Why Peaches Should be the Official March Madness Food

It’s 1891 and it’s rather cold outside in Springfield, Massachusetts.

As the winds blow, James Naismith has been struggling with an assignment given to him by his supervisor, Dr. Luther H. Gulick at Springfield’s Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School.

Dr. Gulick wants a new vigorous indoor sport created for the School’s male students that equals the exercise value of such summer sports as American football and soccer.

And Naismith was given just 14 days to create an indoor game that would provide a much needed "athletic distraction" for the bored students.

Dr. Gulick further demanded that the new game should not take up much room, help to keep the school’s athletes in shape and explicitly emphasize fair play "for all players and not be too rough”.

(A little like being asked to create a new form of soufflé without heat, no?)

After some thought, Naismith divided his physical education class of 18 students into two teams of nine players each. He then directed their attention to the elongated commercial peach baskets he has strapped up high at either end of the gym.

He explained that the new game was played by throwing the ball (on this day a soccer ball was used) into each team’s basket while the opposing team tried to retake the ball and score points in their basket. And so basketball was born – thanks to a peach basket, a ball and one creative teacher.

Well, not quite because there was the ladder. The ladder? Yes, because the peach basket still retained its hard commerce bottom requiring the janitor to climb a ladder after each score and remove the ball. An activity that, as you might expect, slowed the game down dramatically.

By 1906, the basket bottom had been removed (great decision) and the wooden fruit basket was replaced by a chicken wire frame.  Still later the wire frame was replaced by a net 15 to 18 inches in length.

And while the net’s supporting metal ring is now universally called the “hoop”, everyone still refers to the score as “making a basket”.

So, please, don’t forget the noble peach who got it all started when you plan your March Madness promotionals. After all, it did all began with those specially designed long beautiful peach baskets.

Go Final Four!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013 

Celebrate Easter All Year Long with French Cloche Bells

Not everyone celebrates Easter with chocolate Easter eggs. The French have a charming tradition that honors the Spring Holiday with both sweet chocolate and savory bread.

During the medieval period, the Church in Rome dictated that from Good Friday to Easter Sunday all village church bells in France would be silenced to honor the liturgy of Christ’s suffering.

And while this might seem a noble idea in the Vatican, it was one that caused great concern in France’s small rural towns.  

For you see, in a world without clocks and phones, the church bells regulated the activities of the everyday worker.  Their tolling marked the start of day before the sun rose and its end as the star came out. Without their rising, life was without order or focus.

To justify their silence, local priests created a legend that the bells, high in their church towers, actually flew through the air to Rome on the eve of Good Friday carrying all the sins of the villages with them.

Once in Rome, the reigning Pope would absolve the collective sins and send the bells flying back through the air, ready to ring loud and clear on Easter morning. 

Over time what was once thought of as fact transformed itself into a charming tradition, one now celebrated by the French through the exchange of chocolate bells on Easter morning.

These sweet bells, or “cloche” as they are called in French, are often molded and elaborately decorated. But that is not the only “cloche” honored in French cuisine.

Since medieval times, French bakers have used clay cloche or bell pans to bake their bread in. Their design insures a crisp crust and a cloud soft interior. In other words, a perfect French loaf.

Commercial made cloche pans are available and are excellent. You can also create a personal cloche from unglazed terra cotta pots.

Add a stainless steel ring hook to seal the planter drainage hole. Oil the base plate and preheat in the oven before adding your raised dough. (Be careful when transferring the dough not to touch the heated the lower plate).

Bake at the temperature and time stated in your recipe. The results will make you want to celebrate Easter all year long!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013