The History of Cupcakes

Posted on August 11, 2015 by lillian

Hi there! I decided to research about cupcakes because I was reading a fictional cupcake book. Hope you enjoy the cupcake facts!

The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated.

There are two theories: one, the cakes were originally cooked in cups and two, the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup. In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called “number” cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations – but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes.

Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was down in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started created cupcakes in tins.

Since their creation, cupcakes have become a pop culture trend in the culinary world. They have spawned dozens of bakeries devoted entirely to them. While chocolate and vanilla remain classic favorites, fancy flavors such as raspberry meringue and espresso fudge can be found on menus.

There are cookbooks, blogs, and magazines specifically dedicated to cupcakes. Icing, also called frosting in the United States, is a sweet often creamy glaze made of sugar with a liquid, such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients such as butter, egg whites, cream cheese, or flavorings. It is used to cover or decorate baked goods.

Elizabeth Raffald documented the first recipe for icing in 1769 in the Experienced English Housekeeper, according to the Food Timeline. The simplest icing is a glace icing, containing powdered sugar and water. This can be flavored and colored as desired, for example, by using lemon juice in place of the water.

More complicated icings can be made by beating fat into powdered sugar (as in buttercream), by melting fat and sugar together, by using egg whites (as in royal icing), and by adding other ingredients such as glycerin (as in fondant). Some icings can be made from combinations of sugar and cream cheese or sour cream, or by using ground almonds (as in marzipan). The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796, when a recipe notation of “a cake to be baked in small cups” was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons.

The earliest documentation of the term cupcake was in ‘Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats’ in 1828 in Eliza Leslie’s Receipts cookbook. In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name cup cake or cupcake. In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in.

This is the use of the name that has remained, and the name of “cupcake” is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name “fairy cake” is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share. While English fairy cakes vary in size more than American cupcakes, they are traditionally smaller and are rarely topped with elaborate icing.

The other kind of “cup cake” referred to a cake whose ingredients were measured by volume, using a standard-sized cup, instead of being weighed. Recipes whose ingredients were measured using a standard-sized cup could also be baked in cups; however, they were more commonly baked in tins as layers or loaves. In later years, when the use of volume measurements was firmly established in home kitchens, these recipes became known as 1234 cakes or quarter cakes, so called because they are made up of four ingredients: one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs.

They are plain yellow cakes, somewhat less rich and less expensive than pound cake, due to using about half as much butter and eggs compared to pound cake. The names of these two major classes of cakes were intended to signal the method to the baker; “cup cake” uses a volume measurement, and “pound cake” uses a weight measurement. Cupcakes have become more than a trend over the years, they’ve become an industry!

Paper baking cups first hit U.S. markets after the end of the World War II. An artillery manufacturer called the James River Corporation began manufacturing cupcake liners for U.S. markets when its military markets began to diminish. By 1969, they consolidated business as a paper company and left artillery manufacturing behind.

During the 1950s, the paper baking cup gained popularity as U.S. housewives purchased them for convenience. Their flexibility grew when bakers realized that they could bake muffins as well as cupcakes in the baking cups. The modern idea of the cupcake is probably different from the historical origin of the phrase.

Imagine what it would be like being a cook in 19th-century Britain or North America. When food historians approach the topic of cupcakes, they run into a gray area in which the practice of making individual cup-sized cakes can become confused with the convention of making cakes with cup-measured ingredients. The notion of baking small cakes in individual containers probably began with the use of clay or earthenware mugs.

It could have been a way to use up extra batter; to make the most efficient use of a hot oven by placing small ramekins, or little baking dishes, in unused spaces; or to create an evenly baked product fast when fuel was in short supply. Early in the 20th century, the advent of multi-cupcake molded tins brought modest mass production methods to cupcake making, and a modern baking tradition was born. Cakes in some form have been around since ancient times, and today’s familiar round cakes with frosting can be traced back to the 17th century, made possible by advances in food technology such as: better ovens, metal cake molds and pans, and the refinement of sugar.

I got it at storify.com but I originally got it at Google Images.

Websites I used:

https://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring07/ayers/history.html

https://people.rit.edu/kge3737/320/project3/history.html

https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/who-invented-the-cupcake.htm

https://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/Who-Invented-The-Cupcake.htm

Latest News: California Quail

Posted on June 11, 2015 by lillian

Hi there! My mother, Camilla, suggested that I write a series of posts about birds on my blog since I’ve been talking about them and learning about them. Please let me know if you have any bird books, CDs, or a website you’d recommend! Here is the part about California Quail.

California Quail are plump, short-necked game birds with a small head and bill. They fly on short, very broad wings. The tail is fairly long and square. Both sexes have a comma-shaped topknot of feathers projecting forward from the forehead, longer in males than females. Adult males are rich gray and brown, with a black face outlined with bold white stripes. Females are a plainer brown and lack the facial markings. Both genders have a pattern of white, creamy, and chestnut scales on the belly. Young birds look like females but have a shorter topknot.

California Quail spend most of their time on the ground, walking and scratching in search of food. In morning and evening they forage beneath shrubs or on open ground near cover. They usually travel in groups called coveys. Their flight is explosive but lasts just long enough to reach cover.

You’ll find California Quail in chaparral, sagebrush, oak woodlands, and foothill forests of California and the Northwest. They’re quite tolerant of people and can be common in city parks, suburban gardens, and agricultural areas. The California quail is a small, plump bird with a short black beak. The male has a gray chest and brown back and wings. It has a black throat with white stripes and a brown cap on its head. The female has a gray or brown head and back and a lighter speckled chest and belly. Both the male and the female have a curved black crown feather on their foreheads. The male’s crown feather is larger than the female’s.

The California quail is sometimes called the valley quail. The California quail eats seeds, plant parts like buds and sometimes insects. They feed in flocks in the early morning. The California quail can be found from southern Oregon to southern California and east into Nevada. The California quail lives in grasslands, foothills, woodlands, canyons and at the edge of deserts. It likes areas with lots of brush. The California quail lives in coveys of 10 to 200 birds in the winter.

They will stay in these flocks until they pair off during mating season. Male California quails will perch on a tree or post and call out to claim their territory. The California quail will roost in trees to avoid danger and to rest. Males often compete for a mate. They will mate with only one female. Females usually lay between 12-16 cream and brown speckled eggs. Their nest is a shallow hollow or scrape in the ground that is lined with grass. The female incubates the eggs for about three weeks. Both parents will care for the chicks. The chicks leave the nest shortly after birth. They make their first attempts at flight when they are about 10 days old. They will stay on the ground for about a month and then will roost in trees with the rest of the flock.

The female usually has one brood a year. This sharply-marked bird with the curving topknot is common along the California coast and in a few other areas of the west. It has adapted rather well to the increasing human population, and is often found around well-wooded suburbs and even large city parks. California Quail live in coveys at most seasons, and are often seen strutting across clearings, nodding their heads at each step. If disturbed, they may burst into fast low flight on whirring wings.

The California Quail is a gray, ground-dwelling bird, more slender than most other quail. It has a light breast with scaled patterning, white streaks along brown sides, and black and gray scaling on the nape of the neck. The female has a tan head with a small feather plume. The male has a bold black face outlined in white, with a brown crown and a pendulous feather plume hanging forward from his forehead.

The California quail, California’s state bird, is a 9-11 inch hen-like bird with a distinctive teardrop-shaped head plume called a top-knot. Their plump bodies vary from grayish to brown with scaly markings on the lower breast and abdomen. Males are particularly elegant with a black throat, chestnut patch on the belly, a bluish gray breast, white speckles on its flanks, and a white stripe on the forehead and around the neckline. Females have a smaller top-knot and lack the male’s distinctive facial markings and black throat.
Her crest is dark brown and her body is brown or gray with white speckles on the chest and belly. The marked sexual dimorphism is believed to play an important part in breeding displays. Juveniles resemble the female, but have shorter and lighter colored crests. As ground dwelling birds, their short and powerful legs are well adapted for terrestrial locomotion. They can fly rapidly, but only for short distances. When alarmed they prefer to run, flying only as a last resort.

California quail are best adapted to semiarid environments, ranging from sea level to 4000 feet and occasionally up to 8500 feet or higher (Sumner 1935). As long as there is abundant food, ground cover, and a dependable water source, quail are able to live in a variety of habitats including open woodlands, brushy foothills, desert washes, forest edge, chaparral, stream valleys, agricultural lands, and suburb areas. Cover is needed for roosting, resting, nesting, escaping from predators, and for protection from the weather (Sumner 1935, Leopold 1977).

Leopold (1977) separates California quail habitat areas into four major ecological zones arid ranges mostly in Southern California and Baja California, transitional ranges in the Sacramento Valley, humid forest ranges associated with the Coast and Cascade ranges, and interior Great Basin and Columbia Basin ranges. Of these the transitional ranges in the Sacramento Valley foothills provide the most stable quail habitat, characterized by mild winters, moderate rainfall, moderately dense ground vegetation, and generally adequate ground cover.

California quail are generalists and opportunists, so food intake varies by location and season. Their main food items are seeds produced by various species of broad-leafed annual plants, especially legumes. This includes plants such as lupine (Lupinus sp.), clover (Trifolium sp.), bur clover (Medicago sp.), and deer vetches (Lotus sp.) (Leopold 1977). Their bills are typical for seedeaters: serrated, short, stout, and slightly decurved.

Shields and Duncan (1966) studied California quail diet in the fall and winter during a dry year on the San Joaquin Experimental Range in the central Sierra Nevada foothills. They found that seeds comprised 82% of their diet, while green leafage contributed 18%. Duncan (1968) also studied quail diet in the same area and found that legume seeds were their most important food item. Quail also eat leafy materials, acorns, fruits and berries, crop residues, and some insects (Leopold 1977).

During the fall and winter, California quail are highly gregarious birds, gathering into groups, called coveys. In most situations, covey size averages about 50 birds, but under intensive management and protection, coveys can get as large as 1000 birds (Leopold 1977). In the covey, the quail tend to imitate one another and exhibit cooperative behavior. For example, when one bird finds a good supply of food it often calls the others to it. Likewise, when a member of the covey perceives danger it will warn the group with the appropriate call (Sumner 1935).

California quail communicate with 14 different calls (Leopold, 1977). This includes courtship, re-grouping, feeding, and warning calls. The most frequently heard location call has been described as “cu-ca-cow” or “chi-ca-go.” At the start of nesting season in early spring the coveys break up, as quail pairs spread themselves out into different habitat areas to nest and rear their young.

At the end of summer each new quail family rejoins the others to form a new covey where they will remain until the next breeding season. Emlen (1939) observed this seasonal movement in his study of California quail on a 760-acre farm in the vicinity of Davis, California. In the winter, four coveys, containing 21-46 birds, had home ranges of 17-45 acres, roughly one acre for each bird. The covey locations and range size depended on the amount of brush cover available. The four territories were separated by 350 yards to half a mile and contact between the coveys was infrequent.

The members of a covey tended to feed and roost together in mid-winter, but occasionally they broke up into smaller units. Winter movements were restricted with only 5 to 10 acres of an entire territory utilized by the covey on any one day. The same area would serve as a feeding ground for a few days to two or three weeks when the birds would move to another part of their territory. The California quail is common to states of the Pacific coast. They were first introduced into Utah in 1869.

Sources I Used:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mountain-bluebird

https://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/mountainbluebird.htm

https://www.statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/idaho/state-bird/mountain-bluebird

https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/581/overview/Mountain_Bluebird.aspx

https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/infocenter/i7680id.html

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/california_quail/id

https://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/californiaquail.htm

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/california-quail

https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=callcali

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Tree_Sparrow/id

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-tree-sparrow

https://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/american_tree_sparrow

https://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Spizella_arborea/

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/id

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/song-sparrow

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Nature: Research for Carnations

Posted on May 21, 2015 by lillian

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Hi there! Camilla has let me pick my own assignment. I chose a flower. I would have done more flowers but Camilla said to choose only one flower. So I chose carnation.

The single flowers of the Carnations species, Dianthus caryophyllus (that’s the scientific name) has 5 petals and they can vary from white to pink to purple in colors. Border Carnation cultivars may have double flowers with 1 to 40 petals. When they grow in gardens, Carnations grow to between 6 and 8.5 cm in diameter. Petals on Carnations are generally clawed or serrated.

Carnations are bisexual flowers and bloom simply or in a branched or forked cluster. The stamens on Carnations can occur in one or two whorls, in equal number or twice the number of the petals. The Carnation leaves are narrow and stalk less and their color varies from green to grey-blue or purple. Carnations grow big, full blooms on strong, straight stems. The carnation’s history dates back to ancient Greek and Roman times, when it was used in art and decor.

Christians or some spirituals believe that the first carnation bloomed on earth when Mary wept for Jesus as he carried his cross. Carnations in these early times were predominantly found in shades of pale pink and peach, but over the years the palette of available colors has grown to include red, yellow, white, purple, and even green. Throughout so many centuries of change, the popularity of the carnation has remained undiminished. The fact that the carnation continues to endure is a testament to its vast appeal.

The meanings of carnations include fascination, distinction, and love. Like many other flowers, different messages can also be expressed with the flower’s different color varieties. Light red carnations, for example, are often used to convey admiration, whereas the dark red version expresses deeper sentiments of love and affection. White carnations are associated with purity and luck, and pink carnations are often given as a sign of gratitude.

In the early part of the 20th century, carnations became the official flower of Mother’s Day in addition finding particular significance in many other cultures worldwide. To this day, carnations remain a favorite flower choice for many different occasions. They are immediately recognizable flowers, and they possess a charm and allure that continues to captivate people around the globe. In fact, in many parts of the world, the popularity of carnations surpasses that of any other flower including roses.

The powerful sentiments these flowers can express are a perfect complement to their classic beauty and long-lasting freshness. Carnation is a flowering plant that belongs to the family Caryophyllaceae. There are over 300 varieties of carnations that can be found throughout the world. These plants originate from Europe and Asia.

Carnations are cultivated at least 2000 years because of their beautiful flowers and intense fragrance. Carnations require well drained soil, enough moisture and direct sunlight for successful growth. These flowers are symbol of labor movement and mother’s love in the most countries of the world. Some people in France believe that carnations symbolize bad luck, where they are used mostly for the preparation of funeral bouquets. Carnation is a herbaceous plant that can reach 31 inches in height.

Carnation has 6 inches long slender leaves. They are usually grayish or bluish green in color and covered with waxy substance. White carnations will change its color after adding food coloring to the water. The flower will change its color after 24 hours.

Dianthus is Latin which for “flower of the gods”. White carnations are inevitable part of wedding bouquets and bouquets prepared for the first wedding anniversary. Carnations are birth flowers for all people that are born in January. These flowers are often used as decoration for tuxedoes.

Bouquets made of pink carnations are traditionally prepared for Mother’s day. Colombia is the greatest producer of carnations in the world. Carnations are national flowers of countries such as Monaco, Spain, Slovenia and Ohio. They are also used as a symbol of different fraternities and sororities.

Carnations can propagate via seeds and plant cuttings. Carnations are perennial plants, which mean that they can live more than 2 years. Carnations also have long lifespan in the vase – they can remain fresh up to 14 days after removal from the ground.

This is the website I got the image from even though I found it on Google Images: https://www.list-of-birthstones.com/birth%20flowers/Pictures%20of%20birth%20flowers/carnation%20flower.jpg

Sources I Used:

https://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/mostpopularflowers/carnations

https://www.proflowers.com/blog/history-and-meaning-of-carnations

https://www.softschools.com/facts/plants/carnation_facts/637/

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Mountain Blue Birds

Posted on April 22, 2015 by lillian

Hi there! My mother, Camilla suggested that I write a series of posts about birds on my blog since I’ve been talking about them and learning about them. Please let me know if you have any bird books, CDs, or a website you’d recommend! Here is the part about Mountain Blue Birds.

Mountain Bluebirds are moderately small thrushes with round heads and straight, thin bills. Compared with other bluebirds they are slender and long-winged, with a long tail. Male Mountain Bluebirds are sky-blue, a little bit darker on the wings and the tail and a little bit paler on the belly, with white up under the tail. Females are pretty much gray-brown with tints of pale blue in the wings and the tail.

They occasionally show orange-brown throughout the chest. Mountain Bluebirds’ bills are completely black. Younger Mountain Bluebirds have fewer spots than the other young of little bluebirds. Unlike other bluebird species, Mountain Bluebirds often hover while foraging; they also pounce on their insect prey from an higher perch.

In the winter, the species often occur in large flocks wandering the landscape eating on berries, particularly some of those junipers. Mountain Bluebirds are mostly common in the West’s wide-open spaces, particularly at middle and higher elevations like mountains. They breed in native habitats such as prairie, sagebrush steppe, and even alpine tundra; anywhere with open country with at least a few trees that can provide nest cavities. They also readily take to human-altered habitats, often nesting in bluebird boxes and foraging in pastures.

The powder-blue male Mountain Bluebird is among the most beautiful birds of the West. Living in more open terrain than the other two bluebirds, this species may nest in holes in cliffs or dirt banks when tree hollows are not available. It often seeks its food by hovering low over the grass in open fields. They lay 5 to 6 eggs, sometimes 4 to 8 eggs.

Pale blue, unmarked (occasionally white) are their colors. Incubation is by female for about 13 to 17 days. Young birds: Both parents feed nestlings. Young birds leave the nest about 17 to 23 days after hatching, and are protected by their parents for another 3 to 4 weeks.

They have 2 breeds each year. Mountain Bluebirds feed heavily on insects, including beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, crickets, ants, bees, and others. They also eat some berries, including those of mistletoe, hackberry, and other plants. Berries are very important in their diet in the wintertime.

Sometimes interbreeds with the Eastern Bluebird where their ranges overlap. Nest: Apparently the female selects the site for the nest. The site is in a cavity, usually a natural hollow or old woodpecker hole in tree, or in a birdhouse. Sometimes nests in holes in dirt banks, crevices in cliffs or among rocks, holes in sides of buildings, old nests of other birds (such as Cliff Swallow or Dipper).

Nest in cavity (probably built by both genders) is a loose cup of weed stems, grass, twigs, rootlets, pine needles, and maybe even lined with animal hair or animal feathers. Mountain bluebirds migrate relatively late in the fall and early in the spring. Winter range varies from year to year, depending on the food supplies. Flocks sometimes wander east on the Great Plains, and lonely stray birds occasionally go as far as the Atlantic Coast.

The mountain bluebird is six to seven inches in length. The mountain bluebird breeds from east-central Alaska, southern Yukon and western Manitoba, south in the mountains to southern California, central and southeastern Nevada, northern and east-central Arizona, southern New Mexico and east to northeastern North Dakota, western South Dakota and central Oklahoma. In winters, the birds go from Oregon south to Baja California, Mexico and southern Texas, and east to eastern Kansas, western Oklahoma and central Texas. The males or females arrive at the breeding site first.

The mountain bluebird breeds in high mountain meadows with scattered trees and bushes and short grass. In winters, they live at lower elevations in plains and grasslands. The lovely mountain bluebird (Sialia arctcia) was made the official state bird of Idaho in 1931. The male mountain bluebird is a brilliant sky-blue, the female is gray with blue on her wings and tail.

The bluebird family is especially common in Idaho’s mountains. Idaho recognizes two bird symbols; the peregrine falcon is the official state raptor. The mountain bluebird is currently the state bird of Nevada. The Mountain Bluebird has a large range, estimated globally at 4,400,000 square kilometers.

Native to Canada, the United States, and Mexico, the mountain bluebirds prefer grassland, forest, and shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 5,200,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Mountain Bluebird is Least Concern. The Mountain Bluebird is most likely to be confused with other bluebirds.

Male Mountain Bluebirds lack any reddish coloration on their underparts unlike Eastern and Western Bluebirds. Females are more difficult to separate. Eastern Bluebirds have a brownish throat and white belly while Mountain Bluebirds have gray throats and bellies. Western Bluebirds are browner on the breast than Mountain Bluebirds and have thicker bills.

Male Mountain Bluebirds might be confused with other all blue birds like Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks but these birds have much thicker, conical bills.