The interesting story behind the origin of your favourite dishes

For almost all of us, food is a means to bring together family and friends. The fun, laughter, and excitement that accompany a gathering of food lovers is a long-lasting memory in our mind. Also, when there are a lot of food lovers, there are various dishes to be ordered. Even if it is not a social gathering, we all have some favourite dishes that we like to relish when at home. Be it pasta, pizza, burger, sandwich, chips, popcorn, etc. all are our favourites.

All food items and dishes have a story and history attached to them. Somewhere at some point of time a dish was invented and prepared for the first time. Many times these backstories or origins to certain dishes are intriguing and fascinating. These stories tell us about the history of various dishes and how they travelled through time and places. Here is a look at the origins of 5 of your favourite dishes.

In 1894, Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street broker, entered the Waldorf Hotel for breakfast. Because of the hangover of the previous night’s drinking, he ordered a mixture made out of a variety of items. It consisted of poached eggs, buttered toast, and bacon, with a side of hollandaise sauce. The manager of the restaurant tasted the creation and liked it a lot. Thus, he added it to the menu and named it in honour of Benedict.

It is a widely believed misconception that Caesar Salad originated in Rome and was named after Julius Caesar. Rather, it was invented in 1924 by Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant in Mexico. It so happened that on a very busy day, Cardini, the owner of a restaurant on a buzzing street, was running low on ingredients. Very soon many customers arrived and in an attempt to make something he tossed together some remaining items. These were lettuce, garlic, croutons, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, eggs, and Worcestershire sauce. Thus the Caesar Salad was born!

The most common story of the origins of Doughnut refers to Elizabeth Gregory, a New England ship captain’s mother. She used to prepare deep-fried dough for the boat crew to eat on voyages. According to her son, Hanson Gregory, he invented the ring shape in 1847, while on a voyage. To remove the raw insides, he claims to have punched a hole through the centre of the dough with the ship’s tin pepper box. In doing so he produced the first doughnut.

If you think that French Toast was invented in France, you are mistaken. Actually, the origins of the dish are unclear. A very famous dish known as ‘suppe dorate’ was popular in England during the Middle Ages. The name “French toast" was first used in 17th-century England. The recipe and name were brought to America by early settlers. Interestingly in French, the dish is called ‘pain perdu’ which translates to “lost bread”, because the dish recycles stale bread.

The British statesman and earl of Sandwich (a town in England), John Montagu was a gambler in private life. Once, he was too involved in poker and was unwilling to take a break for food. So he asked his servant to fetch him a piece of meat stuffed between two slices of toast so he could eat without stopping the game. Soon his friends also started asking for the same as a “sandwich”.