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A big technological advance in sugar making came along in 1747, when German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf discovered a method for extracting sucrose from beets. That was a good thing for several reasons, chief among them that beets grow in a temperate climate, so sugar could be made close to home. Also, the sugar in beets doesn’t ferment as quickly as sugar in cane, so harvested beets can be stored for long periods before processing. Even so it took a while for his innovation to catch on. A big reason, because agronomists needed to breed beets with enough sucrose in them to make the process economically viable. That finally happened around 1800.

Something I neglected to mention earlier in the week is that while Chinese nationals were pouring into America by the tens of thousands through the West, a small but steady stream was coming in via the port of New York. By the 1870’s a Chinese community had established itself on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the vicinity of Mott street. There they set up a variety of import shops supplemented by — you saw it coming — restaurants.

Heck no. I may render my own lard, but when it comes to making masa, I leave that to others. Back home in Chicago I was spoiled. I lived among hundreds of thousands of Mexicans, which meant fresh-made masa was readily available in grocery stores (the ones that catered to the Mexican population, anyway). Louisville doesn’t have nearly enough Mexicans to warrant a tortilla bakery (not yet, anyway), and that’s where fresh masa comes from. Until one of those is put up (hm…possible new business venture?) I make do with the dehydrated stuff.

Reader Bill writes in with three interesting questions. In order, they are:

1) Why does cream last so long in the fridge? It smells and tastes fine weeks after its expiration date. Am I crazy for using it?

2) I have a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe that doesn’t spread enough, the opposite of what people usually complain about with cookies. How do I get more, ahem, spread? More butter, more sugar? I’ve already tried cooler and hotter temps with little effect.

3) I reread your Neopolitan pizza piece and wondered whether you dock your pizza dough at some point. When I’ve made pizza I get too many giant bubbles that ruin the texture of the crust. I’ve skulked around several pizza sites and some dock, some don’t. What’s your opinion?

Next week I’ll be doing panettone, but the old-fashioned way: using a starter. It takes longer that way, but the richer flavor and denser texture are well worth it. So my message is: feed your starters, folks — or grow one if you don’t have one yet. There are complete instructions under the Bread menu […]

It’s from Picardy, a province in extreme northern France. Picardy is notable for several things including red brick houses, stunning Gothic cathedrals and excellent beer. I find it interesting first and foremost because it was the region where Napoleon first introduced the sugar beet.

Not many people think of Napoleon as a food (and food science) innovator, but he had to be — he had big armies to feed. Napoleon is mostly remembered as a brilliant military strategist and political leader, and he was certainly all that. What’s less well remembered is that he was the inventor of war on a societal level. Prior to Napoleon’s arrival on the European stage, war was mostly conducted by armies of professional soldiers whose loyalty was available to the highest bidder. Maybe they were from the country they were fighting for, maybe not. The cash was the main thing. Remember how the Hessians, German-speaking regiments that fought for the British crown, were one of the great terrors of the colonies during the American revolutionary war.

Pumpkin is a kind of squash. A kind of winter squash to be more exact, and it grows an odd fruit — a berry called a pepo that has a very thick outer wall. That wall, once it’s had a chance to dry out a little, will keep the contents of the fruit fresh for months.

I’m always more than willing to take a detour into history. Happily for me there’s an indirect connection between this week’s subject and one of the weirdest, most macabre stories of World War II: Operation Mincemeat. Since we’re closing in on Halloween, the story — a tale of how a dead guy helped misdirect the Nazis during one of the most important Allied invasions of the war — seems appropriate.

More than happy to tell you all about it, Lucy! Suet is beef fat, but not just any sort of beef fat. It’s fat taken from right near the kidneys of the steer. It’s the mildest-tasting, easiest-melting fat on the animal, which is why it’s used for an application like mincemeat. The equivalent fat on a pig is known as leaf lard, and by no coincidence whatsoever it has also been prized by bakers over the centuries (I’m a big fan of it myself). Here’s what fresh suet looks like: