D.

The U.S. Artichoke industry emerged around 1900 in California, and much of the crop was shipped east, where Italian Americans paid handsomely for the edible thistles. At first, mafia families used their control of rail-line entry points into New York to impose an informal import tax on artichoke shipments. But later, they began intimidating growers into limiting crop sizes and selling at deflated prices. By 1935, the Sicilian American mafia had controlled the American artichoke market (worth about $12.5 million in 2020 dollars) for at least two decades. Mayor LaGuardia had campaigned for office on a promise to take on the mob, and had a penchant for drama. On December 21, 1935, surrounded by horn-blowing policemen, he hopped onto the back of a vegetable truck at the Bronx Terminal Market to denounce the mafia’s tactics and embargo the artichokes.

C.

To make a special savory/spicy mezcal known as mezcal de pechuga (pechuga is Spanish for breast), maestro mezcaleros (master mezcal makers) traditionally hang skinless turkey or chicken breasts inside the still during a third distillation.  Variations include deer, rabbit, and even iguana. The steam cooks the meat as the spirit distills, allowing the meat’s fat and juices to drip into the mezcal. Collagen released from the protein creates a rich, robust mouthfeel not found in most mezcals. The meat also provides a subtle savory note that balances the sweetness of fruits and grains often steamed with it.  Mezcal, by the way, is slightly different than tequila.  Mezcal can be produced from up to 28 varieties of agave, around the city of Oaxaca and a few surrounding states. Tequila is made only from blue agave and must be produced in the state of Jalisco and its environs. Mezcal is made by roasting or grilling the agave hearts in pits (for its unique, smoky flavors), while tequila makers bake them in above-ground ovens.

D.

The London restaurant Wright Brothers recently partnered with The Ginstitute Distillery of West London, to create an oyster-flavored gin said to have “high mineral notes and a pink-pepper finish.” It’s also claimed to be a perfect gin to accompany seafood dishes. The gin is made with Carlingford oyster shells, which are cold-macerated in neutral spirits and then distilled. The oyster distillate is then added to the gin along with juniper, Amalfi lemons, and kelp seaweed.

B.

All of those Fujis, Romes, Deliciouses, and Granny Smiths in your market can be traced back to one place where apples still grow wild—Kazakhstan. According to Gastro Obscura, the ancestor of the domestic apple is the Malus sieversii, which grows wild in the Tian Shan Mountains. Scientists believe that Tian Shan apple seeds were transported out of Kazakhstan by birds and bears long before humans ever cultivated them. By the time humans did begin to grow apples the Malus sieversii was growing in Syria. The Romans discovered it there and then spread the fruit around the Roman Empire. Wild apple forests still exist in Kazakhstan in protected patches within National Parks.

C.

There are well over 100 different shapes of pasta, which come dried or fresh. All of the pastas in the question are dried. Fisckariedd are the leftover cuts after other forms of pasta are made. These leftover pieces are dried and then tossed into soups. Strozzapreti are tightly rolled short ropes. The name translates as “strangle the priest.” And corzetti are large flat disks which can be stamped with a logo or other mark. They are usually served with a sauce or in a soup.

D.

The Romans fattened snails on choice tidbits of food and housed them in special snail boxes, before they were cooked. Today, the French, and especially the Alsatians, have raised the eating of escargots to a fine art. The drizzling of snails with garlic butter is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of ways of preparing snails, including a famous one in which the mollusks are simmered with wild chanterelle mushrooms, garlic, and shallots in a wine and whipped cream stock, then served with a chilled riesling.

C.

Fried beer was created in Texas (logically enough) in 2010 by a beer lover named Mark Zable, according to Gastro Obscura. Fried beer is not, as one might think, a batter made with beer which is then fried. That would be too easy. Zable concocted a method (using Guinness) to keep the beer liquid while frying the pretzel dough encasing it. Each liquid beer-filled nugget is fried 20 seconds, but Zable will reveal nothing more about the secret recipe. Fried beer made its debut at the Texas State Fair. And yes, you had to show your ID to “eat” it.

D.

According to statistics compiled by the Napa County Agricultural Commissioner, the leading food product in the Napa Valley in 1945 was prunes with a value of $3,622,000. Although Prohibition had ended in 1933, by 1945 grapes ($2,600,000) still trailed prunes by a million dollars. And eggs ($2,553,750) weren’t far behind.

A.

Historically, convents located in wine regions often developed signature desserts and breads based on egg yolks. The nuns would then sell these food items as a source of income for the convent.

D.

After using his wife’s waffle iron to imprint patterned grips on the soles of a new type of shoe, Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman applied for a patent in 1972. Bowerman later founded Nike which went on to manufacture running shoes with waffle-shaped rubber studs on the soles for better traction according to Smithsonian.com.

B.

Joe refers to Josephus Daniels, former secretary of the U.S. Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. During World War I, Daniels tried to reform Navy morals. He increased the number of chaplains, discouraged prostitution, and, most controversially, banned the consumption of alcohol, suggesting the soldiers would be better off drinking coffee

A.

The brioche-like, buttery South African bread, mosbolletjies (pronounced mos-bol-eh-kis)  is leavened with fermenting must— a mixture of grape juice, skins, seeds, and stems. French Huguenot immigrants settled in Western Cape in the late 1600s and began cultivating grapes. The loaves are often flavored with anise and are typically served with butter and a jam called moskonfyt, also made from must.

C.

Pumpkinseed oil is a culinary icon in Austria. The oil comes from the seeds of a small, green-and-yellow striped pumpkin. The prized seeds are removed and washed by hand, then roasted, mashed, and pressed. (Far less valued, the pumpkin flesh is turned into feed for livestock). The oil is striking deep black/emerald green in color and has unctuous texture and an almost hauntingly intense, nutty flavor. Austrians drizzle it over lettuces, vegetables, and breads, and pour spoonfuls into soups including, of course, pumpkin soup.

C.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry—the whiffs of sweat and butter were among the distinguishing aromas that make soft baked pretzels so crave-inducing. According to Atlas Obscura, the researchers determined that the signature smell of pretzels comes from the brown outer crust (not the inside of the pretzel). They then peeled soft pretzel skins, crushed them to a fine powder, and created an extract from the ground pretzels. Using a process called aroma extract dilution analysis, they identified specific odorous compounds in the extract. These included aromas that were sweaty, buttery, malty, mushroom-like, carrot-like, cooked potato-like, caramel-like and cheesy. People laugh when I tell them that pinot noir has the wonderful smell of a sweaty man who just ran one mile. But sweatiness can be attractive. Now I can’t wait to try pretzels with pinot noir.

D.

Arguably one of the oldest types of cheese, callu de cabrettu originated in Sardinia, Italy where it can still be found. According to Atlas Obscura, this gamey-tasting cheese is made by taking a baby goat’s stomach still full of its mother’s milk, tying it closed, and letting it age naturally by hanging it in a warm place (conveniently, Sardinia is often quite warm). The cheese is formed in the stomach when the milk reacts with acids and rennet (the contents of the stomach of a young animal). Because this cheese in made in springtime.