When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk of
bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red pepper
flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient she
*always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut was
discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk of
bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red pepper
flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient she
*always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut was
discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?

Hmmmmm, beats me. I'd like to know, too.

"Wayne Boatwright" wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com wrote in message
28.19...
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk
of
bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red
pepper
flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient she
*always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut was
discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

I'd be interested to know, too. My wildest GUESSes, would be something to
do with foaming, or something to do with neutralizing the fat.
Taste? I can't imagine what taste difference could happen with one walnut,
tho.
But you know that it means something!
Dee Dee

itsjoannotjoann wrote:
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk of
bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red pepper
flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient she
*always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut was
discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?

Hmmmmm, beats me. I'd like to know, too.


Perhaps it was a generational practical joke. She *always* added the
walnut (with a flourish) when Wayne was watching.

Best regards,
Bob

On Sun 21 May 2006 07:43:33p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it zxcvbob?

itsjoannotjoann wrote:
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small
chunk of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of
dried red pepper flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The
*odd* ingredient she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the
shell*. The walnut was discarded after cooking. Any idea what
purpose that served?

Hmmmmm, beats me. I'd like to know, too.


Perhaps it was a generational practical joke. She *always* added the
walnut (with a flourish) when Wayne was watching.

Best regards,
Bob


Sort of like that family tradition of cutting the roast into two pieces to
put in the pot because it was *always* done that way. Turned out that
originally it was the only way the roast would fit in the pot.

Actually, my mother told me that my grandmother and great grandmother both
added a walnut to the peas, but nobody seems to know why. I never actually
knew about it until I looked in the pot one day.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

On Sun 21 May 2006 07:39:05p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?


"Wayne Boatwright" wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com wrote in message
28.19...
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small
chunk of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of
dried red pepper flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The
*odd* ingredient she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the
shell*. The walnut was discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose
that served?

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________

I'd be interested to know, too. My wildest GUESSes, would be something
to do with foaming, or something to do with neutralizing the fat.
Taste? I can't imagine what taste difference could happen with one
walnut, tho.
But you know that it means something!

Yes, ther must have been some reason. The two suggestions you offered are
certainly both posibilities.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Sun 21 May 2006 07:43:33p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it zxcvbob?

itsjoannotjoann wrote:
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small
chunk of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of
dried red pepper flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The
*odd* ingredient she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the
shell*. The walnut was discarded after cooking. Any idea what
purpose that served?

Hmmmmm, beats me. I'd like to know, too.

Perhaps it was a generational practical joke. She *always* added the
walnut (with a flourish) when Wayne was watching.

Best regards,
Bob


Sort of like that family tradition of cutting the roast into two pieces to
put in the pot because it was *always* done that way. Turned out that
originally it was the only way the roast would fit in the pot.

Actually, my mother told me that my grandmother and great grandmother both
added a walnut to the peas, but nobody seems to know why. I never actually
knew about it until I looked in the pot one day.



OK, that just means *Great Grandma* was the trickster. ;-)

Bob

Wayne wrote:

When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk
of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red
pepper flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient
she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut
was discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?

It really sounds like a superstition to me.

The closest comparison I can make is the practice of putting a wine cork
into the pot when cooking octopus: It's alleged that the cork will make the
octopus tender.

Maybe the walnut is supposed to the black-eyed peas tender?

You could try making one batch with the walnut and one batch without, and
then seeing if there's any difference.

Bob

On Sun 21 May 2006 07:56:05p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it zxcvbob?

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Sun 21 May 2006 07:43:33p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it
zxcvbob?

itsjoannotjoann wrote:
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small
chunk of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of
dried red pepper flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The
*odd* ingredient she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in
the shell*. The walnut was discarded after cooking. Any idea what
purpose that served?

Hmmmmm, beats me. I'd like to know, too.

Perhaps it was a generational practical joke. She *always* added the
walnut (with a flourish) when Wayne was watching.

Best regards,
Bob


Sort of like that family tradition of cutting the roast into two pieces
to put in the pot because it was *always* done that way. Turned out
that originally it was the only way the roast would fit in the pot.

Actually, my mother told me that my grandmother and great grandmother
both added a walnut to the peas, but nobody seems to know why. I never
actually knew about it until I looked in the pot one day.



OK, that just means *Great Grandma* was the trickster. ;-)

Probably... She was a very funny old lady. :-) When she was in her 90s,
she would occasionally burp at the dinner table, much to grandparents'
dismay. My great grandmother would comment that there was more room on the
outside than on the inside.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk of
bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red pepper
flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient she
*always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut was
discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Wayne,

I think I've heard of this as a way to stop strong odors when cooking
with cruciferous veggies like cabbage. But since black-eyed peas are
in the bean family, I'd guess it is also a superstition to prevent
odors after the eating, if you know what I mean. I haven't tested it,
but I'd guess this is a kitchen legend that doesn't help for either
problem.

HTH,

Ken

On Sun 21 May 2006 08:05:03p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Bob
Terwilliger?

Wayne wrote:

When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small
chunk of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of
dried red pepper flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The
*odd* ingredient she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the
shell*. The walnut was discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose
that served?

It really sounds like a superstition to me.

The closest comparison I can make is the practice of putting a wine cork
into the pot when cooking octopus: It's alleged that the cork will make
the octopus tender.

Maybe the walnut is supposed to the black-eyed peas tender?

You could try making one batch with the walnut and one batch without,
and then seeing if there's any difference.

Actually I did try that years ago. I don't think I could tell any
difference, although my mother said she could. Probably in her mind. :-)

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

On Sun 21 May 2006 08:21:40p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Ken?


Wayne Boatwright wrote:
When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small
chun k of bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of
dried red pep per flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The
*odd* ingredient she *always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the
shell*. The walnut was discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose
that served?

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________

Wayne,

I think I've heard of this as a way to stop strong odors when cooking
with cruciferous veggies like cabbage. But since black-eyed peas are
in the bean family, I'd guess it is also a superstition to prevent
odors after the eating, if you know what I mean. I haven't tested it,
but I'd guess this is a kitchen legend that doesn't help for either
problem.

That theory probably makes the most sense, albeit ineffective. Funny what
folks used to think. "-)

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Wayne Boatwright wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com wrote:

Actually, my mother told me that my grandmother and great grandmother both
added a walnut to the peas, but nobody seems to know why. I never actually
knew about it until I looked in the pot one day.

Try cooking two batches, one with a walnut, and see if
there's any difference.

S.

On Sun 21 May 2006 09:32:19p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Steve
Pope?

Wayne Boatwright wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com wrote:

Actually, my mother told me that my grandmother and great grandmother
both added a walnut to the peas, but nobody seems to know why. I never
actually knew about it until I looked in the pot one day.

Try cooking two batches, one with a walnut, and see if
there's any difference.

I did, years ago, and didn't notice any difference. I'm still trying to
figure out why they thought there was a difference.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

itsjoannotjoann wrote:

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

When my grandmother cooked blackeyed peas, she usually added a small chunk of
bacon, fatback, or a smoked ham hock, along with a pinch of dried red pepper
flakes or a chopped hot pepper, and an onion. The *odd* ingredient she
*always* added was 1 whole English walnut *in the shell*. The walnut was
discarded after cooking. Any idea what purpose that served?


Hmmmmm, beats me. I'd like to know, too.


It always cracks me up when someone responds to a question on
Usenet with "I don't know", particularly when the question
was not directed specifically to them.

Imagine if everyone did that. The entire internet would crash.

--
Reg