The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1896-05-13

For breakfast the coffee is hot, black
strong and generally very much of the cof
fee used here is kept with the hulls on until
it is roasted, as wanted, and it seems richer
in aroma than that which has been cleaned
for export. On "a small plate is a nasty
little dab of pale.yellow, semi-solld grease
which the unwilling nose readily Identifies
as rancid butter. Another tiny dish holds
diminutive cube of something hard. white
porous, crumb y and tasteless, material
that compels wonder whether it has been
grown, made, or dug up. Three Jumps of
white sugar and an excellent Vienna roll
complete the layout. The traveller in self
defense sets the butter outside his door, puts
one little bit of the unknown substance in
his mouth and then lets the rest of it alone,
eats his orange, sips his coffee and will do
well to take the roll, for this is all the break
fast he will get until II o'clock. Then
substantial meal, not confined to what are
known as "breakfast dishes'' in northern
countries, but hardly distinguishable from
dinner except in the absence of soup and
dulces and perhaps little less choice of
abundance one recognizes carelessness and
lack of culinary skill and taste. And the
range of material is made to seem narrower
than it really is. This is especially con-
spicuous in the treatment of vegetables.
Vans, plantains and various other things
are boiled together and served in a pile on a
huge platter, from which each person at
boIo hi 70 urh ot bo
style is crude, barbaric. Each vegetable in
the mess is susceptible, if properly treated,
Of affording variety oil tempting and de-
licious dishes. There are no better yams
anywhere than these. the "cream" yam
being especially good; yet as they are served
even in the best hotels, they are as bad as
peeled potatoes boiled to sogginess. The
meat is always bad, tough, stringy and IN
pleasant to the taste, no matter how it is
cooked. On tiny dish by each guests
plate are laid from six 10 nine fresh peppers,
long, round, red and yellow, small, but with
more fire in them than is contained in any
other peppers grown outside sheol. The cut
surface of one lightly rubbed on plate will
be found as effective as a great dash of To-
basco sauce. Yet these brass palated people
the old fellows especially, will fork them in
to their mouths three or four together, and
deliberately chew and swallow them as If
they were white grapes.
At breakfast as we'll as dinner, claret-
mixed with water is freely used, though.
of course, every one finishes the meal with
coffee, and chocolate is served if desired.
The chocolate, by the way, is exceedingly
good, being product of the country.
A conspicuous novelty on the table is an
enormous platter piled high with little green
bundles, each tied neatly with green string,
They are called liakis. Each package con-
tains a tablespoonful of some minced or
pulp mess, wrapped and tied with pieces OF
plantin leaf Their total constitutes sort !
of lottery. You may draw successfully from
the pile flesh, fish, fowl, sweetstuff and plain
vegetable matter, rarely getting pair of
any kind. One wad may be delicious, the
next rank with garlic or wickedly peppery
AS they have all been boiled together in one
huge pot, it might be supposed their flavors
would MIX but the plantain leaves prevent
that.
Three sorts of bread appear on the break
fast tabIe-that made from wheat -four I'M
ported from the United States, arepas, and
plantains roasted in wood ashes on an open
hearth. The fret is looked upon as a rather