 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? 160 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: But just on a whim, a'redecided to find out what 161 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: the result of that fire was. Continuing quote I tasted it. 162 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: It was, I thought, the most delicious melody of sweet 163 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: flavors I had ever tasted. I still think so that 164 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to 165 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: bring all those various instruments into one harmony of taste. 166 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: I plunged my supply of folded pancakes into the boiling sauce. 167 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: I submerged them, I turned them deftly, and then again, inspired, 168 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 1: I added two more ponies of the blend of cordials. Again, 169 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: my wide pan was alive with blue and orange flame. 170 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: And as the colors died from the pan, I looked 171 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: up to see the Prince of Whales. Are served the 172 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: dish to the Prince, who he called the world's most 173 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: perfect gentleman, And he describes the reception quote, he I 174 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: ate the pancakes with a fork, but he used a 175 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 1: spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the 176 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,239 Speaker 1: name of that which he had eaten with so much relish. 177 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: I told him it was to be called crapes Princess. 178 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender, and that 179 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: this was a compliment designed for him, But he protested 180 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: with mock ferocity that there was a lady present. She 181 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: was alert and rose to her feet, and holding her 182 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: little skirt wide with her hands, she made him a curtsy. 183 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:34,559 Speaker 1: Will you? Said, His Majesty changed Crape's Princess to crape Susette. 184 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 1: This was born and baptized. This confection, one taste of 185 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: which I really believe would reform a cannibal into a 186 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: civilized gentleman. The next day I received a present from 187 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat, and a cane. 188 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: So obviously we have this very detailed account of this invention, 189 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: but also, of course it's not the only version. There 190 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: have been detractors to Charpontier's story, noting that he was 191 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: so very young at the time that it just seems dubious. 192 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: There are also versions that suggest that Auri had sanitized 193 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: the story somewhat, and that the Susette that inspired the 194 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: name was not an innocent young daughter of a friend, 195 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: but was actually the Prince's mistress. There is yet another 196 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: version of the story that credits Escoffier with creating the dish, 197 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: though the Prince of Wales was still in the mix 198 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: as the guest who first ate it, and that version 199 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: sometimes German actress Suzanne Reichenberg, who apparently went by Suzette, 200 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: is supposed to be the namesake. It kind of seems 201 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: as though some of the confusion may have come from 202 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 1: the brief period before the dish was invented, when Charpontier 203 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: worked for Escoffier. Worth noting here. The Augusta. Scaffier School 204 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: of Culinary Arts credits Charpontier and the story in his biography. 205 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: In its online recipe for Crepe Susette. Coming up, we're 206 00:11:57,800 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: going to talk about a name that now applies to 207 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: a whole food category and some of the falsehoods that 208 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: go along with it. But first we will pause for 209 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. Okay, we have to straighten out the 210 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: sandwich situation. Yeah, so many people have asked for this 211 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 1: specific thing. I almost included it on our previous eponymous 212 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: foods where we talked about sandwiches, but it is too 213 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: much and it would have pushed one of the sandwiches out, 214 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: and frankly I wanted to talk about hot brown. But 215 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: so it's often repeated that John Montague, fourth Earl of 216 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: Sandwich invented the sandwich in the eighteenth century. That is 217 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: not quite right, but he is a big part of 218 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: the story, so for context. John Montague was born on 219 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:52,239 Speaker 1: November thirteenth, seventeen eighteen in London. His father, Viscount Hitchingbrook, 220 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: died when John was just four years old, and John's mother, 221 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Papa Montague, sent him away to school at Eton 222 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: and remarried, and she was largely absent from her son's life. 223 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: Though he was of noble birth, he became a ward 224 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: of the Court of Chancery because his mom had pretty 225 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: much cut him off as well as his brother. He 226 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: inherited the title Earl of Sandwich at the age of 227 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: ten when his grandfather died, but that title did not 228 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: come with wealth, and he was also caught in this 229 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: sort of tricky position where his grandmother, who did have 230 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,200 Speaker 1: some financial benefit for him, held any support over his head. 231 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 1: Contingent on him withholding support for King George the Second, 232 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: and then he also struggled to find footing socially with 233 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: his peers because of his family's association with the out 234 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: of favor Stuart's. He just kind of didn't have any 235 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: place where he was like safe to be whoever he 236 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:50,320 Speaker 1: wanted to be. After Eton, John attended Trinity College, Cambridge, 237 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 1: and then began a grand tour of Europe, during which 238 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: he met Dorothy Fane. The two of them married in 239 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,720 Speaker 1: seventeen forty one and had several children before Dorothy developed 240 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: mental health issues and became a ward of the Chancery. 241 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: Montague also had a nearly twenty year relationship with a 242 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: woman named Martha Ray, including several children before another suitor 243 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: killed her. Plenty of drama to go around, and during 244 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: his life, Montague held a lot of important posts with 245 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: varying degrees of success. He was first Lord of the 246 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: Admiralty in the seventeen fifties and then again beginning in 247 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy one. He'd gotten fired in that first one. 248 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: He was deeply criticized for a variety of things in 249 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: this role. He was, for example, in Boston during the 250 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: Boston tea party, and he watched the whole thing happen 251 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: while doing nothing. And then when the French entered the 252 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: conflict that would eventually erupt into the Revolutionary War, the 253 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: British navy was ill equipped to handle the challenge for 254 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: which he was blamed because he was in charge of that. 255 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: Views of Montague have varied throughout history, with some seeing 256 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: him as a total blank wunderer and others is more 257 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: of a scapegoat who was actually trying to do his 258 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: best in a system that worked largely against his efforts. 259 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: But he was noteworthy enough in his time to have 260 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: become the namesake of a style of food that had 261 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: been around for centuries. So how did that happen? The 262 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: idea that he invented the sandwich is based primarily on 263 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: a piece of writing in a travelogue by Pierre Jean Gurli. 264 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: Gurlei wrote his account Loandre in seventeen seventy and it 265 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: was translated into an English language multi volume publication called 266 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: A Tour to London or New Observations on London and 267 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: Its Inhabitants in seventeen seventy two, and volume one of 268 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,680 Speaker 1: the translation, in a section that discusses the gambling habits 269 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: of London. There's the following passage quote, A Minister of 270 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: State passed four and twenty hours at a public gaming table, 271 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: so absorbed in play that during the whole time he 272 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: had no subsistence but a bit of beef between two 273 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: slices of toasted bread, which he ate without ever quitting 274 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: the game. This new dish grew highly in vogue during 275 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: my residence in London. It was called by the name 276 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: of the minister who invented it. But there are a 277 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: couple of problems here. One, the eighteenth century was hardly 278 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: the first time someone thought of putting bread and fillings 279 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: together in the style that we would call a sandwich. 280 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: We've talked about food history so often in the ways 281 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: that people would combine bread with some of their kind 282 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: of food as a walk around meal before that. It 283 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: completely ignores, like all of the Middle Eastern flatbread culture 284 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: that had gone on, and all of that culinary work. 285 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: And the other problem is that we don't really know 286 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: where Growley got his information, and his account has been 287 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 1: dismissed as gossip by various historians over the years. While 288 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: Montague retains a reputation throughout history for a variety of vices. 289 00:16:57,160 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: All of these years later, we still don't really know 290 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: whether he had this infamous streak of gambling that kept 291 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 1: him from leaving the table. It is just as possible 292 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: that he requested the dish that would become known as 293 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: the sandwich while working, or maybe that none of those 294 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 1: things happened, and it doesn't appear that there was a 295 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,679 Speaker 1: moment when someone said we should name this after you. 296 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: It seems more likely that people just started referring to 297 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: meat in a hand held bread delivery vehicle as wanting 298 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,640 Speaker 1: to have the same as sandwich, and then over time 299 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: it just started to be used as sort of a 300 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: slang until it became the way this combination of foods 301 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: was known. Historian and scholar Edward Gibbon wrote in his 302 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,160 Speaker 1: journal in seventeen sixty two that he had seen men 303 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: eating quote, a bit of cold meat, which Gibbon refers 304 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,880 Speaker 1: to as a sandwich. This is the first known use 305 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,199 Speaker 1: of the word in writing, and it is concurrent with 306 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,399 Speaker 1: Montague's life. He would have been about forty four in 307 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty two and write in between his two stints 308 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: as First Lord of the Admiralty Mark Morton, writing for 309 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 1: the periodical Gastronomy in two thousand and four, found himself 310 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,120 Speaker 1: down a rabbit hole trying to find out what people 311 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: called meat between two slices of bread before it was 312 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,159 Speaker 1: called a sandwich, at least in the more European world. 313 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,919 Speaker 1: Summating his research, he writes, quote, the sandwich appears to 314 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: have been simply known as bread and meat or bread 315 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 1: and cheese. These two phrases are found throughout English drama 316 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For example, in an 317 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,479 Speaker 1: anonymous late sixteenth century play called Love and Fortune, a 318 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: young man pleads for a piece of bread and meat 319 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: for God's sake. Around the same time, in the Old 320 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: Wives Tale by George Peel, a character confesses I took 321 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: a piece of bread and cheese and came my way. 322 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,440 Speaker 1: In twenty twelve, the town of Sandwich in Kent, which 323 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: sits within Montague's earldom, held a celebration in owner of 324 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,360 Speaker 1: the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first known 325 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: use of the word sandwich in its culinary sense. As 326 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 1: part of its Sandwich Celebration Festival, there were plans for 327 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,160 Speaker 1: re enactments of Montague requesting a sandwich. There were also 328 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: plans for sandwich making competitions and other entertainments. The eleventh 329 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: Earl of Sandwich, also named John Montague, was on hand 330 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,160 Speaker 1: for the festivities and told the press quote, it's bizarre 331 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 1: that such an important food item should be named after us. 332 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: My ancestor, the fourth Earl, could never have imagined that 333 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:36,160 Speaker 1: his simple invention would spawn a multi billion dollar industry 334 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: employing hundreds of thousands of people in this country. Sam Bompus, 335 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: who owns a company that creates food and beverage art 336 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: and was part of the festival's planning effort, noted to 337 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,919 Speaker 1: the press quote eating of record at the time was 338 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:54,159 Speaker 1: service a la francaise, where all the food went on 339 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 1: a table at the same time, and there was an 340 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:00,880 Speaker 1: elaborate ritual of carving, aided by troops of servants. What 341 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: you have with the sandwich is the shock of informality. 342 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: He was a daring man to eat in such a way, 343 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: coming from his social background. Other people were probably eating 344 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: in that way anyway, but they were people who weren't 345 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 1: written about. I really like that. He points out that 346 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: that's the important thing is that here is a man 347 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: with a title who's like, yeah, eat with my hands, 348 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: I don't need a name and fork, and that really 349 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: being kind of the more important part of the story. 350 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 1: But as promised, we are going to finish off with 351 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,119 Speaker 1: a very sugary treat. But before we do that, we 352 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,359 Speaker 1: will hear from some of the sponsors that keep stuff 353 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: you missed in history class going. All right, as a 354 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: little dessert, We're going to finish with a sweet treat 355 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: that probably doesn't jump out to you as an eponymous food. 356 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,679 Speaker 1: The preleen didn't jump out to me either till I 357 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: accidentally discovered that. There are of course a lot of 358 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 1: variations in this tale, and the origin of the praleene 359 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,720 Speaker 1: dates back to the sixteen hundreds, so documentation is in 360 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: pretty short supply. And yes, absolutely there are variations in pronunciation. 361 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: If you visit Louisiana, for example, you are likely to 362 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: hear it as proleen, and it places like Georgia or 363 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: Tennessee and others praleine is a bit more common. Both 364 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: are fine, everyone knows what you're talking about. Uh. Kind 365 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,959 Speaker 1: of goes back to the whole thing too, where some 366 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 1: people say pcan and some people say p can. Yeah, 367 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 1: you know what they're talking about. So it's cool. Just 368 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,639 Speaker 1: appreciate the musicality of difference. Yeah, you don't mean to 369 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: write to us to tell us that we made your 370 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: soul diye or your ears bleed if you prefer the 371 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: other one. But as you'll see, one pronunciation does harken 372 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,160 Speaker 1: a little more closely back to the treat's origin point, 373 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: which is France, and you will see that it has 374 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: kind of evolved into the name it has today. So 375 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: all of the varying stories do share the commonality of 376 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: who Praleens are named for, and that Cesar de Choiso, 377 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,959 Speaker 1: first Duke of Chueisoui Comte du Plessis Prelein. He was 378 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: born in sixteen oh two and was a diplomat, a 379 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: soldier and a marshal of France, meaning that he was 380 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: a general who was recognized for achievement or distinction. That 381 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: was an honor that was bestowed on him in sixteen 382 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,400 Speaker 1: forty five. That came during the thirty Years of War 383 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,680 Speaker 1: which he had served in. He also supported the monarchy 384 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: in the Fronde, it's that series of civil wars that 385 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: we've talked about on the show before. He was rewarded 386 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,439 Speaker 1: for that in the Court of Louis the fourteenth He 387 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: helped negotiate the Treaty of Dover between England and France 388 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: in sixteen seventy. But the part of Chuishoi's life that's 389 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,120 Speaker 1: germane to this episode is in the sixteen thirties, when 390 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 1: in his employee was a man named Clement Lasagne, although 391 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: some sources say Clement Jalouseau. In either case, Clement was 392 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: his officier de bouche, officer of the mouth, known more 393 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: commonly as his cook. The term scheft wasn't really happening yet, 394 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: and Clement, through ingenuity or accident, or perhaps a combination 395 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: of the two, is said to have created a delicious 396 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: form of caramelized almonds and named it for his boss. Magelun. 397 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 1: Toussaint Sema wrote of the creation of the praline in 398 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: her book A History of Food in two thousand and eight. Quote, 399 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,959 Speaker 1: one day, in the servants quarters of his residence at Montarghie, 400 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: Lazan found his children caramelizing almonds stolen from the kitchen. 401 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: The wonderful odor emanating from the spot where the little 402 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: cooks were at work, gave away their guilty secret and 403 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: its delicious results. His mouth watering Lazam promised to keep 404 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: quiet in exchange for some of the sweetmeats. He perfected 405 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: the recipe a ticket to the court of Louis the thirteenth, 406 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,639 Speaker 1: where the confection became known as Prala, not that the 407 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 1: Duke himself had anything to do with inventing it. Another 408 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,119 Speaker 1: story holds that the recipe was the result of clumsiness 409 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: on the part of an apprentice who dropped some almonds 410 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:12,639 Speaker 1: into caramel made with gattine honey. A different version of 411 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,959 Speaker 1: this story suggests that Clement saw a kitchen boy eating 412 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: leftover caramel and almonds together, and the cook came up 413 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: with the idea to combine these as a candy. As 414 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: a complete side note here, I read about the idea 415 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: of children caramelizing almonds, and I was like, they shouldn't 416 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: be handling hot molten sugar. But that's a different issue entirely. 417 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: In the early days of the Praline story, sugar was 418 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,479 Speaker 1: not something that was readily available to everyone, so they 419 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: kind of stayed a treat for the upper class. But 420 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 1: as sugar became more commonly available, Clement retired from his 421 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: job with Schwazoi to the town of molt Derghie, where 422 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 1: he opened up a confectionery shop called Maison de la 423 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:04,640 Speaker 1: Braline and sold his caramelized almonds there. These candy coated almonds, 424 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: known as prana, made their way across the Atlantic as 425 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: French colonists and clergy moved to Louisiana and specifically to 426 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 1: New Orleans. Ursuline nuns are often credited with bringing the 427 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,160 Speaker 1: recipe over in seventeen twenty seven, as they were in 428 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: charge of the young women known as the fix A 429 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: la Cassette, who came to be known more colloquially as 430 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: the casket girls. These were women who were sent by 431 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: King Louis the fourteenth to be wives for the colonists. 432 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,400 Speaker 1: We talked about them in twenty eighteen in our episode 433 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:40,120 Speaker 1: six Impossible Episodes Deja Vu in the US and Canada. 434 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,000 Speaker 1: Those are all episodes that were almost the same story 435 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,119 Speaker 1: as one that we'd already told in one or the 436 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: other of those places. Once the nuns and other people 437 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 1: of France made their way to New Orleans, they wanted 438 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: to replicate the treat from their home back in Europe, 439 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: but there was a problem and that almonds were not 440 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: really plentiful on the Gulf coast, but there were pecans, 441 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 1: so they made a substitution, so over time the recipe 442 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: for preleines shifted to include a cream component. Today you 443 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: can find recipes that use heavy cream, some that use 444 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: evaporated milk, others that use buttermilk, and even other variations 445 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: on ingredients to give the finished candy that rich flavor 446 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: and that very unique texture. Many names for the candy 447 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,640 Speaker 1: also emerged, so like if you look at cookbooks from 448 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: the eighteen hundreds, you can find a whole lot of 449 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,600 Speaker 1: spellings because the word was anglicized by different people at 450 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: different times, not referencing one another, and letters got dropped 451 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,520 Speaker 1: or added. There is even one that includes a W 452 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: to spell it prawlings like crawfish. Today, New Orleans still 453 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:53,439 Speaker 1: boasts incredible praleins made in a variety of ways. You 454 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: can buy them in fancy shops or from street vendors. 455 00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 1: But Paris also still has Maison de la Pree, although 456 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: that's not in its original location and has changed hands 457 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: and closed and reopened as Mezzon de la prelin Mezse. 458 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: It's currently located at thirty seven Rue De's Arkieve. Yeah, 459 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,639 Speaker 1: you can go, but you're going to get almonds and 460 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: you're going to get it old school style, not the 461 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 1: not the creamy version, but the candy version. But wait, 462 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: there is more, because there's a Belgian version of the 463 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,399 Speaker 1: preline that is very different from the ones that we 464 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: have been talking about. And this version is pretty interesting. 465 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: It starts in a pharmacy with a name that you 466 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 1: might be familiar with if you are into Belgian chocolates, 467 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,240 Speaker 1: and that is new House. Jean Newhouse was a pharmacist 468 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,240 Speaker 1: in Brussels in the eighteen fifties with a shop in 469 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:47,360 Speaker 1: the Gallery de la Rene. New House compounded medicines at 470 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: his pharmacy, but he also sold sweets, which were also homemade, 471 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,400 Speaker 1: and in eighteen fifty seven he had a clever idea 472 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: he made little candies that were actually medicine, covering the 473 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: medicine with a chocolate coating to make it more palatable. 474 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 1: This was a hit with the customers, and chocolate coated 475 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:09,240 Speaker 1: medicinal candies were sold in the pharmacy for decades. In 476 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, Jean Newhouse died and he left the business 477 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,679 Speaker 1: to his grandson, Jean Newhouse Junior, and Jean had the 478 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: idea that they could start making candies, just straight candies 479 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: the same way they had been making medicine chocolates, but 480 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: all yummy sweet ingredients for that liquid filling instead of 481 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 1: some kind of bitter medicine, and Jean Junior borrowed the 482 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: word preleene for this concoction already known as the caramel 483 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: nut candy for the French almond version to name his 484 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: new chocolates. Initially, the company sold these Belgian pralines and 485 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: paper cones the way that you might get treats at 486 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: an outdoor stand or a festival to walk around with. Uh. 487 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: But that was a bit of a mismatch because the 488 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: chocolate candies with this delicious filling weren't the kind of 489 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: thing that you ate while just walking around. They were 490 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: too delicate to really be carried very far in a 491 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: cone without being damaged. So enter Louise Agostine, new House's wife. 492 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: She had the idea to sell these delicious chocolates in 493 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: a gift box, and the Ballotan was born. Today, Belgian 494 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: pralines are so very popular, and New House includes chocolates 495 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: in its lineup that are named for the company's early 496 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: beginnings and innovators. So for example, the Gallery is named 497 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: for the shopping center that housed that first shop, and 498 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: it has a dark chocolate exterior and a salted caramel finish, 499 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: but there are a range of flavor options for the filling. 500 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: The Jean has a filling ganache made with Peruvian cocoa. 501 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: It's very dark chocolate and a very rich flavor, and 502 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: the Louise has a milk chocolate ganache filling. The company 503 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: has continued to name chocolates after family members, as well 504 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: as royals and important moments both in its history and 505 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: global history. Now I want preleins, real bad anytime, the 506 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:02,320 Speaker 1: Belgian kind, the New Orleans kind, any of the above. 507 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 1: So that's this installment of eponymous foods. And now I 508 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: have cute animals. Oh yay, listen, it's more popcorn. But 509 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 1: this dog really needs to be called out for its 510 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: weapons grade cuteness. Okay, this is from our listener Mary, 511 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 1: who writes, Hello, Holly and Tracy. I'm a longtime listener, 512 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: but I'm writing in for the first time to join 513 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: you in gushing over the fabulousness that is popcorn. I 514 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: am a popcorn fiend and a big reason why my 515 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 1: son is the top seller in his school's popcorn fundraiser 516 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: each year. I usually default to the convenience of microwave popcorn, 517 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: but your recent episode has inspired me to explore new 518 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: methods for making it. I also wanted to let you 519 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: know that yes, popcorn and soup is a thing, and 520 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: it is incredible. I had it on a trip to 521 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: Ecuador years ago, and apparently it's a common practice there. 522 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: The popcorn was definitely a little crunchier than typical US versions, 523 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: so it held up a bit better in the liquid. 524 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 1: I want to say it was a creamier too, but 525 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: I don't recall what kind exactly. It's very similar to 526 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: sprinkling crackers or crispy wanton on your soup just before 527 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: you take a bite, and it works just as well. 528 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: I highly recommend giving it a try sometime. Attached for 529 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,160 Speaker 1: pet tax is a photo of my doxy mixed Pixie. 530 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: She is queen of all she surveys, as are most Docsin's, 531 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: but she is almost fifteen years old, so she mostly 532 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: surveys the couch these days. Thank you for your fun 533 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: and insightful podcast. I love listening to you both, and 534 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: I hope to see you next time you're in Atlanta 535 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: for a live show. Yours truly, Mary Okay. I wasn't 536 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 1: prepared for the scroll because Pixie is one of the 537 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: cutest dogs I've ever seen in my life, and that 538 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: is saying a lot. She has the sweetest face on 539 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: the planet. Yeah, she's blonde. She has these little supermodel 540 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: waves in her ears. Her eyes are very sweet. I'm 541 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: a little obsessed with Pixie. And she has this cute 542 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 1: little bandana on that's got flowers on it. She's so precious. 543 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: I like the little pink edge on the cutest, cutest, 544 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: our little face. I want to kiss it through the screen. Mary, 545 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,640 Speaker 1: thank you for bringing Pixie into my life today. Also, 546 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: I've said it before, I'll see it again. I love 547 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 1: a mature pet the I love the old guys and 548 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 1: gals and their cuteness and how chill they become ready 549 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: for hugging and kissing at any moment. If you would 550 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: like to write to us share pictures of your pets, 551 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: mature or babies, I'll take them all. And as I've said, 552 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,640 Speaker 1: almost any flavor is great. You can do that at 553 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 1: History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also subscribe 554 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: to the podcast. If you haven't gotten around to it 555 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: yet and think you might want you you can do 556 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: that on the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you listen to 557 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 558 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 559 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 560 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:57,440 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.