kyreles

soy milk and almond milk ARE NOT MILK

kyreles — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:39:53 +0000

So we all remember Lewis Black’s bit about soy milk.

Soy milk. There’s no such thing as soy milk. It’s soy juice, but they couldn’t sell soy juice because any time you say soy juice, you actually start to gag. … We all know there is no soy milk because there is no soy titty, is there?

But honestly, he’s right, isn’t he?

Khya recently bought some AlmondMilk. Did he mean almond flavored soy milk? or almond flavored real milk? No, just almond milk. Milk made from almonds. But there is no almond titty either, so what in the world is he talking about?

I was so confused, and it didn’t taste very good at all. But what I realized was, actually, it was more gratifying if you didn’t go into the tasting experience with the milk-expectation. I insisted they think of it as juice and it would taste better. For me it did, anyway.

But what makes something a milk and what makes something a juice? Juice is always fat free? That’s why coconut __ is coconut milk. ? Perhaps. Or maybe the only stipulation for being a milk is that it looks like milk. moocowfuckmilk, that is.

According to the dictionary,

milk is:

1. an opaque white or bluish-white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals, serving for the nourishment of their young.

2. this liquid as secreted by cows, goats, or certain other animals and used by humans for food or as a source of butter, cheeses, yogurt, etc.

3. any liquid resembling this, as the liquid within a coconut, the juice or sap of certain plants, or various pharmaceutical preparations.

juice is:
1.     the natural fluid, fluid content, or liquid part that can be extracted from a plant or one of its parts, esp. of a fruit: orange juice.
2.     the liquid part or contents of plant or animal substance.
3.     the natural fluids of an animal body: gastric juices.
4.     any extracted liquid.

So it seems like technically, according to definition #4 of juice, milk must be a subset of juice.

I looked for anything that might be called almond juice instead of almond milk. I found a Chinese product called LOLO Almond Juice, but it has the same ingredients as almond milk–ground almonds and water blended together.
Wiki also issues this warning: users should be cautious not to use bitter almonds, since the combination of bitter almonds and water releases cyanide….

And coconut juice redirects to coconut water, which is completely different. Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm), not to be confused with coconut milk. As the fruit matures, the coconut water gradually is replaced by the coconut meat and air. A very young coconut has very little meat, and the meat is very tender, almost a gel. Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut.

I *guess* we can call it almond milk… but I think you’ll have a better time if you think of it as almond juice.

Tagged: english

BREAKFAST BLAAAAAAAAAAAG

kyreles — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:35:31 +0000

My wonderful roommate Maffo made me some French toast this morning!
The result: a whole slew of blag ideas! and a delicious morning.

I asked, is French toast really French? He said, I think so. In French, it’s called pain perdu. That means lost bread. WHY is it called that?

Also, powdered sugar. He met a Spanish girl in Finland who didn’t know what powdered sugar was. Do they have powdered sugar in Spain?? I don’t know! But in Mexico, they do. It’s called azucar glas. WHAT? Why?

Ok, here we go.

According to the International House of Pancakes–that’s right, IHOP, French toast is not necessarily French in origin; it is likely that the recipe dates back to medieval times and may have been a logical “invention” by different peoples, akin to battering and frying any food. Supposedly it was originally known in England and America as “German toast“, prior to the First World War, when it was changed because of anti-German sentiment.

But I think it’s even older than that. A version appears in the 4th century Roman cookbook, often attributed to Apicius, “Aliter dulcia: siligineos rasos frangis, et buccellas maiores facies. in lacte infundis, frigis [et] in oleo, mel superfundis et inferes.” – “Another sweet: Break grated Sigilines (a kind of wheat bread), and make larger bites. Soak in milk, fry in oil, douse in honey and serve.”

It turns out now, variations of French toast are popular all over the world. The names also vary from country to country; however, “lost bread” seems to be a popular name for it in countries’ respective languages. In France and other Francophone places, it is called pain perdu, or “lost bread”, since it is a way to reclaim stale, “lost”, bread: hard bread is softened by dipping in a mixture of milk and eggs, then deep fried.

–

About powdered sugar. Well, first of all, in reading the variations of French bread around the world, I read that in Spain, it is called torrijas and is typically made during Lent, out of thick slices of bread soaked in milk or wine, dipped in egg, fried and then drenched in spiced honey. No mention of powdered sugar… so I *guess* I’ll buy that they just don’t have any there.

Powdered sugar is essentially sugar that has been pulverized–made into a powder. I translated around to a handful of languages and the respective names for powdered sugar all reflect this. EXCEPT IN SPANISH. It’s called azucar glas. Why? Glas in this case is short for glaseado, which means glazed–which makes a lot of sense seeing as how the primary purpose of powdered sugar is for making glazes and frostings, really.

Glas is really the Spanishization of the French word glace (pronounced the same way) which means frozen. Like frosting. Zomg it all comes together now.

Tagged: english, french

Butterflies flutter by.

kyreles — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:37:45 +0000

So I told Ms. Chris about my blag and she had one pressing etymological question: Where does “butterfly” come from? I had never thought about it, but she had been wondering for years, apparently.

And then I realized, the word for butterfly is vastly different in every language I could think of off the top of my head.

The most likely origin of the English word seems to be

based on the old notion that the insects (or witches disguised as butterflies) consume butter or milk that is left uncovered

although some people also think it is based on the color and consistency of butterfly excrement. This explanation is highly unlikely. Now, I don’t know about you, but I had never really looked at butterfly excrement before.

What about in other languages?

Off the top of my head:

Spanish – Mariposa - from “la Santa Maria posa” = “the Virgin Mary alights/rests” ?

French – Papillon - this actually comes from the Latin papilio meaning butterfly. Our English word pavilion comes from the same root… a canopy spread out like wings.

German – Schmetterling - from “Schmetten”, an Upper Saxon dialect loan-word first used 16 & 17th C, from Czech “smetana”, both meaning “cream”, referring to butterflies’ proclivity to hover around milkpails, butterchurns, etc. Folk belief had it that the butterflies were really witches out to steal the cream.

Tagfalter is another name for butterfly, perhaps meaning “day-hinge” or “day-folder”, and Nachtfalter is a moth.

Italian – Farfalla - This also comes from the Latin. (Eventually I’m going to do a post about how p’s became f’s and f’s became h’s. …later.) This is also the English word for those bow-tie pasta things that look like butterflies.

Notably, a few others:

Norwegian and Yiddish both call it a “summerbird,” sommerfugl and zomerfeygele respectively.

Babochka in Russian. This means “butterfly” or “bow tie.” Go with me here. Baba or Babka means woman or grandmother. Babushka can mean grandmother or grandmother-like-thing, like a grandmother-like-handkercheif, like one that can be tied to the shape of a butterfly, babochka.

Tagged: english, french, german, italian, norwegian, russian, spanish, yiddish

a linguistic phenomenon from Facebook

kyreles — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:26:54 +0000

from Andw:

So I received this FB message about an Under 40 Mixer for one of the mayoral candidates. It’s a decent idea, I guess, for marketing to the young crowd– but CHECK OUT THE WORDS THEY USE. It’s awesome.

–Andrew

Townsend Jordan sent a message to the members of Under 40 Mixer!

——————–

Subject: HOTTIES & TROOPERS: RAIN or SHINE, Park at Windsor Court

BRING YOUR A-GAME. JUST FOR TROOPERS AND HOTTIES.

To get out of the rain all you have to do is to park right there at Windsor Court- The Polo Lounge validates!

OPEN DOOR & OPEN BAR. Get Excited.

(Yes, the mixer’s FREE!- OPEN BAR AND FREE HORS D’OEUVRES!)

TOP FLOOR, WINDSOR COURT Chinoisserie Ballroom

5:30pm-7:00pm. Come from work!

AFTER PARTY TO FOLLOW IN POLO LOUNGE!

If you cannot make mixer, join us later. There be a slew of us hamming it up in the Polo Lounge for a while. GET NICE.

Yes, the MAYORAL DEBATE will be on! Watch it with us.

QUICK FACTS:

What: Under 40 Mixer for Jackie Clarkson, Council-At-Large

When: Tuesday Dec 15, 5:30PM-7:00PM

Where: Windsor Court – Chinoiserie Ballroom- 23rd Floor

RSVP: Townsend Jordan, Campaign Manager

townsend@jackieclarkson.com

504-710-1203

Come One. Come All.

——————–

Tagged: fbook

Rejected Reindeer

kyreles — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:44:00 +0000

So I recently did a post about the Rejected Dwarf names, and today heard that good old Rudolph song on the radio, and got to wondering where these names came from?

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. And we all recall the most famous reindeer of all: Rudolph

Are there any rejected reindeer names?!? YES!

Most sources will tell you that the original eight reindeer names came from the “Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem written in 1893 by Clement Clarke Moore. However, sources now seem to think Henry Livingston Jr. in 1808.* Either way, whoever wrote it just made up the original eight reindeer names!

The name Dasher means to be quick or a name of speed.
Dancer and Prancer describe names that are graceful and elegant. Vixen is a female fox, which also symbolizes speed or swiftness.
Comet is a large ball of fire that travels through space at a very high speed.
Cupid also has to do with flying since he has wings.
The last two reindeer names are Donner and Blitzen. Dunder and Blixem were the original names, which mean Thunder and Lightning in Dutch. Of course, thunder and lightning means power and force.

But then in 1939, Robert May was working for Montgomery Ward Department Stores and he wrote a promotional holiday pamphlet that was given to 2 million customers. He penned a story of an underdog reindeer, taunted for a his abnormal nose, which glows bright red. Original name ideas, Rollo and Reginald, were rejected for being too cheerful and too British, respectively. (I hate British reindeer, too. I mean WHAT)

And so, Rudolph was born.

He didn’t really become popular, though, until in 1949, Robert’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks wrote the song, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, ” based on Robert’s book. In 1948, on New York radio, Harry Brannon was the first person to sing this song. This was the year before Gene Autry recorded it in 1949. By 1950 it was the most popular Christmas song on the radio.

In the song, the phrase “All of the other reindeer” has been misinterpreted as “Olive the other reindeer.” Olive is another fictional character that was created afterward. He’s the most popular other reindeer, but for more, see this list.

*To see this poem in German, click here.