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Picnics
In contemporary usage, picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure
excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors, ideally, taking place in a
beautiful landscape.
Formerly, picnic meant a potluck, an entertainment at which each person
contributed some dish to a common table for all to share. The first
usage of the word was traced to a 16th century French text, describing
a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. A
theory has it that the word picnic is based on the verb piquer which
means 'pick' or 'peck' with the rhyming nique perhaps meaning trifle.
The 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de Ménage, which
mentions 'piquenique' as being of recent origin, marks the first
appearance of the word in print. The word picnic first appeared in
English texts in the mid-1700s, and may have entered the English
language from this French word or from the German Picknick.
* While in British and American English one would say "driving in rush
hour traffic is no picnic", an Australian or New Zealander would say
"driving in rush hour traffic is a real picnic"; these reversed idioms
both suggesting a difficult task.
* In the late 1990s an e-mail hoax spread around the internet claiming
that the word "picnic" was actually derived from racist term for a
lynching. This claim had no basis in fact.
* In established parks, a picnic area generally includes picnic tables
and possibly other items related to eating outdoors, such as built-in
grills, water faucets, garbage containers, and restrooms.
"Picnic" - a strange word that sounds French but perhaps is not. Picnic
- a word that evokes a wide range of memories - of lazy Sunday
afternoons, of trips to the bush or to the river foreshore, of
sandwiches, cold meats and lemonade, of special hampers and rugs, and
then of flies and ants, of hide-and-seek in the bush, of scratched legs
and bruises, and finally of exhaustion and a sleep in the car on the
way home.
clipped_006460pThe origin of the word is clouded in mystery. It first
appears in France in the late 16th century as "pique-nique" but was not
adopted in England until after 1800. At first, the idea of a picnic
meant a social event for which each guest provided a share of the food.
Later this became an outdoor excursion to a place in the country where
again friends could meet and provisions be shared.
The J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History contains a wealth of
material which illuminates our knowledge of how our forbears relaxed
and celebrated. Memories of the humble picnic - as an important meeting
place for family and friends - abound in the Pictorial Collection, in
the oral history recordings and elsewhere.
clipped_010367p"Memories of Picnics" will give you a brief look at the
picnic experience in Western Australia in the first half of this
century.
*safe picnics:
There are always ants at a picnic." You can
see ants and avoid them, but it’s not possible to see, taste or smell
dangerous bacteria that can cause illness if food is mishandled.
Bacteria grow and multiply rapidly in the danger zone between 40 ºF and
140 ºF. Food transported without an adequate ice source or left out in
the sun at a picnic or when tailgating won’t stay safe for long. Family
and friends who eat mishandled food may get the flu-like symptoms
caused by foodborne illness.
Follow these tips for packing food safely for a picnic or when tailgating.
Try to plan just the right amount of foods to take. That way, you
will not have to worry about the storage or safety of leftovers.
Clean preparation is essential. Wash hands and work areas; be sure all utensils are clean before preparing food.
Foods to be cooked ahead should be cooked in plenty of time to
chill them thoroughly in the refrigerator. Use an insulated cooler with
sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40 ºF. Pack food from
the refrigerator right into the cooler.
If you are planning on take-out foods such as fried chicken or
barbecued beef, eat them within two hours of pick-up or buy ahead of
time and chill before packing the foods into the cooler.
Overwrap raw meat packages, or place in plastic bags and pack in a
cooler separately from ready-to-eat foods to prevent
cross-contamination.
In warm weather, do not put cooler in the trunk; carry it inside the air-conditioned car.
At the picnic, keep the cooler in the shade. Keep the lid closed
and avoid repeated openings. Replenish the ice if it melts.
Use a separate cooler for drinks so the one containing perishable food will not be constantly opened and closed.
Except when it is being served, the food should be stored in a cooler.
When handling raw meat, remove from the cooler only the amount
that will fit on the grill. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
recommends against eating raw or under-cooked ground beef since harmful
bacteria could be present.
To be sure bacteria are destroyed, cook hamburgers and ribs to 160
ºF (medium doneness). Cook ground poultry to 165 ºF and poultry parts
to 180 ºF. Reheat pre-cooked meats until steaming hot.
Do not partially grill extra hamburgers to use later. Once you
begin cooking hamburgers by any method, cook them until completely done
to assure that bacteria are destroyed.
When taking foods off the grill, put them on a clean plate to
avoid cross-contamination. Do not put the cooked items on the same
platter that held the raw meat.
Place leftover foods in the cooler promptly after serving. Any
food left outside for more than an hour should be discarded. If there
is still ice in the cooler when you get home, the leftovers are okay to
eat.
Try one of these menus the next time you tailgate for a safe and delicious meal.
TAILGATE MENU 1
Curry-Yogurt Dip with Fresh Vegetables
Oven-Fried Chicken
Pasta Salad
Mini Pineapple Cheese Cakes
Bubbling Jade
Game Plan: Make everything the night before; package in containers with
tight-fitting lids and store in the refrigerator. Prepare dip by
stirring 6 tablespoons mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons curry into one pint
of plain yogurt. Toss cooked pasta with crunchy vegetables and Italian
dressing. Package tomato wedges in a separate container to garnish
pasta salad when ready to serve.
Mini Pineapple Cheese Cakes
8 small graham cracker crusts
3-ounce package pineapple-flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1½ pounds cottage cheese
¼ cup sugar
8½-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water and cool to lukewarm. In a blender,
thoroughly mix the cheese and sugar. Slowly add the gelatin and blend
well. Pour the cheese mixture into the individual crusts. Refrigerate
until firm. Empty the pineapple and juice into a saucepan, add water
and cornstarch. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Cool 15 minutes
and spread over the top of each cheesecake. Chill at least 1 hour.
Bubbling Jade
Two 3-ounce packages lime-flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
4 cups cold water
Two 6-ounce cans frozen limeade, thawed undiluted
46-ounce can pineapple juice
64-ounce bottle ginger ale
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in cold water, limeade
concentrate and pineapple juice. Chill. Add ginger ale before serving.
Makes 20 cups.
Game Strategy: This menu makes enough for eight hungry fans. The dip,
chicken and cheesecakes are perishable and must be kept in the cooler
with plenty of ice. Make sure food is thoroughly chilled when it goes
into the cooler. The pasta salad and beverage are not as perishable,
but still belong in the cooler. You may want to freeze the punch in a
gallon milk jug to help keep the other food cold and safe. Remember to
return leftovers to the cooler and keep the cooler cold.
TAILGATE MENU 2
Nibbles
Dried Beef Open-Face Sandwiches
Basket of Fresh Fruit
Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
Game Plan: Make nibbles and cookies ahead of time and store in airtight
containers for up to a few days. Wash fruit before packing in the
picnic basket. Take an assortment of whole-grain party bread, bringing
only what you expect to use. Choose the dried beef that is sold in the
canned meat section of the grocery store and take mustard and
horseradish as condiments. Unopened canned meat does not need
refrigeration.
Nibbles
6 cups dry cereal (like puffed wheat, rice squares or oat circles)
2 cups pretzel sticks
1 cup peanuts
1/3 cup margarine
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon celery flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Combine cereal and pretzels. In a saucepan, melt margarine and combine
with Worcestershire sauce and seasoning. Toss with cereals and add
peanuts.
Place in a shallow roasting pan. Bake at 275 °F for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Makes 2 quarts.
Game Strategy: The foods selected for this menu will pack into the
picnic basket. Choose this game strategy when refrigeration is limited
or to keep on hand in case you have extra guests. |