For the History-Loving Foodie

Cherry flummery! from Gourmet Mama

I love the History Chef blog! It has entries on Dolley Madison’s love of flummery and other exciting histo-culinary nuggets. (Did you know Zachary Taylor died of gastroenteritis? She doesn’t give that recipe!) She even explains how steamboats work. SCIENCE and HISTORY.

FAST FACT: If you’ve ever watched steam rise from a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, you might think that a steamboat is propelled by steam. That makes sense, but that isn’t exactly how a steamboat works. In a steamboat’s engine, wood or other fuel is burned to heat water in a boiler, and the steam that rises from the water is forced through small spaces (piston cylinders) to increase the speed at which it escapes, similar to the release of a valve on a pressure-cooker. The concentrated steam then hits and moves a paddlewheel which, in turn, propels the steamboat through water!

If there was ever any blogger who should get a book deal it is History Chef’s creator, Suzy Evans, J.D., Ph.D.  Or a museum deal!