The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-04

| Dinicult Question.
On the whole popular cookery has 4
strong likeness 20 popular poetry-it is
full Of good ideas imperfectly worked out.
Who can say, for example. what mos
tarGa might become if TIE fruits were
treated with q little more care and per
sonal consideration before they were
| placed in the mustard As it is. there is
a hint Of a new flavor about it which
human ingenuity has not hitherto
brought fully out. Ripe grapes picked
in vinegar. though their merits are wei
known in southern Russia. have never
received due recognition in Eng
land. but these are delicacies rather
than food. The fishermen all along
the coast from Gaeta TO Naples have va
nous wGys Of cooking fish which are un-
known in the great hotels. Many Of them
arc interesting and might be attractive
but forthc predominating flavor of garlic.
Fresh sardincs. crisply fried in oil, are
quite admirable eating but the fisher
men have discovered more excellent
way Of dealing with them. They place
them in shallow tin. embed them in
bread crumbs, add a few savory herbs
a
lemon or two over them. and then bake
them over q sharp fire. The result is I'M
expected but no, disagreeablc. In some
towns and villages Of Northern Italy
small birds are treated with the same APP
preciativc kindness. They are roasted on
a spit before a sharp fire, and then laid ia
pickle FOR day or two and served cold.
UNUSUAL MATERIALS.
No one will suggest that there is any
thing common or unclean in such food as
has been mentioned; il does not even Dor.
der on improperly, bit may bc freely en-
jOyed by men Of all sects and nations.
rs soon as one turns 10 unusual materials l
national prejudice asserts itself and the
ground becomes unsafe In central and
q considerable part Of northern Germany
the man who eats rabbit becomes a
social outcast; in England many re-
spectacle citizens indulge shlmelessly
in this nild form Of dissipation The
NeapOlitan poor arc not cs q rule dainty,
but while dclighting in sea urehin they
look down with scorn upon the Calcbrese I
because they eat se1 sluCs, which, if prop
erly cooked. are not very nasty Ny,
even in our own country there was time
when persons scoiied at frogs, now most |
Englishmcn who have been 10 Paris know
that. if properly treated. they add a new |
zest TO dinner, if not to life
The old prejudice against snails still /
continues, yet there are 40 least two /
edible kinds which arN worthy oi all ge- /
spcct. They must b. kept and fed cica. ".
preferably on vine leaves, for eo-.e time (
before being used. but when this has been 4
done beth sorts add peculiar and agree I
able favor g. several clear soups, and enc F
OF them When boilods chopped small and .
allowed to cool. greatly improves any .
green salad. Dorct leo the has.y reader ,
imagine That they have any resemblance /
TO the common pcr.winkie.
CooXISC a HEDsC-Cc
Hedgehog is good. ut icas' ferc change /
and j. used 10 be Wei cooked in snail /
tavern iu the Ghetto of Rome 10 which /
artists frequently rcsorted when their
spirits were high and their funds low
Acc0rding go an aged South Italian sports
man they should bc killed IN the woods
and Immediately skinned. and then al
lowed 10 hang for @ few hours. and. after
being tru.sed with their own quilts. be
roasted before q sharp fire. The stuflng
should be made of their own fat, finely
chopped with brcadrumbs and such sea
soning as suits the cook S taste OF course
no one with sense If deccncy would
think Of eating hedgehog which had
been employed for months in hunting
black beetles in a cellar and was Only
because he showed signs of
falling strength.
Snakes are a difficult question. The
force Of civilization is against them in
Every way, though in fc-s north Italian
towns they are considered delicGcics. and
hose who have eaten Of them declare that
hey are superior TO cells, as they are less
-ich and have n more delicate favor One
would not like TO give an opinion without
some practical experience. and no one can
De expected 10 travel 20 the neighborhood
4 Genoa in the early autumn for the
mere purpose Of eating stcwed serpent
Many other animals occupy a similarly
dubious position. Jays aud crows are
iaid to make excellent soup even when
hey are well stricken in years, though
heir flesh Is otherwise worthless But
Why do we accept the calf and reject the !
oal? Why do we regard bears paws as
lainty and roasted cat as q crimcy Tastes. d
f course. differ; but this is not a matter
f taste, but Of Imagination. There are
,ersons who cannot eat duck and green
'eas. and others whs are unfortunate
nough to find no charms in oysters or
aviare-they are to be pitied not
,lamed.-London Saturday Review.