Cake or Why Americans like sweet

I grew up enjoying dessert. I have a strong sweet tooth and have been known to raid the chocolate chips supply. To me one of the prime sources of sweets is baking. Pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, pastries, tarts, cobblers, crisps. Even fresh baked breads and rolls are something that I enjoy more than most other things. This weekend I made an "old-fashion pound cake" from the Lion House Cakes and Cupcakes cook book.

My wife and I tried a slice each before serving it and remarked on how it wasn't a particularly sweet cake by itself. We served it, as recommended, with whipped cream and strawberries and black berries and enjoyed it much more. This got us thinking about the different types of cake and  differences between richness and sweetness. From my own experience in Russia it seemed that there was a preference for richness than sweetness when it came to desserts. Russian cakes weren't as sweet as those I'd had in America. Russian food in general wasn't as sweet. I knew several locals who told me that they couldn't eat Snickers candy bars because they were too sweet. American food has been considered too sweet by others, many blaming high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as the reason. However, I think the sweetness was there prior to the corn syrup. HFCS got it's big break in the food industry when sugar took a tariff hit and increased in price making the HFCS more economical. It wasn't introduced to make food sweet but rather to replace what was already there.

Perhaps the reason that American food tends to be sweeter is because American's history has been heavenly influenced by sugar. Prior to the discovery of the New World sugar was scarce in Western Europe, a delicacy by all standards. Is is because sugarcane - the primary source of sugar with little competition until the sugar beet became a contender in the mid 1800s - requires particular growing conditions. According to Netafim a company who "has successfully cultivated sugarcane in diverse climates and growing conditions worldwide," states that sugarcane is grown world wide between 36.7 degrees N and 31.0 degrees south latitude and is essentially a tropical plant. For perspective, the countries of Spain, Sicily, Italy, mainland Greece, and Turkey are all located above the 36th parallel, were as the states of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina are all below the 36th parallel. While those states, with the exception of Florida, are not considered tropical, the Caribbean is. And turned out to be very good to grow sugarcane.

While the North American colonies, for the most part, did not actually produce sugar they were involved in the sugar trade. They grew a lot of the food that went to the sugar rich islands. Islands that were growing so much sugar they important their food because it was cheaper to buy food with sugar money than try to grow it themselves. Sugar was king. Due to proximity to the sugar rich Caribbean I suspect that it was easier to get sugar in the North American colonies than in Europe. Now, the mother countries would of course want to hoard the sugar, and its profits, as much as possible and as a luxury item not everyone could afford it, but it would be very easy for smugglers, privateers, pirates, and other such entrepreneurs to sell their forbidden cargoes in the colonies than sailing all the way back to Europe. We know that the colonies ultimately evolved an identity and decided to throw off the chains of their imperial masters forming the USA that we all know today. While a melting pot the colonies began to develop their own culture and consequently their own take on past traditions and customs. Including food. With an increased accessibility to sugar it is more than possible that they fortified their native dishes with it.

While, "American as apple pie" is not strictly true - apple pies are not native to the USA - comparing various apple pie and apple pie analogs does show some possible evidence for my hypothesis. I've found receipts for "Real Dutch Apple Pie," a French apple tart, a apple pie that looks lot like what Russians make, and an "American" apple pie. The Dutch receipt has the most sugar overall, with 250 grams, but that includes 180 g. for the pastry and 70 g. for the filling. The American pie has 1 cup (1/2 cup white + 1/2 cup brown sugar) which is just over 236 g a difference of about 1.5 teaspoons. However, the American receipt does not include the pastry for the pie, just the filling. Between the American and the Russian apple pies the difference was about 2 tablespoons and a 1/4 of a cup compared to the French apple tart. Again, both the French and Russian receipts include the pastry. Not concrete proof, but interesting. Personally I like them all. Just don't be a little surprised if I put ice cream or whipped cream on any and all of them.

Aging

My father's birthday was last week. My own birthday is exactly a month before his. This week also marked 10 years since I returned from Russia as a religious service missionary. 10 years is a long time - a decade - and it is a length of time that we only have so many of. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2006 the average life expectancy of someone with at least a BS/BA by age 25 was 81 (citation figure 32 pg. 37). According to Wikipedia (the fount of all knowledge) Utah has a life expectancy of 80.2 years. So 8 decades to live you life, make your mark, and change the world.

Our first decade is a little tricky. Physically we grow faster and more than any other period in our life. If we were to continue growing at that rate things would get tricky. We also learn most of the basics skills necessary to care for ourselves and are physically capable of performing critical functions. We also develop mentally, socially, emotionally, and morally to a point where we have set a foundation for our future self. However, most people can't remember the first half of their first decade and other may not have too many memories of the second half. In terms of wide impact on the world there are limits to what the typical ten year old can do.

Our second decade tends to be a bit clearer in our minds. High school, puberty, and preparing to enter "adulthood" will do that. Not to mention our physical, mental, and social development over those years. As our bodies and minds change so do our abilities and capabilities. Some would wish to banish memories of this time while others feel that events such as junior high are creations of sadistic administrators. For my own part, high school was an okay experience, but starting college was better. You see more instances of teenagers impacting the world and society beyond their immediate area, but it is still early yet. Working with a lot of college freshmen who are at the end of this particular decade has shown me that most of them have no clue what their path in life is like. Some do and go on to achieve it, but the majority have no clue. This is because interests change, views expand, and experiences shape us, particularly as we enter our twenties.

The 1920's was known as the "Roaring Twenties" and, perhaps, we should consider this third decade of life as similar. They bare some direct similarities as 21 is the minimal age to buy alcohol in all states, many people in their twenties leave the nest, and starting careers often means they are funding their own entertainment. I can't speak about the vocational side as my experience personally and professionally involves college students. I've seen many students come out of high school, enter college away from home and revel in the resulting freedom. However, I've seen those revels result in everything from bad grades to armed robbery. One of the two "men" in the armed robbery story was a student in my College Success Skills class.

There is a lot of research on what has been termed Student Development Theory. As someone who has been exposed to many different theories of cognitive, ethical, racial identity, social, intellectual, and  various other kinds of development I find it an interesting lens through which to look in order to try to address students' needs. With that said, each individual student has their own experience and their own development path. I don't know if it is possible to give a brief outline of what people "typically" go through in this decade, so I'm not going to worry about it. Most enter their career field, some doing so after college, others doing it without college. Social relationships outside of family become more important with people considering marriage or other long term relationships. In short, this is the decade that is often seen as, "the beginning of the rest of your life." And it is the one that I have officially past out of.

In the moment, it's hard to imagine that I still have five decades of life ahead of me. I remember my father telling me that there will come a time when I'll be able to look back on a ten year period, see the accomplishments I have made and then project that into the future and the possible accomplishments I'll be able to make. I've had that in mind as I've gotten older. I remember my father being a little down as he contemplated his own statement. I think it must have been around his 40th birthday. He doesn't handle the decade years well. I would tease him about it but when he turned 50 he threatened to bodily throw me off Angle's Landing. I want to make it to 50 so I don't bring it up.

D-Day

Today is the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. In an effort to end Nazi Germany's hold on Europe The United Kingdom, Canda, and the United State launched an amphibious invasion that has never been rivaled. Thousands of men landed via parachute and landing craft and fought through a concrete jungle of mines, barbed wire, machine gun nests, tunnels, and forts in order to establish a foothold from which they could advance across Europe. With the Soviet Union battling from the East and the Allied powers from the west Germany surrendered within a year (May 9, 1945).

The battle of D-Day was a pivotal moment in World War II. I have little doubt that had it failed Germany would have done significantly more damage to Europe. Would they have been stopped? Probably. Hitler's vision was unsustainable and would have fallen - but at what additional cost. Perhaps nuclear weapons would have been used against Germany in addition to Japan. We might never know the extent of the damage. We only know what was accomplished by those that stormed the beaches and overcome the defenders.

The history of World War II has always had been of particular interest to me. Perhaps it was the global scale of it. Maybe it was the fact that I had relatives that fought in it. For whatever reason I have always found myself drawn to its stories and history. With that in mind I would like to recommend a few books that I've read that give insight on the conflict and that I have found both inspiring and inspirational.

The Trio of books: D-Day, Pegasus Bridge, and Citizen Soldier by Stephen E. Ambrose covers preparations for the invasion, its execution, and aftermath. Pegasus Bridge focuses on the British glider troops that were tasked with capturing bridges on the east flank and holding off German reinforcements until the beaches were secure. All three books focus on the individuals who fought the war, not just the general strategies and tactics, but the actual riflemen, and what they experienced. You can read my review of the audio version of Citizen Soldier from my other blog for a more detailed description.

Armor and Blood by Dennis E. Showalter is a recently published book about the Battle of Kursk, Germany's last offensive action against the Soviet Union. While it took place a year before D-Day its contribution to the downfall of Nazi Germany cannot be ignored. Many westerners are not familiar with the Eastern Front of World War II and the way that the Soviets fought. Armor and Blood gives a great view of what has been determined as the largest tank battle in history. It is more of a historical analysis with lots of attention given to both individual tactics and overall strategy. It was an very interesting read. You can read my review of the audio version from my other blog for a more detailed description.

I believe that The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer, is perhaps the most incredible book that dives into the history that surrounds Would War II. I listened to this last year and was blown away by the magnitude of information that we have about the Nazi Party, Hitler's rise to power, and the ease that it all happened. I use the term "ease that it all happened" because it is not hard to see another Hitler like tyrant rise to power in our day. Shirer adds personal memories to the host of captured documents that were seized to weave a frightening tale of politics and desire. My father rereads this book every ten years or so to "remind himself to pay attention." You can read my review of the audio version from my other blog for a more detailed description.

These are just a small handful of books that examine the watershed event that was World War II. D-Day was one of the largest, most complete gathering of men and material and was executed was daring and bravery. Disaster occurred, victory was won, and men lived and died on both sides. That fact is important to remember. Every war has two sides. Let those that fought for freedom and those that fought for their homeland be honored.