Post by nzbc on Mar 20, 2022 13:39:58 GMT 12
DINING WITH A MILLIONAIRE.
THE SOUP OF KINGS
CHINESE DIHDS’-NESTS
DISHES OF THJE WEALTHY GOURMAND.
The rads and rancies of tho very rich are displayed in many ways, but in none more empnatically thari in Uio matter ol food. Here whim, and freakishness arc worshipped with an amazing earnestness and tho uncommon (which in many cases merely means the most expensive) dish at dinner is often an eloquent symbol ol the selectness of the society. Who, for instance has not heard of caviare, but how many of us, in ordinary circles, have ever tasted it? It is a dainty appetizer, and consists of the stcef-grey-coloured roe of tho female sturgeon, that monster fish caught chiefly, in the Caspian Boa. Its quality is the roe, and the best qualities are cheap at anything less than thirty shillings a pound. “Caviare to tho general” is a common phrase which testifies to its exclusiveness to n cultured tew. TEX SHILLINGS A MOUTHFUL. Crayfish tails, a dainty dish composed of the most delicate parts of tho crayfish, a lobster-like shellfish is another dish open ’only to the wealthy, for its cost, broadly speaking, works out occasionally at .about ten shillings a mouthful, which enviously suggests it to be u restricted privilege. Of course, the expensiveness of a dish docs not necessarily moan its popularity, although such vagaries arc sometimes iaised by the snobbishness of wealth, and most of these dishes are popular been use of their great delicacy of flavout. Bombay ducks, for instance. Despite its name, this dish has nothing to do with ducks, being, in reality, made up of bummaloo fish, which are caught chiefly in the Indian Ocean and dried by a native process. They are not at all appetizing, bub roasted before a fire and served with hot toast and curry they are declared by the experienced to be superb. A much more appetizing fish is the tunny, which resembles salmon, and is spearecl in the shallows of the Mediterranean. It is extremely rare, and is kept packed in small glasses for sparing use even at tho most lavish tables. But fish alone do not claim the full whim of tho wealthy diner, and the vegetable world receives a gpod deal of his "astronomical attention. AVe are all familiar with the name of truffles, that edible mushroom-like fungus which serves so deliciously with all kind's of meat, but it is not generally known that tho black truffle, a most popular feature at rich dining tables, grows underneath the surface of the ground, and its presence is detected by pig and dogs, who are very fond of them and trace them by their peculiar smell. They are about the size of hens’ eggs, and are not unlike potatoes in appearance, but they are most expensive, as they do not keep long and no method of cultivation lias yet been devised to regulate the supply. One of the-commonest uses of truffles is as an ingredient in goose-liver pic —pates de foies gras—the most famous product of Strasburg. ■
This is certainly one of tho freakish tastes of the opulent. It is expensive ; a little jar, containing about two teasthingyfuls, costs a shilling. There is one regrettable feature about this use of this dainty—namely, that ordinary goose livers are small and lacking in softness; with the result that it is not uncommon to find flocks of geese penned: up in noisome collars, where, with special dieting, their livers become unnaturally enlarged and more suited to the purpose in view, This fact has caused many of the more delicately-minded to forswear the dainty entirely. Probably to the average person the most familiar of the rich man’s dishes is turtle soup. The green turtle of the West Indies is par excellence the most expensive soup provider in the A. guinea a quart is the very lowest price at which it can be bought, and quite a considerable item at .the Lord Mayor’s inaugural banquet- at the Guildhall is run un bv the hundreds of tureens containing what can truly bo called the soup of kings—and aldermen. Calipash and calipee—tho names given to the delightful green fat of the upper lower shells of the turtle —are less known, but their flavour is most delicious, and their preparation in the kitchen is a rite of great mystery and solemnity. Turtle fins also provide a unique em tree for the millionaire epicure, while such extravagances as thingyscombs for garnishing purposes are things of dailv occurrence.
But there is no end to which freakishness is not carried, and often even delicacy of flavour is sacrificed for mere whim. It cannot be said, for instance, that any but the specially-cultivated appetite would negotiate quails, woodthingy, and snipe, for these birds are only considered edible when cooked whole and undrawn. One wit facetiously inquired why the feathers had been removed, but freakishly gourmandiaing stops short of this. ' i
On the other hand, however, prettv fancies are indulged in, and the thought of an ortolan, a bird rarely bought, in England, roasted in its wrapping of vino loaves and brought to table with an aromatic sauce made chieliy with the juice and peel of Seville/ oranges, suggests the flavour of another world, where even matters culinary are considered worthy of delicate fantasy. Of course, it is the Britisher’s leva of travel which has been responsible for the introduction of so many strange dishes, and many are the weird dinners served in London in outward token of a traveller’s affection for some former home. Oriental travellers especially have this weakness. Anglo-Indians delight in a pickle made'from the young and tender shoots of the bamboo soaked in oil, and revel in a feast of golden mangoes. West Indians pin thbir faith to an extraordinary preparation of red peppers called salmagundi, a pickle so betas to require a long sojourn in Jamoica before one can entertain the prospect of its consumption without quaking. Other travellers declare chrysanthemums and Chinese birds’-nests to be full of the Eastern charm, while such oddities as reindeer’s tongues, hull-frogs, and snails, and oven the extreme whim of delicatelystnffed plums, are hut a few of the dishes indivativc of.the fads- and fancies created for the tickling of the wealthy palate.
TEMUKA LEADER, ISSUE 7530, 21 FEBRUARY 1914
DINING WITH A MILLIONAIRE. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TEML19140221.2.56?items_per_page=10&page=14&query=chinese+diner&snippet=true
THE SOUP OF KINGS
CHINESE DIHDS’-NESTS
DISHES OF THJE WEALTHY GOURMAND.
The rads and rancies of tho very rich are displayed in many ways, but in none more empnatically thari in Uio matter ol food. Here whim, and freakishness arc worshipped with an amazing earnestness and tho uncommon (which in many cases merely means the most expensive) dish at dinner is often an eloquent symbol ol the selectness of the society. Who, for instance has not heard of caviare, but how many of us, in ordinary circles, have ever tasted it? It is a dainty appetizer, and consists of the stcef-grey-coloured roe of tho female sturgeon, that monster fish caught chiefly, in the Caspian Boa. Its quality is the roe, and the best qualities are cheap at anything less than thirty shillings a pound. “Caviare to tho general” is a common phrase which testifies to its exclusiveness to n cultured tew. TEX SHILLINGS A MOUTHFUL. Crayfish tails, a dainty dish composed of the most delicate parts of tho crayfish, a lobster-like shellfish is another dish open ’only to the wealthy, for its cost, broadly speaking, works out occasionally at .about ten shillings a mouthful, which enviously suggests it to be u restricted privilege. Of course, the expensiveness of a dish docs not necessarily moan its popularity, although such vagaries arc sometimes iaised by the snobbishness of wealth, and most of these dishes are popular been use of their great delicacy of flavout. Bombay ducks, for instance. Despite its name, this dish has nothing to do with ducks, being, in reality, made up of bummaloo fish, which are caught chiefly in the Indian Ocean and dried by a native process. They are not at all appetizing, bub roasted before a fire and served with hot toast and curry they are declared by the experienced to be superb. A much more appetizing fish is the tunny, which resembles salmon, and is spearecl in the shallows of the Mediterranean. It is extremely rare, and is kept packed in small glasses for sparing use even at tho most lavish tables. But fish alone do not claim the full whim of tho wealthy diner, and the vegetable world receives a gpod deal of his "astronomical attention. AVe are all familiar with the name of truffles, that edible mushroom-like fungus which serves so deliciously with all kind's of meat, but it is not generally known that tho black truffle, a most popular feature at rich dining tables, grows underneath the surface of the ground, and its presence is detected by pig and dogs, who are very fond of them and trace them by their peculiar smell. They are about the size of hens’ eggs, and are not unlike potatoes in appearance, but they are most expensive, as they do not keep long and no method of cultivation lias yet been devised to regulate the supply. One of the-commonest uses of truffles is as an ingredient in goose-liver pic —pates de foies gras—the most famous product of Strasburg. ■
This is certainly one of tho freakish tastes of the opulent. It is expensive ; a little jar, containing about two teasthingyfuls, costs a shilling. There is one regrettable feature about this use of this dainty—namely, that ordinary goose livers are small and lacking in softness; with the result that it is not uncommon to find flocks of geese penned: up in noisome collars, where, with special dieting, their livers become unnaturally enlarged and more suited to the purpose in view, This fact has caused many of the more delicately-minded to forswear the dainty entirely. Probably to the average person the most familiar of the rich man’s dishes is turtle soup. The green turtle of the West Indies is par excellence the most expensive soup provider in the A. guinea a quart is the very lowest price at which it can be bought, and quite a considerable item at .the Lord Mayor’s inaugural banquet- at the Guildhall is run un bv the hundreds of tureens containing what can truly bo called the soup of kings—and aldermen. Calipash and calipee—tho names given to the delightful green fat of the upper lower shells of the turtle —are less known, but their flavour is most delicious, and their preparation in the kitchen is a rite of great mystery and solemnity. Turtle fins also provide a unique em tree for the millionaire epicure, while such extravagances as thingyscombs for garnishing purposes are things of dailv occurrence.
But there is no end to which freakishness is not carried, and often even delicacy of flavour is sacrificed for mere whim. It cannot be said, for instance, that any but the specially-cultivated appetite would negotiate quails, woodthingy, and snipe, for these birds are only considered edible when cooked whole and undrawn. One wit facetiously inquired why the feathers had been removed, but freakishly gourmandiaing stops short of this. ' i
On the other hand, however, prettv fancies are indulged in, and the thought of an ortolan, a bird rarely bought, in England, roasted in its wrapping of vino loaves and brought to table with an aromatic sauce made chieliy with the juice and peel of Seville/ oranges, suggests the flavour of another world, where even matters culinary are considered worthy of delicate fantasy. Of course, it is the Britisher’s leva of travel which has been responsible for the introduction of so many strange dishes, and many are the weird dinners served in London in outward token of a traveller’s affection for some former home. Oriental travellers especially have this weakness. Anglo-Indians delight in a pickle made'from the young and tender shoots of the bamboo soaked in oil, and revel in a feast of golden mangoes. West Indians pin thbir faith to an extraordinary preparation of red peppers called salmagundi, a pickle so betas to require a long sojourn in Jamoica before one can entertain the prospect of its consumption without quaking. Other travellers declare chrysanthemums and Chinese birds’-nests to be full of the Eastern charm, while such oddities as reindeer’s tongues, hull-frogs, and snails, and oven the extreme whim of delicatelystnffed plums, are hut a few of the dishes indivativc of.the fads- and fancies created for the tickling of the wealthy palate.
TEMUKA LEADER, ISSUE 7530, 21 FEBRUARY 1914
DINING WITH A MILLIONAIRE. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TEML19140221.2.56?items_per_page=10&page=14&query=chinese+diner&snippet=true