Just Because It Says American Cheese: It Isn’t So 

I for one love American cheese whether it is Yellow or White, I LOVE IT! I think it is the best cheese ever for grill cheese.  Nothing like plain old white bread both sides covered in butter with 3 slices of American cheese on it and fried on a pan. Ritz crackers with American cheese,  fast food hamburger……what else American cheese. Golden Goodness I say! 

Any way you slice it, American cheese has been having a hard time as of late. The melty, gooey squares wrapped perfectly in oily plastic sleeves — the highlight of childhood grilled cheese sandwiches and backyard cookouts — have been declining in sales for four years and counting, another supposed victim of millennial tastes.

But before American cheese was hated, it was respected and well-loved. The processed cheese that has become known as American cheese was first developed in Switzerland, not America, back in 1911. Cheese alchemists Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler heated up emmental — a hard, Swiss cheese — with sodium citrate in an attempt to create a cheese with a longer-standing shelf life. Not only did the addition of the sodium citrate achieve their goals, it also made for a smoother, velvet-like cheese.  

Stateside, Canadian-born James Lewis Kraft was experimenting with a similar process: heating and then cooling cheeses to form what was called a “warm cheese.” The “warm cheese” was easier to slice and made for convenient distribution. As Kraft’s business — which purchased cheeses wholesale and sold them locally (using a horse named Paddy and a rented cart) — grew, so did the desire to carry longer-lasting cheeses that could be shipped. Emulsifying salts were later added, which give American cheese its coveted melt as well as helped maintain its freshness. Additionally, a process to cool, slice, and package the singles was patented by Norman Kraft in 1944.

“American cheese has been part of American history for over 100 years, since J.L. Kraft patented it in 1916,” Anne Field, Kraft’s senior director of brand building, says. “He was looking for ways to bring safe, fresh, and convenient cheese to millions of Americans at a time when that wasn’t the norm for most people. That benefit allowed American troops to enjoy sustenance and the taste of home during WWI and WWII.”

American cheese served all the purposes it was intended for: It was convenient, lasted a long time, and tasted enough like cheese for Americans to overlook its processed nature. As Field confirmed, it was shipped overseas for the troops and made its way to bologna and cheese sandwiches all across America. In fact, the fact that it came prepackaged in a society that was wholly benefitting from an industrialized America was a positive; it was seen as a luxury to be able to purchase the “De Luxe” Kraft slices, which were touted as “perfect” — in shape, flavor, and convenience — in 1950s Kraft advertisements.

Over time though, American cheese culture expanded. Once viewed as elitist and inaccessible, cheeses that were considered fancy have now become more attainable and approachable. Blue cheese is celebrated on burgers, goat cheese is folded into mashed potatoes, and brie, gouda, and gorgonzola all commonly find their way onto decorated cheese plates.

Not only that, but Americans have grown to avoid processed foods and opt for whole, real ingredients that are easier to understand and trace. In a more health-conscious society, consumers want to know where their food is coming from — and how their bodies will process it. The heyday of neon orange-powdered instant mac has been replaced with a white cheddar option (complete with organic pasta). There are talented cheesemakers all across America delivering interesting, new cheeses that are flavorful and transparent in their production. Instead of optioning for the once-desired American cheese, everyone now seems to have a negative opinion on the flimsy, bright orange squares.

Well, not everyone. Many fast food chains — purveyors of classic American cheese — continue to stand by the cheese. Shake Shack sources its American cheese from Wisconsin. The beloved West coast chain, In-N-Out, also includes American cheese in its ingredients. Five Guys goes with the classic, layering their cheeseburgers with Kraft’s slices.

“The Murrell Family tested a variety of cheeses before landing on American cheese. Ultimately, they felt American cheese tasted best on Five Guys’ hamburgers,” Lauren Lewis, the director of marketing at Five Guys, explained. “We ended up selecting Kraft because it is a well-known, reputable brand with a global reach.” That being said, Five Guys’ Kraft American cheese isn’t the same as the Kraft singles you can pick up at your local grocery store; it contains a higher percentage of cheddar cheese and butter, giving it that same craveable melt paired with the punch of saltiness from cheddar.

In fact, some will argue that American cheese isn’t an inherently bad thing — it’s just misunderstood. Iron Chef Alex Guaranschelli has proclaimed her love for American cheese in a series of tweets. “On a burger and on grilled cheese, there’s nothing better. Stop playing,” she wrote. In a follow up tweet, she said, “I might go so far as to say someone who doesn’t like American cheese is someone you just can’t trust.”

People decry American cheese, stating that “it’s not even real cheese!” when in actuality, it does contain real cheese. Like milk, American cheese — a combination of cheese, milk, and dairy ingredients — goes through a pasteurization process. The salts are then added to “facilitate the even, consistent melt,” according to Field.

People decry American cheese, stating that ‘it’s not even real cheese!” when in actuality, it does contain real cheese.

To get the best of both worlds, there are other cheese brands that are crafting American cheese slices while placing an emphasis on health and environmentalism. Horizon Organic’s American cheese slices, for example, are “produced with no antibiotics, no persistent pesticides, no added hormones and only non-GMO ingredients,” said Lee Nelson, Horizon Organic’s brand manager. Daiya Foods, based out of Canada, carries dairy-free slices of American cheese for vegans and those with lactose intolerance.

Gabriel Martinez, the former chef of Brooklyn’s beloved Long Island Bar, knew that he had to include American cheese when conceiving the restaurant’s celebrated burger. “My gripe with just melting a slice of cheese on a burger is the inherent greasiness when it gets ‘over-melted,’ thus I have always opted for American slices as they are an emulsified product that stay super creamy when heated,” he explained. “Given my discerning palate and basic knowledge of modernist cooking, I set out to make my own with a better quality base product.” Martinez credits his inspiration to Wylie Defrusne’s beer cheese version, and settled on a blend of raclette and cheddar for his finished product.

Since launching the L.I. Burger, a new chef — Kevin Walker Garrett (who is also a proponent of American cheese) — has taken over, and formulated a new sliced topping for Long Island Bar’s aged beef burger.

“I think there’s a nostalgic quality to [American cheese]. I grew up a poor kid from Texas and I would make American cheese sandwiches. I would take tortillas that my mom would make and put American cheese in there. It’s comforting, it’s good,” he reminisced.

Garrett’s new cheese contains a blend of cheddar and morbier — a semi-soft French cheese with a distinctive horizontal grey stripe. In addition to the cheeses, sodium citrate and gelatin get thrown in the mix to ensure that the in-house American cheese has a desired melty quality without completely liquefying under the salamander. “We changed meat suppliers so our dry-aged ground beef is a little bit more intense — it has more funk on it. We wanted to accentuate that with a funkier American cheese.”

The result is a deliciously savory cheeseburger with an intense depth of flavor — a welcomed twist on an American classic, with, of course, daily made American cheese. “At the end of the day, nobody’s turning down American cheese,” Garrett said. “Anybody who says that is pretty much full of poop.”

So everyone ‘CHEESE’.

I Will Pay You on Tuesday for a Hamburger Today!

The hamburger is one of the world’s most popular foods, with nearly 50 billion served up annually in the United States alone. Although the humble beef-patty-on-a-bun is technically not much more than 100 years old, it’s part of a far greater lineage, linking American businessmen, World War II soldiers, German political refugees, medieval traders and Neolithic farmers.

Ground Beef Comes to America

The groundwork for the ground-beef sandwich was laid with the domestication of cattle (in Mesopotamia around 10,000 years ago), and with the growth of Hamburg, Germany, as an independent trading city in the 12th century, where beef delicacies were popular. 

Jump ahead to 1848, when political revolutions shook the 39 states of the German Confederation, spurring an increase in German immigration to the United States. With German people came German food: beer gardens flourished in American cities, while butchers offered a panoply of traditional meat preparations. Because Hamburg was known as an exporter of high-quality beef, restaurants began offering a “Hamburg-style” chopped steak.

In mid-19th-century America, preparations of raw beef that had been chopped, chipped, ground or scraped were a common prescription for digestive issues. After a New York doctor, James H. Salisbury suggested in 1867 that cooked beef patties might be just as healthy, cooks and physicians alike quickly adopted the “Salisbury Steak”. Around the same time, the first popular meat grinders for home use became widely available (Salisbury endorsed one called the American Chopper) setting the stage for an explosion of readily available ground beef.

The Hamburger Becomes a Fast Food Staple

The hamburger seems to have made its jump from plate to bun in the last decades of the 19th century, though the site of this transformation is highly contested. Lunch wagons, fair stands and roadside restaurants in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Ohio, New York and Texas have all been put forward as possible sites of the hamburger’s birth. Whatever its genesis, the burger-on-a-bun found its first wide audience at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, which also introduced millions of Americans to new foods ranging from waffle ice cream cones and cotton candy to peanut butter and iced tea.

Two years later, though, disaster struck in the form of Upton Sinclair’s journalistic novel The Jungle, which detailed the unsavory side of the American meatpacking industry. Industrial ground beef was easy to adulterate with fillers, preservatives and meat scraps, and the hamburger became a prime suspect.

The hamburger might have remained on the seamier margins of American cuisine were it not for the vision of Edgar “Billy” Ingram and Walter Anderson, who opened their first White Castle restaurant in Kansas in 1921. Sheathed inside and out in gleaming porcelain and stainless steel, White Castle countered hamburger meat’s low reputation by becoming bastions of cleanliness, health and hygiene (Ingram even commissioned a medical school study to show the health benefits of hamburgers). His system, which included on-premise meat grinding, worked well and was the inspiration for other national hamburger chains founded in the boom years after World War II: McDonald’s and In-N-Out Burger (both founded in 1948), Burger King (1954) and Wendy’s (1969).

Led by McDonald’s (and helped by the introduction abroad of U.S. hamburger culture by millions of members of the American armed services during World War II), the hamburger—and American-style franchised fast-food—soon spread globally.

History of the Hamburger – Facts and Types

Hamburger is basically a type of sandwich. It has a ground meat patty that is cooked and placed between two halves of a bun or two pieces of bread or toast. It often has some condiments inside, like: mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. Who precisely invented the hamburger, we don’t know for sure. We know that it appeared, in the shape that we know it today, in 19th or early 20th century and that it has predecessors that date to a 12th century.

Nomadic Mongol’s of 12th century and their army were mostly cavalry and often, in their conquests, didn’t have time to stop for a meal. When they had to eat while riding they would place pieces of meat in skin and whole package under the saddle. Constant jogging minced the meat and the heat from the horse would cook it. This way of preparation came to Moscow with Mongols and was later named steak tartare. From there, minced meat came to the lands of today’s Germany through the port of Hamburg during the 17th century and became popular as a basis for their own dishes.

Hamburgh Sausage (which is made of minced meat and spices) appeared in 1763 in the cookbook with a name “Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy”. Jules Verne mentions steak tartare in 1875. During the 19th century Hamburg became one of the largest transatlantic ports in Europe and many northern European emigrants came to United States from this port. Hamburg steak appeared in the New York City in the 19th century. It was minced by hand, salted, smoked, and served raw with onions and bread crumbs and is considered precursor to the hamburger.

We don’t know who invented the hamburger because a little is written about it when it first appeared. Earliest text in a newspaper comes from Chicago Daily Tribune from July 5, 1896. The Library of Congress says that Louis Lassen sold the first hamburger in the United States in 1900. Charlie Nagreen claimed that he sold meatballs between two slices of bread at the Seymour Fair in 1885 and named them hamburgers after the Hamburg steak which was familiar to local German immigrants.

White Castle, a fast food chain, gives this honor to Otto Kuase who, in 1891, created a beef patty cooked in butter and topped with a fried egg which was later omitted. The family of Oscar Weber Bilby says that he invented the hamburger in 1891. Frank and Charles Menches claimed that they run out of pork sausages during the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York in 1885, and that they bought chopped up beef from a butcher. They started using it in their ground beef sandwiches. There is even menu from Delmonico’s in New York which listed hamburger in 1834 but it was just a patty without buns.

Many others claimed that they invented hamburger but we will probably never know who did it first. That doesn’t stop the hamburger to be the staple food of many fast food restaurants in the world.

Every One Still knows this little song…McDonalds Big Mac

The 1970s ushered in a new era in the long line of popular jingles delivered by the ubiquitous fast food chain McDonald’s. 1974 marked their first try at getting into the rap game with the Big Mac track “Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles, Onions on a Sesame Seed Bun.” Originally, the ingredients appeared as a one-word heading for a McDonald’s ad developed for college newspapers, but were eventually set to music created by Mark Vieha (who performed the original jingle). In cynical post-Watergate America, it gave young fast food lovers something to get excited about. The commercial showcases what a mouthful the slogan was for regular folks trying it out, and we’d bet it’s still not quite as easy to say today without cheating. Now I bet this will stick in your head for a while! 

This copycat Big Mac Sauce recipe is so close to the McDonald’s special sauce, you won’t be able to taste the difference! Use it to recreate your own homemade Big Macs, or as a topping and sauce for your favorite foods.

MCDONALD’S BIG MAC SAUCE (COPYCAT RECIPE)

This copycat Big Mac Sauce recipe is so close to the McDonald’s special sauce, you won’t be able to taste the difference! Use it to recreate your own homemade Big Macs, or as a topping and sauce for your favorite foods.

WHAT IS IT?

Big Mac Sauce has wonderfully creamy, tangy, and sweet. This flavor combination stands cuts through the richness of a fatty cheeseburger, making it a perfect burger topping. It is said to taste very similar to Thousand Island dressing, despite not being tomato-based.

Created by Jim Delligatti 1967, the original Big Mac wasn’t actually called a Big Mac. It first went by different names – “The Aristocrat” and the “Blue Ribbon Burger”, neither of which caught on with customers. The third name, “Big Mac” was created by Esther Glickstein Rose, a young corporate McDonald’s employee. This sandwich went on to worldwide fame, popularizing the iconic special sauce.

The earliest McDonald’s advertisements didn’t refer to Big Mac Sauce as we now know it, but rather, called it “secret sauce”. However, in 1974 a new advertising campaign came up with the famous jingle “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun.” It has been known as “special sauce” ever since!

Based on McDonald’s ingredient list, you will need sweet relish (not dill pickle relish), mayo, vinegar, American yellow mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika to make homemade Big Mac sauce. That sounds a lot more reasonable, doesn’t it?  Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator.

This recipe makes about a half-cup of sauce.

Ingredients

1/4 cup real mayonnaise

1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ketchup

1 tablespoon finely diced yellow onion

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1/4 teaspoon white vinegar

Pinch of paprika for color (adjust to taste and color)

Tiny pinch cayenne pepper (if you want a little kick)

Instructions

Step 1: Mix the first three ingredients

Stir the mayonnaise, ketchup and diced onion together in a small bowl.

Step 2: Add the pickle relish

Squeeze the excess liquid from the sweet pickle relish, then add the relish to the bowl.

Step 3: Stir

Next, add the remaining ingredients and stir everything well to make a creamy sauce. This is where you add the paprika for color, be sure to taste as you add at this last step.

Use the sauce immediately or refrigerate it to let the flavors deepen. Store your Big Mac sauce covered air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Homemade Big Macs – To make McDonald’s Big Mac, lightly toast a sesame seed bun, and grab an extra bottom bun to use as the middle piece. Spread the special sauce on the bottom bun, sprinkle with diced onion, shredded lettuce, and top with a slice of American cheese. Place one thin burger patty on the cheese, then add the middle bun, top with more sauce, lettuce, and add pickles. Finally add the second burger patty, top with the crown of the bun and enjoy!

Here you are so enjoy! 

Guess who is Coming for Dinner? Squirrel stew, jelly beans & hoecakes: The Presidents’ favorite foods!

Presidents of the United States have had some eccentric choices for favorite foods. So take heed this is what was served for dinner if one wanted to impress the President who happened to coming over for dinner.

From squirrel stew to cheeseburger pizza, these commanders in chief didn’t let their time at America’s most famous address change their tastes.

Presidents have hundreds of staff members to cater to their every whim during their time in the White House.

Though the Executive Mansion hosts some of the country’s most exclusive and upscale dinners, each president has different tastes for their everyday fuel.

The recorded favorites of each president seem to stem from choices made by first ladies, food trends at the time, and comfort food to stay consistent through a rocky administration.

From squirrel stew to cheeseburger pizza, here are all 44 presidents’ favorite foods.

Here are the favorite foods of all 44 presidents:

George Washington: The first president loved hoecakes topped with honey, an early version of an American breakfast classic that originated as a Native American recipe.

John Adams: Adams picked up the habit of drinking a morning “gill” of hard cider while attending Harvard and later wrote that he would “… never forget how refreshing and salubrious” he found the beverage in college.

Thomas Jefferson: Jefferson discovered macaroni during his European travels and is credited with popularizing the food in the US after he brought a machine for making the pasta back from Naples, Italy. One of my favorites too I might add, Thank you Mr. Jefferson.

James Madison: While it’s hard to pin down one favorite food for Madison, first lady Dolly Madison popularized the frozen treat during her time in the White House and the president was one of its top consumers.

James Monroe: Monroe stayed true to his native Virginia by snacking on spoon bread, which is similar to a bread pudding.

John Quincy Adams: Adams is credited with a simple and healthy favorite of fresh fruit.

Andrew Jackson: Leather britches was Jackson’s favorite dish has nothing to do with sturdy pants but is a term for green beans cooked with bacon.

Martin van Buren: Oysters on the half-shell snack was just one of van Buren’s favorite foods, in addition to doughnuts, raisins, figs, and meat.

William Henry Harrison: Squirrel stew was Harrison’s proclivity for nature might have contributed to his taste for squirrel, which was a common protein at the time in a variety of dishes.

John Tyler: Indian pudding, this cozy dish with spice and ice cream is similar to popular English desserts flavored with raisins and currants.

James Polk: Cornbread was a tribute to Polk’s Tennessee roots during his time in the White House, much of which was spent entertaining alongside his wife, Sarah.

Zachary Taylor: Calas (later known as Beignets) was Taylor’s taste for Southern and Creole food led him to calas, which are similar to the treats consisting of fried dough covered in powdered sugar now known as beignets.

Millard Fillmore: Soup was what  Fillmore was a fan of hearty foods, including beef stew, mock turtle soup, fish, ham with macaroni, duck, chicken, pigeon, and larded sweetbreads.

Franklin Pierce: Fried clams was Pierce’s taste in food was true to his New England roots and included fried clams, clam chowder, and apple pie.

James Buchanan: Cabbage may be a surprise for you. Buchanan had a taste for finer cuisine, including French dishes that had just arrived in America. However, he also counted cabbage among his consistent favorites.

Abraham Lincoln: Bacon is good with everything. Lincoln also cited gingerbread cookies among one of his closely held favorites, but was a reliably hearty eater and fond of bacon.

Andrew Johnson: Hoppin’ John is a true southern tradition to be served at New Years! Southerner Johnson’s comfort-food favorite is made with black-eyed peas, rice, chopped onion, sliced bacon, and salt.

Ulysses S. Grant: Rice pudding a very overlook food. Ulysses S. Grant kept things simple with his favorite — rice pudding.

Rutherford B. Hayes: Hayes enjoyed this simple but hearty dish during his presidency and his wife’s recipe for these Civil War-era pancakes has been preserved for diners of today. Bring on the cornmeal pancakes!

James Garfield: Squirrel soup for this president.  Garfield was the second president to count squirrel as one of his favorite meals, which is nearly unheard of today. So Corn and Squirrel are leading the pack in favorite foods.

Chester Arthur: Mutton chops now this is funny. Arthur’s meal of choice matched his facial hair style, as both were known as mutton chops.

Grover Cleveland: Pickled herring one never know does one.  Cleveland was a bachelor when he entered the White House in 1884 and told a friend he wished he could pass up the luxurious meals for “a pickled herring, a Swiss cheese, and a chop instead of the French stuff.”

Benjamin Harrison: Corn was a favorite food again. Harrison’s beginnings in Ohio and Indiana put him in the middle of the country’s main corn production region and shaped his favorite foods for years to come.

William McKinley: Meat and fish stick to the ribs kind of food. It was written that McKinley and his wife were simple but hearty eaters, and “liked plain food, in substantial quantities.”

Theodore Roosevelt: Steak and gravy down home food from Mom’s table. Roosevelt was an adventurous eater and ate as one would expect a hunter would, counting wild game and steak among his favorites.

William Taft: Steak and potatoes, moving up the favorite list. Taft, who came to be known as the heaviest US president in history, was a hearty and classic eater, relying on favorite staples of steak and potatoes.

Woodrow Wilson: Chicken salad made the list.  Wilson was a simple eater, and the only stand-out favorite a former housekeeper could recall beyond classic breakfast foods was chicken salad.

Warren G. Harding: Chicken pot pie a comfort to most. Harding’s rollercoaster presidency might have pushed him toward the comfort-food favorite of a chicken pot pie that points back to his roots in the Midwest.

Calvin Coolidge: Apple pie as American as one can get. Coolidge was a casual but adventurous eater, counting Vermont country pickles, Mrs. Coolidge’s Chicken Chop Suey, chicken chow Mein, and apple pie made with pork among his favorite recipes.

Herbert Hoover: Sweet potatoes with marshmallows not just for the holidays. Hoover’s favorite has stood the test of time, as sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows can still be found on dinner tables across the country come Thanksgiving.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Grilled cheese, now we are talking. According to Henrietta Nesbitt, Roosevelt’s White House housekeeper, FDR loved grilled cheese sandwiches in addition to other classic American foods, including scrambled eggs, fish chowder, hot dogs, and fruitcake.

Harry Truman: Well-done steak, oh no not well done! Truman was specific that his steak was to be cooked well-done.

Dwight Eisenhower: The first lady’s Million-Dollar Fudge was a winner. Though Eisenhower liked cooking as a stress-reliever, he didn’t mind Mamie’s Million Dollar Fudge made for him with chocolate, marshmallow, and nuts.

John F. Kennedy: Creamy clam chowder, second time on the hit parade. Kennedy ate like a true New Englander, preferring the creamy clam chowder to Manhattan-style tomato based.

Lyndon B. Johnson: Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, I can deal with this. In addition to Mexican food, corn bread, and grits, Texan Johnson tucked into hearty chicken-fried steak.

Richard Nixon: Cottage cheese and ketchup, this seems very bizarre. Nixon’s unusual favorite of cottage cheese and ketchup would raise eyebrows any time of day, but the president especially liked it for breakfast.

Gerald Ford: Pot roast was Ford’s favorite. Ford would follow his classic American dinner of choice with butter pecan ice cream.

Jimmy Carter: Grits, how I love me some grits. Though he was known for his background in farming peanuts, Carter stuck to the Southern favorite, which also served as the family dog’s name.

Ronald Reagan: Jelly beans, yes this snack is a keeper. Reagan was obsessed with the colorful snack, and at one point reportedly ordered more than 300,000 to be placed around the Capitol, White House, and other federal buildings each month.

George H.W. Bush: Pork rinds, I keep a bag or 2 in my pantry all the time. The president reportedly caused sales of the snack to skyrocket while he was on the campaign trail and identified them as his favorite, particularly when they were topped with Tabasco.

Bill Clinton: Cheeseburgers, the all-time favorite of many. Clinton chased his favorite fast foods including jalapeno cheeseburgers, chicken enchiladas, barbecue, cinnamon rolls, and pies on the presidential campaign trail, years before he would experiment with veganism for his health.

George W. Bush: Cheeseburger pizza, which I might add I have eaten and enjoyed a few. Former White House Chef Cristeta Comerford told reporters after the president left office that Bush loved what staff called “home-made ‘cheeseburger pizzas’ because every ingredient of a cheeseburger is on top of a marguerite pizza.”

Barack Obama: Nachos, my husband would be right there eating them with Mr Obama.  The former president told comedian Jerry Seinfeld that nachos were one of his greatest vices. “That’s one of those where I have to have it taken away,” Obama said. “I’ll have guacamole coming out of my eyeballs.”

Donald Trump: Fast food, the America’s guilty pleasure. Trump has a well-documented affection for fast food. From serving it in the White House to getting it delivered to his private plane, the president has said Burger King and McDonald’s are among his favorites because they promise a standard of cleanliness that’s hard to verify at other restaurants.

Dose any of these Presidential favorites make your mouth water or is on your favorite list?  ENJOY!

Till there was Yew: The Yew Tree

The yew (Taxus) genus represents many varieties of evergreen trees and shrubs that are easy to care for and can tolerate a wide range of growing conditions. These plants are highly adaptable for landscaping and make a nice addition to a garden border or when used in a mass planting. Yew, with its contrasting red berries, predates the tradition of the Christmas tree and is strongly associated with Christianity. That’s why you may find yew trees growing in many churchyards. For the holiday, sprigs are commonly cut and used like holly in natural Christmas decorations.

Yew is a conifer, producing cones instead of flowers, and it features evergreen needles that vary widely in size and shape. Yew bark, needles, and fruit are toxic to humans, dogs, cats, and pets.  Even still, yew poisoning is a rare occurrence and does not deter most gardeners from using this very popular landscape feature.

Common Name: Yew bush, yew tree, yew shrub

Botanical Name: Taxus

Family: Taxaceaev

Plant Type: Perennial

Mature Size:  4 to 60 feet tall, 4 to 20 feet wide, depending on the variety

Sun Exposure: Full, partial, shade

Soil Type: Loamy, moist, well-drained

Soil pH: Neutral (5.0 to 7.0)

Bloom Time: Nonflowering

Flower Color:  Nonflowering

Hardiness Zones: Zones 2 to 10 (USDA)

Native Areas: Europe, Africa, Asia

Toxicity: Toxic to people and pets

Yew Care

In landscaping, yew often serves as a foundation plant placed in front of houses. It is also commonly used in hedges and topiaries. The varieties used for privacy hedges are typically much taller than they are wide, as you need the extra height for screening. By contrast, yews with a low profile are more suitable for use as foundation plants or short decorative hedges.

Excellent soil drainage is the key to successfully growing yew, as soggy conditions make this plant susceptible to fungal infections.  But generally speaking, the plant is low-maintenance, only needing water occasionally and fertilizing and pruning annually.

Light

Yew can be grown in full sun, partial shade, and even full shade. For healthy and lush growth, however, opt for a spot that gets several hours of sunshine each day. Too much shade can cause thin and floppy growth.

Soil

Yew tolerates several soil types, as long as the soil has good drainage. It thrives in rich, loamy soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline soil pH of 5.0 to 8.0. It also does well, surprisingly, in heavy clay. However, any planting site that traps water may result in root rot.

Water

Yew prefers a moderate amount of soil moisture, yet it tolerates short periods of drought or overwatering, as long as the roots are not left standing in water. When establishing yew during the first year, water it weekly to maintain even soil moisture. After that, weekly watering are only needed during drought periods when natural rainfall will not provide enough moisture.

Temperature and Humidity

The hardiness zones for yew vary by species. In general, the plant does not tolerate prolonged extreme temperatures—hot or cold—and prefers to be planted in a site that’s sheltered from strong winter winds. Humidity typically isn’t a problem for yew, though it can struggle in extremely hot and humid summer weather.

Fertilizer

Fertilize your yew in the early spring, beginning one year after planting. Enrich the soil by spreading a 1-inch layer of mulch or compost starting a foot away from the plant’s trunk and extending out to its drip line (where rain falls from the outermost branches). You can also use a granular, high-nitrogen fertilizer raked into the soil starting a foot away from the trunk and extending out to the drip line. Please refer to the product directions for the amount of fertilizer to use, noting that using slightly under the recommendation will prevent over-fertilization.

Types of Yew

There are over 400 cultivars of yew, many of which are derived from Taxus baccata (European yew) or Taxus cuspidata (Japanese yew). The types most popular for landscape use include:

Taxus baccata ‘Repandens’, which grows roughly 2 to 4 feet high by 12 to 15 feet wide and is used for foundation plantings or as short hedges.

Known as Canadian yew, Taxus canadensis has a spreading growth habit and reaches around 4 feet high by 7 feet wide.

Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ is pillar-shaped and grows 15 to 30 feet high and 4 to 8 feet wide. It’s often used for privacy hedges.

The Taxus cuspidata ‘Monloo’ variety grows to a mature height of 3 feet and spreads 8 to 10 feet wide. This cultivar is commonly used for foundation plantings or short hedges.

Taxus × media ‘Hicksii’ is another variety used for privacy hedges. It is column-shaped and grows 15 feet high by 20 feet wide.

Pruning

Overgrown yew can be rejuvenated with a good pruning, while shaping it to your preference. It’s not essential to prune yew annually, but it can be a helpful ritual, one that promotes lush growth. Prune yew in the early spring before any new foliage appears. Use hand pruners or branch loppers to cut branches back to their joints. Remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches as you spot them.

Propagating Yew

The best way to propagate yew is through cuttings. While this method takes time, it is still faster than propagating yew from seed (which can take several years to germinate). Propagating by cuttings also yields offspring that look exactly like the parent. So, if you’d like to extend a hedge or foundation cutting, this is the way to go.

Here’s how to propagate yew by cuttings:

Gather pruning scissors, rooting hormone powder, pots, sand, and potting soil.

Take 4- to 6-inch cuttings from your yew plant in the late summer or early fall. Make sure you’re cutting from the softwood portion of the bush. (Softwood is the stage between “new growth” and “hardwood,” when the plant’s stem is just beginning to toughen.) Choose strong, upright shoots.

Dip each cutting into rooting powder and place it into a pot filled with moist sand. Keep the sand wet until roots form. Relocate the pots to an area of bright light.

Once several weeks have passed, examine the bottom of the cuttings to see if they’ve formed roots.

Next, fill pots with potting soil, water them, and place the newly rooted cuttings into the soil, taking care to fully bury the roots. Let the baby plants grow in pots until they are big enough to be transplanted into the ground in the spring. (This may take several seasons.)

How to Grow Yew from Seed

Growing yew from seed is an exact science and a process that takes many years to complete. It involves storing seeds in a potting medium in the freezer for 10 months to several years, and then checking on them periodically to see if they’ve sprouted. Once sprouted, the seeds can be planted and tended to as seedlings, but the process of growing the plant big enough to be transplanted outside can take years. Hence, many gardeners prefer to buy starts at the nursery or take cuttings from their existing plants.

Potting and Repotting Yew

Similar to most evergreens, yew looks great in containers and, in some climates, can be kept outside in pots year-round. Yew tends to grow slowly in containers, making it a good choice for gardeners who want to use it as an entryway statement or along a walkway. Plant yew in a clay or terracotta pot that has good drainage and keep it regularly watered, but not continuously wet, year-round. Come fall, relocate your yew to an area of partial shade, as warm day temperatures and plummeting night temperatures can be stressful on the plant. After a few years in a container, your yew will need to be transplanted into the ground.

Overwintering

In most climates, the Yew can tolerate cold winter temperatures without protection. To prevent issues and help retain needles, water yew frequently in the fall up until the soil is frozen. Planting yew on the north-facing side of a building will prevent winter needle burn, a condition that results from the needles heating up in the day, and then freezing come nightfall.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Yew can fall victim to several evergreen sapsuckers, including mealybugs and scale. Both bugs overwinter as nymphs, and then emerge in the spring to feed, as they hatch and mature. Infestation can result in needle loss, yellowing branches, dieback, and mold issues.

Mealybugs and scale are hard to control with insecticides, as they have grown resistant to most chemicals. To control infestation, remove the insects with a forcible spray from the garden hose, while also removing the “grandmother” (older) plants that have deteriorated. Additionally, you can spot treat with a 70 percent diluted solution of isopropyl alcohol, testing it first for plant burn and applying it once a week until the infestation clears.

Common plant diseases rarely affect yew.

Common Problems with the Yew

Root rot or “wet feet” is a common problem with yew plants. This plant is notorious for dying if it sits in soil that is waterlogged. That said, too little watering can also cause similar issues. Sticking to strict watering protocols will help you avoid both root rot and yellowing branches and needles.

Heavy snows can result in winter damage, like broken branches, and browning needles. After a big snowfall, make sure to remove any lingering snow buildup to prevent this problem. Late summer pruning can also help a yew plant or tree avoid breakage during storms.

Common Questions about the Yew: 

What is the average lifespan of a yew tree?

Yew hedges and trees have incredibly long lives if properly maintained. Some European English yew trees have lived to an age of 1,500 to 3,000 years old. Yew trees and hedges have the ability to renew themselves, and their bending branches can even re-root. For this reason, yew has become a symbol of immortality.

Why do yew trees bleed?

Yew trees often bleed their blood-red sap if the tree has been injured by breakage or winter damage. This is usually not an issue of concern, as bleeding yew trees scar very easily. Ancient legends associate this bleeding to the tree’s sympathy with Jesus after his death on the cross.

What is yew wood used for?

Handcrafted wooden bows are commonly built from a combination of sapwood and heartwood from mature yew trees. The sapwood (the white wood that is on the outside of the tree, just below the bark) forms the back of the bow and excels under tension, making it the perfect material for this hunting tool.

Well, Folks I am going to get myself some Yew and have my husband plant them for me! 

To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse: What is Smudging?

I have been in Real Estate for many years.  I have people buying homes and they will smudge the homes for different reasons.  Buyers from all different cultures and religious beliefs will do this. 

Other cultures worldwide may burn herbs or incense for spiritual purposes, such as in smoking ceremonies, some forms of saining, or practices involving the use of incense censers. However, these cultures have their own practices, as well as their own beliefs about these ritual actions and the ritual use of smoke.

I have even known Real Estate Professionals do smudging when they list a home in order to help it sell.  This is like burying St. Joseph statue when a home is listed and sold. Bringing in positive energy to be associated with the transaction. 

So let’s talk about Smudging. 

Smudging, or other rites involving the burning of sacred herbs (e.g., white sage) or resins, is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. While it bears some resemblance to other ceremonies and rituals involving smoke (e.g., Australian smoking ceremony, some types of saining) from other world cultures, notably those that use smoke for spiritual cleansing or blessing, the purposes and particulars of the ceremonies, and the substances used, can vary widely among tribes, bands and nations, and even more so among different world cultures. In traditional communities, Elders maintain the protocols around these ceremonies and provide culturally specific guidance. The smudging ceremony, by various names, has been appropriated by others outside of the Indigenous communities as part of New Age or commercial practices, which has also led to the over-harvesting of some of the plants used in ceremonies. The appropriation and the over-harvesting have both been protested by Indigenous people in the US and Canada.

Native American traditions

In some Indigenous American and Canadian ceremonies, certain herbs are traditionally used to purify or bless people and places. For instance, some cultures use the smoke of burning red cedar as part of their particular purification and healing ceremonies. Sometimes this is done in hospitals to “cleanse and repel evil influence.” However, the same herbs that are burned by one culture may be taboo to burn in another, or they may be used for a completely different purpose. When specific herbs are burned ceremonially, this may or may not be called “smudging”, depending on the culture  Traditionally, when gathering herbs for ceremonial use, care is taken to determine the time of day, month, or year when the herbs should be collected; for example, at dawn or evening, at certain phases of the moon, or according to yearly cycles. Gertrude Allen, a Lumbee tribe, reported that her father, an expert in healing with plants, stated that sage varies in potency at different times of the year.

While sage is commonly associated with smudging and several Native American, First Nations, Inuit or Métis cultures may use forms of sage that are local to their region, the use of sage is neither universal, nor as widespread as many believe. Its use in regions that have not traditionally used sage for purification is largely a result of the Pan-Indian movement, rather than traditional practice. In some cases it may be in direct opposition to what is traditional for that region. Likewise, not all Native American or Indigenous Canadian cultures that burn herbs or resins for ceremony call this practice “smudging“.

While using various forms of scent and scented smoke (such as incense) in religious and spiritual rites is an element common to many different cultures worldwide, the details, reasons, desired effects, and spiritual meanings are usually unique to the specific cultures in question.

Controversy in the Native American Tradition 

While white sage is not currently on the endangered list, the over-harvesting by commercial sellers has severely depleted the amount available, and many fear that it is soon to be endangered or extinct. Native ceremonial people have reported that visits to their traditional harvesting sites in recent years have found them bare, their personal supply of sage taken from the tribe forever by new age, hippie, and other commercial poachers who have “destroyed” the sites by ripping the plants up by their roots.

Some of the terminology in use among non-Indigenous people, such as the American English term “smudge stick” is usually found in use among those who imitate what they believe are Native American sacred ceremonies. However, the herbs used in commercial “smudge sticks” or “sage bundles,” and the rituals performed with them by non-Natives, are rarely the actual materials or ceremonies used by traditional Native Americans. Use of these objects have also been adopted in some forms into a number of modern belief systems, including many forms of New Age and eclectic Neopagan spirituality. This has been protested against by Native activists as a form of cultural misappropriation, and care is needed to distinguish smudging from other practices involving smoke, which have completely different cultural protocols.

Smudging “kits” are often sold commercially, by companies such as Anthropologie, Sephora, World Market, Amazon and Walmart, despite traditional prohibitions against the sale of spiritual medicines like white sage. These may include bundles of a single herb or a combination of several different herbs; often these herbs are not found bundled together in traditional use, and their use is not universal to all, or even most, Native cultures. In some Native American cultures the burning of these herbs is prohibited. Other commercial items may contain herbs not native to North America, or not indigenous to the region where they are being used, as well as substances that are toxic when burnt.

Native American and First Nations students in college dorms have at times faced harassment and been forbidden from burning herbs for ceremonial reasons due to university fire prevention policies that prohibit the burning of candles or incense in college dorm rooms. This has raised issues around the religious freedom of Native Americans.  In another account, a Native American in Cincinnati became ordained by the Universal Life Church in order to fulfill the requirement that only clergy members could perform smudging ceremonies as part of the prayer ritual for other Native Americans in area hospitals.

What does smudging do?

Smudging is traditionally a ceremony for purifying or cleansing the soul of negative thoughts of a person or place. There are four elements involved in a smudge: The container, traditionally a shell representing water, is the first element.

So what are the four elements of smudging?

In some cultures, four elements are represented in parts of the ceremony: fire in the burning of the sacred herbs, earth in the herbs themselves, air in the feather used to fan the smoke or the smoke itself, and water in the vessel to carry the herbs.

Is incense a type of smudging?

Incense is still used today in the Roman Catholic Church and other religions for purification. Native elders teach that the smoke of dried sage clears negative energy and restores harmony.

What to do during smudging?

How to cleanse your house or space to clear negative energy

1. Gather your tools and have an exit strategy. 
2. Set your intention and say a mantra or request.
3. Light up. 
4. Slowly walk around your space. 
5. Be safe. 
6. Extinguish your sage.
7. Tip ….. You may be wondering what’s the best time of day to sage your house. You can sage your home at night or during the day. What’s most important is that you sage your home when you feel it needs to be done, or if you feel negative, sluggish, anxious, or stressed.

Smudging 101

Smudging is a way to energetically cleanse a space to invite positive energy. When smudging a space, you burn plant material (but there are alternatives if you can’t tolerate the smoke). The smoke fills and purifies the environment. As the smoke rises, it takes your wishes and intentions and mingles them with the universe as a way to connect heaven, earth, and humanity. Burning aromatic herbs and resins was practiced in antiquity and is found in many cultures and spiritual religions. Smudging, though, is primarily associated with Indigenous traditions in the United States.

Gather Your Materials

Before you begin the ceremony to sage your house, it’s important to take a couple of other steps. First, tidy up your home. Then, take your time to gather materials for the ritual. The mindfulness of a smoke ritual begins when you collect your supplies, so practice this with ease and care. Do your best to slow down and not rush through this first step.

Keep the ritual materials sacred by using them only for space clearing. You can store your other materials on your shrine or altar. If you are gathering materials to sage your house from negative energy for the first time, look for a smudge stick that has bundled materials that appeal to your senses, such as rose, mugwort, rosemary, and more. Besides a smudge stick, here are more supplies you will need to sage a house.

Candle and Matches

It’s recommended to have a candle nearby to relight the smudge stick during the smudging ceremony. Matches or a lighter is used to light the candle. You will light the smudge stick with the candle flame.

Fireproof Container

It’s useful to have a fireproof container like a small clay bowl to hold underneath the smudge stick to catch any ashes or embers. It’s tradition to use an abalone shell for this, which also brings into your home a beneficial water element that’s important for good feng shui. The container (bowl or plate) or shell should only be used for smudging ceremonies.

Bowl of Sand, Salt or Dirt

A bowl of sand is a must. It is used to properly extinguish the smudge stick safely after the ritual is complete.

Before You Begin the Smudging Ceremony

Allow enough space and time for the ritual so you don’t feel rushed. If possible, meditate for at least five minutes to calm your mind and heart. 

It’s calming to smudge a home by yourself. But, if anyone else is present during this smudging ceremony, you can include them in the ritual. Prepare some other space-clearing tools that they can use while you are smudging. For instance, they can work with sound and ring bells.

Remember when performing a space clearing, your intention is key. Take some time to contemplate what your wishes are for your home and family. When you clear your house, there’s a vacuum that’s created. You want to welcome your intentions into the newly cleared and open space.

Smudging the Space

Now that you have all your tools and preparations in place, you can begin the smudging ritual. 

Start at the front door of the home and light your smudge stick. Then, begin to move slowly around the home. Move mindfully and with care, walking clockwise around the entire interior perimeter of the home. Be sure to allow the smoke to drift into even the hidden spaces, like inside closets, basements, and dark corners. If there are stairs, just go up or down when you encounter them so you can smudge the upper or lower levels in the same manner. Then keep moving clockwise until you meet the stairs again. Then continue to go down or up the stairs and resume smudging on the main floor. 

Moving around a space like this is called “circumambulation.” It’s a practice that’s been done for centuries in ancient cultures to make a space more sacred.

If you feel comfortable doing so, there are things you can say when you sage your house. It’s helpful to chant a mantra or a prayer that is meaningful to you as a way to fill the space with more cleansing vibrations.

Closing the Ceremony

When you arrive back at the front door, chant your final mantra or prayer. Visualize the entire home filled with bright white sunlight. Then speak your intention one last time to close the smudging ceremony.

A smudging ritual is a beautiful and effective technique to clear a space. You’ll know if smudging worked because you will likely feel better after each ritual. A smudging ritual can be done annually, once a season, or more often. It’s especially powerful to perform a space clearing as part of the cleaning process when you first move into a new home.

Your Front Door: Color Me Feng Shui

Many years ago I wrote an article on Feng Shui. This you can find on my website.  Now I want to blog just about the door regarding Feng Shui. 

In feng shui, your front door is one of the most important areas of your home and represents the face you show to the world. Feng shui colors for a front door have practical, aesthetic, and potentially energetic implications. On a practical level, it is how you come in and out of your home. Your front door sets the tone for you and your visitors entering your home. It’s also the last thing you see when leaving your home to go out into the world.

On an energetic level, your front door also represents how energy and opportunities come into your life. Just like you want your guests to feel welcome when they enter through your front door, you also want opportunities to be attracted to enter your life. Your front door is the main portal for people and energy to enter your home. In feng shui, we call it the mouth of qi, or universal life force energy.

Your Front Door Color and Feng Shui

A feng shui practitioner looks at the colors and facing direction of your home to assess how the qi (life force energy) flows to your property. These factors offer information on how the qi is received inside the building. 

North-facing home: To activate the energy of your north-facing home, you can enhance the water or metal elements in your home’s north sector. Water is related to the color black and dark charcoal gray. Metal element colors are white, gray, and metallics like copper and bronze.

West-facing home: A west-facing home is enhanced by metal or earth element colors. Metal element colors are white, gray, and metallics, and yellow, brown, and earthy tones are all expressions of earth. 

South-facing home: The South is connected to fire, the summer season, fame, reputation, passion, illumination, and inspiration. It is related to red, purple, fiery orange, and yellow. 

East-facing home: Work with wood or water element colors to support the East direction. Wood is related to greens, mid-tone blues, and teals. Water is connected to black, dark charcoal gray, and deep navy blue.

One easy way to feng shui your front door is with paint. Look at things from a feng shui perspective based on your home’s facing direction and work with the colors you are attracted to. Also, pay attention to what colors will work well with the house’s exterior and your neighborhood as a whole. 

Red to Get Noticed

Red is the most auspicious color in feng shui, as well as a powerful color for protection and the transformation of negative energy. Red is also connected to the fire element, which represents warmth, passion, and inspiration. If you want your front door to be clearly visible from the street so that energy and opportunities can find you, a coat of red paint can be an effective way to do this. In the feng shui energy map, red is related to the recognition area. Red makes a bold statement, and it’s a great color to use if you want to get noticed.

Black to Attract Good Energy

Black absorbs, attracts, and brings in positive energy, which makes it a great choice for a front door color. It’s connected to the water element, which represents wisdom and depth. The north direction is also tied to this element. Water is also connected to your social connections and network, so black can be a supportive color for building friendships and relationships.

Yellow to Brighten 

Yellow is a bright, energetic color for a front door. In feng shui, yellow is connected to the earth element. Earth represents stability and grounding, so yellow is an excellent choice if you or your family could use more of that.

Green for Growth

Green is connected to the wood element in feng shui, which is related to new beginnings and growth. If you intend to invite in new opportunities to help you grow and expand, you may want to paint your door green.

White for Joy

Connected to the metal element in feng shui, white represents cleanliness and purity. The west direction is also tied to this element. The metal element is related to precision, communication, and joy. Try painting your door white to invite more of these metal element qualities into your life.

Blue for Knowledge

Like green, blue also represents the wood element, which supports growth and new beginnings. Deeper shades of blue are also connected to the “gen” area of the feng shui bagua map. Gen represents knowledge and self-cultivation, so dark blue can help support an intention to deepen your skillfulness.

Gray for Helpful People

Gray also represents the metal element, so it is a supportive color for inviting more metal element qualities into your life. In addition, it’s the color associated with the “qian” area of the feng shui bagua. Qian is all about helping people and travel, so a gray front door can support your intention to invite helpful people and benefactors into your life or to travel more.

After you’ve chosen a color for your front door, make sure you use it. Many people don’t use their formal front doors. It’s essential to activate energy flow by opening and walking through them regularly. Even if it’s not the entrance you use most often, try going out your front door when you go out to get the mail, for example. 

Finally, don’t forget to keep your freshly painted door clean. Part of having an inviting entryway is having a clean entry. When cleaning your home, take some time to wash your front door, including the hinges, knobs, and frame.

Questions often asked

What is the best color for a door, according to feng shui principles?

Feng shui is based on Taoism, a Chinese philosophy, and since red is the most auspicious color in Chinese culture, it is the most favored color for a door in feng shui. It represents good luck, protection, and the fire element. Fire is related to exciting energy, such as passion, inspiration, and expression.

What are popular colored doors in feng shui?

Some of the most common colors in feng shui for a door include red, green, blue, and brown. Red is related to power and energy, green brings growth, blue brings abundance, and brown brings earthly grounding.

What door color in feng shui attracts wealth to your home ?

Fire element red may be the most promising for attracting all good things. However, purple is also associated with wealth and royalty and can attract abundance and luxury into your life. Like red, purple is also associated with the fire element, attracting attention and change.

So are you ready to go choose a new front door color?  Get our brushes out and paint your door. It will be fun and who knows what will happen?