this is a three-part series on u.s. food i found on the upper peninsula of michigan, also called u-p, which is pronounced yoo-pee. the people there are called accordingly yoopers. to anticipate any objection on the title, yes, i know that fudge & s`mores are not only a culinary delight of the u-p. but for me they are linked to every trip "up north", as the upper peninsula of michigan is often called by the people "down state" , the other mitten-shaped part of michigan. so try my personal u-p menu, today: fudge.
sweeter than sweet, these smooth yet brittle chunks of sugar can easily rival the diabetes-charming treats i´ve recently tasted in bangladesh or tidbits of indian and turkish desserts given by friends.
fudge looks like chocolate but it softer, stickier, and blood-level rising sickly-sweet. it´s sold in the size of bread slices, conveniently with plastic knifes to shave off pieces. it melts like Traubenzucker, or dextrose/grape-sugar, but has the consistency and greasiness of butter.
toffee, fondant, and caramel are relatives to fudge but not quite the same
no wonder, the first ingredient in terms of quantity is sugar, followed by fat in form of butter and milk. add peanuts, walnuts, cookie pieces, chocolate et al. and you get one of the fudge varieties called rocky road, cookie & cream, or turtle (which has something to do with nuts).
fudge is actually a pretty touristy thing. it springs up wherever something in the landscape can be commercialized. for michigan this starts at the mackinaw bridge, which holds "down state" and "u-p" together like a staple. mackinaw island fudge is advertised along the road. but i´ve been told that fudge is also sold along the east coast, especially the island martha´s vineyard, and other spots where kids might need a sugar injection.
our fudge dealer of choice has been a store called "fudge du locke". du locke refers to the soo locks -- eine Wasserschleuße -- in the city of sault st. marie on the u.s. border with canada, which connects lake superior with lake huron. so while waiting to watch ships go through the locks, we followed my sweet tooth to the store.
where i learnt about the fudge process. on the two occasions when we´ve visited the store, they always seemed stuck in steps number 6 and 7.
that´s the loaf sitting and setting. from time to time a sturdy lady fusses with a spatula along the edges of the mass, shaving of the sides to add them to the end. the store claims to use marble tops for their fudge production because the marble draws the heat out of the candy so that it cools evenly.
step number 8a, i suppose: after cutting, the half-moons are stored in the backgroud.
clearly step number 9, dressing up a slice in a pretty box with an enticing label for sale.
that´s the one we tried -- i´m still hunting and trying everything remotely german far from home. and there´s a chance that in addition to this particular recipe claiming to replicate the taste of "german choc" the name "fudge" has a connection to german language.
the entry "fudge" in the facts on file encyclopedia of word and phrase origin by robert hendrickson suggests that the german word "futsch" or "pfutsch", meaning away, kaputt, gone, ruined, over, played a role in creating fudge. not the food, but the word "fudge" in the sense of nonsense. it´s an old-fashioned expression in the united states for people to say "oh, fudge" like germans would say "Das ist doch Quark!".
the tale involves a frolic captain. hendrickson cites writer isaac d`israeli, also the father of a british prime minister, and his 1791 book curiosities of literature. allegedly, in the 17th century, a captain fudge roamed the sea coming home with "a good cargo of lies". soon any big lie was greeted with the commentary: "you fudge it".
where the word for the candy came from no one knows but it could date back as far as the 19th century, hendrickson suggests. in the book oh fudge: a celebration of america´s favorite candy lee edwards benning writes that the food fudge arose from a cooking accident in the united states involving caramel. fudge then was brought to europe possibly in care packages to u.s. soldiers.
benning writes in the united states fudge was first documented in a letter by emelyn battersby hartridge, a student at vassar college in poughkeepsie, ny. hartridge wrote that her schoolmate's cousin made fudge in baltimore, md in 1886 and sold it for 40 cents a pound. hartridge got hold of the fudge recipe and two years later produced 30 lb (14 kg) for the senior auction of her college. other women women's colleges such as wellesley and smith jumped on the fudge wagon to spread the sweetmeat in their own versions.
back to fudge today. outside the window of fudge du locke two important announcements try to counter health concerns arising with fudge consumption:
you surely need the water to rinse the deluge of sticky sugar dough from your teeth. this was even too much for my milk-chocolate, gummy bear, s´more trained sweet tooth. how fudge without sugar works, i don´t know, but it sounds like treason to the original. (remember ingredient number one).
if you want to give fudge a try on your very own marbled home kitchen counter, here´s a base recipe and oodles of varieties featured in the book oh fudge: a celebration of america´s favorite candy by lee edwards benning.
still hungry?
eating like a yooper: pasties (part 1 of 3)
eating like a yooper: s´mores (part 3 of 3)
eating like a yooper: addendum on marshmallows
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment