Food Strategy

A gingerbread house is a novelty confectionery shaped like a building that is made of cookie dough, cut and baked into appropriate components like walls and roofing. The usual material is crisp ginger biscuit made of gingerbread – the ginger nut. Another type of model-making with gingerbread uses a boiled dough that can be molded like clay to form edible statuettes or other decorations. These houses, covered with a variety of candies and icing, are popular Christmas decorations, often built by children with the help of their parents.

Pho is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat, primarily made with either beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). Pho is popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. Pho originated in the early 20th century in northern Vietnam and was popularized throughout the rest of the world by refugees after the Vietnam War. 

Pho is served in a bowl with a specific cut of flat rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations feature slow-cooked tendon, tripe, or meatballs in southern Vietnam. Chicken pho is made using the same spices as beef, but the broth is made using only chicken bones and meat, as well as some internal organs of the chicken, such as the heart, the undeveloped eggs, and the gizzard.

Jam is made with whole or cut fruit, cooked with sugar until it’s thickened and jammy. How gelled, or firm, the jam becomes depends on the fruit’s naturally occurring pectin or on any additional (usually powdered) pectin, which is incorporated during the cooking process.

        Soy milk or soymilk is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Its original form is a natural by-product of the manufacture of tofu. It became a common beverage in Europe and North America in the 21st century, as production techniques were developed to give it taste and consistency more closely resembling dairy milk. Along with similar vegetable-based "milk", like almond and rice milk, soy milk may be used as a substitute for dairy milk by individuals who are vegan or lactose intolerant.

     Afternoon Tea is a tea-related ritual, introduced in Britain in the early 1840s. It evolved as a mini meal to stem the hunger and anticipation of an evening meal at 8 pm.