A Scratch Team of Essays, never before put together. Being reprints from the Quarterly and Westminster Reviews, on The Kitchen and the Cellar ... Thackeray ... Russia ... Carriages, Roads and Coaches, etc

Preface

. The proprietors of the Quarterly and Westminster Reviews have kindly given me permission to reprint those essays that have appeared in their pages in which I have a paternal interest. I have made some additions and notes here and there, and but few corrections ; but I am bound to say that, inasmuch as the article on Russia touches on politics, there has been a great deal in the conduct of her Government, to say nothing of Nihilistic crimes, which prove to me that I took too optimist a view of the nation, and that the " earth hunger," of which other publicists have written, was too much veiled from my eyes by the glamour of a hospitality which I shall always readily acknowledge. Some observations due to the Franco-German war of 1870 are placed here instead of under " Russia." When she repudiated the Black Sea clauses of the Treaty that followed the Crimean war, G-ambetta threw away one of those great VI

PREFACE.

. chances which might have proved that he was indeed a statesman. The journey of Thiers to the North must have proved to him that France was to have no help from that quarter. To have sent her fleet round to the Black Sea would have proved that, even with Germany on her hands, France had still regard for treaties and intended to have them respected. "Whether with the weak men at our helm then, as now, France would have forced our hand for very shame, I cannot guess, but certainly she would have made us blush to accept so calmly the undone work for which, in common with her, we spent our blood. And even to blush is not so bad for a nation when it permits its rulers to do ignoble, or fail to do noble, acts. By-and-by the working man will have his say as well as the bourgeois, and I think he will not allow his Government to turn the other cheek to the enemy.

Perhaps also, with a good deal more pride for his country than the Birmingham Radical, he will think that places like New Guinea had better be annexed. The Author. CONTENTS. PAGE The Kitchen and the Cellar . . . . 1 Thackeray 97 Kussia. . , . 129 Carriages, Koads, and Coaches '. . . .178 THE KITCHEN AND THE CELLAR. From the " Quarterly Review," April 1877. It is now more than forty years ago since a writer in this Review discoursed, with a perfect knowledge of the subject, on the Science with which a dinner should be served and the Art with which it should be eaten.* The popularity which his remarks obtained, when separately published under the title of" The Art of Dining," proved that that generation appreciated his summary of the laws of gastronomical observation in relation to their food and wines.

Would that it were in our power to say that there has been since that day real progress as well in that Art as in the Science of Cookery in England ! It would be unreasonable to expect that material prosperity should bring in its train the plain and * See " Quarterly Review " article on " Gastronomy ancl Gastronomers," in July 1835, and article on Mr. Walker's " Original." in February 1836. simple" refinement of taste due to other conditions than those of mere wealth. Our present object being entirely practical, we do not propose to go into the history of cookery. Nor, indeed, is it necessary to do so ; for it would be difficult, if not impossible, to improve on the general sketch, given by the author of the " Art of Dining," of the history of cookery from the earliest period up to 1789; and his account of the celebrated cooks of the Empire and the Restoration is one of the most interesting contri butions to the literature of the subject.

A glance at the present state of gastronomical science will show us that the French, while still very perfect in it, are scarcely on a par with their forefathers of the period of the Restoration ; nor shall we accept the Cafe" Anglais, the Cafe Voisin, good as its cellar is, still less the Maison Doree of the present day, in place of the Freres Pro vencaux, Philippe's, and Vefour's of the past. If we turn northward to Belgium we shall find much that is good in cooking and eating known, if not universally practised, whilst in reference to wine the Belgians surpass all other countries in their intimate acquaintance with, and accurate know ledge of, the best vintages of Burgundy. In Great Britain we may hope that we are on the path of progress, some elements of race not unfavourable to gastronomical observation at times appearing in our strange mixture of Teutonic with other blood.

The wealth of America brings in its train some new recipes in the preparation of oysters and lobsters, and its indigenous birds offer to the gourmet a new subject for discourse, and fresh test for the faculties he possesses. Passing again northward, we find the whole science ruthlessly ignored by the pure Teutonic race of the German Empire ; * and if gastronomy has not vainly claimed its due consideration in the empire of the Cossacks, it is rather because the Russians have had immense advantages by the importation of French artists at astounding prices ; and in their rivalry with Western civilisation, have introduced the certain advantages of croquettes with " julienne " soup ; while they serve in their truly hospitable fashion that noble fish, the sterlet, in a form and with a sauce that we rarely meet with elsewhere.

Nor is their caviare to be overlooked, although in Western Europe we rarely find it, as with them, of that pale green colour which denotes an absence of salt. South and eastward we come upon remnants of the Teutonic race mixed up with Czech and Sclavonic blood, and in consequence we find that singular view of gastronomic philo sophy which obtains in Vienna, where people will neither dine at the right hour, eat dishes in their right places, nor insist on their cooks roasting, in place of baking, meats. * We must except, however, the once free city of Hamburg, where one Wilkins, a restaurateur, formerly had a dwelling place. -*- In Italy there was once a better state of science, but if it has retrograded, there are still hopes for a land where simple delicate forms of flour present models to the world ; where tomatoes are indi genous, and rice has its cooks.

Let us add, that the science is not absolutely ignored in Turkey, nor looked upon as a vain and foolish thing in China and Japan. This generalisation leaves untouched the position of the science in Spain, Portugal, our colonies, and the lands outside Russia, where live the great Sclavonic brotherhood. With these last, the imitative faculties promise a better future know ledge than will probably be the lot of the Spaniard, wrapped up in the dignified conceit of an aged people ; or of our own colonists, the offspring of a race traditionally wedded to strong gravy soup, smoke-grilled chops, and plain boiled vegetables. If we attempt to review the present aspect of gastronomical science, we must also take some note of drinking, and consider, too curiously perhaps for some, whether the prevalent notions about wines, what their quality should be, and when they are drunk, are based on sound principles.

And however firmly convinced we may be that our views are sound, we readily admit that there is no infallibility in dogmas directed against other people's stomachs, and their habits of eating and drinking. Have we not the example of Brillat-Savarin in the neglect by the French of some of his most earnestly-insisted-on precepts ? What did that eminent man say with reference to the use of the rinsing-glass after dinner ? That it was " useless, indecent, and disgusting " ; and who that has travelled has not known that sickening five minutes after dinner where the use of it obtains, and which, if universal, would make us seem to descend rather than advance in the refinements of civilised life? After Brillat-Savarin's efforts, how shall a humble writer hope to persuade Englishmen that they do not know what soup is, and that they rest in profound error in their abuse of champagne ?

The most to be hoped for is that further gastronomical observation will be encouraged, and that the votaries of the science being multiplied, general ignorance will eventually be leavened ; for we think that none will dispute that there is a decided lack of gastronomical knowledge amongst our countrymen. We well remember the indignation with which a friend, an M.P., in whose eyes dining is an art, after the precepts of the author of the "Art of Dining," and cooking an exact science, after the manner of Careme, recounted the fatal want of observation on the part of a common friend, whom we will call Brown. Brown was staying at Spa, at the same hotel as the M.P., and had been invited to join a party for a trip to that charming little spot, Chaudefontaine, where they were to dine. On his return the M.P. cross examined him as to the bill of fare, the wines, &c. The menu was tolerably well described, but on the subject of drink Brown declared that they had had " champagne and claret, or something."

" Now," observed our friend, " we all know that the party was under the direction of that best of judges of good liquor, Sir Howard Elphinstone ; and any man with the slightest knowledge of the district, and a feeling for Art-dining, is aware that the commonest hotels abound in good Bur gundy, and that no man of the baronet's ex perience would think of ordering claret in the Wallon country, if his guests were not absolutely averse to Burgundy." * Of one thing we may be sure, no British restaurateur will help the public to a knowledge of the art of dining. Individually or collectively they may run up piles of buildings, and tempt a "clientele " by the cleanliness and beauty of their mural decoration ; but when it comes to a question of food, even supposing the quality to be moderately good, every difficulty will be thrown in the way of a man and his wife, or brother and sister, to dine modestly, but with variety.

For * It may be useful to the traveller abroad to know that nowhere is Burgundy to be obtained in such perfection as in the Wallon district of Belgium, comprising Liege, Namur, Spa, Dinant, <fcc. At little hostelries in remote districts in the Ardennes you will get Burgundy that would be of value at great banquets in London. Por some reason the climate and cellars of this district suit the wine, and the people have the sense to lay down enough of it. If the traveller's pere grinations take him towards Mons, Charleroi, or Valenciennes in France, he will be wise to ask for still red Champagne, a delicate, fine wine, worthy of grave sipping and steady reflec tive observation. — Since this note was written this red Champagne has almost disappeared. What is left of it is. very old, certainly not later than 1874. those who are not gourmands it is probable that one portion of soup and one of fish would suffice for two, but here the restaurateur (at least one that we could name), steps in and says, " You shall not have less than two portions, although one may suffice you : you shall pay me double for having placed before you what you don't want."

Of course these men know their own business and the nature of their customers, but they must not come to us for a character as assistants in the great science under notice. At one or two good -class restaurants in the West End they still keep up the old French tradition of allowing you to order just so many portions for so many people as may please you, the only true method of per mitting a varied repast at a moderate price.* Let us premise that, if we may seem to extol certain forms and methods of cooking as practised in France, it should be understood that this is far from supporting the introduction of what is known as French cookery into England. Hitherto what has been imported is practically a good deal of cook's French, in the shape of titles to indifferent imitations of good dishes Against these the Englishman naturally protests ; and, as a rule, the manager of his household has yet to learn that in a French " cuisine bourgeoise " no shams * Among others I will mention (Feb. 1883) the modest, but cheerful Grosvenor Cafe Restaurant in Wilton Road, close to Victoria Station.

The host, an intelligent Italian, attends to his customers. are indulged in, and that simplicity and economy reign where we have waste and the master's despair. The gastronomical observer, to be useful, need not trouble himself to examine how a great banquet should be prepared; that is the business of a " chef." What he may inquire about should be — What are the elements in the cooking for a private household in France or elsewhere which can be imported with advantage into the English household ? We begin with what should form the beginning of every dinner, namely, soup. Our first observation addressed to our countrywomen who sway in the kitchen would be that, putting aside "purees " of peas, carrot, hare, grouse, &c, and speaking of cheap every-day refreshing soups, the liquid whereof they are made should be regarded as the vehicle for applying to the palate certain herbal flavours, a strengthening and nutritious vehicle if you will, but still a vehicle.

A strong gravy soup, the delight of the British cook, kills all herbal flavour, and if the palate is to be con sidered at all, it may be counted a sound gastro nomical axiom that flavour and not sustenance is the first consideration at the beginning of a sound, well-ordered repast. The herbal flavours may vary ; they may be derived from fresh vegetables in the spring-time passing under the title "a, la jardiniere," from the cabbage and carrot as in the " croute au pot," or from the mixture made by the sage inventor of the " julienne " soup. Strictly speaking, for the purposes of culinary education we must go, as Mr. Buckmaster has done in his lectures, to the " pot au feu " which Gouffe calls " Fame de la cuisine de menage " ; but as we are now referring to the constituents of a dinner, let us see how julienne, the type of herbal soups, should be prepared, and compare it with the accepted julienne of clubs, restaurants, and cooks who prepare dinners for London parties.

The cook, who knows his business, will take carrots, the red part only, turnips, celery, leeks, onions, cabbage, lettuce, sorel, and chervil, in quantities proportionate to the number of persons he has to serve, and he will cut them up very small and thin. In France a special cutter is sold at the ironmongers for the purpose. He will then pass the onions and leeks over the fire, with a good-sized piece of butter. He will next throw all the rest of the vegetables, cut up as above, into boiling water and let them rest there five minutes, after which he will place them on a strainer to drip. When the water is drained off, he will add the onions and leeks, and put all in a saucepan (a copper one), add a little sugar and some butter, pour over them a little " bouillon " or soup, and proceed to cook them, by allowing them gently to simmer for a couple of hours when, being well cooked and tender, the bouillon or "consomme " (which should assimilate to a weak beef-tea), may be added and the soup served.

Gouffe differs somewhat from this formula, which was given us by Dubost Freres, the wellknown restaurateurs in Brussels, who have since disposed of their business. Gouffe directs you to let your consomme simmer, with the herbs in it, for three hours, merely adding some lettuce and sorel, chopped up ten minutes before serving. But we think he is inconsistent with previous precepts, for in his opening remarks about bouillon he insists that vegetables should not be left in it longer than necessary for their being cooked. We should add that consomme is a more expensive thing to make than bouillon, which is the base of it. Gouffe, for instance, directs a proportion of about six lbs. of beef, four of veal, and two fowls to simmer four hours in seven litres of bouillon to arrive at a good consomme.

What ever formula may be adopted for the liquid, pro vided it is light and delicate, we would have it regarded simply as a vehical for herbal flavour. Contrast a soup made as above with the English julienne soup, where hard slices of uncooked carrots are left to take their chance in a gravy that has a flavour of nothing but coarse meat, and you have a comparison which must perforce lead to gastronomical observation. You may prefer the strong gravy, but in that case your palate is at fault, and you cannot understand herbal flavour. This observation, however, affecting as it does the science of the cook and the art of the diner, would not be just without the accompanying remark that to buy at the London greengrocers' good fresh young vegetables is not such an easy matter, and that, to make a reform, it is necessary that the market-gardener should aid by cultivating and bringing to Covent Garden what is young and tender in vegetable life, and not old carrots and dry turnips.

Still, in the country this excuse for the cook will not serve, and that a clean herbal soup is possible at an English hotel many of the travellers by the winter coach to St. Alban's ('75— '76) had the satisfaction of finding as ter their pleasant outward drive. If we were called on to give instances of the difficulty of getting julienne soup in London, it would only be necessary to name certain clubs where " chefs hors ligne " will give you a " bouil labaisse," or a pepper-pot, " quenelles de cailles aux trusses," or a crab curry in perfection, but scarcely ever succeed, probably on account of the market-gardener, in presenting you with the true julienne soup we have spoken of. We are aware that our recipe fails in that it does not provide the exact weight of vegetables to the proportion of consomme.

M. Dubost (who, by the way, had a collection of china and " bric a-brac," well worth the attention of the connois seur) assumed, no doubt, that a chef with any knowledge of his business would always fairly proportion all that enters into a julienne soup, but to the English cook we would suggest just six times the quantity of vegetables she is accustomed to provide for the soup in question. If we pass from the making of herbal soup to a consideration of the " batterie de cuisine " placed at the disposition of English cooks in modest English households, we shall be compelled to observe a fatal absence of copper. Those bright stewpans with our neighbours form a refreshing sight to the "gourmet," however modest the " menage." Just as we succeed well in boiling potatoes by means of a quick, roaring fire applied to an iron saucepan, which communicates the heat to the water quickly, so we fail in saute-ing young potatoes, because for that we want a moderate fire and a copper saucepan, that does not readily burn the contents, which with an iron saucepan, in the absence of care, would be the case.

And here it is only just that we should draw attention to Gouffe, his plates, and his woodcuts. Of course, there is very little that is absolutely new in matter of recipes for dishes, but Gouffe has availed himself of chromo-lithography and a good wood-engraver to bring home to us some precepts that ought to receive attention. Note particularly the design for a range, p. 23, fig. 16, where we have a roasting arrangement carefully out of the way, whilst still under the supervision of the cook ; and the proper design for a charcoal grilling apparatus, which would meet a want greatly felt amongst those who love a clean grill. Throughout his work it will be observed that Gouffe inclines to well-tinned copper saucepans, whilst not absolutely discarding tinned-iron pans, and at the same time he sets his face against the simple cast-iron pans and the earthenware vases that have for so long maintained their place in many French households.

THK KITCHEN AND THE CELLAR. 13 Returning to the grilling apparatus in fig. 16 of Gouffe's work, we shall possibly surprise many by avowing that, in our opinion, the French beat us as much in this respect as in many others. That they succeed in soups, sauces, and entrees, is undoubted, and copper saucepans go for much therein ; but for the " cuisine bourgeoise " (household cooking) we should indicate grilling as the point where they are more entirely successful than we are. Here charcoal or " braise " (a form of charcoal), as the fuel, gives the French cook an advantage. It enables him to serve up fish, flesh, and fowl, cleanly grilled, not smoke-flavoured, and the sauce, if sauce there be, has nothing to interfere with its due appreciation. The English cook, as a rule, appeals to the frying-pan* ancl produces her cutlets, often sodden, and generally tasteless, with small idea that meat and its flavour is one thing, and the sauce appropriate to it * " As frying properly in fat is of much importance and of constant use, no pains should be spared in thoroughly understanding it.

If you attempt to fry at too low a temperature, or allow the temperature to fall more than five degrees, the things are not fried but soaked and soddened, and of a dirty-white colour. If the temperature is too high, then the thing is charred, burnt, and blackened, but not fried." — Buckmaster, p. 112. To much useful information on this head given in the above, we may add that beef-fat is better for frying white-bait than lard. Mr. Buckmaster says as much, though not in special terms : " Lard is the fat generally used for frying, but it is liable to leave an unpleasant flavour after it" (p. 109). It may also be added, that biscuit-powder is infinitely better than bread-crumbs to paner cutlets. another.* When cutlets have been cooked in this fashion, the tenant of the dining-room learns that delicate tender mutton exists no more; leather, for all practical purposes of taste, might replace it.

Yet how could we expect an English cook with the ordinary coal-fuel range to have a bright fire just ready for grilling at the moment Avhen the entree of cutlets should be served? The charcoal or braise embers, being a contrivance apart, are, with a slight use of the bellows, always ready for the grill. Speaking not dogmatically, but with conviction, we place charcoal or braise, as a grilling element, as of the first necessity in a range where due justice is to be done by the cook. Nor can we believe that this suggestion is one necessarily attended with inordinate expense. It sufficeth to put — if Gouffe's plan above-men tioned is attended with difficulty — in modern close ranges a fifteen-inch square grate, sunk some three inches below the level of the top, with a regulator for the draft from without, so that the charcoal or braise shall burn freely; and we venture to say that the cost of the charcoal will be saved in the butcher's bill, to say nothing of the temper of the master, suffering under the infliction of meat wrongs ully bedabbled in cinders and begrimed with coal-smoke !

Let it be taken as a gastronomical observation of supreme im- * In Gouffe's work, the percentage of dishes (fish, flesh, and fowl), the ingredients of which pass over the grill, is double that in a recent English cookerv-book portance to the seeker after culinary truth, that the eminence of French cookery does not lie solely in soups or sauces, but in the cleanliness with which fish, flesh, and fowl are grilled, aided by the perfectly-made sauces, separately cooked, with which such flesh and fowl are served. Not, how ever, that bread-crumbed cutlets are always out of place, but that the importance of clean grilling should be more clearly recognised. And let no one here cite the advantage of Dutch ovens, or similar contrivances, for avoiding the coal-smoke. They are aids to the idle, but fail in the essential application of direct heat and oxygen to the meat.

Of course clubs and large establishments can afford to keep a coke-grill constantly going, and to them coke is cheaper, and, well kept up, as effective as charcoal; but in the small establishment the cook, seeking to grill, is confined to her coal-fire, and such use as she may make of it. In many small details, also, the " batterie de cuisine" supplied to the English cook is wanting; principally, we fancy, in the small tools for cutting up vegetables and herbs, slicing spinach, cucumbers, &c. In how many kitchens do you find a salamander, that excellent French invention for browning a dish without putting it into the oven, in order to obtain the same result at the price of its juices being dried up? It is true that this implement, being heavy., suggests sometimes to an ignorant kitchen-maid that it must be there for the purpose of breaking coal ; but does not ignorance, in some form or other, often try our patience, and are we thereby to be discouraged ?

Touching the general question of butcher's meat, something must be said, though with the full knowledge that it will be without effect in England. The "Chateaubriand," the "entrecote," and the " filet mignon " (of mutton), with other forms, are all due to the more enlarged sympathies of the French butcher for what is perfect. We must entirely change the mode of cutting up the carcase before we can arrive at the same perfection in form of meat purchasable, and as that is hopeless, so is it useless to insist further on the subject on behalf of the public. To the country gentleman only, who may have some control over the village butcher, we may remark that very clear-coloured plates are sold in France at a moderate price, guided by which an intelligent and willing man might easily produce the desired forms of beef, veal, and mutton.

And here, again, it will not be out of place to refer to Gouffe. By bringing chromo-lithography to aid him, he has given us two plates (II. and III.), which are quite unique on this important question of quality, not form, of meat. Had he extended the idea to the interesting question of herbs he would have rendered us, though, perhaps, not his countrymen, an important service. The fact is, French cooks and French gardeners know what herbs for cooking are. A friend of ours happened to be in a country-house the other day where there was much show, little science, and a large garden kept up at great expense. At luncheon he volunteered to make a fresh salad, and forthwith proceeded to the garden to gather his materials. He desired lettuce, chervil, tarragon, and borage. The first he found; of the others the head-gardener knew nothing: I M. Jules Gouffe, all-knowing, has never realised the ignorance of our gardeners and our cooks.

Having passed the stage of soup, there is not much of importance to be said until we come to the vegetables. The fish in England is infinitely better in quality and better cooked* than can be obtained elsewhere. There may be special dishes, such as " sole a la Norman de," or the Marseillaise dish of "bouillabaisse," immortalised by Thack eray, worthy of consideration, but they are not essential to the " bonne cuisine bourgeoise," the rather because the constituents of this last cannot be obtained in perfection, save on the shores of the Mediterranean. Of roast meat, be it beef or mutton, we can hold our own with any nation ; and boiled potatoes are, for reasons connected with our extravagant use of fuel, and our iron saucepans, our " specialise." But when we come to vegetables in general, we find ourselves, by old tradition, cut off from some of the most economical tasty " plats " the French housewife will give us.

Celery with us is rarely * A spoonful of vinegar in the water in which fish is boiled is scarcely sufficiently insisted on in English cookery books. cooked, " cardons a, la moe'lle " are unknown, and the same with " aubergines farcies " ; and "jets d'houblon aux œufs poches,"one of the "primeurs" in early spring, may be looked for in vain at an English table. Perhaps the market-gardener is at fault here too. In any case, we do not get them; nor will untravelled English understand that a vegetable should be served, if cooked, as a " plat," to be criticised gastronomically by itself, and not as a concomitant or accident, if we may so express it, to more solid food. Game, again, is so admirably served at English tables, that there are few new ideas to import in reference to it. And yet there is a bird abroad of which we should like to know something more.