Lentorama 2020: 40 Days of Food

Day 4: Cadbury Creme Egg

The history of this confection - a milk chocolate egg containing a white and yellow fondant yolk - goes back to the 19th century, when John Cadbury and Joseph Fry had competing chocolate companies in the UK.  The companies pushed each other to create new treats, with Cadbury putting out the first filled egg in 1875 (though it was filled with other candies rather than a candy yolk).

The two companies merged in 1921, and in 1923 started to produce creme-filled eggs, though eggs like those you get today weren't made until the 1960s. Since then the eggs have become an Easter staple in the UK and other parts of the English-speaking world (and beyond). Adding to their appeal is their seasonal availability, although there have been versions made for other holidays (like a "scream" egg for Halloween).

Cadbury's purchase by Kraft in 2010, and its spinning off of its confection businesses as Mondelez International in 2014 led to changes that were not always welcome. There was an attempt to make the chocolate shell using powdered cocoa, which saw a drop in sales. Mondelez also moved production out of established factories in places like Ireland and New Zealand in favor of places like China and Brazil, where costs are lower. Not sure if that changed the product, but there was outcry over moving the production of such a traditional product to non-traditional locations.

Personally, I don't care for these eggs. Too sickly sweet for me. My wife loves them, and I'm happy to leave them to her.

Lentorama 2020: 40 Days of Food

Day 3: Peeps

Much like candy corn at Halloween, there is little to no middle ground when you ask people about whether or not they like this iconic Easter candy.

(Though I have to admit, I may be in that middle. I don't hate Peeps the way that I hate candy corn, but I don't exactly look for opportunities to eat Peeps either.)

Peeps are a marshmallow candy shaped, originally at least, as chicks (with their name coming from the distinctive sound made by chicks). They've been made by the Just Born company since the mid-1950s, when they bought the company that originally produced them. The folks at Just Born figured out a way to make what was a hand-formed candy into something that could be mass produced, and they quickly became ubiquitous at Easter.

The chick was joined by a rabbit in the 1960s, and new shapes, colors, and flavors would be added over the years. The company would later create Peeps merchandise (with products from lip balm to nail polish to plush toys and pillows), and even open some Peeps-branded retail outlets.

But going back to the original Peep, why is it so divisive? Part of it is the flavor; the marshmallow taste isn't that strong, and I find the coloring adds a bitter note (or at least I did the last time I had one). There's also a texture question, as Peeps can go stale quickly, though there's a notable segment of Peep eaters who specifically want them to be a little stale so there's a little firmness and crunch. But they're cheap and handy to fill out an Easter basket, so I don't think Peeps will be going away any time soon.

Lentorama 2020: 40 Days of Food

Day 2: lamb

Unlike the relatively recent adoption of ham as an Easter food, eating lamb was adapted from tradition that pre-dates Christianity. The use of sacrificial lamb's blood to mark doorways on the original Passover led to lamb becoming part of the seder (though there is some disagreement as to whether or not lamb should be eaten at Passover).

As Christianity grew and the lamb became a symbol for Jesus, it's not surprising that lamb would continue to be a part of the meal celebrating Easter.  At some point in the middle ages the pope included lamb as part of his Easter meal, which cemented its place on tables worldwide. That practice continues today, though animal rights groups have asked Pope Francis to end it.

It's the ashiest of Wednesdays today, meaning it's time to kick off Lentorama 2020:  40 Days of Food

The theme this year is food that one might eat during Lent, inspired by the number of food-related traditions that came up last year. Expect to see some (or all) of those foods again this year. But to start, a food that's not specific to Easter but is an Easter favorite.

Day 1: ham

Ham is kind of a strange choice of meat to celebrate the resurrection of the world's most famous Jewish person, but it came about from practicality.  Early Christians living in more temperate climates would most often have lamb at the center of their Easter feast (more on that in a later post). Once the religion moved into more temperate climates, where spring wasn't always in full bloom at Easter, lamb was not always available.

What was available was ham, which had been curing during the fall and winter. There's some evidence that ham was enjoyed at Easter as far back as the 6th century (and may have already been the entree at pre-Christian spring feasts).

I ran across one page claiming that ham is an Easter meat due to a pig killing the Mesopotamian god Tammuz (or Dmuzid). The source also said that a 40 day mourning period set by his wife, Inanna (or Ishtar) was the foundation of Lent. I'm not sure about either of these stories, as most sources that I found have Tammuz being killed by demons, and don't mention a 40 day mourning period. But there are also apparently a number of alternative stories around the death of Tammuz, so I could have just missed the one involving pigs.