Walnut: The King of Nuts

Walnuts with leaves

The common walnut is anything but common.  As stories tell us, its recent spread in Europe – through the ancient Grecian empire – happened in the early centuries BCE, when saplings were sent as gifts from a Persian or more probably an Achaemenid king. Hence the plant’s botanical name Juglans regia, the king’s nut, and its modern secondary name of Persian walnut. Later, the Romans … Read more

The Real Sinbad the Sailor

The Voyages of Sinbad tell of giant, magical creatures: whales the size of islands, snakes so large that they could swallow elephants, and rukh (roc) birds so large that they could carry a caravan of men on their backs. Tales of these creatures repeated across cultures and through the ages has made most readers assume that they were simply pigments of a colorful imagination – … Read more

Culinary History Mysteries #2 – Ice Cream!

Triple digit temperatures have hit the Central Atlantic once again, leaving locals and visitors alike to find any way they can to keep the mercury down.  Some become shut-ins moving between their air-conditioned homes to their air-conditioned cars to their air-conditioned jobs and back again; some take to the beaches, lakes and pools to swim and soak the heat away; still others turn to cold … Read more

Happy Nowruz! (Persian New Year)

For today’s post in celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, we have a guest blogger, Azita from the wonderful site Turmeric and Saffron. Azita is an Iranian who celebrates the cuisine and culture of Iran on her website. In addition to being an accomplished cook, she is also talented in food styling and food photography and regularly illustrates the recipes on her site with … Read more