No Such Thing As A Fish No Such Thing As the Blancmange Olympics
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Oct 20, 2022 A dessert made from Irish moss leads to tales of wartime food supplies and a pulsing, heart-rate-synced jelly. Shirley Temple’s extraordinary childhood stardom takes a darker turn, before the conversation wanders through baby-friendly cinema cloakrooms and the surprising anti-smoking origins of PEZ.
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Irish Moss Blancmange
- A traditional Irish blancmange recipe uses carrageen moss, a type of seaweed.
- When boiled in milk, it creates a bland jelly, historically given to sick people.
Carrageen's Ubiquity
- Carrageen is found in many everyday products like toothpaste, shampoo, and even personal lubricants.
- It's also controversially linked to health issues, but this is disputed.
Irish Moss Scam
- In 1904, a Romanian woman was arrested in Jamaica for selling Irish moss as a hunchback cure for $7,000.
- The police hid and witnessed her adding the moss to water.