The Columbus journal., 1888-11-14
SOME STRANGE DISHES.
HOW UNUSUAL MATERIALS ARE PRE-
PARED FOR THE TABLE.

ins-Hedsehog Cooked In . Rona. II
ven-Snails Of Agreeable Flsvoe-S.akes
Dinacult Ouestioa.
On tho whole. popular cookery has .
strong likeness to popular poetry-it II
full of good ideas imperfectly worked out.
Who can say, for example, what mos
tarda might become if the fruits were
treated with a little more care and per.
sonal consideration before they were
placed in the mustard? As it is, there Is
Q hint of u new flavor about it which
human ingenuity has not hitherto
brought fully out Ripe grapes picked
In vinegar. though their merits are well
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
rious ways of cooking fish which are I'M
known in the great hotels. Many Of them
are interesting and might be attractive
but for the pre~dominating favor of garlic.
Fresh sardines. 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 Q shallow tin, embed them In
bread crumbs, add q few savory herbs.
pour q little good olive oil. squeeze .
lemon or two over them, and then bake
them over q sharp fire. The result Is un-
expected but not disagreeable. In some
towns and villages Of Northern Italy
small birds are treated with the same sp-
preciative kindness. They are roasted on
q spit before q sharp fire. and then laid In
pickle for o 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; it does not ever Dor
der on improperly, but may be freely en-
iOyed by men Of all sects and nations.
As soon Us one turns to unusual materials
national prejudice asserts itself and tho
ground becomes unsafe. In central and
\ considerable part Of northern Germany
the man who eats o rabbit becomes q
social outcast: in England many re-
spectacle citizens indulge shamelessly
in this mild form of dissipation. The
Neapolitan poor n not as a rule dainty.
but while !dclighting in sea urchin they
look down with scorn upon the Calabrese
because they eat sea slugs. which. If prop
erly cooked. are not very nasty. Nay.
even in our own country there wa . time
when persons scoffed at frogs; now most
Englishmen who have been to Paris know
that. if properly treated. they add . new
zest to dinner, If not to life.
The old prejudice against snails still
yet there are at least two
edible kinds which are worthy Of all re-
spect. They must be kept and fed clearly,
preferably on vine leaves. for some time
before being used, but when this has been
done both sorts add q peculiar and agree
able flavor to several clear soups, and one
of them when boiled. chopped small and
allowed to cool, greatly improves any
green salad. Do not let the hasty reader
imagine that they have any resemblance
to the common periwinkle.
COOKING A HEDGEHOG.
Hedgehog is good. at least for change.
and it Used to be well cooked in q small
in the Ghetto of Rome, to which
frequently resorted when their
were high and. their funds low.
According to an aged South Italian sports
man. they should be killed in the woods
and Immediately skinned, and then al
to hang for a few hours. and. after
being trussed with their own quilts, DO
before q sharp fire. The stufing
be made of their own fat. finely
with breadcrumbs and such sea
as suits the cooks taste. OF course
one with q sense Of decency would
think of eating a hedgehog which had
been employed for months in. hunting
black beetles in q cellar and was only
because he showed signs Of
strength
Snakes are q difficult question. The
force of civilization is against them in
every way, though in q few north Italian
they are considered delicacies, and
those who have eaten Of them declare that
are superior to eels, as they are less
rich and have q more delicate flavor. One
would not like to give an opinion without
some practical experience. and no One can
be expected to travel to the neighborhood
Of Genoa in the early autumn for the
mere purpose of eating stewed serpent.
Many other animals occupy q similarly
dubious position. Jays and crows are
said to make excellent soup, eve when
they are we'll stricken In years, though
their flesh is otherwise worthless. Bnt
why do we accept the calf and reject the
foal? Why do We regard bears paws s
dainty and roasted cat as q crime? Tastes. |
of course, differ; but this is not q mater
Of taste. but Of imagination. There gre
who cannot eat duck and green
peas, and others who are unfortunate
to find no charms in oysters or
.caviare-they are to be pitied, not
h1o~n6 -Inndon Cofuedov Rov;ev.