Contents
=> “Mayonnaise in Russia” - text & Question Formation Exercise
=> “The Mystery of Tartar Sauce” - text
=> “Student Dictation Contest” - activity directions
=> In the Next Issues


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Mayonnaise and Russia
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In Russia you’ll find mayonnaise in most salads, in soups and sandwiches, in hotdogs and pizzas, and smeared on a pork cutlet under melted cheese (as I had yesterday), and in every home refrigerator. It is unlikely that you could have a meal WITHOUT mayonnaise. In fact, each Russian consumes about 2.5 kilograms of mayonnaise every year. Russia is the 2nd largest market for mayonnaise in the world, after the USA.

Mayonnaise is egg whites mixed with oil with a touch of lemon juice. It was invented in Europe, probably France. It’s possible that, in the 1750s, a chef of the Duc of Richielieu created it. The story is that his sauce recipe called for eggs and cream, but he had no cream, so he substituted olive oil. (Today mayonnaise is usually made with vegetable oil). The sauce was named in honor of a French victory over the British at Mahon. Thus, Mayonnaise.

In the USA, mayonnaise is often just called “mayo.”

Sources:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question617.htm
http://eng.marketcenter.ru/content/doc-1-5052.html
http://www.cee-foodindustry.com/news/news-ng.asp?id=49767-sauce-market-comes

Note: When and how mayonnaise become so universally popular in Russia is something I couldn’t find out. If anyone has the answers, I’d be glad to know. –Kevin

Question Formation Activity

Forming questions in English is something that takes practice. Below are 5 answers about the Mayonnaise text. Ask students to write suitable questions.

1. 2.5 kilograms
2. in France.
3. It’s mostly made of egg whites and oil, mixed together.
4. The USA
5. Because he had no cream.

Here are some possible questions for the above answers.

1. How much mayonnaise do Russians consume every year?
2. Where was mayonnaise invented?
3. What is mayonnaise made of? What does mayonnaise consist of?
4. What is the largest market for mayonnaise?
5. Why did the Duc de Richilieu’s chef use oil for his sauce?

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“The Mystery of Tartar Sauce” by Kevin
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In America we often eat fish with Tartar sauce. Tartar sauce is usually mayonnaise with chopped pickles, lemon juice or vinegar, and a few spices. When I visited Kazan, I ordered a fish “shashlyk” (a kebab) and was brought the most delicious Tartar sauce. I’ve never been so happy. Tartar sauce in Kazan! The capital of Tatarstan! Could, I wondered, Tartar sauce have something to do with Tartarstan?

The answer is very little. “Tartare” is the French spelling of Tatar, those people of Mongolian-Turkic descent. At some point, the French made a dish called “Beef Tartare.” Perhaps later, when Tartar sauce was created it reminded people of the sauce to this beef dish. No one knows for sure.

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“Student Dictation Contest” - activity
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This activity can be used with the above text, or one paragraph of it, or with any text.

Print two copies of the text. Divide your class in half. Choose a student from each half of the class to dictate the text to his/her group. The students who dictate may not say anything except for the words of the text. They may repeat words and phrases but may not spell. The teacher should monitor them.

Give them five minutes or so–time enough to complete the dictation of the text. Then the individual students of each group may compare their texts. After consulting about what is correct and incorrect, each group will write their version on the board for a final comparison. The group/team with most accurate version is the winner.

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In the Next Issues
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June 10
Idioms from Baseball, from Hamilton Beck

June 17
Your Poems and Stories

Copyright 2005 Kevin McCaughey & I.M. Poosheesty