Ash Said It® Daily

Food historian and acclaimed author Becky Libourel Diamond provides an exclusive look inside her spectacular new release, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook, during an in-depth interview on The Ash Said It Show. This summary is a must-read for holiday bakers and food history enthusiasts seeking to bring 19th-century elegance to their modern Christmas celebrations. The Mystery of the Sugar Plum Revealed Becky definitively solves the mystery of the legendary sugar plum. She reveals the surprising truth: these historic confections are not sugary plums, but highly prized, expensive spice-coated nuts and seeds, meticulously layered in candy. This insight reframes the sugar plum as the ultimate luxury Victorian dessert of the Gilded Age. Extravagance, Adaptations, and Chef Walter Staib When discussing Gilded Age extravagance, Becky champions incorporating the era's tradition of extended, multi-day feasts and generous hospitality into the modern holiday schedule. The most demanding recipe to update was the lengthy hi