Part 30

The date of the introduction of plum-pudding and mince-pie is difficult to ascertain. As early as 1424 appears a mention in an English bill of fare of "Vyaunt ardent," which suggests the former and may have been its precursor. The original recipe of either must have been formidable to follow when one reflects how even now they are provocative of a nightmare, unless executed by the deftest of hands. Plum-pudding in anything like its present form does not appear in cookery books anterior to 1675. Previous to this, plum-porridge, which always served as a first course at Christmas, was prepared by boiling beef or mutton with broth thickened by brown bread. When half cooked, raisins, currants, prunes, cloves, nutmeg, mace, ginger, and other condiments were added, and after the mixture had been thoroughly boiled it was served with meats--a dish fit for the digestive capacities of Jack the Giant-killer. An essentially English product, the plum-pudding has rarely found favour in France, although Louis XVIII was accustomed to serve it at Christmas, and it has long had a place on the menus of many Parisian restaurants. A very elaborate recipe for "Plumbuting" is given by Beauvilliers; but preferable to all formulas is the comparatively simple one of Blot, a dish which may be digested as well as enjoyed, and which is within the range of the average cook. Of course plum-pudding is best during the holiday season, and best of all at the feast of Christmas day.

Mince-pie is an ancient English dish which America has refined. The Year-Book of William Hone of the early part of the past century contains an extended "Ode to the Mince-Pye," which met the approbation of Scott, Lamb, and Southey. In this it is referred to as the "King of Cates,"

"whose pastry-bounded reign Is felt and own'd o'er pastry's wide domain: Whom greater gluttons own their sovereign lord Than ever bowed beneath the dubbing sword.

. . . . . . . . .

"Like Albion's rich plum-pudding, famous grown, The mince-pye reigns in realms beyond his own, Through foreign latitudes his power extends, And only terminates where eating ends.

. . . . . . . . .

"Sovereign of Cates, all hail! nor then refuse This cordial off'ring from an English muse, Who pours the brandy in libation free, And finds plum-pudding realiz'd in thee."

But of all forms of pie, that with the apple for its basis is doubtless the most wholesome and by the majority is most relished. A woman who is infallible in her apple-pies and successful with her sauces deserves an annual trip abroad. But such, like first editions of "The Faerie Queene," are rare. No better instructions regarding the fashioning of apple-pies can be formulated than those of the late Henry Ward Beecher, who so thoroughly understood women, gems, sweetmeats, and gardening. His counsels are worthy of Elia, and the housewife should commit them to memory:

"There is, for example, one made without undercrust, in a deep plate, and the apples laid in full quarters; or the apples, being stewed, are beaten to a mush and seasoned and put between the double paste; or they are sliced thin and cooked entirely within the covers; or they are put without seasoning into their bed, and when baked the upper lid is raised and the butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar are added, the whole well mixed and the crust returned as if nothing had happened. But, oh! be careful of the paste! Let it be not like putty, nor rush to the other extreme and make it so flaky that one holds his breath while eating, for fear of blowing it away. Let it not be plain as bread, nor yet rich like cake. Aim at that glorious medium in which it is tender without being too fugaciously flaky; short without being too short; a mild, sapid, brittle thing, that lies upon the tongue, so as to let the apple strike through and touch the papillæ with a more affluent flavour. But this, like all high art, must be a thing of inspiration or instinct. A true cook will understand us, and we care not if others do not! Do not suppose that we limit the apple-pie to the kinds and methods enumerated. Its capacity in variation is endless, and every diversity discovers some new charm or flavour. It will accept almost every flavour of every spice. And yet nothing is so fatal to the rare and higher graces of apple-pie as inconsiderate, vulgar spicing. It is not meant to be a mere vehicle for the exhibition of these spices in their own natures; it is a glorious unity in which sugar gives up its nature as sugar, and butter ceases to be butter, and each flavoursome spice gladly vanishes from its own full nature, that all of them, by a common death, may rise into the new life of apple-pie. Not that apple is longer apple. It, too, is transformed; and the final pie, though born of apple, sugar, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon, is like none of these, but the compound ideal of them all, refined, purified, and by fire fixed in blissful perfection."

"Do you eat pie?" was once asked of Emerson. "What is pie for?" was the ready and philosophic reply. "Pie, often foolishly abused," said Artemus Ward, "is a good creature at the right time and in angles of thirty or forty degrees, although in semicircles and quadrants it may sometimes prove too much for delicate stomachs."

But think of the pies of two centuries ago! To appreciate the improvement which has taken place in the dessert and the preparation of sweet entremets, one has only to refer to Mrs. Glasse or contemporaneous and previous treatises on cookery. One marvels equally at the strange recipes, the assimilative prowess of the dames of yore, and the progress of the centuries. Canon Barham, who never fails to introduce his bills of fare, though these may not always be strictly reliable from the point of view of the times and the manner of the service, presents this in "The Lay of St. Romwold" as the termination of an olden feast:

"Then came 'sweets'--served in silver were tartlets and pies in glass, Jellies composed of punch, calves' feet, and isinglass, Creams and whipt-syllabubs, some hot, some cool, Blancmange, and quince-custards, and goosberry-fool."

This was long before the dessert proper--from the French _desservir_, to clear the table--became an established course of the dinner; and when the sweetened dishes of eld might scarcely figure under the pretty Italian title of _Giardinetto_, or "little garden," sometimes applied to the dessert, and suggestive of all that is fragrant and ambrosial.

While there is no reason for supposing that sweet champagne was not as greatly relished by the women of Colonial times as it is to-day, it is true, notwithstanding, that, owing to the greater need of economy, they were obliged to be content for the most part with saccharine tipples of a less expensive nature. Among such, besides mulled wine, was the sack-posset, a favourite drink at weddings and social festivities, borrowed from England, with its numerous ingredients, and favoured alike by miss and matron. The recipe in rhyme for this concoction, after Sir Fleetwood Fletcher, soon became as familiar as Sydney Smith's recipe for salad in the following century:

"A recipe for all Young Ladies that are going to be Married. To make a Sack-Posset:

From famed Barbadoes on the Western Main Fetch sugar half a pound; fetch Sack from Spain A pint; and from the Eastern Indian Coast Nutmeg, the glory of our Northern toast; O'er flaming coals together let them heat Till the all-conquering Sack dissolves the sweet. O'er such another fire set eggs, twice ten New born from crowing cock and speckled hen; Stir them with steady hand, and conscience pricking To see the untimely fate of twenty chicken. From shining shelf take down your brazen skillet, A quart of milk from gentle cow will fill it; When boiled and cooked put milk and Sack to egg, Unite them firmly like the triple league. Then, covered close, together let them dwell Till Miss twice sings, 'You must not kiss and tell!' Each lad and lass snatch up their murdering spoon, And fall on fiercely like a starved dragoon."

Metheglin and negus were well known to our foremothers. There is no record to show that they became partial to "sack," except as sweetened and spiced according to the manner of posset. It is recorded, however, that, eschewing the stronger punch composed of spirits, they were fond of mulled wine, Malaga and Madeira, and were far from disdaining the universal beverage, cider, even in its "hard" form, when mulled.

Cheese is naturally an obligatory portion of the dessert at all company dinners--at least at all dinners where men are present. By dint of persuasion, it has become tolerated by women, not a few of whom regard it with favour if Rocquefort or Gorgonzola is in question, or even Camembert or Brie when perfectly fresh. Its place in the order of the dinner is a matter somewhat in dispute. It figures variously after the roast,--as its successor before the sweets, or as the immediate precursor of the _demi-tasse_,--and it is also asked to do duty with the salad by some who elect to serve the salad as a course apart to succeed the roast. On the continent of Europe it is generally supposed to precede the coffee, after the sweets, and be ready for those who may not care for them; in England it is often served with celery before the dessert. The custom of serving it with the salad, which is purely American, is certainly not to be commended. The mission of cheese is twofold--to change the taste and to act as the concluding digestive. To subserve the latter purpose it should be old, if of a fine-grained kind; and as a digestive few such are equal to Rocquefort. As to its proper place at dessert, it must be recognized that it accords best with the coffee and final glass of port or other dessert wine where these may be employed, and leaves the taste fresher when it concludes the repast. Let appropriate sweets be served with it for those who desire them, but let it not destroy the salad which belongs to the roast, or anticipate the dulcitudes of the final course.

A chapter might be devoted to this suave product of the dairy, but it will be sufficient to present a form of serving it that will appeal to many, inclusive of woman. Like the _fondue_, it is of Swiss origin. In Switzerland, where cheese figures largely, there is known to the initiated a sweet entremets termed "the hunter's sandwich," composed of bread, fresh butter, cheese, and honey in combination, its only drawback being the too cloying nature of the honey. In America this objection may be happily avoided by employing the nectar of the sugar-maple in its stead, and the dish prove all the better either for the sportsman out of doors or served at the dinner with the dessert. On fresh bread cut in thin slices for its base, you will place a layer of the freshest of butter, then a layer of Brie or other fresh cream-cheese, and, finally, a gilding of maple-syrup. For the dessert it may be shaped in various ways, and made as dainty as feminine fingers can devise. Its virtues need no panegyric,--it will succeed the ices with as buoyant a grace as the daffodil follows the snowdrop of spring. Captivated by its charms, the epicure will say, with the van-courier of Bishop Fuger in his chase for the ideal wine, "Est, est, est"; while madame and mademoiselle will attach a new significance to the poet's mellifluous lines,--

"As the last taste of sweets is sweetest last, Writ in remembrance more than things long past."

With the dessert the dinner ends; and with it, also, properly terminates a review of gastronomy. It may be asked, however, after the somewhat extended reference to cooks and cookery and the literature and ethics of the art, which of the numerous manuals referred to, or of the countless existing works that have not been enumerated, is the best and most serviceable for those who would perfect themselves in the subtleties of the range. The question is easier asked than answered. To specify any one authority, so far as any one writer on cookery may be considered authoritative, were scarcely satisfactory--a comprehensive answer being dependent to no inconsiderable extent upon the tastes, adaptabilities, and qualifications of the person concerned. As there is no one poet, moreover, who may satisfy all or even a single individual, so there is no one author-cook or compiler who has yet compassed the subject. "The cuisine," says Beauvilliers, "simple in its origin, refined from century to century, has become a difficult art, a complicated science on which many authors have written, without having been able to embrace it in its entirety."

The model cook-book--the manual that should appeal to all, the vade mecum that would instruct and delight the amateur, that would tell him just what he should know, eliminating all he should not know--is still numbered among things unaccomplished. So long as every chef is jealous of his every competitor, so long as the professionalist writes solely from the standpoint of his elaborately mounted kitchen, with no deference to the requirements of the more modest household, so long as works on cookery continue to be a mere dry digest of the preparation of food, it will not be achieved. They have come nearer to such a work in France. But who may say that even Dumas' sprightly though bulky treatise is perfect, or that any of the voluminous "'Cuisiniers' des Cuisiniers" has indicated the perfect road to happiness? And of the enormous number of books on the subject, how many are not so technical as to be of little service, or so lacking in comprehensive grasp as to fall utterly short of their aim? The perfect cook-book, as near as a cook-book can be perfect, has yet to find its author and its publisher.

It may be assumed, therefore, that it will be written by an amateur--a man devoid of prejudices so far as any rivalry in his craft is concerned, whose sole object will be to write for his own pleasure and the gratification it will afford his readers. For, it will be readily perceived, a cook-book for the professional is one thing; a manual for the amateur, another.

To a lucid, delightful style and grace of expression its author will unite the widest familiarity with the cuisine of the past and the present. He will have at his beck and call a culinary library like that of Baron Pichon, an executive genius equal to Carême's, a physiological perceptivity rivalling that of Savarin, a knowledge of the subject in all that relates to its material sense as great as La Reynière's. A man of unbounded capacities, whose appetite can never be appeased, he will himself have savoured the multitudinous dishes he treats of, before recommending them to others of less assimilative capabilities than his own. Thoroughly conversant with hygiene and the constituent elements of foods, he will add, as it were, to the qualifications of a gourmet and epicurean mentor, the knowledge of a physician and chemist, or one who can distinguish the digestive sequents of different articles of diet.

He will be a learned œnologist as well, acquainted with the wines of all countries, their best growths and most desirable vintages; as also the widely varying effects upon the system of different wines. Endowed with perfect physical faculties, furthered by long intimacy with and daily use of wine, his sense of taste and smell will have attained the highest possible development, enabling him to trace and compare the flavours and ethers of different growths; thus indicating what one should avoid, as also what one should choose, according to individual requirements. Supplementing his monograph on wines will occur as its natural consequent a profound dissertation on gout, dealing at length with the true causes of the malady in all its phases, and indicating a cure within the power of the wine-drinker to compass without abstaining from the beverage he loves. Some magical lozenge that is guileless of colchicum, some marvellous elixir distilled in the alembics of the past, or some special essence of the vine itself will be prescribed, to be taken with the dinner, when the afflicted may once more eat and drink in moderation, "without fear and without reproach."

The author will have travelled far and wide, and will intelligently contribute the spoils of his gastronomic chase, retrenching from a dish here and elaborating there, if need be, as he dispenses his appetising formulas. Yet so delicate his taste, of such discriminating nicety his judgment, that, barring individual dislikes for certain aliments, one may trust implicitly to the form of preparation he prescribes. From the manuscripts of the ancient monks he will have rescued many a simple though priceless dish, and from Baudelaire, Théodore de Banville, and Jules Janin have committed many an unpublished poem of the table to his storehouse of delights. And while conversant with all that is best in existing works by the great masters of the art, as well as the lesser lights of the science, and quoting freely from them, he will nevertheless avoid the elaborate recipes and interminable menus that Gouffé and others pride themselves upon, which require a maître-d'hôtel to understand, a corps of assistants to execute, and a Crœsus to liquidate. Spiced with anecdote and seasoned with humour and philosophy, his chapters will glide on in lucid flow, and his recipes leave no nightmares behind. His text will be free from grossness, and be tainted with no worn-out aphorisms; so clear that all may understand, and, understanding, turn its counsels to practical account.

He will be familiar, as a sportsman, with game; and will have contemplated the masterpieces of Weenix, Sneyders, and Hondius to impart additional colour in his references to the wild furred and feathered tribes. And to the further embellishment of his text, he will also have studied the other great pictures of still-life of the old Dutch and Flemish schools,--the fowls of Hondecoeter; the fruits of Utrecht and De Heem; the fishes of Seghers; the flower-laden tables of Van Huysum and Jan Fyt; the kitchen-pieces beloved by Metzu and Zorg; the eating-bouts of Brockenburg; the gay _Kermesse_ and merrymakings of Brouwer, Teniers, and Ostade. Nor will his knowledge of the products of the vegetable world, apart from those employed for food alone,--the spices and condiments that make or mar a dish, that aid or harm digestion,--be less carefully set forth upon his golden page. The volumes will be small, so they may be unburdensome to peruse, as inviting in their letterpress as the daintiest of Elzevirs. In fine, a combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master-cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman, and the pantologist, assisted by the skill of the bookmaker and etcher, will be required to compose the cook-book par excellence.

In the interval, while it yet slumbers upon the shelves of dreamland, one must remain satisfied as nearly as may be with the manuals that are already accessible; and, like the wind in the trees, draw a note here and a chord there from the existing strings of the harp of Good Cheer.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A few among English, American, and French works, both ancient and modern, that relate to gastronomy and cookery are presented herewith. As may be perceived at a glance, the list is not intended to be comprehensive, so multitudinous are the monographs relating to the subject, but a mere index or signboard pointing to the nature of the vast and varied literature, both good, bad, and indifferent, that the topic has inspired. Works relating strictly to wines and alcoholic beverages have not been included, as these, though intimately connected with the table, belong more properly to a volume on the cellar itself. It will be observed that works by women predominate in the English language, whereas, in French, masculinity for the greater part has superintended the larder and the saucepans and elaborated the literature of the art. The scholar who is especially interested in the bibliography of gastronomy may be referred to the valuable work of M. Georges Vicaire as the most comprehensive on the theme, particularly so far as foreign contributions to epulary literature are concerned.

Evelyn (John). ACETARIA: A DISCOURSE OF SALLETS, 1706. (8vo.)

THE AMERICAN SALAD-BOOK. By Maximilian De Loup. Second Edition. New York: McClure, Phillips & Co., 1900. (8vo.) pp. 144.

Warner (Rev. Richard). ANTIQUITATES CULINARIÆ; OR, CURIOUS TRACTS RELATING TO THE CULINARY AFFAIRS OF THE OLD ENGLISH. London: Printed for R. Blamire, 1791. (4to) pp. 137.

APICIAN MORSELS; OR, TALES OF THE TABLE, KITCHEN, AND LARDER. By Dick Humelbergius Secundus. New York: J. & J. Harper, 1829. (8vo) pp. 212. (A volume largely pirated from Grimod de la Reynière.)

King (Wm.). THE ART OF COOKERY. A Poem in Imitation of Horace's Art of Poetry. By the Author of a Tale of a Tub. _Coqus omnia miscet_--Juven. London: Printed, and are to be Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster, 1708. (Small folio) pp. 22.

King (Wm.). THE ART OF COOKERY. With some Letters to Dr. Lister and Others, etc., to which is added Horace's Art of Poetry, in Latin. Printed for Bernard Lintott, 1740. (8vo) pp. 160.

Hayward (Anthony). THE ART OF DINING; OR, GASTRONOMY AND GASTRONOMERS. London: John Murray, 1852. (4½ x 7 in.) pp. 137.

BANQUETT OF DAINTIES: FOR ALL SUCHE GESTS THAT LOUE MODERATT DYATE. By Theo. Hackett. London, 1566. (8vo) pp. 42.

Murrey (Thomas J.). THE BOOK OF ENTRÉES. New York: White, Stokes & Allen, 1886. (4¼ x 6 in.)

Farmer (Fannie Merritt). THE BOSTON COOKING-SCHOOL COOK BOOK. By Fannie Merritt Farmer, Principal of the Boston Cooking School. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1896. (8vo) pp. xxx, 567.

BREAKFAST, DINNER, AND TEA: VIEWED CLASSICALLY, POETICALLY AND PRACTICALLY. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1869. (6 x 7½ in.) pp. 351.

BREAKFASTS, LUNCHEONS AND DINNERS AT HOME. How to Order, Cook, and Serve Them. By Short. Sixth Edition. London: Kerby & Endean, 1886. (8vo) pp. 204.

CASSELL'S DICTIONARY OF COOKERY. With Numerous Engravings and Coloured Plates, Containing About 9000 Recipes. London, Paris, and New York: Cassell, Petter & Galpin. n. d. (Large 8vo) pp. xcvi, 1178.

Ronald (Mary). THE CENTURY COOK-BOOK. New York: The Century Co., 1895. (8vo) pp. 587.

THE CHAFING-DISH SUPPER. By Christine Terhune Herrick. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899. (12mo) pp. 112.

A CLOSET FOR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; OR, THE ART OF PRESERVING, CONSERVING AND CANDYING. With the Manner how to make Diverse Kindes of Syrupes, and All Kinde of Banquetting Stuffes, etc. London: Printed for Arthur Johnson, 1618. (16mo) pp. 190.

THE CLOSET OF THE EMINENTLY LEARNED SIR KENELME DIGBY, KT., OPENED. Whereby is Discovered several ways for Making of Metheglin, Syder, Cherry-Wine, etc., Together with Excellent Directions for Cookery, as also for Preserving, Conserving, Candying, etc. London, 1677. (12mo.)

Carter (Charles). THE COMPLEAT CITY AND COUNTRY COOK; OR, ACCOMPLISH'D HOUSEWIFE. Containing Several Hundred of the Most Approv'd Receipts in Cookery, Confectionary, etc. Illustrated with Forty-nine large Copper-plates. London, 1732. (8vo) pp. 280.

Peckham (Ann). THE COMPLETE ENGLISH COOK; OR, PRUDENT HOUSEWIFE. Being a Collection of the Most General, yet Least Expensive Receipts in Every Branch of Cookery and Good Housewifery, etc. By Ann Peckham, of Leeds. The Third Edition. Leeds, 1770. (12mo) pp. 242.

THE COMPLETE FAMILY PIECE. A very Choice Collection of Receipts in Cookery. Seventh Edition. London, 1744. (8vo.)