The Melting Pot: PART 2 - How Ethnic Foods Survived Through Early Mobility

Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2015 2:00 am - Uniontown (PA) Herald-Standard

THE MELTING POT: SPECIAL COLUMN: Ethnic Street Foods: Part 2 - How Ethnic Foods Survived Through Early Mobility

In the last column we learned about the many ethnic foods found in outside venues such as food carts and how these venues kept ethnic foods alive and well.  The precursor to the food carts (that are mainly located in one place) were the old hand-carts, push-carts and smaller animal-drawn carts from early Greek and Roman times.  These food venues had no way of heating or chilling foods so prepared foods were sold.  Carts had the distinct advantage of being able to be moved should a location not be productive in sales, as well as transporting goods to/from storage to the place chosen from which to trade. There were chuck wagons (in the west) and dope wagons (in the south - southern factory work carts were called this because Coca Cola was thought in the early 1900’s to contain cocaine!).  Garment workers, construction men, delivery boys and urban dwellers relied upon the carts for cheap and filling nourishment (meat pies such as Fatayer (middle Eastern meat pie), fresh fruits and varied sandwiches such as a Lahmacun or a Turkish pizza) in the middle of busy days.

The types of foods sold by the push-carts varied:  fruits, vegetables, prepared foods, like potato pancakes, oysters on the half-shell, or pickles. Fruit carts often sold pre-sliced fruit as snacks and often were open later to catch people coming home from work. In the summers, they functioned as a dessert cart of sorts for people lolling outdoors in nice weather. But mostly carts tended to specialize in a particular food type and were often stationed in the same place every week and they offered a basic and necessary service: providing ingredients for meals to their customers at relatively cheap prices.

Ethnic foods that were served on carts (that didn’t need to bechilled or served warm but rather were served at room temperature) were, for example, from Italy:  Minestrone (garden vegetable soup) served with Formaggio (cheese) and Crostini de pane (crusty bread), Vitello e Salsiccia Pane Panini (veal and sausage loaf sandwich), and Sandwich Fritti Pepe (fried pepper sandwich).  From Spain comes Basque Pan del Cuidador (Basque sheepherder’s bread), and Gazpacho (soup made of raw vegetables servedcold or at room temperature, usually with a tomato base and from LatinCountries and SE Asia Empanadas (fried stuffed breads or pastries) .  From Russia and Poland come pirozshki aka perogies (individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings).  

Popular foods from Greece would be pita bread with hummus or wedges of Spanakopita (rich phyllo pie dough baked and stuffed with spinach, onions, cheeses and herbs).  African-Americans could buy cooked greens, black-eyed peas and corn bread for lunch.  An Irishman might eat a Ceapaire Mairteola Corned (corned beef sandwich made with slices of corn beef and buttered rye bread) and pickles. A Swede might eat marinated tomatoes on Buttercrust Brod (bread).  Desserts might include German Kürbis Brot (pumpkin bread), Greek Baklava and Greek Kserotizna (deep fried honey drizzled twists).

NOTE:  Little known fact:  During the early 1900s, the hamburger was thought to be polluted, unsafe to eat, and food for the poor. Street carts, not restaurants, typically served them.

For recipes from 1700s to 1960s and modern day links, visit

www.ThePAMeltingPot.com.  Christine Willard, a native of western Pennsylvania, researches and blogs about the food unique to western Pennsylvania. She currently resides in North Carolina.

THE MELTING POT: PART 1 - How Ethnic Foods Survived Through Early Mobility

The Melting Pot: PART 1 - How Ethnic Foods Survived 

Through Early Mobility

Posted: Thursday, April 16, 2015 2:00 am - Uniontown (PA) Herald-Standard

PHOTOS BELOW NEWSPAPER COLUMN:

Europeans, Asians and other peoples traveled across Europe, and as they settled and moved, their foods were affected by where they lived, by who ruled them and by various other circumstances.

They came to the United States and brought their ethnic recipes with them. As German, Irish, Italian, Polish, English, French, Russian, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Ukrainian and other ethnic groups settled in southwestern Pennsylvania they assimilated into society as did their foods.

Previously and today, their foods live on not only in the home, church and other venues but most importantly on the streets through mobile dining.

Food carts come in two basic styles.

One allows the vendor to sit or stand inside and serve food through a window. Another uses all of the room inside the cart for storage and usually some type of grilling surface.

Food carts first appeared at the time of the early Greek and Roman civilizations, with traders converting old hand-carts, push-carts and smaller animal-drawn carts into mobile trading units.

Carts have the distinct advantage of being able to be moved should a location not be productive in sales, as well as transporting goods to/from storage to the place chosen from which to trade. There were chuck wagons (in the west) and dope wagons (southern factory work carts).

The use of these carts gained major ground with the coming of the railways. Mobile customers required food and drink to keep them warm within the early open carriages. Locomotives needed to stop regularly to take on coal and water, and allow their passengers to use the toilets, eat and drink. Few early trains had any form of buffet or dining car so the food carts were perfect.

When passengers did arrive at their destination or when they needed to switch trains or modes of transportation, some refreshment was required, particularly for poorer passengers who could not afford to stay in the railway-owned hotels.

The food carts expanded to concession stands also. Many countries still use these such as in Africa and Southeast Asia.

The first food cart items were ready-made foods.

A summary of ready-made foods, for example, from Germany might be Fleischkase (meatloaf) served with mustard in a roll, from Turkey Shawarma (Levantine Arab meat preparation, where lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day), from Hungary a Retes (strudel), from Italy a Margherita pizza (the street version originated in Naples and is rectangular in shape with toppings of margherita, mushrooms, Italian sausage, ham and vegetables), from Poland a Rurki Z Kremem (similar to ice cream cones but filled with whipped cream), from Romania Covrigi (hot pretzels covered in sesame or poppy seeds) and from Slovakia Langos (fried flat bread loaves with garlic and salt or other condiments).

For recipes from 1700s to 1960s and modern day links, visit www.ThePAMeltingPot.com.

Christine Willard, a native of western Pennsylvania, researches and blogs about the food unique to western Pennsylvania. She currently resides in North Carolina.

THE PA MELTING POT: Part 3-2 Russia: Carpatho-Rusyns or Carpatho-Russians

The Melting Pot:  A look at the evolution of food in southwestern Pa.  Part 3 – B Carpatho-Rusyns

Who were the Carpatho-Russians or Carpatho-Rusyns?  

There are 1.2 million people of Rusyn origin in Europe which includes the area of the Carpathian Mountains: Bulgaria, Poland, the Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Austria-Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia=Herzegovina, and a former Russian state.  Since they didn’t have their own country (although they had their own language – Rusyn) when they immigrated to the US they used their country of origin so it is difficult to tell which Poles, which Bulgarians and those from the countries above were really Carpatho-Russians.  We can guess that that there are about 620,000 Americans who have at least one ancestor of Carpatho-Rusyn background.

The most famous American of Carpatho-Rusyn descent was Andy Warhol, the pop artist, photographer, and filmmaker who attended the Byzantine Rite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh's Rusyn Valley aka the Four Mile Run (in the Oakland/Greenfield area).  In Pittsburgh the top 10 Rusyn/Russian zip codes contain 1.75% to 8.2% Russians and/or Carpatho-Rusyns.

Although the vast majority of Carpatho-Rusyns who came to the US before World War I left small villages where they worked as farmers or as livestock herders, they found employment in the eastern PA coal mines but even more important for the Carpatho-Rusyns was the growing steel industry of the Pittsburgh area.  The steel mills employed most Carpatho-Rusyns who lived in western Pennsylvania and neighboring Ohio.

By 1920, nearly 80 percent of all Carpatho-Rusyns lived in only three states: Pennsylvania (54 percent), New York and New Jersey. This settlement pattern has been retained by the descendants although many have migrated to the surrounding suburbs.

According to the Ambridge Connection Website there are 60,000 people of Carpatho-Rusyn background in western Pa. There is an annual festival held in August in Ambridge, Pa.  There are also festivals in Uniontown and Erie. If you count the 16 ethnic groups from the Carpathian Mountains 22% of Uniontown’s and 17% of Pittsburgh’s population is made up of these groups. There is a Rusyn-Carpathian Society in Munhall, PA and a radio broadcast every Sunday at 2:30 pm which is also available on the Society’s website.   

CUISINE:   Since the Carpatho-Rusyns lived in so many different countries their cuisine is a mélange from those countries:  

Halupki (Russian/Ukrainian dish made of rice, beef and pork encased in cabbage drizzled with a thin, sweet tomato sauce),   Haluski/Halusky (thick, soft noodles or dumplings cooked in the Central and Eastern European cuisines and served with cabbage and onion), Pirohy/Pierogie (Slovakian dumplings of unleavened dough – first boiled, then  served with melted butter or various toppings, or then fried with onions – traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit), Pulnina/Manzat pâinii (Slovakian/Romanian veal loaf), Kielbasa (Polish sausage), Borscht (Russian/Ukrainian beet soup), (Studenina (Polish jellied pig’s feet), Kislaya Kapusta (Russian sauerkraut), Latke/Latka (Russian/Ukrainian/Polish potato pancakes), Paska breads and Pagach (Rusyn/Russian pizza which is dough spread with potatoes and cheese or sauerkraut and baked in butter).  

Beer, wine, juices, and carbonated water/flavored sodas, Slivovica (plum brandy) and Borovicka (gin) are popular.

Desserts include Cheregei/Ponchiki/Paczki (Slovak, Russian/Polish filled and/or not filled donut – filled use classic flavors like strawberry, blueberry and custard), Rusyn Multilayered Tortes often filled with apricot and Mák rolích (Czechoslovakian poppy seed rolls).

Christine Willard, a native of western Pennsylvania, researches and blogs about the food unique to western Pennsylvania. She currently resides in North Carolina. Her blog is www.ThePAMeltingPot.com.

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3 (Facebook group)

LINK 4 (Recipes from Pittsburgh)

LINK 5 Ambridge Rusyn Food Festival 2020

THE PA MELTING POT: Southern Europeans: 9-5 Italy: Umbria

The Melting Pot: Southern Europe - Umbria

The 1870 United States Census shows there were 784 Italian-born Americans in the US.   Today, over 17 million Americans claim Italian ancestry in the USA and the Italian Americans in the 10 southwestern counties of Pennsylvania claim their heritage:  26.1% (1^st - Lawrence) and 10.8% (10^th- Armstrong).  

Again, as immigration officials would often combine all regions of a country by the language spoken or the point of origin there are no real numbers of exactly from which regions the Italians came although it seems that most came from central and southern Italy.

In Pittsburgh laborers frequently worked for the city’s public works services and the Equitable Gas Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad yards. Pittsburgh’s Italian neighborhoods included Oakland, East Liberty, the Lower Hill, the Bluff, and Bloomfield.

Umbrian cuisine is very rustic, often called “cucina povera”, or peasant cooking, which uses minimal ingredients and employs methods of preparation that rely heavily on local products:  prosciutto, grains (faro), lentils, vegetables (asparagus), fresh herbs, olive oil (Umbria’s liquid gold), black and white truffles and chocolate. The simple traditional Umbrian dishes have been handed down through generations since the Etruscan times (700 BC).

Antipasti:  Bruschetta topped with olive or truffle pastes, Verdure Grigliate con Olio d'Oliva (grilled vegetables with olive oil), and selections of Salumi (cured meats). 

Carne e Pesce (meats and fish):  Tagliatelle al Ragu d’Oca (Tagliatelle with Goose Ragu), Filetto di Maiale con Bacche di Ginepro (Pork with Juniper Berries), Cirole (pasta served with oil and garlic), Colombi (wild pigeons), Coneglio in Potacchietto (rabbit casserole with wine, garlic and rosemary), Medaglione alla Rossini (beef filet cooked a buttery Marsala sauce & served with slices of ham and cheese on top), Olivette di Vitello (little rolls of thinly sliced veal stuffed with anchovies and capers, dipped in batter and fried in butter) and Sogliola alla Rossini (fillet of sole with white-wine sauce and foie gras).

Insalate e verdure (salads and vegetables):  Rucola con Pecorino, Pignoli e Pere (Arugula, Pecorino, Pine Nut and Pear Salad), Cardi alla Perugina (chards served in a tomato meat sauce), Fave alla Campagnola (slow-cooked broad beans served with olive oil and onion puree) and Olive al Forno (green olives wrapped in bacon and baked).  

Pasta e Il Riso (pasta and rice):  Calcioni or Piconi (ravioli), Cirole (pasta served with oil and garlic), Risotto alla Rossino (mushrooms and risotto), Spaghetti ai Tartuffi Neri (with the famous Umbrian black truffle) and Strangozzi di Spoleto (homemade flat pasta served with oil, garlic, basil and tomato).

Pane (breads):  One very popular bread is torta al testo (a flat, thin bread cooked on a griddle pan which is often stuffed with cured meats, sausages or sauteed greens). Torcoletti (an Easter bread) is a Pecorino cheese bread and is baked in a ring shape.

Desserts (desserts): Biscotti ai Cereali (Umbrian Snow Flake Cookies), Cicerchiata (a honey and almond cake), Crostini Umbriachi (chocolate flavored bread) and Granita di limone (lemon granita-granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings).  

Formaggi (cheeses):  mature Pecorino sheep’s cheese and fresh or ripe goat’s cheeses are the most popular.

I Vini (wines):  Red and white wines from Montefalco are the best known.

Liquori (liqueurs):   Nocino is a digestif (served after dinner) made from green walnuts. 

MANGIA BENE!

LINKS (PHOTOS BELOW)

LINK to Wiki on Italian Cuisine

LINK to EveryCulture on Italian-Americans

LINK To the Foods of Umbria

LINK TO Umbrian Recipes 1

LINK to Umbrian travel and recipes

LINK to nytimes.com and Umbrian recipes