Cora Moore

“ Still, there is no question but that the American palate would benefit much by being cultivated, not only in the interests of economy, but also with a view to the increase of gastronomic pleasure, for a taste attuned to many variations is as an ear sensitive to the nuances of sweet sounds or an eye trained to perceive delicate tones and tints. It is really a matter for regret 7–8that we, as a people, have not been as willing to learn from the French the art of cooking and eating as we have been to acquire from them knowledge of the art of dress. ”

“ And we were a nation of dyspeptics because the great American mother of the latter end of the Nineteenth Century, in spite of all her unequaled qualities in every other direction, and in spite of all the encomiums she received in resounding prose or ecstatic verse for her prowess in the kitchen, was from the points of view of health, economy and wisdom the worst cook in the world. ”

“ A French cook of parts would tear his hair if he could see how fats and drippings from meats are thrown away in many an American kitchen. They are poured into the sink till the drain pipes clog and, to complete the little serial of extravagance, the plumber has to be called. The French cook knows that this is the finest grease for frying in the world and that its use would save many a pound of butter. ”

“ The French cook holds no brief against vanilla, and sometimes he flavors his rice pudding with it, but he so guides matters that the very sight or mention of rice pudding does not bring the thought of vanilla to the mind, for with him it may be flavored with pistache or rose or have a geranium leaf baked in it, giving a delightful, indescribable flavor. ”

“ The American buys an expensive cut of meat and, as is right in such a case, treats it as plainly and simply as possible. The Frenchman buys meat of a much lower quality, but so embellishes it that when it comes to the table it is superior, or, at least, equal to that which costs much more.
It may be objected that this is no real economy, because by the time the French cook has sauced and spiced his cheap cut in order to make it palatable, the cost is as great, if not greater than it would have been had he paid more 10for his meat in the first place. ”

“ There you will find, too, fifty or more dry seasonings, including 11anise, basil, saffron, savoury, clove or garlic, cassia buds, bay leaf, ginger root, pepper-corns, marjoram, mint, thyme, capers and so on.
Herein lie the “secrets” of French cookery which are, in truth, not secrets at all, but merely the application of common sense to the cuisine. The French have never allowed their taste to be restricted by prejudice, so they hail a new flavor with delight rather than registering an instinctive dislike because it is not familiar. ”

“ One secret of the French cook's superiority to the American in preparing fish is that the former has almost a congenital knowledge of his subject. To him all fish is not just fish. He differentiates sharply as to species, tempering his treatment to varied requirements.
Roughly, there are two classes of fish: those which have dark flesh or flesh with a pinkish tone which is streaked with fat, and those which have white, firm flesh and are the more digestible. ”

“ Probably Americans, as a class, could never be induced to eat some of the little birds—the mauviettes, the alouettes, the sparrows baked in a pie, that so delight the Frenchman. Also, it is a question whether snails, even if it were possible to obtain the superior Burgundian, fat and juicy and cooked even as our own Oscar used to prepare them for certain Waldorf guests, would ever appeal to the American taste, as even the common hedgerow sort of snail does to the average Frenchman. ”

“ It is the French cook's knowledge of the subtleties, the nuances of seasoning that stands him in good stead. The American woman who has essayed to use some spice or savory unfamiliar to her and has turned out a dish which her family has declared “tasted like medicine” is, naturally enough, discouraged from wandering after that particular strange god again. ”

“ Vanilla and lemon have an almost universal appeal to the palate, and knowing this, the American cook, like the generation before her, has always seasoned her rice puddings, for instance, with one or the other, just as her apple sauce has invariably been flavored with lemon or nutmeg, her bread pudding with vanilla, and so all along her restricted line. ”

“ No one, least of all the French cook, calculates to feast the eye at the expense of the sense of taste, yet it is his experience after long years that good digestion is much more likely to wait upon the appetite that has been stirred to a preliminary enthusiasm by the attractive appearance of a dish. ”

“ To be sure the proper mental sauce for a good dinner is wit, and the best physical one, hunger, but as we all of us have more or less of an Epicurean strain in us and do not eat solely to satisfy bodily needs, it is well that the American cook who essays to bring variety to her board should have some knowledge of those Gallic creations, the sauces, by which she is enabled to transform plain dishes into seemingly pretentious 26ones, even though she never attain that sauce that Balzac knew, “in which a mother might unsuspectingly eat her own child.” ”

“ An ordinary bread pudding becomes veritably a queen of 14puddings as, indeed, it is called, merely by having a layer of jam through its center and a simple icing spread over the top. Ordinary pea soup exhibits chameleon-like possibilities merely through the addition of a little celery-root, a dash of curry or the admixture of a few spoonfuls of minced spinach, and tomato soup has for most an appeal that even this favorite of soups never had before when just the right amount of thyme is added while it simmers, along with, perhaps a bayleaf. ”

“ Stale bread and breadcrumbs are the bases of a score of the most delicious puddings on the French cook's card; cooked cereal is one of the best thickenings for soups and gravies, as well as being far more wholesome than flour for this purpose; meat scraps, trimmings and bones should go into the stock pot. When a soup made of these is served as the introductory course at dinner it will be found that the family will be 17fully satisfied with much less meat, and it is in the lessening dependence of Americans on meat that will make for the greatest item in economy. ”

“ Meat is the most expensive item on the menu and the true solution of the question is not only to conserve all the uses of it but to eat much less. That would make not only for economy, but for better health as well. ”

“ But the average American woman doesn't look beyond her own kitchen and her own traditional row of spice boxes for her flavorings. She has her “kitchen set,” which ordinarily comprises a row of little receptacles labeled “pepper,” “salt,” “cloves,” “allspice,” “ginger,” “cinnamon,” “nutmeg,” and possibly one or two other spices or condiments—rarely more. With these and 4a bottle each of lemon extract and vanilla, she is satisfied that she is fully equipped as far as flavoring possibilities are concerned. ”

“ One will not find the delicatessen 18flourishing in France—one will not find it at all—and the fancy grocery, above mentioned, is another pitfall for the American housewife. She likes the sight of food done up in fancy containers, in glass, perhaps, and buys them, not realizing that she is paying a large price for perfectly unnecessary and totally unnourishing “pretties.” ”

“ If the housewife has read some of the very excellent instructions that were 16printed to help her conduct her household adequately amid the necessary limitations of wartime, she already knows that there is absolutely no excuse for ever throwing away a crust or crumb of bread. As for that, neither is there any excuse for ever disposing of what is left of the morning cereal except to the advantage of some later made dish, or of consigning meat scraps or bits of fat or even bones to the garbage pail. It is not only that, in the interests of economy, she should use them ”

“ This is no plea for vegetarianism, though it may be said in passing for the benefit of those who think that good red blood and hardy muscle are to be obtained only by absorbing the red blood and muscle of the beasts of the field, that there is as much, if not more, of 20this building power in the beans, the peas, the lentils that we regard too often as mere secondary foods.
Most of all the American should take advantage of the great stores of fish which are equally as nourishing as meat and may easily be made as appetising with simple sauces that French cookery will teach us. Fish are cheap ”

“ With a little applied education, Americans can bring the charm of the French table to their own homes rather than when they are, as they say, tired of the same old round of “eats,” seeking out a nondescript table d'hôte restaurant and eagerly consuming what is set before them, grateful for a change. ”

“ The truth is that she has overdone the seasoning. She doesn't want to be parsimonious, which is just what the French cook is with his flavors, only he, more scientifically, calls it using good judgment. If he uses garlic in a salad, it doesn't necessarily follow that the entire household 13must take on the atmosphere of an Italian barber shop, for he uses garlic or onion, not to give their flavor to a dish, but to bring out the flavors of the vegetables with which they are used. ”

“ Dredge half a tablespoonful of flour in a saucepan with a lump of butter and when smooth add gradually a cupful of broth, stirring till it boils. Place in the potatoes along with a tablespoonful of chopped parsley and pepper and salt. Stew for three or four minutes, remove the pan to the side of the fire and add quickly the yolk of an egg previously well beaten with a teaspoonful of cold water and a little lemon juice. When 89the egg has become thickened, turn the potatoes with their sauce on a flat dish and serve. ”

“ With four cups of finely minced beef mix one cup of breadcrumbs, adding one boiled onion, a little essence of anchovies, salt, pepper and a raw egg. Make into balls, roll in breadcrumbs and fry slowly. Prepare a gravy by boiling the trimmings of the meat in the water in which the onion was boiled, thicken with flour or cornstarch, add three teaspoonfuls of lemon juice and pour over the rissolettes which should be arranged on a heated platter around a heap of mashed potatoes. ”

“ The very economy of the French is an art, and there is art in their economy. It is true that their dishes, as we have known them in this country, are expensive, vii–viiieven extravagant, but that is because they have been for the most part the creations of high-priced chefs. They who have made eating an avocation know that it is not necessary to dine expensively in order to dine well. ”

“ When half cooked, remove the meat and carefully skim the gravy of all fat. Return the mutton to the tin, pour gravy over it and surround it with potatoes cut to the size of walnuts. Put back in the oven, letting the potatoes cook in the juice of the meat. Meanwhile cook about three pounds of spinach, drain, squeeze out all water and pass through a sieve. Return to a saucepan in which about two ounces of butter has been heated and season with pepper and salt. Add 48a tablespoonful of gravy from the mutton and allow the spinach to simmer till the meat is done. ”

“ Time and the hour and the high price of meat, however, render it advisable, even absolutely necessary, that we work all our resources instead of only a part of them, to economize whenever and wherever we can, and the waters in our midst and around us are surely one of the most important resources not already worked to the limit. ”

“ If she is fearful of the handling some loose food stuffs may be subjected to in the stores, why does she not practice the most practical economy, go to the fountain-head of supplies in the city, the large market, and buy in quantity, so far as she can? ”

“ Salade de Poisson, Aioli, is made by taking any cold fish, say salmon, with this menu. It is flaked and marinaded in oil and vinegar seasoned well with pepper and salt. Allow to remain for an hour or so, then remove and arrange compactly in a salad bowl. The aioli, the Mediterranean delicacy with which it is served, is made by whipping two eggs, four teaspoonfuls of olive oil, a 117half teaspoonful of French mustard and a half cupful of cream together till stiff, in a bowl rubbed with garlic. ”

“ In short, we Americans are fairly friendly with a number of the aristocrats of the water, but on analyzing the situation we come to realize that as for knowing the “finny tribe” as a whole well enough to get complete gastronomic joy out of the situation, it remains that it is only the French people who are so blessed. ”

“ The French, on taking the cooked fish from the oven, merely brush it with a little oil or melted butter, squeeze some lemon juice over, sprinkle a few bits of parsley about, and send the fish thus to the table.
Small fish, such as perch, smelts, etc., are best fried in deep fat or its substitute, first being dipped in egg and rolled in fine cracker or breadcrumbs, then served with a Sauce Mousseline, mashed potatoes or boiled new ones, and a crisp salad. ”

“ He knows by experience what particular fats give the best flavors to certain things, and he knows that vegetables, fish, eggs, pancakes and what not are far better fried in these natural fats. Who that ever ate an egg fried in bacon drippings will ever want one cooked in butter, even at a dollar a pound! ”

“ Only in the Latin countries has fish as an edible ever been fully appreciated and, as is the case with most other things gastronomic, it is in France that the food possibilities of the denizens of the water have been brought nearest perfection. ”