Image courtesy of woolgirl.typepad.com
I had wanted to write a history of Valentine’s Day food this week, but then I realized that so many great stories have already been written. So this is your Valentine’s Day Food News, including a history of conversation hearts, a top 10 list of Valentine’s Day customs, and a chocolate caramel recipe from 1881 that was used as inspiration to create a modern dish.
History of Conversation Hearts: The conversation heart was invented in the 1800s, but the sayings have changed with the times. (can anyone guess what “I Heart EC” means?). The Huffington Post has the full history on conversation hearts.
Valentine’s Day Customs: Did you know that English women in the 1700s would lay bay leaves on their pillows to see their future husband in their dreams? Or that when a French woman served a man eggs on Valentine’s Day in 1956, that meant she wasn’t interested? These are some of the 10 Valentine’s Day customs compiled by Smithsonian magazine.
1881 Chocolate Caramels: Amanda Hesser asked two chefs from San Francisco to participate in her Recipe Redux: she gave them a chocolate caramel recipe from 1881 to use as inspiration for a new dish. The result? Black-Sugar-Glazed Medjool Dates with Pecorino and Walnuts. There’s also an updated chocolate caramel recipe (scroll down) if you’d like to try making these old-time sweets.
