Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-12
HOW no Eat.
Maxims of a Chinese Gourmand Worth
Reading.

Reading
From tie London Times.
Chinese cookery is not as new in this
country as 1t once was, but it is quite as
mysterious as ever. 1t is safe to say, az
ter the experience English people had OF
it at the Health Exhibition last year, that
it is not likely for the present at least to
be popular in this country. Sharks inns,
birds nests, eggs decOmposed on an elab-
crate system. do not fulfill our notion Of
table delcacies, yet the chinese nave
their own philosophy Of dining, their MIS-
toric chefs, their philsnthropic gour-
mands, who have handled down to pos
terity the true principles Of dining. Din
ner giving is science which Is carefully
cultivated ia China, and the table has
there, as elsewhere, played an important
part in politics, literature and art. ais
tinguished apostle of this cult was GER
tain Yuan Tsu-tsai, who lived IN the last
century, and who seems to have been the
Samuel Rogers Of his day, for he cultlYa-
ted the muses. In a dilettante fashion, and
also collected around his hOspitable board
all the celebrities Of the time. His char
acter WAS not wholly irreprOachable; but
be lived until he was 80 years of age, and
left behind him cookery book in which
be discussed the subject or food and drink
from scientific and artistic point OF
view.
The food being cooked. the service is
the next subject that comes to be consid-
cred, and on this head some excellent
counsel Is given. Elegant food, says the
writer, is not so important as elegant
service. Everything on the table should
be scrupulOusly clean, and the various
dishes should be sent up in their proper
order. For instance, sailed meats should
precede those of a milder flavor; thick
food should precede thin ones, and foods
without gravy should precede those with
gravy. Five consecutive dishes should
not be all salt; this would tax the stom-
ach too severely. Three Ofthe five should
contain either mustard or pepper to re-
cover the palate, just as acid and sweet
things should be used to prevent the pal
ate from being dulled by too much wine.
This resembles somewhat Brillat-SaVa-
rims dictum: sin eating, the order should
be from the heavy to the light; in drink
ing, from the light to the heavy.| When
the dinner is cooked and served, the rest
remains with the diners, and to these Mr..
Yuan deVotes several chapters. His first
maxim is, "Don't eat with your ears"
in other words, do not have whatever you
have heard is a dainty. "Remember," he
says, ''that we'll cooked bean curd is much
nicer than badly cooked BIRDS nests; and
that sea slugs, if not good, are not equal
to common bamboo shoots. The fowl, the
pig, the fish and the duck; these are the
heroes of the dinner table. Each has its
characteristic flavor, and each forms
school by Itself Sea slugs and BIRDS
nests are but their retainers, having moth
ing of their own, but living, as it were, i'll
other mSn's houses That is, fish, pork
and poultry form the backbone of the
banquet; the other delicRcies are merely
to set on or improve these. To illustrate
this maxIm, he relates that he was once
invited TO a banqffet by q certain official
OF his acquaintance, where the rice bowls
were very large, and each bowl held
ABOUT four ounces OF birds nest, but quite
tasteless. Somebody began to say some
thing In praise Of the display, but Yuan
laughed and said:
~ came here to eat birds nest not to
deal in it wholesale. Now you might
deal in this, but you couldn't eat It. SO,
what is the use of il allf II only to make
a show It would be better to fiji your
bowls with pearls. which would cost
more money, but this is not eating" The
philosopher was averse to display; he
loved little dinners.
Another maxim is, "DOn't eat with
your eyes," This is a warning to hosts
against providing too many courses. He
frequently points out how the different
parts OF any given food are adapted, and
even essential, in order to produce the
best result from the whole. 1--WE know -
he says, 'that the yOlk of an egg is richer
than the white, but he is a fool who eats
only yolks and throws away the whites
/ With regard to wine he is very emphatic
"DOn't take wine too freely. Only a So
/ Der man knows right from wrong, and II
/ is the same with food. 10 has been wise.
/ lv OhsprVad that lanQuaVA fails IN he.
scribe the delicate "nuances'' OF lavors
| How, then, should halftipsy sot know
| anything about them? have myself of
ten seen two men playing at guess I'm.
| gers and shoveling in their food the
while, as though it were so much saw
dust, sacrificing everything to the enjoy
ment OF wine. No, say food first and
wine afterward. Thus we can enjoy
both.' He warns cooks against usinl
hOt-water dishes which have long beer
known in China), for they destroy the fla
| VOr of any very delicate dish