Camellia Flower Tea

Tea is a product of the Camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are dried and processed using a variety of methods that result in black, oolong, green, and white teas. Further variations might include flowers such as jasmine or orchid, which infuse the tea leaves with their fragrance. Although such flavorings were disdained by many tea scholars of the Ming era (1368-1644) in China, these fragrant teas have remained popular and today are a subject of connoisseurship.

Some teas, such as chrysanthemum, are made without using tea leaves at all, and are appreciated for their unique flavor and medicinal qualities. Camellia sinensis flower tea, made exclusively from the blossoms of the tea plant, is a lesser known example. Camellia flowers contain a trace amount of caffeine and some polythenols and catechins, properties that make tea leaves so beneficial to health. I recently acquired some Chinese heirloom camellia flowers from Upton Tea Imports, located in Massachusetts. After immersing the flowers in boiling water for 8 minutes, the water becomes a glowing nectar, with whole blooms slowly drifting to the bottom of the teapot. The fresh taste is reminiscent of a delicate white tea, but with a softer finish and sweet undertones. Camellia flower tea is an excellent choice for a spring afternoon and makes a refreshing iced drink as well.

Variation on a Theme: Matzo Charlotte

Early and vintage cookbooks are interesting cultural documents for both the recipes and commentary from the time they were written. Many favorite dishes that were once commonplace are no longer among the average cook's repertory. Recently I looked through The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook, a collection of recipes by Gertrude Berg who played the Molly Goldberg character in the popular 1950s TV show, The Goldbergs. A recipe for Matzo Charlotte, interested me. While I had heard of charlotte, a dessert related to the English pudding, I have never had it and I did not know it could be made with matzos, the Jewish unleavened cracker originally made for Passover in observance of the leavening restrictions, but now enjoyed any time of the year.


The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook was published in 1955 . This edition is from 1962. It has recently been re-issued and is available from Amazon.com.

Charlottes and Carême
Charlotte dates to the late 18th century and is said to be named after Britain's Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818), wife of George III. Like bread pudding, which consists of stale bread soaked in milk, charlotte was traditionally made with fingers of sponge cake topped with custard cream and baked, or unbaked in the form of a trifle, with layers of fruit and cream. These flaccid, protean ingredients were carefully assembled in a decorative mould, thereby imposing a standard form on this inherently pudding-like dessert. Many variations in ingredients and form exist, of which the best known is charlotte russe.

Charlotte russe is believed to have been created by Antonin Carême (née Marie-Antoine Carême). Carême, a distinguished French chef, had worked under the patronage of the English court after the death of George III in the early 19th century. While he probably encountered the baked dessert in England, it was at the banquet of Russia's Czar Alexander I that Carême first served charlotte parisienne, a cold, unbaked version of the charlotte, firmed with gelatin, later called charlotte russe.

A Dessert for Presentation
Charlotte was a popular dish throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries in the United States. At the end of a meal, it made a statement of elegance and refinement, yet the dish is quite easy to prepare. The following excerpt from an 1882 New York Times article on entertaining, suggests serving charlotte russe for a dinner party:

Handsome entertainments are expensive, a supper from Delmonico's, or even a more moderate caterer,
represents a sum which can be ill spared from the family exchequer. A mere reception with ice cream
and cake...will not answer the purpose, a dancing party is considered a necessity, and with
it, as a matter of course, a pretty supper.

A recipe for charlotte russe follows with the caution, " To make charlotte russe to perfection is rather a difficult operation and requires care and nicety." The recipe concludes on an encouraging note: "If these directions are carefully followed it will prove a great success." Indeed Carême himself advised the early 19th century home cook, "Bourgeois kitchens of limited means would be wise to follow simple methods and not try to imitate the ways of the grandes." (Aretsy, Esther B. The Exquisite Table. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1980, 96).

Yet, American cookbooks from the 19th and early 20th centuries, intended for housewives, usually include several charlotte recipes, indicating that the dish had infiltrated the middle class. The Feeding America cookbook archive from the Michigan State University Libraries includes several examples such as The White House Cookbook (1887) and The Lady's Receipt-Book (1847). Charlottes are featured with a variety of fruit fillings such as raspberry, apple, and plum, as well as flavorings such as coffee and caramel. In addition to the charlotte russe, recipes for charlotte polonaise (perhaps the most unusual recipe I encountered-- made with rosewater, chocolate, macaroons, meringue, and dyed green with spinach), francaise, and Italian and Spanish charlotte are also included. There are also recipes for matzo charlotte in The Neighborhood Cookbook (1914) by the Council of Jewish Women and The International Jewish Cookbook (1919) by Florence Kreisler Greenbaum. While Jewish housewives had probably begun using matzo in charlottes soon after the dessert became popular, a relation of charlotte, schalet, had already existed in Jewish cuisine.

Charlotte and Schalet
According to Gil Marks in The World of Jewish Desserts, the word "schalet" is derived from the Old French chald, or warm. Marks states that among the Jews in medieval Europe, the Sabbath stew called schalet (now known as cholent) was often prepared using dough to create a tight seal between pot and lid. The dough, which inadvertently became cooked was also called schalet, and evolved into a pudding dessert in its own right, still known as schalet, now commonly called kugel. While the ingredients of schalet and charlotte differ somewhat, the names are remarkably similar. Is this just a coincidence? Is it possible that the English name was derived from the much older Ashkenazic Jewish pudding and not from a tenuous link to the English Queen? Any insight on this subject is welcome.

With its refined appearance and vague reference to royalty, charlotte was a popular dessert at dinner parties and banquets. Although rarely served today, charlotte still puts on a good show.

This short study of charlotte includes examples I have found from American texts. If anyone has come across any charlotte or charlotte-like recipes in non-American cookbooks please let me know.

Limoges Bouillon Cup with Saucer Depicting Roses, marked Jean Pouyat, ca. 1890-1932.


The charlotte in Molly Goldberg's book was made with orange juice and egg whites. It seemed like the dish was ripe for an update. I wanted a mix of textures that would offset yet complement one another. Treating the matzo in the manner of french toast, I softened it in an egg mixture and then crisped the outside over the stove. I topped the matzo with macerated strawberries and spiced whipped cream.

Recipe
Matzo Charlotte with Strawberries and Cardamom Whipped Cream
Serves 4

Ingredients

12 large strawberries, sliced and gently tossed with 1 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream beaten with 1 tsp cardamom powder until soft, billowy peaks form
Mint leaves to garnish, optional

For the matzos:
2-3 matzos
1Tbs butter
1 large egg, beaten and thinned with a little milk or water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
sugar for dusting, optional

1. Break matzo into small, rectangular pieces, about 1" by 3". It's okay if they are a little uneven.

2. Mix egg, vanilla, and salt in a shallow dish and soak several pieces of matzo for about 10 minutes.

3. Melt some butter in a hot pan and add soaked matzos. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side until golden. Place cooked matzos on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little sugar, if desired. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until all of the matzos are cooked.

4. Using about 5 or 6 matzo pieces per serving, line four ramekins or small bowls with matzo. You may need to break them a bit to get them to line up and overlap nicely. Divide strawberries over matzos and top with a big dollop of cardamom whipped cream and mint leaves.

Book Review: The Cook

Food has the potential to be a very powerful tool. The preparer, or cook, is thus uniquely advantaged to exploit that control for her/his benefit, like an alchemist turning base metals into gold. The dictionary definition of a cook is "one whose occupation is to prepare food for the table; one who dresses or cooks meat or vegetables for eating." Yet, this meaning does little to convey the authority the position can command.

The use of food as an instrument for personal gain is compellingly revealed in The Cook, a novel by Harry Kressing published in 1965. The Cook is the story of Conrad, a man hired to cook for the wealthy Hill family in the bucolic village of Cobb, and his path to dominance over the household. Towering at 6' 6" tall and with an imperious demeanor, Conrad is formidable in both appearance and disposition. But it is his cooking ability that allows him to transform the domestic structure of the entire Hill estate, resulting in a new household order by the end of the story.

When Conrad arrives, he is told that the Hills like only simple food, do not linger over their meals with second servings, and never come into the kitchen. But after Conrad's first meal, a breakfast, is served to the family, one begins to sense a shift in the dynamics of the Hill household as the maid returns to the kitchen almost immediately with a request for more muffins. Another change soon occurs:

After breakfast a tall, statuesque woman came into the kitchen. "I'm Mrs. Hill," she smiled, concealing her surprise at Conrad's appearance. "I just wanted to tell you that your muffins were delicious."
Conrad inclined his head and thanked her.
And before Mrs. Hill left: "Could we possibly have some more muffins for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

From this point, food is used to exploit the characters' psychological weaknesses, whether they be feelings of inadequacy, lack of self esteem, or arrogance. Under Conrad's manipulation, the fat become thin, the sick become healthy, and vice versa.

As in a meticulously executed chess match, Conrad sets the stage for a deposition and redistribution of power, effortlessly maneuvering events and the minds of those around him. The reversal of roles evolves so naturally that even the reader is left bemused by the deftness with which the outcome is achieved.

Although out of print, it is well worth the effort to find an old copy of The Cook. Not much is known of the author and it is believed that "Harry Kressing" is a pseudonym. This only adds to the mystery of this delightful little masterpiece of ambition, greed, and cunning deception.