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Gollywog
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Location: Debussy's brain
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 Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:05 am Post subject: Vermont + curry = does not compute |
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I have long puzzled over the prevalence of something called "Vermont curry" in Korean supermarkets.
Vermont + cheese = mighty fine stuff
Vermont + ice cream = yummy stuff
Vermont + maple syrup = Maple Syrup
Vermont + curry = does not compute.
Having spent enough time in Vermont to hike to the top of Mt. Mansfield, do some camping, take some classes at UVM, take a dip in The Ledges and walk on a frozen Lake Champlain, I think I know a little bit about the Green Mountain State.
I can't ever recall seeing curry on the menu or for sale in the country stores, but maybe I wasn't paying attention. Curry is something you eat in a hot climate, I thought.
I got to wondering, could "vermont" have another meaning in Korean?
So I decided to google the two words.
Apparently, I was wrong. Vermont, it turns out, is world renown for its famous Vermont Curry trees. At least according to this web posting:
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Nothing makes me prouder to be a Vermonter, than to be ale to go into almost any "kombiini" in Japan and see "Vermont" Curry mix for sale. It makes we want to blurt out in my thick Vermont - "ben", " I am verry puroud G*D DAMMITT!" (A note on how to speak Vermont Ben: we use "G#D (or G*D) DAMMITT" instead of a period, exclamation point or question mark.)
The reason I am most proud is, despite being a skier for thirty-two years, a fervent supporter of our independent congressmen, my deepest, most heartfelt, connection to my home state is Vermont curry. My parents are the owners of the largest curry tree plantation in Vermont, and are suppliers of 13.89% of all Vermont curry that ends up in Japanese supermarkets.
In fact the real reason I spent three years on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program, was to learn Japanese and deal with Japanese curry buyers better. One curry buyer offered us eight yen per kilogram, saying that one Yen was equal to one American Dollar. Coming to Japan, I discovered that this is not true, and my parents now charge eighty yen a kilogram. G%D DAMMITT!! If this curry buyer were not a yakuza I'd get a can of "whoop-ass" and spray it all over him!
I will be going back to Vermont after my three years on the JET program. Some people think it will be to go fishing for Northern Pike, drink real coffee, or to convince old girlfriends to skinny-dip in Lake
Champlain. None of these reasons are true. I will be going back to Vermont to manage the curry plantation as my Mother and Step-Father retire to Canada (Why Canada? They said it is because it is so "different and exotic!"). So while my fellow JETs and ex-JETs are sleeping on their desks, or are in Southeast Asia inhaling a new exotic experience, I will be on the supervisors tractor, yelling instructions at our itinerant exploited migrant laborers (from New Hampshire).
The toughest thing about growing curry is that it is not native to Vermont (like our famous Boiling Maple Syrup Natural Artificial Hot Springs). So in order to produce a high quality curry, a curry tree needs roughly a four-month growing season. The growing season is roughly from May 25th (when winter ends in Vermont) to August 25th (the usual time for the first snowfall). With curry needing a four month season, and Vermont supplying three months and two weeks at best, we resort to artificial means to keep the curry trees warm enough to bloom, on those frosty April, May, and August nights.
Just how is that done? Back in the "olden days",(about 1965) it was done by creating huge bonfires. These bonfires kept the trees warm and protected from frost and snow damage. In the late 20th century, this is done using military surplus flame-throwers. Current agricultural research experiments with handheld lasers being used for this purpose giving a real "Star Trek" feel to the modern curry farm. "Beam Me Up Scotty, G#D DAMMITT!!"
Where does the successful curry farmer get these flamethrowers? Well, this is the one reason why the United States now grows the best curry in the world and more peaceful nations like Japan, The Scandinavian Countries and England have to import all their curry. The reason is that that we buy our flamethrowers at the same place we can buy all our handguns, semi-automatic weapons, handheld tactical nuclear weapons, and battlefield armor�..K-MART, Wal Mart, Brooks Drugs, 7-Eleven, and
Circle K (FYI: convenience and thrift stores). Have you ever tried to get you semi-automatic weapons carrying permit in a "Sunkus" or "Camel Mart"? It just cannot be done�G&D DAMITT!
Is there any danger to using these flamethrowers? Why, of course, and accidents do happen sometimes. We try to look at the bright side of every accident. The neighbors cow? Well, they can sell it as pre-cooked beef. A stray white tailed deer? Well venison BBQ is "Cho-Oishii". How about accidentally frying a dog or cat? Well, twenty miles down the road in Burlington are a few Chinese and Korean restaurants and we are not above a little "under the table" business for a few extra bucks (Gotta love those free, opportunistic, open markets of capitalism!). What if one of our workers gets torched? Well, most of 'em are from New Hampshire, who cares?
The one thing that sets Vermont curry apart from all other types of curry are its special ingredients. Most people think it is because of the added clover honey and apples, or perhaps the rumored addition of maple syrup and sharp cheddar cheese that gives Vermont curry its extra special taste. It is none of those though. The final and most special added ingredient is what we simply call "meadow-muffin", an all-natural byproduct of out dairy farming industry. It gives Vermont curry its color, texture, feel, smell, and some would even say, its taste. |
a little bit more:
http://www.hackwriters.com/curryfarmin.htm
Hmmm, so they have Vermont Curry in Japan, too.
I wonder if the Koreans know the evil Japs eat it? If someone tells them, would they stop eating Vermont Curry? Or is this bit about Vermont Curry Trees just a clever ruse to cover up the fact that Vermont Curry is really grown on curry trees in Japan?
Now I'm beginning to wonder if "vermont" has another meaning in Japanese.
Any Green Mountain Boys here? |
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fruitcake
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Location: shinchon
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:36 am Post subject: |
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yes, I'm a Green Mountain Boy. born and raised just outside of Burlington.
I believe the Vermont part of that curry has something to do with apples. I have been to Japan and remember seeing the package for "Vermont Curry" with apples in the background, and that made the connection for me.
*sigh* how I miss actually having four seasons |
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Gollywog
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Location: Debussy's brain
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:34 am Post subject: |
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OK, Fruitcake. They sell Vermont Curry in Japan, which may be where it originated, though I am not sure. They sell Vermont Curry in Korea.
http://global.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=133546883&pos_shop_cd=SH&pos_class_cd=111111111&pos_class_kind=T&keyword_order=vermont+curry
But do the actually sell "Vermont Curry" or any curry linked to Vermont, IN Vermont?
One website suggested Vermont Curry has a trace of maple flavor. What is the fixation with maple in Korea by people who for the most part have never tasted maple syrup?
And do Koreans have the faintest idea where this "Vermont" on the curry label is? Or even what a "Vermont" is?
Four seasons. Right. A Korean told me Friday it is fall, now. Huh? I responded. September 1 is the beginning of fall, he told me. In Korea, maybe, but not in the rest of the world, I said.
Isn't it supposed to get cool in fall, and the leaves to turn colors?
And does it still snow someplace in winter for more than 12 hours?
While there is a lot of competition, I think Vermont is the most beautiful state in the Union, with some of the nicest, most reasonable people. I can understand why you miss it.
Speaking of Vermont, two great movies come to mind, one by Hitchcock, the other by Capra. Are there any others you, or anyone, can think of? |
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bangbayed
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:13 am Post subject: |
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Curry trees? 
Yes, Vermont curry came from Japan before Korea, just like O-deng and Udong (at least linguistically). Apparently there is a trace of apples and maple in Vermont curry, but I don't taste it. Not too keen on Korean/Japanese curry at all actually.
And curry doesn't grow on trees. It's an English word describing a variety of Indian food (vindaloo, tikka, etc.). Curry spice is a blend of garam masala (which itself is a blend), cumin and other spices. Go to India and ask for curry and you'll get the same look as you do here if you ask for chop suey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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bangbayed
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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Never heard of that before, thanks for the info. I guess "curry" does grow on trees, but curry doesn't.  |
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Gollywog
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Location: Debussy's brain
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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No curry trees?
Next, you will be telling me there is no Easter Bunny!
But I still don't get how this stuff came to be called "Vermont curry."
And then there's the "maple bears."
Does Korea have some sort of Vermont fixation? Do they even know what or where Vermont is?
I have asked Koreans about this, and all I get is a blank stare.
Vermont? |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Vermont curry is a tasty treat, and of course it's Japanese (as a name that cool would have to be). Korean instant curry is crap in comparison though, I gotta say...
Damn, all this talk about Japanese curry, giving me a craving for some CoCo Ichibanya now... |
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bangbayed
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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There is no Easter Bunny.
As for Vermont curry, we can probably assume that since Vermont grows apples, somehow in the last century, those lil Vermont apples made their way into a curry mix in Japan. A company decided to market it as "Vermont Curry", which subsequently became popular in Japan and (either during the Japanese Occupation or during Park Chung Hee's policy of normalization of relations with Japan) became popular in Korea. Which brings us to the point of the product confusing Vermonters residing in Korea in 2008.
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"They have a product there called Vermont Curry, made from apples and syrup," Seville said. "It's very famous. Everyone knows it. Whenever we said we were from Vermont, people sang a little jingle which must be from the curry advertisement."
The Japanese not only import apples and syrup, but also Cabot cheese, Seville learned. |
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3675/is_199603/ai_n8754080
The story of curry in Japan:
http://www.sbfoods.co.jp/eng/currystory.html |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| If u don't like it don't eat it. Plenty of avenues to buy real curries. |
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oskinny1
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Location: Right behind you!
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| Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 12:04 am Post subject: |
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| visitorq wrote: |
| CoCo Ichibanya |
Disgusting crap, much like the movie you are named for. |
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