My Science School

A widespread belief says that in June 1889 the pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito, Pizzeria Brandi's chef, invented a dish called "Pizza Margherita" in honor of the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, and the Italian unification, since toppings are tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green), ingredients inspired by the colors of the national flag of Italy.

The most popular account of the invention of the margherita pizza starts in 1861, which was the year Italy unified. In 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples, which had formerly been the capital of the southern kingdom.

Supposedly, Queen Margherita was bored of the gourmet French food that was, at the time, very popular with European royalty. As such, she summoned Raffaele Esposito, who was the most famous pizza-maker in Naples at the time. Queen Margherita commissioned Esposito to make three different pizzas for her.

Legend has it that the first two pizzas that Esposito and his wife made were not to the Queen’s tastes. These included pizza marinara, which featured garlic, and pizza Napoli, which featured anchovy. The third pizza—inspired by the colours of the Italian flag—the Queen approved. Esposito immediately named the pizza after Queen Margherita and asked her for a Royal Seal.

The note which a chamberlain sent to Esposito still hangs in the pizzeria he worked at, Pizzeria Brandi. However, the veracity of this note has been contended amongst historians for several reasons. Historians have questioned: the disparities between the royal stamp and other royal stamps of the time, as well as its placement; the stationary used to write the note on; and the discrepancy in the handwriting, which was supposedly written by the chamberlain Camillo Galli.

Credit : Italian Food History

Picture Credit : Google

Swiss cheese the generic name for several varieties of cheese originally made in Switzerland. In the United States "swiss cheese" is an imitation of the Swiss Emmental or Emmentaler. Swiss cheese is a mild cheese made from cow's milk and has a firmer texture than baby Swiss. The flavor is mild, sweet and nut-like. Swiss cheese is known for being shiny, pale yellow, and having large holes (called eyes) resulting from carbon dioxide released during the maturation process. Cheesemakers can control the size of the holes by changing the acidity, temperature, and curing time.

Commonly known as "Swiss" cheese, Emmental originally came from the Emme River Valley near Bern. Emmental is one of the largest cheeses in the world, requiring 262 gallons of cow's milk for one 200-pound wheel of cheese. It is deep yellow in color and has holes the size of cherries, sometimes up to golf ball size. The scent of Emmental suggests meadows, raisins and wood fires. The flavor is strong and fruity with a mature woody finish. French Emmental has a slightly stronger taste that the Swiss variety. Emmental stands well on its own as a snacking cheese. It is fantastic in salads with mushrooms, cornichons, bell peppers and shallots. A Reuben would not be a Reuben without a slice of melting Emmental. Try a slice with apples or pears, rye, pumpernickel or sourdough breads, coarse mustard's, corned beef and sauerkraut. Fruity red wines such as Beaujolais, Merlot, Syrah or Shiraz are all good choices.

Credit : Food.com

Picture Credit : Google

Turducken is a dish consisting of a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, further stuffed into a deboned turkey. Outside of the United States and Canada, it is known as a three bird roast. Gooducken is a traditional English variant, replacing turkey with goose.

When making a turducken, begin deboning the three birds, making sure to keep the raw poultry and their juices away from other foods. There is no need to wash the poultry before deboning. Washing will only contaminate multiple surfaces and other utensils in your kitchen.

If making a turducken with stuffing, make the stuffing first, but keep the wet and dry ingredients separate until you are ready to assemble. Begin deboning the three birds, making sure to keep the raw poultry and their juices away from other foods. After deboning, mix your wet and dry stuffing ingredients together and immediately start assembling the turducken by laying the turkey down first and coating with a layer of stuffing. The duck is next, followed by a layer of stuffing and then the chicken, which is also followed by more stuffing. Be sure to pack the stuffing loosely to promote efficient heat transfer during cooking.

Do not assemble the turducken in advance and put it in the refrigerator to cook later. The turducken must be cooked immediately to avoid the spread of bacteria throughout the stuffing. 

Credit : USDA

Picture Credit : Google

Sharks have existed for more than 450 million years, whereas the earliest tree, lived around 350 million years ago. Not only are sharks older than trees, but they are also one of the only animals to have survived four of the five mass extinctions – now that’s impressive.

Emma Bernard, a curator of fossil fish at the Museum, says, 'Shark-like scales from the Late Ordovician have been found, but no teeth. If these were from sharks it would suggest that the earliest forms could have been toothless. Scientists are still debating if these were true sharks or shark-like animals.'

Analysis of living sharks, rays and chimaeras suggests that by around 420 million years ago, the chimaeras had already split from the rest of the group. As there are no fossils of these animals from this period of time, this is based solely on the DNA and molecular evidence of modern sharks and chimaeras. It was also around this time that the first plants invaded the land.

By the middle of the Devonian (380 million years ago), the genus Antarctilamna had appeared, looking more like eels than sharks. It is about this time that Cladoselache also evolved. This is the first group that we would recognise as sharks today, but it may well have been part of the chimaera branch, and so technically not a shark. As active predators they had torpedo-shaped bodies, forked tails and dorsal fins.   

Credit : Natural History Museum

Picture Credit : Google