Part 25

The magiric laboratory, to which the reader is invited, is very nicely decorated with a profusion of utensils similar in every respect to our own in point of shape--such as gridirons, cullenders, dripping-pans, and tart dishes. These objects are of tolerably thick bronze, plated with fine silver.[XXII-61] Charming shells of the same metal, serve to mould the pastry,[XXII-62] which is afterwards disposed with order on the shelves of a country oven,[XXII-63] or in the upper part of the authepsa,--a kind of saucepan of Corinthian brass, of considerable value, and made with such art that its contents cook instantly and almost without fire.[XXII-64] This simple and ingenious vessel possesses a double-bottom; the uppermost one holds

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE No. XII.

From the ancients very little is left us of their kitchen utensils; however, the vessels and instruments which they used must have been in great variety; they had boilers called by the names of _caldarium_, _cacabus_, _cortina_, _adhenum_; chaldron, _lebes_; stewpan, _sartago_; saucepan, _pultarium_; the cullender, with small holes perforated, Pliny calls _colum_, and more modern writers _verna_; spoons, in Latin, _cochlear_ or _cochleare_; forks and hooks, to draw the meat out of the stockpots, they named _creagra_ and _fuscina_; the dishes were called _lances_, _disci_, _patina_, _patella_, or _catini_; and distinguished from plates by the size, and sometimes the shape.

=No. 1.= Stockpot, with a large ladle and cullender attached, with small holes; appeared on the column of Trajan, together with the stewpan of Silenus.

=No. 2.= Broken stewpan, in bronze.

=No. 3.= Smaller one. These three articles of kitchen utensils are from the cabinet of M. l’Abbé Charlet.--“_Antiquités de Montfaucon._”

the light delicacies destined for the dessert, and the fire is underneath.[XXII-65]

The diploma, or double-vase, which has sometimes been confounded with the authepsa, does not in the least resemble the latter. It is thus they named the vessel called by us a “_bain-marie_;”[XXII-66] the ancients made great use of this mild and gentle process of cooking, which is often mentioned in the treatise of Apicius.[XXII-67]

These brass boilers, which boil on the hearth, supported by three feet, are precisely like those used by the French at the present day.[XXII-68] Boilers also of a rather different kind are sometimes used, in which the operation of ebullition takes place sooner than in the first mentioned; they are closed with a cover in the form of a dome, and a large hollow cylinder, fixed beneath, hastens and keeps up the action of the caloric.[XXII-69]

The saucepans, around which a host of cooks are busily engaged, are for the greater part made of brass or earthenware,[XXII-70] tolerably wide and deep, which they place on the stoves, and in which are concocted the delicate and scientific preparations. Some are of silver.[XXII-71] The caprices of luxury have led them to suppose that certain expensive viands acquire greater perfection when cooked in this precious metal.

A confidential slave, charged with the care of the plate, is cleaning and polishing near a dresser a large number of bronze chafing-dishes, which are to be used at table to prevent the plates from becoming cold. It is in speaking of this useful invention that Seneca, the philosopher, says, “Daintiness gave birth to this invention, in order that no viand should be chilled, and that everything should be hot enough to please the most pampered palate. The kitchen follows the supper.”[XXII-72] Each of these elegant utensils is supported by three geese. It measures about seven inches from the extremity of one of the bird’s heads to the opposite edge of the circumference. This kind of tray is fifteen lines, or an inch and a-quarter deep, and the feet raise it about two inches above the plane. The three geese have their wings spread, and terminate by

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE No. XIII.

No. 1. This boiler is made of bronze; the lower part was filled with water, and made to boil by means of the cylinder, covered with a lid, in which lighted charcoal was introduced; the ashes escaped through holes perforated at the bottom, and the basin has a tap to let the water out.

No. 2. A flat saucepan, or sauté pan, with a fluted handle, and a ram’s head at the end.

No. 3. A kettle similar to our teapots.

No. 4. A gridiron, and a dripping-pan.

No. 5. A trivet, a cleaver, and a butcher’s knife.--ST. NON, “_Cabinet of Herculaneum_.”

neats’ feet. The heads, raised on the breasts, form graceful handles.[XXII-73] These chafing-dishes, arranged systematically on the sigma, produce a delightful effect.

Dishes of massive silver occupy another compartment of the vast cupboard. An opulent family could not possibly do without this luxury. Sylla had some which weighed 200 marks, and Rome would produce more than five hundred of the same weight.[XXII-74] It was in fact a perfect _furore_, which afterwards greatly augmented. In the time of the Emperor Claudius, one of his slaves, named Drusillanus Rotundus, possessed a silver dish weighing 1,000 marks, which was served in the midst of eight smaller ones weighing 100 marks each. These nine dishes were arranged at table on a machine which supported and placed them prominently in view.

The _patinæ_ such was the name of these magnificent pieces of plate, served for _ragoûts_ and fish; the _catinus_, an immense vase of earthenware among the poor[XXII-75] and of silver with the rich, is more especially reserved for liquid dishes, with much gravy, and what we call pottage.[XXII-76]

Those silver cups and saucers, of the same shape and size as those we employ for tea, have a destination very strange to our ideas. They are used to drink hot water. They are worked in relief, with a taste and delicacy which we cannot too much admire.[XXII-77]

The Roman spoons, rather different from our own, end on one side by a point, to pick shell fish from their shell, and at the other by the bowl of a spoon, with which eggs were eaten.[XXII-78]

Doubtless, forks were unknown to the Greeks, since Athenæus relates, “that Pithyllus”--surnamed the Dainty--“did not content himself with covering his tongue with a species of net, to appreciate the taste of the various dishes, but cleaned and rubbed it with a fish. He also enveloped his hands in a kind of glove, to eat everything burning hot;”[XXII-79] a useless precaution if he had used a fork.

This indispensable addition to a modern table was, perhaps, not common at Rome, but nevertheless, it was to be seen at the residence of some wealthy families. The slave before-mentioned holds several in his hand. These forks are remarkable for the beauty of their workmanship.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE No. XIV.

No. 1. Chafing-dish to keep everything hot.

No. 2. Silver cup, beautifully chased, to drink hot water.

The stags’ feet which terminate the handles, and the fillets with which they are ornamented, bear witness by their execution to the rare talent of the goldsmith. They are five inches and a half in length, and have only two prongs.[XXII-80]

Other servants dispose the earthenware pails, in which the wine is to be placed to cool,[XXII-81] and prepare the drinking cups and crystal flagons.[XXII-82] One of them replenishes with vinegar, salt, and pepper, little vases designated by the name of _acetabulum_, “vinegar cruet.”[XXII-83] These are so many models of the most exquisite elegance, in bronze, silver, and, sometimes, gold. They are manufactured simply of earthenware, for the use of the middle classes of people.[XXII-84]

The knives, destined to serve at table, are of brilliant steel, and carefully sharpened; they bear each on the handle some whimsical ornament, and seem to have served as models for those which were so much in fashion towards the beginning of the 17th century, and which were called Chinese knives.[XXII-85]

The most precious plate is arranged before the arrival of the guests on the abacus, or sideboard, which decorates the dining room. This splendid piece of furniture, which will be noticed hereafter, was introduced into Rome 187 years B.C. It was also called the Delphic table.[XXII-86]

However, the _Archimagirus_ has drawn up a list of the repast, which contains the bill of fare of the dishes, and which, both in Greece and Rome, was always presented to the guests.[XXII-87] He descends from his platform, and goes to cast an inspiring glance on the work of each subordinate. Nothing escapes his learned investigation, from the peacocks’ eggs of the first service, to the soft cheese commonly eaten at the third.[XXII-88] Above all, he examines with minute attention the ovens, at which preside those second cooks of whose talents he is not certain, and who belong to that class of erratic artists who are to be met with every day at the forum,

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE No. XV.

No. 1. Roman silver spoon, found at Autun, in France. Martial says expressly that spoons were used by the ancients to eat eggs and shell fish.

No. 2. Brass knife, from Herculaneum. The shape of the handle is rather singular, being too small for the hand, but it was probably covered with horn, wood, or ivory. However, it may have been, the knife is thirteen inches in length, from the tip to the ring, which was used to hang it up. The handle is three inches long, and the blade in its largest width is one inch and a quarter. It was used no doubt for sacrifices.

No. 3. A simpulum, or a sort of spoon for salt or eggs.

No. 4. A simpulum, or cup with a long handle, commonly ending with a hook, which was used as a ladle to take wine or other liquids out of large vessels.

No. 5. Fork mentioned in the text, and given as antique in the “_Recueil d’Antiq.,_” III., Pl. 84.

where they wait till some one comes to request their services.[XXII-89] His remarks, full of sense and precision, proclaim profound study and consummate experience. “Never will this _depsiticius_ bread,”[XXII-90] says he to one of them, “obtain the necessary lightness by baking; the flour should have been passed through a Spanish sieve of linen thread;[XXII-91] Use the Gallic sieve of horsehair for the _artocreas_,[N][XXII-92] and one of papyrus, or Egyptian rush,[XXII-93] for the coarser kinds of flour.” “The grasshoppers require great precaution,” he exclaims, an instant after, approaching a young Sicilian; “fry them so that they obtain only a light gold colour.”[XXII-94] Then, passing to a third stove, he shows to one of his favourite pupils how to season highly an excellent sauce of snails (this _hors-d’œuvre_, dear to the Romans), and by what marks to distinguish those fattened by art in particular inclosures, from those which feed in gardens and are only fit for the common people.[XXII-95] He then stops before a stewpan, where a cook is browning large worms of a whitish hue, which breed in the hollows of trees, and are considered by the Romans[XXII-96] as a most delicious dish: “The flour with which these cossi were fed was heated,” says he; “they will present to the teeth only a soft and insipid substance.”[XXII-97]

We will not accompany this great master any further: his instructions are already known to us. An enthusiastic disciple of Apicius, he practises the lessons of that illustrious professor; and we should only hear from him precepts which we have already faithfully transmitted.

When the moment of supper is arrived, we shall find the _Archimagirus_ presiding at that gastronomic order of battle on which depends the success of the day. May Vesta and Comus be propitious to him.

In the 14th century, the refectories and kitchens of the numerous communities of Paris presented a curious scene. Immense coppers contained the pottage and boiled meat, and monster gridirons, on four wheels, covered vast braziers. All the utensils of these kitchens were of remarkable dimensions.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE No. XVI.

No. 1. Roman silver knife handle.

No. 2. Roman silver spoons.

No. 3. A very deep dish of metal, either for sauces or some kind of liquid.

XXIII.

SEASONINGS.

THE animal and vegetable kingdoms furnish us with an abundant and wholesome food, whose flavour gastronomic caprice unceasingly modifies by the aid of various substances which we denominate seasonings. It is, above all, the perfect knowledge of these ingredients, the manner of employing them, and their skilful mixture, which constitute the art of the cook. Labour and custom, and a kind of routine which the palate acquires easily, will suffice for those who content themselves with this calling, and who, carefully preserving the timid traditions of the past, view progress as ruin and devastation, and the fruitful boldness of inspiration as ridiculous and fatal innovations.

Heresy, and even schism (pardon these expressions), should be allowed in cookery, as soon as they receive the sanction of the doctors _ès-banquets_--the sole judges competent in such matters. It is to the art professed by Apicius that the celebrated line of Voltaire appears more peculiarly to apply:--

“Tous les genres sont bons, excepté l’ennuyeux.”

Innovate, then, studious disciples of the illustrious Roman: consult only the measures of your strength, the conscience of your genius, and the infallible good taste of some chosen guests. Create for your seasoning unheard-of combinations, the strangeness of which shall strike and astonish; whose flavour shall subjugate and stifle criticism beneath the sweet efforts of a voluptuous mastication.

Learn how to make your areopagitæ eat: this innocent seduction will insure your triumph.

Treat not with too much disdain these Roman recipes; for although the formidable list may excite a smile from the reader, and, perhaps, the scorn of the cook, a great and prolific idea slumbers beneath the cold ashes of the ovens of Apicius which a breath may rekindle; and, at the same time, resuscitate some of those culinary wonders of a bygone civilisation, and endow our modern age, so impatient of the future, so curious concerning the past.

Two Phœnicians--whose names are never mentioned by forgetful posterity--Selech and Misor, taught mankind the art of heightening the flavour of their food by mixing with it a certain quantity of salt. The science of seasoning has no other origin.[XXIII-1]

SALT.

The law of Moses commanded the Jews to mix salt with everything offered in sacrifice.[XXIII-2] This prescription sufficiently testifies the use of this condiment at an epoch which the uncertainty of profane writers appears to invade on all sides, and which the great Hebrew legislator alone enlightens with a ray invariably steady and pure.

The Asphaltite lake produced abundance of salt.[XXIII-3] It was sent even to Rome, and was considered by Galen as the most desiccatory and digestive of any kind.[XXIII-4]

The Greeks placed this substance in the list of things which ought to be consecrated to the gods; and it is in this sense that Homer gives it the epithet of divine. Pagan superstition, of which some traces may still be remarked in the 19th century, threatened with some great misfortune any one who spilt salt; and it was deemed a signal impiety to forget placing salt-cellars on the table, or to dare go to sleep before removing them. This strange superstition was common among the Greeks and Romans.[XXIII-5] Those nations never failed consecrating their repasts by filling salt-cellars, near to the vase in which they presented the gods with the first portion of meat and fruit.[XXIII-6]

Certain nations, among others the Numidians, were not acquainted with salt;[XXIII-7] and in the greater part of countries where it abounded, cupidity almost invariably subjected it to a heavy tax, which rendered its use less practicable.

The inhabitants of Troad provided themselves for a long time with salt from Tragase without cost. King Lysimachus one day thought of exacting a duty for every measure carried away. But, wonderful to relate, hardly was the royal edict published, when the salt springs were found to be so nearly dried up, that they hardly furnished wherewith to season a small stew. Lysimachus comprehended the meaning of this prodigy, and abolished the tax. The salt re-appeared.[XXIII-8]

At Rome, in the time of her Kings, every one was free to sell salt, and its price became excessively high. The republican government withdrew this right from private individuals, and from that time the common people easily procured all the salt they required, and which they willingly eat with bread.[XXIII-9]

Ancus Martius was the first Roman who established salt works near Ostia towards the mouth of the Tiber.[XXIII-10] Afterwards, others were formed, not only in Rome, but in the provinces. These were of two kinds, public and private. The first belonged to the republic, and formed part of the emperor’s domain; malefactors were condemned to labour in the salt-works, and it was generally women on whom this punishment was inflicted.[XXIII-11]

Ancus Martius was also the first who placed a duty on salt. It was abolished after the expulsion of the Kings, but was afterwards again established.

Down to the 14th century salt was a commodity of trade open to every one in France. Philip the Long and Philip of Valois were the first to impose a momentary tax on it; but after the fatal battle of Poictiers, in which John was taken prisoner, Charles, his son, in order to pay the ransom of that monarch, had recourse, among other extraordinary means, to the establishment of the salt tax. The idea was found to be good, and it has never since been given up.[XXIII-12]

There are four sorts of salt which are employed to season dishes, obtained either from the evaporation of sea water, from certain lakes or salt marshes, and also from saliferous sources drawn out of the bosom of the earth in compact masses. Its particular savour is well known; it is soluble in water, and easily becomes damp. In the scientific language, this substance is called hydrochlorate of soda.

BRINE.

This was water in which bay salt had been dissolved. At Rome, it was served at table to be mixed with the meat precisely in the same manner as we serve salt in salt-cellars. The Romans plunged in this muria any fish or meat they might wish to preserve.[XXIII-13]

Strong _muria dura_ was water so completely saturated with bay salt, that no more could be dissolved in it.[XXIII-14] Olives were washed in it.

The brine most sought after was that of Antibes, of Thurium, and of Dalmatia.[XXIII-15] It was prepared with the blood and other juices which, after death, escaped from the tunny fish,[XXIII-16] mixed with garum, which rendered it more fluid and less expensive.

At the end of the repast, enigmas were often proposed to the guests. Some delicious dish served as a reward to those who were fortunate enough to guess them; the others were compelled to pour _muria_ into their drink, and swallow a cup-full without taking breath.[XXIII-17]

DIGESTIVE SALTS.

The Romans were enormous eaters. Apicius, who was better aware of it than any one, imagined providing against those accidents to which his countrymen did not fear to expose themselves once every day, by offering to them a preparation which our habits of sobriety would, doubtless, render useless at the present day; but which the curious will not be sorry to discover in these sketches of antique gastrophagy. Take a pound of common salt, which torrefy and pulverize; mix it with three ounces of white pepper, two ounces of ginger, an ounce of lamoni, an ounce and a half of thyme, as much of celery seed, three ounces of wild marjoram, an ounce and a-half of rocket seed, three ounces of black pepper, an ounce and a-half of holy thistle, two ounces of hyssop, two ounces of spikenard, two ounces of parsley, and two ounces of anise-seed.[XXIII-18]

Take a small quantity of these salts after a too plentiful dinner; and the stomach will immediately defy the most imminent indigestion.

GARUM.

When we have read all that has been written by the ancients on this famous preparation, we become convinced, in spite of the obscurities and continual contradictions of commentators, that if garum is no longer manufactured in the present day, it is not on account of the impossibility we find in discovering the recipe of the Greeks and Latins, but solely because this rather strange brine has not the same charm for us that it had for them. Let us, however, scan the authorities.

The Greeks called the shrimp _garos_, the Romans _garus_: it may hence be supposed that garum had originally for basis the flesh of shrimps, if Pliny had not taken the trouble to inform us of the fact.[XXIII-19] It was afterwards composed of other fish, but it always retained the name which recalled its origin.[XXIII-20] In like manner the signification of certain words is now applied to things quite different from the original type: chicory, or succory, is received under the mask of coffee: a certain pottage boldly usurps the honours due exclusively to turtle soup. Nothing more easy than to multiply these examples of catachreses: there are few figures which have become so common.

Well, then, they macerated the intestines of fish in water, saturated with salt, until putrefaction began to show itself; they then added parsley and vinegar.[XXIII-21]

A thick garum was also frequently obtained, by allowing the entrails and other parts, generally thrown away, to liquefy in salt.[XXIII-22]

In the time of Pliny, mackerel[XXIII-23] was preferred, of which they employed either the gills and intestines, or only the blood, directly the fish left the water,[XXIII-24] and while yet living. They thus obtained a precious liquid, and which the care necessary for its production rendered so dear, that eight pints of it cost no less than from fifteen to twenty pounds.[XXIII-25]

This expensive garum was especially esteemed when it came from Spain: it was then called “garum of the allies”--_garum sociorum_--because it was received from a nation allied with the Romans;[XXIII-26] or, again, perhaps in allusion to the “band of gluttons,” of Rome, a sort of fraternity of free-livers, who made great use of it.[XXIII-27]

The blood and entrails of the tunny fish, mixed with salt in a vase, produced also a most elaborate garum. A hole was made in the vessel at the expiration of two months, and the rich seasoning flowed from it.[XXIII-28]

This brine became exquisite, and obtained an exorbitant price when made from the liver of anchovies macerated in vinegar, pepper, salt, parsley, garlic, white wine, and sweet herbs.[XXIII-29] But Apicius attained at the first step the apogee of refinement of the most sensual gluttony, by inventing garum made from the liver of red mullet.[XXIII-30] What we have already said elsewhere with regard to this fish will enable the reader to appreciate the value of this new preparation.

Amateurs who were more economical contented themselves with very little saxatile fishes,[XXIII-31] of which only the intestines were taken, or which were thrown whole into a vase with a great quantity of salt. These were exposed to the sun, and the mixture long and often stirred. When heat had caused fermentation, and the vessel contained only a kind of pulp, or paste, almost liquid, a kind of willow basket was introduced, into which the garum alone could penetrate. The thick part--the dregs which remained at the bottom of the vase--was termed _alec_.[XXIII-32]

The following method was also frequently adopted:--