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The Lighter Side of Steampunk
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#1
Anatomical / Saccharin is Steampunk
Last post by RJBowman - Yesterday at 10:55:13 PMI saw this video last week, and was inspired by J. Wilhelm's post about American Cheese. It was discovered in 1879.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwAKFeqJznI
In the 19th century, coal tar extract were important to industry as a source of textile dies among other uses. I guess it was inevitable that the source of artificially color for the visual sense could also produce artificial flavors.
Be grateful that coal tar only became a source of flavoring, and did not become a source of the substance of synthetic foods.
Additional history from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharin#History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwAKFeqJznI
In the 19th century, coal tar extract were important to industry as a source of textile dies among other uses. I guess it was inevitable that the source of artificially color for the visual sense could also produce artificial flavors.
Be grateful that coal tar only became a source of flavoring, and did not become a source of the substance of synthetic foods.
Additional history from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharin#History
#2
Anatomical / Re: An Abomination: Is America...
Last post by RJBowman - Yesterday at 10:46:19 PMAmerican cheese will never be steampunk. I don't care how many gears you glue to it.
#3
Anatomical / Re: An Abomination: Is America...
Last post by J. Wilhelm - Yesterday at 02:08:25 PMQuote from: Sir Henry on Yesterday at 07:53:28 AMNext in the series of Lovekraftian culinary delights: American Chocolate
I hadn't thought of processed cheese being Steampunk (to be honest I hadn't thought of processed cheese at all in a few decades) but it does seem to have just the right mixture of horror, history, absurdity and whimsy. And horror, stomach-churning horror.1
It is easy to assume that adulterating foods to hold more water (or air) so they are cheaper to produce was a 20th century development, but as with so many things, it turns out to just be 'improvements' on Victorian ethiclessness. Ho hum.
1 The first time I saw the cover of Jean-Paul Sartre's 'Nausea' I assumed that it was a Dutch/German edition of a book about the North Sea.
Well, it's not all bad, to be perfectly honest. I think milk chocolate turned out well (clearly a Victorian and European invention), as well as condensed and evaporated milk.
Have you ever tried to make hot chocolate with coarse ground, unmilled unfiltered and unemulsified cacao nibs? It's an awful lot of work for just a cup of hot chocolate. Even the traditional Mexican/Spanish chocolate, the first hot chocolate that ever was, is emulsified nowadays, though they still leave the cocoa and cinnamon fibers in it for authenticity (you find a little grit to chew at the end of your cup).
#4
Anatomical / Re: An Abomination: Is America...
Last post by Sir Henry - Yesterday at 07:53:28 AMNext in the series of Lovekraftian culinary delights: American Chocolate
I hadn't thought of processed cheese being Steampunk (to be honest I hadn't thought of processed cheese at all in a few decades) but it does seem to have just the right mixture of horror, history, absurdity and whimsy. And horror, stomach-churning horror.1
It is easy to assume that adulterating foods to hold more water (or air) so they are cheaper to produce was a 20th century development, but as with so many things, it turns out to just be 'improvements' on Victorian ethiclessness. Ho hum.
1 The first time I saw the cover of Jean-Paul Sartre's 'Nausea' I assumed that it was a Dutch/German edition of a book about the North Sea.
I hadn't thought of processed cheese being Steampunk (to be honest I hadn't thought of processed cheese at all in a few decades) but it does seem to have just the right mixture of horror, history, absurdity and whimsy. And horror, stomach-churning horror.1
It is easy to assume that adulterating foods to hold more water (or air) so they are cheaper to produce was a 20th century development, but as with so many things, it turns out to just be 'improvements' on Victorian ethiclessness. Ho hum.
1 The first time I saw the cover of Jean-Paul Sartre's 'Nausea' I assumed that it was a Dutch/German edition of a book about the North Sea.
#5
Off Topic / Re: GAAAAAHHHHHH Mk.VI: The Re...
Last post by Sir Henry - Yesterday at 07:38:08 AMQuote from: LukeHogbin on April 27, 2024, 03:47:43 PMHad a seizure on the night between Thursday and Friday and I'm still trying to recover from it. Blah.I hope you're recovering well.
But don't let it happen again, it's just not on.
#6
Tactile / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by Sir Henry - Yesterday at 07:32:00 AMI've always loved the shape of the doorways like your neighbour's. Not very practical, but distinctive and eye-catching.
#7
Anatomical / An Abomination: Is American Ch...
Last post by J. Wilhelm - Yesterday at 01:49:49 AMThis forum has been relatively quiet and controversial free for so long, that I thought I'd rattle the cage a bit. So today I'm going to write about...
WOT?!? It cannot be! All the humanity! The Horror! What is that abomination doing in this section??
Now, now, don't panic; the good news is that Kraft American Cheese *just missed* entry into the Victorian Foods list...
The bad news is that it so very narrowly missed it that it still qualifies for the Steampunk Era, being a solidly Edwardian product.
Try not to heave. Breathe calmly and slowly. Inhale, keep the air in, and slowly exhale. We'll get through this, I promise.
§§§
Furthermore, whether we like it or not, it turns out that American Cheese is still cheese, even if the United States' own Food and Drug Administration prohibits the product from being called cheese. The main distinction is the process of making said product. It's a modified cheese, but it actually starts as real cheese.
If you haven't fainted yet, like our friend next to me, then let me tell you that American Cheese wasn't the first processed cheese. The first processed cheese was a derivative of Emmentaler developed by Gerber.
By the way, Emmentaler style cheese is known as "Swiss Cheese" in the United States, and Emmentaler was the first type of cheese to be subjected to this process. That makes processed cheese a European invention, not American.
Alright, the rest of you can faint now. Just try not to mess-up the carpet too much.
But are you really shocked that processed cheese would be developed so close to the Victorian Era? When so many other 20th Century foods were invented by Victorian scientists? I guess this was the proverbial elephant in the room that We, the Steampunk, refused to see when we wrote about Steampunk food and derided that yellow substance! We never considered history!
So what is American Cheese you ask? You thought it was only made from milk solids and oil?
No, not exactly. The short answer is that the original Edwardian Era American Cheese is real Cheddar style cheese that has been treated with emulsifiers to allow it to combine with water. A lot more water than regular cheese would allow.
Emulsifiers are naturally occurring substances that are found in other foods and which were discovered by Victorian Era food scientists. Immediately these substances were employed in the processing of food, including chocolate, before the 20th Century. And the milk solids mentioned above are just dried milk that is added for flavour, and of course, that dried milk was also developed in the Victorian Era and it was incorporated into chocolate as well during that period.
Naturally, I'll have to issue a disclaimer, because parting from the point of the invention of American processed cheese, the food industry in the 20th Century greatly modified the original concept. But I'm talking about the classic Vicwardian method, rather than the contemporary industrial variations...
These two videos below explain what American Cheese is, how to make it, and how it came about.
AMERICAN CHEESE
WOT?!? It cannot be! All the humanity! The Horror! What is that abomination doing in this section??
Now, now, don't panic; the good news is that Kraft American Cheese *just missed* entry into the Victorian Foods list...
The bad news is that it so very narrowly missed it that it still qualifies for the Steampunk Era, being a solidly Edwardian product.
Try not to heave. Breathe calmly and slowly. Inhale, keep the air in, and slowly exhale. We'll get through this, I promise.
§§§
Furthermore, whether we like it or not, it turns out that American Cheese is still cheese, even if the United States' own Food and Drug Administration prohibits the product from being called cheese. The main distinction is the process of making said product. It's a modified cheese, but it actually starts as real cheese.
If you haven't fainted yet, like our friend next to me, then let me tell you that American Cheese wasn't the first processed cheese. The first processed cheese was a derivative of Emmentaler developed by Gerber.
By the way, Emmentaler style cheese is known as "Swiss Cheese" in the United States, and Emmentaler was the first type of cheese to be subjected to this process. That makes processed cheese a European invention, not American.
Alright, the rest of you can faint now. Just try not to mess-up the carpet too much.
But are you really shocked that processed cheese would be developed so close to the Victorian Era? When so many other 20th Century foods were invented by Victorian scientists? I guess this was the proverbial elephant in the room that We, the Steampunk, refused to see when we wrote about Steampunk food and derided that yellow substance! We never considered history!
So what is American Cheese you ask? You thought it was only made from milk solids and oil?
No, not exactly. The short answer is that the original Edwardian Era American Cheese is real Cheddar style cheese that has been treated with emulsifiers to allow it to combine with water. A lot more water than regular cheese would allow.
Emulsifiers are naturally occurring substances that are found in other foods and which were discovered by Victorian Era food scientists. Immediately these substances were employed in the processing of food, including chocolate, before the 20th Century. And the milk solids mentioned above are just dried milk that is added for flavour, and of course, that dried milk was also developed in the Victorian Era and it was incorporated into chocolate as well during that period.
Naturally, I'll have to issue a disclaimer, because parting from the point of the invention of American processed cheese, the food industry in the 20th Century greatly modified the original concept. But I'm talking about the classic Vicwardian method, rather than the contemporary industrial variations...
These two videos below explain what American Cheese is, how to make it, and how it came about.
The History of Processed Cheese and American Cheese
What is American Cheese?
#8
Tactile / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by James Harrison - April 28, 2024, 03:19:03 PMIt's Edwardian / immediate pre-WWI. Pretty standard British Stockbroker's Tudor / Arts and Crafts style really.
#9
United Kingdom / Re: UK Steampunks
Last post by Sorontar - April 28, 2024, 12:30:49 PMQuote from: Cheshire Cat on April 27, 2024, 01:43:13 PM<personally-identifying information deleted at OP's request>Welcome back. Old dogs and cats are always welcome.
From an Oldie Newbie, I'd just like to say hello to all from the past future
Looks like I'm the only one on this forum even though Cottonopolis is a mere 2 leagues north
#10
Tactile / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by Sorontar - April 28, 2024, 12:25:59 PMNow you have me interested in your neighbour's place across the road (not sure why I didn't notice it before). That seems to be fake Tudor above and Art Deco-ish below. How would you describe it?
Sorontar
Sorontar