The Worker Ant Chronicles

December 7, 2009

The Fortune Cookie: Japanese Treat Becomes Chinese Staple

Filed under: Life, Life in General, Thoughts, articles, blog, culture, daily, diary, misc, miscellaneous, personal — Gerry Charbonneau @ 4:50 am

Well , you had a relatively rough week at work. Your immediate supervisor was unappreciative of your efforts and talent;  your co workers were indifferent to your complaints;  and your spouse told you she was extremely anxious to go out on the weekend to a fancy restaurant for some fine dining.

What can you do to not only enjoy that dining out experience with your significant other  but also receive  that much needed pat on the back you desperately need to spruce up your ailing spirits and sagging feelings of self worth?

Why not go out to a Chinese restaurant and after enjoying their creative cuisine ask for some fortune cookies….you know, the ones that not only predict your future but now include lottery numbers to help you out if you play the lotteries?

Fortune cookies, a somewhat modern invention and  a prominent part of Asian-American culture, have filtered easily into the popular mainstay culture. They are a simple treat found in Chinese restaurants across the United States.

Fortune cookies are really from Japan and not a Chinese invention. Although it is true that ancient Chinese warlords would send messages hidden inside cakes fortune cookies are not Chinese. They were invented in Los Angeles around 1920.

It’s relatively easy to trace the path of fortune cookies back to World War II, when they were still called “fortune tea cakes.” (more evidence of their being Japanese, as Chinese people don’t generally serve “cakes” with tea.)

As of World War II, fortune cookies were already a regional specialty served in Chinese restaurants in California, particularly in San Francisco, which was the busiest West Coast port for the war.

After the war, returning military personnel traveling in and out of San Francisco enjoyed  fortune cookies in the Chinese restaurants located there , and when they eventually returned to their home states they asked their local Chinese restaurants why they didn’t have “Chinese cookies” like the authentic Chinese restaurants in San Francisco.

Fortune cookies are one of those treats that entertain and amuse almost everyone. They are universally recognized in America but still tend to confuse people in China. Although they are served almost universally in Chinese restaurants abroad, fortune cookies are almost unknown in China.

The New York Times recently reported that approximately three billion fortune cookies are made every year with the vast majority of them made in the United States. They are an extremely unique and versatile treat and are usually served after a family dinner at a Chinese restaurant, as party favors or as an unusual crispy treat that readily melts in your mouth.

Today there are forty factories where the cookies are made in the United States. The raw material for the cookie batter include the following: flour (and/or corn starch), confectioners sugar, oil or butter,egg, salt, cream, and a flavoring (usually almond) .

Fortune cookies are as safe as they can be. They are made from natural ingredients, fat free,  and produced in a nut free environment.  The cookies are no longer a simple, throw away treat after a Chinese takeout meal.

They are bite-sized treats containing a hidden message, words of wisdom or your future. Many people believe that these messages are based on ancient Chinese proverbs.  The messages are actually written by hired philosophers.

Today customized fortune cookies, made in many sizes and flavors, are delicious to eat and are ideal treats to serve at weddings, birthdays. corporate functions and any type of occasion or function.

When you actually think about it the authors of the cookies’ words of wisdom are probably more widely read than 90 per cent of today’s best selling authors. That is quite an accomplishment for such a tasty and mouth watering treat.

November 27, 2009

Some Processed Fish Fillets Are Dangerous Many Harbor Hidden Choking Debris

Filed under: Life, People, Seniors, articles, blog, health, misc, miscellaneous, personal — Gerry Charbonneau @ 10:32 am

“The only kind of seafood I trust is the fish stick, a totally featureless fish that doesn’t have eyeballs or fins.” — Dave Barry (American Writer and Humorist)

 
For the past ten years I have always enjoyed a somewhat traditional fish dinner on Saturday evening. A popular brand of sole fillet marketed and produced by High Liner Foods Incorporated caught my attention and I had remained a faithful customers ever since. The portion of fish offered in the popular blue and white packaging serves two people adequately. It was always an easy and tasty meal to prepare.

Quality Concern Suspected

Recently however I noticed that the overall quality of the fillet itself had deteriorated somewhat from the superb product I have come to know and love. One month ago a goodly portion of the fillet contained a few bits and pieces of fish bones and other waste product. This surprised me and I thought nothing of it at the time. After all, I believed this was a reputable company whose advertising company touted quality, good tasting fish.
One week later I discovered that over fifty percent of a recently purchased fillet I was eating contained a larger portion of fish bones and other debris. The fillet was more suitable for a feline pallet than for human consumption. Shards of fish bones, entrails and other unknown detriment seemed to ooze onto my plate. Needless to say I threw the portion of fish in the garbage.


No Warnings Posted on Package

The outside of the packaging contained a corporate website and email address a person could write in order to issue a formal complaint or praise for the product. I emailed my complaint and included the name of the product, the package size and the Lot Number which identified the case lot the fish was processed in. I hoped that by providing this information the company would be able to identify the source of the “problem”.
I recently received a letter from the company’s Consumer Response Representative. The letter was apologetic in tone and expressed the corporate concern for my plight. The company was “most concerned to learn of my experience.” They were as contrite and polite as possible.

Quality Checks Carried Out

I was reassured that the company performed numerous quality checks in the production process to ensure quality and that “the company makes every effort to eliminate bones in our fish”. However “due to inherent characteristics of fish we cannot guarantee (the) complete removal” of bones in the fish. I was informed that the bones are “impossible to eliminate completely”.
The letter also added that “because bones are natural to fish, seafood manufacturers are not required to warn about the possible presence of bones.” In essence, the bones might or might not be there be there and it’s up to the consumer to watch out for a potential problem should it happen to occur. End of story. The responsibility was now thrown into my lap.

Free Product Coupons

The letter thanked me for my email and offered me three free product coupons for my efforts. The company hoped I would continue to be a faithful consumer of their product and continue to be one of their valued customers.
I found it interesting that the product quality had been superb for such a long stretch of time. Suddenly its apparent transformation into cat fodder was not the fault of the manufacturers. It was now my responsibility to assume all the risk for my personal safety while consuming their product.

Product Safety Compromised

The current economic situation might be responsible for higher than normal unemployment and job insecurity but customer safety and product quality should never be compromised. Customers should be made aware of any hidden dangers lurking inside the packaging of food products they purchase. It makes good business sense to go beyond the basics and protect those people who have proven to be supporting customers over the years.
I have now changed my Saturday night supper menu. I’ve discovered that ground chicken chili served with kidney beans, diced yellow onion and tomato soup also works for my palate. The only threat I face now comes from eating too much chili. To date no chicken bones have been discovered!

November 22, 2009

Mall Santas To Be Squeaky Clean This Christmas Swine Flu Virus Prompts Extra Caution

Filed under: Business, Christmas, Life, Life in General, People, Thoughts, blog, culture, diary, family, misc, miscellaneous, personal — Gerry Charbonneau @ 11:24 pm

Miracle on 34th Street , a 1947 film starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn,  is the story of what takes place in New York Cityfollowing Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as people are left wondering whether or not a department store Santa might be the real thing. Because of its Christmas theme, the film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

In the movie an enterprising and struggling attorney (John Payne) tries to convince a skeptical mother (Maureen O’Hara) and her young but impressionable daughter (Natalie Wood) that a “nice bearded old man” (Edmund Gwenn) is the one and only Santa Claus.

The movie offers its viewers an opportunity to suspend their non belief in Santa and become children again and enjoy the lights, sights and sounds of the season.

These days however owners of many Santa Claus schools are instructing their trainees to take extra precautions with the youngsters especially with the H1N1 virus running rampant and unchecked across the nation.

Santa Claus school graduates are being strenuously encouraged and instructed to change their gloves frequently and wash their beard and hair daily as these could be a prime source of infection. Their familiar red and white outfit is to be cleaned and sanitized regularly as well.

The usualy Santa memento gift will this year a tube of Purell or similar hand sanitizer to protect the little ones from harm. Some Santas are also being discouraged from hugging and accepting kisses from the kids.

Those playing Santa Claus are also being asked to be especially sanitary about their health habits. One seasoned Santa reported that he has already had his regular flu shot and  H1N1 flu shot and is going to take a number additional precautionary measure to protect the children

One Santa is going to place a sign next to his North Pole throne telling anxious parents that Santa not only got his flu shot but also washes his hands frequently to inspire the youngsters to do the same.

The Santa schools this year have issued a number of specific Do’s and Don’t for their graduates to follow. Hand cleaning stations will also be availble to assure parents that everything is being done to protect their children.

In a simpler time the public needed to be convinced that a friendly , bearded old man with a sweet disposition was the one and only Santa Claus. This case was proven and won in the movie.

These days however a very cynical and at times fearful public has to be equally assured that the man in the red and white suit chatting amiably with their children is not a source of a highly contagious and deadly flu virus.

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