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June 26, 2006
Grab a Spoon and a Toothbrush
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
On June 26, 1498, the bristle toothbrush, was invented in China. The bristles were actually the stiff hairs taken from the back of a boar's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo. These boar bristles were used until 1938, when nylon bristles were introduced with the first nylon toothbrush called Doctor West's Miracle Tuft Toothbrush, made by Dupont de Nemours.
Ironically, June 26th is also National Chocolate Pudding Day, which is a much sweeter subject altogether.
Though time, many different kinds of foods have been called pudding. The first puddings made by ancient cooks were meat-based and similar to sausages, and even Medieval puddings were still mostly meat-based. By the 17th century, the English also made sweet puddings of flour, nuts and sugar, such as the old nursery rhyme "pease porridge" which was a simple boiled pudding of pease meal.
The creamy, rich dessert we Americans call pudding is more related to custard. In fact, some say that pudding is just another word for a chocolate mousse made with custard which gives the pudding "body" and heaviness that distinguish it from a mousse. (It's the ingestion of the custard which leads to the heaviness of my body as well.)
In the late 19th century, some American social reformers and food companies began promoting custards and puddings as health foods, stating these foods were especially nutritious for children, the elderly, and invalids. Even chocolate pudding was perceived as a health food! With this promotional push, puddings and custards quickly went from cookbook recipes to instant mixes, and eventually, to ready-to-eat snack packages.
But whatever you prefer to call it, pudding, mousse or custard, all I know is that chocolate pudding doesn't seem to hold a candle to birthday cake *wink* and that you'd better brush after you eat it.
Posted by photocartoonist at June 26, 2006 7:05 PM