The Pantropheon; Or, History Of Food, Its Preparation, From The Earliest Ages Of The World - free ebook by Alexis Soyer

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The Pantropheon; Or, History Of Food, Its Preparation, From The Earliest Ages Of The World

Alexis Soyer

220 chapters

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220 chapters

I. AGRICULTURE

I. AGRICULTURE

Every nation has attributed the origin of agriculture to some beneficent Deity. The Egyptians bestowed this honour on Osiris, the Greeks on Ceres and Triptolemus, the Latins on Saturn, or on their king Janus, whom, in gratitude, they placed among the gods. All nations, however, agree that, whoever introduced among them this happy and beneficial discovery, has been most useful to man by elevating his mind to a state of sociability and civilization. [I_1] Many learned men have made laborious resea

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II. CEREALS.

II. CEREALS.

The nomenclature which the Romans have left us of their various kinds of corn is so obscure and uncertain, that some modern writers are continually contradicting each other, and, by these means, have raised doubts which render our task more difficult, instead of enlightening us on the subject. We shall do all in our power to avoid the censure which we take the liberty of passing upon them. “ Triticum ,” wheat, or corn; “ Blé ,” from the ancient Latin word “ Bladus ,” which signifies fruit or see

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III. GRINDING OF CORN.

III. GRINDING OF CORN.

At a very distant period, when gods, not over edifying in their conduct, descended at times from the heights of Olympus to enliven their immortality amongst mortals, we are told that a divine aliment charmed the palate of Jupiter and that of his quarrelsome wife; nay, of all those who inhabited the celestial abode. We are ignorant of the hour at which the table of the god of thunder was laid; but we know well that he breakfasted, dined, and supped on a delicious ambrosia—a liquid substance, it m

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IV. MANIPULATION OF FLOUR.

IV. MANIPULATION OF FLOUR.

Man has not always eaten fine wheaten bread, biscuits, or sponge cakes; and, for many centuries, the inexperience of his palate prevented his imagining or understanding those magiric combinations, that science of good living, [IV_1] which requires time and serious study. Nature makes us hungry; art creates, modifies, and directs the appetite—these are incontestable truths, which this work will serve to unfold, and, if necessary, to prove, should any of our readers unfortunately not be already co

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V. FRUMENTA.

V. FRUMENTA.

Do not be alarmed, fair readers, at the Latin noun which heads this chapter: tolerate it in consideration of our promise seldom to solicit a like favour. It meant, among the Latins, all the plants which produce ears of corn, [V_1] the seeds of which can be converted into flour. [V_2] Clearly there never was a more innocent expression. Barley seems to claim the first place among cereals of the second order; the Greeks looked upon it as the happy symbol of fertility, [V_3] and the ancient inhabita

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VI. GRAINS: SEEDS.

VI. GRAINS: SEEDS.

One of the most important was Mustard seed. Pythagoras maintains (and no one has contradicted his assertion) that this seed occupied the first rank amongst alimentary substances which exercise a prompt influence on the brain. [VI_1] Indeed the ancients attributed to it the same qualities that we do at the present day. Mustard, according to their opinion, excites the appetite, gives piquancy to meat, strengthens the stomach, and facilitates digestion. It is better suited, say they, to bilious con

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VII. VEGETABLES.

VII. VEGETABLES.

All nations have sown vegetables, and judged them worthy of their particular attention; sometimes they have even confounded many of these plants with the cereals, because they were converted into flour and bread, [VII_1] especially in time of famine. [VII_2] After the Deluge, when God made a covenant with Noah he said, with respect to the food of man:—“Even as the green herb have I given you all things; [VII_3] ” and, subsequently to that epoch, the holy writers frequently demonstrate, in their

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BEANS.

BEANS.

This innocent vegetable, which with us certainly awakens no lugubrious thoughts, was formerly consecrated to the dead. It was offered in sacrifices to the infernal gods, and its mysterious virtues evoked by night, spirits, and shadows. [VIII_1] The Flamen of Jupiter could not eat it, and he was forbidden to touch a bean, or even to pronounce its name; [VIII_2] for the fatal plant contains a little black spot, which is no other than a noxious character—a type of death. [VIII_3] Pythagoras and his

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HARICOTS.

HARICOTS.

It is well known that Alexander the Great was fond of travelling, and that he was generally accompanied in his peregrinations by a certain number of soldiers, who occasionally took for him, on his route, cities, provinces, and sometimes kingdoms. It happened, one day, that as the Macedonian prince—worthy pupil of Aristotle—was herbalizing in India, his eyes fell upon a field of haricots, which appeared to him very inviting. It was the first time that he had seen this plant, and he immediately or

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PEAS.

PEAS.

Green peas, we are sorry to say, were not appreciated as they deserved to be by the Romans. [VIII_26] It was reserved principally for our century to discover their value, to cultivate them with care, and to force nature to give them to us before the appointed time. This plant was hardly known in 1550. Since that period, the gardener, Michaux, undertook to bring it into repute. For some time in France it was called only by the name of this worthy man. [VIII_27] Before that it was an unappreciated

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LENTILS.

LENTILS.

The Egyptians, whose ideas were sometimes most eccentric, imagined it was sufficient to feed children with lentils to enlighten their minds, open their hearts, and render them cheerful. That people, therefore, consumed an immense quantity of this vegetable, which from infancy had been their principal food. [VIII_34] The Greeks also highly esteemed this aliment, and their ancient philosophers regaled themselves with lentils. Zeno would not trust to any one the cooking of them; it is true that the

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CABBAGE.

CABBAGE.

This plant has experienced the fate of a host of human things that have not been able to bear the weight of a too brilliant reputation. Time has done justice to the extraordinary qualities attributed to it, and the cabbage now remains, what it ought always to have been, an estimable vegetable and nothing more. The Egyptians adored it, and raised altars to it. They afterwards made of this strange god the first dish of their repasts, and were imitated in this particular by the Greeks and Romans, w

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BEET.

BEET.

Columella pretends that this plant owes its name ( beta ) to its resemblance to the letter B. [IX_25] We shall leave to the professional etymologist the trouble of examining whether Columella made a mistake or not. The Greeks had two distinct sorts of beet—the black and the pale; they preferred the latter, [IX_26] especially when it came from Ascrea in Bœotia. [IX_27] They called this species Sicilian beet; and the physician Diphilus—who joined to his knowledge of botany that sort of gastrophagi

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SPINACH.

SPINACH.

It does not appear that spinach was known to the Greeks and Romans. Some authors think that it might be the chrysolacanon of the Greeks, [IX_34] but it is probable that this was no other than the orach ; [IX_35] Beckmann [IX_36] thinks, with several botanists, that this plant came from Spain; and, indeed, it has been often called the Spanish vegetable . [IX_37] We only speak of this plant by way of memento, and regret that our first masters in cookery have not been able to transmit to us the res

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MALLOWS.

MALLOWS.

The ancients ate mallows, and recognised in them soothing and softening qualities. [IX_38] Diphilus of Siphne says that their juice lubricates the windpipe, nourishes, and is easily digested. [IX_39] Horace praises this aliment; [IX_40] and Martial, for once just, recommends its use. [IX_41] It is true that a passage of Cicero would seem to indicate we know not what deception, which appeared all at once when eating or after partaking of mallows; [IX_42] but the Roman orator, perhaps, knew little

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ASPARAGUS.

ASPARAGUS.

“ Quiconque ne voit guère n’a guère à dire aussi. ” [IX_46] But travellers, those daring pioneers of science, have sometimes, in their travels, the strange good fortune to behold wonders invisible to other eyes. Thus some skilful explorators of Africa saw, about the middle of the second century of the Christian era, in Getulia, asparagus of excellent quality and of very beautiful growth, being no less than twelve feet high! It is needless to add that the Libyan vendors rarely sold them in bundle

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GOURD.

GOURD.

This vegetable, which the wise gourmet is too discreet to despise, and to which the whimsical fancy of Roman gardeners gave the most grotesque forms, [IX_56] appears to be the very image of those soft and easy dispositions who yield to and obey every one, and whose unintelligent mildness is only repaid with sarcasm or disdain. Observe this creeping vegetable, left free to grow to its full size, which would sometimes attain the length of nine feet, [IX_57] and which the will of man was able to re

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TURNIPS.

TURNIPS.

The epicureans of Athens preferred turnips brought from Thebes; [IX_72] Roman gastronomists placed those of Amitermes in the first rank, and those of Nursia in the second. The kitchen-gardeners of Rome furnished them with a third variety, to which they had recourse when they could not procure any other. [IX_73] They were eaten boiled, thus:—after the water had been extracted from them, they were seasoned with cummin, rue, and benzoin, pounded in a mortar, adding to it afterwards honey, vinegar,

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CARROTS.

CARROTS.

The Greeks and Romans planted or sowed them in the beginning of the spring, or autumn. [IX_75] They distinguished two kinds, the wild and the cultivated. [IX_76] This much esteemed root received the honour of being prepared in many ways. Sometimes it was eaten as a salad, with salt, oil, and vinegar. [IX_77] It was also stewed, and mixed afterwards with œnogarum. [IX_78] Again, they boiled it in a stewpan, over a slow fire, with some cummin and a little oil, and just before serving it was sprink

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BLIT

BLIT

(A SORT OF BEET). Blit is one of the family of atriplices , which grows in Europe, and in the temperate regions of Asia; it owes its ancient reputation entirely to the insipidity of its flavour, from which it derives its Greek name, synonymous with stupidity and insignificance. [IX_80] Blit was eaten boiled, when nothing better was to be had. In fact, it was a last resource—and nothing more....

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PURSLAINE.

PURSLAINE.

This vegetable, the aspect of which would lead us to suppose it possessed savoury qualities (though experience proves the contrary), was formerly mixed in different salads, and still enjoys some esteem when associated with a leg of mutton. [IX_81] In default of esculent qualities (which it certainly does not possess), the ancients recognised in purslaine many admirable virtues, [IX_82] which are not acknowledged in the present day. The internal use of this plant, also its external application, c

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SORREL.

SORREL.

Sorrel is a polygenous plant, and grows throughout Europe amidst the grass fields. The Romans cultivated it in order to give it more vigour, [IX_84] and ate it sometimes stewed with mustard, and seasoned with a little oil and vinegar. [IX_85]...

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BROCOLI.

BROCOLI.

Drusus, son of Tiberius, was so passionately fond of the brocoli, which Apicius induced him to eat, that he was more than once severely reprimanded by his father on the subject. [IX_86] It is true that the celebrated Roman epicurean displayed so much art, and gave such delicious flavour to it, that this dish alone would have been enough to establish his reputation. In fact, brocoli has always been appreciated by connoisseurs; and Glaucias, who passed his life in meditating seriously on the perfe

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ARTICHOKE.

ARTICHOKE.

A young and unfortunate beauty had the ill-luck to displease a vindictive and irascible god, who instantly metamorphosed her into an artichoke. [IX_89] This poor girl’s name was Cinara. Although she had become a bitter plant she preserved this sweet name, which the moderns have strangely modified. Our readers, who eat artichokes with so much indifference, will, perhaps, sometimes lament this poor victim of a blind resentment. This plant was well known to the ancients; the hilly regions of Greece

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POMPION.

POMPION.

Like the gourd, the good and creeping pompion has served more than once as a term of comparison, and that in a style most humiliating. Should any one happen to be thick-headed, or not very intelligent, [IX_106] he was immediately compared to a pompion (popularly, pumpkin—whence bumpkin). The insult went still further: it was said of a pusillanimous man, “That he had a pompion where his heart ought to have been.” [IX_107] The obesity of this vegetable, and its inelegant shape, have doubtless give

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CUCUMBER.

CUCUMBER.

When the Israelites were in the Desert they regretted much the cucumbers of Egypt, which were sold to them at a very trifling price when under the yoke of Pharaoh. [IX_114] We may thence infer that this vegetable was very plentiful, and chiefly in great demand by the lower order of people; for as the Jews were in a state of servitude, they were necessarily assimilated with the most abject of the Egyptians. We see that this cucurbitacea has been long known, and that, after the lapse of many centu

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LETTUCE.

LETTUCE.

From time immemorial the lettuce has occupied a most distinguished place in the kitchen garden. The Hebrews ate it, without preparation, with the Paschal lamb. [IX_124] The opulent Greeks were very fond of the lettuces of Smyrna, [IX_125] which appeared on their tables at the end of a repast; [IX_126] the Romans, who at first imitated them, decided, under Domitian, that this favourite dish should be served in the first course with eggs, [IX_127] purposely to excite their indomitable appetites, w

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ENDIVE.

ENDIVE.

Pliny assures us that the juice of this plant, mixed with vinegar and oil of roses, is an excellent remedy for the head-ache; [IX_137] we leave to the proper judges a pharmaceutical mixture which does not belong to our province, and which we only quote en passant . Virgil thought endive bitter, [IX_138] but he did not speak ill of it. Columella recommended this salad to fastidious and satiated palates; [IX_139] this is praising it. The Egyptians appreciated its merits, [IX_140] which the Greeks

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ONIONS.

ONIONS.

Whoever wishes to preserve his health must eat every morning, before breakfast, young onions, with honey. [IX_142] Such a treat is assuredly not very tempting: besides, this rather strong vegetable leaves after it a most unpleasant perfume, which long reminds us of its presence; wherefore this recipe has not met with favour, and, indeed, it is much to be doubted whether it will ever become fashionable. Alexander the Great found the onion in Egypt, where the Hebrews had learned to like it. [IX_14

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LEEKS.

LEEKS.

This vegetable—a powerful divinity, dreaded among the Egyptians, [IX_148] and a food bewailed by the Israelites in their journey through the Desert [IX_149] —cured the Greeks of numerous diseases, which in our days it is to be feared would resist its medicinal properties. [IX_150] Everything changes in this sublunary world, and the leek no doubt follows the common law. The authors of a compilation rather indigestible at times, but often very curious, assert that this vegetable attains an extraor

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MELON.

MELON.

This cucurbitacea , the most delicate vegetable belonging to this numerous family, has always been the delight of the inhabitants of the East and of Europe. It came originally from the most temperate regions of Asia; the chivalric Baber made it known to his Hindoo subjects; [IX_155] and the Romans introduced it into the west, at the time of their first expedition against the Persians. Melons had a prodigious success at Rome, and soon became a necessity with which the wealthy could not dispense.

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RADISH.

RADISH.

Amongst other singularities which abound in the Talmud, the curious can but have remarked the following: Judea formerly produced kitchen garden plants so large, that a fox bethought himself to hollow a radish, and make it his residence. After he had removed, this new kind of lair was discovered; it was put into a scale, and found to weigh nearly one hundred pounds. [IX_162] It is a pity that no one preserved the seed of so remarkable a vegetable, which no doubt was only to be found in Judea. The

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HORSE-RADISH.

HORSE-RADISH.

“By Apollo!” cried, mournfully, a philanthropic and gastronomic Greek, “one must be completely mad to buy horse-radish, when fish can be found in the market.” [IX_172] So thought the philosopher Amphis. And at Rome, as in Greece, this reviled and despised root hardly found a place on the table of the poor, when anything else could be had. There were several serious causes for this fatal proscription: this plant was found to be bitter, stringy, and of difficult digestion; [IX_173] it was looked u

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GARLIC.

GARLIC.

Garlic was known in the most remote ages. It was a god in Egypt. [IX_184] The Greeks held it in horror. It was part of their military food—hence came the proverb, “Eat neither garlic nor beans;” that is to say, abstain from war and law. [IX_185] There was a belief that this plant excited the courage of warriors; therefore, it was given to cocks to incite them to fight. The Greek and Roman sailors made as great a use of it as the soldiers, [IX_186] and an ample provision was always made when they

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ESCHALOTS.

ESCHALOTS.

Alexander the Great found the eschalot in Phœnicia, and introduced it into Greece. Its Latin name, Ascalonica , indicates the place of its origin, Ascalon, a city of Idumea. [IX_193] Its affinity with garlic set the ancients against its culinary qualities, and this useful plant, too much neglected, only obtained credit in modern times....

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PARSLEY.

PARSLEY.

Hercules, the conqueror of the Nemæan lion, crowned himself with parsley; a rather modest adornment for so great a hero, when others, for exploits much less worthy, were decked with laurels. A similar crown became, subsequently, the prize of the Nemæan [IX_194] and Isthmian Games. [IX_195] Anacreon, that amiable and frivolous poet, who consecrated all his moments to pleasure, celebrates parsley as the emblem of joy and festivity; [IX_196] and Horace, a philosophic sensualist of the same stamp, c

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CHERVIL.

CHERVIL.

This plant, which Columella has described, [IX_204] furnished a relishing dish, prepared with gravy, oil, and wine; or served with fried fish. [IX_205] At the present day it is highly commendable in salad....

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WATER-CRESSES.

WATER-CRESSES.

The water-cress, the sight alone of which made the learned Scaliger shudder with terror, is supposed to be a native of Crete. It was, doubtless, the cresses of Alen (Suabia), which are cultivated in our gardens, and not those commonly found in brooks and springs. The Persians were in the habit of eating them with bread: [IX_206] they made, in this manner, so delicious a meal, that the splendour of a Syracusan table would not have tempted them. [IX_207] This is one of those examples of sobriety w

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POPPY.

POPPY.

The seed of this plant was offered, fried, at the beginning of the second course, and eaten with honey. [X_1] Sometimes it was sprinkled on the crust of a kind of household bread, covered with white of eggs. [X_2] Some of it was also put into the panada, or pap, intended for children [X_3] —perhaps to make them sleep the sooner....

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SESAME.

SESAME.

This seed was used in nearly the same manner as the poppy, and it occupied a distinguished rank among the numerous dainties served at dessert. [X_4] Certain round and light cakes were covered with this seed. [X_5] The Romans brought sesame from Egypt. [X_6]...

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SOW-THISTLE.

SOW-THISTLE.

This plant furnished a kind of milk, which was sometimes drunk: sometimes various kinds of meat were seasoned with it. [X_7] It was afterwards given up to rabbits, and there is every probability that they will retain undisputed possession of it....

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ORACH.

ORACH.

Few vegetables have been more exposed to injurious accusations. Pythagoras reproaches it with causing a livid paleness, dropsy, and the scrofula, in those persons who eat it. [X_8] Nevertheless, a greedy curiosity introduced it into the catalogue of culinary preparations, and the guests of Apicius tasted more than once the fatal orach without knowing its pernicious properties. History does not say that they suffered any pernicious effects from it. This plant is also eaten like spinach, and mixed

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ROCKET.

ROCKET.

Persons about to undergo the punishment of the whip were recommended to swallow a cup of wine, in which rocket had been steeped. It was asserted that this draught rendered pain supportable. [X_9] And again, that this plant, taken with honey, removed the freckles which sometimes appear on the face. [X_10] Whatever may be the degree of credence accorded to these two recipes, this vegetable enjoyed some reputation among the ancients, who mixed the wild and the garden rocket together, so as to tempe

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FENNEL.

FENNEL.

It was employed but seldom in the preparation of dishes or pastry; but it was believed that the juice of its stalk had the property of restoring or strengthening the sight. [X_12]...

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DILL.

DILL.

This plant, which, according to the ancients, weakened the eyes, [X_13] was much renowned for its exquisite odour, [X_14] and its stomachic qualities. [X_15] A much-admired perfume [X_16] was made from it; it produced an agreeable sort of wine or liqueur; [X_17] and a small number of choice dishes, for the enjoyment of connoisseurs, owed to it the reputation they had acquired. [X_18]...

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ANISE-SEED.

ANISE-SEED.

The production of an umbelliferous plant, which grows wild in Egypt, in Syria, and other eastern countries. Pliny recommends it to be taken in the morning, with honey and myrrh in wine: [X_19] and Pythagoras attributes to it eminent Hygeian properties, whether eaten raw or cooked. [X_20]...

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HYSSOP.

HYSSOP.

The Greeks, the Romans—and before them, the nations of the east [X_21] —believed that hyssop renews and purifies the blood. This plant, mixed with an equal quantity of salt, formed a remedy much extolled by Columella. [X_22] It was crushed with oil to make a liniment, used as a remedy for cutaneous eruptions. [X_23] An excellent liqueur was obtained from it, known under the name of hyssop wine; [X_24] and lastly, this plant was used in a number of dishes, which it rendered more wholesome and ref

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WILD MARJORAM.

WILD MARJORAM.

Nearly the same qualities were attributed to this herb as to hyssop; [X_25] and it was employed still more frequently in the composition of the most delicate condiments. Dioscorides [X_26] and Cato [X_27] make copious remarks on a much-esteemed liqueur, which they called wild marjoram wine....

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SAVORY.

SAVORY.

An odoriferous herb, which entered into the seasoning of nearly every dish. [X_28]...

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THYME.

THYME.

Besides the various culinary purposes for which the ancients used this plant, they, like ourselves, extracted from thyme aromatic liqueurs, [X_29] the preparation of which will be given in another part of this work....

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WILD THYME.

WILD THYME.

We find it rarely spoken of by magiric writers. Pliny believes it to be most efficacious against the bite of serpents. [X_30]...

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SWEET MARJORAM.[X_31]

SWEET MARJORAM.[X_31]

Was much employed in the Isle of Cyprus; very little, if at all, in Rome, where they knew little more of sweet marjoram than the oil extracted from it. [X_32]...

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PENNYROYAL.

PENNYROYAL.

The ancients entwined their wine caps with pennyroyal, [X_33] and made crowns of it, which were placed on their heads during their repasts, by the aid of which they hoped to escape the troublesome consequences of too copious libations. [X_34] On leaving the table, a small quantity of this plant was taken, to facilitate digestion. [X_35] Pennyroyal occupied, also, an important place in high gastronomic combinations....

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RUE.

RUE.

The territory of Myra, a city of Lycia, produced excellent rue. [X_36] Mithridates looked upon this vegetable as a powerful counter-poison; [X_37] and the inhabitants of Heraclea, suspicious—and with reason—of the villany of their tyrant, Clearchus, never stirred from their dwellings without having previously eaten plentifully of rue. [X_38] This plant cured also the ear-ache; [X_39] and to all these advantages, it joined that of being welcomed with honour on all festive occasions. [X_40]...

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MINT.

MINT.

There was formerly—no matter where or when—a beautiful young girl, who was changed into this plant through the jealous vengeance of Proserpine. [X_41] Thus transformed, she excited the appetite of the guests, and awakened their slumbering gaiety. [X_42] Mint prevented milk from curdling, even when rennet was put into it. [X_43]...

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SPANISH CAMOMILE.

SPANISH CAMOMILE.

The Romans sometimes mixed with their drink the burning root of the Spanish camomile; [X_44] and we are astonished at meeting with the name of this formidable plant among the ingredients of some of their dishes....

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CUMMIN.

CUMMIN.

The condiments prepared with cummin had a very great reputation; and culinary authors frequently mention this vegetable, which the Greeks and Romans invariably used. [X_45]...

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ALISANDER.

ALISANDER.

The same might be said of alisander, which, in the time of Pliny, passed as an universal remedy, [X_46] and which Apicius honours by naming in many of his dishes....

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CAPERS.

CAPERS.

Young buds of the caper tree, a shrub—native of Asia, where the species are in great varieties. It was but little thought of at the tables of the higher classes, and therefore was left to the people. [X_47] The buds of the caper are gathered, and thrown into barrels filled with vinegar, to which a little salt is added; then, by means of several large sieves made of a copper plate, rather hollow, and pierced with holes of different sizes, the different qualities are separated, and classed under d

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ASAFŒTIDA.

ASAFŒTIDA.

This plant, which we have excluded from our kitchens, and whose nauseous smell is far from exciting the appetite, reigned almost as the chief ingredient in the seasoning of the ancients. Perhaps they cultivated a kind which in no way resembled that of modern times. If it were the same, how are we to explain the extreme partiality which Apicius shows for it? and which he says must be dissolved in luke-warm water, and afterwards served with vinegar and garum. [X_48] It is certain that the resin dr

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SUMACH.

SUMACH.

The Romans made use of the seed to flavour several kinds of dishes. [X_49]...

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GINGER.

GINGER.

This root was known at Rome under the Emperors, and many persons have confounded ginger with pepper, although they in no way resemble each other. Pliny refutes this error, and represents it as a native of Arabia. [X_50] It was used with other condiments. [X_51] “The Indians grate this root in their broth or ragoût ; they make a paste which they believe is good against the scurvy. The inhabitants of Madagascar eat it green, in salad, cut in small pieces, and mixed with other herbs, which they sea

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WORMWOOD.

WORMWOOD.

The Egyptians had a great respect for the wormwood of Taposiris,—no doubt on account of the medicinal properties which physicians attributed to it. Heliogabalus often regaled the populace with wormwood wine, [X_52] and the Romans gave it to the victorious charioteers. Pliny thinks this plant so salutary that nothing more precious could have been presented to them. [X_53] This explanation appears to have had but little plausibility, and it has been more rationally supposed that this liquor preven

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XI. FRUITS.

XI. FRUITS.

When the Creator placed the first man in the Garden of Eden, he commanded him to nourish himself with the fruit it contained; [XI_1] and, from that epoch, the most ancient which the sacred work records, this kind of aliment is incessantly mentioned in the history of all nations, and at every period of their history. The great Hebrew legislator seems to have considered fruit trees worthy of his especial care, for he forbad the Jews to cut them down, even on their enemies’ lands; [XI_2] and, in or

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OLIVE TREE.

OLIVE TREE.

Throughout antiquity we find the olive tree acknowledged as something venerable and holy, and taking precedence of all other trees, even the most useful on account of their nourishing fruits, or the refreshing drink they furnished. The wise Minerva gave it birth; [XII_1] and its foliage, which adorned the brows of the goddess, [XII_2] served, thenceforth, to crown victory, [XII_3] or to give rise to the sweet hopes of peace. [XII_4] A green bough of olive rendered the suppliant inviolable. [XII_

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PALM TREE.

PALM TREE.

The poet Pontanus has related, in beautiful Latin verses, the history of two palm trees cultivated in the kingdom of Naples. For a long time there had been a fine one growing in the environs of Otranto, loaded every year with flowers, and yet producing no fruit, in spite of the vigour of the tree and the heat of the climate. But one summer every one was much surprised at seeing this same tree produce a quantity of excellent and very ripe fruit. Astonishment changed into admiration when it was di

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CHERRY TREE.

CHERRY TREE.

When on a very hot summer day some inviting cherries deliciously quench our burning thirst, we very little think of offering to Mithridates a souvenir of affection and gratitude. Such is man: he enjoys his wealth, and cares very little for the benefactor who has procured it for him. This ancient King of Pontus, of toxologic memory, and better known by physicians than gardeners, did not, however, pass the whole of his life in composing poisons and their antidotes; for his royal hands planted, and

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APRICOT TREE.

APRICOT TREE.

The apricot tree was called by the Romans Armeniaca , the tree of Armenia, where it originated. It must be looked upon as a useful monument of the valour of the masters of the world, if it be true that, after their conquest, they brought it from that province into Rome. [XII_61] The Latins also named the apricot præcocia (precocious), because it ripens at the beginning of summer (in June) before other fruits. [XII_62] At the time when Pliny wrote ( A.D. 72) the apricot tree had only been known a

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PEACH TREE.

PEACH TREE.

This fruit tree, originally from Persia, was first transplanted into Greece, [XII_64] where it existed a long time before it passed into Italy. It was still quite a novelty in Rome towards the middle of the 1st century of the Christian era, and the rich alone could eat peaches, for they cost no less than £11 13 s. 4 d. the dozen, or 18 s. 9 d. each. [XII_65] This is rather dear fruit, however good it may be. But the bill of fare of certain banquets will show us, by-and-by, whether the Roman gast

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PLUM TREE.

PLUM TREE.

Plum trees were known in Africa from time immemorial; and Theophrastus speaks of the great number of these trees which were to be found at Thebes, Memphis, and especially at Damascus. [XII_71] Athenæus, also, praises the excellent plums of this last-named city; [XII_72] and we know that time has not lessened their ancient reputation. Asia and Egypt sent a great quantity to Europe; and, in order that they might keep better during this long voyage, a part of them were dried, and the rest were pres

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QUINCE TREE.

QUINCE TREE.

This tree appears to have been a native of Cydon, a city of Crete; from hence it passed into Greece, [XIII_1] and soon became the delight of its voluptuous inhabitants. The environs of Corinth, above all, were noted for the sweetness and beauty of their quinces, [XIII_2] which the enlightened luxury of Attica preferred to all others. Rome did not fail to enrich itself with a fruit [XIII_3] to which the ingenuity of culinary art was to give a new flavour. Young plants were first imported from abr

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PEAR TREE.

PEAR TREE.

Many countries have disputed the honour of having given birth to the pear tree. According to some it was a native of Mount Ida, so renowned for its refreshing fountains; others said Alexandria; and in the opinion of some writers it came from different parts of Greece. Let us add to this enumeration Palestine, where this tree grew at a very remote period. [XIII_14] It results from these different allegations that the ancients were acquainted with the pear tree; that they cultivated and were fond

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APPLE TREE.

APPLE TREE.

A very ancient tradition—for it is six thousand years old—represents the apple as being, from the beginning of the world, the inauspicious fruit to which may be traced all the miseries of mankind. We crave permission to defend it from this accusation, merely by these few words, “That it is nowhere written.” The holy books rarely speak of the apple tree. If we are not mistaken, it is only mentioned in five passages [XIII_19] of the sacred writings, and at periods very distant from the first offen

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LEMON TREE.

LEMON TREE.

Among the richest productions of Media, Virgil mentions a tree, to whose fruit he attributes the greatest virtues against all poisons. The description he gives of it seems to belong to the lemon tree. [XIII_25] However this may be, its origin, and even its identity, have given rise to the most animated disputations. Many have asserted that Juba, King of Mauritania (50 years B.C. ), spoke of the lemon tree, and that he looked upon it as being very ancient. They add, that the Lybians gave to its f

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ORANGE TREE.

ORANGE TREE.

If confidence is to be placed in some authors, the native land of the orange tree would appear to be the gardens of the Hesperides, so remarkable in mythologic ages, and it was found also in Western Africa, Mauritania, and the Fortunate Islands; to which they add those mountains of Atlas so little known in a botanical point of view, notwithstanding the daring excursions of several learned men. According to other observers, it originally came from the southern countries of China, [XIII_37] from t

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FIG TREE.

FIG TREE.

Antiquity, sacred and profane, has not left us, on any other tree, facts so clear and certain as upon the fig tree; it is the only tree of Eden of which the sacred books have preserved to us any mention. [XIII_42] In the East there were immense plantations of it; Egypt had some also; [XIII_43] and the land of Canaan produced figs, which enabled Moses to judge of its fertility. [XIII_44] The Scriptures, in order to give us an idea of the happiness and tranquillity the Jews enjoyed under the reign

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RASPBERRY TREE.

RASPBERRY TREE.

The ancients hardly mention the raspberry tree, which they placed on a level with the bramble. The Latins called it “ Bramble of Ida ,” because it was common on that mountain. [XIII_66] There can be no doubt, however, that the Romans knew how to appreciate the raspberry tree, so much esteemed in our days....

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CURRANT TREE.

CURRANT TREE.

The moderns have attempted to ennoble our two kinds of currants by decorating them with Latin names, which recall their antiquity. [XIII_67] Vain effort! To all appearance the Greeks and people of Italy were not acquainted with the currant tree, [XIII_68] although they well deserved to possess this delicious fruit....

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STRAWBERRY PLANT.

STRAWBERRY PLANT.

Among the Greeks the name of the strawberry indicated its tenuity, this fruit forming hardly a mouthful. With the Latins the name reminded one of the delicious perfume of this plant. Both nations were equally fond of it, and applied the same care to its cultivation. Virgil appears to place it in the same rank with flowers, [XIII_69] and Ovid gives it a tender epithet, [XIII_70] which delicate palates would not disavow. Neither does this luxurious poet forget the wild strawberry, [XIII_71] which

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MULBERRY TREE.

MULBERRY TREE.

The ancient mulberry tree was considered the wisest and most prudent of trees, because it took care, they said, not to let the smallest of its buds come to light before the cold had entirely disappeared, not to return. Then, however, it hastened to repair lost time, and a single night was sufficient to see it display its beautiful flowers, which the next morning brightly opened at the rising of Aurora. [XIII_72] The voluptuous Romans, reposing late on their soft couches the day after the fatigue

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ALMOND TREE.

ALMOND TREE.

This tree, whose fruit was called at one time “Greek Nut,” and, at another, “Thasian Nut,” [XIV_1] is a native of Paphlagonia, according to Hermippus. [XIV_2] The nations of the east thought much of almonds, and Jacob found them worthy of appearing among the presents he designed for Joseph. [XIV_3] The almond tree of Naxos supplied the markets of Athens. [XIV_4] The Romans, in their turn, sought them, and believed, like the physician spoken of by Plutarch, that it was only necessary to eat five

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WALNUT TREE.

WALNUT TREE.

Asia, the cradle of most fruit trees, gave birth also to the walnut tree. It is believed to be a native of Persia, [XIV_10] and its pleasing foliage already adorned, in Biblical times, the orchards of the east. One of the most ancient of the sacred books informs us that it was known to the Jews, [XIV_11] and it may be inferred from a passage in the Song of Solomon that they possessed numerous plantations of this tree. [XIV_12] Among the Persians, walnuts were not lavished on the first comer, as

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NUT TREE.

NUT TREE.

The Greeks gave hazel nuts the name of “Pontic Nuts,” and Theophrastus calls them “Nuts of Heraclea,” because the territory of that capital of the kingdom of Pontus produced the best. [XIV_26] The Latins, at first, retained the same designation for this fruit, but afterwards, the environs of Præneste and Avellinum supplying them with a great quantity of excellent nuts, they gave them the name of those two cities. [XIV_27] They employed also a diminitive [XIV_28] to indicate those which came from

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PISTACHIO TREE.

PISTACHIO TREE.

This tree, esteemed by the Romans, [XIV_32] is a native of India. [XIV_33] Lucius Vitellius brought some plants of it from Syria to Rome, under the reign of Tiberius; a little time subsequently, a knight, named Flaccus Pompeius, introduced it also into Spain. [XIV_34] Galen doubted whether pistachio nuts were good for the stomach. [XIV_35] Avicenna proved the contrary; [XIV_36] and several centuries before the Arabian physician, Roman epicures had courageously demonstrated that this fruit never

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CHESNUT TREE.

CHESNUT TREE.

According to some writers the chesnut tree owes its name to the city of Castana, in Thessaly, where they maintained it originated. On the contrary, it comes from Sardis, in Lydia, if we are to believe the physician, Diphilus, who calls chesnuts, acorns of Sardis, and says they are nourishing, but indigestible. [XIV_37] Amaryllis was fond of this fruit; [XIV_38] but Amaryllis was only a shepherdess, and her beauty did not prevent her from having rather rustic tastes. The Roman ladies abandoned th

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POMEGRANATE.

POMEGRANATE.

Ceres, disconsolate on account of the loss of her daughter, to whom Pluto destined the sceptre of Hell, implored the ruler of Olympus to restore Proserpine. Jupiter promised that the favour should be granted, provided that she had not partaken of anything in the infernal regions. Now, she had eaten some grains of a pomegranate; very few indeed; some serious authors have said three; others, quite as respectable, say nine. The fact is, however, Proserpine had broken her fast; therefore she might t

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REARING OF CATTLE.

REARING OF CATTLE.

All ancient legislators have bestowed the most serious attention to the rearing and preservation of cattle. The Mosaic law, in this respect, enters into details which reveal the most profound wisdom, a delicate and minute research which cannot be too much admired. More attentive to propagate useful animals than to flatter the sensuality of nations, this law forbids their being mutilated; [XV_27] it requires the Hebrews to treat with generosity the companions of their labour; [XV_28] that they sh

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MARKETS.

MARKETS.

The Hebrews held their cattle market at the gates of their cities; and from this circumstance, perhaps, is derived those expressions so frequent in the sacred writings: “The gates of the flocks,” “The sheep’s gate,” &amp;c., [XV_49] which no doubt designated the different quarters of Jerusalem where shepherds and cattle dealers were accustomed to congregate. Among the Greeks, vast, airy, public places, used to receive, under the orders, and with the authorisation of the Epimeletes , or curat

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BUTCHERS.

BUTCHERS.

Nothing among the Greeks indicates that they had butchers in the heroic ages. The warriors of Homer had no want of them, so great was their skill in cutting up the enormous pieces placed before them. [XV_54] Ulysses acquired a reputation by his dexterity in this art; and it is more than probable that his martial companions also distinguished themselves by this kind of merit. As soon as luxury had introduced into Greece that effeminate kind of existence which only permits certain men to be engage

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THE PIG.

THE PIG.

If intelligence, strength, or graceful beauty of form were to decide what rank this numerous class of animals—which has contributed its quota to the triumphs of the culinary art—should occupy on our tables, the pig, with its vile and stupid ugliness, its depraved habits, and its waddling obesity, would be banished for ever from the farm-yard and larder in every civilised nation of the world. But, in refusing to it brilliant external qualities, Nature, by a wise compensation, has conferred on it

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THE OX.

THE OX.

A profound sentiment of gratitude has been often the cause of rendering to the ox extraordinary honours, which no animal, perhaps, ever shared with him. The Egyptians considered this quadruped as the emblem of agriculture, and of all that serves to support existence; [XVI_74] and incense smoked on its altars at Memphis and Heliopolis. [XVI_75] The Phœnicians religiously abstained from its flesh, and the Phrygians punished with death whosoever dared to slay the labouring ox. [XVI_76] In Greece, d

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THE LAMB.

THE LAMB.

Formerly, sworn examiners of the clouds, skilful in discovering the storms they concealed, announced to the inhabitants of the country the hail by which their crops were threatened, and every one immediately offered a sacrifice to the inimical cloud, in order that it might carry ruin and desolation elsewhere. The most devout sacrificed a lamb; the lukewarm worshippers a fowl; some even contented themselves with pricking their finger with a pin, and throwing towards heaven the drops of blood whic

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THE KID.

THE KID.

The kid was one of the most delicate dishes of the Hebrews: Rebecca prepared some for Isaac, in order to dispose him to give his blessing to Jacob. [XVI_130] Moses ordered that, for the Feast of Passover, a lamb or a kid should be slain. [XVI_131] Samson carried a kid to his young wife when he wished to be reconciled to her. [XVI_132] The brother of the prodigal son complains to his father that he has never given him a kid to make merry with his friends. [XVI_133] The Egyptians, who represented

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THE ASS.

THE ASS.

The ass was an impure animal, according to the law of Moses, whose flesh was forbidden because it did not ruminate. [XVI_147] However, at the siege of Samaria, the Jews were compelled to eat it for want of other food. The famine was such, that the head of an ass was sold for eighty pieces of silver. [XVI_148] The Roman peasants thought the flesh of the young ass had a very agreeable taste, [XVI_149] and regaled themselves with it at their rustic festivals. The celebrated Mecænas one day tasted o

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THE DOG.

THE DOG.

We must beg pardon of the reader for informing him that the dog presented a very relishing dish to many nations advanced in culinary science. To them, one of these animals, young, plump, and delicately prepared, appeared excellent food. [XVI_154] The Greeks, that people so charming by their seductive folly, their love of the arts, their poetic civilization, and the intelligent spirit of research presiding over their dishes—the Greeks (we grieve to say it) ate dogs, and even dared to think them g

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THE COCK.

THE COCK.

An object of divine worship in Syria, [XVII_5] the cock was considered by almost every nation as the emblem of vigilance and courage. [XVII_6] Thus, heathen antiquity consecrated it to the god of battles. [XVII_7] Themistocles, marching with his army against Xerxes, King of Persia, met with some cocks fighting furiously; he made his troops halt, that they might observe them, and he then addressed a spirited discourse to them on the subject. He conquered, and on his return to Athens, desired that

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THE CAPON.

THE CAPON.

The cock being banished from the table of all respectable people, the necessity of dressing hens became evident, for it was necessary to live. Now, you are aware that there are two sorts of hens; one sort consumptive looking and tough, the other tender, plump, and before which an epicure banishes every other thought, and sighs with pleasure. These last were preferred, and, in order to render them more worthy of the voluptuous epicures for whom they were intended, they learned from the inhabitant

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THE HEN.

THE HEN.

The cackling of hens infallibly announced, among the ancients, some dreadful calamity to the person who had the misfortune to hear it. [XVII_18] This fatal omen must have rendered a great number of people unfortunate; for whether she lays eggs, or conducts her young family, a hen generally cackles. They therefore sought to diminish the number of these birds of ill-omen; they fattened them for eating, and they did right, since, according to learned physicians, the flesh of these birds is good for

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THE CHICKEN.

THE CHICKEN.

It is certainly surprising that a people so serious as the Romans generally were, should make the success of the greatest enterprise depend on the appetite of their famous sacred chickens. They were brought from the Island of Negropont, and were kept shut up in cages; their guardian was designated by the name of Pullarius. [XVII_28] Publius Claudius, constrained to consult these strange prophets before engaging in a naval combat, ordered them to be fed; they refused to open their beaks. The incr

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THE DUCK.

THE DUCK.

The duck swims so well it was thought to be paying a compliment to Neptune by sacrificing it to him. [XVII_37] The god of the seas never found fault with this offering. Attica and the whole of Greece sought the beautiful ducks of Bœotia, [XVII_38] and that province was always found to have supplied a larger number than it reared. It is true the poulterers of Athens, banishing all scruples of conscience, rarely failed to satisfy their customers as to the doubtful origin of a white nêssa (duck), b

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THE GOOSE.

THE GOOSE.

When a flock of geese are obliged to pass Mount Taurus—the dreaded abode of their enemies, the eagles—each of them takes the precaution to hold a stone in its beak, in order that he may keep a profound silence, which, otherwise, his natural loquacity would render impossible. [XVII_49] This, if true, would justify Aristotle in attributing foresight to the goose; [XVII_50] a quality which Scaliger also claims for this bird. [XVII_51] The ancients highly esteemed its flesh. Homer [XVII_52] and Athe

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THE PIGEON.

THE PIGEON.

The dove, a bird so dear to Venus, [XVII_81] served ambrosia to Jupiter, [XVII_82] and became the interpreter of Dodona’s oracles. [XVII_83] Several nations consecrated it to their gods. [XVII_84] The Jews discovered in it the image of the sweetest virtues, [XVII_85] of beauty, innocence, and purity; [XVII_86] and they sacrificed it to the Almighty, as a burnt offering agreeable to His unspeakable holiness. [XVII_87] This was because the dove or pigeon (begging pardon, here, for mixing varieties

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THE GUINEA HEN.

THE GUINEA HEN.

This bird, called by the ancients the “Hen of Numidia,” comes originally from many burning regions of Africa. In Greece, and especially in Rome, vanity alone gave it a price which was willingly granted, more on account of its scarcity than for its taste. [XVII_98] The Guinea hen appeared at great banquets, when the Amphytrion was more anxious to show his opulence than to demonstrate the delicacy of his dishes. Martial, [XVII_99] and Pliny, [XVII_100] the naturalist, raised great objections again

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THE TURKEY HEN.

THE TURKEY HEN.

“There must be two to eat a truffled turkey,” said a gastronomist of the 18th century, to one of his friends—a noted gourmand —who had just come to pay him a visit. “Two!” replied the visitor, with a smile of sensuality. “Yes, two,” answered the first; “I never do otherwise: for instance, I have a turkey to-day, and of course we must be two.” The friend, looking earnestly at the other, said: “You, and who else?” “Why,” answered the gastronomist, “I and the turkey.” In Greece, more than one stoma

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THE PEACOCK.

THE PEACOCK.

The peacock comes originally from India: it was there that Alexander the Great saw it for the first time. He was so struck with its magnificent plumage that he forbad all persons, under pain of death, to kill any. [XVII_115] Oriental princes kept the peacocks which travellers brought them, from time to time, in their aviaries. [XVII_116] It was thus [XVII_117] that a certain king of Egypt received one, of which he thought Jupiter alone worthy; wherefore he sent it in great pomp to the temple of

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MILK.

MILK.

It would, probably, be impossible to trace the epoch at which man began to make use of milk as food. Abraham presented some to the three angels who appeared to him in the valley of Mamre; [XVIII_1] and it is likely, that long before that patriarch, the eastern nations had recourse to an aliment so easily acquired, and which their numerous flocks produced in such abundance. Among the Jews, milk was always considered as an emblem of the wealth of a country and the fertility of its soil; so much so

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BUTTER.

BUTTER.

A learned writer [XVIII_21] has maintained that the ancient inhabitants of the east did not know of butter, and that by this word must be understood, when it occurs in the holy writings, sour milk or cream . Whatever may be the respect due to the grave authority of Beckmann, we beg leave to adhere to the opinion of various translators of the Bible, and believe with them that the Jews knew how to prepare butter. Independently of the signification of chemack , to which a profound philosopher gives

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CHEESE.

CHEESE.

A demi-god, Aristæus, the son of Apollo, and King of Arcadia, invented cheese, [XVIII_39] and the whole of Greece welcomed with gratitude this royal and almost divine present. Sober individuals willingly ate some at their meals; [XVIII_40] gluttons perceived that it sharpened the appetite; and great drinkers that it provoked copious libations. Thus the aged Nestor, wise as he was, brought wine to Machaon, who had just been wounded in the right arm, and did not fail to add to it goat cheese and a

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EGGS.

EGGS.

Orpheus, Pythagoras, and their sectators—good and humane people as ever lived—unceasingly recommended in their discourses to abstain from eggs, in order not to destroy a germ which nature had destined for the production of chicken. [XVIII_64] Many allowed themselves to be persuaded, and would have believed it an unpardonable crime if they had eaten a tiny omelette , or boiled eggs. Many of the most learned philosophers held eggs in a kind of respect approaching to veneration, because they saw in

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THE STAG.

THE STAG.

Roman ladies of the highest distinction, arrived at that age when, in making an estimate of life, it is found that the largest portion belongs to the past—these ladies, we say, failed not to have the flesh of this animal served on their tables, and to eat as much of it as possible. Perchance it had but a slight attraction for the worthy matrons, and yet they preferred it to every other, for this reason, that the stag being free from maladies and infirmities—at least so it was thought—prolongs it

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THE ROEBUCK.

THE ROEBUCK.

The flesh of the roebuck, according to Galen, has none of the bad qualities which he attributes to that of the stag. [XIX_57] Esculapius and Comus for this once agreed—which very seldom happened—in praising the beneficial properties and the delicious odour of these timid quadrupeds. The Greeks thought much of the roebuck; they obtained the best from the island of Melos, [XIX_58] and served them at their most sumptuous repasts. [XIX_59] They were, perhaps, more rarely seen on Roman tables. Roebuc

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THE DEER.

THE DEER.

Little need be said with regard to this charming animal, whose slender and graceful form was the admiration of those who visited the parks of Lucullus and Hirpinus. Its flesh was thought to be less wholesome than that of the roebuck, because it was found to be less succulent. [XIX_63] Apicius has consecrated to it four culinary recipes, all very similar. Deer à la Marcellus. —Put into a saucepan pepper, gravy, rue, and onions; add honey, garum, cooked wine, and a little oil. Boil very slowly, th

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THE WILD BOAR.

THE WILD BOAR.

It was in the year 63 before the Christian era: the consul Marcus Tullius Cicero had just accused and convicted Catilina, and Rome, free from present danger, had forgotten all transitory solicitudes of the past to welcome joyous banquetings. A worthy citizen, excellent patriot, distinguished gastronomist, and possessor of an immense fortune, of which he made the best use (at least so said several choice epicures, his habitual guests), Survilius Rullus—such was his name—thought of celebrating by

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THE HARE.

THE HARE.

Plutarch contends that the Jews abstained from eating the hare, not because they thought it unclean, but because it resembled the ass, which they revered. [XIX_86] This is only a pleasantry on the part of the celebrated writer, with no other foundation than the fabulous tale of the grammarian Apion, who asserts in his book against the Jews that they preserved in Jerusalem an ass’s head, which they adored. [XIX_87] We know that a sanitary motive was the cause of this animal being interdicted to t

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THE RABBIT.

THE RABBIT.

“The conies are but feeble folks, yet make they their houses in the rocks.” [XIX_101] They taught mankind, it is said, the art of fortification, mining, and covered roads. [XIX_102] These skilful engineers come originally from warm climates; from Africa, perhaps, whence they were brought to Spain. They there became so numerous, and dug so well their holes beneath the houses of Tarragona, that that city was completely overthrown, and the greater part of the inhabitants buried beneath its ruins. [

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THE FOX.

THE FOX.

A young fox, fattened on grapes, and roasted on the spit, is a tidbit for a king during the autumn. [XIX_109] Such was the idea of the Roman peasants; but we must be allowed, however, to differ from their opinion....

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THE HEDGEHOG.

THE HEDGEHOG.

The Greeks willingly eat the hedgehog [XIX_110] in a ragoût —a dish the Romans never envied them....

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THE SQUIRREL.

THE SQUIRREL.

This charming little animal, which ought never to please but when alive, often appeared at Rome among the most elegant dishes of the feast. [XIX_111] At first it was only eaten by caprice: unfortunately for the little animal, it was found to be very nice....

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THE CAMEL.

THE CAMEL.

Aristotle gives the greatest praise to the flesh of this useful animal, and places it without hesitation above the most delicate viands. [XIX_112] The Greeks, his countrymen, thought it worthy of being roasted for the table of sovereigns, [XIX_113] and the inhabitants of Persia and Egypt partook of the same enthusiasm. Rome thought the camel fit for the solitude of the Desert, but not for the ornament of banquets; and really, for this once, Rome appears to have been right. “The flesh of the youn

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THE ELEPHANT.

THE ELEPHANT.

Certain wandering tribes of Asia and Africa were thought formerly to be very fond of grilled elephant. [XIX_114] The Egyptians went so far in their pursuit of this delicacy, that the King Ptolemy Philadelphus was forced to forbid them, under pain of the most severe laws, to kill one of these animals, whose number diminished every day. The law was disregarded, and the elephant only possessed greater attractions for them. [XIX_115] In our days, also, some semi-savage nations partake of the same ta

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THE PHEASANT.

THE PHEASANT.

The Argonauts discovered this magnificent bird on the shores of Phasis, a celebrated river of Colchis, and introduced it into Greece, where it was unknown. [XX_6] This tradition, sung by the poets, [XX_7] has only met with one contradictor, Isidorus, [XX_8] who pretends that the pheasant is a native of an island of Greece, called Phasis. All nations soon hastened to receive it with the favour its rich plumage and the exquisite delicacy of its flesh deserve. Carried in cages composed of precious

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THE PARTRIDGE.

THE PARTRIDGE.

The Greeks and Romans were acquainted with partridges, and eat them. [XX_21] The red, at first very rare in Italy, were, however, advantageously replaced by the white, which true amateurs procured at a great expense from the Alps. [XX_22] The Athenians were fond of seeing them fight, and raised them for this cruel sport. [XX_23] Alexander Severus also sought in these sanguinary struggles relief from the cares of royalty. [XX_24] Aristippus, a more humane, perhaps a more luxurious, philosopher, g

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THE QUAIL.

THE QUAIL.

The dead may be raised by the means of a quail, said the ancients. Now for the proof: Hercules having been killed in Lybia, Iolaüs took one of these birds, which fortunately happened to be at hand, and placed it beneath his friend’s nose. The hero no sooner smelt it than his eyes opened to the light, and Acheron was forced to give up his prey. [XX_27] The learned Bochart denies this prodigy. [XX_28] He affirms that Hercules was subject to epileptic attacks, and that, during a fit, they caused hi

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THE THRUSH.

THE THRUSH.

The immortal author of the Iliad did not disdain, it is said, to compose a poem in praise of thrushes. These verses were so beautiful that the Greeks learned them all by heart in their infancy. [XX_43] The singular love of the ancients for this bird renders these poetical honours tolerably probable. More than once Comus has borrowed the lyre of Apollo. In Greece, children were not allowed to eat thrushes, because it was feared that their delicious flesh might cause them to contract too early hab

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THE BLACKBIRD.

THE BLACKBIRD.

What has been already said of the thrush precludes the necessity of writing much on the blackbird, for both these kinds of birds were equally dear to the gastronomists of Greece and Italy. [XX_57] They were fattened in the same manner, [XX_58] served on the same tables. The blackbird, in fact, like the thrush, re-established the strength and health of the rich. [XX_59] The poor were compelled to have recourse to less expensive remedies. “The flesh of the blackbird, so delicate in the time of gat

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THE STARLING.

THE STARLING.

Drusus and Britannicus, sons of the Emperor Claudius, had a starling which spoke admirably the Greek and Latin. Alone he studied his lessons, and afterwards recited them to the astonished princes. [XX_61] Science protected the learned bird from the fate reserved by the Greeks and Romans for the rest of its family, less distinguished by their erudition than by their culinary qualities. Starlings, roasted in the kitchens, honourably associated with partridges, blackbirds, and thrushes, [XX_62] and

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THE FLAMINGO.

THE FLAMINGO.

A profound study of the art of good cheer caused the Romans to discover that the thick tongue of the phenicopter, or flamingo, presents towards its root a rather considerable adipose appendage. They tasted this lump of fat, and Rome was enriched with another dish. It has been asserted that the glory of inventing this refinement in gluttony is due to Apicius. Italy possessed three gastrophiles of this name: the first flourished a short time before the dictatorship of Julius Cæsar; the second, Mar

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FIG-PECKER, or, BECAFICO.

FIG-PECKER, or, BECAFICO.

The Duke of C—— had received from nature one of those culinary organizations which the vulgar assimilate with gluttony, and the man of art calls genius. Greece would have raised statues to him; the Roman emperor Vitellius would have shared the Empire with him. In France he gained the esteem of all parties by inviting them to sumptuous banquets. This rich patrician brought up with tender care a young chef de cuisine , whom his major-domo had bequeathed to him on his death-bed, as Mazarin did Colb

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THE ORTOLAN.

THE ORTOLAN.

Florence and Bologna sent to Rome cases of ortolans, the enormous price of which irritated instead of discouraging gluttony. [XX_76] They arrived in the metropolis of the world, picked and separated one from the other by layers of flour to prevent decomposition. [XX_77] Each of these little birds furnished only a mouthful; but this incomparable mouthful eclipsed everything else, and produced a sort of epicurean extacy which may be called the transcendantalism of gastronomy. Ortolans were submitt

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THE OSTRICH.

THE OSTRICH.

There were tribes formerly in Arabia who fed on ostriches, and who for this reason were called strutiophagists. [XX_78] Marmot asserts that, in his time, they were eaten in Africa, although their flesh was glutinous, and had a bad smell. When the people of Numidia took any that were young, they reared and fatted them, and led them to feed by flocks in the Desert; and as soon as they were fat they killed and salted them. [XX_79] The Arabs of the present day abstain from them; but it is said they

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THE STORK.

THE STORK.

In spite of the religious respect of the Romans for this bird, the emblem of peace [XX_81] and domestic virtues, Sempronius Rufus, an ancient prætor, caused his cook to dress some young storks; and this brought into fashion [XX_82] a dish which caprice alone could introduce at feasts. [XX_83]...

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THE SEA-SWALLOW.

THE SEA-SWALLOW.

Among the ancients, the swallow—joyous herald of spring—possessed little attraction for those men whom their gluttony has rendered so justly celebrated. Alas! they knew not the “Salangan swallow,” hirundo esculenta ; they never tasted those birds’ nests which Europe still envies the East. The inhabitants of the Philippine Islands give the designation of salangan swallow to a little coast bird (the halcyon, or kingfisher), celebrated for the singular construction of its nest. These nests have bee

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ST. HULDRYCHE.

ST. HULDRYCHE.

An ordinance of King John informs us that, in the 14th century, people eat porpoises and even seals. [XXI_29] In the days of the troubadours, they fished for dolphins and whales in the Mediterranean, and the flesh of these sea monsters was considered excellent. [XXI_30]...

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STURGEON.

STURGEON.

This enormous cartilaginous inhabitant of the ocean, the Mediterranean, the Red, Black, and Caspian Seas, received from the Greeks, after its death, honours in which none of the most delicate or renowned fish participated. It was announced to the guests by the sound of trumpets; and slaves, magnificently dressed, placed it on the table in the midst of garlands and flowers. [XXI_31] Joy brightened every face; a more generous wine filled fresh goblets, and some flatterers—for the sturgeon possesse

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RED MULLET.

RED MULLET.

Philoxenes, of Cythera, supped one night with Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily. It happened that the prince was served with a magnificent mullet, whereas a very small one was presented to his guest. The philosopher took his fish in his hand, and, with a very serious air, held it to his ear. Dionysius asked him what he was doing. “I am busy with my Galathea,” replied Philoxenes, “and I am questioning him on the subject of Nerea; but I can obtain no answer from him, because he was taken at too early an

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SEA-EEL.

SEA-EEL.

The sumptuous abode of L. Crassus echoes with his sighs and groans. His children and slaves respect his profound sorrow, and leave him with intelligent affection to solitude—that friend of great grief; so grateful to the afflicted soul, because tears can flow unwitnessed. Alas! the favourite sea-eel of Crassus is dead, and it is uncertain whether Crassus can survive it! This sensitive Roman caused this beloved fish to be buried with great magnificence: he raised a monument to its memory, and nev

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LAMPREY.

LAMPREY.

In spite of its soft and viscid flesh, this fish occupied in Rome a most honourable rank among the multitudinous dishes which intemperance was ever augmenting, and preference was given to that species caught by enterprising speculators in that strait which separates Sicily from Italy. These good people averred that lampreys which rise to the surface of the sea are immediately dried up by the sun, and cannot any more descend to the depths of the ocean. [XXI_75] This little story did no harm to th

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SEA-WOLF.

SEA-WOLF.

Hicesius, one of the most estimable ichthyophagists of antiquity, does not hesitate to place the sea-wolf above all the fish which by their excellence were dear to Greece; [XXI_83] and the great Archestratus says, that the lubridan (a species of the sea-wolf) is a child of the gods. [XXI_84] The Romans, touched no doubt by these magnificent praises, granted to the sea-wolf that favour which a high reputation commands. The immense sturgeon itself was eclipsed by it, and the sea-wolf had the glory

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SCARUS, or, PARROT-FISH.

SCARUS, or, PARROT-FISH.

The scarus—its modern name is still problematic—furnished the Greeks with one of those exquisite dishes the remembrance of which never dies. The Romans were not yet acquainted with it, when Octavius, the commander of a fleet, brought on board the vessels a great quantity of this fish, which he ordered to be thrown into the sea along the coast of Campania, and which soon became the delight of the epicures of Rome. [XXI_89] History has shown too much disdain by neglecting to say more than a few pa

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TURBOT.

TURBOT.

Rome and Italy were indebted to the prætor, Sempronius, or to Rufus Rutilius, [XXI_95] for the turbot, which they taught their countrymen to appreciate. This fish quickly obtained the success which it merited, and was compared to the pheasant, as soles were likened to partridges, lampreys to quails, and sturgeons to peacocks. Some preferred turbot from the Adriatic Sea, others that of Ravenna; [XXI_96] but all united in declaring that there was not a more delicious food, and that a feast loses a

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TUNNY.

TUNNY.

The Greeks greatly praised the tunny fish of Pachynum. [XXI_101] Persons who prided themselves on their knowledge in the art of good living, eat only the belly part, [XXI_102] and never touched the remainder. The Synopians formerly gained immense sums by the tunny fishery along their shores, [XXI_103] the effigy of which, perhaps in gratitude, they stamped on their money. This fish came from Palus Meotides, and passed thence to Trebizond and Pharnacia, whence it followed the coast of Sinopus, an

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CONGER-EEL.

CONGER-EEL.

Near Sicyona, a city of the Peloponnesus, [XXI_113] they formerly caught conger-eels of such immense size, that it required a waggon drawn by oxen to carry a single one. [XXI_114] The body, the whole of the head, and even the intestines [XXI_115] were eaten. This dish, worthy of being offered by Neptune to his divine colleagues, was capable, like ambrosia, of bestowing immortality on those who had the good fortune of tasting it, and the dead would return to life, had it been possible to serve th

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EEL.

EEL.

In some parts of Egypt the eel was not eaten, because it was thought indigestible. [XXI_120] In other places it received religious worship. [XXI_121] They were ornamented, whether they liked it or not, with silver, gold, and precious stones, and priests daily offered them the entrails of animals and cheese. [XXI_122] The Greeks thought highly of eels. “Behold the Helen of feasts!” cried Eidicastes, at the moment when one was served; “I will be her Paris!” [XXI_123] and the glutton seized and dev

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PIKE.

PIKE.

The pike was very little esteemed by ancient gastronomists, who viewed it only as an ignoble inhabitant of muddy water, and the implacable enemy of frogs. [XXI_135] It was a received opinion that this despotic ruler of ponds lived for several centuries, and it may be correct. Among the examples of longevity of this fish, the most remarkable is that of the pike of kaisers’-lantern , which was nineteen feet long, weighed 350 lbs., and had lived at least 235 years. It is reported that the Emperor B

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CARP.

CARP.

The carp occupied a very honourable rank with the Greeks and Latins, but only as a fish of the second order. [XXI_137] At Athens, they picked out the bones and stuffed it with silphium, cheese, salt, and marjoram. [XXI_138] The Romans boiled it and mixed it with sows’ paps, fowls’ flesh, fig-peckers, or thrushes; and when the whole was made into a kind of pulp, they added raw eggs and oil; then they sprinkled it over with pepper and alisander; after which they poured wine, garum, and cooked wine

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EEL-POUT.

EEL-POUT.

The liver of the eel-pout (also known by the names, lota , lote , and lotus ) is particularly large, and so delicate that a certain Countess of Beuchlingen squandered a large portion of her income to gratify her taste for them. [XXI_141] That lady, worthy, by her refined and antique taste, of the proudest period of Roman extravagance, was, perhaps, not aware that the most fastidious epicureans of Italy, enthusiastic admirers of the liver of this fish, [XXI_142] had it served with a sauce compose

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TROUT.

TROUT.

Elian speaks of a fish found in the river Astræus, in Macedonia, [XXI_144] which Gesner believed to be identical with the trout. It does not appear, however, that the Greeks knew the real value and merit of this fish; but on the other hand, the Romans assigned to it the foremost rank, next to the sturgeon, red mullets, and the sea-eel, especially when they had been fattened in the thick waters of the Tiber, on the very spot where the labridans acquired their plumpness and value. [XXI_145] The tr

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GOLD FISH.

GOLD FISH.

This fish, dear to the Greeks, [XXI_146] had the honour of giving its name to the celebrated icythyophagist, Sergius, who was passionately fond of it, and who took the name Orata (from Aurata —gold fish), to preserve in his family the remembrance of his gluttony or of his affection. [XXI_147] His compatriots, the Romans, highly valued the gold fish, [XXI_148] and sought with eagerness those which had fed on the shell fish of the lake of Lucrin [XXI_149] —that precious reservoir between Baiæ and

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WHITING.

WHITING.

The flesh of this gadus is so light that, according to an old French proverb, the “ Merlans mangée ne pèsant non plus dans l’estomac que pendus à la ceinture .” [XXI_152] “Whitings weigh no more when eaten than when hung to the girdle.” Nevertheless, the Greeks did not think much of it, and they said that the whiting was only good for those who could not obtain more delicate fish. [XXI_153] The Romans, less severe or not quite so particular, cooked their whitings with a sauce composed as follows

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COD FISH.

COD FISH.

The cod fish supplied the ancients with the most exquisite dish next to the sturgeon. [XXI_155] The only fault found with it was, that it cost less than others. The Greek cooks sprinkled it with grated cheese, moistened with vinegar; then they threw over it a pinch of salt and a few drops of oil. [XXI_156] Persons with delicate stomachs did not scruple to partake of this aliment, which Galen warranted as being excellent. [XXI_157] The average size of this fish is about three feet in length; but

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PERCH.

PERCH.

The Greeks were acquainted with the perch. [XXI_159] Diocles used to give the flesh to the sick; [XXI_160] Xenocrates extolled those from the Rhine; [XXI_161] and Ausonius, the poet, has sung the praises of those fed in the Moselle. [XXI_162] With the Romans, this fish obtained a renown almost equal to that bestowed on the trout; and all eyes bespoke its welcome at supper, when it appeared on the table, covered with a seasoning in which pepper, alisander, cummin, and onions were artistically com

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SCATE.

SCATE.

The ancients liked or disliked scate, according to the places where they eat it. So, now, this fish is rejected in Sardinia, and thought excellent in London and Paris. [XXI_164] The Greek gastronomists of fashion sometimes partook of the back of the scate; [XXI_165] the remainder seemed unworthy of their attention, and a certain poet maintains that a piece of stuff, boiled, offers to the palate a flavour quite as agreeable. [XXI_166] Italian gluttony always gave a cold reception to this dish, wh

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SALMON.

SALMON.

It is reported that the salmon was thus named on account of its frequent leaping. [XXI_171] It has been sung by Ausonius. [XXI_172] Its absence left a chasm in the delights of Greece, and it was late before it became known in Rome. Pliny is the first of Latin authors who name it. [XXI_173] Ichthyophagy will cherish the memory of this laborious author. He speaks with praise of the salmon taken in the Garonne and Dordogne. He extols those of the Rhine, but he seems to give a decided preference to

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SEPIA, or, CUTTLE-FISH.

SEPIA, or, CUTTLE-FISH.

Pliny has extolled the constancy of conjugal affection in the cuttle-fish, and the courage with which the male defends his companion in the moment of danger. [XXI_176] The poet Persius describes its flight, protected by the thick, black liquid with which it blinds its enemies. Apicius, struck more by its succulent qualities, opens this fish, empties it, and stuffs it with cooked brains, to which he adds raw eggs and pepper; he then boils it in a seasoning of pepper, alisander, parsley seed, and

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SWORDFISH.

SWORDFISH.

The Greeks were fond of the swordfish, and often partook of it, [XXI_178] with a sauce of which oil was the basis, and with which were mixed yolks of eggs, leeks, garlic, and cheese. [XXI_179] The Romans thought very little of this fish, and prayed Neptune to send it far from their nets....

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SHAD.

SHAD.

The shad was caught during the summer, and sold to the people, [XXI_180] who boiled it and dished it up with strong herbs and oil. This plebeian fish was excluded from all respectable banquets. [Y] “Modern taste has allowed this estimable fish to re-appear on the table, where it is always seen with pleasure. This fish is caught in most of the great rivers of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.”— Bosc....

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RHOMBO, or, RHOMBUS.

RHOMBO, or, RHOMBUS.

The rhombo claimed the attention of the discriminating ichthyophagists of Rome by the delicacy of its flesh, and few fish would have been preferred to it had it not been feared that it rendered digestion difficult. [XXI_181] Some intrepid stomachs, however, greeted this dish without much repugnance when presented to them fried and sprinkled with pepper, in the midst of a seasoning in which pepper, cummin, coriander, benzoin, wild marjoram, and rue, heightened by a little vinegar, were mixed with

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MUGIL.

MUGIL.

This fish, singular instrument of a punishment invented by Rome, [XXI_183] entered into the bill of fare of a fashionable supper, but one without that magnificence which a feast of parade exacts. It was prepared with pepper, alisander, cummin, onion, mint, rue, sage, and dates, mixed with honey, vinegar, mustard, and oil. [XXI_184] The Greeks also esteemed mugils, and gave a preference to those sold by the fishermen of Scyathus. [XXI_185]...

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MACKEREL.

MACKEREL.

Commentators do not agree on the origin of this word. Scaliger, who perceived Greek in everything, says it is derived from makarios , “happy.” But, then, in what does the felicity of this fish consist? The old writer Belon, more wise in his conjecture, thinks this word comes from the Latin, macularelli , “little spots,” because it is marked on the back with black stripes. [XXI_186] Let the etymology be what it may, the epicurean cares very little about it. Mackerel was much liked in Greece, wher

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HADDOCK.

HADDOCK.

The haddock, like the sturgeon, was surrounded with the ridiculous honours of an almost divine pomp. [XXI_189] It was served interwoven with garlands, and trumpeters accompanied the slaves who, with uncovered heads and foreheads crowned with flowers, brought to the guests this dish, the merit of which was, perhaps, exaggerated by capricious fancies. [XXI_190]...

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TENCH.

TENCH.

Ausonius, who lived in the 4th century of the Christian era, is the first who has spoken of the tench, in his poem of the “ Mostella .” [XXI_191] It was abandoned to the common people, who alone feasted on it. [XXI_192] This fish, long the victim of an unjust disdain, ultimately conquered from the great that esteem which they at first refused to it....

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DRAGON WEAVER.

DRAGON WEAVER.

The dragon weaver traversed unseen the long and brilliant gastronomic period of the Romans. Greece rendered it more justice; [XXI_193] but its too modest qualities were not able to preserve it from forgetfulness and indifference....

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LOLIGO.

LOLIGO.

At Rome the loligo, a species of cuttle-fish, was sometimes served with pepper and rue, mixed with garum, honey, sweet wine boiled, and a few drops of oil. [XXI_194]...

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SOLE.

SOLE.

This fish, which the Greeks caught on the coast, [XXI_195] was much sought after on account of the delicacy of its nourishing and light flesh. [XXI_196] The flounder, the brill, the diamond and Dutch plaice, which, together with the sole, were known under the general name of passeres , enjoyed an equal esteem, and had attributed to them the same qualities....

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ANGEL-FISH.

ANGEL-FISH.

In Holland there are angel fish of enormous size; [XXI_197] and Aldrovandus relates that some have been seen which weighed as much as 160 lbs. [XXI_198] In the time of this naturalist the common people did not eat them very willingly....

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FILE-FISH.

FILE-FISH.

The flesh of this species of the bulistes is only good when fried, according to Marcgrave. Columella thinks much of it, [XXI_199] and Pliny ranks it among the saxatiles , the most esteemed by connoisseurs. [XXI_200]...

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PILCHARD.

PILCHARD.

Among the Greeks this fish was considered only as fit for the people. Those from the environs of Phaleres were much esteemed, when left only an instant in boiling oil. [XXI_201] The Romans, who gave them the first rank among salt fish, [XXI_202] stuffed them, in order to render them better, in the following manner:— [XXI_203] They bruised pennyroyal, cummin, pepper, mint, and pine nuts; these they mixed with honey, and with this paste they filled the anchovy, after having carefully boned them. T

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LOACH.

LOACH.

The Greeks liked loaches, [XXI_205] but many abstained from eating them, lest the Syrian goddess, the protectress of these fishes, should gnaw their legs, cover their bodies with ulcers, and devour their liver. [XXI_206] The inhabitants of Italy, free from this singular superstition, cleaned the loaches, left them some time in oil, then placed them in a saucepan with some more oil, garum, wine, and several bunches of rue and wild marjoram. Then these bunches were thrown away, and the fish was sp

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GUDGEON.

GUDGEON.

The gudgeon—thought excellent by every one, but which no one mentions—appeared with honour in the most magnificent repasts at Athens. [XXI_208] At Rome, it was served fried, at the beginning of supper; [XXI_209] and it disposed the guests to attack boldly the culinary corps de réserve , which took up the position as soon as the skirmish with the gudgeon was over. “This fish is in abundance, principally in France and Germany; it is very good, and easily digested. They are served either fried or s

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HERRING.

HERRING.

Herrings were unknown in Greece and Rome. Bosc says it is a manna that nature doubtless reserved for the northern nations, which they, however, have only turned to account in modern times. The first herring fishery known in Europe was on the coast of Scotland; but that nation knew not how to profit by the treasure that the sea offered them. All the Scotch historians mention this fishery, the produce of which was bought by the Dutch. This transaction took place under the reign of King Alfred, abo

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ANCHOVY.

ANCHOVY.

Sonnini thinks that garum was simply composed of anchovies cooked and crushed in their brine, to which was added a little vinegar, and chopped or pounded parsley. The fishermen of the Mediterranean and the coasts of the ocean salt almost all the anchovies they take. They cut off their heads, which are thought to be bitter, take out the entrails, wash them in soft or salt water, and stratify them in barrels with salt. The fishermen of Provence think it is essential to the good preservation of anc

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SHELL FISH.

SHELL FISH.

The Emperor Caligula had made immense preparations to invade Great Britain. He set off, and when he arrived in sight of that Albion he was going to attack, he commanded his troops to form in close array along the shore, the trumpets to sound the charge, and sat himself on the quarter-deck of his galley, from whence he might have directed the action. For a short time he contemplated his warlike cohorts, and having thus gratified his pride, he ordered his troops to pick up the shells which abounde

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OYSTER.

OYSTER.

The pontiffs of pagan Rome, men of exquisite delicacy and matured taste, caused oysters to be served at every repast. [XXI_219] This little piece of epicurism was very expensive, and it was necessary for these grave personages to carry the whole of the devotion which characterized them in their love of good cheer to the highest degree, to dare eat of a dish still uncommon a century before the Christian era. At this epoch a borriche (a sort of basket) of oysters was worth one hundred sesterces (£

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SEA-HEDGEHOG.

SEA-HEDGEHOG.

Under this denomination were classed all animals, more or less orbicular, whose envelope bristles with calcareous points, on which account they were compared to hedgehogs. The Greeks thought them delicious when caught at the full moon, [XXI_243] and prepared with vinegar, sweet cooked wine, parsley, and mint. [XXI_244] Oxymel often replaced vinegar. [XXI_245] The Romans also esteemed highly this dish, which was recommended to sluggish appetites under the auspices of the faculty; [XXI_246] and Ap

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MUSSEL.

MUSSEL.

The two great nations of antiquity have granted uncommon praise to mussels, and partook of them at their most sumptuous feasts. At the wedding repast of the graceful Hebe, Jupiter wished the inhabitants of Olympus to exchange for this shell fish their celestial though monotonous ambrosia. [XXI_248] Epicharmus, who records the fact, does not inform us with what sauce the chef de cuisine of the gods dressed the flesh of those mussels. The reader must thus content himself with the seasoning invente

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SCALLOP.

SCALLOP.

The effeminate inhabitants of Tarentum, the abode of luxury, delighted in good living, and boasted of possessing the finest scallops of Campania, and of the whole empire. [XXI_251] The infallible authority of this voluptuous city in matters of taste gave a surprising vogue to this fish. Rome, and all the population of Italy, believed it was forced to eat the scallops of Tarentum prepared with oysters, and at other times with mussels. It now remains to be mentioned that some kinds of testacea app

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TORTOISE.

TORTOISE.

The Greeks and Latins speak with admiration of the enormous size of certain tortoises in their time, the whole species of which were comprised under the generic word testudo . [XXI_252] The Indian Sea produced some so large, that the shell of one only amply served to roof a comfortable and elegant cottage. [XXI_253] The inhabitants of the shores of the Red Sea never troubled themselves with building sloops; large shells of tortoises spared them the trouble, by supplying them with charming little

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SEA-CRAWFISH.

SEA-CRAWFISH.

Apicius sought relief from his culinary studies at Minturnus, in Campania, where that great master regaled himself with delicious sea-crawfish, in order to keep up his gustatory powers. Genius reposes amidst studious leisure. Being told that Africa produced some of these testacea of an immense size, immediately the worthy Roman tears himself away from the sweet solitude he had created; he freights a vessel, Æolus smiles on the undertaking, Neptune protects him, and he arrives in sight of the Afr

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LOBSTER.

LOBSTER.

Antiquity rendered justice to the lobster, and the taste for it did not change, being founded on truly estimable and sterling qualities. It was opened lengthwise, and filled with a gravy, into the composition of which entered both pepper and coriander. It was then slowly cooked on the gridiron, and every now and then basted with the same kind of gravy, with which the flesh became impregnated. [XXI_264]...

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RIVER CRAYFISH.

RIVER CRAYFISH.

The Greeks were remarkably fond of this fish, [XXI_265] especially when obtained from Alexandria. [XXI_266] They were not less esteemed in Rome, where they eat them boiled with cummin, and seasoned with pepper, alisander, parsley, dried mint, and a great quantity of cummin; the whole carefully and well ground, and mixed with honey, vinegar, and garum, to which was sometimes added some liquid perfume. [XXI_267] “Crayfishes can be preserved several days, not too warm, in baskets with some fresh gr

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CRAB.

CRAB.

Would you like to eat crab sausages? Boil some of these animals; reduce them to a pulp; mix with this some spikenard, garum, pepper, and eggs; give to this the ordinary shape of sausages, place them on the stove or gridiron, and you will, by these means, obtain a delicate and tempting dish. [XXI_268] Apicius assures us of the fact: Apicius was a connoisseur! A crab may also be served whole, boiled, and accompanied by a seasoning of pepper, cummin, and rue, which the cook skilfully mixes with gar

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FROGS.

FROGS.

The ancients thought nothing of frogs, which they left at liberty to propagate. There was such a great number among the Abderites, that these good people gave up to them their native soil, and left the place in search of another spot. At the present day, in some countries, frogs are sought for as a most agreeable and wholesome food; in other parts—England in particular—they are disdainfully shunned. But in France there is a great consumption of them, especially in the spring. About a century sin

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THE COOK.

THE COOK.

The author of a rare and very curious work, [XXII_1] which no one at present has time to read, formed the charitable project of reconciling medicine and gastronomy. This was a noble enterprize, worthy of a true philanthropist, and which assuredly presented less difficulties than people may think. In effect, what was the moot question? To agree, de forma , without interfering with the substance; to examine whether culinary preparations poison, as has been said, the food which nature gives us, and

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THE KITCHEN.

THE KITCHEN.

Let as enter together one of those vast kitchens, where two thousand years ago, the marvellous suppers of some rich senator were concocted. In every direction, slaves are coming loaded with meat, game, sea-fish, vegetables, fruit, and those expensive delicacies of which the dessert of the Romans was principally composed. The slaves have been over the principal markets of the city, especially those of the Trigemina gate, DESCRIPTION OF PLATE No. XI. No. 1. Remains of a kitchen-stove in the house

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SALT.

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 k

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BRINE.

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 w

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DIGESTIVE SALTS.

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 whit

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GARUM.

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 t

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HONEY.

HONEY.

What is sweeter than honey? [XXIII_43] what is more pure, [XXIII_44] or more nourishing? [XXIII_45] It is the milk of the aged, it prolongs their existence, [XXIII_46] and when they descend into the tomb, it still serves to embalm them. [XXIII_47] Pagan antiquity ascribed the honour of the discovery of this useful substance to the Athenian Aristæus, who taught mankind to feed on it. This valuable service procured him a patent of nobility. He was made a descendant of Bacchus or Apollo. [XXIII_48]

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SUGAR.

SUGAR.

Theophrastus, the first among the ancients who speaks of sugar, classes it among the number of honeys. [XXIII_67] Dioscorides also calls it “honey of reeds;” he adds that these reeds grow in India, or in Arabia Felix, and that the agreeable substance they contain has some analogy with salt. [XXIII_68] Pliny also gives it the same name. It is, according to this naturalist, a kind of honey, with which certain reeds are filled, and used only in medicine. [XXIII_69] This was also the opinion of many

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CINNAMON.

CINNAMON.

In the time of Theophrastus, it was said that cinnamon grew in a dark and silent valley, guarded night and day by fearful serpents. Animated by the hope of gain, some individuals, careless of their existence, risked their lives by gathering some of this precious bark. When they had the good luck to avoid the vigilant reptiles, they consecrated to the sun part of their booty, which the radiant orb immediately consumed to prove his acceptance of the offering. [XXIII_73] Others, thinking this littl

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CLOVES.

CLOVES.

Cloves were very little known to the ancients. Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Galen do not speak of them. Pliny says that some cloves were brought to Rome, very similar to grains of pepper but a little longer; that they were only to be found in India, in a wood consecrated to the gods; and that they served in the fabrication of perfumes. [XXIII_80] The conquest of India by the Portuguese rendered them common throughout Europe. Cloves contain a considerable quantity of essential aromatic oil, thi

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PEPPER.

PEPPER.

The two great cities of antiquity knew how to appreciate pepper, and employed it largely in their culinary labours. They distinguished two kinds: one round, the other long and thin. [XXIII_81] Dioscorides and Pliny describe the shrub, on which are to be seen pods filled with seeds of pepper, resembling millet, according to the first of these writers, and like small beans, according to the other. [XXIII_82] Our readers no doubt remember the importance which Apicius ascribes to pepper, in the lear

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VERJUICE.

VERJUICE.

Verjuice, the use of which is very ancient, was used more in pharmaceutical preparations than in the seasoning of food. [XXIII_83] Galen attributes to it refreshing qualities, and advises it in certain cases. [XXIII_84] Verjuice is a kind of grape, very acid, and which never gets perfectly ripe. The suc of verjuice is used in medicine and culinary preparation as an astringent. The juice is not proper to make wine, but a very agreeable syrup is obtained from it....

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VINEGAR.

VINEGAR.

The greater part of ancient nations were acquainted with the use of vinegar. Reapers in the east soaked their bread in it, to freshen it [XXIII_85] The Greeks esteemed that of Cnide, of Sphette, of Cleone, and above all the vinegar of Egypt, [XXIII_86] which was reputed to be the best among the Romans, who tempered its acrimony by mixing with it some sweet substance. [XXIII_87] These masters of the world did not fancy they possessed all the comforts of life when they wanted vinegar; therefore th

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TRUFFLE.

TRUFFLE.

A truffled turkey was to be eaten at a dinner where Buffon was invited. A few minutes before setting down to table, an elderly lady inquired of the celebrated naturalist where the truffle grew. “At your feet, madame.” The lady did not understand; but it was thus explained to her: “ C’est au pied des charmes ” (yoke elm tree). The compliment appeared to her most flattering. Towards the end of the dinner, some one asked the same question of the illustrious writer, who, forgetting that the lady was

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MUSHROOMS.

MUSHROOMS.

Agrippina, desirous of securing the crown to her worthy son, Nero, went to a celebrated female poisoner, and procured a venomous preparation which defied the most powerful antidotes. [XXIII_110] The Princess slipped this terrible poison in a very fine morel (a species of mushroom), which Claudius eat at his supper. The unfortunate Emperor died according to the desire of his amiable consort, who was, of course, inconsolable for a long time, and placed among the gods the husband she had murdered.

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XXIV. PASTRY.

XXIV. PASTRY.

The art of the pastry-cook consists in preparing certain delicate and nice pastes in all sorts of shapes, in seasoning them with discretion, and in sufficient quantity, with meat, butter, sugar, preserves, &amp;c. [XXIV_1] It is a most important branch of the culinary science; unceasingly occupied with flattering the sight as much as the taste, it raises graceful monuments, delicious fortresses, seductive ramparts, which as soon as they are on all sides attacked, totter, crumble, and no long

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XXV. WATER.

XXV. WATER.

Thales , who borrowed from Egypt the elements of philosophy, which he afterwards spread in Greece, taught that water is the vivifying principle of all things; that nature is thereby made fruitful; that without it the earth, arid and laid waste, would be a frightful desert, where every effort of man to support his existence must fail. [XXV_1] These ideas, for a long time adopted by Pagan theology, peopled fountains, rivers, and seas, with divinities, and often confounded in the same worship those

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TEA.

TEA.

This plant is a native of China, and it is only in the Celestial Empire that tea is cultivated to any great extent. Why, then, is it neglected on all other points of the globe situated in the same latitude? Doubtless, because the soil of China is superior for its culture to that of any other country. The shrub that produces tea is cultivated between the twenty-third and thirty-third degrees of latitude; it thrives on the mountainous parts, on the slope of the hills, and that which grows on high

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COFFEE.

COFFEE.

In the trade five principal kinds of coffee are enumerated—or rather, five sorts—according to the different countries from whence they come, although all derived from the same kind of coffee tree, Coffea Arabica . These five kinds are as follows:— 1st. Mocha coffee, thus called from the country whence this kind of coffee originates, a plant now so commonly spread over every American colony. The grain of this coffee is generally round and small. From Mocha coffee is derived the most sweet and agr

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CHOCOLATE.

CHOCOLATE.

Every one is aware that chocolate is an aliment obtained from the cocoa-nut, roasted and reduced to paste, with sugar and aromatics. But first, the choice of cocoa nuts is not indifferent. Those from Soconusco, from Caracas, and Maracaibo, are the best and sweetest; it is, however, well to mix with them other kinds, to correct their insipidity by a certain sharpness far from being unpleasant; thus, to four parts of Caracas cocoa, earthed—that is, rendered mild by a sojourn of some weeks under th

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XXVII. DRINKING CUPS.

XXVII. DRINKING CUPS.

If men were wiser, the 19th century would probably not have seen a beneficent apostle preaching temperance everywhere, and making his name cherished and celebrated by a series of successes which could hardly have been expected; numerous societies of Hydropotes , or “teetotallers,” would not alarm, in our days, those joyful disciples of Bacchus’s temple, hydrophobes by profession, by taste, and interest, who sincerely bewail the desertion of newly made abstemious members; and no person would prom

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LIQUEUR WINE.

LIQUEUR WINE.

It must be owned that the Roman law was, for a long time, tyrannical in the extreme with regard to women. Totally interdict the use of wine! Kill the unfortunate creatures who were unable to resist the seductions of that dangerous liquor! For the Roman history furnishes us with more than one example of that atrocious chastisement inflicted on the guilty thirst of the fair sex. The barbarous Micennius immolated his wife on the butt, at which he caught her one day, quenching her thirst at the tap

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XXIX. REPASTS.

XXIX. REPASTS.

Mortals were formerly remarkably sober, and the gods themselves set them the example, by feeding exclusively on ambrosia and nectar. [XXIX_1] The most illustrious warriors in the Homeric ages were generally contented with a piece of roast beef; for a festival, or a wedding dinner, the frugal fare was a piece of roast beef; and the king of kings, the pompous Agamemnon, offered no greater rarity to the august chiefs of Greece, assembled round his hospitable table. It is true that the guest to be m

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XXX. VARIETY OF REPASTS.

XXX. VARIETY OF REPASTS.

The fertile country inhabited by the Jewish people furnished them with a very great variety of excellent provisions. Those of which they made the greatest consumption, and which we find generally mentioned in the Scriptures, are bread, flour, barley, beans, lentils, wine, raisins, figs, honey, butter, oil, sheep, oxen, fatted calves, &amp;c. [XXX_1] The fat of animals offered in sacrifice was reserved for the Lord; [XXX_2] but, with this exception, the Hebrews could freely make use of it. Th

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XXXI. THE DINING-ROOM.

XXXI. THE DINING-ROOM.

The cœnaculum (dining-room), properly so called, was the place in the upper part of the house where they eat. [XXXI_1] It was reached by a staircase, [XXXI_2] and thither persons repaired during the summer, particularly in the country. The Roman villas terminated by a platform, on which the Romans often collected at meal-time; the air was not so hot, and the panorama of the neighbouring country-seats was presented without obstruction, to the gaze of the guests. [XXXI_3] The dining-room was commo

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THE TABLE SEATS.

THE TABLE SEATS.

The Jews originally sat down to their meals; but when they became subject to Persia they laid on couches at their repasts, like their conquerors, and other oriental nations, from whom the Greeks and Romans borrowed their custom. [XXXII_39] The most distinguished place was at the head of the table, at the extremity of the room, near the wall. Saul sat in this place of honour. [XXXII_40] Under the reign of Solomon, the Hebrews still used seats. [XXXII_41] The Egyptians were early acquainted with t

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XXXIII. THE SERVANTS.

XXXIII. THE SERVANTS.

All the opulent families had a great number of servants, or slaves, whose low extraction, [XXXIII_1] the chances of war, [XXXIII_2] or the parental will, [XXXIII_3] subjected to the caprices of the rich as a mere thing possessed, a right, a property ( res ). They were known, like the slaves of the Jews [XXXIII_4] in former times, by their ears, which were pierced with an awl; [XXXIII_5] an ineffaceable stigma, which always reminded the freed-man of his former humiliation. The slave was also ofte

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XXXIV. THE GUESTS.

XXXIV. THE GUESTS.

The Jews and the Egyptians washed the feet of the persons whom they received into their houses, and offered them larger portions as a mark of greater honour. [XXXIV_1] These homely and hospitable usages have disappeared with the simplicity of the primitive ages. The Greeks required their guests to arrive neither too soon nor too late. It was a rule of politeness from which nothing could exempt them, [XXXIV_2] and which we ourselves observe at this day. In the Homeric ages each one received his s

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XXXV. A ROMAN SUPPER.

XXXV. A ROMAN SUPPER.

Two lustres had passed since the world obeyed Domitius Nero, son of Agrippina. The Romans, a herd of vile slaves, docile adulators of the infamous Cæsar, had already celebrated nine anniversaries of his happy accession to the empire, and the Flamen of Jupiter solemnly thanked the gods at each of these epochs for all the benefits that the well-beloved monarch had unceasingly lavished on the earth. Few princes, it is true, ever equalled Nero. He and his mother had poisoned Junius Silanus, the pro-

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NERO.

NERO.

Lucius Domitius Nero’s father was Caius Domitius Ænobarbus; Agrippina was his mother. He took the reins of the empire at the age of eighteen ( A.D. 54), and governed at first with clemency and equity. The Roman people, transported with love for their young prince, indulged the fond hope of long and unalloyed felicity; but they were soon aroused from this delusion to a sense of the dire reality. Nero had forgotten himself in the path of virtue; he rallied by trying his hand at crime, and found at

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HELIOGABALUS.

HELIOGABALUS.

Heliogabalus (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Verus), son of Antoninus Caracalla and Semiamira, immortalised himself by his follies, and merited the name of the Sardanapalus of Rome . His grandmother, Mœsa, had a fancy to have him invested with the functions of Priest of the Sun, and the following year (218) the army elected him to succeed Macrinus. He was then only fourteen years old. It would be impossible to give a complete catalogue of the crimes which stained this precocious monster. His luxury k

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EPICURUS.

EPICURUS.

Epicurus—born 337 years B.C. , in the market-town of Gargettus, near Athens—taught in his gardens a system of philosophy, which, though indulgent towards the requirements of the senses, possessed the merit of a sovereign disdain for every kind of superstition. Epicurus had a great number of disciples among the ancient pagans, and the sensual philosophy of modern times hails him as a patron. At this very day the dainty livers rally under the joyous banner of the moralist of Gargettus, and his che

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BILL OF FARE FOR THE ROYAL TABLE.

BILL OF FARE FOR THE ROYAL TABLE.

Rissolettes à la Pompadour. Rissolettes à la Pompadour. Venison. Venison. Légumes à la Française. Petite Pois Verts. Légumes à la Française. Grosses Asperges à l’Américaine....

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GENERAL BILL OF FARE FOR 248 GUESTS.

GENERAL BILL OF FARE FOR 248 GUESTS.

L’Extravagance Culinaire à l’Alderman, or the One Hundred Guinea Dish. —The opportunity of producing some gastronomic phenomenon for the royal table on such an occasion as the York Banquet was irresistible; accordingly, the following choice morsels were carefully selected from all the birds mentioned in the general bill of fare, to form a dish of delicacies worthy of his Royal Highness and the noble guests around him. The extravagance of this dish, valued at one hundred guineas, is accounted for

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BILL OF FARE.

BILL OF FARE.

We hardly need mention the annual entertainment which takes place on the 9th of November, when the city of London makes a king of a citizen. In the course of the year 1844, King Louis Philippe paid a visit to her Majesty Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle, and during the time a series of banquets were given in honour of the King’s visit by her Majesty. The gold plate—worth, it is said, a million sterling—was used on that occasion. We shall not attempt to describe the extraordinary beauty of that s

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GRAND AGRICULTURAL PAVILION DINNER.

GRAND AGRICULTURAL PAVILION DINNER.

Baron of Beef à la Magna Charta. Grand Agricultural Trophy. Homer tells us that a royal culinary artist placed before Ajax and his voracious companions in arms a whole bullock roasted. Since those heroic ages many no doubt have shared the same fate; and we know that in this country, on the occasion of a rich heir coming of age, a roasted ox is often given to the tenants as a substantial fare, with a well-nursed butt of ale, twenty-one years old. Many can remember that in the winter of 1812 a bul

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TABLE OF REFERENCES TO

TABLE OF REFERENCES TO

Ancient and Modern Writers. I. AGRICULTURE. [I_1] Plutarch. De Isid. et Osirid.; Ovid. Fabul. lib. v. 6, 7; Aurel. Vict. De Orig. Gent. Roman. [I_2] Genes. cap. ii. 15. [I_3] Ibid. cap. iii. 23. [I_4] Cuvier, Discours sur les Révolutions du Globe, 6e. édit. p. 171. [I_5] Judic. cap. vi. 11, 14. [I_6] Ruth, cap. ii. 3, 5. [I_7] I. Samuel, cap. xi. 5. [I_8] I. Reg. cap. xix. 19. [I_9] Guénée, Lettres de Quelques Juifs, tom. iii. p. 23, edit. in 12mo. [I_10] Levitic. cap. xxv. 23. [I_11] Diodor. Si

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ERRATA.

ERRATA.

Page 16, line 19, for which great and the, read which the great and glorious. P. 19, l. 16, for Picardy to make bread, read in Picardy. To make bread. P. 19, l. 16, for of leaven and, read of leaven is required, and. P. 26, l. 6, for Flamine, read Flamen. P. 26, l. 25, for leaves read loaves. P. 27, l. 20, for Cabire read Cabira. P. 28, l. 28, for hand-mill; by the Britons, read hand-mill, by the Britons. P. 32, l. 11, for Megalarte and Megalomar, read Megalartus and Megalomazus. P. 33, l. 2, fo

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