Pleasures of the Table.

1895

Heliogabalus surpassed Vitellius as far as Vitellius surpassed Lucullus in the art of expending vast sums upon the pleasures of the table. According to Lampridius, he cost the government for each of his dinners more than $180,000 in our money! This statement almost transcends belief. At one of his banquets was served an entree consisting of the brains of 600,000 ostriches, quickly followed by another of broiled heels of an incalculable number of tender young camels!

In the days of Shakespeare good digestion probably waited on appetite. Dining was a matter of fact business, and dinners were so lacking in the variety of dishes that an appetite was a necessity. In these days, as in the days of Vitellius, an appetite is a superfluity. Among the high livers it is satiated, dull, dead, worn out. Special dishes are invented to tickle and awaken it.

Lucullus, Vitellius and Heliogabalus are among the great departed, but their memory lives, and even in this day and generation they have their imitators. — New York Press.

A Delicious Sandwich

1895

Mrs. Christine Terhune Herrick, the authority on all delicate feasting, stands sponsor for a new blend of sandwich that is a delicious addition to these acceptable morsels. A fairly thin slice of Boston brown broad is halved, each piece is spread lightly with cream cheese, cut in two pieces, and a crisp bit of lettuce previously dipped in French dressing put between the two quarters. Try it at your 5 o'clock, with chocolate or Russian tea, and test for yourself its delectability. — New York Times.


An Old Song

"The Last Rose of Summer," one of Patti's favorite songs, was the work of Thomas Moore. The melody is a very ancient Irish tune, formerly known as "The Groves of Blarney." This tune has been found in collections of Irish music at least 100 years old.

Dainties Loved By Gourmets

1895

Feathered Product of Certain Places Highly Prized by Epicures.

Among specialties regarding birds may be mentioned the capon of Surrey and Sussex and the turkey and geese of Norfolk and Suffolk. Passing through Essex, one may see whole "herds" of geese and ducks in the fields there fattening without thought of the future. Most of these birds, writes Dr. Doran, are "foreigners." They are Irish by birth, but they are brought over by steam, in order to be perfected by an English education, and when the due state of perfection has been attained they are transferred to London.

Dunstable larks are a dainty much coveted by epicures, and London is annually supplied from the country about Dunstable alone with not fewer than 4,000 dozen. But the enthusiasm with which the gourmets speak of those birds is far exceeded by the Germans, who travel many hundred miles to Leipsic merely to eat a dinner of larks. Such is the slaughter of larks at the Leipsic fair that as many as half a million are annually eaten, principally by the booksellers frequenting that city.

Whittlesey mere, in Huntingdonshire, now drained, once produced the finest ruffs and reeves, a delicacy of which Prince Talleyrand was extremely fond, his regular allowance during the season being two a day. An amusing anecdote is told of a young curate who had come up to be examined for priest's orders and was asked to dinner at Bishopthorpe by Archbishop Markham. Out of modesty he confined himself exclusively to the dish before him till one of the resident dignitaries observed him. But it was too late. The ruffs and reeves had vanished to a bird.

A similar tale has been told of another delicate morsel, the wheatear, popularly designated "the English ortolan." A Scotch officer was dining with a certain Lord George Lennox, then commandant at Portsmouth, and was placed near a dish of wheatears, which was rapidly disappearing under his repeated attentions to it. Lady Louisa Lennox tried to divert his notice to another dish, but "Na, na, mileddy," was the reply. "These wee birdie will do verra weel." — Exchange.

A Bunch of Recipes

1895

Some All New and Some Introducing Novelties In Old Processes.

Tea Sandwiches. — A delicious and substantial sandwich which may be offered at luncheon or tea is made by cutting small diamonds of bread from which the crust has been removed. These are then buttered, and on the top of each is placed a slice of cucumber, cut very thin, which is in turn spread with a layer of potted meat or game. Ham or tongue is good for the purpose, or any potted meat may be used. Be careful that it is quite smooth, and place little stars cut out of hard boiled eggs round the edge and a little mound of grated yolk of egg in the middle. Serve on a napkin garnished with parsley.

Charlotte Russe. — Line a china mold with lady fingers, fitting them close together and cutting off the tops if they reach above the edge of the mold. Soak an ounce of gelatin in half a gill of very strong coffee, put this into a saucepan with three-quarters of a pint of milk and 2 ounces of powdered sugar. When the gelatin has melted, put aside to cool. Whip a quarter of a pint of cream, flavor it with a little vanilla, strain the milk and gelatin into the cream, whisk together for a few minutes, then pour it very carefully into the lined molds so as not to disarrange the lady fingers and set away till the following day.

Savory Oysters. — Stamp out with a round cutter — a sherry glass will answer the purpose — some thin pastry, and put in the middle of each round an oyster, which after being scalded has been masked with a little white sauce, and then scattered with grated Parmesan. Sprinkle with a dust of cayenne pepper and bake in a quick oven.

Adirondack Corn Bread. — Mrs. Rorer gives the recipe for this as follows: Separate 5 eggs. Beat the yolks and add a pint of milk. Mix one-half pint of cornmeal with a half pint of flour. Add to it gradually the eggs and the milk. Soften 2 ounces of butter and stir into the mixture. Let this stand for ten minutes, then stir in the whites, well beaten, add a tablespoonful each of salt and of sugar and 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, mix carefully but quickly, turn into long baking pans, and bake 30 minutes. This bread, to be exactly right, should be in layers — the under part the meal, the next a layer of custard and on top a glossy brown crust.

Calf's Liver. — A chafing dish recipe to prepare this has a novel ingredient — that of coffee. The recipe reads: Cut the liver in neat, smooth slices and lay in salt and water to extract the blood. Mix together one-half cupful of flour, one-half cupful of cornmeal and a teaspoonful of salt. Roll the slices of liver in this mixture and fry in the chafing dish in hot butter until brown. Just before serving pour in a little coffee, cover tightly and let it stand a moment and serve with slices of crisply fried English breakfast bacon.

Little Late Suppers

1895

A Pleasant Way of Ruining One's Digestion Is Here Presented.

Every one, except the dyspeptics, loves a late supper. It is a natural trait. Boarding school boys and girls, with shawls hung over their transoms, consume olives and chocolate cake and truly enjoy life. When they escape the necessity of hanging shawls and outgrow the taste for pickles and cake, they still like late suppers. Like all natural desires, it is one which should be gratified. The only care should be concerning the manner of its gratification. To eat a repast just before going to bed which will keep the digestive organs busy all night is a slow method of suicide.

What the undisciplined taste always desires about midnight is lobster a la Newburg, Welsh rabbit or fried oysters, with coffee. These are particularly detrimental to the health, and the desire for them should be vigorously restrained. The taste should be educated to prefer toasted crackers and chocolate.

Of course when one gives a late supper indigestible things are in order. Then such appetizing morsels as stuffed olives, anchovy toast, lobster a la Newburg, caviare on toast, venison steak, broiled grouse, cheese souffles, rum omelet and the like are desirable. A supper which would appeal to any man's taste comprises stuffed oysters, with tartar sauce; brown bread toast; venison steak, with currant jelly; glazed sweet potatoes, velvet biscuit, olives, crackers, cheese, fruit and coffee. Another equally good contains stuffed olives, toasted crackers, fried oysters, celery salad, broiled grouse, bread sauce, rolls, fried potatoes, Welsh rabbit, baked apples and coffee. — New York World.

Bakers Would Abolish 5-Cent Loaf

1916

Chicago, Sept. 9. — Recommendations to all bakers of the United States that the five-cent loaf of bread be abandoned and the ten-cent loaf standardized, were made after considerable discussion at the closing session of the executive committee of the National Association of Master Bakers yesterday. They urged that the recommendations be put into effect immediately. Economic waste incident to the manufacture of the five-cent loaf was emphasized. Saving in manufacture, improvement in quality and standardization are urged in favor of the ten-cent loaf. It is also recommended that where local conditions make it necessary a smaller loaf may be maintained, with a price consistent with the cost of manufacture.

The bakers cited the following percentages of increase in the cost in the ingredients in the manufacture of bread within the past two years: Patent flour, 100 per cent; rye, 124 per cent; sugar, 66 per cent; shortening, 60 per cent; milk, 40 per cent; salt, 14 per cent; wrapping paper, 70 per cent. Delivery costs also have increased, it was stated, through an advance of 100 per cent in the price of gasolene and of 25 per cent in feed for horses.

The bakers went on record strongly against any attempt to lower the quality of bread.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 6

Care of Food In The Home

1916

All cooked food should be cooled as soon as possible before being placed in the ice box. Butter may be kept from taking up the flavors of other food by keeping it in a tightly covered receptacle. Milk requires more access of air, but in a clean ice box in which no strong smelling food is kept milk should remain uninjured in flavor for twelve to twenty-four hours. If vegetables or other foods of pronounced odor are kept in glass jars with covers or in covered earthenware receptacles there will be fewer odors to be communicated. Portions of canned food should never be put into the ice box in the tin can. Such food does not of necessity develop a poisonous product, as has sometimes been claimed, but experiments show that ptomaines are particularly liable to develop in such cases. Casting out this somewhat remote possibility, keeping is enough to condemn the "tinny" taste acquired by such practice.

Foods that are to be eaten raw, such as lettuce and celery, should be carefully cleaned before being placed in the ice box, and may with advantage be wrapped in a clean, damp cloth. If they are to be kept for some days they should, however, be put in without removing the roots, the further precaution being taken to wrap them carefully in clean paper or to put them into grocers' bags,

The following hints regarding the keeping of different kinds of food may be found useful:

Potatoes are kept without difficulty in a cool, dry, and dark place. Sprouts should not be allowed to grow in the spring.

Such roots as carrots, parsnips, and turnips remain plump and fresh if placed in earth or sand filled boxes on the cellar floor.

Sweet potatoes may be kept until January if cleaned, dried, and packed in chaff so that they will not touch each other.

Pumpkins and squash must be thoroughly ripe and mature to keep well. They should he dried from time to time with a cloth and kept, not on the cellar floor, but on a shelf, and well separated from each other.

Cabbages are to be placed in barrels, with the roots uppermost.

Celery should be neither trimmed nor washed, but packed, heads up, in long, deep boxes, which should then be filled with dry earth.

Tomatoes may be kept until January, if gathered just before frost, wiped, and placed on straw- covered racks in the cellar. They should be firm and well-grown specimens, not yet beginning to turn. As they ripen they may be taken out for table use, and any soft or decaying ones must be removed.

Apples, if for use during the autumn, may be stored in barrels without further precaution than to look them over now and then to remove decaying ones; but if they are to be kept till late winter or spring they must be of a variety known to keep well and they must be handpicked and without blemish or bruise. They should be wiped dry and placed with little crowding on shelves in the cellar. As a further precaution they may be wrapped separately in soft paper.

Pears may be kept for a limited time in the same way, or packed in sawdust or chaff, which absorbs the moisture which might otherwise favor molding.

Oranges and lemons are kept in the same way. Wrapping in soft paper is here essential, as the uncovered skins if bruised offer good feeding ground for mold. Oranges may be kept for a long time in good condition if stored where it is very cold but where freezing is not possible.

Lemons and limes are often kept in brine, an old-fashioned household method.

Cranberries, after careful looking over to remove soft ones, are placed in a crock or firkin and covered with water. A plate or round board placed on top and weighted serves to keep the berries under water. The water should be changed once a month.

In winter large pieces of fresh meat may be purchased and hung in the cellar; thin pieces, as mutton chops, are sometimes dipped in mutton suet, which keeps the surface from drying and is easily scraped off before cooking.

Turkeys, chickens and other birds should be carefully drawn as soon as killed and without washing hung in the coolest available place.

Smoked ham, tongue, beef, and fish are best put in linen bags and hung in the cellar.

Salt pork and corned beef should be kept in brine in suitable jars, kegs or casks, and should be weighted so as to remain well covered. A plate or board weighted with a clean stone is an old-fashioned and satisfactory device.

Eggs may be packed for winter use in limewater or in water-glass solution. Many housekeepers have good success in packing them in bran, oats, or in dry salt, but according to experiments summarized in the aforementioned bulletin, the preference is to be given to the 10 per cent solution of water glass. Exclusion of the air with its accompanying micro-organisms and the prevention of drying out are what is sought in all cases. Packed eggs are not equal to fresh eggs in flavor, but when they are well packed are of fairly good quality and perfectly wholesome.

Paper has many uses in the kitchen. The cook needs a piece of paper on which to drain the fried croquette or fritter and she reaches out for the brown paper that came around the meat or for the grocer's bag. She turns to the same source when she wishes paper for lining a cake pan. A little reflection will show how far from cleanly is this practice.

In every kitchen should be found a roll of grocers' paper on its frame. You are sure here of something that has not been handled since it was rolled up by machinery in the factory. Paraffin paper should also be at hand for covering food, for wrapping up sandwiches for school lunches, and for similar purposes. — Maine Farmer.

Is a Good Breakfast Necessary? Yes

1901

A good breakfast is the physical basis of a day's work. The American breakfast, regarded with so much horror on the European continent, has contributed largely to make the nation what it is today. It enabled our forefathers to do an amount of work which it appalls foreigners to contemplate.

As a rule there is something wrong with the man or with his habits if he cannot eat a good breakfast. A man who works at high tension all through the morning hours without this substantial foundation is working entirely upon his nerves. That means disordered nutrition and sooner or later bankruptcy and collapse.

If a man gets up in the morning with a bad taste and no inclination for food, it is because his system is full of waste and his circulation of obstructions. Let him make a radical change in his habits and train his digestive organs to accommodate a nourishing morning meal. — Medical Brief.

Kansas Wheat For France

1901

The enormous wheat crop in Kansas and Oklahoma is bringing grain buyers of foreign countries to Kansas, says a Topeka dispatch to the New York Sun. Alon and Jean Goldschmidt, importers of Paris, came recently to negotiate for shipments. They declare that there is little promise of a big wheat crop in France this year, and France always turns to the United States when her own crop is short. Kansas wheat is famous in France for good flour. It is the product of Russian seed, but the wheat of Russia does not compare with the Kansas product. The French importers will arrange for shipping by way of the gulf of Mexico.

Penguin, Blubber, Their Daily Diet

1916

ONCE THEY DINE ON FISH FROM SEAL'S STOMACH.

Lacking Tobacco, Shackleton's Marooned Men Smoke Grass Taken From Boot Padding.

LONDON, England, Sept. 14. — Life on Elephant Island, in the Antarctic, as it was experienced by the marooned men of Lieutenant Sir Ernest Shackleton's south polar expedition, who were rescued recently and taken to Chili, is described in a message received from Punta Arenas and published in the Daily Chronicle.

"The day began," says the description, "with breakfast, which consisted merely of penguin, fried in blubber, with a drink of water. The morning's duties consisted in clearing away snowdrifts and catching penguin.

"Lunch was served at 1 o'clock, consisting of a biscuit with raw blubber. The afternoon was occupied with regular exercise over a track 100 yards in length.

Smoke Grass From Boots.

"At 5 o'clock, when darkness fell, came dinner, consisting of penguin breast and beef tea. Lacking tobacco, the men smoked grass from the padding in their boots, while the pipes were carved from birds' bones and wood.

"The members of the party took turns in reading aloud from the only available books, namely, the Bible, an encyclopedia, Browning, Bacon's Essays and Carlyle's French Revolution. Saturday evening was always marked by a concert, the feature of which was banjo playing. A banjo was the only musical instrument in camp.

Fish as Change of Diet.

"On one occasion there was a welcome addition to the diet when several undigested fish were found in the stomach of a seal, and greatly enjoyed. These were the only fish obtained during our stay. In August there was a change in the diet when limpets were gathered and seaweed was available as a vegetable.

"We were in the midst of one of these limpet and seaweed lunches when the rescue boat was sighted.

"'When was the war over?' was the first question we asked."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 5.

Appetite Frees Jailed Man

1919

FAIRMONT, West Virginia — The appetite of Harvey Martin, arrested on a charge of nonsupport, threatened to bankrupt the county, so he was released on his own recognizance.

The first meal Martin ordered after being placed in jail was 50 cents worth of hamburg steak, 25 cents worth of wieners, nine eggs, sliced tomatoes, creamed potatoes, two apple pies and four cups of coffee. His second meal outdid the first by 50 per cent in cost, and each succeeding meal showed that jail life and Martin would never be accused of incompatibility.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 12.

Comment: Hmm, so this is a jail where you can order anything you want. And if it turns out to be more expensive than they want to spring for they let you go. That sounds about right!

Would Rather Smoke Than Eat

1901

"One day," writes an American in Havana, "I came across an old Cuban woman sitting disconsolately on a rock near Morro castle. She told me in Spanish that for three days she had had nothing to eat but a loaf of bread and coffee. She looked it. I gave her a Spanish dollar and followed in her wake. She entered the first cafe she came to and bought a drink and a cigar. I couldn't help laughing to see her as she walked along the street puffing away at the weed purchased with my money. She seemed perfectly contented. The Cubans, even the women, would rather smoke than eat. They take only two meals a day, breakfast about 10 o'clock and dinner at 4 in the afternoon."

An Ample Kitchen

1901

What is said to be the largest kitchen in England is that of Raby castle, the seat of the Duke of Cleveland. It is 30 feet square, having three chimneys, one for the grate, a second for the stoves and the third for the great cauldron. The roof is arched, with a small cupola in the center. It has five windows, from each of which steps descend, but only in one instance to the floor, and a gallery runs round the whole interior of the building. The ancient oven has a diameter of 15 feet.

Vast as this kitchen is, it must have been sometimes taxed by the hospitality of former ages, for in one of the apartments of the castle 700 knights were upon one occasion entertained at the same time, and the knights of that day were men of brawn and sinew, who would think lightly of demolishing, each man of them, five pounds of beef, half a suckling pig and a venison pasty or two, washed down with huge flagons of brown October.

Too Extravagant By Half

1901

The manner in which one defaulting cashier was detected was rather peculiar. It was all due to the curiosity of the women of his neighborhood. He went to no expense in the way of dressing, they never heard of his gambling or drinking to any extent, he was a model husband, but he loved a good table. There was nothing unusual in this, but one day when the ladies of the vicinity were discussing the best method of cooking meats the wife of the cashier declared very innocently that her husband doted on ham, but he would not eat it unless it had been boiled in champagne. "Boiled in champagne!" exclaimed the listeners. "Heavens, how expensive! We couldn't afford to have ham on our table often if we cooked it that way."

It was soon noised all around the neighborhood that Cashier Blank was a high liver indeed, and the men began telling of his uplifted ideas of cookery. This soon reached the ears of the directors of the bank, and they concluded it might be wise to investigate the accounts of such an epicure. Plain water was all they could afford for their hams, so the champagne lover was called up and subsequently relegated to the pen, where he had to forgo his pet dish for many, many weary days. — Louisville Times.


Human Nature

It is human nature to deride what we cannot possess, to deny what we cannot understand and to insult those we envy. — Chicago News.

Buying Fruit

1901

The prudent man never buys the fruit which is marked with the highest prices, and his motive is not merely economy. He knows that the second grade fruit is riper than the most expensive, which in nine cases out of ten is too green to be eaten immediately. It is held at high prices because the dealer knows that it will keep, and as it ripens and grows better fit for human consumption its price will be reduced. That is the stage of the fruit when the price is lowered for the first time. It is then ripe and in condition to be eaten. And the prudent man who doesn't always feel that he has got the best article only when he pays the most for it buys his fruit at the marked down price. — New York Sun.

Cheese With A "Kick" Coming From France

1919

Alcoholic Viands Considered for Shipment to U.S.

PARIS, France — Hail — alcoholic cheese! It is known of a truth that it is not proper for French importers to send any intoxicating liquors to the United States. But is there a law against exporting intoxicating foods? Mais non!

French wholesale dealers are turning their attention, therefore, to the cultivation of an American taste for vine-fed snails, canned bouillabaisse, melun, pont d'eveque, roblochon and other makes of cheese that has a kick to it, and foisse, the delicious short bread in Aveyron and the Pyrenees, of whole meal grain, eggs, cognac and unfermented wine.

Garcon! Some foisse and bouillabaisse, and have some yourself.

The Fabulous Leonard "Foodarama" Refrigerator

Read this doc on Scribd: The Fabulous Leonard "Foodarama" Refrigerator

Refrigerator advertisement recreated, combining a color postcard photograph and an old newspaper ad. The original ad is from 1955.

How to Cook a Coon

1910

In preparing to cook a coon see that the kernels have been thoroughly cut out of the arm pits, groins and from under the root of the tail after it has been skinned. Coons' kernels are similar to musk glands. The carcass should be hung up in the frost for two or three days to freeze by night and thaw by day until properly tendered and then parboiled and baked. Some use a dressing of bread, sage and onions; others use oysters and crackers; still others use sweet potatoes or persimmons. All use a basting rich in butter, red pepper and vinegar. A coon beyond all other flesh absorbs any other flavor put with him, so sweet herbs are occasionally used. Not too fat nor too lean, he makes a fine repast for a hunter's supper.

And They Didn't Exercise

1910

William M. Evarts, who lived until he was nearly ninety, said he kept his health by never taking exercise. The celebrated Dr. William George Mead, who lived to the surprising age of 148 years, spent nearly all of his time in the open air and played a little golf. Dr. Mead used to drink two or three quarts of water every day, and perhaps there is a suggestion in that. Old Dubois, who lived in Canada for the better part of 119 years on the north shore of Lake Erie, never worked and never took exercise. He spent seventy-five years of his life fishing with hook and line and ate nothing but baked apples and milk and brown bread and unsalted butter. Perhaps you can live that long if you do nothing but fish and eat what old Dubois did. But take notice that these long livers never exercised. — New York Telegraph.

Snake Demands Its Eggs Fresh

1914

Species of South African Snake With a Dainty Appetite and Keen Sense of Smell

The South African snake called the eggeater has inherited from long generations of ancestors a sense of smell so acute that it appears never to be at fault. Professor Fitzsimons, director of the Port Elizabeth museum, gives in his book on "The Snakes of South Africa" an interesting instance of the wisdom of these serpents.

"Being short of fresh pigeons' eggs once, I went to my cabinet and took the clean-blown shells of a few doves' eggs. Beating up the contents of a fowl's fresh egg, I syringed them into the empty shells, and carefully pasted tiny bits of tissue paper over the holes. I put these in the eggeaters' cage, and watched, for I expected the snakes to swallow them as they did the other eggs. First one eggeater advanced. He touched each egg gently in turn with the tip of his nose or the point of his forked tongue, and crawled away in disgust. Another and yet another eagerly advanced, repeated the performance, and straightway retired. I began to get interested. Leaving the eggs, I returned in a few hours' time to find them still there.

"For two whole weeks those eggs remained in the cage untouched, although I refrained from giving the snakes any others. Then I procured some fresh pigeons' eggs and put them into the cage. The snakes approached, touched them with their noses or tongues, and instantly began to swallow them. I tried this experiment a second time with the same result. Frequently I have noticed that the snakes would eat some of the eggs that I gave them, and reject others. On breaking the latter open, I always found that they were either addled or else had a partially developed young bird inside. I could never induce an eggeater to swallow an egg that was not perfectly fresh.

"The eggeater is an expert climber, and his sense of smell is so sharp that he can discover birds' nests with the greatest facility. If you place an empty bird's nest in the cage of an eggeater, he will take no notice of it, except to use it occasionally for a cozy bed. But if you put fresh eggs in it, he at once detects their presence, although they are hidden from his sight." — Youth's Companion.