Indelible Edibles
Last week, at a “strudel reception” hosted by Austria’s New York consulate, food writer Mimi Sheraton gave a brief talk on cuisine and memory. She spoke of an interview she once did with movie great Federico Fellini in which the director recalled his family’s recipe for the dessert zuppa inglese, or English trifle. As a final step, Fellini said, a sheet of newsprint from the Corriere della Padana would be rolled up and used to apply the whipped cream. “But that paper no longer exists,” he told Sheraton, “and so the dish doesn’t taste the same anymore.”
Along similar lines, Sheraton recalled her family’s recipe for strudel. Her grandmother would make her own dough, and she would keep rolling it until it was so thin that a page of the Forverts could be read when slipped underneath. The paper’s ink, Sheraton suggested, was her grandmother’s secret ingredient. With this in mind, we hope our recent redesign hasn’t altered any treasured family recipes.
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