On May 27, 3:41*pm, bulka > wrote:
> > |
> > | > What do you find hilarious in Larousse, bulka?
> > |
>
> A fair question. *I was pretty tired at the original post.
>
> I know it is an historical reference, but I've been enjoying just
> reading it through. *The alphabetic arrangement makes for some odd
> juxtapositions, the constant cross-references makes it read like a law
> book, the long lists of recipes, each with a fancy name, that differ
> only in garnish. *It is hard to believe that people ever really ate
> this way. *The whole thing reads like a fantasy encyclopedia written
> by Borges, or some science-fiction description of alien culture.
>
> And then, there are passages like this :
>
> "At the last moment, fill the middle with a ragout composed of lambs'
> sweetbreads, cocks' combs and kidneys, truffles and mushrooms, in
> Veloute sauce (see SAUCE) flavoured with Madeira-laced Truffle fumet
> (see FUMET) ." * Good luck shopping at Kroger.

Kroger? Isn't that a US supermarket chain?

Correct me if I am wrong but Larousse Gastronomique is a French book
written for the French people. They don't shop at Krogers. They shop
at markets that have an incredible (by American standards) variety of
great foods and food products.

Just go to Kroger and look at their selection of cheeses, and then go
to France and look at THEIRS. Totally different worlds.

> I've always assumed all animals have kidneys, but have never seen one
> from a chicken. *For as often as "cocks' combs" show up, I'd assumed
> it was a fanciful name for a plant, like horseradish or foxglove. *No,
> they want you to pull something off the head of a rooster.

So what? I've had both chicken kidneys (not good) and cock's combs
(very good) at restaurants in Russia. What's the big deal? Every
rooster has kidneys and a comb, so you will have no problem buying
them at markets in France or all over the World. Or you can contact
your local chicken farmer here in USA.

Expecting a mass American supermarket like Kruger to provide a large
variety of good-tasting food is like expecting to see a major
university while visiting a village in Papua-New Guinea. That's why
places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have started to spring up as
Americans started to pay attention to the food we eat.

BTW, don't those whole chickens from Foster Farms contain kidneys
among the innards stuffed inside their cavities?

> "CAT. *Chat - Domestic cat whose edible meat has a flavour halfway
> between that of rabbit and that of hare. . . Legend has it that in the
> cook-shops the cat is often used in the making of rabbit fricassees.
> Examination of the bones would easily enable one, in case of doubt, to
> distinguish between the one animal and the other."

OK. This one is funny by modern Western values. Any recipes for horse
meat dishes?