Tag Archives: drink

Mar24

tang.

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Tang! The space-age drink that’s still a worldwide staple

When you think of Tang – if you think of Tang at all – you probably think of its association with the United States space program in the 1960s. After all, “Tang was chosen for the Gemini astronauts,” as a 1966 ad for the classic orange drink stated. Gemini was NASA’s second human spaceflight mission in the lead-up to the moon landing. The beverage always will be connected to the golden era of midcentury space exploration, but NASA actually did not invent Tang.

Tang orange drink mix is inextricably tied to ’60s space exploration, but the beverage remains popular today. Tang debuted in 1957 as a vitamin C-packed breakfast drink. Its selling point was that the powdered mix was shelf-stable, and it was promoted as a healthier and more convenient alternative to fresh orange juice. (And while it certainly may be more convenient than juicing oranges to order every morning, the first two items on Tang’s ingredient list are sugar and fructose.)

But General Foods, Tang’s original parent company, had contracts with the military for producing rations and other food items, such as instant coffee. Thanks to these connections and the aforementioned shelf-stable, “just add water” capability of Tang, NASA sent the drink mix into space with John Glenn on his famous orbit of Earth in 1962. General Foods’ advertising strategy shifted to capitalize on the popularity of all things outer space, and Tang henceforth became marketed as the astronaut’s drink of choice.

But Tang isn’t just a space age relic. It’s still popular across the globe, from South America to Asia, and produced in a number of flavors – including pineapple, mango, lemon, calamansi and its newest Filipino flavor,  Coco Plus Buko Pandan. Tang is also a popular drink during Ramadan in the Middle East, according to Mondelez International, the food corporation that now owns the brand.

Not only that, but home cooks around the world have been showing their ingenuity by using Tang in dishes that go far beyond a simple stir-it-up breakfast drink. Some of the popular recipes have been: Tang Creamsicle Pie, Frothy Tang-infused milkshake, Orange chicken, Tang Ice Pops, Tang Ice Cream, Friendship Tea, and Tang Beer.

Tang is an enduringly popular ingredient in kitchens around the world. Even after all these years, Tang remains, to quote the vintage ad, “for spacemen and earth families.”

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“whoo, what a day! i’m gonna drink tang all day until i forget it all!”

-jhonen vasquez 

 

 

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Source credits: Casey Barber, CNN, Kraft Foods, General Foods, Monedelez Int., NASA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug24

this diamond has so many carats it’s almost a turnip.-richard burton

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Turnip Schnapps

The modest root vegetable makes a potent liquor in Wildschönau, Austria.

If all the world’s vegetables gathered for a shindig, the humble turnip probably wouldn’t be the life of the party. But in Austria’s Wildschönau Valley, a shot of schnapps made from the root veggie could very well get one started. Local residents have been distilling a strong turnip liquor called Wildschönauer Krautinger as far back as the 1700s, when Habsburg empress Maria Theresa granted 51 area farmers the exclusive rights to produce it. Around 15 families still make it today. Wildschönau residents celebrate all things turnip during the Krautinger Week festival in October.

Turnips were traditionally a staple of the alpine diet since they can tolerate the challenging mountain growing conditions. Turnip sauerkraut provided nourishment throughout the winter, improved digestion, and the vegetable even earned a spot on some noble families’ coats of arms.

The schnapps is unique, with a distinct whiff of vegetables. “The smell takes some getting used to and you either love or hate the taste,” a tourist site promoting the region concedes. One blogger describes it as “a hit of pure sauerkraut, which [trails] off into something weird which reminded me of a pair of training shoes I once owned.” (Best review ever)

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 “I was raised almost entirely on turnips and potatoes,

but I think that the turnips had more to do with the effect than the potatoes.“

-Marlene Deitrich

 

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credits: gastro obscura, wildschonau tourismus, photographer – r. newman

Feb4

fine dining.

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dining at its finest

a win-win.

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“for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself,

which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”

-arthur conan doyle

 

 

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credit: Hosted by Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse

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