New Exhibit! Food Revolutions: Science and Nutrition, 1700-1920

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

Food RevolutionsFood Revolutions is now on view in the Ellis Library Colonnade.  From the four humors to the discovery of vitamins, this exhibition examines our changing notions of healthy eating over two centuries. Food Revolutions brings together medical books, cookbooks, scientific publications, and dieting texts to illustrate our ongoing quest for health, and our changing relationships with food.

Ingolf Gruen, associate professor in the Department of Food Science, will open the exhibit with a talk entitled “Food Revolutions: How Science Changed the Way We Eat,” on March 6 at 2:30 in the Ellis Library Colonnade.

Food Revolutions will be on display in the Ellis Library Colonnade March 2-29, 2012.

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Teaching Spotlight: Lena Sheets, Smithton Middle School

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

Graduate student Amy Jones shows ancient Asian artifacts to Smithton Middle School studentsLena Sheets has a master’s degree in education and teaches world cultures at Smithton Middle School in Columbia.  In December 2011, she brought 150 sixth-grade students to tour various collections on the MU campus, including Special Collections and Rare Books.  This month, we’ll hear from her and her students about their experiences with rare books and artifacts.

SC: How did you incorporate Special Collections into your teaching this semester?
Prior to going to special collections, students had been learning about the Early River Civilizations, such as  Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Students then went to Special Collections and learned various ways that early civilizations communicated.  Students wrote observations about the items they saw such as scrolls, papyrus, parchment and seals. Students then came back to school and wrote a brief story that incorporated the information they had learned about a particular piece.

What outcomes resulted from your class visits? What were the effects on your students?
Students could make the connection between history and real people and objects that they have studied.Students are much more engaged in what they are learning and are more inquisitive.  They would like to return again next year.

What advice would you give to faculty or instructors interested in using Special Collections in their courses?
If you are working with middle school students, it is important for them to have an activity to do while they visit.  The presenters were very engaging and answered a ton of questions, but it just middle school nature for students minds to wander.  With the outstanding presentation and a place to write down what they were learning, students were engaged the entire time and had great discussions when they returned.

Any additional comments or suggestions?
I think a visit to Special Collections is a great authentic experience that could fit any place in a unit, at the beginning to generate excitement or at the end to help students make real world connections outside the classroom, or even in the middle to do a little of both.

The staff  at Special Collections were so patient and accommodating. In addition, they were full of knowledge about each artifact and kept the students thinking.   I also appreciated that they took the time to let me preview the items my students would see. I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm for the trip and I only hope, I can get funding to return again next year.

Browse stories by young writers from Lena Sheets’ class below.

Know an inspiring educator or outstanding student you’d like to nominate for the Spotlight?  Email us at SpecialCollections@missouri.edu.

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Friday Food: William Kitchiner’s Recipe for Wow Wow Sauce, 1817

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

William Kitchiner claimed to have a medical degree, but there is no evidence of his ever actually attending university.  His eccentric, epicurean dinner parties are his primary claim to fame.  He also invented a condiment he called Wow Wow Sauce, which became popular in the nineteenth century.

Kitchiner takes scientist’s approach to cooking in The Cook’s Oracle.  He published specific instructions for cooking techniques, an explanation of the chemical processes of cooking, and a table of weights and measures.

Wow Wow Sauce for Stewed or Bouilli Beef

From The Cook’s Oracle

Chop some Parsley leaves very finely, quarter two or three pickled Cucumbers, or Walnuts, and divide them into small squares, and set them by ready; — put into a saucepan a bit of Butter as big as an egg; when it is melted, stir to it a tablespoonful of fine Flour, and about half a pint of the Broth in which the Beef was boiled ; add a tablespoonful of Vinegar, the like quantity of Mushroom Catsup, or Port Wine, or both, and a teaspoonful of made Mustard; let it simmer together till it is as thick as you wish it, put in the Parsley and Pickles to get warm, and pour it over the Beef, — or rather send it up in a Sauce-tureen.

Obs.—If you think the above not sufficiently piquante, add to it some Capers, or a minced Shallot, or one or two teaspoonsful of Shallot Wine (No. 402), — or Essence of Anchovy, — or Basil (No 397), — Elder, or Tarragon (No. 396), or Horseradish (No. 399), or Burnet Vinegar ; or strew over the meat, Carrots and Turnips cut into dice, — minced Capers, — Walnuts, — Red Cabbage, — pickled Cucumbers, — or French Beans, &c.

See the full text at the Hathi Trust

Don’t miss Food Sense, the 2012 Life Sciences and Society Symposium, March 16-18.  SCARaB will be participating with an exhibition of books on science and nutrition.

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