Lowell, MA-Home cooks around the world rely on one essential ingredient to bring out food's flavor. In this foodways event, we explore four forms of fat with deep cultural associations: schmaltz, the kosher poultry fat used in Jewish cooking; salt pork, the French Canadian ingredient so critical to fresh-made pork scrap and baked beans; olive oil, the healthy staple of Greek and Italian cuisine, and ghee, the clarified butter used in South Asian cooking.
Joining us for a lively discussion will be Sam and Gail Poulten, both of whom grew up in Lowell's Jewish neighborhood where schmaltz was a staple, Lucia DiDuca of Framingham, a founding member of the Ciociaro Social Club, Kurt Levasseur of Lowell's own Cote's Market, and Yogesh Kumar, owner of Sai Baba Market in Chelmsford.
Come hear these culture bearers share their take on the flavorful fats in Jewish, Franco-American, Italian, and Indian cooking. David Blackburn, Chief of Cultural Resources at Lowell National Historical Park, will moderate the panel discussion, which is sure to touch on foodways traditions, family recipes, stories, and religious associations surrounding these fundamental culinary fats. For a blog post with additional details about this event, visit www.http://blog.massfolkarts.org/blog/.
The program will take place at the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, 246 Market Street, Lowell, Massachusetts, at 7pm on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012.
This free program is part of the Lowell Folklife Series and is sponsored by Lowell National Historical Park. Additional support comes from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/lowe or call 978-970-5000.
Poster for display
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
