The Croissant

The New York Times reports that the iconic French breakfast item, the croissant, will henceforth be made in a straight, rather than curved, shape–at least in several important outlets in Britain. The Brits say it’s easier to spread preserves on a croissant when it’s straight. (Bloody hell, jam is such a chore!). The word croissant refers to the pastry’s crescent shape. Croissants came to France from Austria, probably in the 1830’s.

Marsala, the historic sweet fortified wine from Sicily, comes in three colors.

Answer: True.

Marsala comes in just three colors—oro ("golden"), ambra ("amber"), and rubino ("ruby"), although rubino is extremely rare. Each type can be made at three levels of sweetness: fairly dry (secco, 4% residual sugar), noticeably sweet (semisecco, 4-10% residual sugar), and very sweet (dolce, over 10% residual sugar). All Marsala is fortified to 17-18% alcohol. Despite numerous cheap supermarket examples, Marsala can be extremely delicious when made by a first-rate producer, like De Bartoli.

Chewy

A term for mouthfilling, full-bodied wines, chunky and viscous enough to seem almost chewable. Certain grape varieties, such as zinfandel, produced in very warm areas often take on a chewy character.

The Croissant

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