EVERYTHING WE THOUGHT WE KNEW WAS A LIE.
We couldn’t help but stop cold over this tidbit from the Smithsonian, which reports that the art of frying butter a la Deen comes way, way before Paula Deen — in fact, centuries before. The Smithsonian credits food blogger Ivan Day, at the blog Food History Jottings, for finding some of the first recorded fried butter recipes, which are kind of hilarious. Like this one, in 1747:
Lay it in Salt and Water two or three Hours, then spit it, and rub it all over with Crumbs of Bread, with a little grated Nutmeg, lay it to the Fire and as it roasts, bathe it with the Yolks of two Eggs, and then with Crubms of Bread all the Time it is a roasting; but have ready a pint of Oysters stewed in their own Liquor, and lay in the Dish under the Butter when the Bread has soaked up all the Butter, brown the Outside, and lay it on your Oysters. Your Fire must be very slow.
Is that what your recipe says, Deen? We give Day mad props for giving these recipes a try today, in what results basically in a pool of butter.
The moral of the story: if you want to blame Deen for polluting and fattening America, among other things, don’t just blame her — blame your ancestors, who got the wise idea to fry up some butter.
[Food History Jottings, via The Smithsonian]
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