Today's entry into the exceptionally weird world of food leads us to an old favorite, and decidedly more tasty than silkworm pupa. Vermont Curry. Why does a curry brand made in Japan since 1963 (and not originally intended for export to the U.S.) carry the name "Vermont"? Damned if I know. Perhaps the House Foods Corporation thought it was trendy at the time (1963). Anyway, the stuff is great. Major league tasty, easy to make, and mongo nutritious.
And in my quest to figure out how they came up with the name "Vermont", I came upon a cool factoid, considering I always considered curry as a decidedly Asian dish. Here ya' go - curry came to Meiji Japan during late 1800s by way of the British, who picked up a taste for it in colonial India. The Japanese, at the time, considered it a trendy 'Western' dish at a time when many new foreign ideas and products were entering the country. Pretty weird, eh? What we consider quintessentially Asian was thought by the Japanese to be quintessentially Western. So maybe the leap to naming it "Vermont Curry" in 1963 wasn't that far, after all.
As for why curry tastes the way it does, here's the list of spices that go into it (courtesy of the House Foods website):
The spices used in curry sauce and their general effects are:
Cardamom: improves appetite, relieves flatulence, and induces sweating
Turmeric: increases liver function, heals fatigue, and acts as an anticancer agent
Cumin: improve the appetite and digestion
Black pepper: stimulates appetite, digestion, and circulation
Coriander: helps purify the blood, induce sweating, and aid digestion
Red pepper: helps to improve heart and circulation, as well as induces sweating
Cinnamon: acts as a stimulant and detoxifier
Nutmeg: has analgesic effects and acts as a sleep aid
Fenugreek: brings down fever and helps with acid indigestion and diarrhea
Bay leaf: contributes to good digestion
OK, second weird curry factoid. The idea of putting potatoes in Japanese curry is credited to, umm, a guy from Massachusetts. William S Clark (1826-1886) was a president of what is now Amherst, officer during the Civil War, and 1876-77 spent eight months in Japan as a founding president of Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University). There was a rice shortage in Japan at the time (due to a drought), and apparently Smith came up with the idea of adding potatoes to curry mix for extra nutrition. Pretty cool, eh?
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