Choice Cuts Read online

  A Ballantine Book

  Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group

  Copyright © 2002 by Mark Kurlansky

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

  Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing

  Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in

  Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Owing to limitations of space, permission acknowledgments can be found on

  pp. 469–474, which constitute an extension of this copyright page.

  www.ballantinebooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the

  publisher upon request.

  eISBN: 978-0-345-45858-2

  v3.1

  My dear boy, when curds are churned,

  the finest part rises upward and turns into butter.

  So too, dear boy, when food is eaten the choice parts rise

  upward and become mind.

  —CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  INTRODUCTION: Better Than Sex

  CHAPTER ONE: Gourmets and Gourmands Mark Kurlansky on Gourmets (1999)

  Ben Sira Against Gluttony (second century B.C.)

  Le Mésnagier de Paris on Gluttony (1393)

  Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin on Gourmets (1825)

  Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent Grimod de la Reynière on Gourmets

  and Gluttons (1804)

  Auguste Escoffier on the Art of Cooking in Modern

  Society (1907)

  Henri Gault and Christian Millau on Nouvelle Cuisine (1973)

  Ludwig Bemelmans on Being a Gourmet (1964)

  A. J. Liebling on Boxing Away Gluttony (1959)

  CHAPTER TWO: Food and Sex John Ash on M.F.K. Fisher’s Warm Sandwich (1999)

  M.F.K. Fisher on the Virility of Turkish Desserts (1937)

  Emile Roumer on Peasant Love (c. 1930)

  Brillat-Savarin on Women Gourmets (1825)

  Grimod de la Reynière on Why Blondes Go Better Than Brunettes

  with Food (1808)

  M.F.K. Fisher on Bachelor Cooking (1949)

  CHAPTER THREE: Memorable Meals Eating at Cab Calloway’s (1948)

  Martial’s Dinner Invitation (first century A.D.)

  Herodotus on Egyptian Dining (fifth century B.C.)

  Plutarch on Lucullus Dining with Himself (first century A.D.)

  Frances Calderón de la Barca on Mexican Food (1842)

  Lady Nugent on Overeating in Colonial Jamaica (1802)

  Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa on Sicilian Dining (1958)

  Chiquart on Preparing a Royal Feast (1420)

  Ernest Hemingway on How He Likes to Eat (1951)

  Sarah Josepha Hale on Thanksgiving Dinner (1841)

  Nelson Algren on the Land of Mighty Breakfasts (c. 1940)

  W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice on Icelandic Food (1936)

  Hooker on Icelandic Food (1809)

  Martial on Applause for Pomponius (first century A.D.)

  Charles Dickens Dines at Delmonico’s, New York (1867)

  CHAPTER FOUR: Favorite Restaurants Irving Berlin on Lunching at the Automat (1932)

  George G. Foster on New York Oyster Cellars (1850)

  Joseph Wechsberg on Tafelspitz at Meissl & Schadn in Vienna (1948)

  A. J. Liebling on Restaurant Maillabuau in Paris (1959)

  M.F.K. Fisher on Monsieur Paul’s (1943)

  James Beard on Meier & Frank’s in Portland (1964)

  Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Café (1972)

  CHAPTER FIVE: Markets Émile Zola on the Triperie at Les Halles (1873)

  Edna Ferber on a Chicago Market Window (1912)

  Claude McKay on a Fruit Stand in Harlem (1930)

  Samuel Chamberlain on the Fish Market in Marblehead, Mass. (1943) 95

  Wole Soyinka on an Evening Market in Nigeria (1981)

  CHAPTER SIX: Not Eating Sholom Aleichem on Yom Kippur (1902)

  John Steinbeck on Starvation in California’s Harvest (1938)

  Mencius on Feeding China (third century B.C.)

  Brillat Martial on Not Being Fed (first century A.D.)

  CHAPTER SEVEN: Rants Pellegrino Artusi Against Frying Salt Cod (1891)

  Elizabeth David Against the Garlic Press (1986)

  Alexis Soyer in Defense of the Frying Pan (1860)

  Grimod de la Reynière Against Peacocks (1804)

  Ludwig Bemelmans Against Paris Waiters (1964)

  George Orwell on Paris Cooks and Waiters (1933)

  A. J. Liebling Against Food That Does Not Know Its Own Mind (1959)

  Karl Friedrich von Rumohr on Emotions to Be Avoided While

  Eating (1822)

  Martial Against Poetry at the Table (first century A.D.)

  CHAPTER EIGHT: On Bread Alone Galen on Refined Bread (A.D. 180)

  Platina on Bread (c. 1465)

  Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on Hot Biscuits and Dutch Oven

  Rolls (1942)

  Clementine Paddleford on the Best Buns of 1949

  Elizabeth David on Toast (1977)

  Mimi Sheraton on Bialys (2000)

  CHAPTER NINE: The Mystery of Eggs A Baghdad Recipe for Onions and Eggs (1373)

  Hannah Glasse on Making Eggs Large (1747)

  Lydia Maria Child on Poached Eggs (1829)

  Pellegrino Artusi on Drinking Eggs (1891)

  James Beard on Scrambled Eggs (1974)

  Angelo Pellegrini on Chicken Intestine Omelettes (1948)

  CHAPTER TEN: Eating Your Vegetables Cato on Preserving Green Olives (second century B.C.)

  Pliny the Elder on Onions (first century A.D.)

  M.F.K. Fisher on the Dislike of Cabbage (1937)

  Cato on Cabbage Eaters (second century B.C.)

  Elena Molokhovets on Borscht (1897)

  James Beard on Radishes (1974)

  Karl Friedrich von Rumohr on Cucumbers (1822)

  Jane Grigson on Laver (1978)

  Giacomo Castelvetro on Spinach (1614)

  Karl Friedrich von Rumohr on Spinach (1822)

  Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on Okra (1942)

  Annabella P. Hill’s Gumbo (1872)

  Giacomo Castelvetro on Artichokes (1614)

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: A Hill of Beans Galen on Beans and Peas (A.D. 180)

  Waverley Root on Cassoulet (1958)

  José Maria Busca Isusi on the Smoothness of Tolosa Beans (1972) 178

  CHAPTER TWELVE: The Fish That Didn’t Get Away Alice B. Toklas Murders a Carp (1954)

  Taillevent’s Oyster Stew (c. 1390)

  Robert May on Oyster Stew (1685)

  Anton Chekhov on Oysters (1884)

  Eleanor Clark on Belons (1959)

  Archestratus on Small Fry, Filefish, and Sowfish (c. 330 B.C.)

  José Maria Busca Isusi on Cod and on the Basque Problem (1983)

  Tabitha Tickletooth on the Dread Fried Sole (1860)

  Alexandre Dumas Père on Crabs (1873)

  Peter Lund Simmonds on Land Crabs (1859)

  Caroline Sullivan’s Jamaican Land Crabs (1893)

  José Maria Busca Isusi on Eels (1983)

  Ernest Hemingway on Fish in the Seine (1964)

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Poultry, Fowl, and Other Ill-Fated Birds Anthimus on Chicken, Peacocks, and Other Domestic Poultry

  (sixth century A.D.)

  Caliph al-Ma’mun on Chicken and Pistachios (1373)

  Hannah Glasse on Turkey (1747)

  Waverley Root on Guinea Fowl (1980)

  F. T. Cheng on Bird’s Nest (1954)

 
; Ludwig Bemelmans on Poulets de Bresse (1964)

  Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on Killing Birds (1942)

  Rawlings’s Blackbird Pie (1942)

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Meat of the Matter Plutarch on Eating Meat (first century A.D.)

  Claude Lévi-Strauss on Boiled vs. Roasted (1968)

  Alexandre Dumas Père on Beefsteak (1873)

  Anthimus on Eating Raw Meat (sixth century A.D.)

  Nelson Algren on Nebraska Buffalo Barbecue (c. 1940)

  Samuel Chamberlain on the Sunday Evening Barbecue (1943)

  M.F.K. Fisher on Tripe (1968)

  Grimod de la Reynière on Pigs (1804)

  Apicius on Sow’s Belly and Fig-Fed Pork Liver (first century A.D.)

  Mrs. Beeton on Sheep (1860)

  Alexis Soyer on the Turkish Way to Roast Sheep (1857)

  Le Mésnagier de Paris on Faking Game Meat (1393)

  Eliza Smith’s Fake Venison (1758)

  Eliza Smith on Recovering Venison When It Stinks (1758)

  Neapolitan Recipe to Make a Cow, Calf, or Stag Look Alive

  (fifteenth century)

  Jane Grigson on Faggots and Peas (1974)

  Apicius on Stuffed Dormice (first century A.D.)

  Ludwig Bemelmans on Elephant Cutlet (1964)

  Peter Martyr on Sea Turtles (1555)

  Alexis Soyer on Cooking Meat for Fifty Men (1857)

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Easy on the Starch Martino’s Sicilian Macaroni (c. 1420s)

  Shizuo Tsuji on Rice (1980)

  Neapolitan Rice with Almonds (fifteenth century)

  Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on Hush Puppies (1942)

  Angelo Pellegrini on Polenta (1948)

  Catherine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe on

  Potatoes (1869)

  Fannie Merritt Farmer on Potatoes (1896)

  Sheila Hibben on American Potatoes (1932)

  Pablo Neruda on French Fries (1954)

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: A Pinch of Seasoning Pliny the Elder on Thyme (first century A.D.)

  The Talmud on Garlic (A.D. 500)

  Platina on Basil (1465)

  Platina on Saffron (1465)

  Karl Friedrich von Rumohr on Sorrel (1822)

  The Aobo Tu on Salt Making (1333–1335)

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Just a Salad Platina on Lettuce (1465)

  François Rabelais on Eating Pilgrims in Salad (1534)

  Giacomo Castelvetro on Salad (1614)

  Margaret Dods Johnstone on Salads (1829)

  Mrs. Beeton on Endive (1860)

  Grimod de la Reynière’s Warning on Celery (1804)

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The Thing About Truffles Waverley Root on Truffles (1980)

  Giacomo Castelvetro on Truffles (1614)

  Karl Friedrich von Rumohr on Edible Fungi (1822)

  Ludwig Bemelmans on Pigs and Truffles (1964)

  Pellegrino Artusi on Truffled Potatoes (1891)

  Galen on Truffles (A.D. 180)

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: Loving Fat Anthimus on Bacon (sixth century A.D.)

  Newfies on Scrunchions (1974)

  Platina on Olive Oil (1465)

  Marion Harris Neil Tells the Story of Crisco (1913)

  Fannie Merritt Farmer on Butter (1896)

  Ludwig Bemelmans on the Buttermachine (1964)

  William Verrall’s Very Fat Peas (1759)

  CHAPTER TWENTY: Bearing Fruit Roaring Lion on “Bananas” (c. 1936)

  Anthimus on Apples (sixth century A.D.)

  Alexandre Dumas Père on Apples (1873)

  Apicius on Preserving Fruit (first century A.D.)

  Platina on Figs (1465)

  Henry David Thoreau on European Cranberries (1859)

  Henry David Thoreau on Watermelons (1859)

  Ferdinand Hédiard on Mangoes (1890)

  Christopher Columbus on Pineapples (1493)

  Lionel Wafer on Pineapples (1699)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: The Dark Side of Chocolate Francisco de Quevedo on the Curse of Tobacco and

  Chocolate (1628)

  Edward Kidder on Chocolate Cream (c. 1730)

  Brillat-Savarin on Chocolate (1825)

  Alice B. Toklas on Hot Chocolate (1954)

  James Beard on Hot Chocolate (1974)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Their Just Desserts Pliny the Elder on Bees and Honey (first century A.D.)

  Galen on Pastry (A.D. 180)

  Apicius on Rose Patina (first century A.D.)

  A Baghdad Recipe for Meat, Sweets, and Bananas (1373)

  Amelia Simmons’s Independence Cake (1796)

  Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa on Rum Jelly (1958)

  Gelatin Hints from Knox (1929)

  Pellegrino Artusi on Ice Cream (1891)

  M.F.K. Fisher on Gingerbread (1937)

  Jane Grigson on English Puddings (1974)

  William Ellis on Apple Pie (1750)

  Hannah Glasse’s Apple Pie (1747)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: A Good Drink Alexandre Dumas Père on Coffee (1873)

  Sarah Josepha Hale on Drinking (1841)

  Alexis Soyer on Soda Water (1857)

  Brillat-Savarin on Water (1825)

  Alexandre Dumas Père on Water (1873)

  The Talmud on the Right Amount of Wine (A.D. 500)

  Maimonides on the Benefits of Wine (twelfth century)

  A. J. Liebling on Rosé Wine (1959)

  George Sand on Eau-de-Vie (1845)

  Anton Chekhov’s Menu for Journalists (c. 1880)

  Frances Calderón de la Barca on Pulque (1840)

  Malcolm Lowry on Mescal (1947)

  Robert Rose-Rosette on Martinique Punch (1986)

  Martial on Drinking Mates (first century A.D.)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Bugs Frances Calderón de la Barca on Mosquito Eggs (1840)

  Peter Lund Simmonds on Edible Spiders (1859)

  Vincent M. Holt on Eating Insects (1885)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: The French Jérôme Lippomano on How Parisians Eat (1577)

  George Orwell on Being Hungry in Paris (1933)

  Virginia Woolf on French Cooking (1927)

  Alice B. Toklas on French Cooking (1954)

  Thomas Jefferson on French Produce (1785)

  Hannah Glasse on French Cooking (1747)

  M.F.K. Fisher on Leaving France (1932)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: The English George Orwell on English Food (1933)

  Jane Grigson on English Food (1979)

  Elizabeth David on the Onward (and Downward) March of the

  English Pizza (1977)

  E. M. Forster on Prunes and English Food (1944)

  Giacomo Castelvetro on Prunes in England (1614)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: The Americans Louis Prima on the Pizzeria (1944)

  Larousse Gastronomique on American Food (1938)

  Louis Diat’s Oyster Crabs (1941)

  Angelo Pellegrini on the Abundance of America (1948)

  Joseph Wechsberg on Cooking for Americans (1948)

  Alice B. Toklas on Gertrude Stein’s Return to

  America (1954)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: The Germans Tacitus on Germans (A.D. 98)

  Joseph Wechsberg on Austrians (1948)

  Karl Friedrich von Rumohr on Teaching Germans to

  Cook (1822)

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: The Politics of Food Honoré de Balzac on Eating (1828)

  Curnonsky on Political Categories for Gourmets (c. 1950)

  Émile Zola on Fat and Thin People at Les Halles (1873)

  Lu Wenfu on Revolutionary Cuisine (1982)

  CHAPTER THIRTY: What Does It Mean? Claude Lévi-Strauss on the Idea of Rotten (1968)

  Margaret Mead on the Meaning of Food (1970)

  Plato on the Art of Cooking (387 B.C.)

  Marcel Proust on Madeleines (1913)

  A. J. Liebling on Proust (1959)

  M.F.K. Fisher on Why She Writes About Food (1943)

  Text Credits

  Photo Credits

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

 
; Other Books by This Author

  INTRODUCTION

  Better Than Sex

  Food, like sex, is a writer’s great opportunity. It offers material that is both universal and intensely personal—something that illuminates the nature of humankind but also offers insights into the unique and intimate foibles of an individual.

  To write only of the pleasures of eating would be pornography—a legitimate use of a writer’s skills but, from the standpoint of both reader and writer, limited. The writer intuitively wants to explore the broader and more far-reaching effects of food, or for that matter sex, rather than the physical pleasure alone.

  In the case of food—not usually the case with sex—the much sought after physical pleasure involves the acquisition of commodities. Sex only sometimes involves commerce and rarely is impacted by climate or land use. Food is about agriculture, about ecology, about man’s relationship with nature, about the climate, about nation-building, cultural struggles, friends and enemies, alliances, wars, religion. It is about memory and tradition and, at times, even about sex. “Nothing is more agreeable to look at than a pretty gourmande in full battle-dress.… Her lips are soft and moist.…” wrote the nineteenth-century French food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. And as the twentieth-century American food writer M.F.K. Fisher explained about the erotic power of eating eel: “There is a phallic rightness about the whole thing, visual as well as spiritual, which has more to do with the structure of the fish than the possible presence of a mysterious and exotic spice.”

  Today, our initial expectation of food writing is that it will be about food, but the earliest food writers used food as one tool among many for illuminating broader subjects. The ancient Chinese wrote of food in terms of medicine and alchemy, as well as agriculture and ecology, but rarely simply as food. Food writing was often about land use and, by extension, sometimes about effective and incompetent government. “If you do not interfere with the busy season in the fields, then there will be more grain than people can eat; if you do not allow nets with too fine a mesh to be used in large ponds, then there will be more fish and turtles than one can eat,” wrote Mencius (372–289 B.C.), a leading disciple of Confucius.