Edible Geography takes a look at the history of the pattern on Oreo cookies and, actually, all embossed biscuits. The Oreo started out in 1912 with a wreath design, added turtledoves in 1924, and settled on today’s four-leaf clover and serrated-edge pattern in 1952. Of course as with any good old-fashioned American icon, there are conspiracy theories about its connection to the Freemasons.

While researching nuances of New England dialect (more on that in the future perhaps) I came across “A List of Words That are Unique to New England.” It contains an entry for “Fluff-a-nutter” (which is really spelled fluffernutter, but since it’s pronounced with fewer ‘r’s in parts of Massachusetts I’ll let it go) and states that Marshmallow Fluff is a regional delicacy. I had no idea Fluff originated in New England. It was invented in Somerville, Massachusetts by Archibald Query in 1917. Marshmallow crème already existed at the time, but Query created an especially fluffy version in his kitchen and started selling it door-to-door. He sold the recipe for $500 to the Durkee-Mower company who expanded into retail and are still selling it today. In 1960 Durkee-Mower hired an advertising firm who concocted with great success and stickiness the name Fluffernutter for the Fluff and peanut butter sandwiches that had become a New England treat. In 2006 Somerville started celebrating an annual Fluff Festival (2010 site). Events include the crowning of the Fabulous Pharaoh of Fluff and, of course, a Fluff cooking contest with a grand prize of a private tour of the Durkee-Mower factory.

It’s nearly 3 acres in Yountville, across the street from Thomas Keller’s famous French Laundry where its bounty is put to use.  Gardener Tucker Taylor starts by providing seed catalogs to the chefs and eventually informs them of the results in their nightly menu planning meetings.  In addition to vegetables, he grows herbs and edible flowers.  The chefs are not allowed to repeat the same ingredient in more than one dish of the menu so they appreciate a variety of fresh choices. (Related article: a day/night in the French Laundry kitchen)

Expensive spa treatments typically include exotic ingredients, but the local food movement has contributed to the new treatment trend of fruits and herbs from local farms. Guests at the Ojai Valley Inn in California can get scrubbed with Pixie tangerines.  Spa Hotel Healdsburg features the same wine, honey, and Meyer lemons found in its restaurant.  As often is the case, don’t expect local to equate to cheaper prices than the exotic stuff.

Jelly Belly has four food scientists who concoct the 100+ flavors of jelly bean to match the original subject as closely as possible. At tasting sessions the candidate beans are sampled alongside the fruit, food, drink that they intend to mimic (presumably “barf” flavor was tested slightly differently). I doubt I was the first or only person to suggest pomegranate as a new flavor, but it is enlightening to see how much care they took to perfect it: “the group taste-tested juices and fruit from different regions, climates, and providers.” Perhaps all that research was parlayed into the pomegranate cosmos in their new cocktail flavor line.

The menu for the G-20 Leaders’ Dinner seemed all nicely high class Canadian: Atlantic seafood, filet mignon, and artisan cheese but then I was stumped by the Nanaimo bars for dessert.  I work with a lot of Canadians and I’ve enjoyed all sorts of treats from up north (I’ve even had tourtière) but I just can’t remember if I’d had a Nanaimo bar.  It looks very familiar and I may have seen it in any number of potluck and party situations without knowing it had a Canadian origin.  Of course the best way to positively resolve this situation is to bake some myself.

Nanaimo Bars by ai.dan, on Flickr

A Subway restaurant is rising above New York along with 1 World Trade Center.  Housed in a movable pod that will move up as the skyscraper grows, the Subway franchise saves the ironworkers a trip down and back up for lunch out.  The unit also has bathrooms, a 500 gallon water tank that is refilled weekly by a tanker on a crane, and, coming soon, a great view.

In a presumably unintentional publicity stunt, a Seattle Seahawks player was caught by police entering a Top Pot Doughnuts at 3 am from a back entrance off a hallway in the building he lives in.  He was given a warning by the police and his coach commiserated “I do understand the allure of the maple bars.” Oh, and by the way, Top Pot Doughnuts are now sold at Qwest Field during Seahawks and Sounders games.