Culinary Christmas - December 13: Baby, It's Cold Outside (Mulato Beat Remix)

Culinary Christmas - December 13: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Featured Foods: Swiss Kriss, drink of wine

It's another Monday during Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music… welcome back! Our Culinary Christmas celebration brings us two "firsts" today. The first "first" is the use of a song that we've previously featured, but this time around it appears again in a "remixed" form. And oddly, the second "first" is that the song mentions a laxative, which I'm going to include as a food item during this 25 Days.

Back in 2008 during our Dueling December Ditties, we featured a version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" sung by Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton. Today we're back with the same performers, but this time they anchor Baby, It's Cold Outside (Mulato Beat Remix). Someone dropped some beats on the original tune and edited it to give it a different flair, which I find a nice diversion every now and then.

When I first heard this version, I swore Louis Armstrong mentioned the phrase "Take some 'Swiss Miss' while I pour" during the tune. I thought, "hey, great, hot chocolate… that's a food item!" Upon further research, however, I discovered the lyric was actually "Take some 'Swiss Kriss' while I pour". What is 'Swiss Kriss'? Believe it or not, it's a herbal laxative! This brand was also a sponsor of Louis Armstrong.

Wikipedia explains, "Armstrong was greatly concerned with his health and bodily functions. He made frequent use of laxatives as a means of controlling his weight, a practice he advocated both to personal acquaintances and in the diet plans he published under the title Lose Weight the Satchmo Way. Armstrong's laxative of preference in his younger days was Pluto Water, but he then became an enthusiastic convert when he discovered the herbal remedy Swiss Kriss. He would extol its virtues to anyone who would listen and pass out packets to everyone he encountered."

And now you know!

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From the Archives: December 13

What's This All About?
New to Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music? Take some time to read the explanation and introduction!